On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items.Ceviche is marinated seafood, so it should come as no surprise that Mexico and nearly every country in Central and South America with a coastline features it in their cuisine.In an article entitled ‘The Many…
A week ago today, Leslie Brenner of the Dallas Morning News dropped a bomb on the Eats blog: nine-year-old Lola on Fairmount Street is closing in October. The Uptown charmer has earned top marks from reviewers and locals alike for its thoughtful, well-executed menu and top-notch wine program. The announcement…
Burguesa Burger2222 Inwood Road214-350-7772Dude Factor: 6, or Dean Hodes, on a scale of 1 (Peter Scottson) to 10 (Andy Botwin).Back when it first opened in May, everyone around the Observer offices was buzzing about Burguesa Burger, the new Latin-targeted burger stand from Which Wich and Genghis Grill founder Jeff Sinelli…
Yeah, yeah–pretty damn juvenile of us…not to mention downright sexist.But, damn it, if Danica Patrick can embrace beauty as well as hard nose racing skill, then we’re allowed the occasional foray into ‘babe-licious’ territory. Now, it wasn’t an easy process. After much hemming and hawing, we had to pass up…
Does the city have something against chefs named David? David McMillan, recently ousted from Consilient restaurants. His long career includes Nana and his own 62 Main. David Gilbert, didn’t fit in at Lazare. The rising star left and was replaced by his sous chef, Ryan Carbery. David Uygur, will be…
The only thing worse than listening to Coldpay is listening to Coldplay on the sitar. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of crap you’ll hear while dining with your hot date at Bengal Coast.Yes, vegans can score hot dates, too…sometimes.Bengal Coast is a South Asian fusion restaurant located on the cusp of…
The folks from Sprinkles just sent a box of cupcakes and a press release. The cupcakes feature a blue star on white icing (though the cake itself is the color of algae). The press release speaks of their arrangement with the Dallas Cowboys.Apparently if you buy these Cowboys-themed cupcakes (from…
The folks from marketing introduced their new hire. Bruno is a descendant of Max Schmeling and looks like a bigger, angrier, more violence-prone copy of the Hitler-era heavyweight. He’s also standing outside my office. So here goes: This week, in our free and practically award-winning email newsletter, Hot off the…
We love the idea of Texas de Brazil Express: take a trusted name in meat-coma dining and parlay it into a quick meal concept. Round out said concept with a simple assisted assembly-line format and plop it in a busy shopping center (with ample parking) and you’ve got yourself a…
Green Papaya 3211 Oak Lawn 214-521-4811This much is obvious: few people care whether or not Green Papaya trots out traditional Vietnamese dishes or Texafied facsimiles. It’s not even an issue. The place has been so consistent over a long term that when they home in on authenticity or when the…
An American style milkshake in part requires a blend that will stand a spoon but can be sipped from a straw without much trouble. Response to last week’s ranking of ten different milkshakes, however, suggests some people really don’t consider the difference between a milkshake and stirred up ice cream…
Each week in ‘Knockers’ we order from a different delivery restaurant, assessing their efficiency and keeping a running score.Piggie Pies Pizzas & Pasta 5315 Greenville Suite 120 B 214-821-OINK Promised delivery time: 45 minutes Actual delivery time: 35 minutes Scoring Summary The promise of a big floppy slice of “New…
DrinkLocalWine.com wants you to know that wine-making isn’t just for Californians, and what better way to spread the word than Twitter? The advocacy group will hold the first Twitter Taste-Off at its conference Saturday at Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts Dallas. Along with lunch and tastings of some…
We’ve all got our minds on comfort food right now. Just check out the TV. Or the newspapers, the food blogs or any restaurant menu for proof. When times are tight, folks turn to tried and true, deep fried, gravy-covered favorites for a pick-me-up at the end of a long…
Breakfast is really the only meal that could make that movie work. Not that The Supper Club couldn’t be great too — but it would have to go in a different direction. This week we learned that Lola is on the way out, even if plenty more places are just…
Since finding themselves smack at the top of Texas Monthly’s “50 Best Burgers in Texas” list, ahead of local favorites like Adair’s, Angry Dog, The Porch, etc., etc., things have been a little different at The Grape.To honor their top-ranked burger joint, TexMo put on an intimate (read: crowded) party…
The question came to mind after we received a note about the new–and very popular–Burguesa Burger holding a meeting to tempt franchisees.As you may or may not know, Jeff Sinelli’s stand serves something called the La Monumental, a sandwich bulging with two patties (each dripping with cheese), ham, avocado, refried…
You know, we have some fine prize material piling up in my office, from a tiny pail full of paper clips all the way up to John Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, a book full of food porn and recipes. Too bad no one ever wants one of our giveaways.So, on…
I personally think zubrowka and aged genever are the finest spirits one can drink. But neither are easy to find, unless you travel.Zubrowka is a flavored vodka generally associated with Poland, where they’ve been distilling and drinking it for a good six or seven centuries. Pale gold in color, it…
It would be easy to blame it on Pinkberry. The popular yogurt company’s website touts that “in less than five years, Pinkberry has established a dominant leadership position in the frozen yogurt category.” But that only tells part of the story. What this trendsetting treat shop kicked off in Los…
This week Dave somehow manages to find a parking space outside (or–gasp!–walks to) Lumi Empanada and Dumpling Kitchen–“a good neighborhood spot” he says, and you can read more about it in his review.To scope out a couple of the dishes and drinks, though, mosey over to Sara Karens’ photo set…
May a grand Constellation be formed by a union of American virtues. –Revolution-era toast, per Richard J. Hooker’s “The American Revolution Seen Through A Wine Glass” (though we like to think that beer mugs were hoisted to these words as well).Two British ales recently proved to be real head-scratchers for…
