1. New In-N-Out burger planned for Dallas
And the biggest story of the year basically has nothing to do with our neighborhood, other than, you know, we like food. In-N-Out opened a store at Central Expressway and Caruth Haven, which turned out to be less of a circus than it had been up in suburbia, where a woman cried over a hamburger.

2. Oak Cliff resident killed in drunken-driving incident
The death of Roy Salinas in June broke many hearts.

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3. Zang Triangle Apartments under construction
The 260-unit Zang Triangle Apartments opened in November. They were the first new apartments built in Oak Cliff since 2000, but many more are planned.

4. Barbecue with a side of heart
This is a Back Story column from Gayla Kokel, whose columns always get tons of hits, about the now-defunct Austin’s Barbecue. It was the year of barbecue in Oak Cliff. Lockhart Smokehouse moved into the old Grill 400 space in February, and I shudder to think what my life was like before. Papa Joe’s Barbecue is still open in Elmwood. But OC Smokehouse nee Luckie’s Smokehouse, is closed.

5. The History of Abel Moreno and family
Yet another awesome column from Gayla Kokel. Did you know the grandma from “The George Lopez Show” grew up in Oak Cliff?

6. The unofficial, incomplete Oak Cliff Valentine’s Day gift guide
No idea why this one got so many hits, but it proves our readers like to shop local, and that is why Oak Cliff is so cool.

7. Dreaming of a light Christmas
This is Gayla Kokel’s December 2011 column about the neighborhood’s most-lavish Christmas house in the 1960s. It would only score about a 2 on the Griswold Scale now, but it was wildly impressive at the time.

8. New furniture, design store to open
This store, 4Love, is one of several new businesses that opened this year in the up-and-coming Tyler Davis District, which now hosts a monthly block party.

9. Adamson Leopardettes pass the baton
Do watch this video about “vintage” Leopardettes who trained current Leopardettes to twirl.

10. Menu announced for Monica Greene’s new concept, Bee
Bee Enchiladería is just one of the many restaurants that opened in our neighborhood this year. Mesa, Bolsa Mercado, Jonathon’s and Campo Modern are a few of the others.