Brinker International Inc.

Houston-based Ignite Restaurant Group Buys Romano's Macaroni Grill

Dallas restaurateur Phil Romano opened the first Macaroni Grill in 1988 and thus began the schooling of waiters around the country on how to write their name upside down. (That was a thing the waiters once did there. Not sure exactly why, but people seemed to like it.) In 1989, just a year after op ... More >>

Chili's To Improve Conditions For Pigs, But They're Not In A Hurry To Do It

Dallas-based Brinker International has joined a growing list of restaurants that have pledged to improve conditions for pigs in their supply chain. The group owns Chili's, which is responsible for 1,500 casual restaurants known for their baby back ribs. The new policy also applies to Maggiano's and ... More >>

A New Species Of Mouse Lemur? Thanks, Life.

ABB: Always Be Baldwin

One Day Before Winspear Event, Jamie Foxx Cancels Due to Work on Tarantino Movie

​The AT&T Performing Arts Center is about to send out a formal release, but long story short: Jamie Foxx isn't coming to the Winspear Opera House tomorrow night after all. The Terrell native was supposed to take part in the Brinker International Forum, for a Q&A hosted by none other than G ... More >>

AT&T PAC Vows to Find "Inspirational" Replacement for Now No-Show Jamie Foxx

​Over on Unfair Park I just posted the note that Jamie Foxx's Brinker International Forum appearance at the Winspear, which was scheduled for tomorrow night, is now a no-go. The reason: Something to do with his inability to get away from the set of Django Unchained, the new Quentin Tarantino movie ... More >>

Really, We Have to Wait a Whole Year Till Modern Family Cast Comes to Brinker Forum?

Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet will be at the Winspear in April​Mixmaster Merritt has posted the lineup for next season's TITAS performances, which will be spread across the Winspear and Wyly beginning September 1. Here, we bring you the roster for next season's Brinker Inte ... More >>

Chili Challenge: Tolbert's Restaurant vs. Chili's

Photo by Steven DoyleHold the baby backs; give us a bowl of red.​Sitting in traffic when it is 105 degrees outside takes a toll on a person's spirit. The heat in Dallas seems worse each year, but we are Texans, and we can handle a little weather. August was just as hot in the 19th century whe ... More >>

Good Godfather! Al Pacino's Bringing a Greatest-Hits One-Man Show to AT&TPAC in November.

​Maria May at the AT&T Performing Arts Center just sent over a release announcing the 2010-'11 seasons of the Brinker International Forum, TITAS and JAZZ ROOTS -- quite the trifecta, especially when you look at the roster for the Brinker International Forum. The whole kit, along with the atten ... More >>

Norman Brinker, Dead at 78

Kristina BowmanThe News is reporting that Norman Brinker died this morning while on vacation in Colorado Springs; he turned 78 last Wednesday. Brinker, of course, is the Colorado-born chairman emeritus of Brinker International -- and the man who, in 1984, took Larry Lavine's Chili's concept public; ... More >>

Food For Thought 3.27.09

"At Brinker, we hold the utmost respect for the litigation system; however, we are disappointed in the jury's decision and plan to appeal. We remain steadfast in our belief of the merits of our case." (a spokeswoman for Brinker International Inc. on a federal jury verdict this week awarding $270,00 ... More >>

Chewing the Fat: Servers Split $270k Tip Pool

Think your server deserved a good tip? How 'bout the manager back there chatting up that cute trainee all night? Or the chef who overcooked your burger? The question of who gets a hand on your tip dollars just cost Dallas-based Brinker International a good $270,000. The company behind Chili's and Ma ... More >>

Southwest Airlines Ties FedEx as Seventh Most-Admired Company in ... the World!

Courtesy Southwest AirlinesFortune just posted its list of the World's Most Admired Companies -- at least, admired by the other bidness folks surveyed by the magazine. Five Dallas-based companies made the list of 363, and they are, in alphabetical order: AT&T, Brinker International, Centex, Sout ... More >>

Even in a Lousy Economy, Brinker Finds Someone to Buy Macaroni Grill

And then there were three. Eleven days after analysts predicted Brinker International would indeed unload Romano's Macaroni Grill despite the lousy credit market, it's happened -- for about $88 million, which doesn't seem like a lot of pasta for a chain with some 220 eateries worldwide (as in, Egypt ... More >>

On the Brinker: Taking Stock of Fast Casual, Before the Grill's Closed

Things haven't been good in the fast-casual dining business for a long while, as the slowdown in the semi-fancy burger biz started well before The Artist Formerly Known as the Economy went into the crapper -- right, Bennigan's? Today, CFO magazine looks to see what's on the menu in coming months -- ... More >>

A Swanky Replacement: Brooke Shields?

For the second time in three months, the Brinker International Forum has had to swap out celebrity guests -- once again because of a "scheduling conflict." (Do these people not have calendars? Or assistants with calendars?) After already getting a two-for-one deal in September, when Carl Reiner ... More >>

Hash Over: Pappas Alumni Return And A Cougar Hunter Branches Out

The old Rick Stein's, soon to be the new Tre Amici. Every so often the planets slip completely out of alignment and all kinds of improbable things occur. Just yesterday, for example, Judd Fruia said of his soon-to-open Tre Amici restaurant in North Dallas, “the wine list is too big—I have to ... More >>

Oh So Swank

The award-winning actress discusses her roles

PETA's Stopping By For a Bite at Brinker Shareholder Shindig Tomorrow

That Ain't Cartwright, Hoss: Bonanza Chain Might Meat its Maker

Going Dow, Dow, Down: Localizing the Stock Market Plunge

Taking Stock: Not a Good Time for "Fast Casual" or Casual Furniture Biz

Reiner, Short & Brinker: Not a Law Firm, But a Love Fest

Free Carl Reiner! Wherein We Talk to the Legend and Give Away Tickets.

Win, Win: Brinker Forum Swaps John Travolta for Carl Reiner, Martin Short

Worst Restaurant Ever? Chilabee's.

Folks Sue Brinker, Claiming Its Guiltless Food Is a Little Too Guilty

First the Stock's Downgraded. Then, Some Chili's Abruptly Close.

A Big and Busy Week for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Now PETA's Chokin' the Chicken at Brinker International

Cooling on Chili's

Fly the Gay-Friendly Skies

On the Brinker

Nancy Brinker Gets 21 News Jobs, Rolled into One Very Fancy Title

Deck Chair Reshuffle?

New life for the West End? You just gotta believe.

West End Butcher

Gimme Moore

She turns the world on with her smile

Everybody Loves Romano

How can Phil Romano, the "Steven Spielberg of the food business," become even more successful? By opening more restaurants, making more money--and feeding the homeless.

Does a Bear Shop in the Woods?

Don't get malled. This year, do your business al fresco.

Food Fight?

Rumors circulate around the departure of George Papadopoulos from Voltaire

Big Bore

Big Bowl just needs a little order

On Their Noodle

Rice Boxx Asian Café

Hash Over

Zagat 2000; Mixed Hash

Texas shtick

Love & War in Texas sounds more like a movie than a restaurant. Either way, it's an epic of indulgence.

Big glossies and big platters

Maggiano's is more photo finish than finished food

Almost home-cooking

Bon Vivant Market avoids Eatzi's flaws, but doesn't have its zest

Sweet ode to convoy grub

But Truckers grinds the breakfast gears

Buzz

Well done

In a business where being good often isn't enough, who will survive 1997?

Jewel of the north

Maxine's in Far North Dallas serves a unique gorgonzola, raisin, and spinach pizza