All week at City of Ate, we celebrate the magic of the taco. Check back for more interviews, essays and maybe a list or two. Or maybe four? Street tacos are glorious in and of themselves, but there is something equally delicious being served out of carts in front of…
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Despite the commonly held belief that the fifth of May is Mexican Independence Day, Cinco De Mayo is a day to commemorate and celebrate The Battle of Puebla, where an over-matched Mexican army kicked the shit out of their French occupiers. In Mexico, the holiday is…
All week at City of Ate, we celebrate the magic of the taco. Check back for more interviews, essays and maybe a list or two. Or maybe four? Dallas is famously flooded with goopy Velveeta queso and sour cream enchiladas, and certain corridors are lined with taquerias. But sit-down restaurants…
The Kentucky Derby is a Southern ritual, especially if you’re rich. In Kentucky proper, thousands of people will put on their Sunday finest and excessive headware to watch horses run around the track for exactly one and a quarter mile. Seems boring, but I’m pretty much down for any occasion…
Kitchen LTO, the innovative “permanent pop-up restaurant” that set up shop in Trinity Groves last year, has helped some of the city’s most promising up-and-coming chefs hone their skills. As current Kitchen LTO chef Eric Shelton’s control of the restaurant comes to an end on May 31, the restaurant is…
It’s already been a big year for Chef Omar Flores, and we’re only four months in. After running the kitchen at well-reviewed seafood spot Driftwood, Flores swooped into Trinity Groves with a modern concept for Spanish tapas. Then, the world noticed. In only the first six months of being open,…
When it comes to restaurants, the devil is in the details. Managers and chefs spend countless hours crafting menus, arranging tables and building ambiance to make sure that the diners in their restaurants have an incredible experience. If recent experience is any indicator, though, there is one glaring detail that…
Early one night last week, Trinity Groves, Dallas’ text kitchen, was buzzing with people at Kitchen LTO, Amberjax, Resto Gastro Bistro, and Casa Rubia. We chose Chino Chinatown, where everyone was sitting out on the patio enjoying dinner at the restaurant helmed by former caterer and cooking show contestant Uno…
Everyone in Texas, transplant or not, has been told that if you pick the bluebonnets that decorate the landscape across Texas in the spring, a state trooper will personally kick your ass, because you Don’t Mess With Texas and its dainty blue flora. Maybe your mom told you this oft-repeated…
It seems like the Dallas culinary scene’s thought leaders and trendsetters are getting younger and younger as each year passes. Shortly after her 29th birthday, Kirstyn Brewer, executive chef at Victor Tango’s, is leading a restaurant that’s been a Henderson Avenue institution for more than 10 years. The few years…
The cheeseburger chef Brian Luscher serves at Sunday brunch at The Grape on Lower Greenville was anointed the Greatest Burger in Texas, and he dishes up cozy comfort food to hundreds of devoted Dallas diners each week. That hasn’t gone to his head. But he is looking to grow. Although…
You’ve probably read about other food shortages that are causing serious problems across the country. Limes are damn near a dollar each these days, and that’s driving up the cost of everything from margaritas to tacos. Now, though, something a whole lot worse is happening: A serious illness in pigs…
Since her appearance on ABC’s popular cooking show The Taste, Chef Uno Immanivong has been on a pretty wild ride. Just a year and a half after filming the show alongside mentor Anthony Bourdain, Immanivong is three months into owning her first restaurant. That restaurant, Trinity Groves’ Chino Chinatown, serves…
There is little better about life than cheese, especially the good stuff that you get at places like Scardello Artisan Cheese in Oak Lawn. Fancy cheese plates are expensive at restaurants, but it’s easy to do a good DIY job at home — if you know what to get. Cheesemonger…
For someone who’s never helmed a fine dining restaurant in Dallas, David Anthony Temple has a lot of opinions about the city’s food and restaurants. Cooking under the nom de guerre Chef DAT, Temple has been hosting underground pop-up dinners across the city for the last four and a half…
Last year, the owners of several gay bars along Cedar Springs Avenue joined forces to create a more “family friendly” parade. In addition to adding a “Family PRIDE Zone” to Lee Park, where kids could safely avoid drunk people and get their faces painted, the Dallas Tavern Guild announced that…
Dear Red Lobster, I hear you guys are having some financial problems. Your parent company may be looking to dump you, but it’s not your fault. You have been continually wonderful for the last one hundred years (or however long you’ve existed) as everyone’s favorite budget-friendly seafood restaurant. Unfortunately, it…
Just a year ago, a drive down Henderson Avenue in East Dallas was a depressing trek through a graveyard littered with the ghosts of restaurants past. Even the most accomplished restaurateurs (including James Beard nominee Nick Badovinus) have tried and failed to sustain a successful business in this seemingly prime…
Ever since his failed bid to be the Republican Party’s nominee for President in 2012, Governor Rick Perry has been busy selling the rest of the country on Texas’ economic policies, particularly as they relate to job creation. Perry’s message to businesses across the country has been clear: Move your…
There was a time when going out to dinner was an indulgence. A thing you did when you really wanted to treat yourself. Now most of us head to restaurants out of necessity, or at least we tell ourselves that: We’re either too busy or too lazy to actually prepare…
Last year, Governor Rick Perry called the Texas Legislature to Austin for two special sessions, both focused on passing one of the country’s most restrictive abortion laws. The new law, HB 2, put Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis on the map after an 11-hour filibuster. It also began to unravel…
Social media is a beautiful thing. Sites like Twitter and Facebook allow us to read all about our high school classmates’ stupid kids, yell at politicians about gun control and tweet creepy, 140-character love notes at celebrities we like. Thanks to cooking shows like Top Chef and Chopped, chefs are…
