El Vecino

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6345 Lakeshore Dr. | $1,300,000 5629 Santa Fe Ave. | $635,000

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8555 Santa Clara | $2,000,000

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6234 Velasco Ave. | $1,200,000

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RESTAURANT GUIDE

6300 Skillman #156 thaiopal.com 214.553.5956

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JOHN MCBRIDE GREW UP IN THE MEXICAN RESTAURANT

INDUSTRY. El Vecino, his latest venture in our neighborhood, is only the most recent in a long line of family successes.

McBride’s great-grandfather was El Fenix founder Miguel Martinez. Well-versed in Tex-Mex cuisine, McBride worked in New York for 15 years operating Rosa Mexicana, where he met chef Carlos “Charley” Cid in 1991.

Cid and McBride have been joined at the hip since.

When John returned to Dallas in 2004 to rejoin El Fenix, Cid came with him. Later, Cid ran the neighborhood restaurant The Lot with McBride.

When The Lot closed after its building was sold to a real estate developer, McBride had his eye on White Rock Shopping Center at

El cuenco from El Vecino comes with black beans, avocado and spinach-poblano rice.

Northcliff and Buckner, with the idea of starting a Mexican restaurant there.

“I always knew I wanted to get back into the Mexican food business,” he says. “It’s a superloyal neighborhood that’s been wanting places for a long time.”

In 2017, El Vecino opened its doors with Kim McBride, John’s wife, running the restaurant and Cid in the kitchen.

Their aim for the environment was “Mexican comfortable,” which is also reflected in the food they offer.

The menu boasts a mix of modern Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican food. There are traditional dishes such as cochinita pibil and classic Tex-Mex staples, such as six types of enchiladas. Contemporary twists also are available, such as the lasana Mexicana de pollo, an inventive Mexican-style lasagna. Many menu items are an ode to McBride’s time at Rosa Mexicana. El Vecino’s personal touches are impossible to miss. Kim McBride seasonally changes out a wreath in front of every booth. The menu features a favoritos de la familia section, where each member of the McBride family (as well as Cid) presents one of their personal favorites. Brightly colored oil cloth lines the booths, and giant letters that spell “Hola!” on the wall are inside the front door.

“When you walk in you feel happy automatically, and you feel fantastic when you walk out,” Kim McBride says.

El Vecino, 718 N. Buckner Blvd., 469.802.6060, elvecinotexmex.com

HER LEGACY LIVES ON

HOW ROBOTICS TEAMS PERSISTED AFTER THEIR TEACHER’S DEATH

Story by NATALIE RODRIGUEZ | Photography by SYLVIA ELZAFON

It all started in spring 2012 with a little robotics activity in a Robert T. Hill Middle School science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) class. Girls and boys in Eliana Tseng’s STEM class got to experiment with robotics equipment during their spare time. Students became very interested, and it took no time to evolve into a club.They originally met after school, but Tseng became aware that many kids were involved in sports and other clubs that occurred during that time. She asked her Robotics Club members if they would be willing to meet before school so students would be able to enjoy other clubs and athletics, too. They decided to meet every weekday, bright and early, at 6:30 a.m.

It wasn’t long before the club took off and made amazing progress. The robotics teams would later make it to state, national and world competitions. In 2014, after making it to the VEX Robotics Worlds Competition two years in a row, she was able to make Robotics Club into an official class elective, so students could work on robots during class.

This past January, students and staff of Hill Middle School were deeply affected by the death of Tseng, who taught at Hill for 13 years, beginning in fall 2009. She was an inspiration to many students and holds a special place in everyone’s heart.

One of her greatest (and many) accomplishments at Hill was the STEM/robotics program. She started it in 2012, receiving grants from various donors, and worked diligently to create a suitable technologydriven opportunity for Hill students. Tseng’s passion for STEM/robotics is shown by the more than 40 trophies won in her almost 10 years as head of the school’s STEM program.

Along with teaching both STEM and robotics classes, she conducted tests, challenges and interviews for incoming students interested in joining. Her requirements for the program included having an 80 average or above in all classes, volunteering for school-related activities and competing in at least one academic competition. She pushed students to their full potential, which is what made the STEM program so prestigious.

To recruit students, Tseng would go to elementary schools and demonstrate activities that STEM students got to do if they joined. This included activities related to robotics, field trips to NASA and opportunities to meet professionals in the field. Another focus for Tseng was to recruit female students. As a woman in the STEM field herself, it was personally important to invite girls to join and

expand their knowledge on science and technology and provide a bright future for women in STEM.

During the 2020-21 school year, it’s easy to imagine how hard it was to achieve everything with half of her students at home. But Tseng still made it work. She met with at-home students regularly on Zoom and discussed what they were going to do and how they could still help the team. Despite all obstacles, the teams still made it to both the state and world competitions, even winning an award at VEX Worlds.

Her death was a shock to the entire school and has been difficult to overcome, but her Robotics Club students did not let that stop them from participating in competitions because that’s what Tseng would’ve wanted. The biggest obstacle isn’t the drive to compete, but who will sponsor it? Since Tseng was the only STEM/robotics teacher, there was no one who knew the program’s ins and outs. No one on campus knew how to plan and keep track of events. Who was going to lead and guide now?

But the students and staff at Hill came together in honor of Tseng and have persevered, thanks to several teachers jumping in to help.

Hill Middle School is going to keep Tseng’s legacy and the STEM program going. It is in the process of hiring a new teacher, and currently interviewing incoming students interested in STEM and robotics. Current students and teachers are working together to make this happen.

Despite all of this, several teams have made accomplishments in competitions this year. Teams 505B (eighth-grade girls) and 505C (eighth-grade boys) made it to the national competition, and team 505T (seventh-grade girls) made it to the VEX Robotics Worlds competition for the 202122 school year.

The robotics teams will continue to win — not for themselves, but for Tseng.

Natalie Rodriguez is an eighth-grader and STEM/Robotics Club member at Hill Middle School.

CONNECTING CREATIVELY

How volunteers help seniors with cognitive impairment at Juliette Fowler

Story by RENEE UMSTED | Photos courtesy of ARTFUL AWAKENINGS

THE ARTFUL AWAKENINGS PROGRAM

at Juliette Fowler Communities stood out to Caroline Hardin because of her love for her grandparents.

Fowler residents who have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease are eligible for the program, which is held weekly. Volunteers from the Junior League of Dallas create art activities for anywhere from five to nine residents and then visit the East Dallas facility to walk the residents through the projects.

Hardin, a 28-year-old Dallas native who lives in the Knox/Henderson area, joined the Junior League about two years ago. Her mother is also a member, and she encouraged her to get involved to become more active in the community. She had moved back to Dallas from New York in 2019 and wanted to expand her network.

Artful Awakenings has been going on for about five years, with about 50 residents having participated, but Hardin became involved with the program in August 2021.

She was already familiar with Fowler, where she had volunteered growing up as a member of Northway Christian Church.

“I wanted to get involved with an organization that I was already kind of familiar with and would kind of tie back into my church’s network,” Hardin says.

The program would allow Hardin to spend time with seniors, an activity she thought she would enjoy because of the cherished memories hanging out with her own grandmother. Hardin also had experience working in the art industry, including at the Art Basel art fair and at Sotheby’s.

Art projects are planned so they’re easy for the residents to create, and Hardin says they’re mostly assembly. The teachers have an example displayed for the residents, and they often use templates. Earlier on, the plans were more complex, but the volunteers learned to make the instructions simple and straightforward.

One day, the volunteers helped the residents make bluebonnets. The stems were already drawn, and residents finger-painted the petals and added stickers.

“If it’s too abstract, then the residents get frustrated, and it defeats the purpose of the class, which is to calm them down and get everyone socializing during the sundowning hour,” Hardin says.

Her grandfather had dementia, and sometimes he would become grouchy, which wasn’t in line with his personality. That experience led her to have additional compassion for the Fowler residents, who occasionally make offensive remarks as a result of their cognitive impairment.

Nicole Gann, the president and CEO of Juliette Fowler Communities, has seen the residents’ quality of life improve through the program. Art helps them connect and engage with each other, Gann says, rather than withdrawing from society because of embarrassment or they realize they can’t communicate the same way.

“Connection cannot be underemphasized,” Gann says. “That is just the importance of it, is the connection and being together and accessing things that made them who they were and who they still are.”

Fowler is the only certified I’m Still Here Center for Excellence in Dementia Care in North Texas. The engagement-focused program connects people with memory loss through abilities that don’t diminish over time, and it is used to train caregivers, volunteers and residents’ families.

When the program was first implemented, there were concerns that some people would be frustrated or struggle to learn how to communicate with the residents, but Gann says the issues weren’t too much because everyone was so “like-minded.”

“I think that’s probably been the greatest gift that the programming has given to us — just a quicker, more refined way to help people be in community with the residents we serve,” Gann says.

The art helps residents to tell their stories and access memories, even if a particular instance isn’t visible to someone who views the finished product.

“They’re telling that story through the actual activity of the art, through the painting or through the crafting and through that conversation,” Gann says.

Sometimes colors in the art remind residents of gardens they used to grow, and then they’ll share stories related to that memory. Or maybe blue paint on the page reminds them of when they used to be a lifeguard or enjoyed swimming.

“You never know what color or what activity is going to spark that memory, but then it does, and it’s revealed to these volunteers and to our team through the simple act of being together,” Gann says. “But it’s another way that validates that they are still here.”