The flavors really sing at irresistible Hot Joy in Dallas

Think quick: Outside of the ’90s station on satellite radio, when was the last time you heard Cypress Hill’s “Insane in the Brain”?

Or, even better, when was the last time you ate Chinese food while the song’s screeching yet weirdly buoyant riff played in the background?

For me, that’s an easy answer. It was last weekend at Hot Joy, the new Dallas location of the San Antonio cult-favorite. Show me a more accurate name for a restaurant, and I’ll buy you an order of cheeseburger spring rolls.

Never mind. If it means I can go back sometime soon, I’ll buy you anything you like.

Founder and owner Chad Carey launched this globally influenced concept in 2014 in the Alamo City’s Southside, and was rewarded with a spot that year on Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants in America list. In a partnership with Dallas’s Front Burner Restaurants (Velvet Taco, Whiskey Cake), Carey has brought the restaurant to Dallas, in the shadow of the West Village, for a two-year run.

Even the tagline on the restaurant’s Dallas website says “Here for a good time, not for a long time.” Sure, think of it as an extended pop-up if you like, but wouldn’t it be great if it stuck around?

Because where else can you find cheeseburger spring rolls; soba noodles plied with luscious ground brisket; and chicken wings rolled in crispy rice and dipped in crab paste, fish sauce and caramel — all served underneath a kitschy dragon mobile in a cheekily festooned, cavernous former steakhouse?

Expertly toeing a line that skews Asian but with Hawaiian, Indian and Southern U.S. influences, the menu is compact yet satisfying. For dinner, start with an order of those spring rolls ($10.99), four pieces of fried pockets, filled with a flattened cheeseburger patty that’s stuffed with kimchi. Served alongside a ranch sauce described as the “Coolest,” it’s a taste sensation that could have struck as unctuous but instead had me closing my eyes in bliss.

If you’ve ever ordered an In-N-Out burger “animal-style,” the comparison came to mind, with the rolls yielding a mustardy, sweet and meaty refrain.

Speaking of, it was not a coincidence, in my mind, that Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby,” my favorite in her oeuvre, chose to magically rain down from the speakers.

It was notable because we began to eat an order of crab-fat caramel wings — or rather began to fight our son for a taste of the six glistening specimens ($12.99. The way he tore into the juicy meat, the crispy skin redolent of the nuoc cham — a condiment made from fish sauce — at once surprised us and took my breath away.He turned 10 this week, but he’ll always be my baby.

With bikini season almost history, yet Will Smith’s “Summertime” revving up, we perfectly timed our order, taking on some of the heaviest fare on the menu.

The smoked brisket dan dan ($14.99) was a tangle of soba noodles, mixed with pieces of brisket that were so tender they pebbled apart. Topped with cotija cheese, pickled cabbage, peanuts and cilantro, the dish was not unlike lasagna with meat sauce. Supple, soft noodles, slightly salty cheese, a crunch from the nuts.

If the sticky pork ribs ($16.99) took the meal down to a more pedestrian level, it’s only because the bar for the previous food had been so high. Despite being doused with enough Gochujang sauce to start a rift between lovers and fighters of the spicy, fermented Korean condiment, the ribs were messy and overglazed. Before wet naps were deposited on the table, it was virtually impossible to “Jump, Jump” when that song took hold.

Fortunately, by the time the “I Will Always Love You” came on (Whitney’s version), things at the table had righted course. A Japanese strawberry shortcake ($4.99) will usually do that. This version, served in an ironic porcelain to-go box, had planks of white cake sharing space with yuzu curd, vanilla cream and a strawberry shiso crumble. Not overly sweet but smooth and rich, the dessert hit all the right notes.

This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 8:57 AM with the headline "The flavors really sing at irresistible Hot Joy in Dallas."