Labor Day

Summer Is Officially Here: Aunt Stelle's Sno Cones Is Open

Summer technically commences when the sun reaches the most northern point in the sky at noon. The Farmers' Almanac suggests that day is June 21 this year. But, we prefer to use snow cone stands as our guide to the season, particularly Aunt Stelle's Sno Cones in Oak Cliff. See also: 50 Years of Chil ... More >>

The Devil's Auteur: Rob Zombie Faces His Fans -- and His Art

Remembering Levon Helm

Last Friday, Voice Media Group announced the winners of their first music writing awards. This winning piece by Jesse Sykes first appeared in Seattle Weekly's print edition. By Jesse Sykes As I was growing up in New York state--where the residents want you to know they don't live in "The City"--th ... More >>

Kung Fu Saloon Brings Sake, Beer, Nunchunks and a Retro Arcade to Uptown

Kung Fu Saloon is a new arcade and bar situated at the corner of Routh Street and Cedar Springs Road, in what used to be the Place at Perry's (2901 Routh St). This Austin-import opened Labor Day weekend and is already getting quite acclimated in its new digs. On Saturday there was a mix of gamers, l ... More >>

First Taste Of Ethiopia Hopes To Draw Increased Attendance To Ethiopia Day

We made it! At least unofficially. Labor Day weekend is here, and with it hopefully an end to triple-digit heat. Actually, compared with last year, this summer was pretty comfortable. I might say I even enjoyed it. I won't miss it, though, because with fall comes what I think it one of Dallas' mos ... More >>

Dallas Doesn't Have an Oatmeal Festival. Whine.

A few awesome friends of mine have a longstanding Labor Day weekend tradition of getting their asses down to Schlitterbahn before we settle in for a, short and mediocre "winter." No matter the motive, it's a trip well worth a few hours flying south down Interstate 35 on a Friday. This morning, one ... More >>

2012 Big Tex Choice Awards: Holy Fried Crap! Did Someone Say Fried Bacon Cinnamon Roll and Deep Fried Mac & Cheese Slider? Yeah. Yeah They Did.

Sorry, Your Heart. It's time for the State Fair of Texas Big Tex Choice Awards. Finalists were just announced. Here's the list, plus a little about the history of some of this year's competitors. The eight finalists for the 2012 Big Tex Choice Awards (in no particular fried order): Deep Fried Jamb ... More >>

50 Years of Chilling: Aunt Stelle's Sno Cones in Oak Cliff

A white Mercedes CLS 500 slowly turns right off Clarendon and parks along the curb on the wrong side of the street. The tail end of the car is sticking out just a bit. The driver and his date, a young couple, get in line behind a family of six, all who just piled out of a black Suburban. Cars are pa ... More >>

Stoney LaRue Does Some Sweet Charity For Cook Children's Medical Center

The country music community of Texas and Oklahoma has been a fantastic supporter of children and their families battling various medical issues. Over the past few years, Ft. Worth DJ Justin Frazell has been a driving force behind the all-star Pickin' for Preemies series of Labor Day concerts, with p ... More >>

City's Spending $40 Mil to Build Elm Fork Soccer Complex. Question Is: Who'll Run It?

Via.​Speaking of items out for bid by the City o' Dallas ...Over the summer we noticed that the city was looking for someone to snap up the naming rights to the Elm Fork Athletic Complex off Walnut Hill and Stemmons -- you know, that 138-acre, 20-field soccer complex behind Malibu Grand Prix being ... More >>

The Black Police Association vs. The Dallas Morning News (And a Few Others Too)

"Cocksucker?" "Asshole?" You're working for the wrong paper, Tanya.​The Black Police Association of Greater Dallas, which represents the area's black police officers, is waging a serious PR campaign against The Dallas Morning News and journalist Tanya Eiserer, a longtime criminal justice reporter ... More >>

Passion Pit Drummer, New Dallas Dweller Nate Donmoyer To Spin Free Rio Room Set Thursday

​Technically -- technically -- last week was supposed to be it for Rio Room's somewhat over-the-top, but nonetheless impressive summer-long offerings of DJ sets from bold-faced names. Diplo's performance was to be the cap in the summer's feather, and the weekly Sunday night residency from Grammy-w ... More >>

Rangers-Angels Take Baseball's Center Stage. Or at Least They Should.

​There are only two division races in baseball. And only one with playoff implications. As we play the regular season's final month the Tigers, Phillies, Brewers and Braves each have leads of at least 7 games with only 20 remaining. In the AL East the Yankees lead the Red Sox by 2.5, bu ... More >>

A Labor Day First: Top 10 U.S. Open Observer-ations ... From a Guy Who Just Wants a Chance To Work

​Carrollton's Kelly Dearmore emailed me with a simple request: I wanna write for Sportatorium. Being that he's a free-lance writer that has covered concerts for the Observer, he hates the New York Yankees and he loves him some tennis in general and one of my fave sporting events -- the ... More >>

As Dallas Symphony "Struggles" to Balance Art and Economy, Musicians Get a New Deal

​The Dallas Symphony Orchestra has spent the last year trying to balance its books and fill its coffers, going so far as to launch last fall The Great Orchestra Campaign intended to raise a quick $50 million. The process continues: Per a press release dispatched by the DSO today, management has "c ... More >>

Ochre House Actors Take Wild Ride In Morphing

Ginger BerryCast of Morphing​Theater Caps are bite-sized punch-packing capsule reviews by resident theater critic Elaine Liner. Use them as a reminder -- or a teaser, if you procrastinate -- of her full-length reviews in The Mixmaster's weekly sister. Make Eugene O'Neill's drama Long Day's Jo ... More >>

Hairspray: A Spritz of Fun

Wig out on a family friendly adaptation of John Waters' kitschy original.

Kirtland Records' Tami Thomsen Tells Us About Her Start, What She Sees In The Label's Future

Welcome to Local Music 'Mericans , where we meet some of the people behind the local music scene -- those who aren't necessarily members of local bands, but more the people who make the scene move.Tami Thomsen​As a high school student, Tami Thomsen, the main cog in the wheel that is (former Dee ... More >>

The NFL Lockout: My Top 10 Observer-ations

​10. Barring a last-minute agreement, the NFL will cease operations as we know them tonight at 11 when the league's current collective bargaining agreement expires. The owners and players have met via mediation the last nine days with no significant movement. The owners, dealt a signific ... More >>

Clock, Theme Set for Fair

Now that things are looking more like spring, let's talk about next fall. Yes, even before summer, sunglasses and heat-waves, let's talk about deep-fried food, over-sized cowboy hats and the Texas State Fair. ​As if we needed a reason to discuss the month-long exaltation of everything Texas, ... More >>

Whitt's End: 2.18.11

​Whether you've reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Coming to you today live from the Daytona 500. Literally. I awoke this morn -- as did hundreds of thousands of NASCAR fans -- to the public address blaring first, at precisely 6 a.m. "We ... More >>

Meet the Fort Worth Film Buff Who's Updating and Preserving the Bobbie Wygant Archive

Bobbie Wygant Interviews Robert Duvall for Tender Mercies from Atombomb.tv on Vimeo.I could read to you from this stack of press releases for big-deal Thursday happenings ("Boone Pickens, Mayor Leppert, Chief Brown unveil New Jubilee Park Buildings" and "Mayor Leppert, Dr. Hinojosa to launch first-o ... More >>

About Those Proposed Permit Fee Hikes ...

​For months Theresa O'Donnell, director of the city's Sustainable Development and Construction department, has been meeting with contractors and developers about how to loosen up the permit-granting, inspection-making logjam caused in recent months by departmental layoffs and other budget-busters. ... More >>

Night Moves: Your Labor Day Weekend In Photos.

Ray and Peter LekBest way to light your cigarette ever.​Some people spend their Labor Days grilling by the pool. Others wallow pool cues and eat fire. The Hellzapoppin Sideshow Revue, which features "electrical death defying stunts" and fire eating, stopped by Trees on Friday night--and it was mer ... More >>

Gloria's Brunch Lacks On The Lake

Photos by Andrea Grimes and Man O' The HourThe Gloria's Mexican Omelet​Waterfront dining is one of the great mysteries of the universe. For reasons unknown to us mortals, the Great and Powerful Spiritual Being of Oneness and Things of the Like has decreed that all restaurants within 20 feet of a b ... More >>

DPD Reminds, If You Drink and Drive This Long Holiday Weekend, You May Also Give Blood

​Back in June 2009, then-Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle told then-Dallas Observer-er Kimberly Thorpe why he was (and, no doubt, remains) a big fan of the department's so-called No-Refusal DWI Initiative, which allows officers who pull over suspected drunk drivers to take and test two vials' wort ... More >>

Hash Over: Morton's The Steakhouse News, Mattito's Opens Its Third Location, Lunch Buffet at Naga Thai and More

​Have you been thinking to yourself what's been going on at Morton's The Steakhouse in downtown Dallas? Well, we have all kinds of updates for you. First, the popular steakhouse just added a few new items to its menu, including crab cake BLT, smoked salmon pizza, double cut and bone-in fille ... More >>

Whitt's End: 8.27.10

Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *By no means am I an alarmist, but we need to see something positive from the Cowboys' first-team offense Saturday night in Houston. One long drive that ends in a touchdown. That's all. Give me that ... More >>

Lebron James Eats for Free: Five Food Bribes That Might Work

Wanna bribe us? Keep the food. Try this instead.​A recent University of Texas at Dallas release that was ostensibly about T-shirts raises an interesting food issue: Explaining why he'd decided to display 300 commemorative T-shirts in a university building, Dean J. Michael Coleman said, "Free ... More >>

Czeching out the National Polka Festival

Man! Man in tights!​Maybe everyone who attended the National Polka Festival over the weekend in Ennis is too hungover from copious amounts of kolache and Czechvar to hop straight on the Craigslist to post their missed connections. Maybe that's why there's only this one lonely missed polka connecti ... More >>

Darin Archer, R.I.P.

Dallas loses another young talent

They're Baaaaack!

Wine Graft

tk tk tk

Daddy, Help!

Big Daddy's Grill House is good, but bring a defibrillator

Fast Times at MotorSport Ranch

Jack Farr's performance-car playground redefines the country club

Family man

Dallas restaurateur Dale Wamstad portrays himself as humble entrepreneur and devoted father. The family he abandoned in New Orleans has a bone to pick with that.