Veggie Guy: Vegan-Friendly Tex Mex Chains

A lot of people ask me where they can get some good vegan Tex-Mex around town. I usually guide them to Monica’s, where vegans can get the best enchiladas in Dallas, but I understand that driving down to Deep Ellum isn’t always practical…especially if you’re on the wrong other side…

What Do Cooks And Wait Staff Eat?

How are the hard-working folks who can make or break a restaurant meal cared for at the end (or beginning) of a long shift? Do they send out for pizza?Used to be, in the family-run restaurants of yore, the staff would sit down to a communal meal together each day,…

How ‘Bout Them Knockers: Mango Thai

Each week in ‘Knockers’ we order from a different delivery restaurant, assessing their efficiency and keeping a running score.Mango Thai Cuisine4448 Lovers Lane214-265-9996Promised delivery time: about 45 minutesActual delivery time: 48 minutesFriendliness of the guy on the phone: 11Ease of personalizing an entree: 25Reading back my order to ensure accuracy:…

Short Orders: Central 214

Central 2145680 N. Central Expy214-443-9339My waitress claims that in all those months of filming for “The Naughty Kitchen,” Oxygen’s culinary reality show featuring chef Blythe Beck, there was only one moment of real drama. Seems a female guest recoiled from the cameras because she was on a date–though not with…

Lost Weekend; Or, Why Can’t Servers Just Write Things Down?

Somewhere in between this weekend’s soccer games, F1 coverage from the greatest racetrack in the world and MotoGP at Indy, I managed to fit in a few restaurant visits…um, which makes it seem like I spend half my life in front of a television.Kinda pathetic, I guess. And it only…

Overheard At Olivella’s

Our respect for the SMU student body knows few bounds. So this little exchange from a couple of undergrads sitting at the next table made us proud.Boy, explaining that his taste in food has expanded: “I’m diversifying.”Girl: “Is that a word?”…

Mini Burger Backlash: The Big Ol’ Mound Of Meat On A Bun Returns

Much to our delight, the mini-burger craze has hit a bump in the road. Hey, don’t get us wrong–we’ve got nothing against two-biters. They’re cute and small and often even feature fancy meats. It’s just the “s-word” that grosses us out. But whatever you wanna call ’em, there seems to…

Sloppy Seconds: Branching Out

In the week that brought a spirited City of Ate debate over the merits of eating in the Dallas suburbs, even if you live in the city, we covered plenty of other reasons to try new things. This week saw looks at ultra-pure water, soul food for the fancy, and…

And The Winner Is…

So we could have awarded just about everyone posting comments to Eddie Garza’s piece this week on the waterborne controversy at Bliss. Just a few examples: bc: “In unrelated news, I’m going to live in a hyperbaric chamber filled with angel farts. Living angel farts.”Handsome Lance Manion: “Ever since they…

Handle The Proof: Riedel Spirits Glasses

Years ago I took a glass tasting course from Riedel–which I’m sure you understand means I sampled wine from Riedel stemware.It’s an extraordinary thing: wine poured into a normal red or white wine glass tastes very different when served in one designed for the specific grape. In fact, the change…

A Look at Lola, and August’s Best Food Porn

In this week’s paper, Dave gives Lola a hello, goodbye as the decade-old Uptown spot prepares to shutter later this fall. The full set of photos from our photographer’s trip to the restaurant are here in this week’s Dish Extra slideshow.The Lola photo set caps off a fine month in…

Back To School: Hungry Minds At Le Cordon Bleu

Many kids and young adults are heading back to school right now. Some lucky stiffs, however, will trade cracking books for grilling, baking, sautéing and flambéing. Ever wonder what it’s like? We have. Turns out, culinary school’s lighter on the Gordon Ramsay-style discipline than you’d think and heavier on the…

Top 10 Reasons The Dallas Suburbs Rule

Take a look at that grid of little boxes. Just like East Dallas, really–with newer homes and fewer trees. And no backyard chicken farming.Just this afternoon we received a note from Brian Rudolph, urging us to visit his Holy Grail Pub (an Old Monk spin-off), located somewhere in the ‘burbs…

Hophead: Prost In Plano

A liter a day keeps the doctor away. –Old German proverb (at least according to the Bavarian Grill’s Stein Hour menu)Along with a handful of other local eateries, the Bavarian Grill in Plano is in the running for GermanDeli.com’s designation as The Best German Restaurant in America. Kuby’s may have…

Cowboy Chicken vs Boston Market: Rotisserie Rumble

Something about America’s Northeastern states grates on us Southwestern hicks.OK, so I’m really a Midwestern hick–our distrust of New England is about the same. So the opportunity to pit a local enterprise against a national chain bearing a blue blood name? Couldn’t resist.Rotisserie cooking relies on little more than heat…

Short Orders: Palomino

Palomino500 Crescent Ct. (Atrium)214-999-1222Age can fray a restaurant. Leather wears, fittings crack and the room begins to lose its allure.Not so in the case of Palomino. The dining space at this veteran Crescent Court locale speaks of timeless dinner club finery, with an inviting bar and patio that’s just plain…

Veggie Guy: Asian Mint

My good friend Sara and I met a few years ago at a yoga class. We instantly hit it off, and started doing everything together…grocery shopping, dining, working out. She even moved into my building. But over the past couple of months, we’ve both been on crazy schedules. No more…

Appetite For Instruction: Watermelon Salad

Recipe Demonstrated by José, Chad and Janice of Parigi In a town obsessed with new, there’s something refreshing about longevity. Dallasites love to flock to the latest hot spots, packing dining rooms three deep for about three weeks and then forgetting the place altogether. A classic like Parigi, though, which…

Finding the Pot of Gold at Rainbow Grill

Sometimes trying new things sucks. Por exemplo, I joined Twitter this week. And when I went to pick a username, I found out that @bigbagodongs was already taken (total suckitude), so I had to settle for @thecheapbastard. Super lame, but I guess that’s what I get for waiting so long…