He is responsible, indirectly, for the cooking in many of the city’s restaurants. That’s right–Hodges is one of those teaching chefs. Currently at the AIMS Academy and in the process of advancing his academic credentials through the Certified Executive Chef exam, he has trained hundreds of culinary professionals over ten…
“The contribution of third-party audits to food safety is the same as the contribution of mail-order diploma mills to education.” (Mansour Samadpour, a Seattle-based food safety consultant, commenting on the fact that, with government inspectors under greater pressure due to cutbacks and other issues, private auditors are often charged with…
Yeah, we’ve never done this before. Revisiting a topic while the body’s still warm and quivering just isn’t our kind of thing.Unless, of course, it involves drinking heavily in the middle of the afternoon.You see, after we answered this very same question last week, the folks from Macallan called up…
The Dallas-based brand ambassador for Macallan’s single malt Scotch line is charged with an important mission: introducing whisky to a younger generation…of drinking age, of course.Before moving to this city, he spent seven years in the Big Apple as an events manager (with a small but steady role in One…
“The decor of the Anchor Bar calls to mind an Antiques Roadshow prop room overseen by a drunk with impeccable taste in late-twentieth-century detritus.” (John T. Edge,acclaimed writer and director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi upon his first visit to the birthplace of the Buffalo…
Sambuca2120 McKinney Ave.214-744-0820Sambuca is still around.It still has one of the more sophisticated courtyard spaces in Uptown and still brings in live entertainment. But the room appears somehow stale.As a restaurant slips into middle age–about four years without a makeover–pressure builds on the kitchen. Their work must contend with dulled…
Last night, as Los Mavs stomped on Los Spurs, a tequila-specific lounge celebrated its grand opening, way up in the terrace level of the American Airlines Center.El Jimador Tequila Bar, to be really specific.So what can one say about this? The average sports fan has already been elbowed out of…
The city now boasts several experts so versed in wine they have passed a good chunk of the master sommelier exam. But for years, Lincicome studied the subject, offered recommendations and built a reputation almost without peer.He has served as a wine director for 15 years, most of his tenure…
“Consumer awareness for natural and organic foods is so much stronger now that more retailers want to imitate what we do.” (Mark Dixon, southwest region president for Whole Foods, staking a trendsetting claim. As quoted in a Dallas Morning News story on the opening of a new Lakewood branch of…
What is it about tamales? Lucky ones who grew up with tamales as a staple dish could script odes to the steaming cylinders of masa. Yet few big-time professional kitchens can match the comforting texture and warm, earthen flavors you get even ordering from some roadside vendors. Perhaps they balk…
Years ago, it was considered–quite loosely–a more sophisticated antidote to the usual fast food fare. Then Arby’s sorta drifted into roadside obscurity, the butt of Seinfeld jokes…until rescued by some clever advertising. Not that the roast beef haven ever disappeared. Taco Bueno and all the other quick service joints overshadowed…
Three things stand out instantly: her waifish figure, infectious smile and solid bartending skills. Maddox works at some of the hottest of the city’s hot spots. In the pre-recession heyday, you could find her slinging drinks at Nikita on Sunday nights, for example. Nowadays, she holds court at Mantis–then fills…
“It’s the muddy flavor of the wild-caught fish, coupled with the animal’s homely appearance, that long ago gave catfish a reputation in many parts of the country as a trash fish.” (Hunter Lewis, writing in the March issue of Saveur magazine, in what ends up as praise for bland farm-raised…
If you’ve been in Perry’s, you know him. For seven years, since the steak and upscale southern comfort restaurant opened, Bergus has served as general manager.New apartment buildings sprung up nearby. Other places opened and closed. But Perry’s keeps plugging along, unchanged…except for an upcoming name change imposed when a…
“We did not know that they didn’t have a state license for their processing facility. We were not aware that the state was not aware they were there.” (Greg Ingham, Plainview city manager, on the Peanut Corporation of America plant closure following a salmonella outbreak. The state of Texas has…
Scanning Leslie Brenner’s introduction last week, I wondered first if such a manifesto (outlining the new Dallas Morning News critic’s rules of engagement) was truly necessary. Then again, food writers at the daily take some rather unfair jabs on occasion from those compelled to flail away without, to paraphrase a…
J’s Breakfast & Burgers14925 Midway, Addison972-239-7614Call J’s a monument to the open-all-night greasy spoons of two-lane highway fame. It’s one of the few such places remaining in built up Dallas, where most people shun walls pocked by age, ceilings painted by gristle, grills blackened from years of abuse and yellowing…
He is the man behind VeeV, the world’s first Acai spirit, a product just hitting the Dallas market.While one can argue the health benefits of acai berries after they’ve been distilled into alcohol and bottled, Reum’s marketing skill goes without question. They’ve developed a sustainable farming program, use wind energy…
“He says, ‘There’s a drunk club, I forget what it’s called, but you have to like be really drunk to get in, I don’t know if they’d let you in, but you could ask them for tips.'” (Rosie O’Donnell, explaining to Tyra Banks how her 13-year-old son convinced her to…
A bartender told us years ago that the sexiest thing a woman can do in a bar is to order good scotch and sip it neat.Hmm…guess we’re not the only ones a little past our prime.We seem to recall hearing this from a staff member at the old Whisky Bar–a…
An era ends today as Megan Henderson waves goodbye to Fox 4’s Good Day–and to Dallas.The California native joined the popular morning show in August of 2003, after stints in Wichita Falls (of all places) and Salt Lake City. As the perfect foil for stolid veteran Tim Ryan, she helped…
“The enemy is not so much ethnic food, but food of poor quality. A bad Tuscan trattoria does more damage than a kebab shop.” (Roberto Burdese, president of Slow Food, responding to the Italian town of Lucca–near Florence–and its effort to ban anything but native restaurants within city limits. No…
