Opening Day: When a Game is Just an Excuse to Tailgate

Today in Buffalo, New York, it’s 37 degrees. There’s snow on the ground, and more is expected tonight. Who cares, right? Well, Arron Wight does. He’s from Buffalo and came to Texas for opening day at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington with his uncle Steve Greis, who lives in Dallas. So,…

Chef Matthew Dunn Joins MCrowd

More changes afoot at MCrowd. Three months after chief executive officer Greg Good’s replacement with Michael Cox, Matthew Dunn — former Stephan Pyles and Central Market chef and famously one of the few Dallas chefs to cook at the James Beard House — joins MCrowd as director of culinary operations…

Shots with Your Texas Rangers Today, Wine Tastings Tonight

With the Dallas International Film Festival in full swing and the Deep Ellum Arts Festival beginning today, you already have two reasons why you shouldn’t be glued to your couch this weekend unless you’re doing really well on your March Madness bracket and plan on watching the Final Four. Plus,…

Chopped All-Stars: Judgment Day for Judges

The latest round of the surprisingly engaging and even moving Chopped All-Stars contest couldn’t have come fast enough for me, for it involved the table finally turning on four of the series’ normally imperious judges. For once, Maneet Chauhan, Geoffrey Zakarian, Amanda Freitag and Aaron Sanchez — all much-decorated and…

Kosher Chili Cook-Off Draws Record Number of Entries

Tiferet Israel’s kosher chili cook-off returns this weekend for the 18th year — a milestone that’s the Jewish timekeeping equivalent of a silver anniversary, thanks to Hebrew numerology — with its biggest-ever field of contestants. Cook-off chairman Scott Janco reports 47 teams have registered for the event. “It’s going to…

Peticolas Brewing Company Chooses Site, Requests Rezoning

Michael Peticolas’ microbrewery is a step closer to opening, as he applied March 14 for a zoning change to request the creation of “a new subdistrict that will allow for the manufacture of alcohol,” according to the wording on his zoning change application to the city’s Department of Development Services…

Coal Vines Goes National

Five-year-old Coal Vines is going national. After a successful licensed launch in Kansas City, Missouri, the bistro concept operated by Nick & Sam’s partners Joe Palladino and Phil Romano, has its eyes set on more Texas locations and a national expansion. CoalVines Over Texas LLC, which is licensing the brand…

Chefs Rally Around Paul Quinn College Urban Farm

Bolsa partner Chris Zielke hopes an upcoming fundraiser benefiting Paul Quinn College’s Food For Good Farm will help change how people think about Oak Cliff. “From the Oak Cliff community standpoint, I want to show people it’s more than just Davis Street,” Zielke says. “There’s a big area out here.”…

Enjoy a Meat Breeze With The Bacon Inhaler at J&D’s

While Baconalia, Denny’s super pork festival that features seven bacon-laden dishes including the Maple Bacon Sundae, is in full glory, we thought it’d be a swell time to let you know about the freshest way to inhale bacon.J&D’s, known for their bacon salt, is proud to announce “the next quantum…

Olive Garden Rolls Out Remodel in Texas

A plan to revamp Olive Garden restaurants nationwide is getting its start in Texas. Three Dallas area stores are among the nine “remodel locations” recently announced by the Italian-American restaurant chain. According to spokesperson Kristen Johnson, more than half of the chain’s 700 stores will eventually be updated to reflect…

The Keg: It’s Like a Canadian Outback Steakhouse

Each week, Happy Eating highlights a restaurant happy hour food menu. This week, we migrate to Las Colinas to see how the IT folk and corporate types like to party. Where: The Keg, 859 West John Carpenter Freeway, Irving. When: 4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday. The Scene: It was the middle of…

Park: If Only the Menu Matched the Laid-Back Patio Vibe.

On the ingredient lists that now pass for menus, it can be hard to discern exactly how a dish is assembled: Squid, rutabagas and chocolate sauce sounds so daring when the nouns are lined up neatly as cornstalks, but the wow factor fizzles when the plate arrives with the fish…

Cedar Springs Institution Shuttering Doors on Sunday

A Cedar Springs landmark will be serving its last rounds of mimosas and eggs Benedict this Sunday. The Bronx Café, which has resided near Observer headquarters at Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs for almost 35 years, has been sold to the adjacent Warwick Melrose Hotel. Co-owner Jess Gilbert told us…

Choosing My Last Dallas Meals

I’m just back from lunch at S. & D. Oyster Company, which easily made the cut for my “last five meals in Dallas” list. The list isn’t just a theoretical exercise: I pull out of town Friday morning, so I gave some serious thought to where I’d eat out this…

Local Company Wows Vegans With Chocolate Raw Almond Butter Tart

A local raw food company appears to be on the brink of becoming a nationally recognized brand, thanks to the confluence of a major industry award and a new distribution contract. Hail Merry, maker of granolas, flavored nuts and macaroons, this week won VegNews’ “Best of Show” title at Natural…

Oak Cliff Bicycle Company Fires Up the Grill

While the brand new Katy Trail Ice House has garnered most of the attention in the trailside eats category this week, Oak Cliff Bicycle Company has quietly debuted a picnic series designed for riders willing to get dirty. The bike shop this past weekend staged its first “barbikecue” at the…

Distillery Struggles to Find Local Artisans Worthy of its Attention

A Scotch whisky distillery’s effort to promote its craftsmanship by honoring talented craftsmen in various cities is threatening to peter out in Dallas, apparently for lack of qualified artisans. The Balvenie Distillery this month launched its “Rare Craft Roadshow,” in which two photogenic brand ambassadors will spend a year traveling…

Lunch Becomes a Circus at Farmers Market Today

There are a ton of reason to visit the Farmers Market (1010 S. Pearl St.) today for lunch, and we’re not referring to the selection of food you’ll find there. The Shrine Circus is in town, and they’re letting folks have a special lunch with some of the show’s biggest…

Tim Byres Sparks John T. Edge’s Barbecue Epiphany

Smoke’s Tim Byres may not have won Food & Wine’s The People’s Best New Chef contest earlier this year, but according to the current issue of Garden & Gun, he recently pulled off perhaps an even greater feat: He made John T. Edge rethink barbecue. If John T., the director…