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, Dave finds that AVA is well worth the drive, and maybe even worth changing for, if the servers ask real nice.
  
• Dallas Morning News: Bailey’s Prime Plus gets a single lonely star from Leslie Brenner, who sounds like she might’ve stumbled into a Cheesecake Factory by mistake.
• Dallas Voice: We’re a week late mentioning Arnold Jones’ take on Central 214, a strong endorsement of chef Blythe Beck’s take-no-prisoners, spare-no-arteries approach in the kitchen.
  

Highlights from City of Ate:

• Handle the Proof: Moonshine
  Trying to cut sugar from her diet, reporter Megan Feldman sleuths out the hidden places this supposedly refined ingredient had been lurking around in our food.
  
• Hophead: Brooklyn Beer In ‘The Brooklyn Of Dallas,’ And A Question For Local Beer Lovers
  Whether Oak Cliff’s image as the Brooklyn of North Texas is self-styled or invented from the outside, Hophead enjoys a taste of Brooklyn Brewery at Eno’s Pizza Tavern.
  
• Veggie Girl: Lazare
  In the most suspenseful Veggie Girl episode yet, Alexa places her trust in chef Ryan Carbery to dream up an off-menu vegan meal on the spot.
  
• First Look: Creme De La Cookie
  Folks have tried to distill a profitable upscale bakery from this Snider Plaza location before, but has Creme De La Cookie come up with a recipe for success?