U.S. Department of Agriculture

How Dallas Killed Farmers Markets

Dallas leads the nation in over-regulating farmers markets ­— which is why we have so few of them.

How to Find Your New Favorite Cheese at Your Local Cheese Shop

Are you afraid of cheese? My editor posed the question in light his experiences at Scardello, the gourmet cheese shop in Oak Lawn. Certainly to an enthusiast, a veritable treasure trove of flavors wait to be discovered inside the cheese counter. But to the uninitiated, a cheese case can look like an ... More >>

Last Night's Stewardship Dinner Featuring Joel Salatin Was A Big Success

If you're a real food-nerd -- and I'm talking a Michael Pollan-readin', Farm Inc.-watchin', vegetable lovin', pro-farmer food nerd -- then you've likely heard about Joel Salatin. The sustainable agriculture guru, known for his advocacy for back-to-roots farming, got a lot of attention when he popula ... More >>

Craft Brewers Say People Really Like Craft Brews. Especially Canadian People.

Beer-drinkers across the globe are growing ever more thirsty for American craft brews, and more craft breweries are opening as a result, according to two not-remotely-unbiased reports from a craft-brew trade group. On Monday, the Brewers Association, which represents small and independent crafter b ... More >>

Eased Trade Restrictions Good for Texas Cattlemen; Bad For Texas Fajitas?

A news release from the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association announced the recent lifting of restrictions on U.S. beef exports to Japan should be good for Texas cattlemen. According to the USDA, Japan will now allow imports of beef from cattle less than 30 months of age, as opposed to t ... More >>

Beef Products, Inc. Sues ABC News Over Pink Slime Coverage

ABC News was slapped with a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit this morning from Beef Products Inc. as a result of the networks' coverage of the great 2012 Pink Slime Shitstorm earlier this year. Oops, I'm sorry, it was the 2012 Lean Finely Textured Beef Shitstorm. The coverage, a result of a massive ... More >>

DISD Cafeterias are Looking Mighty Svelte These Days. Get Ready to Eat Your Veggies Kids.

Were you a lunch line kid? I was mostly, until Smithville ISD put in a "snack line," which allowed the kids who could afford it to eat pizza and french fries every day, while the others went through the line. In retrospect, it was wrong. Every bit of it. I hope they don't still do that. The scenar ... More >>

Chef Brian Luscher of The Grape on the Kansas Beef Council's Bus Tour

Recently Sara Blakenship reported that chef Brian Luscher was embarking on summer camp tryst with the Kansas Beef Council. As proprietor and chef of The Grape on Greenville Avenue, undisputed burger master and barbecue pro, what better person to represent Texas out on the ranch? So, with permissio ... More >>

The Texas Farm Bureau Applauds Domino's Support for Gestation Crates, Orders a Pizza

Confining sows in small gestation crates has come under great scrutiny lately. Major companies like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and most recently the nation's second largest grocery chain, Safeway, have announced a phase-out of pork supplied by farms that use gestation crates. However, recent ... More >>

Maple Avenue's New Kroger Fresh Fare Store Channels HEB in One of Dallas' Food Deserts

Recently a new 73,000 square foot Kroger Fresh Fare grocery store opened at 4901 Maple Avenue in what is considered an "economically distressed Census tract." It is also adjacent to two food deserts as defined by the USDA, a designation that indicates limited access to groceries, particularly fresh ... More >>

Solving the Mystery of Melting Cheeses

My recent investigation into the endless cycle of queso enjoyment promoted a question in the comments. After I described a bubbling plate of molten cheese primi timpano asked: A little surprised at the bubbling cheese as I thought cheese heated to these temperatures would result in broken proteins. ... More >>

Skinnygirl Wine is Now Available at Sigel's. Let's All Get Wasted and Gossip.

I don't know a ton about wine, nor do I know much about "real" housewives in New York City (shout out to Oak Cliff Housewives, who truly keep it real). But word on the street, according to Jasper Russo at Sigel's, is that Skinnygirl wine "HAS ARRIVED!" I pass along this information because I watche ... More >>

Who's Eating All This Steak?

Steak steak steak steak steak steak steak. The Dallas Morning News published a Pavlovian steakhouse slideshow the other day, with pictures and a link to a story published two summers ago that ranked Dallas' best steakhouses. There are some sexy shots in that slideshow, but they invoked deja vu: D M ... More >>

Rowdy and Michelle Obama Visit a Dallas School To Promote Nutrition, Reality TV

Michelle Obama joined the folks from Top Chef this morning, as part of her tour celebrating the second anniversary of her "Let's Move!" initiative. The folks from Bravo staged a mock cooking competition in front of scores of crumbsnatchers (who didn't look that fat to me, by the way) from the Nancy ... More >>

Why Smashburger Sucks More Than It Has To

Gratuitous macro depicting maximum crustiness.​Late last year, Forbes named Smashburger America's most promising company. The article describes an American population as burger-obsessed and compares the Denver-based smashers to other chains, including Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Jack in the B ... More >>

$1.7 Million in State Grant Available for Your Snazzy Squash Marketing Campaign Idea

The USDA has awarded the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) $1.7 million in federal funds for a Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). Through February 23 of this year, the TDA is accepting proposals for the funding of projects designed to raise awareness and consumption of state specialty c ... More >>

The State of Pecan Pie in Texas: It Ain't That Good

​Texas Pecan trees have taken a punch. The USDA predicts our state's trees will collectively produce 40 millions pounds of pecans this year, which is 30 million pounds less than the 2010 crop. The Sunnyvale Pecan orchard east of Dallas is closed for the season. And today I spoke with Red Gra ... More >>

Hammered by the Drought, Texas Ranchers Are Running Out of Cows to Send to Slaughter

Brandon Thibodeaux​Since we started catching rain in pans and writing down measurements, Texas has never gotten so little rainfall as we have this year. As we reported in our recent story on the cattle industry, we're in uncharted territory. That's why, in August, experts were anticipating ano ... More >>

How You're Drinking Tequila is Probably Wrong

Jenny Block​Sunday was National Tequila Day, a time to celebrate a drink that has often gotten a bad rap -- at least among high-minded drinkers who disdain slushy, sugary, kiddie cocktails or knocking back a shot off a stranger's torso. And don't get us started about the hangovers. Please. (M ... More >>

Five CSAs That Aren't Just For Earth Day

​Earth Day is this week's cause celebre. Everyone from food trucks and arts institutions to television networks and giants of industry has jumped on the green bandwagon. Come Monday, many will have forgotten the simple message of how each of us can do our part to protect our planet. One method ... More >>

Denny's Maple Bacon Sundae: When You're Ready to Throw in the Towel

​Recently I took the chickens out to Denny's to try their new Maple Bacon Sundae. When I was a kid I went to Denny's on occasion, but in the past 15 years I think I've been twice, and I had no idea what I'd been missing. From customers to the menu, Denny's keeps it real. This is no place for t ... More >>

Salmonella No Match For Traditional Texas Foodways

A pair of college students has discovered traditional Texas cuisine can be used to fight foodborne illnesses. ​According to research presented at last week's Texas Academy of Science meeting, a common strain of salmonella can't stand up to chili powder or certain barbecue marinades -- at least wh ... More >>

As Obama Signs Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, White House Sends Endorsement From DISD

In March '08, Dora Rivas testified before a House committee on the need for better school nutrition.​Back in August we sneak-peeked the Dallas Independent School District's new-n-improved school menus, which offer a few more healthier alternatives than in recent years. But the district has long sa ... More >>

Apple Juice Not Just for Kids Anymore, Though It Should Be

​Far be it from me to meddle in other people's hydration techniques, but I was surprised this weekend to come across an overheated valet chugging a gallon of frozen apple juice. I like apples, but I always figured there was an age limit on enjoying apple juice. I'd no sooner drink apple juice ... More >>

School Lunches: How Can Something That Taste Like One be so Hard to Make?

Low-sodium sauces​Editor's note: Apparently, feeding kids is a lot more complicated than tossing them a box of Pop-Tarts and a 3-liter jug of root beer. Who knew? For the breeders among you readers, here's a wrap-up of newsy, nutritional items Hanna shipped in from the School Nutrition Associa ... More >>

Lion-Serving Restaurateur is King of the Bungle

What kind of fool offers to serve Americans lion burgers? Bet he resembles this extinct species.​Food lovers, many of whom aren't inclined to get worked up about disallowed goals, have saved their World Cup-related outrage for an act of culinary one-upmanship that unfolded last week in Arizona ... More >>

The Humane Society and big agriculture slug it out over animal rights

The Dallas Zoo Wants to Reassure You: This Gorilla Escape Wasn't Like the Last One

Flickr user: Dallas1200am​Maybe you heard: On Saturday, Tufani, a 19-year-old female gorilla at the Dallas Zoo, got out of her holding area at the 2-acre Jake L. Hamon Gorilla Conservation Research Center. It was nothing as dramatic as the Jabari rampage in '04, which prompted PETA to demand the U ... More >>

Impressions of Dallas with Matt Taylor of Motion City Soundtrack. Also: His Thoughts on Record Labels, Ric Ocasek and the Vans Warped Tour

This here post is the first edition of what will be a weekly peek at what outside musicians think about the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Each week, we'll present a conversation with a touring act, and conclude it with a quick word-association game focusing on certain aspects of Big D and the surrounding ... More >>

The New Faces of Hunger in North Texas

​When the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report earlier this week that placed Texas second only to Mississippi when it comes to the swelling ranks of hungry residents, Jan Pruitt wasn't surprised. After all, the president and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank had just released her own da ... More >>

Re: FYI, Read This ASAP. OMG!

The following is a prime example of my curse here on Earth. A fleeting thought sprouts into a mild observation, only to bloom into a thesis that eventually flourishes into a blog item with sports branches. My apologies ... Got a text the other day, the salutation of which was LOL ... More >>

Like Shootin' Hogs From a Helicopter!

What we don't want, insists state Rep. Sid Miller, is "some Bubba flyin' around, sayin', 'Pass me the beer and the ammo!'" The District 59 rep's talking about his most recent proposal, H.B. No. 836, which calls for extending aerial hunting of feral hogs -- which currently is done only by Texas Wildl ... More >>

Cadillac Ranch Offers a Bumpy Ride for Diners

Gustav Isn't Screwing Around, and Neither is the City of Dallas

Pack a Trunk

Despite efforts by animal welfare activists, the zoo decides to ship a problem elephant out of the country

Horse Opera

Wharf Arf

The Wharf @ Bayview Marina floats and sinks

Eddie's Red Adventure

Eddie Merlot's is a cliché with elegance

Green Giant

Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug is credited with saving the lives of 1 billion people. So why is a small cadre of activists bent on tarnishing his legacy?

How Dry It Is

Why shouldn't we order well-done steaks?

Food Foolery

Shenanigans' sleight of hand is all thumbs

Steak God Bob

Thoroughly masculine

More, Please

Quick, someone buy the county's juvenile authorities a copy of Oliver Twist

Down on the farm

The Farmer's Market is finally turning a profit, and the city has plans to make it even better. So why isn't everyone happy?

Tin tongue

Tin Star's "salsa, smoke, and sizzle" fizzle

Barnyard stench

City auditor believes something stinks at Samuell Farm Parkand it's not just the cow manure

I ate what?

Tei Tei Robata pushes the envelope on foodstuffs, and does it very well

Hot Dish

Sacred cow

Bob's Chop House is a celebration of rich men's pleasures

Snakes in the grass

We're about to get bit again by deregulation