Potpourri of Silk (Photo by Kathy Tran)

This must be the best $8 sandwich in Oak Cliff: Meats brined and roasted in house, fresh-baked pain de mie, house-made aioli. Some neighborhood restaurants charge nearly twice that for such a sandwich. But Potpourri of Silk, the tearoom and bakery on Zang at Eighth, keeps prices down because it has low overhead. That is, its owners got in early on Oak Cliff real estate. Cris Barreiro was an art director at the Baylor College of Dentistry when her first son was born in the early ’90s. She quit her job and started a business out of her home baking and decorating cakes for weddings and quinceañeras. The business did so well that in 1996, she and her husband, structural engineer Tino, bought the former house on Zang as a kitchen and showroom for the cake business. She ran it quietly there for 19 years until her son’s culinary career brought them into a family partnership recently. Andres Barreiro graduated from culinary school a couple of years ago. He did stints in the kitchens of Bolsa and Boulevardier, but he really wanted to work in France. Cris suggested moving first to Montreal, where the Barreiros have family. So Andres spent a few months living and working in French Canada before returning home to apply for Canadian work papers. But then Cris and Tino offered to renovate the kitchen at Potpourri of Silk and expand the business with Andres as chef and his brother, Estevan, as manager. In Montreal, Andres loved the mom-and-pop bakeries and sandwich shops, each one unique. “We don’t really have anything like that here,” he says. “We want to do fun things. Things that are a little different. Things no one else is doing.” The everyday menu features four sandwiches, including a vegetarian option with house-made cucumber pickles, cream-cheese aioli and spinach. There’s also a soup every day, cookies, muffins, cupcakes and bakery specials including mini brioche, Montreal-style bagels, scones, Paris-Brest and chocolate tarts. The café offers Cavallini coffee and tea and Lavazza espresso.

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Potpourri of Silk
317 N. Zang
214.941.9941
potpourriofsilk.com

Ambiance:
Bakery and tearoom

Price range:
$4-$8

Hours:
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday

Did you know?
Cris Barreiro says she owes much of her business success to her biggest supporter, her mother, Tilita Rocha, who died two years ago.

Three more spots for sweets and sandwiches

Cretia’s
Cretia Drydale is another baker-turned-restaurateur. She expanded her original tearoom and bakery in Duncanville to a couple of Dallas locations before renovating a Bishop Arts District building for her bakery/restaurant/bar.
228 W. Davis
214.942.9887
cretias.com

Kessler Pie Co.
This upstart from longtime Oak Cliff resident Amida Ortega offers custom-made pies and tarts. Order at least 24 hours in advance and pick up your pie at noon on the day you want it. A best seller is the BBCC 214, a graham cracker crust topped with fluffy cream cheese and sweetened blueberries.
2414 Sunset
469.877.6800
kesslerpieco.com

Parker Barrow’s Drafthouse and Deli
This new place in Bishop Arts offers New York-style deli sandwiches, including house-made pastrami and potato chips, plus local beer on tap.
344 W. Davis