Buenos Aires Connection

Shines
SE Corner of Preston & Belt Line (In front of SteinMart)
Dallas, Texas

One of my favorite finds since living in Dallas is Shines. Its part grocery and part deli. Here is why I drive 10 miles out of my way to go here.

Sour Cherry. Since dating the Persian in Houston I developed a love for sour cherry. Good luck trying to find that in Dallas, Shines is the only place that I know of that carries any sour cherry products.

Feta. Yep and get the low fat variety, its much better than any fully fatted version you will get elsewhere; so creamy, so full of flavor.

Basterma. OK, this is when I'm a very bad vegetarian. Basterma is a highly spiced middle eastern beef. Wrap it up in a pita with some feta, basil and walnuts and you have a snack that will blow you away.

Baklava. Ask for the Evil Baklava. It differs in that it has a layer of cream cheese, pistachios and some kind of honey that is very herby tasting. One triangle is enough for me!

Deli. Dolmas, hummous, baba ganoush, shawarma and empanadas. Yum. If you are good at the this-item-doesnt-belong game, you probably noticed that empandas do not belong in the rest of the middle eastern offerings. There is a reason for this ...

My favorite thing about Shines is the family that owns it. They are Turkish but lived in Argentina for 25 years, Buenos Aires mostly. The whole family is fluent in Spanish and most often when you step into the distinctly middle eastern shop you will hear nothing but Spanish spoken. If you ever want to know something about Buenos Aires, stop by and ask, the mom can speak at length about every aspect. Be prepared for a complete lesson while you graze.

Shines Deli