South America

When Venezuelans Need Guns, It Seems, They Turn to a Parking Lot in Mesquite

You can't buy a gun in Venezuela. It's illegal, and has been since the government of Hugo Chavez banned the private sale of firearms earlier this year as part of an effort to tackle the country's sky-high murder rate: 19,336 last year, more than in Mexico, which is in the midst of a drug war and has ... More >>

First Round of SXSW 2013 Acts Announced, Including Blackstone Rangers and The Relatives

With the announcement of 35 Denton's initial lineup, it was only a matter of time before you felt that tightening in your chest, aka the first round of SXSW acts. North Texas' Blackstone Rangers, Ronnie Fauss, the Relatives, Somebody's Darling, Sarah Jaffe and Tedashii are all represented. Thurston ... More >>

Down the Hatch Chilies as Local Restaurants Trot Out the Seaonal Favorite

Central Market's 17th annual Hatch Chile Festival is back in full swing and Dallas is still making a big deal about it. Are they worth the hype? Will they rearrange your culinary universe? That friends, is up to you and your palates. Go sample, enjoy. But if you're like us and too lazy to take Cen ... More >>

Expand Your Wardrobe's Geography

In Two More Weeks Dallas Will Have One Less Chicken-fried Steak

Cafe Brazil announced the closure of their McKinney location at the end of the month. They were unable to negotiate a lease renewal with their landlord and decided to permanently close their doors instead. The restaurant has been serving up chicken fried steak and eggs, migas, pancakes and other bre ... More >>

Café Brazil in Bishop Arts District Celebrates 4-Year Anniversary Today with Free Food

Café Brazil is celebrating four years at its Bishop Arts District location. Today from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., diners can get a free entrée and dessert with the purchase of a beverage. Entrée options include chicken crepes, Amazon salad, lemon pepper chicken pasta, pumpkin pancakes, apple chipot ... More >>

Travel the World and Stay at Home

Oak Cliff Girl Mistakenly Deported to Colombia Returns, Leaving Trail of Unanswered Questions

Photos by Leslie MinoraJakadrien Turner, home at last, with grandmother Lorene on her right and mother Johnisa on her left​At 11 a.m. Friday morning, Lorene Turner got the call: Her granddaughter, Jakadrien Turner, who had run away from her Oak Cliff home and her life as a student at Kimball H ... More >>

The City's Going After a Vickery Meadow Apartment Complex It Claims Isn't SAFE At All

​The sprawling Casa Verde apartment complex doesn't look like anything much. It's a weathered collection of green buildings behind a long black fence that runs along a cracked street. Located on Fair Oaks, not far from Greenville and Park, it's tucked behind Today's Discount Food Mart, a taqueria ... More >>

American Women: Fun to Watch Running Around in Soccer Shorts

​You know what I think of women's sports. Why watch them when you can see men run faster, jump higher or hit the ball longer? And you know what I think of soccer. A potentially entertaining game is ruined by archaic offsides rules, ridiculous fake injuries and the worst officiating of ... More >>

Free (FREE!) Food at Café Brazil Today

Cafe BrazilHuevos Rancheros​Do y'ever do something nice just for the sake of doing something nice? No? Well luckily, the good people at Lower Greenville's Café Brazil do, as today, they'll be treating any and all patrons to a FREE entrée from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. During that glorious nine-hour ... More >>

It Goes Deeper Than Late Fees

Garden Party

Takes You to Tango

Today: Free Food at Cafe Brazil

​We know what will make this below-freezing day bearable, and it isn't a Snuggie, although that would be pretty cool to have on a day like today. What you really need to get through today is free food, and Cafe Brazil has got you covered. Bring a printout of this page or show it to your server ... More >>

Foodways Texas and Smoke Let You
Step Out of Your Shell

​One of the best invitations I've received this year was an e-mail beckoning me to College Station for the founding of Foodways Texas. Now, you too have the opportunity to support the organization, as august a group of chefs, food writers, scholars, fishermen, pitmasters, chuckwagon cooks and ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: Emapanadas
At La Carreta Argentina

Photo by Steven Doyle​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, other ... More >>

Hash Over: Hatch Green Chile Season is Here; Sprinkles Fights Childhood Hunger; Pappas Bros. Steakhouse's Jason Huerta Wins Texas Best Sommelier, and more

​We know you've been waiting for it. We've seen your tweets and Facebook posts stating that you've been dying to get your hands on them. And now it's here--it's the peak of the Hatch green chile season! We thought we would be helpful and recommend a few places at which chile lovers could celebrat ... More >>

Hatching a Chile Celebration at Central Market

Photos by Elaine Liner​Second only to Christmas holidays for bringing in customers, the 15th annual Hatch Chile Festival at Central Market stores, going on now through August 31, creates shopping cart gridlock. What is it about the smoky vegetable from the nightshade family that earns such dev ... More >>

Do It Uruguay: South American Wines Ready
To Make Splash in the States

​Argentinian wines make good sense in Texas. Like Texas, Argentina is big and dry and hot. Most important, it's a beef-eating country -- the average Argentinian annually eats more than 150 pounds of beef -- and the wines are made to pair with steak. But the leaders of a session on South Amer ... More >>

Praise the Lord and Pass the Hatch Chile

Batch of Hatch​"Praise God, the 2010 Chile Season is here," says the banner headline on Hatch Chile Express' homepage. Hatch Chile Express, a New Mexico distributor with a three-generation long history of chile farming, is planning to begin shipping its Big Jims, Sandias and Lumbre chiles on Mon ... More >>

Guess Where I'm Eating: Tex-Mex, Burlesque and Star Wars All in One Place

​Like burlesque, this pedigreed Tex-Mex establishment has a storied history. They each serve seductive layers of flavor. The former has smoky performances. The latter has smoky dishes. Both are hot!

AFI: Chimayo Market Corn at Blue Mesa Grill

Photos by Sarah Johnson ​Chimayo Market Corn Demonstrated by Cosme Alcantar of Blue Mesa Grill During the months of May and June, Blue Mesa Grill has been celebrating seasonal fruits and vegetables by hosting the Corn and Peach Festival. The Southwestern-inspired restaurant chose two local fa ... More >>

Getting Tanked Up On Caipirinas At Your Local Churrascaria

From WikipediaBrazil's national cocktail.​Summer on Ipanema Beach in Brazil. The sand is densely packed with tall buildings and beautiful people. And the people are beautiful because they can afford to be. You see, Ipanema is one of the most expensive places to live in Rio. Ipanema means "bad w ... More >>

The Peruvians Are Coming and They are Bringing Their Lomo Saltado With Them By Chris Meesey

From WikipediaGaston Acurio​Gaston Acurio is one of the hottest chefs in the world that you've never heard of.That's because the 41-year-old, black-clad whirlwind is neither French nor American. No, in fact he is Peruvian, as in South America, long seen by many Americans as a culinary backwater. ... More >>

Cafe Brazil Offers a Safe Harbor from DWI Checkpoints, Also Some Tasty Crepes

Sarah Johnson​El Gordo Crepes Demonstrated by Luciano Lopez of Café Brazil Richardson There are certain restaurants, bars and hole in the wall-type places that we consider our second home, or even our actual home because we frequent them so much. The place we like to go after a long day to gra ... More >>

What's Eating Gilberto Gil?

Some Like It Hot

Kickin' Cotton

Blue Chiles

Oh Yeah, That Football

Big-Screen Brazil

See Gilliam's classic at the Inwood

Brown Christmas

Latin groups ring in the season

Hot Mouth

Chile Pepperama means it's really fall now

Mi Corazón

Friendly Fire

FC Dallas takes on Chivas

Building Cred

Brazil's Braga hits Big D

Global Drama

Review: Aló Cenaduria & Piqueos

Sexy Time

See top-notch Tango at the Majestic

This Chili's Just Right

Be a judge at the red hot Chile Pepperama

Texas de Ka-ching

The churrascaria king expands his dominion

Brazilian Whacks

Lakewood bids adieu to Café Brazil

Hissing Wick

TexAsian Fuse to get lit in May

First Fest

Celebrate Dallas via all of the Americas

Deep Brazil

New Cafe Brazil owner has plans to expand--but not dramatically

Lighten Up

Tres Méridas offers a sensible form of global fusion

Kernel Flips

Zaguán fare is cheesy and corny--and that's a good thing

Good to Go

Café Venezuela lives up to its not-so-bold claims

Pig in a poke

With mostly tasty meat, Texas de Brazil stumbles over swine