Breaking News: Fat Ho Sighting in Waco

We’d like to take a moment to personally thank you, Lakita Evans, owner of Fat Ho Burgers in Waco, for exponentially increasing the number of times reporters have to say “ho” in print and on the news right now. This is a glorious time for hos of all kinds. Supa…

Presenting! The New Village Voice Best Of App

A few months ago we announced the launch of the Dallas Observer iPhone app, (which is completely free, dudes), and now we have a new one for you: the Best Of.. Village Voice Media App. Before we get a breathy announcement speech going — with details of how this is…

Baking for Purim: Who Says Better Late Than Never?

I wouldn’t have even known that Purim was upon us if my girlfriend hadn’t told me that her friend brought hamentaschen to work for everyone on Tuesday. I promptly Googled the Jewish holiday only to discover that I had missed it. This year Purim stared at sunset on Saturday, March…

Alas Poor Yorick — I Ate Him

For three months, I have leaned on (read: annoyed) the owners of Taqueria Pedrito, a family run taqueria in East Dallas, to purchase cow heads from the packaging plant in Weatherford that supplies their beef. So you can understand my excitement when I went there a couple of weeks ago…

Restaurants Ask Diners to Buy Beer for the Kitchen

Enterprising restaurants have found a new, cost-effective way of acknowledging their line cooks’ contributions, according to an item posted this week on Inc. Magazine’s blog. At restaurants from Los Angeles to Cambridge, Massachusetts, customers are given the option of buying the kitchen a round of beers. The shift beer six-pack,…

It’s Finger Squid Season in Texas

Texas shrimp boats are starting to haul in the year’s first finger squid, an occasion that will go unnoticed by most eaters. But seafood dealers say the scrawny cephalopod’s too tasty to ignore. “For normal, boring calamari, it’s the best squid ever,” says Lousiana Food’s P.J. Stoops, who’s been touting…

Tacos Y Mas and Chichen Itza: Double Trouble

Marvelous things can be seen from a bus seat. When I lived in New York, riding the city buses was an exciting thing. The drivers in their cars didn’t know what they were missing. I was a passenger but I wasn’t passive. I would take notes as I rode by…

Mexicali Restaurant: Hey, Grandpa, What’s for Supper?

Ladies!!!! If you’re looking to hook up with an elderly man (or 12) wearing brand new orthopedic shoes, I’ve found the spot for you. No, I’m not talking about Walgreens or Babydolls, I’m talking about Mexicali Restaurant: This restaurant is total grandpa heaven. At 5:30 p.m., it’s stunningly wrinkly. This…

Oddfellows Prepares to Add Dinner Service

Oddfellows is debuting dinner service next week, but the Oak Cliff restaurant’s thus far not revealing what diners will find on the evening menu. “A nice way to say it is hearty meals with a dessert selection,” says co-owner Amy Wallace Cowan. So, meatloaf? Chicken-fried steak? Not exactly, Cowan says…

Food Writers Fret About James Beard’s Humor Division

This week’s announcement of James Beard Foundation award nominees triggered another round of hand-wringing among food writers over whether the newly created humor award cheapens culinary journalism. The concern was raised yesterday on a listserv maintained by the Association of Food Journalists. While the writer who ignited the discussion didn’t…

Miss Turkey and The Top Five Shameless Carl’s Jr. Ads

Carl’s Jr., which opened a new spot in Dallas late last year, has added a new entry to their weird, not funny food-meets-porn marketing strategy. The commercial popped up on Eater today, straight from Carl’s Jr.’s YouTube channel, and announces the new “Charbroiled Turkey Burger.” Cue groan.The ad, and as…

nib chocolate’s Stephen Smith on the Sweet Life

Here’s some hopeful news for all you C students out there: At the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris, Stephen Smith’s “worst subject of everything was chocolate.” Apparently, he got better. In fact, he got good enough to operate his own wholesale chocolate business, nib chocolates, in the…

McCormick and Schmick’s: Seafood Joint Makes a Happy Burger

Each week, Happy Eating highlights a different restaurant happy hour food menu. This week, we do a seafood restaurant on the cheap at McCormick and Schmick’s. Where: McCormick and Schmick’s, 307 NorthPark Center When: 4 p.m.-6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.-close Monday-Friday The Scene: Chain Irish seafood restaurant, so lots of…

Piecurious and Bolsa Join Forces

There’s nothing more evocative of farmhouse cuisine than a pie, so it’s fitting that Bolsa — the Oak Cliff locus of field-to-fork dining — has hired a pie maker to handle its pastry menu. Kate Nelson, owner of the 2-year-old pie catering company Piecurious, began making pies for Bolsa about…

The Observer and Jersey Mike’s Team Up for a Sub Showdown

We here at City of Ate love a good challenge, more so if it benefits a great cause that helps save children’s lives. That’s why the Observer has partnered with Jersey Mike’s Subs (5521 Greenville Ave.) to host a competitive eating event with a purpose. Join us tomorrow at 7…

Woodford Reserve Invites Drinkers to Blend Their Own Bourbons

Woodford Reserve is continuing to capitalize on the popular “anyone can be a distiller” ethic that’s helped fuel the current craft liquor fad, actively promoting a program in which buyers choose their own barrels for blending. Woodford Reserve unveiled the “Personal Selection Program” eight years ago, but master distiller Chris…

Brackets Declines to Replace Departed Executive Chef

The executive chef at Brackets has left, and the restaurant’s management team has decided against filling the position. Pedro Castrejon, late of Aventino and Ferre Ristorante e Bar, was at the helm when the table tennis-themed sports bar opened late last year in the former Trader Vic’s location. The restaurant…