Chef-Owned Restaurant

Mr. Melios, who you will see when you slide through, cooks with love, pride, and professionalism to create joy for his diners. Char Bar spans my entire memory of Greenville Ave. since SMU. In my early years with still a posh suburban sensibility, dragged there by friends in the wee hours of the morning, surrounded by a crowd that might be awake at 3:00 a.m., I was not particularly impressed. What a difference decades later makes, visiting with greater insights, at 3:00 p.m. rather than 3:00 a.m. Now, the even greater layers of patina feel like Dallas history has been richly varnished in place. Char Bar exudes a straightforward honesty that is so rare today. Really inspiring was how good the food was! The grilled cheese with tomatoes and pickles was even better than those at the old Highland Park pharmacy. I asked that the bacon be burned on my BLT— don’t be bashful, the chef smiled, “I will turn up the heat on the griddle.” The chef visited my table and had a satisfied smile when I said I loved it. Here is a chef/owner, after almost 50 years still cares. Never mentioned was the Sept. 22 closing. Expressing my pleasure, he said he always strove for quality and joy that comes from good food. Did I mention a meal at Char Bar costs less than my espresso in the morning? He mentioned his son, a chef, is the general manager of an upscale Dallas restaurant. My father once told me one could not learn to be a farmer in ag school but needed to grow up on a farm. I mentioned in the same way, a restaurant manager needs to grow up in a kitchen. Mr. Melios smiled and said I was exactly right. Greenville Ave. since college was my walking or biking route to SMU. The sparsely attended but raw nightlife made the journey interesting—an open daytime strip club was across the street from The Grape. Greenville Ave evolved, gyrating from bad, better, worse, improved—Char Bar was a buoyant landmark in every era. *Chef-Owned Restaurant
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