Subject: Food and Cooking

• Veggie Guy: Vegan Chocolate Confections

  ​Chocolate--that's my kryptonite. Nothing makes me weaker in the knees than feasting on a chocolate dessert after dinner! My ancestors sure knew what they were doing by using the magical cacao bean as currency back in the day. But so many Dallas confectioners bastardize their chocolate creations by incorporating dairy, eggs, and other animal-based ingredients. No, thanks! So where CAN vegans find chocolaty happy endings in Dallas? Well--let's take a tour of Dallas' vegan dessert scene. Cos

  September 10, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Why I Hate The 'Mixology' Trend

  ​Nothing against Victor Tangos. Their bartenders make very good cocktails and they steadfastly--last I checked--refuse to use the word "mixologist." Their drink recipes, however, require precise measurements. Even though they wield this precision to create updated versions of the fizz, the Champagne cocktail and other classics, this puts them in the same league as those despised professionals mixing an ounce of pomegranate and two ounces of organic cane sugar syrup with...you know how it goes.

  September 11, 2009

• Why Blame The Food?

  ​I think it was last week when I came across an AP story detailing the efforts of the San Antonio Restaurant Association to encourage healthier cooking at the city's Tex-Mex and Mexican eateries. Seems the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed San Antonio behind only Detroit, Memphis and Martinsburg, West Virginia, in terms of obesity percentage.Not very pretty company.Obviously there's nothing wrong with healthy dishes. And any effort to educate a population on the joys of the foo

  September 14, 2009

• Mix-Mex: A Quick Tour Of Newly Opened Mexican Venues

  ​We Texans love our "Mexican" food. That is, we love flour tortillas filled with breast meat and corn chips dipped in processed cheese. Who wouldn't? Except, as we all know, that's not really Mexican, now is it? (And sometimes, as our own Chris Meesey would point out, the concoctions we adore aren't even really Tex-Mex.) At any rate, several restaurants--new and not-so-new--are tempting those willing to step away from the comfort of the combo plate. From Central American home cooking to

  September 15, 2009

• Veggie Guy: Good 2 Go Taco

  ​Omnivores often ask me why I've chosen to live a vegan lifestyle in Dallas. They're always trying to ship me off to some other city like Austin. But why would I wanna leave? I love Dallas. Plus, vegans shouldn't have to relocate just because another place might seem more fitting. I mean, we don't suggest our steak-eating pals pack up and move to Argentina, do we? Well, at least not to their faces. But the best part about staying the course in Dallas is that veganism here is still such a fre

  September 15, 2009

• On The Range: Migas

  PedroserafinA Spanish version of migas.​On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items.Eggs, tortilla strips, onions, chiles, and cheese. Or bread, oil & vinegar, spinach, alfalfa, and....licorice flavoring?? Believe it or not, these are some of the raw ingredients of two classic versions of that breakfast staple, migas. You are, no doubt, familiar with the Tex-Mex incarnation of the dish, which is yet another rendition of eggs and is quite similar in com

  September 16, 2009

• Numero Eno’s

  September 17, 2009

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

  September 17, 2009

• Grapevine Uncorked

  September 17, 2009

• Veggie Guy: Dream Cafe, Addison

  ​Back when I first went veg, I was living in some douchey apartment in Addison. The place itself was fine, but I couldn't stand all those McFestivals the town of Addison would hold right outside of my building. I remember fighting crowds just to get into the parking garage, then having to deal with scores of drunken fools chugging beers in my hallway. I got the hell out as soon as I could. But I have to admit, I sometimes do miss living in Addison. I kinda liked all the free concerts (even t

  September 17, 2009

• And The Winner Is...

  Pepperidge Farm sent two boxes of crackers to my office. Wilonsky saw them and ran over to Jimmy's, returning with some cured meat and a hunk of cheese. My desk is now covered by crumbs, two empty boxes, white wrapping paper of the kind you find at, oh, an Italian shop selling salami, and a dirty knife which someone probably expects me to clean.And he apparently used my notes for one of next week's posts as a cutting board. Anyway, so much for this week's prize.Now on to the non-winners:Respondi

  September 18, 2009

• Ah, Espana

  September 24, 2009

• Jen's Place Bakery & Cafe

  September 24, 2009

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

  October 2, 2009

• Short Orders: Thai Chili

  Anselm27The bustling sidewalks of Las Colinas.​Thai Chili397 Las Colinas Blvd. E, Irving972-831-0797All those self-sustaining, walkable neighborhoods built, or to be built, in the DFW area are supposed to make the city seem somehow, well, like a real city. But one of the original and most European developments languishes.Oh, the apartments are doing fine, as far as I know. And those glass office towers still cling to tenants, presumably. But the colony along Las Colinas' canal system have a di

  October 5, 2009

• What's The Point Of A Meatless Life?

  ​Last week's mini-tempest raised by Veggie Guy Eddie Garza's visit to the state fair was fascinating. In amongst voices of reason were several judgmental statements, such as "have a cheeseburger; It will make you feel better" and "awww, poor ignorant meat eaters....bless their hearts..." Then there was my favorite, from someone wandering the animal pens: "I could almost see in their eyes how unhappy some were."It seems a bit conceited to make assumptions about a cow's personal feelings. It's a

  October 5, 2009

• On The Range: Tortas

  ​On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items.No matter that you haven't read the strip in many years, or even if you've never perused the comic that has been a staple of the funny papers across the country for over 70 years, you still probably know that Dagwood Bumstead snacks on impossibly tall sandwiches. Perhaps you've even eaten a Dagwood sandwich yourself, wondering all the while how a man rapidly approaching middle age can consume such humongous thin

  October 7, 2009

• Days Gone Bite: Blue Plate Specials

  ​Driving around Dallas last week I came across an abandoned concrete structure with block glass inlays and "restaurant" painted across the front. It was like spotting an original streamline diner--different construction materials, I know, but the rounded corners and crumbling Art Deco era touches inspire the same flush of nostalgia. From the looks of it, this had been a bus station back in the 1930s. And quite probably its kitchen served blue plate specials.Now, the blue plate special hasn't v

  October 7, 2009

• Pairing Off: Pork Rinds

  Patrick Michels/foodistablog​Each week, Pairing Off attempts to find just the right bottle of wine to go with ordinary food.There's gonna be a moment when you think "this is the low point--it can't get any worse." Of course, intellectually you know it can get much worse. But the little speech, however mistaken, helps you cope with the situation.Some months ago I went through this process when pairing wine to pan seared Spam. "Can't get worse," I said to myself at the time. Yet this week I had

  October 7, 2009

• Good Pizza Makes Good Neighbors at Urbino on Henderson.

  October 8, 2009

• Veggie Guy: Vegan 'Month Of Food'

  ​In the vegan world, we're in what's known as "VeganMoFo." No, not what you think--it's a global event that stands for "Vegan Month of Food." We celebrate VeganMoFo to encourage our omnivorous friends to try animal-free eats for an entire month. Not an easy feat here in Dallas--you know, considering... But October also marks the beginning of baking season for most people, and many of those recipes that have been handed down through generations usually call for milk, eggs, butter, and other a

  October 8, 2009

• Handle The Proof: What To Drink On A Day Like Today

  ​Great. The full force of Texas winter is upon us...for a day...in October.Another month and Europeans will start seeing mulled wine stands open. Decades ago these probably held a big, steaming pot of red wine spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, cloves and other seasonings. Nowadays, of course, you find commercial-sized stainless coffee pots.Not the same charm, but it's still good stuff: gluhwein in Germany, glogg in Scandinavian countries, svarak (pronounced sfarzhak) in the Czech Republic...Other

  October 9, 2009

• Veggie Guy: NAAN

  ​Ok--I'll admit it. The Shops at Legacy are pretty cool. Now if only they weren't all the way up in freakin' Oklahoma...erm...I mean Plano. I met up with my vegan buddy Drew at Legacy NAAN last week, where he'd set up a multiple-course vegan food tasting. It's located in the "old side [of the shops]," as one cougar standing outside of Fox Sports Grill put it. "Geez--I thought Dallas was bad about calling relatively new things 'old'!" "Oh c'mon, dude--the suburbs aren't THAT bad!" argued Dre

  October 13, 2009

• 10 Most Annoying Things About Dining Out

  We often wonder why anyone would decide to own a restaurant. Not only can profit margins be thin, they also rise and fall on whims. Hire an inept server? Customers at that table will never return.It's a precarious business.From the guest's point of view, however, there's no reason to reward a bad experience. We've all encountered an uninformed waiter fumbling through explanations of that night's specials, a manager who refused to correct some mistake, or watched staff members fawn over those at

  October 13, 2009

• On The Range: Huaraches

  Ooops...wrong image.​On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items."If everybody had an ocean/Across the U.S.A/Then everybody'd be surfin'/Like Californ-I-a/You'd see 'em wearing their baggies/Huarache sandals too..." Despite the popularity brought to them by the Beach Boys way back when, huaraches aren't just a type of shoe. In fact, they are an oblong-shaped delicacy made from fresh masa, flattened into a form that is roughly the same thickness as pita

  October 14, 2009

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

  October 15, 2009

• Appetite For Instruction: Farmer's Market Burger With Grilled Onion Relish

  ​Recipe demonstrated by Amy Green, 2nd place in Sutter Home Build a Better Burger Contest Football season is in full swing. With football season comes game day food, and what's the best game day food? Burgers...and of course, hot dogs and chips. But let's focus on meat patties today. Amy Green recently returned back to Dallas after a long weekend in Napa Valley with $500 extra in her pocket . It was all work, though. She was there to win the alternative (non-beef) burger competition for the

  October 15, 2009

• Hophead: Brooklyn Brewmaster Says In Food Pairing, Beer Is The Answer

  Jesse HugheyBrooklyn Local 1 with honey-pepper salmon.​Brooklyn Beer brewmaster Garrett Oliver's visit to Whole Foods yesterday afternoon was first and foremost a cooking demonstration with beer pairing suggestions. But as Oliver described how the flavors of each brew complemented each course, he kept returning to a central thesis: When it comes to food pairings, beer is superior to wine. "Sommeliers' number one question they're asked isn't about, say, 'What's the soil content in Napa Valley?

  October 15, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Which Liquors Burn?

  auntcrazy.com​You still see a flaming shot every once in awhile. For the most part, however, bars wisely consider the close proximity of of fire and alcohol to be a generally bad idea.Why? An Australian bar owner related a story about the time some riotous types ordered a round of B-52s and excitedly slammed glasses to the bar before drinking. The resulting fiery spray ignited bar napkins and a few nearby patrons. Local bartenders generally speak of incinerated eyebrows or other such minor dis

  October 16, 2009

• Half As Good

  375mlbottles.co.ukSize matters​It's rather difficult to drink wine responsibly when dining out--a point that was driven home a couple weeks ago when I scanned the menu at York Street. For those who've never visited this tiny, brilliant institution, chef-owner Sharon Hage recommends a wine selection next to each menu item. Because she knows what went into each dish, I assume the suggestions will bring out the best of both food and wine. Although clearly she hopes to sell more by encouraging g

  October 19, 2009

• Veggie Guy: Gluten-Free Vegan Joints

  A gluten-free vegan cookie.​Omnivores tend to think of veganism as a highly restrictive, complicated way to live. Considering vegans have cut out meat, dairy, eggs, and all other animal products from their diets, they're sorta right--especially here in the land of beef. So imagine what it's like for vegans with an intolerance to gluten. Now that's gotta be rough! Local vegan Alise St. Germain doesn't have to imagine it. Her severe gluten intolerance and ethical choice to follow a vegan diet

  October 20, 2009

• York Street Gets It Right by Doing Everything Wrong

  October 22, 2009

• Hophead: Notes From Flying Saucer's Fourth Annual Fall Beer Festival

  ​A beer tasting event like last Saturday's Fall Beer Festival at the Fort Worth Flying Saucer is an easy way to try several new beers at once, hang out with fellow beer people and see a lot of hilarious T-shirts. However, as I discovered, it's also an easy way to get a bad impression of a beer for a multitude of reasons that are no fault of the brewer's. Saturday's festival in the Flying Saucer parking lot featured two dozen beers from American craft brewers, separated into East Coast, West Co

  October 22, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Sidecar

  ​In my school of thought--and keep in mind, it's not a very well attended school--cocktails born in the heyday of gentlemanly drinking are to be revered. Drinks such as martinis, old fashioned and the great sazerac came from an era when even the prettiest glass carried a big, stiff belt of alcohol and Singapore sling was about as silly as could get...well, except perhaps for the monkey gland.The sidecar came along in the midst of this creative spurt. It started, most say, with a bartender in P

  October 23, 2009

• Service With A Sneer

  ​Anytime you write something about service these days, you're hit with a barrage of angry retorts from people identifying themselves as waiters and waitresses. According to these fed up staffers, diners are all just a bunch of unappreciative, whining morons who keep demanding more.Presumably the right entrees, drink refills, that sort of thing. The bastards.Now, we all know patrons can be painful dweebs at times. Decades ago I served a woman who called me back because I'd given her a cheesebur

  October 26, 2009

• Veggie Guy: Vegan 101

  ​While most of my friends were busy working on their costumes for this weekend's Disturbathon, I spent my Saturday night with members of Vegan 101 at their annual Halloween Potluck. My costume: a gay vegan Mormon (black flat-front chinos, pink button-down, black poly tie, sneakers, and yes...a bicycle helmet and a backpack). Now, if you have to ask where the "vegan" and "gay" come in, just talk to any vegan about silk ties, and any gay man about those pleated Dockers Mormons wear on their Sch

  October 27, 2009

• Smokin' at C.T.'s Real Deal BBQ

  October 29, 2009

• Appetite For Instruction: Piquillo Cheese With Brioche Toast

  Recipe demonstrated by Chef J Chastain of The 2nd Floor Bistro ​There are a lot of things that attract people to the Galleria on a daily basis. For example, a possible Jessica Simpson sighting, sans Tony Romo of course, or trying out your triple axle jump at the ice skating rink. But maybe the restaurants should be the thing that draws you to this Dallas mecca. Besides claiming the largest scotch collection in Dallas, The 2nd Floor Bistro in the Westin Galleria also has an impressive, ever

  October 29, 2009

• Veggie Guy: Back Yard Burgers

  ​In the spirit of Halloween, I'm going to share a horrifying confession with you guys. A little over a decade ago, I was a regular at the Whataburger on Main St. in Lewisville. I'd hit that drive-thru five days a week for a double-meat, double-cheese Whataburger with ketchup, mustard, and extra pickles, a large order of French fries, large onion rings, two sides of country gravy, and a large Dr. Pepper. For breakfast. Pretty frightening, huh? Yeah, I was a big guy back then, weighing ove

  October 29, 2009

• Chocolate vs Fruit-Flavored: Halloween Fun-Size Candy Free-For-All

  Alex Flores​For this week's food fight, we asked a group of UNT students to buy bags of Halloween candy--"promising" to reimburse them, of course--pour them out on one of those dorm study tables and start munching. They picked up Fun Size Butterfinger, Baby Ruth and Nestle Crunch bars, Skittles, Starburst chews and Tootsie Rolls...though oddly enough, no Candy Corn. The results:Halloween is the perfect time of year for Americans to temporarily ditch their diets and rot their teeth out in one

  October 29, 2009

• Chefs' Choice

  October 29, 2009

• Veggie Guy: Kellogg's Broke My Heart...Those Bastards

  ​Kellogg's just ripped my heart out, slammed it to the dirt, then proceeded to stomp the hell out of it with a seven-inch stiletto! Ok--high drama, but I'm seriously heartbroken about their recent de-veganizing of one of the best faux meat products on the market. For years, I used Kellogg's MorningStar Farms Grillers Recipe Crumbles for all of my Tex-Mex home cooking (tacos, enchiladas, chile relleno, and most any dish that called for ground beef). They were extra "beefy" in texture and tas

  November 3, 2009

• Hash Over: Libertine Fights Brain Cancer, NBC Starts Fish Fight, and Stephan Pyles Holds Celebrity Dinner Sunday

  ​The Libertine Bar may have the Best Bar Food in Dallas, along with a great selection of beer and wine--and, of course, the monthly Playlister P local-music DJ nights. But beginning at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, the bar's brain cancer awareness event gives yet another reason to love the Lower Greenville pub. After a friend of the bar was diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer, the staff organized an impromptu concert with a live and silent auction to raise funds for her walk Saturday at Trinity Park

  November 3, 2009

• If Memory Serves: Travel Guides

  ​If Memory Serves chronicles moments from my dining past, perhaps explaining why I'm so damn warped.I wrote the restaurant section to a travel guide while I lived in Prague--and if I could remember which one I'd advise you to stick it back on the shelf and pick up another.It wasn't for Lonely Planet. I do know that much.This was in 2006. The guides refresh their information every other year or so to keep them up to date. Of course, within a month after I filed the section with a London-based e

  November 3, 2009

• Days Gone Bite: Howard Johnson's Fried Clams

  ​In the '60s and '70s it was almost impossible to travel any distance without spotting a bright orange roof and that Simple Simon weathervane. There were close to 1,000 Howard Johnson's restaurants back then, each of them serving 28 flavors of ice cream and platefuls of fried clams.The clams were small yet meaty, with a thick and crinkly veil of batter fried to a beautiful golden brown. A menu staple since the first Howard Johnson restaurant opened, they had been revamped by one Jacques Pepin-

  November 4, 2009

• Will Bob Sambol's Old Partner Get the Steakhouse on Lemmon? Or Will Del Frisco's?

  ​I've had today's date circled on my calendar since October 7: This was to be the day Bob's Steak & Chop House went on the auction block. And ever since this morning, when we got word that there was at least one heretofore unmentioned notable interested in taking Bob Sambol's Lemmon Avenue eatery at a deep discount, I've been trying to reach both Sambol and Robert Milbank, the Dallas attorney who took over as trustee after the U.S. Trustee deemed Sambol too conflicted to best represent the

  November 4, 2009

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

  November 6, 2009

• Veggie Guy: Madras Pavilion

  ​May seem bizarre to some that I would compare a South Indian dinner to my Mexican grandmother's breakfast taquitos, but that's exactly what came to mind while chowing down on my potato-filled dosa at Madras Pavilion. Growing up, my brother Michael and I hated eggs. Still do, in fact. Whenever Grandma would incorporate chicken placenta into our meals, we'd about lose our shit! Eventually she caught on and began experimenting with spices and add-ins to make our meals look and taste as lively

  November 5, 2009

• 7-Eleven vs Barefoot: War Of The Wines

  Alex Flores​Yesterday it came to our attention that 7-Eleven planned to introduce their own wine brand, priced at a Thunderbird-like $3.99 a bottle--that's right, $3.99 for .75 of Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon in glass with a real artificial cork. No screw-tops for wine this fancy.They call their brand Yosemite Road, as it is cellared by the Yosemite Road Vineyards in Livermore, California--somewhere between San Jose and Modesto, in other words. But local 7-Elevens already stock a Modesto w

  November 5, 2009

• Handle The Proof: Blended Scotch Whisky

  ​Generally when people sit down to discuss whisky, the conversation settles around the single malts of Islay, Speyside or the rare and unique brands from Campbeltown. But the overwhelming majority of scotch whisky sold around the world consists of blends--up to 50 different malts making up a single bottle. Indeed, the best known labels are blended: Ballantine's, Johnnie Walker, Teacher's, Dewar's, Famous Grouse and the like--which rather makes sense. Historian and novelist Reay Tannahill once

  November 6, 2009