Cocktails

Could the Bottled Cocktail Trend Return to Dallas This Summer? I Hope So.

Last week, Lauren wrote a blog post covering Jason Kosmas' decision to keg cocktails for Twisted Root, a move that seemed counter to the popular bartender's mission of craft cocktail making. This week Details Magazine points to the same trend on a smaller scale: cocktail bars around the country are ... More >>

How the Whiskey Sour Became a Maligned Cocktail, and How You Can Make a Great One

If you go into a random bar and order a whiskey sour, chances are the drink you receive will be terrible. The sour mix is usually the culprit. A similar pre-made concoction of sugar and artificial flavoring has ruined margaritas and other cocktail classics, mostly because bartenders are under the im ... More >>

"Shake for Second Base" with Ladies Behind Bars at Sissy's on Sunday

Trina Nishimura originally got into bartending for some extra cash during college. It was strictly a means to an end. Then, after graduating for the University of North Texas in Denton, Nishimura got a job doing cartoon voices -- primarily English dubs for Japanese animation. Still looking for that ... More >>

Wait: Isn't Every Week Cocktail Week?

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At the Windmill Last Night, Dallas Bartenders Got Amped for New Orleans' Tales of the Cocktail

Tales of the Cocktail will kick of its tenth year this July in New Orleans, and in addition to drawing professionals from around it's catering specifically to Texas bartenders. Ann Teunnerman, the founder of the growing cocktail gathering, hosted the event. Next she's headed to subsequent events i ... More >>

Texas Craft Cocktail Event Coming to Dallas

Attention all bourbon enthusiasts, gin guzzlers, Manhattan drinkers and budding mixologists: a massive four-day craft cocktails event is coming to Dallas June 14 through June 17; The brainchild of local booze magicians Brian McCullough (Smoke, The Standard Pour) and Nico Ponce (The Chesterfield), th ... More >>

At the Chesterfield, Drinks So Good the Plates Barely Stand a Chance

Reviewing downtown Dallas' much-needed cocktail den.

The Do's and Don'ts of a Good Frozen Margarita

I have a confession. When I first got to Dallas, I wrote a post for National Tequila Day. I said Dallasites could celebrate this holiday with particular fervor because the frozen margarita was invented here. I said we could celebrate the day the margarita died in the city that killed it. I was only ... More >>

Dallas' Five Best Margaritas, in Honor of National Margarita Day

The margarita may be the greatest drink of all time, if only because it almost always comes alongside a free, bottomless basket of chips and salsa. Born out of desperation, the margarita originally provided a way to choke down bad tequila. At some restaurants this still holds true. At others the dri ... More >>

Three Holiday Drink Recipes for the Festive Boozehound in You

FlickrGive your eggnogg a cocoa makeover.​Whitney Filloon, our resident pastry chef/booze correspondent, took the week off from drinking to bring you these winter cocktail ideas. We have her assurances that she was sober when she wrote them. I enjoy a $12 cocktail as much as the next Dallas g ... More >>

The Thyme Bomb, and Other Drinks Worth Sitting for at the People's Last Stand

Bartender Omar, as pictured on the People's Last Stand Facebook page.​Editor's note: Whitney Filloon, a trained pastry chef, is also a trained drinker. She'll occasionally write for City of Ate about cocktails and general booziness. "Tastes like pickles." My shaven-head drinking companion wr ... More >>

A Guy Won $500 Last Night for Drinking a Blue Goose Bartender's One Millionth Margarita

The Blue Goose CantinaJuan Valdez serves up number 1 million.​Last night a bartender at the Blue Goose Cantina on Greenville Avenue reached a milestone that not too many can claim. Juan Valdez, who has worked the there for 25 years, served his one millionth margarita. About 10 minutes after t ... More >>

Digg's Taco Shop: Yeah, We Can Dig It

SMU joint doesn't give cheap eaters the shaft.

Plate Hate: Why Is There a Forest In My Drink?

Scott Reitz​Leslie Brenner's new Best of Guide touts Dallas' top cocktails, complete with a swanky photo spread. One of the shots mirrors an experience I've had enough of. A high ball glass filled with glistening ice and dotted with kumquat slices is topped with not just a sprig of lavender, ... More >>

Spicing up Happy Hour at Malai Thai-Vietnamese Kitchen

​Where: Malai Thai-Vietnamese Kitchen, 3699 McKinney Ave. #319 When: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday , all day Sunday What: $5 specialty cocktails, $5 selected wines, $3 beers Why: Because the post-work happy hour can go boring quickly, going to the same old pub week after week. Since it's been ... More >>

Is Garnishing a Cocktail Gilding the Lily?

If your drink looks like this, have a chat with your bartender.​The wedge of dragon fruit tilted the cocktail placed on the table. And it was annoying. The drink, one of the beverages offered at a tequila cocktail competition this weekend, was lip-smacking good without it. It was gratuitous w ... More >>

Hurry Up and Get a Cheap Marg at Gloria's

​It's been 25 years since the doors of El Salvadorian restaurant Gloria's opened to the public. Tucked away on West Davis Street in Oak Cliff, the tiny eatery served up some mighty tasty, traditional El Salvadorian meals. Twenty five years later, the itty-bitty, family-run business has erupted ... More >>

Done Up With a Buzz On At Beauty Bar

​Quittin' Time is back, bringing you tips on where to get your happy hour drink on -- or not. Where: Beauty Bar, 1924 N. Henderson Ave. When: 5-9 p.m. Monday through Friday What: $10 martini and mini-manicure, $1 off most drinks Why: Because sometimes you just want to feel pretty. Why not tre ... More >>

Tonight: Party with Former Reality TV Stars and Pro Mixologists

​For those of you waiting for the final rose ceremony with the giddy anticipation of a preteen who just got her first copy of Tiger Beat, your dreams are about to come true. Tonight, Brad Womack will choose his dream woman -- or at least a woman who will join him for the morning talk shows ro ... More >>

Nothing to Fear at Fernando's Mexican Cuisine

Keep 'em coming, Fernando.​Like Abba sang, "I was so afraid, Fernando," I feared that the unlimited refills on the complimentary mimosas Fernando's Mexican Cuisine's advertised with its brunch would actually have an unstated limit. But unlike other brunch spots in Dallas that promote bottomles ... More >>

Brace Yourself: Is the Pickle and Booze Fad Headed Our Way?

Chow.comThe poor martini. People just won't leave perfection alone.​I took my martinis with olives until I read The Hour, Bernard DeVoto's classic homage to his favorite drink. According to DeVoto, misguided drinkers put olives in their martinis because "in some desolate childhood hour, someon ... More >>

Jason Kosmas Makes It an Unhappy Hour
For Dallas Drinkers

​As Nancy Nichols reported over at Sidedish yesterday, superstar bartender Jason Kosmas has mixed his last drink at Neighborhood Services Tavern. Kosmas hasn't yet returned my call, but he didn't hint at the reason for his departure when I spoke to him last week. Asked whether he was plannin ... More >>

Rock 'n' Taco Can't Quite Hit the Power Chords

​What do tacos, LED light installations, and douchebags wearing graphic T-shirst all have in common? They were all present Thursday night when we visited the latest addition to the taco joint trend, Rock 'n' Taco. Occupying the space that was once Rocco's Pizza, Rock 'n' Taco is the first res ... More >>

Dallas Celebrates Cinco de Mayo while Rathbun Rolls Out BBQ Mondays and Coal Vine's has a New Brunch Menu

Mattito's Tex-Mex​City of Aters, do you know what this Wednesday is? It's Cinco de Mayo! The only day that you can actually get away with wearing a sombrero while singing "La Bamba" at a karaoke bar. A few Dallas restaurants will be celebrating the Mexican holiday by having a Bob Armstrong queso-e ... More >>

The Sangria-Rita Diaries of Gloria, Buca and Matt

The weather has been pretty great lately, calling for a little patio here, a little frozen slurp there. But it's never a guarantee, so this girl drinker has been grabbing the goods when and where she can get them. I'm not going to say one word about the forecast this weekend for fear of a jinx, but ... More >>

Short Orders: Cuba Libre

​Cuba Libre2822 N. Henderson Ave.214-827-2820If you recall the restaurant's party days, it seems like we'd never get around to calling Cuba Libre and old stalwart.Yet there it is, the grand old kitchen of booming Henderson Avenue. Tristan Simon still owns the place, though he now spends much of hi ... More >>

10 Questions: Abraham Bedell

The Victor Tangos bartender has been at it for just about a decade. In that time he's seen a lot: the rise of hard door clubs and bottle service, the resurgence of old school cocktails, good times and bad. But it's almost as if Bedell was born into the business. The Dallas native started his s ... More >>

Maximo takes a lot of pride in its food. We're not sure why.

10 Questions: Charlie Papaceno

Yeah, so he worked for the A & E network in New York and made commercials in Dallas for years. Big deal--Papaceno's father and uncle owned taverns in New York (the state, not the big city), and he helped out when old enough...meaning at the age of 13, maybe 14. That's when the owner and bar ... More >>

Burning Question: Are Classic Cocktails Back?

The other day we were sitting around contemplating happy hour options when our editor stomped in to remind us of the morning editorial meeting--for which we were apparently quite late.Now, one of this job's few perks is that "reading" magazines counts as research. So we hastily reached for the disca ... More >>

Enchiladame

Deathless Tiki Tacky

Kitsch is cool again at Trader Vic's

Pepto-Bismol

Firehouse hosts an evening of pink

Lucky 13

Almost everything is engaging at Trece

Bottle Tops

Who are the best bartenders in Dallas?

Best Place to Order a Negroni

Meridian Room

Best Creme Brulee

Cuban coffee creme brulee at Cuba Libre

Singapore Sling

Life Is Killing My Rock 'N' Roll (Stinky)

Dram Good

Who are the best bartenders in Dallas?

Shaken and Stirred

Mix things up with the El Tesoro Mixology Tour

Best Martini

The Quarter

Best Cocktail Selection

Spike

Lovely 'Rita

The neat, clean Margarita Ranch needs to let loose a little

Best Bar for Kicking Back

The Meridian Room

Best Late-night Restaurant

Cuba Libre

A Glassware Menagerie

Does the proper glass really matter?

Top Tenders

Who are the best bartenders in Dallas?

All shook up

Doolittle's barely emerges from a martini-induced culinary fog

Hot Dish