Like its name suggests, My Dream Latin Cuisine at Gaston Avenue and Tucker Street started with, well, a dream.
Co-owner Ivette Ovalle’s mother, Laura, has worked as a waitress for years and always wanted to have her own restaurant. And Ovalle always wanted to make sure her mom, who raised her and her siblings by herself when her father was using drugs, was happy.
Photography by Kathy Tran
“I want to help my mom just like she helped me. She put me through college, put me through school,” says Ovalle, who grew up in East Dallas. “We’re not here for a long time, and I want her to at least take that chance of saying, ‘Hey, I got the opportunity to live my dream.’”
My Dream Latin Cuisine opened in March in place of the previous Mexican restaurant Las Favela that was there before. The restaurant is truly a family project with Ovalle and her brother Antonio on board to make it happen. Chef Salvador Gamón and his brother Hugo head up the kitchen and have years of experience in the restaurant industry. Ovalle takes care of bookkeeping for the restaurant and helps where needed, such as with cleaning and dishwashing with her mom.
“In my career, I learned a lot of different flavors, a lot of different ways to cook,” says Gamón, who most notably worked at Mattito’s for 25 years in multiple roles. “So I was thinking one day, I want to open a restaurant with my own dream recipes, so that’s part of the menu. Every recipe I love to do.”
My Dream Latin Cuisine’s menu has Tex-Mex favorites, like a selection of enchiladas ($6.49-$15.99) served with rice and refried beans. Seafood dishes, including shrimp a la mexicana ($19.99), fire grilled salmon ($20.50) and shrimp chile relleno ($18.99) are also available.
The restaurant serves brunch, not just breakfast tacos and burritos but Berry Good Pancakes with bananas and blueberry yogurt cream ($11.50) and Avocado Dream Toast topped with eggs, queso fresco, tomatoes, chives and brunch potatoes ($12.99).
My Dream’s Instagram announced the addition of a grilled chicken sandwich, bacon cheeseburger and ribeye ranchero.
“We want to provide a menu that has a little bit of everything Latin related,” Ovalle says, adding that the restaurant’s offerings are housemade.
One of her favorites is the Mexican flan ($9).
“I tell (the chef), ‘If I’m ever hungry, and you see me eating flan first, it’s because it’s really good,’” Ovalle says.
The goal is to keep innovating on the menu and have something for everyone, she says.
Gamón has high expectations for himself and his staff as he strives to produce plates made with the best quality possible.
“When I cook, I always try a piece of chicken to see the texture, the flavor. That way, I can sell a good product,” he says. “I feel bad when I sell something I didn’t like.”
The chef also wants the restaurant to be a happy place for employees and customers. Staff should come to work in a good mood and enjoy what they do.
“I have a rule in the kitchen: I want everybody to be friendly,” he says. “I explain to my co-workers, ‘You have to say hi all the time. You have to be positive.’”
Ovalle hopes the locals will give My Dream Latin Cuisine a chance, and she wants to see it grow. She has a vision of the restaurant serving the community, especially the working class who may be too tired after a long day to cook their own meals, and giving back. It was also important to her that the pricing on the menu was affordable for the quality of food being offered.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen unless you risk it,” she says. “We’re risking it, and we hope to be a nice, friendly neighborhood restaurant … the little restaurant at the corner that prepares your meal with love, a cozy place where you can come by and converse with someone, bring a girlfriend or a boyfriend.”
Ovalle admits that opening a restaurant hasn’t been easy. But her mom, who has felt excited and emotional over My Dream opening, says, “Luchar.”
“Which means we’re going to succeed and fight until we can’t anymore,” Ovalle says.
My Dream Latin Cuisine, 7260 Gaston Ave., 214.272.7967, www.mydreamlatincuisine.com
