Burning Question: What’s Going On At City Of Ate?

Someone posted a comment under our new Veggie Girl segment this week wanting some kind of alert when the column pops up–RSS, we think they called it.The Burning Question crew, of course, knows nothing about technology…which is probably for the best. If we could figure out our mobile phone camera,…

10 Questions: Donnie Brown

He got his start at the age of 16, helping out at a floral shop owned by a family friend. He ended up a television star.Brown is one of the planners featured on Whose Wedding is it, Anyway?, Style network’s top-rated show–season nine begins in April. He also just put…

Food For Thought 3.20.09

“Dunkin’ Donuts has always appealed to the ‘Everyday Joe.’ We really appeal to a broader psychographic and not so much a demographic–everyone from a company CEO to a construction worker.” (Casey Corrigan, spokeswoman for the doughnut chain, on the continued popularity of their coffee. While Starbucks trims their store numbers,…

Short Orders: Andiamo

Andiamo4151 Belt LineAddison972-233-1515Andiamo is the dining equivalent of television’s Life on Mars or Ashes to Ashes–an unexpected and momentarily confusing step back in time. The decor probably hasn’t changed at all since the place opened in 1990. The menu includes staid, old-school dishes like minestrone, lemon sole, chicken Parmegiana and…

Appetite For Instruction: Guacamole

Demonstrated by Jeffrey Kowitz of Taco Joint The name of Jeffrey Kowitz and Corey McCauley’s restaurant pretty much says it all–Taco Joint. This low-maintenance East Dallas spot isn’t about twisting, spinning or otherwise tricking up what was probably a good thing in the first place. Kowitz, the man behind Taco…

Wine Rocks

Rock stars plus alcohol can add up to a lot of things. But when you add organic grocery stores to the rock and booze equation, the sum must certainly change, right? Guess we’ll find out when Maynard James Keenan makes an appearance at the Whole Foods Market in Plano from…

10 Questions: Tiffany Derry

When Go Fish moved–and moved up market as Go Fish Ocean Club–the owners picked Derry to run the kitchen.She may look fresh-faced, but Derry’s been in food service for some time. Before she finished high school, the Houston native became the youngest person to manage an IHOP. She then attended…

Food For Thought 3.19.09

“I think some of the retail down there was just a bad idea. I don’t think those were the right concepts for there. How many people spend $100 on a steak before a basketball game?” (Charlie Green, who plans to open an Olivella’s Neo Pizza Napoletana in Victory Park on…

At Citrus Bistro, Good Things Come from Big Packages

Remember the old saying “never trust a skinny chef”? Well, our waiter—the one with gunmetal hair—nods toward the back room where Didier Viriot ambles back and forth, carrying his bulk confidently. The implication is clear: Have faith in the chef and his restaurant, Citrus Bistro. But should you trust a…

Tortas La Hechizara

Minutes it took me to decide what I wanted because there was so much good-lookin’ stuff on the menu count: 5 Minutes I waited for my food once I’d ordered it count: 3 You ever have one of those moments when you just feel like you’ve been living a lie?…

Pairing Off: Jimmy Dean’s Sausage Biscuits

Nothing like a bottle of wine for breakfast. And nothing so satisfying as when the wisdom of ages stands up to scrutiny.In our less rigid era, we’ve dispensed with the old ‘red wine with beef, white wine with fish’ rule. Screw top bottles are coming into vogue. Aficionados now mention…

On The Range: Bar-Mex (Nachos, Chips And Stuff Like That)

Most of us–well, most non-Hispanics, anyway–have been eating nachos for many years without a clue as to where the term originated. You see, in Tejano culture, “Nacho” is merely the nickname for Ignacio, a rather common name in Spanish-speaking households. And according to Robb Walsh and his Tex-Mex Cookbook, this…

Everything’s Coming Up Groceries

Something new is blooming in Dallas. And it’s unlikely to cause an allergic reaction. Newflower Farmers Market opened its newest Texas location at 1800 N. Henderson Ave. The store offers all-natural and organic products, including local produce, meats, seafood, and bulk foods. The first 200 customers this morning received a…

10 Questions: Taco Borga

As if opening one highly acclaimed restaurant wasn’t enough, Espartaco (“Taco”) Borga and his wife, Dunia, now run four–three versions of La Duni and the new Mexican-Peruvian place on Central Expressway called Alo.La Duni, named one of the nation’s best new restaurants of 2001, brought Borga into the limelight–and not…

Food For Thought: 3.18.09

“Our average check is lower, but transactions are up 10 to 15 percent.” (John Hurley, owner of Garibaldi’s Restaurant in Oakland, CA, on the value of a prix-fixe menu. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, fine dining restaurants are increasingly turning to multi-course, set price dinners to combat the recession…a trend…

This St. Patrick’s Day, A Competition for the Perfect Pint

Bartenders from around the Dallas area faced off at Trinity Hall last Wednesday night, to see who has the skills to pour the best pint of Guinness.The Irish icon’s master brewer Fergal Murray was in town to lead the team of judges. Trinity Hall’s website had first announced that none…

Veggie Girl: Kalachandji’s

Our new feature searching for vegan and vegetarian dining options in Dallas–both at restaurants committed to the cause and regular, meat eating places. Being vegan is supposed to do lots of lovely spiritual and gastrointestinal things to you. You’re supposed to feel lighter and healthier, for one. And your bowels…

Dude Food: Kong China Super Buffet

Kong China Super Buffet 1150 W. Kiest Blvd. Sute 325, Kiest-Polk VillageDude Factor: 2, or Congo (the movie version), on a scale of 1 (Conga lines at weddings) to 10 (Donkey Kong)When a Chinese restaurant can’t even get steamed rice right, something is wrong.Very wrong. You know, Chinese buffets have…

Richardson Is A Little Twisted

Are you dying for a Twisted Root Burger Co. fix but not sure if Deep Ellum is worth the drive…or even still there? No problem. There’s always Richardson. And things are bigger in the northern ‘burbs, after all. The second location of Twisted Root–all 3,000 square feet–just opened at the…

10 Questions: Lidia Bastianich

She arrived in New York at the age of 12 in 1958. Half a century later, she’s a cooking icon with five cookbooks, four television series and six restaurants to her name.Bastianich’s most recent PBS cooking show, Lidia’s Italy, is such a hit in Dallas that she’s frequently asked to…

Food For Thought 3.17.09

“The Irish pubs in Dallas are full of Americans who think they’re Irish.” (Barry Tate, quoted in a 2001 Observer piece. The then owner of The Londoner in Addison and now of the new place in the State-Thomas area was explaining the difference between British pubs and Irish pubs. Clearly…