The bar door swings open, and orange sunlight, hazy with cigarette smoke, briefly lights the sparse, dingy environs. On the hardwood bar top, a half-dozen dice tumble from a Yahtzee cup, landing close to a smudged envelope stuffed with cash. Near the door, a paunchy, graying man holds a stream…
Driving down Greenville the other day, a sign caught my eye: homemade sandwiches. Does that mean somebody makes sandwiches at his house and then brings them here and sells them to me a few hours later? Better question: Is somebody’s home making these sandwiches? Subquestion: How much do you pay…
Smoke is—and isn’t—what you think it is. There’s barbecue all right, just as the name implies: brisket, ribs, even pulled pork. Chef Tim Byres spent the better part of this summer on the road in a rebuilt VW bus. He clattered around the Mississippi delta, over the hills of Tennessee…
Just glancing through posts and comments I’ve learned that only douche bags go to The Porch, which is not surprising, given that Henderson Avenue is populated by them. So are the restaurants of Uptown. The suburbs? Full of douches. Maybe not North Richland Hil…no, that must have a share of…
In this week’s Observer, Dave gets back to barbecue with a visit to Smoke, the Oak Cliff spot alongside the Belmont Hotel, opened in August by Bolsa’s Chris Zielke and Chris Jeffers.Beyond the food, the place has style — Chris Jeffers’ snakeskin coat at the grand opening left no doubt…
Such a week–people congratulating us, berating us, questioning the sexual orientation of those who post and comment, and pausing with us to praise shit on a shingle. Wouldn’t have it any other way.A good prize this week would have been some bottles of that Texas whisky. Unfortunately we couldn’t rightly…
Chip Tate and Stephen Germer for some reason decided the time was right for a craft Texas whiskey to hit the market. So they formed Balcones Distillery and set up along I-35, just south of Waco, amongst fields of heather and weathered peat bogs soaked by clear mountain springs…no, that…
Next week, look for a taste of D.C. But for now:The ‘Boys travel to America’s ice fishing capital on Sunday afternoon. Another “fact” about the land where people really need four-wheel drive…Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers owned a popular restaurant that sold American caviar–until health inspectors pointed out that, while black,…
A Pyramid PR representative recently sent a press release announcing the Gold Medal awarded to the brewery’s Haywire Hefewiezen at the Great American Beer Festival, and offered to send over sample bottle or two. As if she needed to ask.Ben E. Keith beer distributors did her one better and delivered…
There’s always some confusion when non-Texans first encounter chicken fried steak. As former president Bush–the one with a measurable IQ, otherwise known as H.W.–admitted in a 1989 address, “I didn’t know if chicken fried steak was a chicken fried like a steak or a steak that tasted like a chicken.”Of…
You might not know that Kona Grill has a completely separate menu for vegans. They keep it hidden behind the host’s stand and don’t advertise it on their regular menu. Why keep it hidden? No idea. As one of my friends says, “It’s like winking at someone in the dark.”…
Recipe Demonstrated by Richie Rudkin of Buli Café There are certain restaurants where you feel at home the moment you step inside the door for the first time. You are immediately greeted with smiling faces from staff and satisfied customers with their mouths half full (always a good sign).Buli Café…
The ‘Boys travel to the land of Hamm’s Beer on Sunday afternoon. To help us understand more about the only city in the NFL without tourists…Packers receiver Donald Driver went missing for several days after a snipe hunt. He survived in the woods by eating what he thought were cheese…
Defining a dive is never easy. It’s open to debate, for example, whether a dive bar should serve more than bags of chips or bowls of stale nuts.Therefore, creating this list involved a bit of craftsmanship. We decided to exclude taquerias, barbecue joints and established Mexican destinations such as Ojeda’s…
Each week, Pairing Off attempts to find just the right bottle of wine to go with ordinary food.It’s funny what foods frighten the wine experts.When I began calling around about this week’s pairing, I expected nods to certain reds that go well with chocolate. But the guy at Dallas Fine…
To the men of the 504th regiment, 82nd Airborne–“the Devils in Baggy Pants”–who crossed the Waal in Holland and battled Panzers in the Ardennes. My uncle ‘Highlee’ fought with them. And to Marines of the American Legation Guard, Peking, colloquially known as “the North China Marines” who never had the…
Chef Bruno Davaillon is eager to know what Dallas wants for dinner. At least that was the sentiment echoed by the wait staff and marketing department last night at a media dinner at the Mansion on Turtle Creek.The Mansion staff has been asking recent patrons what they’d like to see…
On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items.Puerto de Veracruz is a bustling metropolis of half-a-million located on the Gulf of Mexico. Its rich history stretches back to Pre-Columbian times, and it is sometimes called The Four Times Heroic City after resisting…
The ‘Boys travel to Spittletown on Sunday afternoon. To help us understand more about the team founded by a guy named Curly…Fans of the Packers celebrate their deep and lasting affinity for Canada and all things Canadian by wearing wedges of Brie Vaudreuil, Pied-de-Vent or Fetard on their heads.**Source: An…
Joe’s Pizza, Pasta & Subs4300 Matlock Road, ArlingtonDude Factor: 8, or Joe Pesci, on a scale of 1 (Joe Jonas) to 10 (Joe DiMaggio)Located in a strip center next to an acupuncture office promising “Pain $55,” Joe’s was the only non-chain restaurant we could find last night in an otherwise…
In Pho From Home we seek out the variety of pho–authentic, Texified, good and bad–available in restaurants, starting in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City and winding all the way around the Dallas area. As a little Vietnamese kid in a primarily white world, I never thought these three…
If Memory Serves chronicles moments from my dining past, perhaps explaining why I’m so damn warped.My first wife’s clan would gather at least once a year in the middle of nowhere, otherwise known as Columbus, Nebraska.Yes, first wife–for some reason my firm belief that life revolves around televised sports, X-Box…
