Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. Know an artistic mind who deserves a little bit of blog love? Email lauren.smart@dallasobserver.com with the whos and whys. Dallas’ thriving theatre scene can be attributed to a number of factors. The city’s investment in…
In the lengthy and sometimes stressful process of opening his Bishop Arts restaurant Stock and Barrel, Chef Jon Stevens spent a lot of time eating out at Dallas restaurants. Ever the chef, Stevens tends to frequent places that most of us would consider a foodie splurge, even if they aren’t…
In terms of what is classified as country music, the definition seems to be expanding at a faster rate than ever. Southern rock, folk, and even hip hop have all recently cemented with Nashville artists that have historically been resistant to a whole lot of change. Fortunately, scenes cropped up…
Foodies in Dallas have long lamented the problems of the Dallas Farmers Market. A lack of consistent local vendors and general disinterest from the city of Dallas resulted in a lackluster farmer’s market that did not accurately represent the bounty produced by local farmers. In many cases, it just wasn’t…
As Dallas transforms into a bona fide dining destination, more and more chefs are packing their knives and attempting to strike out on their own. The world of chef-ownership is tough to navigate, evidenced by the fact that only about 43 percent of independently owned restaurants make it past their…
The tragic beauty of local music is that even though it is often better than what is commercially available, the market has not yet realized its worth. That means that you’re often able to hear incredible acts for dirt-cheap, even free. The city’s country bars do a pretty good job…
If you listen to country music, it’s almost assured that you feel like everyone is dumping on your favorite genre as of late. As “bro-country” increasingly becomes the butt of the joke for serious music critics and old-school fans alike, this unfortunate plague on country music’s artistic house continues to…
During summer in Dallas, going swimming is practically the only way to survive. The lukewarm waters of pools both public and private provide respite from the scorching temperatures, and are even nicer on days like today, when Mother Nature has once again decided to bless us with reasonable temperatures in…
Anyone who’s ever owned or worked in a restaurant knows that it’s easy to grow tired of your own food. You can only eat so much of anything, no matter how good it is, before you get burned out and start craving something new. Trevor Ball and Dylan Elchami, the…
It seems as if someone is opening a new restaurant every couple of days in Dallas, and the city’s rapidly evolving culinary scene is attracting some talented restaurant pros tow town. Sometimes, though, the city’s old-school culinary fixtures are doing the innovating, like Phil Romano’s Trinity Grove. The same is…
Everyone’s favorite backwards-sunglasses and flaming-shirt enthusiast Guy Fieri revisits DFW this week, sort of, with an hour-long rehash of former Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives episodes that he’s calling “The Legends of Texas” tour, airing all week. As we wrote about in 2012, this means some people’s favorite restaurants, including Cane…
The myth of Dallas often eclipses the actual city. Thanks to Dallas the TV show, Dallas the city lives in the shadows of oil rigs, oversized cowboy hats and big money. Stereotypes aside, we’re creating our own identity that is actually pretty awesome. It’s time to put down the cowboy…
The concept of “Christmas In July” promotions has never really made much sense to me. This is Texas, and nothing about triple-digit temperatures makes me think of the holiday season. Still, what likely started as a clever marketing strategy for stores to boost sluggish summer sales has inspired a damn…
Seeing Tim McGraw in concert today isn’t the spectacle it was in 1996, when he was riding high on being one of country music’s biggest superstars. McGraw may have settled down slightly in his later years, but fans at the Atlanta stop of McGraw’s Sundown Heaven Town tour earlier this…
In an area that is hot for most of the year, it’s somewhat surprising that there aren’t more local ice cream shops in Dallas-Fort Worth. There are plenty of places to find paletas and popsicles, but a pint of hand-churned ice cream made with local ingredients is a little more…
It used to be that when you wanted to get rid of old junk that inevitably accumulates in the home, you had to host a yard sale. Yard sales are colossal pains in the ass and require setting up a bunch of card tables and sitting in the hot sun…
When he’s not gently placing foraged herbs on one side of a plate at FT33, Matt McCallister has to rest his tweezing hands and take a break from cooking some of the city’s best food. You won’t find him eating any trendy dishes drizzled with truffle oil or pulling into…
You won’t hear much about the work of underground rappers from Dallas in the broader context of hip-hop history, but that’s only because most people don’t know where to look. We From Dallas, a documentary made by local music scene figures Joel Salazar, Teddy Cool and Islam Sesalem, seeks to…
If you’re talking about Dallas’ culinary resurgence in the last five years, there’s no ignoring Chef Matt McCallister. As FT33, McCallister’s farm-to-table restaurant in the Design District, attracts attention from the country’s most respected food critics, it’s also helping direct attention to the young, up-and-coming chefs who are working to…
Most people in Dallas have no real reason to venture over to Irving for dinner, but FM Smokehouse is the exception to the rule, and the kind of place that might change your mind about venturing that way. Owner Brian Rudolph, best known for his craft beer-focused Holy Grail Pub…
DJ nights in Dallas that are spinning vinyl are basically a dying breed. The laptop has become the preferred way for a lot of DJs to play a set, and who could blame them? Electronic music is much cheaper, won’t scratch or break like vinyl, and can be carried around…
Ask any restaurateur and they’ll tell you that it isn’t easy to build a business that can withstand the test of time, especially in a market as notoriously fickle and fractured as Dallas. When someone can manage to overcome economic uncertainty, the whims of the public and bad luck to…
