Architects Head to Sushi Restaurant to Examine Relationship Between Food and Space

Forget paint colors and place mats: When professional architects analyze a restaurant’s ambiance, they’re generally most interested in how their colleague successfully dealt with fire codes and ductwork regulations. Non-architects are invited this Thursday to the Dallas Fish Market for what should be a revealing discussion of restaurant design, sponsored…

Oak Cliff Boils Up 500 Pounds of Crawfish for Mardi Gras Party

The key to enjoying crawfish, according to chef Michelle Carpenter, is patience. Carpenter, of Zen Sushi, is advising attendees at Mardi Gras Oak Cliff’s first-ever crawfish boil this Sunday to accept there’s no quick way to peel a mud bug. Carpenter, who’s preparing 500 pounds of crawfish for the event,…

Waiters Say the Darndest Things

You know what’s understood in every language? A check presenter. I’d wager there’s not a diner from Dubuque to Dubai who’s surprised by what he finds when he opens the leather-bound book that appears at the end of every meal. No competent restaurant-goer wastes time wondering if he’s been given…

Texas Wine Industry Considers Identifying Best of the Bunch

Texas wine enthusiasts seeking a better way to convey to consumers which local wines deserve their attentions are broaching the possibility of creating a wine quality program. Russ Kane, a wine writer who’s moderating a panel on wine quality at this week’s Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association conference in…

Grab a Fork and Knife for National Pancake Day

Fat Tuesday is next week, but you can do some training for the gluttonous holiday today at IHOP (multiple locations). Today is National Pancake Day, and guests will receive a free short stack of flapjacks at participating locations. The folks at IHOP ask that in exchange for the free fluffy…

Taco-Flavored Doritos Are Insulting

I had wanted to write a review of the limited-edition taco-flavored Doritos when Frito-Lay released them for the Super Bowl. Alas, I wasn’t quick enough and missed out on the special. Or so I thought until my wife came home with a bag of the stuff. Splashed across the top…

Clock, Theme Set for Fair

Now that things are looking more like spring, let’s talk about next fall. Yes, even before summer, sunglasses and heat-waves, let’s talk about deep-fried food, over-sized cowboy hats and the State Fair of Texas. As if we needed a reason to discuss the month-long exaltation of everything Texas, the group…

Putting Oyster Drills and Other Odd Creatures on Seafood Menus

Even sold under the retro name of “Gulf oysters” and pawned off for rock-bottom prices that makes oystermen shudder, oysters are still awfully sexy. The same can’t be said of oyster drills, one of the many trash fish and overlooked shellfish spotlighted in a Foodways Texas panel on by-catch. In…

La Victoria Has a Great Burrito Flying Under the Radar

At restaurants all over town, elusive eats await under the radar. Menus are updated, new items are added, and sometimes the best things are not on the menu at all. So, whether it’s featured on a hand-written sign taped to a wall, or something that only regulars know to ask…

Revolving Doors: Who’s Afraid of a Little Ice?

The weather may have given Dallas the finger right before the Super Bowl, but some high-profile restaurants, including The Cedars Social and Lockhart Smokehouse, were able to open in spite of ice, snow and Steelers fans. In January, we found out that Metro Diner will be closing its Gaston Avenue…

Oyster Appellations Return to the Gulf Coast

More than a century ago, there wasn’t any such thing as a “gulf oyster.” Oysters were offered under specific place names — a tradition revived this weekend at the first Foodways Texas symposium in Galveston. The program wasn’t devoted entirely to oysters: Kelly Yandell, one of a few Dallas food…

It’s Quiet Out There in Food Land. Too Quiet.

According to blogs, the Dallas food scene has been calm waters this week. Everyone still loves tacos and Stephan Pyles. Everyone still hates improperly prepared steaks and narcissistic pub food. Oh, and Matt’s still exists. Read on. City of Ate Hanna Raskin finds that La Fiorentina leaves guests scowling after…

Jason Czaja’s Crab and Cucumber Spring Rolls

In part one of this week’s Three Course Meal, we gave you a look at Jason Czaja, executive chef at Shinsei. In part two, we asked Czaja to complete our thoughts for us. In today’s final installment he shares a recipe for Crab and Cucumber Spring Rolls with Orange Mayo…

Chili’s in Russia with a Fajita How-To

There’s something comfortingly retro about the east-west collision that occurred this month when Chili’s opened its first Russian location. When the Iron Curtain fell, our comrades apparently didn’t race to learn about margaritas and tortilla chips, which is why the lengthy menu offered at Chili’s in Moscow includes this helpful…

Jamie Oliver’s Great Escape

From the moment my inner ear first caught a bit of Jamie Oliver’s East End, London, accent, with its gargled consonants and street urchin patois (he’s the Artful Dodger with a frying pan) I was hooked. I’ve always considered Oliver to be a cut above most of the air-brushed, Pepsodent-polished…

Break Out the Beads and Glow Sticks for This Weekend’s Events

There’s three reasons to love March–basketball, boobs, and beads, and this weekend you can get a taste of Mardi Gras and March Madness, plus experience a Sunday school gathering that’s more like a house party. So let’s get down to the business of partying and hash over this weekend’s best…

Cool & Hot is Sweet

My 2-year-old son loves three things: cars; his teddy bear, Rupert; and tacos. So, after a morning spent at a local vintage and custom car show, tacos were in order, this time at Cool & Hot. The Oak Cliff taquería inhabits a converted gas station with an operational car wash…