"For us, we're here. We want to be here for a long run." Gondze Ajro said that to the Dallas Observer about Sorella, the Italian restaurant she and her sister Vjosa Bajraktari opened on Audelia Road this summer. The restaurant soft-opened on Aug. 24 with no marketing campaign and almost no media attention, and the Observer reports that the sisters are fine with that.
Sorella is one of three new places to eat in Lake Highlands this year that took the same approach. The owners either live here or are counting on neighbors to spread the word. The recipes come from family kitchens, and one of the three gets its pastries from other local bakers. Taken together, they now cover a whole day of eating in Lake Highlands, from a 7 a.m. coffee to a $3 slice of pizza at dinner.
Sorella is counting on word of mouth
Sorella sits at 9660 Audelia Road in the Lakeridge Village shopping center. The name means "sister" in Italian. The sisters grew up in Albania and credit their mother's cooking for the standards they hold the kitchen to.
According to the Observer, they chose this part of Dallas because it reminds them of their hometown, where everyone knows each other and news travels by word of mouth. They skipped a big marketing push for the same reason. The Observer reports their view that in Lake Highlands, a few informal recommendations from neighborhood moms can go a long way.
The space is 3,235 square feet. There is a patio out front, an 11-seat white marble bar, tan booths along an exposed brick wall, and floor-to-ceiling windows that fill the room with sun at lunch. As of the Observer's Oct. 12 piece, the menu included:
- Tortellini alla niavola with pancetta and chilis in a light cream sauce, $22. This was the Observer's pick.
- Spicy rigatoni alla vodka with Calabrian chilis, $21, one of the early best-sellers.
- Shrimp alla limone in a lemon and white wine sauce, $26.
- Orecchiette with broccolini and sausage, $22.
- Fettuccine Alfredo, a house specialty, $26.
- Rosemary focaccia, a small table portion for $4. It's one of four focaccias, alongside bruschetta, garlic and parmesan, and zucchini, tomato and ricotta confit.
The Observer says five people spend hours each morning prepping vegetables from local producers, who also supply the meat for the six-hour braised beef and the meatballs. Everything is cooked to order, so some dishes take a little longer to reach the table.
Ghost Pizza brought a 1949 recipe home
Over on Northwest Highway, Frankie Nuccio made a similar choice. The Dallas Morning News reported that Ghost Pizza opened May 27 at 10675 Northwest Highway, Suite 1635, near White Rock Lake, in a space that used to be a pho restaurant.
The recipe is much older than the storefront. Nuccio's father, Joe Nuccio, started the family pizzeria in 1949 on Carroll Avenue. It moved to Preston Royal Village in 1962, and most people called it Pizza by Marco, though its last name was My Family's Pizza. The October 2019 tornado destroyed that location. When Nuccio brought the business back, he opened it in Lake Highlands because that's where he lives. He told the News he hopes his longtime customers will make the 10- to 15-minute drive over from Preston Hollow, "because it'll be worth it."
D Magazine describes the pizza as St. Louis-adjacent. The crust is thin but sturdy, only the outer edge turns cracker-crunchy, and many pies are topped with provolone. Some of the menu dates back to the Preston Hollow original:
The Augustus: olive oil base, provolone, feta, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach The Caligula: alfredo base, chicken, garlic, spinach The Maximus: marinara base, four kinds of meat, vegetables, two kinds of olives
D Magazine also recommends the toasted ravioli, which are fried in beef tallow and filled with ricotta. Pricing as of D Magazine's August review:
| Order | Price |
|---|---|
| Single slice | $3 |
| 10-inch pie | from $9.99 |
| 14-inch pie | $2 to $4 more than the 10-inch |
| Wine | BYOB |
Nuccio explains the name on the menu cover. According to D Magazine, he says he kept hearing his family whisper, "start a new pizza place, people miss it." The name fits even better on the Saturday this post comes out, since it's Halloween.
Vector's breakfast menu is stocked by local bakers
Sorella's sisters and Nuccio both opened restaurants. Vector Brewing took an existing taproom and added a morning. The brewery at 9850 Walnut Hill Lane, Suite 405, launched Vector Brewing AM in late July, as the Lake Highlands Advocate reported.
Much of the pastry case comes from other local businesses. The Advocate lists cinnamon rolls from Salt Sweets for $4.50, kolaches for $2.50 and klobasneks for $3 from Hummingbird Bakery, and rotating seasonal pastries from La Casita Bakeshop. The avocado toast is served on La Casita sourdough, and the Brekky Sando comes on La Casita focaccia. Salt Sweets is the same Lake Highlands bakery the Advocate profiled in June. All the coffee is made with beans from Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters.
Prices at the July launch:
- Brekky Sando: folded eggs, bacon, provolone, pepper aioli, tomato and spinach, $7. It can be ordered without bacon.
- Fowl Habit: jalapeño cheddar biscuit, fried chicken, sausage cream gravy and Hot Glitter Honey, $7.
- Chilaquiles: scrambled eggs, pico de gallo, morita pepper salsa and whipped avocado, $8.
- Cereal Milk Latte: Froot Loops-infused steamed milk, $5.50.
- Oscurajillo: Jarritos orange soda and cold brew, $6.
Vector's own page says prices can change with ingredient availability. The schedule matters more than the prices, though. Breakfast is served Tuesday through Sunday from 7 to 11 a.m. On Tuesday through Thursday it's pastries and grab-and-go items only. The full breakfast menu runs Friday through Sunday.
How the week lines up
Since each place keeps its own schedule, it helps to see them side by side. Vector and Sorella's hours come from the brewery's site and the Observer. Ghost Pizza hasn't posted hours on its own pages, so check before you go.
| Day | Vector Brewing AM | Sorella | Ghost Pizza |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | No breakfast service | Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., café from 9:30 a.m. | Check before going |
| Tuesday | Pastries and grab-and-go, 7 to 11 a.m. | Closed | Check before going |
| Wednesday, Thursday | Pastries and grab-and-go, 7 to 11 a.m. | Open | Check before going |
| Friday through Sunday | Full breakfast, 7 to 11 a.m. | Open | Check before going |
From Friday through Sunday, Vector serves its full breakfast and Sorella is open all day. Here's one way to spend Saturday, Oct. 31:
- 7 a.m. at Vector on Walnut Hill. Get the chilaquiles or a Fowl Habit biscuit with a Noble Coyote cortado. Full breakfast ends at 11.
- Late morning at Sorella on Audelia. The café counter opens at 9:30 a.m. for espresso, lattes and cappuccinos. If the weather's nice, the patio is a good spot to linger.
- Dinner from Ghost Pizza on Northwest Highway. Pick up a 14-inch Maximus and toasted ravioli for the house. Online orders through Ghost's Toast page are pickup only.
If you'd rather eat dinner at Sorella, the dining room is open until 9 p.m. Bring an appetite for focaccia.
What Sorella hasn't rolled out yet
Sorella is still filling in pieces. On Oct. 12, the Observer reported that grab-and-go pastries and sandwiches on house-baked focaccia were "set to roll out soon" at the café counter. Vjosa, who is also an artist, plans to hang her paintings in the dining room, and the sisters are working on a signature cocktail to go with drinks like the Sicilian margarita, which is made with amaretto. The Observer notes that a grand opening and menu specials may take a while, since the sisters want to get each dish right first.
When the focaccia sandwiches arrive, Sorella's café will overlap with Vector's weekday grab-and-go window. That will give Lake Highlands two morning counters stocked with bread baked in the neighborhood.
If you've already found your Sorella order or your Ghost Pizza slice, we'd love to hear about it. And if a move within Lake Highlands is on your mind, we can help with that too. Evelyn Escuadra and our team know this corner of northeast Dallas by its neighborhood spots, and we'll walk you through every step in English or Spanish. Schedule a free home valuation and we'll start with a coffee.
