There could be only one. Many new delicious plates graced the Dallas dining scene this past year, but none of them were talked about as much at the pig’s head carnitas served at CBD Provisions. No dish was posted with more exclamation points and stressed but joyous emoji faces, and…
Despite the near-constant stream of restaurant news, 2014 wasn’t especially great for local restaurant openings. For a long stretch of summer and well into fall, the flow of actual openings and interesting, new restaurants dried to a trickle; the scene cracked and opened up like Texas clay in a drought…
Had the slice of sour cherry pie I ordered at Henry’s Majestic been served traditionally, I probably would have forgotten about it. The crust was flaky and tender, with a vaguely toasty flavor and a hint of salt, and the fruit was firm and plump, with just enough sugar added…
Remember way back in March when we told you the Dallas area was going to get a second Smoke? Owners Christopher Zielke, Christopher Jeffers and Tim Byre signed a lease on a space in Plano and said they hoped to be open by the year’s end. The latest announcement from…
While nothing complements a cup of coffee better than a baked something, many area coffee shops really muck that something up. I’ve encountered croissants with the consistency of challah bread and muffins that were dense and gooey. I’ve had stale scones that eat like biscotti and stale biscotti that eats…
I’ve found it. For sure. Casa Rubia’s Pintxo Social Hour is the greatest happy hour to ever happen ever. I’ll preface this entire blog post by noting I’m incredibly late to the game — the early evening bar special has been going on for some time now. But it’s better…
It’s not that you hate them. When several sects of your family hierarchy descend Griswold-style on a single-family home, it is a joyous occasion for sure. Family gatherings are rare opportunities to measure ourselves against our genetic equivalents, to note, perhaps even out loud, that in comparison to cousin Johnny,…
When a dish at a restaurant I’m reviewing is exceptional, I’ll often order it a second time, just to be sure I’m not gushing about an experience that was a temporary fluke. Beyond that, I don’t typically engage in repeated dish-eating that often because I’m always looking for the next…
After a long wait, Small Brewpub, the Oak Cliff brewpub that promises to turn the Gordon Bierch beer-and-pub-grub model upside down (before tossing it in the Trinity) opens tonight for its first full dinner service. Over previous weekends, Small has held a number of semi-private events at the restaurant, pouring…
When I was in college, moonshine was hardly a trendy thing; the backwoods spirit distilled from a corn mash was an all out ass-kicker that could quickly put you down. One of my friends returned to classes each fall with a gallon jar of maraschino cherries whose red liquid had…
Shul lung tang, at LA Han Bat and elsewhere, doesn’t make a great first impression. It’s a Korean soup made from beef bones and cuts of meat, and it’s bland and lacking at first, like a blurry picture of what seems like an otherwise respectable bowl of sustenance. But the…
When the bananas Foster I’d ordered at Oak arrived sans pyrotechnics, I had a hard time consoling myself. (The ice cream helped a little.) The whole reason people order bananas Foster — the whole reason this post-meal sweet is a kids’ favorite alongside cherries jubilee — is the requisite tableside…
It’s that time again. Every year since taking this gig, I’ve engaged in the self-effacing act of examining my photography skills over the previous 12 months. This is of note because I am one of the worst food photographers that has ever graced media digital or otherwise, ever. In my…
The Monkey King’s Andrew Chen must have been beyond confused when the fire marshal showed up on Friday night to conduct a safety inspection. Inspection officials typically work something closer to a 9 to 5, he thought, and suddenly this one was handing him a notice stating his roof deck…
Last week, Richard and Tiffanee Ellman and John Paul Valverde, the folks behind Apheleia Restaurant Group (Pakpao, Oak), announced they were going for a threefer with El Bolero, a Mexican restaurant to be helmed by Hugo Galvan. The announcement is the latest in a string of releases about planned restaurants…
Another year gone, and it seems like Dallas is even harder to keep up with from a diner’s perspective. Each year, restaurants open that radically sculpt our culinary landscape, bringing us new cuisines, while others reshape what we thought we knew. Leave Dallas for a year and you’d have to…
Regular shoppers at White Rock Local Market will likely recognize Bisous Bisous Patisserie. Owner Andrea Meyer has been setting up a tiny shop of sorts amongst the tables of farm-fresh produce there since the start of the season. Meyer’s table is often loaded with freshly baked French goods — croissants…
Fresh Market opened recently in East Dallas, confusing new customers with strange weird cart/basket contraptions, and wowing them with fresh flowers and lots of candy. Customers could be heard all over the store, asking questions like “where was this sausage made,” and “what ingredients are in that freshly baked cupcake?”…
We told you yesterday about the latest chapter in the Dallas restaurant scene’s epic struggle against Evil Critic Leslie Brenner: An organized effort, first reported by The Washington Post, to thwart The Dallas Morning News’ critic by banding together to refuse to accept her money, boxing her into an ethical…
Earlier this week, it was announced that Hibiscus chef Graham Dodds would be going to New York to cook his first James Beard dinner. Dodds has participated in Beard events before, but this will be his first time as lead chef in charge of a multi-course menu with multiple wine…
It had all the makings of an epic tale. Eric Brandt, a competent and capable chef, and Victor Hugo, a front-of-the-house guy with exceptional customer service skills, had grown restless and needed a change. They’d been working together at Bistro 31 in Highland Park, where Brandt plated up Americanized riffs…
After a couple of sips of Lakewood Brewery’s Holiday Bonus, I started wondering if a cocao aficionado could identify the chocolate that was used to flavor the brew. Dark, rich chocolate is the first and most prominent flavor to present itself when you taste the brewery’s new porter. There’s some…
