Winemakers trying to woo Americans more comfortable with cola than Cabernet tend to lard their labels with extraordinarily user-friendly language: “The perfect wine for afternoons spent with friends,” a description might read. “Enjoy with hamburgers or pizza.” The problem is not every wine is an ideal match for pizza. Pizza…

OK, next time I have to write a complicated story about genetically modified salmon or high-fructose corn syrup, I’m illustrating it with a picture of a hamburger. Because if I’m interpreting the results of the American Society of Magazine Editors’ annual best magazine cover contest correctly, readers can’t resist burger…

State Fair of Texas Fry King Abel Gonzales, who ventured into pastry territory this year with his deep-fried chocolate, will continue messing with confections at a Dr Pepper cake contest. According to a press release, Gonzales will serve as judge for the fair competition, which is open to any bakers…

A Milwaukee filmmaker who chronicled one man’s annual quest to eat every deep-fried and “on a stick” food served at the Wisconsin State Fair has a few tips for fair-goers contemplating similar missions. Mark Irving, whose 13-minute “documentary comedy” Eat Your Fill will be shown at Chicago’s Food Film Festival…

When I spoke to Tina Wasserman last week about the best foods to eat after a 25-hour fast, she sensibly recommended bagels and cream cheese. She didn’t mention hard liquor. But there’s a tradition of ending the annual Yom Kippur fast with a “bissel schnapps,” or a little bit of…

The measure of a food’s success isn’t how well it’s generally prepared, but how frequently it gets screwed up. A dish enters the mainstream when dilettante cooks start messing with it, producing their own pitiable versions of a food that seemed fail-safe in expert hands. When top chefs years ago…

Pardon the expression, but a recent commenter sunk to a new low when he found a novel explanation for why I didn’t like his favorite restaurant: “Eddie V must have told her that her taco smelled of sea bass.” Um, really? Misogyny is pervasive in the blogosphere, of course, but…

In-N-Out Burger is still planning a Garland location, but the store won’t be the only one in the DFW area. The popular California burger chain has signed a lease with the West Seventh development in Fort Worth. According to a release from the developer, the store at the northwest corner…

Ordering wine by the glass is always problematic. Since my husband is pretty much a teetotaler, I’m often forced to find something worth drinking on a restaurant’s anemic by-the-glass list, which is why I’ve had more than a few great meals spoiled by uninspired, overpriced, oxidized wine. (I now usually…

Could Tim Love be the unnamed saboteur who copped to bathing vegetarian entrees in lamb’s blood? It’s highly unlikely, but the Fort Worth celebrity chef isn’t shy about carnivorous sermonizing. He last week shared “Five Reasons Not to be a Vegetarian” with Eatocracy, CNN’s online food site. Other food personalities…

If I had one complaint about Pyramid Restaurant when I reviewed it earlier this summer, it was the setting. “While Pyramid’s menu offers a few exquisite dishes, the restaurant still hasn’t transcended its surroundings,” I wrote. “The dining room, with its bank office chairs and area rug, is perpetually a…

GrapeFest is underway, which means the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic – billed as the nation’s largest consumer judged wine contest – is back. We asked Jeff Siegel, a Dallas wine educator who blogs as The Wine Curmudgeon, to offer first-timers a few tips for making the most of their…

It must have been a heck of a honeymoon. Grant Morgan, who’d planned to return to his executive chef post at Dragonfly when his honeymoon ended on Sept. 14, has announced his departure from the Hotel ZaZa dining room. His resignation is officially effective next Saturday. According to a press…

Smoke has extended its scratch-made philosophy to its bar, debuting a new cocktail menu heavy on house-made jams, preserves and syrups. “My focus is doing away with any purchased beverage bases,” chef Tim Byres writes. “It will be fun to see this all develop.” Byres has also created a series…

Can diners learn to love a dish through repeated exposure? Not if cow tongue’s on the plate, says Chef Point Café owner Paula Merrell. The Watauga cafe this month started offering an “Acquired Tastes” menu, featuring an array of items most of its customers didn’t like or hadn’t tried. Liver…

While Texans still have to trek more than 1000 miles for an In-and-Out burger, another California fast food chain this week is making good on its promise to open a greater Dallas location. Carl’s Jr. is opening its first stand-alone store tomorrow morning in Mesquite. While the restaurant already has…

My brother sent me this photo of a billboard near Milan, Mich., figuring I had the food expertise to explain it. My brother, an alum of the school responsible for the ad, wondered if Eastern Michigan had resorted to making nacho love its only prerequisite for admission. I assured him…

Breaking the fast on Yom Kippur, which starts Friday at sundown, usually calls for raiding the synagogue’s spread and making a mad dash for whichever restaurant puts the fewest obstacles between diners and food (Chinese buffets work well.) But what’s the best strategy for those ambitious hosts and hostesses who…

Pizza Patron has issued what just might be this season’s prettiest promotion. The Dallas-based pizza chain, which explicitly celebrates “the Latin life,” is now distributing loteria-style discount cards in honor of Mexico’s bicentennial. The colorful cards visually reference the bingo boards that have been a staple of Mexican culture for…