Hash Over

Cafe space resurrected
After lying vacant for several months, the building that was once home to Coco Pazzo Cafe in Addison will open as a restaurant featuring South American cuisine September 1. The venue, tentatively named South Forks Grill, is undergoing some light reconstruction. "Sfuzzi's had a beautiful restaurant. Then Coco Pazzo came and did a lot of things for the worse," says South Forks co-owner Salim Asrawi, a onetime partner in Cabaret Royale Restaurant & Bar on Composite Drive near Stemmons Freeway. "We're going to give it a new look, use what we have to make it nicer." No word on chefs or the menu.

Hash seasonings
Chamberlain's Prime Chop House in Addison is scouting Dallas for a second location. One space the acclaimed steak hovel is sniffing out is the former NorthSouth digs in the Quadrangle...Dallas' Empire Baking Co., Eatzi's, Ali Baba Cafe, and Daddy Jack's Lobster & Chowder House hit the Dallas-Fort Worth Top 10 in Zagat's latest "Best Meal Deals" survey. Evaluated on a 30-point scale, the survey ranked the best food values in 35 cities. The top five D/FW slots were dominated by non-Dallas restaurants: North Main BBQ in Euless; Michael's in Fort Worth (both tied with Empire, which garnered a rating of 26, the highest in Dallas); and Piccolo Mondo in Arlington (rating 25). Eatzi's, Ali Baba, and Daddy Jack's all scored 24.

List watch
Fall Creek Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country announced the release of a super premium red wine dubbed Meritus, a blend of Merlot (54 percent), Cabernet Sauvignon (40 percent), and Melbec (6 percent). With a limited production of 892 six-bottle cases, Meritus will be priced around $30 retail...Texas' newest winery opened over the July Fourth holiday: Poteet Country Winery, located in Poteet, the strawberry capital of the state. Poteet produces table wines made from the mustang grape--the dominant native wild grape of Texas that produces, often with the addition of sugar during the winemaking process, a tolerable red wine--as well as fruit wines from strawberries and blackberries. The winery will also produce jams and jellies. Poteet brings the number of wineries in Texas to 28.

--Mark Stuertz

E-mail Mark Stuertz at markstz@juno.com.