John Tesar

Struttin' With Smitty

Bacon Causeburger

Beef and drink while fighting AIDS

Hash Over: Bolsa's Farmer's Market, Free Wine, and a Guy Called Mike

Beef and drink while fighting AIDS

Of Mansions And Men

This guy left the Mansion's kitchen. Will it fail as a result?On Friday, the Mansion's PR rep made the rounds by phone to confirm that rumors rebuffed earlier in the week were true--chef John Tesar was out the door to "pursue other opportunities."Stephanie Hutson, the suddenly harried spokesperson, ... More >>

A Tough Year for Local Restaurants Sputters to an End

This guy left the Mansion's kitchen. Will it fail as a result?On Friday, the Mansion's PR rep made the rounds by phone to confirm that rumors rebuffed earlier in the week were true--chef John Tesar was out the door to "pursue other opportunities."Stephanie Hutson, the suddenly harried spokesperson, ... More >>

Old Dog, New Tricks

A new regime brings changes to the Mansion, some good, some not.

Bones to Pick

Is the 2006 invasion of culinary foreigners killing off our local character?

10 Questions: Terri Provencal

Provencal (second from left) with Kenneth Craighead, Stephan Pyles and Carmaleta WhitelyThe chair of Share Our Strength Taste of the Nation for North Texas is busier than ever these days as she prepares for the big fundraising dinner.Since 1988, annual events in up to 20 cities around the country ha ... More >>

Top 10 Chefs Who Deserve More Attention

When we sat down and thought about this, so many names popped into mind that if they were diseases, we'd be riddled. There was a time when few people mentioned Joel Harloff (Dali Wine Bar) or Brian Luscher (The Grape), but those days are fading. Michael Zeve of Sevy's or Jeffery Hobbs at Suze are bo ... More >>

Hash Over: California Wines Featured In Dinners, Executive Chef Changes And Free Whataburgers

The 2002 Super T-Rex, one of the wines to be featured in Tuesday's dinner at Tre Amici.​This is a good week to be a Dallas fan of California wines, as two restaurants will feature the products of Cali vineyards in wine dinners beginning tonight. Bolsa has a wine dinner at 6:30 p.m. today featuring ... More >>

The Mansion's New Chef Bruno Davaillon Is Breaking Into The Job Slowly, But It Seems Just A Matter Of Time Before His Celebrity Shines.

The 2002 Super T-Rex, one of the wines to be featured in Tuesday's dinner at Tre Amici.​This is a good week to be a Dallas fan of California wines, as two restaurants will feature the products of Cali vineyards in wine dinners beginning tonight. Bolsa has a wine dinner at 6:30 p.m. today featuring ... More >>

John Tesar: From Self-Destructive
To Brilliantly Creative

Photo by Robert Bostick​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, City of Ate brings you Three-Course Meal, a three-part chat with some of the best, most inventive chefs ... More >>

Part 2: Chef John Tesar on Fatherhood, Sushi and Anthony Bourdain's Drinking Skills

Photo by Robert Bostick​In part two of our continuing three-part chef's series we asked chef John Tesar a few questions while we visited with him at Dallas Fish Market. Chef Tesar was more than happy to discuss the birth of his son, Kim Pierce's secret spot and Anthony Bourdain's drinking habi ... More >>

Part 3: John Tesar Grills Up
A Cool Calamari Treat

Photos by Robert Bostick​In the third part of our look at John Tesar of Dallas Restaurant Group, the chef goes into the kitchen at Dallas Fish Market to make a few preparations for us. With temperatures still blasting past the century mark, Tesar chooses some cooling dishes to take advantage ... More >>

The Mansion's Bruno Davaillon:
A Star is Born Down on the Farm

Photo by Robert Bostick​If you ask a random Dallasite to name the best local restaurant, the answer might well be The Mansion on Turtle Creek at the Rosewood Hotel. Ask that same person when they last ate at the 30-year-old Dallas icon, however, and you just might elicit a long pause. This tre ... 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 >>

Hash Over: Stop-Drop-n-Roll Chili Cook-Off, Toast for a Cure, Burgers and Burgundy, and More

​Want to see some hot firemen and hot beauty queens while sampling some hot chili? Then head to the Sixth Annual Stop-Drop-n-Roll Chili Cook-Off in Grapevine benefiting the WPI Firefighters' Fund this Saturday, October 16. Last year's event raised over $110,000 for families of fallen and inj ... More >>

Is Chartiable Eating Overstretching Local Chefs and Diners?

Photo by Robert BostickJohn Tesar​Don't bother looking for Dean Fearing at his restaurants next weekend. Fearing will be at The Joule next Friday for The Big Red, a culinary extravaganza benefiting the North Texas Food Bank. He'll reappear the next night at the Dallas Zoo for its annual fundr ... More >>

Chef John Tesar's New Restaurant Will Tap into a Wine Keg Trend

John Tesar​John Tesar's new restaurant in One Arts Plaza will feature the area's first keg wine program, an innovation the busy chef says is in keeping with his vision for The Commissary. Wine on tap, catching on at wine bars elsewhere, is currently available locally only at Central Market, but ... More >>

Some Pictures Aren't Worth 1,000 Words, But Go Ahead and Comment Anyway

Editor's note: We tried to get Hanna to wear former critic Dave Faries' dining disguise, but she just wouldn't do it.​I'm proud to be a member of a community of food writers that care about working conditions in food processing factories, the availability of fruits and vegetables in impoverish ... More >>

(30K) Millionaires: Where to Spend Your Cash This Week

If you have the cash, you could watch the Super Bowl with this old boat captain.​Let's pretend you're a big spender who can't score tickets to the Super Bowl. What do you do with all that cash next week? You could blow it all on one awesome party, perhaps the Leather & Laces event at Hotel Zaz ... More >>

Revolving Doors: Super Bowl Stimulus

​Everyone's trying to cash in on the Super Bowl, from those renting their homes for the week, to restaurants and bars offering cheap drinks and food specials to lure in crowds for watching parties. For restaurants that opened their doors in January, the timing couldn't be better, but for the f ... More >>

Revolving Doors: Who's Afraid of a Little Ice?

​The weather may have given Dallas the finger right before the Super Bowl, but some high-profile restaurants, including The Cedars Social and Lockhart Smokehouse, were able to open in spite of ice, snow and Steelers fans. In January, we found out that Metro Diner will be closing its Gaston Avenue ... More >>

Taking a Swing at Childhood Obesity

Last week, we told you where you could eat well and do good on a budget. This week, it's time to stop being so stingy. ​The Event: The Annika Experience: Dinner & Golf Outing with Annika Sorenstam The Cause: ANNIKA Foundation The Place: Park Cities Club; Dallas National Golf Club If your pin ... More >>

Score Half Price Tickets To Iron Fork Today

​Maybe you've noticed the suggestive ads we've been running in the paper that feature a lady fondling a fork with her lips, but we figured it was time to remind you once again about our upcoming Iron Fork competition, happening on Wednesday, April 27 at Fashion Industry Gallery (1807 Ross Ave. ... More >>

Let The Battle Begin!

​Maybe you've noticed the suggestive ads we've been running in the paper that feature a lady fondling a fork with her lips, but we figured it was time to remind you once again about our upcoming Iron Fork competition, happening on Wednesday, April 27 at Fashion Industry Gallery (1807 Ross Ave. ... More >>

Food Fight, or: Beginning Your Friday With a Chance to Get Iron Fork-ed For Free

​While awaiting several calls back about items forthcoming, allow me to dispense with these four VIP ducets to Wednesday's Iron Fork event at the Fashion Industry Gallery, where chefs John Tesar and Scott Romano will square off whilst attendees dine on samplings from the likes of Il Cane Rosso and ... More >>

Cedars Social: Eat Light and Drink Heavy

Chef John Tesar's menu takes second place to the cocktails.

Revolving Doors: April Showers Bring New Eateries

​We can all agree today that April showers don't bring May flowers, and stormy April was particularly unkind to Metro Diner as the bacon and eggs institution shuttered their doors last month. But the month wasn't completely clouded by these unfortunate closures, and several new, mostly casual ... 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 >>

In-N-Out's Here. What's Left to Talk About?

​This week, presumably, Dallas has moved past waiting three hours for and crying over hamburgers. We're on to more sophisticated things, like hamburgers with 8,000 calories, ballpark grub and how much we all hate the word "gooey." Read on. City of Ate Jenny Block couldn't find much wrong with ... More >>

Lettuce Wrap Up: Of Miami BBQ Sucks, Douche-bars, and Magnums

Utopias. A really expensive beer.​There was plenty going still going on with In-N-Out and food trucks this week, but I think we all need some time off. Instead, Dallas blogs have soda-and-burger paintings, fighting words about sous-vide and sweaters, and Miami spurting some nonsense. Read on. Cit ... More >>

More Burgers. Always More Burgers. And Other Stuff.

Mai Pham /Houston Press Remember when a burger was just a damn burger? Man, you're old.​If you like burgers or the word "unctuous," this week in Dallas blogs was a delightful bounty. If you prefer barbecue and invention conventions, just 'til tomorrow. Read on. City of Ate Andrew Marton stre ... More >>

Too Hot to Eat is Too Hot to Think Much About Eating, Apparently

Hungry burger fans mob the opening of Dallas proper's first In-N-Out. No, wait. They don't.​Even though a new In-N-Out opened, the only things hot this week were Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T" peppers and the puzzling chains on Michael Costa's The Office Grill. Read on. City of Ate Welcome to ou ... More >>

Peachy Week in the Food Blogosphere

He did it for America.​This week in food blogs, peach desserts were a big hit, ketchup haters learned to love Ketchup and Taco Cabana introduced different-tasting tacos. Read on. City of Ate Even Jenny Block, who doesn't like ketchup, enjoyed Ketchup the restaurant. In her review, she said th ... More >>

Food For Thought, Young Dallas Lawyers' Food-Centric Benefit, Brings Out Big-Name Chefs This Weekend

Tiffany Derry​The Dallas Association of Young Lawyers hosts its third annual Food for Thought on Saturday at The Tower Club, where guests can buy goodies in the silent and live auctions and sample fare from a number of top-notch local chefs and restaurants. The event is a benefit for Big Thou ... More >>

Wild Salsa Arrives, The Table Folds, and More From a Busy Month in the Restaurant Biz

​As summer reaches its peak, another round of restaurants have opened and closed their doors to the public. Wild Salsa, the highly anticipated Mexican restaurant from DRG Concepts, had its grand opening last month, as did a few others. Meanwhile, other joints around town have abruptly closed f ... More >>

Hack Saws and Fried Guacamole. Who Else is Proud to be a Texan?

​ This week in food blogs, a Dallas chef milked cows and wielded a hack saw to win $10,000; El Bulli closed; and we gave you an arsenal of excuses to eat and drink. Read on. City of Ate If you're looking for Ethiopian food that is as nonthreatening as it is tasty, Scott Reitz suggests Ibex E ... More >>

The Best Food and Faces From the Food for Thought Charity Dinner at the Tower Club

Photos by @foodbitch"Mooooooose!"​Saturday night's third annual Food for Thought charity event at the Tower Club brought out a slew of celebrity chefs, a few local celebrities and me, in my fancy pants. Put on by the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Food for Thought centered around small ... More >>

Can One Art Save The Commisary's Tarnished Service Reputation?

Tesar prepares to take a bite from an imaginary sous-vide burger​One Art is coming! The Commissary folks sent out a press release last week and invited the media to a preview dinner this evening; look for lots of pretty food photos tomorrow in the Dallas blogosphere. Dinner service opens to th ... More >>

Things Got a Little Too Cheesy and Too Private This Week in Dallas Food

​This week in food blogs, some special people ate special meals, Dallas placed ahead of Anchorage but behind everywhere else, and someone finally thought to stick corndogs in cocktails. Read on. City of Ate Scott Reitz decides Wild Salsa is decent for its hit-or-miss selection of tacos, passa ... More >>

Bistro 31 Sets Highland Park Buzzing

Simple Mediterranean-inspired plates designed for Park Cities palates.

Behold, the (Allegedly) Perfect Hamburger

A simple Commissary burger (that's not so simple) ​Just about everyone knows that John Tesar has a pretty bang up burger at the Commissary. Those grass-fed patties get treated like a Park Cities trophy wife at the spa, bathing sous vide until cooked rare before receiving a final sear on the gr ... More >>

Hibiscus Chef Brent Hammer on Dish-Washing in a Suit, Vegas and the Blessing of Food TV

Chef Brent Hammer at Hibiscus​Chef Brent Hammer started his cooking career all because of a slight misunderstanding, in what turned out to be one of longest night of his life washing dishes at a restaurant in Milwaukee. The fast pace of the kitchen lured him in, and soon he began the career pa ... More >>

The State of Dallas Dining, As Told By Its Chefs

Starring Stephan Pyles, John Tesar, Katherine Clapner, Kent Rathbun, Teiichi Sakurai and a dozen other local chefs.

The Commisary's John Tesar on a Few New Restaurants and One Double-Decker Burger Bus

The Commissary​Last week we got word of John Tesar's trifecta of plans for 2012. First, he's sold his share of The Commissary to co-owner Lucy Billingsley and plans to open other two other independent Commissaries; one at Northwest Highway and Midway and the other in cowtown at the Museum Pl ... More >>

Who Will Build Dallas' Best Meatball Hoagie?

Flickr​This week in The New York Times, Pete Wells reviews someplace called Parm. His intro points out the lack of coverage food snobs give Italian-American cooking -- red-sauce pasta on red-checkered table cloths -- despite that it's a prominent comfort food for millions of Americans. That's ... More >>

Oak Chef Jason Maddy on Starting at McDonald's, Tiny New York Kitchens, and More

Chef Jason Maddy, Oak​Jason Maddy is the executive chef at the recently opened Oak in the Design District. Maddy grew up in Austin and, after attending culinary school in New York, worked at David Bouley's Danube, then the Driskill in Austin. A few years ago he was recruited by John Tesar to w ... More >>

Valet Parking, Dr Pepper and Enchilada Porn: This Week In Fatness

Lauren Drews Daniels​Is it quitting time yet? We're close. ZestFest is going down at the Irving Convention Center this weekend. Make sure you stock up on your TUMS, and avoid hospital trip inducing capsaicin extracts. It's also shaping up to be a fine weekend for patio drinking, but before yo ... More >>

Sundown Rises, Lumi Goes Dark and More Openings and Closings from a Busy January

Catherine DownesSundown at Granada​January proved to be a busy month in the Dallas food scene. The highly anticipated Sundown at Granada opened its doors, along with a handful of other eateries. Read on for the full opening and closing slate, and be sure to share tips about restaurant openin ... More >>