Shopping for wine can be an intimidating experience. Since wine is predominantly available in 750ml formats and can sometimes involve a large investment, the risk is higher than purchasing other alcohol. The Observer talked to the experts at Central Market about shopping for wine, and they provided insight on how…
Does the the lack of rare mushroom-based events really ruffle your feathers? Or should we say, truffle your feathers. Not to worry, our fungi-loving friends, for Kevin Ascolese, chef at Princi Italia, has created three Alba truffle delivery systems in the form of wood fire chanterelle flatbread, tortellini fonduta and…
A little love, a lot of generosity and an offer of free beer later, and Garland has its very own home-grown brewpub downtown. Intrinsic Smokehouse & Brewery had its grand opening Saturday, to the delight of craft beer fans who kicked in $30,000 through a crowd-funding campaign to help get…
There’s something about this time of year that makes a well crafted cocktail feel like a special occasion. It’s something like a present you can buy for yourself and not feel like you’re being too selfish about things. Even better when that drink is warming, not just because of brandy…
The Four Seasons’ Cafe on the Green has two events this weekend. The first, Mixology Mistletoe and Merriment, is a holiday-themed class that will teach participants how to egg a nog, put some cheer in their punch and make cocktails that smack of Santa’s tears. The second event is a…
Midnight Rambler is decidedly one of the best (if not the best) places to spend all your cash on excellent cocktails in Dallas. The bar program Chad Solomon and Christy Pope have cultivated is sophisticated, interesting and constantly changing. The drink you liked from Midnight Rambler six months ago probably…
If you’ve been to Remedy, the refined comfort food spot on Lower Greenville, you have definitely sipped one of barman Máté Hartai’s delicately balanced cocktails. The drink program here centers around the idea of the “American soda fountain,” and Hartai adds plenty of booze, enthusiasm, and sophistication to that classic…
Four Bullets bills itself as the “smallest brewery in Dallas,” and it’s easy to miss. Located in an older building close to a DART rail line near Arapaho Road and Central Expressway, Four Bullets feels like a garage someone’s uncle converted into his home-brewing man-cave. It has an assortment of furniture…
Pop-up restaurants have been a delectable trend for the last couple of years, one that’s still going strong with foodies, unlike some other disastrous trends we could name. (We’re looking at you, Cro-Nut.) They’re a great way to support a charitable cause or sample the work of a visiting chef,…
Thanksgiving dinner. A turkey, a small army of side dishes, a dozen family members and football. With all the food you’re consuming, and naptime inevitable, good alcohol can be an afterthought. Luckily, great Thanksgiving wines are easy to find for bargain prices. Our shopping criteria were pretty simple: Wines that…
When you’re at Small Brewpub, you should probably just order a beer. The house-brewed selections are the constant subject of beer nerds’ raves, and even those who don’t necessarily have a taste for anything fancier than a Michelob Ultra can understand the straightforward flavor profiles of these easy sipping beers…
Last week, beer giant AB-Inbev completed its deal to swallow SABmiller for $107 billion. Already huge, AB-InBev is now truly gargantuan, looking at potential annual revenue of $64 billion and controlling roughly 30 percent of beer sales worldwide. It’s so big, in fact, that AB-InBev had to sell its nearly…
You know Buzz Bike. It’s that big yellow bike contraption thing that sits about 15 passengers and drives through different parts of Dallas. The passengers are drunk and loud and annoying and they all want you to know what a good time they are having. It’s all a damn façade…
Dallas may not comprise miles of Irish or English-styled pubs like Boston or Chicago, but we do have pleasant handful where we can sit back and chug a pint while chewing fish and chips. Among the handful are three very successful pubs: The Old Monk, Idle Rich and Blackfriar, all…
I haven’t gotten to write about funky beer too much. Sours are widely popular in other beer-soaked cities, but here in Dallas not many breweries have been willing to dabble in the stuff. Michael Peticolas told me he was interested, once, but the wild yeasts used to make these kinds…
Beer people = my people. The beer crowd is fairly predictable: more bearded guys than you can count; a friendly, fun-having attitude that makes standing in lines and crowds easy; hippies and hipsters as far as the eye can see. Nothing against non-beer-drinkers, but I’m pretty sure that kind of…
For the most part, the Design District is not where you go to spend the evening drinking, but with the growth of craft beer in Dallas, four breweries are now open in the neighborhood alone, with a fifth, Four Corners, nearby in Trinity Groves. Noble Rey Brewing Co., which opened…
It’s rarely a problem. In the past, if a customer had forgotten to bring vino with them for dinner at Urbano Cafe, they could just run around the corner to Jimmy’s and pick up a bottle of Sangiovese. The thing is, Jimmy’s closes every day at 7:30 p.m., which can…
Thanks to the switch to standard time, this year Halloween is an hour longer, which means you’ll have a full 60 minutes to pound in extra booze while you’re dressed like a sexy cat or sexy Walter White or whatever sexy costume you’ve chosen. That mean you’re going to need…
Back in July, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission banned crowlers — crosses between growlers and aluminum cans — from retailers such as Lewisville’s Taps and Caps. The TABC said putting draft beer in an aluminum can and sealing it up, as opposed to putting beer in a glass bottle and screwing a top…
You can get local craft beer at just about any bar in Dallas these days, and it will only get easier as more breweries continue to spring up. Bars that specialize in craft beer, local or otherwise, are a little harder to come by. When you really want to embrace…
Right now, there’s really no better place to sit on a patio and drink than Spork, the Sonic Drive-In turned chef-driven casual restaurant. The weather right now is excellent at night, the strings of white lights and Sonic-chic neons add kitsch, and if you go late enough, you can avoid…
