Saturday was the conclusion of the 31st annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. This Super Bowl of beer competitions sold all 49,000 tickets in just 45 minutes when they went on sell back in July. This past Thursday through Saturday, 580 breweries poured over 4,300 different beers that…
In need of weekend plans? We’ve got the best food events to keep you sated over here, but before you head out of the office, we’ve got a week to wrap up. This week I reviewed Start, a new fast food concept on Greenville Avenue. If you’re looking for a…
Food trucks get tons of attention, but is the food they’re peddling any good? While evaluating creativity, curb appeal, value and taste to award Firestone tires, we’re ranking Dallas’ food trucks to sort out which one’s are worth chasing around town and which ones may be headed for a blow…
I’m not typically a fan of celebrity endorsements for food. I don’t think that Marilyn Manson knows anything about Absinthe, Toby Keith should probably stop marketing chicken fried steak, and Ozzy Osbourne should just stick to real butter. But when I saw Snoop Dog scratching on a microwave turntable while…
The competitive eater and hot dog champion of the galaxy, Takeru Kobayashi (Kobi), is in town for the State Fair. This morning I met him and his people for a little chat. First things first: nicest guy. Just really so polite and nice. He looks intense and insane in some…
If we considered all the Dallas restaurants that Jeana Johnson, Colleen O’Hare and Norm Grimm have worked in and made a connect-the-dot style map, it would be an overly complicated, yet highly impressive sketch of “six degrees of Kevin Bacon.” I bet Bacon really is in there at some point…
So, how does one prepare to eat over 20 hot dogs in five minutes? Two 45-minute psycho runs on an empty stomach, is always a good start. Alex Perez is semi-pro. The “Moose,” as he’s known to be called by maternity ward nurses (he was a big baby), is the…
Last year I rode a bicycle up McKinney Avenue and was amazed at the sea of sweatshirts emblazoned with TX and OU. People where everywhere. And people were drunk. While it’s obvious that a certain demographic feels right at home yucking it up in Uptown, the scene can come off…
“You guys are going to beat the shit out of Zini’s.” It wasn’t the most professional thing to come out of my mouth at a restaurant. I initially regretted the slip, but then I didn’t. The order taker told me everyone who came to her counter said the same thing…
Like many suburban Chinese restaurants, the dining room at Sichuanese Cuisine isn’t much to look at. The decorations are sparse and say nothing of Chinese culture, and the tables are clad in thin, plastic coverings that will quickly get stained with drips of rusty red oil after you order this…
Some bees in France are producing blue honey, and the bee people have traced the source of the Smurfness to a nearby biogas plant that processes waste from an M&M factory. The bees are producing blue and green honey because they’re picking up the bright-colored, sugary waste. I believe it’s…
This Friday, October 12, world champion competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi will judge an amateur competitive Hofmann’s Hot Dog eating contest at the State Fair. The challenge takes place on the Chevy Main Stage at 4 p.m. The first place winner will receive $1,000, second place $500 and third $250. Kobayashi…
As a professional fat guy, I tend to view food and restaurants through a different lens than most people. I crave Tex-Mex like most of you, but reviewing a Tex-Mex restaurant can be hellish work at times. Bars with heavy menus give me pause, and, as my cholesterol crosses into…
While Snack wrestles with a new menu, concept, or whatever they’re planning to accomplish during their two week hiatus, Goodfriend in East Dallas is spending that time celebrating their first year anniversary. Comparing the two says a lot about which restaurant concepts are often successful and which are headed for…
A few of Erin McKool’s friends thought the idea was a mistake. Drive-thrus were for McDonald’s and Taco Cabana, not an eco-friendly health-food start-up. The image of a Chevy Suburban saddled up to a takeout window evoked cheap burgers, soggy fries and fatness, which was the antithesis of Start. The…
Chiladas Fresh Mex Grill is slated to open in Plano at 6145 Windhaven parkway this Thursday, October 11. Chiladas takes the fresh and healthy approach to Mexican food; they say they know exactly where all the produce comes from, even down to the plot of land on the farm. Their…
Snack closed this Sunday, according to a post on Culture Map. The restaurant has been shifting concepts since it opened in an attempt to court customers, while nearby, the Capitol Pub, Hacienda On Henderson, J Blacks, and the recently opened Tried and True enjoy brisk business. Initially, Avner Samuel and…
Everyone knows that in a nice restaurant, special etiquette must be practiced. Carefully following the rules of decorum reserved for fine dining is what separates The Fancys from The Normals. The trouble is, it’s hard to remember every single rule at once. Well, lose your shit not, friend. The Cheap…
The new Studio Movie Grill at Spring Valley opens this Friday with $1 movie tickets all weekend, October 12 – 14. And, if you bring a canned food for the North Texas Food Bank, you’ll get in free – it’s the “Cans Film Festival.” This new SMG theatre at 13933…
The Red River Rivalry is this Weekend. What’s that mean? Well, a lot of bars are going to be packed with people you don’t know wearing burnt orange or maroon. And boots. If you get hungry, head over to Main Street Garden (1920 Main Street) at 5:30 on Friday for…
Last year, October was Vegetarian Awareness Month. This year, it is once again. Because clearly, the fight to recognize that Vegetarians are among us is still not over. We must be aware. We must make others aware. We will prevail! Celebrating Vegetarian Awareness Month is easy! Just be aware that…
If you’re looking for new ways to explore Dallas one dish at a time, two new mobile applications are ready to feed you ideas. Foodspotting and Chefs Feed both focus individually on dishes instead of restaurants as a whole. The first application makes use of user generated data, while the…
