As summer comes to an end, a number of restaurants have opened and closed their doors. In-N-Out Burger continued its Texas growth with an Arlington location late last month. Lover’s Lane Olive Oil Company expanded from its flagship store, Grapevine Olive Oil Company, and set up shop on West Lovers…
Most food holidays start with “National.” National Tequila Day and National Rum Day have both been marked on City of Ate in recent months. Tomorrow is National Taco Day, and if you’re inclined you can refer to this calendar, which demonstrates nearly every day of the year is devoted to…
I grew up in a rural area, and the state fair was pretty far away. Most years the county or 4-H fair was where I got my fix for funnel cakes and sheep shit. The theme is about the same, but the scale much smaller and the food selection was…
Rumors of chivalry’s death have been greatly exaggerated, but this much is true: Gentlemanly code has evolved over time into something much less suave, especially in bars and restaurants. But with a little creativity you can bring it back. Follow these steps and you’ll be doing the jitterbug quicker than…
I’d been thinking that keeping an eye on the total amount of calories I consume, regardless of when I eat was the key from not gaining weight. Eat a huge meal here, skip one there and things will all balance out, right? Turns out a simple calorie count may not…
It’s the little details, at least for me, that make a fine, and even an upper-casual dining experience just that: an experience rather than simply an amount of time and a spot to squat and eat stuff. So forget the food itself for a moment. This list is made up…
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…
This week in food blogs, there was more food truck news, more In-N Out news and a storm of trendy T-shirts. Also, the State Fair started today. Read on. City of Ate Scott Reitz chose “rudderless but salvageable” to describe Tillman’s Roadhouse, a country-comfort restaurant that serves dry burgers but…
I know better than to bitch about my job; there are worse ways to make a living than getting paid to eat and write about it. But there are times when I’m feeling a little weighed down. I’ve eaten so many burgers, Reubens, and Cuban sandwiches looking for Dallas’ finest…
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…
… and were delicious. The end. What, you were expecting a Polack joke? This is Texas, where the butts of our jokes are Aggies or blonds, not Polish people. Not that we have many Polish people to offend, anyway. Apparently, there isn’t enough demand to import Zywiec or Okocimskie beers…
Each week, the Cheap Bastard goes looking for a new place to eat lunch for less than nine million dollars. This week: Urbano Cafe. Number of available parking spots in front of the restaurant: -∞ Hungry people sitting at tables waiting for their food and giving me the stink-eye as…
If you’re going to the State Fair of Texas, it’s a given that you have to try the fried bubble gum and fried salsa and definitely obviously the fried buffalo chicken in a flapjack on a stick, plus all the other fried foods that were Big Tex Choice Awards finalists…
Behind the counter of every Taco Bell, there’s a slew of people who fancy themselves champions of food, but once a year in Lewisville, the real champions arrive, ready to relieve suburban Dallas of its tamale population. Last Saturday was yet another such occasion, with a healthy roster of new…
I know better, more flavorful beers exist. When I go to the Meddlesome Moth I always ask for something tart and rustic. Not the sour lambics loaded with fruit, but the naturally fermented old world beers with a lot of funk. I love sour beers with musty and barnyard flavors…
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…
Chandeliers run down the dining room hall, casting a warm light on walls lined with barn boards floor to ceiling, wooden deer trophies and end-grain tables. The space would seem mundane if not for the occasional well-chosen splashes of color. Lush red velvet pads the seat backs of a bench…
Bitches don’t like to hunt for parking spaces when they’re hungry. And by “bitches,” I mean “me.” It pisses me off when restaurants build themselves and don’t build parking spots. “Hey, let’s open a restaurant that serves up super delicious food in Dallas! How many parking spots? I dunno, let’s…
You can’t put lipstick on a pig. Well I suppose you could, but then we’d have another set of issues to discuss. At any rate, this is the phrase that jumped into my head when I tore into the chicken-fried steak at Tillman’s Roadhouse a few weeks ago. The kitchen…
To celebrate its 40th year nuking our insides with caffeine, Starbucks has worked with designer Alexander Wang on an $85 T-shirt that looks like you spilled coffee all over it. NBC DFW reported yesterday that the shirts are available at Nordstrom’s, or Starbucks obviously, where they’ll throw in a real…
