Fish tacos had a banner year in 2010, but California-style tacos made with beer-battered tilapia and chipotle mayonnaise are still outpacing the grilled fish variety more commonly served in Mexico. According to a survey from industry research firm Technomic, the number of fish tacos on restaurant menus surged 22 percent…
Since Chanukah’s not traditionally a gift-giving holiday (it’s a minor festival trumped up to keep assimilation-minded Jews from celebrating Christmas, but I’ll save that screed for another day), I typically don’t bother making a wish list. As a kid, my loot usually consisted of dreidels and socks, which my brother…
The first major 2011 restaurant trend survey was released last week, and it looks like the coming year may be more about farm than table. According to the study conducted by the National Restaurant Association, in which more than 1,500 chefs were polled for their predictions, locally sourced meat, seafood…
Who could possibly find fault with an urban farm designed to teach entrepreneurial skills to college students and provide fresh, healthy food to low-income eaters? On a slow day, Tom Spicer, who says he was compelled by a mixture of boredom and outrage to call out the management of Paul…
24 Diner, the farm-to-table comfort food spot that many Dallasites call their favorite place to eat in Austin, is moving ahead with plans to open a Dallas location. “We’ve started the process, yes,” says partner Scott Hentschel. “We’ve decided on the one restaurant per city concept, so the logical next…
Chilean seabass, the poster fish for irresponsible seafood selection, is off the menu at Eddie V’s Prime Seafood. The uptown steak-and-seafood restaurant is now serving Hawaiian seabass instead, citing customer clamor for “additional sustainable, eco-friendly practices.” But the seabass affair illustrates why consumers often find seafood decisions confusing. Neither Chilean…
Lee Harvey’s is venturing into knife-and-fork territory with a new steak entrée. The 10-ounce rib eye, priced at $14.99, is served with fries. The bar’s also adding a fried shrimp basket to its popular menu of sandwiches, burgers and tacos. “I just felt like we needed to do something different,”…
Sake’s not just for sushi, according to the latest promotion by the sake industry. “It’s a world class drink, not just something that goes down hot at a Japanese restaurant,” says Linda Kawabata of the Akita Sake Promotion and Export Council, which is hosting a tasting event in Dallas next…
Bolsa’s bar may have riveted Oak Cliff’s attention last night, but the bar at the Belmont Hotel took its star turn today, showing up in Esquire’s “Eat Like a Man” blog. The blog profiled bar manager Brian McCullough for its “Bartender Wisdom” column. According to McCullough, “the world looks really…
Is restaurant scouting an open source activity? That’s essentially the question underlying local barbecue blogger Daniel Vaughn’s frustration with Dallas Morning News critic Leslie Brenner’s new list of the top barbecue joints, an entry in her “The Best in DFW” series. Vaughn, who posts barbecue reviews every other day at…
I hadn’t had a very good Monday. My computer was threatening to lock me out of my e-mail, nobody was returning my calls and my dinner date canceled on me, sending my carefully crafted review schedule into a tailspin. Staggering under the weight of my 9-to-5 troubles, I wandered into…
Victoria beer, touted as “Mexico’s best-kept secret,” makes it debut in Texas today, months after its first stateside release in Chicago. While publicists call its Illinois launch “successful,” Chicago brewhounds are slightly less enthusiastic. “I hadn’t heard of Victoria beer before your mention of it,” the Chicago Beer Society’s president…
A recent City of Ate post announcing Food Network’s upcoming Dallas casting call has been hanging around in the most-viewed story list this week, so y’all are probably keen to learn about another chance for TV stardom. MasterChef, the latest cooking competition show from the ubiquitous Gordon Ramsay, is seeking…
A celebrated experiential food-and-drink festival kicking off tomorrow in London will include a “Texas-style slammer,” where attendees will have their mug shots taken, receive prison jumpsuits, drink tequila sunrises from urine sample cups and feast. But the food served at the “Shoreditch State Penitentiary” is unlikely to seem familiar to…
Beam Family master distiller Fred Noe, the seventh-generation bourbon maker whose mug graces every bottle of Jim Beam, isn’t bringing any samples of the soon-to-be-released Knob Creek single barrel reserve to a pair of tastings in Addison this week. But Noe will no doubt be happy to chat about the…
I had occasion to amble through a McDonald’s the other day (the occasion being the closure of the bathroom at the gas station next door), and noticed there was a serving of Chicken McNugget sauce on almost every table. But nobody was eating nuggets. McDonald’s customers, it appears, are co-opting…
In-N-Out’s local opening may still be months away, but fast food fans willing to drive to Austin can feast on a sandwich being touted by burger bloggers as an Animal Style alternative. 4×4 Animal Style a contributor to the website GrubGrade who presumably knows his In-N-Out patties, is calling the…
A recent Truluck’s promotion intended to celebrate customers’ joyous events could send anxious mothers-to-be into a nutritional tizzy. Through tomorrow, the Uptown seafood restaurant is offering free stone claw crab appetizers to women who show their servers a sonogram performed that day. But shellfish consumption is a touchy topic among…
I wasn’t able to spend Thanksgiving with my family this year, but my brother made sure I didn’t miss out on the heated squabbling that always accompanies the Millers’ post-dinner board game session. “Mom wants to play ‘hot dog’ as a type of sandwich in Scattergories,” he texted me on…
As a writer, I always keep one Internet tab tuned to Merriam-Webster’s website, which is the best source I’ve found for the precise meanings of words (and the correct spelling of “simultaneously,” which I regularly butcher so badly that Microsoft Word can’t help me.) I imagine it’s the scribbler’s equivalent…
December’s the last month for culinary civilians to have a say in who takes home a James Beard award in 2011. The James Beard Foundation has been accepting online nominations for its restaurant and chef categories since October, but promotional campaigns mounted by restaurant owners who’d like to see their…
So how’d that Thanksgiving go yesterday? Did you dazzle guests with your cooking? Was a particular spouse, ex-spouse, sibling, child, cousin or best friend especially helpful with polishing silver and setting the table? If so, you and your new partner in memorable dining might want to spend the coming week…
