Nothing is the same anymore. Case in point: It's been reported that at college career fairs, the longest lines are in front of the CIA recruitment tables. Another pointed case: Tom Landis, a co-founder of the Dallas Texadelphia Philly cheese steak restaurant chain, is running for Dallas mayor. He says he's already assembled a nine-member executive action committee made up of some of the leading black and Hispanic folks in this town. "I really think I could win this thing," he boasts--because, he stresses, he is the only one on the right side of the issues.
On Dallas politics: "Man, I think I hate politics, but I just got to do it. I see this window, an opportunity, and I'm going for it." On City Council member and potential mayoral candidate Laura Miller: "It'll be tough for her. I think she's got a lot of neat stuff. I'd love to meet her. In fact, when I'm elected I'd love to have her stick on the council."
On the diversity of his power base: "Some of the Hispanic leaders that are in my pocket...Oh no. Not in my pocket. Are, ah, fired-up." On the backlog of city restaurant permits: "Six weeks. I mean that's inexcusable...You talk to any restaurateur...and they just talk about what a pain in the ass it is to get the permitting process done...But then someone says are you willing to go on record, and it's, 'Oh no, 'cause I'm going to have to meet with these people again.' What, do we live in Afghanistan?"
On the 2012 Olympics: "There's nobody out there that's more fired-up about the Olympics than me...I'm puttin' a billboard up at Lovers and Greenville that will be the only bilingual piece of marketing for this campaign. It'll say, 'Vote yes for 2012, paid for by Tom Landis for mayor campaign.'" On the right to vote: "On any given election day, more people go out to eat in a restaurant than go out and vote. I'm putting together a letter to the voting commissioner's office of Dallas County or whatever to look into the feasibility of [installing voting booths in restaurants]." Can we have fries with that?
Salve! Executive Chef Kevin Ascolese has departed Phil and Janet Cobb's Italian restaurant this past Friday. Ascolese joined the Cobb Cos. in 1996 when he took the post of executive chef of Mi Piaci Ristorante Italiano...Basha, the Middle-Eastern restaurant on Lower Greenville opened by chef Bachar Alaia in 1994, is no more. Alaia will reopen a remodeled, downscale restaurant in its place called Tabouli's.
