Subject: Leslie Brenner

• DMN Announces Addison's Replacement...Finally

  A few weeks before the Christmas holiday, Bill Addison and I had lunch at Screen Door. At the end of the meal he said 'no reason to hide' and whipped out his real credit card to pay.Yes, we all carry at least one piece of plastic with a phony name. And yes, I pretended to have left mine in the office."So, who's going to replace you?" I asked at that point. He mentioned Leslie Brenner of the Los Angeles Times...but keep it off the record, he added. Something about jinxing the whole deal. They als

  January 21, 2009

• Sleuthing The Sleuths

  Last evening I stopped by the SPCA's Paws Cause event--not only for the free wine, but also to show support...and glance at silent auction items from afar.One must live in a world other than journalism to bid on, well, pretty much anything--including rusted radiator parts.At one point in the evening I overheard two PR types gossiping about the Dallas Morning News' incoming food critic, Leslie Brenner. The good news: several restaurateurs are apparently fearful of her tough reputation. Too many d

  January 26, 2009

• Grapes Of Wrath

  Scanning Leslie Brenner's introduction last week, I wondered first if such a manifesto (outlining the new Dallas Morning News critic's rules of engagement) was truly necessary. Then again, food writers at the daily take some rather unfair jabs on occasion from those compelled to flail away without, to paraphrase a Biblical character, first removing the log from their own eye. Every source of restaurant information--personal blogs, daily papers, magazines and even alternative weeklies--has flaws.

  March 2, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Another Week Bites the Dust

  Damn, we're clever. They're springs--get it?Ah, the first day of spring. How better to celebrate than a look back a those long, dreary days of last week--you know, when some holiday kept you away from the computer. Well, here's some of what you missed. And if these are the highlights, the rest must be total...The Week in Review(s):Your own Dallas Observer: Dave looks at Citrus Bistro (or as we put it, "Good Things Come From Big Packages", which apparently slipped by our wary editorial checker ty

  March 20, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: All Washed Up

  After a long night traipsing around Austin looking for another Michelob Ultra or Tuaca giveaway party, nothing soaks it all up like a lukewarm slice of Roppolo's pizza and a mind-clearing read through the City of Ate archives. That's how some of us felt, anyway, in the wake of SXSW this week. If you need a refresher on all that went on here this week, we've got the highlights below.The Week in Review(s):Your own Dallas Observer: Dave ventures to the spot where the waiters eat, DiTerra's Urban It

  March 27, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Double, Double Your Refreshment

  Well, refreshment, maybe not. Double your fun, though, sure. Toil and trouble all you want. It's been a big week of twos here on City of Ate. A double dose of Veggie Girl, for instance. Two posts recapping the year's first quarter. We even had a couple items for the big race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.The Week in Review(s):Your own Dallas Observer: Dave finds good things at Five-Sixty, Wolfgang Puck's new spot atop Reunion Tower.Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner pulls double duty this wee

  April 3, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Twists, Turns and the Dining Double-Cross

  This week's round of local food news proves it: appearances can be deceiving. A fine Japanese spot can be hidden deep in a mess of chain sprawl, a food-lover who relishes subtlety can prove to be a karaoke superstar by night, and an initially disappointing pizza can prove, on a second try, to be just fine -- if you can get over its lack of meat.The Week in Review(s):Your own Dallas Observer: Dave travels deep into the Siberian-scale dining desolation of chain-land northwest Dallas, and catches a

  May 29, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Literary Genius and Other Dirty Tricks

  While Dave kills time at a booze-free bar (place hadn't lined up its liquor license yet), we take a culinary expedition with some of the luminaries of the printed page, and other folks whose job it is to make everything a little prettier. Or at least more edible.The Week in Review(s):Your own Dallas Observer: Dave finds "down-home" cooking at Cava, a Colombian-Spanish fusion joint with a hint of other Latin and Greek influences.Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner says the food's just as good, ev

  April 17, 2009

• Written In The Stars

  Every so often, a ripple of controversy over the number of stars awarded to some restaurant disturbs Dallas waters.The three-star handouts to Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen and Hully & Mo by the Morning News certainly got folks excited. As for the big man's place, I can't say--never been there. I did try the latter once. But as this was about a week after they opened, it would be unfair to comment.What I do know is this: star systems are generally flawed from the outset and therefore quite dif

  April 27, 2009

• And The Winner Is...

  You know, we had a winner selected. It was a comment posted by someone on DMN's blog. Unfortunately, we came up empty when we went to look for it today.Either someone deleted the comment or we completely misremembered just where we first saw it. (Both are distinct possibilities.) So, after searching for minutes through almost dozens of postings, we came up with three alternative finalists.The Law Reviewers used the phrase "uppity Castillian" in a comment, and we like that. It's a first.Then ther

  May 1, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Summertime, and the Living's Easy

  Even these dark, ominous skies looming all around us, don't make it less true: today is May 1, and summer's right around the corner. That means patios, pools and mint juleps (or Cheladas) -- and another week of highlights from City of Ate.The Week in Review(s):Your own Dallas Observer: A few trips to a Carrollton strip mall transport Dave to a Peruvian family kitchen, or something close to it, a trip he recommends in his review of Inca's.Dallas Morning News: The gloves come off in Leslie Brenner

  May 1, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: The Friendly Confines

  From Cafe Brazil to Jimmy John's, we covered a handful of spots near and dear to our hearts here at City of Ate's Oak Lawn H.Q. Dave, meanwhile, highlights a place where it's no problem feeling right at home. But if there's one lesson to draw from the week, it's this: get out of New York. Even if you're in Oak Cliff.The Week in Review(s):Your own Dallas Observer: Dave enjoys the friendly atmosphere at Nick & Sam's Grill, and tries to enjoy the food too.Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner tak

  May 8, 2009

• Question Of The Week: Which Is More Important--Service, Atmosphere Or Food?

  Both Leslie Brenner and I hammered the kitchen at Nick & Sam's Grill. But there's no denying the restaurant's popularity. Some people rank Mi Cocina amongst the city's top ten restaurants while others--myself included--consider it mediocre at best. Again, it turns out, those who favor the local chain comment on people watching as much as the restaurant's dishes. Clearly great food isn't necessary for an establishment's success. But why not? Isn't that what we want from a restaurant?Results f

  May 15, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Hitting the Road

  It's the end of the school year, the start of summer, and the perfect time to start thinking road trip. But before you load up on Red Vines and jerky, it's worth a look at the best of our latest news in local food.The Week in Review(s):Your own Dallas Observer: Agave Tex-Mex, one of the most recent entries into the pantheon of half-Tex, half-Mex eateries, gets the Dish treatment from Dave.Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner checks out Masaryk Modern Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Lounge, while cont

  May 22, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Tabletop Showdown

  Nothing spices up a kitchen like the element of competition -- as even a casual Food Network viewer could tell you. Describing a recipe for the camera? Not exciting. Breathily narrating your dish as you race to beat the clock and five other chefs? There's good eating in that.So at the end of a week when more obscure British menu items vied against Uptown bar tastes, when bottled cherry vodka paled before homemade fruity hooch, we'll recount the best of the week's food-related face-offs.The Week

  June 5, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: As Seen On TV

  Having handily dispatched the written word, television's having its way with dining now, too -- at least, that's the idea you get after reading our last week on City of Ate. Not good news for those of us who write about food.From an Oxygen Network TV crew getting in our photographer's shot at Central 214, to the lengthy milkshake queue at Twisted Root after its 15 minutes of basic cable fame (OK, 30 minutes. But still...), it's hardly surprising the week ended with undead analog TVs zombie-walki

  June 12, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Blazing A Trail

  Getting of the beaten path and trying new things can be especially rewarding when of comes to food, and this week on City of Ate proved it. From a Hophead excursion to Bonnaroo, to a taste of new gelato flavors for summer, we brought plenty of ways to avoid the same old thing.The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: Salum is one spot worth staying in the neighborhood for, Dave writes this week, and well worth the trip if you're not from around there. Dallas Morning News: Leslie Bren

  June 19, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Who Got the Hooch?

  Whether driven by an asinine Constitutional amendment, grand notions of urban planning or draconian dietary shackles, folks who find they have to suck it up, tug at their bootstraps and get down to business -- they're the ones who make the real innovations. This week, one way or another, from hooch to homegrown tomatoes, we salute the DIY ethic at work in the local dining scene.The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: Way out in Rockwall, with an expert kitchen and a homegrown ethic, Da

  June 26, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Taking the Easy Way

  Even as much as we honor hard work in America (nearly as much as apple pie), we admire quick fixes, workarounds and clutch deliveries more. You say there's no easy way out? We say you're not looking hard enough. Or maybe you're looking too hard. Either way, this week on City of Ate, we celebrate the folks who get it done the easy way.The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: Masaryk leaves Dave with the impression of a place that's gotten good at a "mod-Mex" move, and is doing it over a

  July 17, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Moving On Up

  ​Some places we covered this week are punching above their weight, for better or for worse, and others are aiming purposefully low. The best of City of Ate this week covers a handful of spots toying with a new social place.The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: Dave tries slumming it at Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen, where the down-home cooking runs up against Highland Park affectation. Dallas Morning News: Si Tapas and Spanish Cuisine gets Leslie Brenner's attention this week, while

  July 25, 2009

• Words And Meanings: A Blog Commenter's Responsibilities

  Ian Britton/FreeFoto.com​Every Monday in this space I pick something to rant about. Today, however, I'm at a loss.I did want to thank Leslie Brenner for bringing up the growing "we don't take reservations" trend, which I find annoying...although I understand the value to a restaurant's bottom line. I thought, too, about asking Jerry Jones (indirectly) why his people forgot to attach cup holders to the seats at Cowboys Stadium. Without cup holders, there's nothing to do with the empties but chu

  July 27, 2009

• And The Winner Is...

  As you know, each week we highlight some of our favorite reader posts--an idea we began sometime back in the hopes of giving away prizes, then dropped, then kinda stole from Leslie Brenner when she started doing it (without prizes) on Eats. Too much to choose from this time around. Thoughtful posts from a Mr. Drayton and a Mr. Von Danger, a clever string of pre-adolescent rhyming words from runDMC...could keep going.Instead, will limit our non-prize-winning options to these two:Luscher (the real

  July 31, 2009

• Report From Leslie Brenner: Lola To Close

  Normally I find restaurant opening/closing stories to be rather tedious, as far as news goes. Places come and go all the time, you know.But Leslie Brenner's announcement on Eats that Lola will soon shut down...Damn.Turns out she was intent on reviewing the place. Guess what--I had one planned for the September 3 issue and had already made one visit. And I swear the Observer and Morning News don't coordinate.

  August 5, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Don't You Forget

  ​Breakfast is really the only meal that could make that movie work. Not that The Supper Club couldn't be great too -- but it would have to go in a different direction. This week we learned that Lola is on the way out, even if plenty more places are just opening their doors. Wrapping up another week, all we've got left are the memories.The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: At Lumi Empanada & Dumpling Kitchen, Dave finds a neighborhood spot worth returning to, if only he can find

  August 8, 2009

• Chef David Uygur Looks At Life After Lola

  ​A week ago today, Leslie Brenner of the Dallas Morning News dropped a bomb on the Eats blog: nine-year-old Lola on Fairmount Street is closing in October. The Uptown charmer has earned top marks from reviewers and locals alike for its thoughtful, well-executed menu and top-notch wine program. The announcement was disappointing, to say the least. In the words of our own Dave Faries, "Damn." Chef David Uygur has been with Lola since 2002 (with a brief break in 2005 to pursue another opportun

  August 12, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Underneath The Tropical Sun

  ​When it feels like the rest of the world is out on vacation, daydreams about island living come easily -- and even if a tropical refuge in Bishop Arts doesn't quite give the same effect, sometimes the right table in the right restaurant is vacation enough for now. Plus, there are plenty of "tropical" places where you still probably don't want to be.The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: The folks behind Hula Hotties have come a long way from selling hot sauce in Honolulu to dishing

  August 14, 2009

• Leslie Does Dallas, Or The Perils Of Popularity

  Innovation out of control: tall food-foam fusion.​Leslie Brenner's assessment of dining in Dallas appeared over the weekend--a comprehensive and provocative piece both casting the city in culinary shadows and under a gleaming ray of promise. You may disagree with her assignment of stars for particular restaurants. But the Dallas Morning News critic has hit us with some stunners that--like it or not--keep those of us interested in the local dining scene awake and buzzing. And when she speaks h

  August 17, 2009

• Good Riddance Lazare And Other Annoyances From Yesterday

  ​OK, so we're a little steamed here.First off, our blog system was acting up: running like, well, me on a football field (which is to say slow), cutting off sentences when we pounded the keyboard in frustration, dropping comments. But it's all better now.Then the people at Lazare, who last week confirmed they planned to forge ahead with the same staff and tighter menu, announced plans to close up within two weeks for a complete "rebranding." Based upon the initial information, we went ahead wi

  August 19, 2009

• And The Winner Is...

  It was an unusually frantic week at City of Ate, thanks in part to those [expletive deleted]'s at Lazare, but more to our own tedious blogging software, which one day decided--all on its own--to block all comments.Still, we had a lot to work with. And if we were giving away prizes, these fine folks would win either a book entitled Quantum Wellness, a 'survival kit' from Austinuts or what's left of a bottle of Jack Daniel's I opened on the day our software went on strike.Instead, these comments g

  August 21, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: A Case of the Mondays

  ​In this back-to-school edition of Sloppy Seconds, we're recapping a hectic week that saw complications both technical and interpersonal as the City of Ate crew went about its business. Still, from wine classes to a little meta-analysis, last week saw plenty of learning opportunities for devotees of the Dallas dining scene.The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: Dave bats around thoughts on the year's best new restaurants for a while, on the way to being impressed by chef Christopher

  August 24, 2009

• The Long Good Bye to Lola

  August 27, 2009

• The Long Good Bye to Lola

  August 27, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Branching Out

  In the week that brought a spirited City of Ate debate over the merits of eating in the Dallas suburbs, even if you live in the city, we covered plenty of other reasons to try new things. This week saw looks at ultra-pure water, soul food for the fancy, and the best breakfasts you're not eating in Dallas.The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: Dave ventures once more into Lola, before the Uptown spot takes its leave this October. Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner covers a charming, u

  August 28, 2009

• Poor Julia Child

  Great note on the Eats blog by Leslie Brenner. Thanks to a movie that turned them on to an old cookbook, some columnists have discovered classic French recipes are difficult. And reverence for her leaves out modern trendwriters like Michael Pollan. And she didn't share today's outlook on sexual orientation...Geez.Anyway, if you haven't read Brenner's post, click here.

  September 3, 2009

• Sloppy Seconds: Don't Drive Angry

  ​We did our best to avoid blowing up here at City of Ate HQ, but really, that tantalizing taste of vacation on Monday just made it easier to get bitter over the other four workdays. Times like that, when you're right on the edge of letting your temper go, the right food writing can be just the thing to convince you to make love, not war (or head to Plano for both at once).The Week in Review(s): Your own Dallas Observer: Dave follows up on the of the very public tumult that began at Mi Cocina,

  September 13, 2009