Another busy month has come and gone and with it a handful of restaurants have opened. Read on for the full list and be sure to share tips about new and/or dead restaurants in the comments section below or at dish@dallasobserver.com. Openings: Ascension Coffee (1621 Oak Lawn Ave.): The new…
In addition to our aforementioned love affair with bacon, many other great things befell our city this year. In an attempt to be a spot-on “reporter” for all culinary things that fall under the subheadings of lowbrow, redonkulous or strange, I find myself on the cutting edge of nothing really…
This February I wrote a blog post about some troubling truffle experiences I encountered at a number of fine dining restaurants across Dallas. Both Private Social and Campo served me dishes garnished with black truffles that were completely flavorless — a bummer when you’ve come to know how intoxicating the…
The year 2012 very well may go down as the year bacon got knighted. Or killed. Not sure which. Regardless, for better or worse, America had a clamorous affair with bacon this year. No longer a breakfast side item, bacon is now a main course, also a condiment, vodka, a…
Would you throw Grandma under the bus for a slice of meat lover’s pie? What about your Aunt Tilly? Pizza Hut is asking customers to do just that with a recent promotion that offers gift cards to those who feel they got the shaft this Christmas. The promotion offered a…
If you want to eat authentic Mexican food, certain aesthetic concessions may be required. The heart and soul of Mexican cooking is built on ground corn and guts. And while some restaurants put up a quaint facade and a freshly painted dining room, if you want to find the best…
“It’s down 175, somewhere around Lake June Road,” Nico Sanchez, the chef at Meso Maya told me about the taqueria he knew very little else about. He knew the intersection it was near, but not an address or phone number. And he knew it was only open on the weekends…
The tradition has nothing to do with my roots but I’ve made it my own. Every Christmas Day that I find myself alone, I assemble a loosely coupled family of other orphans in need of holiday plans. Some can’t work out the logistics required to navigate crowded airports and rental…
Next to where the old Dave & Busters was laid to rest, lies Nazca Kitchen, a bright and colorful beacon of hope for anyone looking for a taste of healthy, fresh and flavorful foods with South American roots. Walking in, you’ll notice the space’s lightness; there’s even a dining room…
Hello? Is anyone out there? Is this thing on? It’s quiet around the Observer today. The cubes are empty and everyone is tweeting about wrestling with TWA, Greyhound and other modes of transportation. I think the holidays are in full swing, and I’m excited to jump into the fray myself,…
What. A. Year. My most notable closings post was an interesting compilation , but looking at the restaurants that have opened this year is even more illuminating. We’ve gained a lot of great restaurants. (And some not so great ones, too.) Here are some of the more notable spaces. See…
If you guessed that Danyele McPherson would get kicked off of Top Chef for flipping the double bird at Gail Simmons and punching Joshua Valentine in his Valentines after Hulk-smashing the entire Top Chef kitchen, you’d be almost right. The scene actually went like this: She made a dish using…
Kevin Blessing has been the Director of Food Services at Central Market for the past nine years. I called him up today to chat about how things are going at the stores just a few days before the biggest eating day of the year. So, are you busy? Is everyone…
In Latin, the word simulacrum means “likeness” or “similarity.” It’s a term often used by philosophers and social theorists (see: Baudrillard) to exemplify the hyper-real. To boil it down: a simulacrum can often be a perverted version of reality. See also: The 10 Worst Fast Food Trends of 2012 So,…
If you find yourself in the soul-sucking portal of travel delays and cancellations at DFW Airport soon, well, happy holidays! While you channel Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, you can now have a spot o’ tea at the new tea emporium Teavana, located in Terminal A. If you’re…
Here is a brief list of five European things that make a good Christmas, but that you might be afraid of. Embrace change, Texas! I have included pictures so you don’t think I’m insane, and links to Amazon where you can still get these things (albeit with now very expensive…
I do not know Mark Followill, but if I met him, Id buy him a taco. I’m digging on the top five taco spot he just delivered on the popular Sports Radio Station known as The Ticket. As a fellow taco lover I have to challenge a few of his…
Facing out onto a bleak parking lot and just the right side of the tracks, Baker’s Ribs is in direct competition with Mama Faye’s for the Deep Ellum barbecue coin. Thing is, neither of them seem to be doing particularly good business. Baker’s had but one other family in there…
Certainly if there’s one food genre Dallasites would defend to the bottom of a bowl of queso, it’s Tex-Mex. My blog post that lists my nine favorite spots for sour cream enchiladas and beans drew scores of comments overnight. Most either professed a support of my picks, or demanding I…
Dain Pool and Jon Wagner really should have known better. They both come from families in the food industry. Pool’s father runs the Georgia-based Pool’s Restaurant Group and Wagner’s grandfather founded Johnsonville Sausage. So, a lot of people would argue that they should have known better then to stay in…
The moment I realized that food comes from animals was during one of my family’s tamale making sessions. I was about 4 or 5 and after waking from a nap I wandered down the hallway of the temporary trailer my grandparents were living in while they awaited the completion of…
Remember this? The beer bike that was banned in Germany because of all the ruckus it caused on the roadway? We can’t imagine how 15 drunk people pedaling a bike through a busy city could possibly be a distraction, but we honestly wanted to find out for ourselves. Well, our…
