James Beard Foundation

Cheap Bastard Alice Laussade Wins James Beard Award for Humor

Alice Laussade is now officially the funniest freakin' food journalist in America. The James Beard Foundation just said so tonight at its 2013 food journalism awards. We knew this already, of course, still it's nice to hear from other people. Or as Alice put it on Twitter: "Everyone please take 8 s ... More >>

Poll: Which Dallas Observer Writer is a "Snarky, Superior, Angry Bitch?"

Hang on to your hats, everybody, because I'm about to give you a super-duper exciting glimpse into the inner workings of the Dallas Observer. We get a lot of email from our readers. Some of it comes directly to our various email addresses, but a lot of it goes to a general account. (I have no idea w ... More >>

South American Food, Accomplished Writers and Feathery Duck: This Week In Dallas Dining

It's Friday if you haven't noticed. Hopefully you have some weekend plans? If you're still looking be sure to check out Lauren's events guide, but don't run out the door just yet. Let's wrap this week up, first. This week I reviewed Joyce and Gigi's, the new South American restaurant in East Dalla ... More >>

Alice "The Cheap Bastard" Laussade Has Been Nominated for a James Beard Award

The Observer's very own Alice Laussade, who for years put her cast-iron stomach on the line as The Cheap Bastard to bring you reviews of Dallas' low-cost lunch spots, was named a finalist in the humor-writing category of the 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards, which is like the Oscars of food and fo ... More >>

James Beards 2013: Seven Dallas Chefs Nominated for Prestigious Food Awards

The nominations for the James Beard Foundation Awards were just announced, and Dallas: You're looking pretty good. Seven chefs and restaurants have been named as some of the country's best for service, food and bar and wine programs. Last year I called the list of nominees a total snooze as far as ... More >>

30 Essential Texas Restaurants to Visit Before You Die

Are All Chefs Crazy?

You had to think most people who choose running a kitchen as a professional aspiration must be at least a little unstable. Who would willingly sign up for low pay, long hours and the constant complaints of diners who know nothing about your creative passion, all in an environment with a heat and hum ... More >>

W Hotel's Cook Hall To Push The Boundaries Of Bottle Service

A news release announcing the push back of the closing date of Craft contains some additional details on the concept that will replace the W Hotel restaurant. The bar program at the new Cook Hall will be run by Belinda Chang, who won a James Beard award while working as a wine director at Modern, a ... More >>

Uchiko? More like Holyshitchiko.

Uchiko in Austin is not fucking around, you guys. Owner Tyson Cole won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2011. This year, Uchiko executive chef, Paul Qui, took home the Best Chef: Southwest for 2012 at the James Beard Awards. And that was right after Qui won Top Chef. Austin hipste ... More >>

Five Things I Ate in Austin That You Should Eat Too. Soon.

After nearly a year without venturing outside the loop, I finally got out of town for a brief weekend. I toyed with going to Marfa, but I'm not yet Texan enough to drive eight hours for a weekend getaway, so I chose Austin, as much for its culinary diversity as its proximity. I'm still trying to d ... More >>

Paul Qui of Uchiko in Austin Won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in Southwest Last Night

Last night the James Beard Foundation presented its coveted awards for best chef. Chef Bruno Davaillon of Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek was a finalist for Best Chef Southwest Region, along with Bruce Auden of Biga on the Banks in San Antonio, Kevin Binkley of Binkley's Restaurant in Arizona, Jenn ... More >>

Chef Bruno Davaillon on Being a Finalist for 2012 James Beard Award

The James Beard Foundation on Monday announced its finalists for its highly coveted culinary awards, and included in the category for Best Chef in the Southwest was Bruno Davaillon of Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. Originally from Loire Valley in France, Davaillon joined the Mansion in 2009 aft ... More >>

James Beard Awards: Stephen Pyles, Bruno Davaillon and Teiichi Sakurai are Semifinalists

Alison V. SmithTei An Chef Teiichi Sakurai​The James Beard Foundation just released this year's semifinalists, and to be honest they're a total snooze -- at least as far as Dallas is considered. Stephen Pyles is a finalist for Outstanding Chef for his work at his eponymous restaurant; Bruno ... More >>

Bistro 31 Sets Highland Park Buzzing

Simple Mediterranean-inspired plates designed for Park Cities palates.

Chef Mike Smith on The Green Room, The Beard House and Rumors of Ghosts

​The Common Table chef Mike Smith has been kind enough to play along with us this week in our Three-Course Meal series. In Part One, he divulged some of his favorite hangouts and dives. In Part Two he imparted knowledge gained after two decades in the restaurant business. And today, in the final p ... More >>

Top Chef: Texas is Official; Emeril Lagasse and Hugh Acheson Will Judge

Emeril: Top Chef's new jurist.​Official word just came from Bravo: The next season of Top Chef will be set in Texas. You already knew that if you've been following any number of blogs, including City of Ate, where we broke the story that the state will shell out an estimated $400,000 to see ... More >>

Ginning Up a New Texas Spirit

​The first Texas gin and the first spirit ever created by a chef is about to make its debut. Former Coca-Cola executive Don Short and James Beard Award-winning chef Robert Del Grande are the two men behind the enterprise and look forward to its early June release here in Texas. Here's Short on ... More >>

Best in Smoke: Sugar-Coated Ribs, Sour Tim Love

​Everybody knows that contest-based reality shows give out different roles to play and that level of casting certainly extends to the judges. After all, American Idol all but invented the boosterish judge (paging Paula Abdul), the urban cool-cat judge -- as in Randy Jackson, and, of course, ev ... More >>

Wrapping Up The Week That The Double Double Gods Finally Arrived In North Texas

These are the assholes who line-jumped at In-N-Out. In case you'd forgotten.​Copper River salmon is nearly back in season, and Dallas plans to open up a new Central Market this year. A recipe for soft shell crab emerges. That's all that happened this week in food bloggery. Oh, and some burge ... More >>

Careful, Don't Holey Cream Your Pants. These Photos NSFW.

​Completely lost in New York during my trip to the James Beard Awards, I stumbled upon Holey Cream. Based on the name, I thought it must be a sex shop. Turns out, it's better: Holey Cream Outrageous Donuts and Ice Cream is a dessert shop that will make you an ice cream sandwich out of donuts a ... More >>

Six Letdowns at the James Beard Book, Broadcast & Journalism Awards

Bite us, Jimmy.​Not sure if you guys heard, but this year City of Ate picked up a nomination from the James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards for Group Food Blog, and I was nominated in the Humor category for a feature story we did on fried hamsters. Awesome! We City of Aters were so excited, ... More >>

Of In-N-Out and Crabs...Our Inner 12-Year-Old Howls With Laughter

He's dead! Shot in the head! Please pass the bread! Stay classy, Dallas.​It sounds like soft shell crabs and In-N-Out are finally coming to Dallas, so it's been a good week in Dallas food blogs. Read on. City of Ate Kristy Yang has some mixed feelings about Il Cane Rosso. She was disappointed ... More >>

Asador's Dean James Max: What a Lucky Man

Asador's Dean James Max​Some people just end up doing the things they are meant to do, and the lucky ones end up being successful at it. Dean James Max, concept chef at the new Asador Restaurant in the Renaissance Dallas Hotel, is one of the lucky ones. What he's dreamed up for Asador is what ... More >>

Anthony Bourdain Sort Of Responds to City of Ate Post

The question of whether an awards competition designed to confer legitimacy upon food writing should honor a writer who doesn't have an editor, discernible code of ethics or known identity has reached Anthony Bourdain -- and he's seized upon the occasion to condemn food writers everywhere. ​C ... More >>

Mark Donald Resigns as Observer Editor

​As I write this my farewell post, I keep hearing in my head the lyrics to a song from the Marx Brothers classic film Animal Crackers: "Hello, I must be going/ I cannot stay, I came to say/I must be going." Similar to Groucho's character, Captain Spaulding, it seems as though I just said hello, ju ... More >>

Food Porn, Knorks, Facelifts and Awards -- Stuff Happens

​This week in blogs, City of Ate and Alice Laussade were named James Beard Award finalists. And then some other stuff happened. Whatevs... City of Ate As Alice Laussade assured us before, B.E.E. is capable of serving delicious, choose-your-own adventure enchiladas. Hanna Raskin fills up on Te ... More >>

At Jersey Mike's Last Night, Observer Eaters Were No Match for Mighty Challenger Ed Dravecky

Maybe you noticed Elizabeth's post about the Observer-sponsored eating contest at Jersey Mike's last night. As many of you noted in the comments, that topless photo of Jack Nicholson was pretty hard to miss. As promised, a few of us here at City of Ate -- this highfalutin' James Beard Award&nb ... More >>

Food Writers Fret About James Beard's Humor Division

This week's announcement of James Beard Foundation award nominees triggered another round of hand-wringing among food writers over whether the newly created humor award cheapens culinary journalism. ​The concern was raised yesterday on a listserv maintained by the Association of Food Journali ... More >>

Alice Laussade and City of Ate Score James Beard Nominations

Alice Laussade gets nominated: She was too busy changing diapers -- no, really, she has bred -- to respond right now, so we did it for her (above).​The Cheap Bastard may soon be one fancy, bling-toting bastard. Our beloved Alice Laussade, a regular contributor to City of Ate, today picked up ... More >>

Dallas Restaurants Shut Out of James Beard Contest

Come to think of it, maybe we should have marked up the picture here instead.​Dallas chefs and restaurants, which collected an impressive five semi-finalist spots in this year's James Beard Foundation awards competition, today were shut out of the contest's final round. Stephen Pyles, The Man ... More >>

James Beard Foundation Award Semifinalists Include Five from Big D

​The James Beard Foundation this morning released its list of semifinalists for its prestigious restaurant and chef awards, honoring hundreds of culinary visionaries and their home eateries -- including five in the Dallas area. Four entries on the list -- Stephan Pyles, The Mansion on Turtle ... More >>

Kent Rathbun: So Many Restaurants, So Little Reality TV That Doesn't "Suck"

Courtesy of Jasper's​Kent Rathbun's résumé is too extensive to quickly gloss over. Like most chefs, Rathbun started his career as an apprentice working at La Bonne Auberge, a five-star French restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri. Rathbun then moved on to work in the kitchens of Mr. B's in Ne ... More >>

Turnips, Happy Meals and Tainted Eggs: The Year's 10 Biggest National Food Stories

​Food lovers must talk with their mouths full, since there was plenty of discussion of many, many food-related topics in 2010. But a few national stories struck us as most important. Let us know what you think. 1. The food safety bill The massive food safety bill had been left for dead when the ... More >>

The Anti-Gift Guide: Tips for What Not to Buy The Aspiring Chef

Damndest thing: Google "Ginsu Knives" and this picture comes up. How odd.​It should be easy to shop for food lovers, since their hobby's been so relentlessly commodified. Any self-respecting big-box store stocks cooking utensils, cooking gizmos, cooking show DVDs, cookbooks and cooking magazin ... More >>

Christmas is for Cookie

Time Running Out to Nominate Your Own Top Chef

​December's the last month for culinary civilians to have a say in who takes home a James Beard award in 2011. The James Beard Foundation has been accepting online nominations for its restaurant and chef categories since October, but promotional campaigns mounted by restaurant owners who'd li ... More >>

Tre Wilcox: Loft 610's Master of Discipline
On Food, Fame and the Future

Courtesy of Tre Wilcox and Loft 610Tre Wilcox​I was worried when I first arrived at Loft 610. Chef Tre Wilcox, 37, was running late for our interview, and when he arrived he was distracted, looking toward the open kitchen with each question, which he would think about carefully before answerin ... More >>

Chef Tim Byres Goes in Search of Himself and Finds Smoke

​Walk into Smoke early on any Saturday afternoon and you'll get the sense that the year-old restaurant hums along effortlessly. Simple preparations, a small, amiable kitchen crew, a mastery of the menu. Truth is, the food takes hours to prepare and there is meticulous care in the execution of wh ... More >>

Honest food at Potager and a roll of the dice at The Mercury

Sara Kerens​This week's Dallas food bloggers learned to trust empty parking lots, took Mary into their own Bloody hands, and found peace on Earth at Potager Café and the Dallas Islamic Center. More Dallas restaurants have Gone Texan, and don't expect to find wines from any other place e ... More >>

Three Good Reasons to Visit Houston.
No, Really.

​According to my handy Frommer's statewide guidebook, Houston is "not usually considered a tourist destination." Sounds like the folks doing the considering don't let their guts lead, since -- as I discovered on my first trip there this weekend -- Houston is an incredibly exciting town for ea ... More >>

Second Floor's J. Chastain Whips Up a Blend of Simple, Local, Classic and Modern Techniques

Photo by Robert Bostick​Time was, the only chefs most of us knew by name were Julia Child and that Boyardee guy. Not anymore. With the crush of talented wizards working magic in Dallas kitchens, it pays to know just who is behind the saute pan at your favorite eatery. To help you keep track, t ... More >>

Chef Tell: Keep Your Frenemies Close

​At show's open, everyone's pretending they miss Timothy. It's hard to say who really does miss him and who just wants to look more sensitive after weeks of acting like a prick [cough, Angelo, cough].For the Quickfire, there was some weirdness -- and I'm not talking about the exotic proteins the c ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: Quatro Leches at La Duni

​As a countdown to the Dallas Observer's "Best of Dallas" 2010, City of Ate is serving up 100 of the favorite dishes we crave, savor and hope to scarf down again soon. These dishes are in no particular order. Some are little known, others celebrated. Some are pricey, others can be eaten on the che ... More >>

Bull Ring

Birthday Luau

Roy's turns two decades old

His Tre-ness

TV Dinner

Planet Hawaii

Roy's holds the cheese and does Hawaiian with style

Celebrity du Jour

Big-name chefs saturate an uncertain market

Steak Rubble

Ernest Gallo is honored