Hophead: Magic Hat Conjures Seasonal Sample Pack

Vermont brewing company Magic Hat has a fall sampler that is making its way to Texas beer stores, which according to the company marks the arrival of the brewer’s full line of beers in the state. Magic Hat is best known for its apricot-infused #9 (which got a nice little…

Cafe San Miguel vs Bongos Cantina: Al Pastor Altercation

Because Mexico celebrated their declaration of independence one day this week–and independence day another (and again in the spring, if you count Cinco de Mayo, as some do)–we decided to join in the festivities.You know, by eating tacos.Al pastor is one of those beautiful fusions of foreign tradition and local…

Denton’s Not So Mean Green

What kind of food do people usually associate with a college town? Fast food joints and rundown bars serving cheap beer and gooey, greasy cheese fries–also cheap–come to mind.But in their late teens, some of the Baby Boom generation turned to granola. And the current round of college age Americans…

Short Orders: Mi Pueblo

Mi Pueblo8010 Bedford-Euless Rd.Richland Hills817-605-3434There’s a reason no one ventures to the mid-cities unless forced to–at least from downtown Dallas. Whether you take Tom Landry or the Airport Freeway, whether it’s rush hour or sometime in the slack hours after lunch, traffic will bog down.Something about curves, exit ramps and…

Veggie Guy: Dream Cafe, Addison

Back when I first went veg, I was living in some douchey apartment in Addison. The place itself was fine, but I couldn’t stand all those McFestivals the town of Addison would hold right outside of my building. I remember fighting crowds just to get into the parking garage, then…

Appetite For Instruction: Churro-ccino

Recipe Demonstrated by Micah Horton of The Pearl Cup Talk about overnight success. Carlene Saelg and Rita Davis’ Pearl Cup Espresso Bar opened seven months ago on Henderson Ave. and buzzed its way to the top of the local indie coffee food chain faster than you can say “you have…

Cheap Bastard

It’s no secret I’ve been A&E Obsessed with gas station taquerias recently. And you know what that means: Exposure therapy! (To clarify, “exposure therapy” doesn’t mean I striptease to Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” at convenience stores. It does, however, mean that I get to eat a lot of salsa.) So, when…

Numero Eno’s

For some reason I can’t get over the root beer float at Eno’s. I know it’s not a difficult thing to make—unless, of course, you follow my old method of plunging ice cream into a mug of root beer and watching it fizz and boil over the rim. I know…

Top Five Surprises In DFW Stadium Food

Seattle has ballpark sushi, San Francisco spawned a garlic fry renaissance, and the world can thank St. Louis’ Gateway Grizzlies for the Krispy Kreme burger. But there was a time when Dallas ran on the cutting edge of sports food innovation this town invented ballpark nachos, while the rest of…

Pairing Off: Chips Ahoy

Each week, Pairing Off attempts to find just the right bottle of wine to go with ordinary food.At some point we must outgrow milk and cookies.So as adults, what do we resort to? Coffee and cookies? I guess if we want to be adult in the Sam Spade sense of…

They Really Seem To Care

I found this release in my inbox. It begins: “I wanted to share information for a new project lead by Chef Mario Batali and/or Country Music superstar Martina McBride called Share the Table. It is near and dear to their hearts.”The and/or part is truly touching. Shows just how committed…

On The Range: Migas

On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items.Eggs, tortilla strips, onions, chiles, and cheese. Or bread, oil & vinegar, spinach, alfalfa, and….licorice flavoring?? Believe it or not, these are some of the raw ingredients of two classic versions of that breakfast staple,…

Dude Food: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers

Each week the Dude Food guys assess the ‘masculinity’ of Dallas area dives. The more fried meat and junk on the walls, the better the rating…Red Robin Gourmet Burgers 229 N. U.S. 67, Cedar HillDude Factor: 5, or Boy Wonder, on a scale of 1 (Robin Ventura) to 10 (Robin…

Veggie Guy: Good 2 Go Taco

Omnivores often ask me why I’ve chosen to live a vegan lifestyle in Dallas. They’re always trying to ship me off to some other city like Austin. But why would I wanna leave? I love Dallas. Plus, vegans shouldn’t have to relocate just because another place might seem more fitting…

Mix-Mex: A Quick Tour Of Newly Opened Mexican Venues

We Texans love our “Mexican” food. That is, we love flour tortillas filled with breast meat and corn chips dipped in processed cheese. Who wouldn’t? Except, as we all know, that’s not really Mexican, now is it? (And sometimes, as our own Chris Meesey would point out, the concoctions we…

All The News(letter) That’s Fit To Print

I’ve been trying to get this promo started, but every time I get to about this point a thug from marketing bursts into my office shouting about some great video. Apparently he thinks it should win an award. Not sure what that’s all about, but there are empty Hennessey bottles…

Short Orders: Cretia’s

Cretia’s4900 McKinney214-780-0200My memory can be a little fuzzy at times (I blame an extended childhood devoted to Hogan’s Heroes re-runs). But if I’m correct, the new Cretia’s on McKinney looks an awful lot like the old one.Different part of the street, of course, but same Victorian feel to the place,…

Why Blame The Food?

I think it was last week when I came across an AP story detailing the efforts of the San Antonio Restaurant Association to encourage healthier cooking at the city’s Tex-Mex and Mexican eateries. Seems the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed San Antonio behind only Detroit, Memphis and Martinsburg,…

How ‘Bout Them Knockers: Brother’s Pizza

Each week in ‘Knockers’ we order from a different delivery restaurant, assessing their efficiency and keeping a running score.Brother’s Pizza 4151 Travis214-219-5200 Promised delivery time: 50 minutes Actual delivery time: 90 minutes The ScoreActually experiencing a John Hughes movie moment in real life: 15 Experiencing a John Hughes movie moment…

Meat And Greet: The Grand Opening Of Smoke

Check out more photos from the party here in our slideshow. Best line overheard (well, shouted to our face) at the Smoke grand opening Friday night: “Who cares about resurrecting Deep Ellum when we’ve got this?!” The gushing party-goer was referring to the booming Oak Cliff renaissance, of course. Granted,…