Tacos have always been big in Dallas. From the real estate mogul and socialite to the day laborer and college co-ed, everyone loves a taco, has an opinion about tacos and is a staunch defender of his or her favorite. In 2010, however, tacos really took off. The gourmet/specialty brand…

Sometimes, all a person needs is a simple fix of decent fare to keep him or her going– nourishing fare that satisfies with little found fault. Service with a smile adds further enjoyment. That’s what I found at Taquería La Paloma in the Lakeside Village shopping center and apartment complex…

Craft-beer bar chains are nothing new. As a matter of fact, they might be the most beloved chains of all. Relatively small in size, like local fave Flying Saucer, they offer a consistent quality par excellence. When I learned from my brother-in-law in Florida that a craft-beer restaurant-bar chain, The…

In Tampa’s historic Seminole Heights neighborhood, one of bungalows and art deco buildings and neighbors who know neighbors and care for each other, a white bus has stalled permanently. Owned by Rene Valenzuela, a Mexico native and veteran taquero, the Tampa Taco Bus offers Northern Mexican fare, including tacos, to…

Whereas other families might have a Christmas turkey or goose, Puerto Rican families such as my own eat pork for their holiday meal. The meal — actually a night-long party called Nochebuena — is held on Christmas Eve and involves music, dancing, coquito (Puerto Rican eggnog), pitorro (Puerto Rican moonshine),…

Dear Park Lane Whole Foods Market: It’s the Christmas season, a time when all good boys are brimful of dreams for presents. Seeing as I have been good this year — as far as you know, anyway — I’m hoping you will grant me one heartfelt holiday wish: Please take…

From classic institutions like Burger House, which has been serving paper-thin patties since 1951, and The Grape’s version, named the best example of the food by Texas Monthly in 2009, to the Dallas Burger Tour, burgers are big business in Big D. It’s no wonder, then, that mere months after…

Dallas is a taco wonderland. When questions of the best local culinary offerings are raised, the taco is among the first victuals mentioned by the celebrity chef and vagrant alike. That being so, on Saturday, December 11, three friends and I, including tour leader and former City of Ate blogger…

A food trend that came to the fore in 2009 has found a tenuous foothold in Plano. In February of that year, The New York Times ran a profile of Roy Choi and his Kogi BBQ food truck. This Los Angeles novelty traded (and does so now in a fleet)…

St. Arnold Divine Reserve #10, this is not. That’s more of a one-night stand. Real Ale Brewing Company’s Shade Grown Coffee Porter is more like a seasonal fling. Before you know, it’s gone. But, man, it was great while it lasted. The Hill Country-based brewery’s seasonal, made with coffee beans…

This year has been one of charity and fund-raising in the North Texas food world. So much so, it’s surprising chefs haven’t been hospitalized for Hollywood’s favorite “medical” condition, fatigue. One of this year’s most notable events (for its locavore emphasis) are Chefs for Farmers long-table dinners. Founded by Matt…

The capital of our neighbor to the south isn’t all kidnappings and cheap telenovela settings. Mexico City (D.F.) is cosmopolitan city en par with New York, Paris and Tokyo, with a culinary tradition to match. Heck, the entire of culinary tradition of Mexico is so important that the United Nations…

It seems even marketers are getting in on the food-truck fever that has infected every major U.S. city. In yesterday’s New York Times, Tanzina Vega wrote an excellent article about corporations jumping on the mobile food vending bandwagon, among them HSBC. The international mega-bank wrapped some of New York City’s…

Atlanta-based RaceTrac gas station and convenience store chain wants to energize consumers by offering free coffee on Black Friday, November 26. Those touched enough to wake up at an ungodly hour for silly deals now have another one to take advantage of. The promotion will be available from midnight to…

One of the “joys” of working from home is having the role of caregiver thrust upon me when my son is sick and prohibited from attending daycare. Since first matriculated in daycare several months ago, he’s spent almost one day every week at home with a fever. If I build…

Over the past week, City of Ate has caught up with Dallas-area chefs. We asked them about their Thanksgiving plans and what they’re thankful for – because if we have to suffer the same cheesy fate at our families’ Thanksgiving, it might be interesting to learn if they did, too…

It’s called safety orange for a reason. The international warning symbol for bad, dangerous, all that is wrong with this cursed world, the color that makes mesh vests a smashing fashion statement, is something with which I’m familiar. My father is a safety engineer. A lifetime of his influence has…

“Our tacos have had a cult-like following since the 1950s, when they gained a permanent place on our menu. This is especially true in Dallas, where our guests are counted among our long-term favorites,” Brian Luscomb, Jack in the Box spokesperson, told me over the phone. With those words in…

Eating a taco helps fight your hunger. It also helps fight your neighbor’s hunger. Well, at least that will be true next week. From November 14-18, The United Way of Tarrant County and a class of 23 seniors at Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business in Fort Worth are…

The iTunes library’s shuffling between the culturally transcendent songs of El Mariachi Bronx and Calexico did little to help the taco. The taco was filled with what appeared to be the beloved, vermillion-oozing crumbled sausage, that meat so worthy of a hug. What it was really filled with was a…