Oh, Paula, Paula, Paula. What happened? One day we’re fat and happy making ooey-gooey monkey bread, the next we’re being secretly photographed eating a burger on a cruise ship. Our gluttony has caught up with us. But Paula and I go way back. Ours is a tried and true relationship,…
During the last state legislative session, the Cottage Food Law was passed, clearing the way for home bakers to sell certain goods from their home. Guidelines were established, including limiting annual gross sales to less than $50,000, requiring in-person transactions and limiting sales to non-potentially hazardous foods. And boy did…
Here’s the thing about working in the Town of the Cow versus our more easterly hamlet: In these parts, when a group of people are waiting for an elevator in a downtown building, once our vessel arrives, everyone keeps their eyes straight ahead, makes haste in an orderly, yet all-business…
Jason Maddy is the executive chef at the recently opened Oak in the Design District. Maddy grew up in Austin and, after attending culinary school in New York, worked at David Bouley’s Danube, then the Driskill in Austin. A few years ago he was recruited by John Tesar to work…
Last night was Industry Night at Il Cane Rosso, and the kids (Jeffers and Zielke) from Smoke and Bolsa were serving up pie. Local and delicious were the themes. The bar stools across the pizza pit directly in front of the mouth of the big red alien-like oven are the…
Last week we got word of John Tesar’s trifecta of plans for 2012. First, he’s sold his share of The Commissary to co-owner Lucy Billingsley and plans to open other two other independent Commissaries; one at Northwest Highway and Midway and the other in cowtown at the Museum Place. Then,…
The fourth annual SOUP’S ON! Stewpot Alliance Luncheon and art sale is tomorrow at Union Station. Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, will be the keynote speaker, and nine of Dallas’ top chefs will serve up signature soups. The art sale will feature more than 50 paintings and handmade…
Yes, it’s National Pie Day. No, we don’t know why it isn’t a National Holiday. Yes, we’re drafting a letter to address this degradation of our national food. In the meantime, we’re offering up a few of our favorites to guide you through your four-hour lunch in which you try…
Dallas native Abraham Bebell previously kept spirits hopping at Cuba Libre and Victor Tango’s, and now is the bar manager at the new Oak in the Design District. He’s part of cadre of local bartenders that are rediscovering the old approach to booze. I recently drank his booze and spoke…
Chef Kyle McClelland moved from New York City to Dallas last October to take over the kitchen at The Cedars Social. The French Culinary Institute grad has an impressive pedigree and previously we spoke about his “clean” approach to cooking. Needless to say, I have been anxious to try it…
Recently I had lunch at Ali Baba Grill in Irving. I’m usually anti buffets, but the lunch all-you-can-eat spread here is actually executed quite well. They’re good at rotating in new stuff so, for the most part, the food stays fresh and warm. And if you want flavor without the…
Matt Spillers’ parents, Allen and Donna Spillers, have had long careers in the local restaurant business. While raising their three boys in Dallas, dinner out was more than just a family meal together, but also an on-going education on how to run a restaurant. Always drawn to the kitchen, after…
Anthony Bourdain recently created an iTunes Celebrity Playlist. And what does a playlist say about a person? Everything. It’s their soul on paper. Bourdain isn’t necessarily shy though, case evidence being his current media scuffle with Paula Deen. So it’s no surprise that the unruly Ramones headline the list and…
Pools of melted cheese, surfboard-sized steaks, plates with color wheels that range from beige to French beige: These, for the most part, are the images that come to mind when considering Dallas dining circa 2000. Now, though? Legions of diners, each armed with a WordPress app at the ready and…
Whole Foods Market announced recently that it will close its Dallas bakehouse, located on University near Central, which for the past 12 years has produced breads and pastries for its eight area stores, as well as Little Rock, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. After the spring closure, baked items for local…
Kay Agnew and her daughter, Margaux, have opened a new restaurant in the Design District called Bridge Bistro, at 921 North Riverfront. Kay has been part of the Dallas dining scene for more than 25 years. She opened Margaux’s (named after her daughter) in 1985 and moved around a few…
On last night’s Daily Show, John Stewart and Mario Batali schooled us on Super PACs in a way that will be forever seared in our minds. If my poli sci teacher used even an ounce of this type of imagery, who knows where I’d be now. (Working for a Super…
Friday’s chilly temps made for a soup kind of day, so I headed to Malai Thai, knowing that I’d get something hearty with a little heat. The bartender set me up with a bowl of Thai coconut soup, which was fantastic. Then, a few minutes after I was done with…
Thinking about hosting a Super Bowl Party, but looking for a way to raise the bar? Well, we found it. Pizza Prints are melting stickers for pizza that you can eat. Sold in classic infomercial style (insert infomercial voice), they are “edible image decorations that turn your pizza into a…
I recently spent a little time in the Town of the Cow and, as usual, I hit Zeke’s (5920 Curzon, off Camp Bowie) for what I consider to be the best fried cod in North Texas. Them’s fightin’ words, eh Dallas? Now don’t get upset. You’re both pretty. But every…
Well this should be sober. The Idle Rich Pub on McKinney is hosting its annual Irish Whiskey Tasting on Monday, January 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. This is a casual, free-flowing event with no formal presentations or lectures. They’ll provide an information packet and a tasting guide. Smell, swirl,…
According to RTTNews, Justin Moore tweeted that he was kicked out of a Dallas restaurant last week for some undesirable behavior. This report raised two questions: 1. Who the shit is Justin Moore? 2. Why would someone follow his Twitter feeds, much less report on them? Reading Moore’s tweets, however,…
