Email Author Dave Faries

2009 Stories by Dave Faries

• This Decade Saw Dallas Evolve Into A Major Player On The National Dining Scene

  published December 31, 2009

  Back in the spring of 2001, I sat with a group of friends in the dining room of Cuba Libra. Just about a year ago, I found myself at almost the... More >>

• Jorge's Tex-Mex reaches for the ordinary and beyond in its upscale digs.

  published December 24, 2009

  Tex-Mex establishments usually thrive on the come-as-you-are crowd, drawing from a vast array of jeans and ball caps and, long about brunch on... More >>

• Stephan Pyles is Back in Fine Form -- Again -- With Samar

  published December 17, 2009

  A friend tells me that when she dined at Samar, the waiter was forced to reach around and serve wine from the wrong side—an act... More >>

• Urban Crust: Great Pizza. Great Bar. What More Do You Want?

  published December 10, 2009

  "Where do you want to sit?" the waitress asks as I step inside Urban Crust. It hardly matters, so I shrug in response. The... More >>

• Hacienda On Henderson Has a Small Window And a Great Patio To Get Things Right

  published December 3, 2009

  The people of Dallas love a good patio. But until places such as Dragonfly and Fearing's began sculpting refined enclosures and The... More >>

• Craft, Despite the Economy, Just Keeps Plugging Along With its Simple Style of Minimalist Elegance.

  published November 26, 2009

  Craft is the Forrest Gump of Dallas restaurants. Not that the sophisticated space on the W Hotel's ground floor is in any way... More >>

• Uptown’s Geisha House Offers An On-Again, Off-Again Japanese Dining Experience. Try Going When It’s On-Again.

  published November 19, 2009

  Like so many Asian restaurants, Geisha House sets its tables with disposable wooden chopsticks, the kind you break apart before using. The... More >>

• Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Nose, Hair and Mouth--And That's A Good Thing

  published November 12, 2009

  Smoke is—and isn't—what you think it is. There's barbecue all right, just as the name implies: brisket, ribs, even... More >>

• Chef Tre Wilcox, of Bravo and Food Network Fame, Wants to Make a Celebrity of his Restaurant, LOFT 610

  published November 5, 2009

  Tre Wilcox shrugs off the name recognition gained through appearances on some of television's most popular cooking shows. "My window has... More >>

• Smokin' at C.T.'s Real Deal BBQ

  published October 29, 2009

  Even over the phone, you can feel Corey Toney's smile when he talks about his South Dallas barbecue joint, C.T.'s Real Deal BBQ.... More >>

• York Street Gets It Right by Doing Everything Wrong

  published October 22, 2009

  Sharon Hage went about everything the wrong way when she opened York Street way back in May 2001. Not only was she among the first to... More >>

• In a City of Gaudy Prime Beef Palaces, Dragonfly Has No Problem Laying Claim to "Best Steaks in Dallas."

  published October 15, 2009

  Batman is suspended over the ocean waves with a shark clinging to his leg. Beating the beast on its nose fails to knock the 6-foot monster... More >>

• Good Pizza Makes Good Neighbors at Urbino on Henderson.

  published October 8, 2009

  When David Pedack fires up his rickety ZAP car—a three-wheeled all-electric bug assembled in Hong Kong—and clatters down the street... More >>

• Tea Thyme & Tisane offers a taste of ’70s small-town Texas--and a big helping of 2009 Internet promotion

  published October 1, 2009

  As a kid, my parents subjected our family to a couple different themed meals on a regular basis. One was Dad's weekly catfish and hushpuppies... More >>

• Ah, Espana

  published September 24, 2009

  There's a boundary, a set of criteria, something that delineates those who like appetizers from those who quiver at the mention of... More >>

• The owners of Bolsa are at it again—launching another hot, new restaurant while keeping their demons in check.

  published September 17, 2009

  Anyone who's followed Food Network's Opening Soon, a program documenting the furious ups and downs of bringing a restaurant to life,... More >>

• Numero Eno’s

  published September 17, 2009

  For some reason I can't get over the root beer float at Eno's. I know it's not a difficult thing to make—unless, of... More >>

• A lush patio makes the drive to the iffy neighborhood of Carolina’s Mexican Cuisine’s worth it. And so does the food.

  published September 10, 2009

  There we were, sipping drinks on a lush patio behind some sketchy 7-Eleven when a sudden, sharp spurt of maniacal laughter interrupted our... More >>

• In Park's Kitchen, Prodigal Son Marc Cassel Makes His Return

  published September 3, 2009

  In a famous biblical parable, a son takes his family inheritance and wastes it on riotous living in some distant land, returning home with... More >>

• The Long Good Bye to Lola

  published August 27, 2009

  "It's kinda weird, honestly," chef David Uygur says of the impending closure of a restaurant he's been associated with for seven years. "It's... More >>

• Bella gives a little-known, talented chef a place to shine

  published August 20, 2009

  Everyone is familiar with Dean Fearings and Stephan Pyles and the other big boys of the Dallas dining set, but this year a group of relative... More >>

• Hula Hotties Holds Sway in Oak Cliff

  published August 13, 2009

  They don't mind telling you their story, the basic outline of which involves a graying couple moving from Hawaii to Oak Cliff and setting up a... More >>

• The Dallas Diesel Give Football Has-Beens and Hopefuls One More Shot at the Gridiron

  published August 6, 2009

  "This is bullshit." Normally soft-spoken, at least by defensive lineman standards, Ernie Story may be wired on energy drinks—just... More >>

• Lumi Empanada and Dumpling Kitchen Makes a Fine Case for Walking in Dallas

  published August 6, 2009

  Too bad no one can make it to Lumi. The restaurant is far more interesting than its immediate neighbors, although I say that... More >>

• Cobb Switch Barbecue Knows What’s Important: Meat, Meat, Meat

  published July 30, 2009

  Whatever the dreary setting may do to your psyche, whatever hope may fade at the sight of cellophane-wrapped meat and kitchen staff trotting... More >>