Fruits and Vegetables

Ex-Marine Alex Perez Danced with the Devil Six Times Saturday (This Story is Actually About Doughnuts. Crazy, huh?)

This past Saturday, Alex "Moose" Perez danced with the devil at the first annual Hypnotic Donuts, World's Spiciest Donut Eating Contest. The masochist battle started with a plain old glazed doughnut (a teaser), then went on to three subsequent flavors that were increasingly hotter. The fourth and fi ... More >>

World's Hottest Pepper Plants For Sale

The Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T" will destroy your mouth (but clear your sinuses).​You can buy anything online these days. Doesn't matter if you're searching for Ukrainian mail-order brides or a toothpick made from the penis bone of a raccoon, chances are you'll be able to find what you're looking ... More >>

5 Hot Sauces Your Mom Doesn't Want To Try

​For my birthday this year, I received a wonderful gift: Professor Phardtpounders Colon Cleaner. That's the kind of hot sauce packaging that makes you laugh, but also makes you a little nervous -- and if you're me, a lot excited. Colon Cleaner is a mustard-based hot sauce (great on a burger o ... More >>

Georgia's Farmers Market: Worth the Drive to Collagen Country

​ Georgia's Farmers Market 916 E. 15th St., Plano 972-516-4765 Try: East Texas peaches Don't try: apple cobbler in a jar When I heard there was a farmers market in Plano, I was like, "Oh, you mean Sprouts?" And Plano looked at me all shocked (because her botox-ed face is stuck that way) and ... More >>

Chef Casey Thompson Talks About Opening Brownstone; No Top Chef This Season

​Casey Thompson, the former Top Chef contestant who scored her first Quickfire win by encrusting foie gras in pecans, is committed to serving Texas products at her new Fort Worth restaurant. But she revealed by phone this morning that she's having trouble sourcing critical ingredients, including o ... More >>

All Hail the Mighty Avocado, which, by the way, is a fruit

Courtesy of Abacus​Don't get me wrong, I love winter and the seasonal dishes that come with it. I love me some creamy soups and hot chocolate, but by this time of the year, I'm ready for some summertime fare. Thankfully, summer's just around the corner, and my favorite fruits are coming back in ... More >>

Remedy for a Jalapeno Overdose: Aguas Frescas

From Wikipedia​Walk into your favorite taqueria or torteria, and chances are good you'll notice a couple of large, beehive-shaped glass jars standing sentinel atop a shelf or counter. Stepping to the counter, you place your food order, then scanning the menu under bebidas (beverages), you notice ... More >>

If Memory Serves: Cepelinai

Knutux​If Memory Serves chronicles moments from my dining past, perhaps explaining what's wrong with me.It's a common dish in Lithuania, though not one that really sells the cuisine.The dish consists of wet dough grated from raw potatoes, molded around gristly meat and boiled for however long it t ... More >>

Veggie Guy: Spiral Diner's Faux Meatballs Win National Acclaim

The prized dish.​A recent survey conducted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), ranked Spiral Diner's Sketti & Meatballs among the nation's top ten faux meatball dishes. You'd think the Spiral crew would be doing somersaults and touchdown dances over the news, but these guys ... More >>

Veggie Guy: Kona Grill

​You might not know that Kona Grill has a completely separate menu for vegans. They keep it hidden behind the host's stand and don't advertise it on their regular menu. Why keep it hidden? No idea. As one of my friends says, "It's like winking at someone in the dark." Vegans who have been graced ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 r ... More >>

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 sh ... More >>

Veggie Guy: Sweet Tomatoes

The minestrone at Sweet Tomatoes in Irving.​Our Lisa Petty likes to poke fun at me about my avoidance of salads. "Do you EVER eat salads?" she snarks. But I do eat my fair share...only I'm not usually happy about it. Allow me to explain where I'm coming from. I was a Golden Corral kid. There wa ... More >>

Veggie Guy: Vegan-Friendly Tex Mex Chains

Latin stir fry at Mi Cocina.​A lot of people ask me where they can get some good vegan Tex-Mex around town. I usually guide them to Monica's, where vegans can get the best enchiladas in Dallas, but I understand that driving down to Deep Ellum isn't always practical...especially if you're on the w ... More >>

Veggie Guy: Asian Mint

Fresh spring rolls.​My good friend Sara and I met a few years ago at a yoga class. We instantly hit it off, and started doing everything together...grocery shopping, dining, working out. She even moved into my building. But over the past couple of months, we've both been on crazy schedules. No ... More >>

Veggie Guy: Roy's Natural Market

​After a rough Saturday night--I'll spare you the details, but I will say this: there was much vodka involved--Sunday's hangover carried into Monday. Tuesday--still not human. So I got online to Tweet about my misery. Then I saw a Tweet from one of my raw food friends that read, "Alcohol acts a ... More >>

Veggie Guy: Suma Veggie Cafe

​"Puff balls." That's what one of my non-veg friends calls the Orange "Chicken" at Suma Veggie Cafe. No--the guy's not the brightest bulb on the block, but others unfamiliar with vegan meat substitutes might also find it difficult to describe the glazed balls of who-knows-what...although, I now h ... More >>

Veggie Girl: Houston's

This week, Veggie Girl braved the crowds of plastically enhanced Women Who Lunch to try out Houston's. Rumored to have one of the best house-made veggie burgers in Dallas, Houston's is part of the Hillstone Restaurant quasi-chain that includes R D, across the street in Preston Center, and a few ... More >>

Veggie Girl: Toy's Cafe

A real hole in the wall.Sure, I love the high life. But I'm kind of a sucker for the hole-in-the-wall, too. In fact, it's really just the middling places--the Golden Corral's of the world--that bug me. It's the Groucho Marx effect.You know: "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a membe ... More >>

On The Range: Guacamole

On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items. Jon Sullivan"Was there ever a fruit as sensual as the avocado? So rough-hewn, dare-to-touch-me masculine on the outside, so yielding, inviting, soft spring green and feminine inside?...It's no wonder that this perf ... More >>

Veggie Girl: York St.

Veggie Girl finds vegan and vegetarian options at Dallas establishments of all kinds. The column appears Tuesdays and Thursdays.I love a good storm. So when I woke up last Thursday to howling winds and sheets of furious rain, I resisted the urge to crawl back into bed and instead opted for staring ... More >>

Appetite For Instruction: Fisherman's Stew

Recipe Demonstrated By Roseanne Dileo of The Libertine BarJesse HugheyRoseanne Dileo has been cooking at The Libertine Bar for about a year, following stints as a server and general manager at the beloved lower Greenville pub. As much as she liked front-of-house money, though, she says she prefers t ... More >>

Veggie Girl: Mai's

View Larger MapNothing about Mai's is bad. There are plenty of things that are weird, though: the racks of dog-eared issues of US Weekly and Cosmopolitan, the soft-rock instrumental remixes of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and "Take My Breath Away," the organza curtains that barely hide the parkin ... More >>

Dude Food: Tacos Chano's

Google MapsTacos Chano's934 W. Jefferson Blvd.214-948-1846Dude Factor: 6, or "Cheap Floor Tiles" on a scale of 1 ("Montezuma's Revenge") to 10 ("Cheap Prescription Meds")One of my favorite things about visiting Mexico is haggling over the price of souvenirs. There's nothing like the rush of taking h ... More >>

Veggie Girl: Nana

It only took one vegetarian to convince Nana chef Anthony Bombaci to draw up a meat-free tasting menu. "They made reservations, they told us they were vegetarian and they paid for their food," Bombaci recalls. "And we served them meat." After their visit to Nana, Bombaci got a letter--"snail mai ... More >>

Veggie Girl: Eatzi's

A hat tip to the writers of Dude Food, who this February ensured that good ol' meat-eatin' men could dine successfully at Eatzi's. So, it turns out, can veggie-eating types. Eatzi's is one of those Oak Lawn institutions whose charming perks have given it staying power. It could be the outdoor ... More >>

Veggie Girl: Cosmic Cafe

Fill in the blank: The best thing about Cosmic Café is... ...a deck of Tarot cards at every table. ...free yoga. ...unlimited mugs of soy chai. ...delicious plates of all-veggie food, whose prices all add up to multiples of nine. (We don't know why. We asked our waitress, and neither did she...b ... More >>

Irish Spring Flings

Patrick MichelsAs with other holidays, local restaurants are going all out with special St. Patrick's Day offerings for their customers on Tuesday. Urban Taco may not be the obvious choice for St. Patrick's Day revelry, but it's throwing its hat into the green ring for its lucky customers, servin ... More >>

Cliff Notes

There's a new executive chef in the kitchen at the Belmont Hotel's Cliff Café. And she's been busy. Robin Gill Lacy has already revamped the café's menu, and her experience as prepared foods team leader at Whole Food Markets and culinary research and development coordinator at Veria Natural Welln ... More >>

Burning Question: Which Ingredients Do Chefs Hate To Work With?

How would you like to slice into these everyday? Lobsters are easy. We mean that in a culinary sense. Bind up the pincers, drop them in water and commence to melting some butter. Likewise steak: a dash of salt, another of pepper and a crackling grill—that’s all there is to it, pretty much. I ... More >>

A Dallas Woman Accepts Washington Post's "Eat Local Challenge"

Chop Suey Syndrome

Our restaurant critic travels to China to unravel the riddle: Why can't Dallas do Chinese?

Best Lettuce Creations

Greenz

Best Frozen Drinks (Tie)

Republic

Best Buffet

Fadi's Mediterranean Grill

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

Café Istanbul

Best Non-Italian Pizza

Cigarz

Best Greek Salad

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

Best BLT (tie)

Lakewood Landing & Thomas Avenue Beverage Co.

Best Dog Food Selection

Canine Commissary

Best Place for Healthful Mexican Food

Baja Fresh Mexican Grill

Best Appetizer

Rooster's fried asparagus

Best Salad (tie)

Nikita | La Dolce Vita

Best Big Salad

Baker Bros. American Deli

Best Home-Style Restaurant

South Dallas Cafe

Best Indian Restaurant

India Palace

Best Use of Spinach

Taj Express

Best Lesson on the Middle East

Ali Baba Café

Best Use of Tofu in Fast Food

Tofu Delight at Lover's Eggroll