Brunch$$east-dallasSun-Wed 11:00-01:00; Thu 11:00-03:00; Fri-Sat 11:00-04:00Until 4am Fri-Sat; 3am Thu; 1am Sun-Wed
Plomo Quesadilla Bar on McMillan Avenue is open until 4am Friday and Saturday, filling the gap between the bar crowd and the breakfast crowd.
Try: Scratch-kitchen quesadillas with Oaxacan cheese
Tip: The mushroom and Oaxacan cheese quesadilla with habanero salsa is the call. The best window is 1-3am when the crowd has cleared.
Middle Eastern$$deep-ellumSun-Thu 11:00-24:00; Fri-Sat 11:00-04:00Until 4am Fri-Sat; midnight Mon-Thu, Sun
Big Guy's Chicken and Rice on Elm Street is the post-bar halal institution in Deep Ellum: Zabihah-certified chicken over saffron rice with white garlic sauce.
Try: Halal chicken over rice with white sauce and hot sauce
Tip: The standard order is the large chicken-over-rice with both white sauce and hot sauce. The line moves fast.
Vietnamese$$east-dallasSun-Thu 11:00-24:00; Fri-Sat 11:00-02:00Until 2am Fri-Sat; midnight Sun-Thu
DaLat on North Fitzhugh serves authentic Vietnamese pho and banh mi until 2am Friday and Saturday with a full bar running Vietnamese-fruit cocktails.
Try: Pho, banh mi, Vietnamese-fruit cocktails
Tip: The pho is the 1am call. The bar's Vietnamese-fruit cocktail menu is the best in East Dallas. Walk in; no reservations. The kitchen matches bar hours exactly.
Cocktail bar$$east-dallasTue-Sun 17:00-02:00Until 2am Tue-Sun; closed Mon
Saint Valentine on Bryan Street is the most sophisticated late-night option in East Dallas: a craft cocktail bar from two veteran Dallas bartenders open.
Try: Caviar hash browns, miso garlic noodles, craft cocktails
Tip: The goose fat-washed Martini with enoki vermouth is the cocktail to order. The miso noodles are the best late-night food on the menu.
New American$$deep-ellumTue-Fri 16:00-02:00, Sat-Sun 14:00-02:00, Mon closedUntil 2am Tue-Sun; closed Mon
Armoury D.E. in the former meatpacking plant on Elm Street serves food until 2am: Hungarian comfort plates, charcuterie, and the Bonnie and Clyde bourbon.
Try: Bonnie and Clyde cocktail; Hungarian comfort bites; boilermakers
Tip: Walk-in only. The back room has live music most weekend nights at no cover. The slivovitz boilermaker is the institutional late drink.
Taqueria$$oak-cliffSun-Thu 10:00-24:00; Fri-Sat 10:00-01:00Until Approx 3am Fri-Sat; midnight weekdaysCash only
Fito's Taco de Trompo on Gaston Avenue is a late-night trompo taco stand where a rotating vertical spit of marinated pork produces $2.30 tacos until the meat.
Try: Trompo (spit-carved pork) tacos, $2.30 each
Tip: Cash only; ATM not nearby. Get there before 1am if you want the full trompo still going.