Food & Drink

“I feel it right inside my head somewhere.””I feel like I’ve been shot.”Maybe you already forgot. It’s cool — it’s been almost a year. But yeah, this Sunday’s another July 11 — 7/11, right — so just like last year and the year before that, 7-Eleven is celebrating with free…

Over here on that other Dallas Observer blog, Unfair Park, sometime City of Ater Andrea Grimes has the latest word on Taste of Dallas, which begins tonight on continues through Sunday at Fair Park. Don’t feel like clicking over to read the news about Andrea’s appearance as a judge for…

Starbucks has joined the growing list of chains intent on bowdlerizing adult beverage traditions, suggesting today that flavored coffee’s a good substitute for alcohol. Earlier this week, City of Ate chronicled the new low-cal cocktail trend, a backlash to drinks made with super sugary mixes. Rather than return to classic…

Toque has been craving a chicken-fried steak for some months now, but the dish has been on our no-fly list because it’s a grease bomb. A delicious, wonderful, traditional, heart-stopping, butt-expanding grease bomb. Deep-fried or pan-fried beef is slathered in cream gravy and served with mashed potatoes, also laden with…

Cooperative weather has put plenty of grapes on Texas vines, and wineries are now recruiting volunteers to help pick them. In a stratagem with shades of Tom Sawyer, small wineries annually appeal to connoisseurs to join them for harvesting. As Jeanette Raines of Bernhardt Winery in Plantersville concedes, if agritourists…

Carhops and cows shared real estate when this former drive-in was opened in 1957 by “Big” Al Mathews. The hops and bovines might be gone, but Al’s Hamburgers still serves juicy burgers (try the cheeseburger or mushroom burger). What’s more, Al can be seen at a cocktail table near the…

Bros icing bros? Oh mah gah, we are so over it. Running up to a dude and flashing a bottle of Smirnoff Ice so that he has to chug it? Whatever. Not only is just an easy cop-out for when you wake up naked on the pool table spooning your…

The Londoner2909 Thomas Ave. 214-979-2333 Dude Factor: 9, or Clive Owen, on a scale of 1 (Daniel Radcliffe) to 10 (Keith Richards). I’m pretty much the exact opposite of an Anglophile. Sure, I love the Rolling Stones and Sacha Baron Cohen, but when it comes to those pop culture touchstones…

Tuna Tartare Demonstrated by Mike Pacheco of The Landmark Restaurant in the Warwick Melrose Hotel For today’s Appetite for Instruction, chef Mike Pacheco chose to demonstrate one of his favorite and most colorful dishes, satisfying both the palate and the eyes. Tuna tartare, which is finely chopped raw tuna with…

When I waitressed at a country club where the manager didn’t approve of us servers disparaging any dish, my stock response to customers who asked about a notoriously bad entree was a cheery “People order it!” I always figured guests understood what my honest non-endorsement meant. But in this age…

Each week City of Ate will give you the lowdown on a local happy hour in Quittin’ Time, with the details on why you should or shouldn’t take up the featured bar or restaurant on its drink specials. Where: Jack’s Backyard 2303 Pittman St. 214-741-3131 When: 4 to 7 p.m…

A recent University of Texas at Dallas release that was ostensibly about T-shirts raises an interesting food issue: Explaining why he’d decided to display 300 commemorative T-shirts in a university building, Dean J. Michael Coleman said, “Free food and free T-shirts are the common denominators of most events planned for…

This week, Top Chef finally got interesting. That’s not to say it wasn’t totally bassackwards, but it was almost intense, and I officially started my yelling at the screen. I still haven’t gotten the names of all the cheftestants straight, but that time is nearing.At QuickFire, the chefs found Tom…

Since none of the 334 questions that form the skeleton of Wes Marshall’s incredibly useful and straightforward new wine guide directly address the Dallas scene, City of Ate this morning hit the one-time Observer music writer with a critical 335th query: What’s the biggest problem with local wine lists? “I…

Try: Rat Bastard root beer Don’t try: spending less than 10 bucks here I was on a mission to find Henry Weinhard’s root beer. I know that some shmancy grocery stores in town sell six-packs, but they’re always sold out by the time I get there (because Weinhard’s is the…

If you see an unusual number of cows roaming around on two legs this week, it isn’t mad cow disease. Many a joyous bovine will be throwing off their sandwich boards in elation this Friday, July 9, when Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide will be celebrating Cow Appreciation Day. Chicken (fried or…

Continuing the tradition of manifest destiny’s from Houston to Dallas, Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille is the focus of the week’s Dish Column (in good ol’ fashion print). While Perry’s didn’t journey on a lawnmower, they did import three-decades-old Houston tradition to the corner of McKinney Avenue and North Olive Street…

It’s 2 am, and for the past few hours I’ve been cavorting with a plethora of men who are not my type (or rather, vice versa). My girlfriend in crime is in need of some greasiness to soak up the alcohol from all the revelry. She suggests a nearby, walking…