The Common Table chef Mike Smith has been kind enough to play along with us this week in our Three-Course Meal series. In Part One, he divulged some of his favorite hangouts and dives. In Part Two he imparted knowledge gained after two decades in the restaurant business. And today,…
Okay, kids. We’re gonna do this thing in a couple weekends and I’m gonna need a good showing. Plan accordingly. The 2nd Annual Blues, Bandits & BBQ cook-off in Oak Cliff is on October 22 from noon to 6 p.m. Not only should you plan on heading out for some…
In part one of our interview, we talked with Common Table chef Mike Smith about running a successful restaurant. Now, in part two of of three, we discuss the Dallas restaurant scene and some of his favorite off-duty places. Tune back in tomorrow for part three. What are your three…
Raise your hand if, when your spouse is out of town, you plan your meals like you’ve just been released from prison? Okay, put your hands down. This perplexes me. Honestly, does your spouse normally restrict or mandate what you eat? Why does where we eat become the biggest decision…
Chef Mike Smith has been involved in the restaurant business basically all of his life, beginning when he was just a toddler and his mother owned a restaurant in Louisiana. In his long career he’s tended bar, balanced books and surely mopped a floor or two. His first real cooking…
Alberto Lombardi’s latest creation, Bistro 31, opened yesterday in Highland Park Village, which was built, fittingly, in 1931. The menu specializes in Mediterranean food and includes Italian, Spanish and French dishes, or combinations thereof. Hitting most points on Foodbitch’s 15 classy things list, Bistro 31 offers elegant food in an…
As part of Arlington’s Re-identification Program, Twisted Root Burger Company is opening today at 300 E. Abram Street in the original downtown area of the city. By renovating an old furniture store, this Reader’s Pick for Best Burger has quietly flown in under radar to this newest location. Just a…
Even though Penelope Ryholt is a professional pastry chef, at night she dreams of even sweeter things. In a light pink chef’s coat that accentuates her auburn hair and ivory skin, Ryholt says: “I use to lay in bed at night and dream of the kind of ice cream I…
This weekend is working out to be a tailgating wonderland. With highs forecast to be in the mid-80s and clear skies, it’s busy times for lawn chairs, grills and coolers. Travel trailers for the A&M and Arkansas game began arriving Thursday night. Collins and Interstate 30 in Arlington will serve…
Burguesa Burger stands alone on a partially forgotten part of Fort Worth Avenue in Oak Cliff. Its bright orange facade on this otherwise dreary street could either be taken as obnoxious or a beacon. Maybe both. After a year of thinking about it, the timing finally worked for me and…
Today we wrap up the last of our Three-Course Meal interview with Chef Nico Sanchez at Meso Maya, the newish Mexican restaurant at Preson and Forest. In part one we learned about his background. Part two dabbled in the Dallas restaurant scene and the real Mex-Mex movement. Now for a…
Yesterday Chef Nico Sanchez of Meso Maya told City of Ate a bit about his background. In part two of our interview, we learn his thoughts on the Dallas food scene, particularly Tex-Mex, and the simple art of actually Mexican Mexican food. What are your three favorite restaurants in Dallas?…
This Sunday, October 2, chef Kent Rathbun of Abacus, Jasper’s and Blue Plate Kitchen, and his wife, Tracy, will host their eighth annual Art Party benefiting the Dallas Division of March of Dimes. The event will feature works by local artists along with gourmet food and drinks. “Together with these…
When Mike Kearns, owner of El Fenix, set about opening an authentic, regional Mexican food restaurant in Dallas, he tapped Nico Sanchez, who’d spent his youth working and traveling throughout Mexico and learning about regional foods. The resulting restaurant, Meso Maya, has been open for just over a month but…
“I’ll put my dumplings up against anybody’s.” — Cindy Gifford Gifford’s confidence in her dumplings at The Eatery in Haltom City, which she and her husband own, is borderline scandalous, yet enticing. They offer a menu full of traditional home-cooked meals, all made from scratch, but their dumplings are their…
Gorditas Doña Tota is a chain restaurant out of Mexico that serves, you guessed it, gorditas, and just yesterday they opened their northern-most restaurant on Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff. It all began more than 50 years ago when Carlota Murillo started selling her homemade street sandwiches out of a…
The commercial breaks during Monday Night Football are an utter beat-down. That’s my game analysis. Now for the food. Following are five highlights from tailgating and inside Jerry’s world: 1. Hans Yoo of Plano made the above from-scratch paella on a sidewalk, with everything he needed in one brown grocery…
There’s a little known yet painfully true secret amongst locals about central Arlington: “Division Street, it’s not just for bums and hookers anymore.” A perfect new example of this just off Division on Mesquite Street is The Grease Monkey Burger Shop, which is about a mile and half from Cowboys…
Meso Maya, the new Mexican restaurant at Preston and Forrest, describes its food as an “adventure into the roots of regional Mexican food.” Don’t let that scare you off, though. No, the plates aren’t covered in melted orange cheese, but I think we can agree Dallas has already got that…
Last night a bartender at the Blue Goose Cantina on Greenville Avenue reached a milestone that not too many can claim. Juan Valdez, who has worked the there for 25 years, served his one millionth margarita. About 10 minutes after they posted the news on their Facebook page, I rang…
The other day I drove past The Free Man Cajun Cafe & Lounge in Deep Ellum, where Sol’s Taco Lounge used to be at 2626 Commerce, and later Googled them to see what the buzz was. One reviewer wrote that they had the best bread pudding she’d ever had. Pfffft!…
Recently we told you all about Ben & Jerry’s new ice cream Schweddy Balls, which is based on the SNL skit featuring Alec Baldwin. Well, One Million Moms, a project of the American Family Association, which promotes “the biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on TV…
