Gonzalez Restaurant Endures as an Oak Cliff Favorite

Every season of every year, consumers are flooded with calls to action to drop everything they ever knew. Advertisers and influencers alike attempt to sway us in the direction of something hot, new and sizzling that is supposed to blow the lid off of our feeble little minds. The internet will pelt you daily with anything from “life hacks” to “hot girl summer trends,” but what about the things of yesteryear, especially those in the restaurant business, which has survived waves of recession and social media rumblings? Like Gonzalez Restaurant in Oak Cliff.
Gonzalez Restaurant was established in 1973 in north Oak Cliff. To quantify how long ago that was: the country ousted Nixon for shady abuse of power for political purposes, Roe v. Wade delivered a landmark decision to protect women's liberty to have an abortion and the Miami Dolphins won the Super Bowl. It is mind-blowing how things can dramatically change, but Gonzalez’s traditional Tex-Mex has steadily remained the same.

Gonzalez cranks out all of our favorite Tex-Mex necessities such as enchiladas, fajitas and nachos, but the specialties side of the menu is where the magic happens. There, you find items like pork chop ranchero ($14.75) made with sautéed onions and salsa verde and nopalitos, a traditional dish made with sautéed cactus, onions and salsa. If you're at a Mexican restaurant looking for vegetarian options, these may be for you. Cactus is very flavorful and has the consistency of green beans.
Right before the meal, and after we ate two bowls of chips and salsa, a plate of what looked like a massive stack of buttermilk pancakes was deposited on the table. These homemade tortillas are the perfect weapon to take down saucy dishes. Each plate also came with a mound of fluffy Mexican rice coupled with an oasis of creamy rich refried beans.
Upon arrival, we wanted to find something on the menu not routinely offered at typical Tex-Mex chain restaurants, so we started with cabrito guisado, goat slow cooked in a spicy green salsa ($13.95). A popular dish in northern Mexico in cities like Monterrey, it was cooked to absolute perfection. Tender stewed meat fell off the bone with ease. This restaurant could easily become the G.O.A.T. of well, goat.

The lengua guisada was up next. This slow-cooked beef tongue ($13.25) is a top contender too. If you can’t remember the last time you had action, this tongue is for you. A lot of places have lengua on the menu, but it's rarely as delicate and delicious as this. The beans, meat and grilled onions on top of those warm tortillas are a match made in heaven.

We weren’t prepared for the amount of remarkable food that was served, so we didn’t have any space to ingest other things on the menu. Gonzalez also has adult beverages, including a variety of beers and liquor. If you're feeling it, you may want to splurge on a michelada ($7.25) or mango chamoyrita. There are also strawberry or mango margaritas along with a few wines to choose from, which makes this place ideal for a great Sunday Funday brunch destination.

Millennials seemed to be obsessed with nostalgia. They are going back in time by utilizing old technology like flip phones and even dressing like their grandparents and hanging out in bingo halls. Appreciating the old days is both benevolent and charming, but some things do need to shrivel up and die on the vine like Clippy the paperclip, pagers and toxic exes. If you really want to pay homage to yesteryears, celebrate the food that kept the culture, along with previous generations, alive. If and when you do decide to honor those establishments that withstood the test of time, be sure to put Gonzalez Restaurant at the top of that list.

Gonzalez Restaurant, 367 W. Jefferson Blvd., Tuesday – Thursday, 11 a..m. – 7 p.m; Friday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.; closed Monday.