Nothing is more important to food than the fat with which it’s made. Whole cuisines can be categorized by the oils–or butter–upon which they’re based. As this country, originally settled by butter-eaters, is learning, all oils are not created equal. Olive oils, for instance, vary incredibly in taste–fruitiness, acidity, bitterness–as…
If you’ve got a Tolltag, you know where Tupy’s is. Along with Horchow Finale–the discount store of catalogue leftovers–Tupinamba (called Tupy’s by regulars) anchors a shopping center whose feature attractions are a pet-grooming shop, a nail salon, and the Tolltag store. It’s on Inwood Road just off Forest Lane–Dallas’ ancient,…
It’s often considered the most romantic restaurant in the city, and when I go there, I realize all over again how far I am from understanding romance. In my experience, love means never having to have the munchies again–or, at least, not for the duration of the infatuation. Love makes…
When my sister the chef used to visit New Orleans, the first thing she’d do after checking into a hotel was head for a convenience store and buy a couple of bags of Zapp’s potato chips. After all, a trip to New Orleans is a culinary expedition, Zapp’s are top-drawer…
I was in New York two weeks ago, and I saw an extraordinary work of art, of fanaticism–and, the artist claimed, of love. Liza Lou, a young artist from the West Coast had entirely covered a life-size kitchen in tiny, brilliantly colored beads. Not one inch was left bare. Picture…
First it was scotch (single malts, the more obscure, the better), then it was the martini (in 100 high-end variations), then bourbon (single-barrel, please). The trend is toward connoisseur sipping, not guzzling, and the latest liquor to climb the ladder of taste is tequila and its sister, mescal. These days,…
How much personal space humans require is mostly a cultural thing: Mediterranean men kiss each other, American men shake. And the ways we invade each other’s space are ritualized, codified, and fenced around with rules; after all, one person’s act of affection is another’s act of aggression. That’s why sharing…
The fourth Saturday of every spring and summer month, chichi Marty’s hosts a highly eclectic Farmers Market featuring up to 10 vendors selling exotic seasonal produce, plants, gourmet food products, baked goods, cappuccino, even food-inspired art and jewelry, and gourmet dog biscuits. In the past, live ostriches and wine tastings…
Sometimes, not often, you simply can’t face pizza again. In that case, there’s only one thing to do: Order Chinese. In other cities, Chinese might be a first choice. Buildings all over New York City post notices discouraging the pink-and-white flurry of take-out menus that get left by every unprotected…
It’s not only humans who have to watch what they eat: My cat Ed was recently diagnosed as obese. The average full-grown male cat weighs 12, maybe 15 lbs. Eddie weighs 22, perfectly dry. Perhaps he lacks that chemical signal that tells his brain when he is “full.” Perhaps he…
All the chat about Eatzi’s has had a subtext: What about Marty’s? Across the street from Brinker’s new phenomenon is the pioneer of Dallas gourmet shops/take-outs, and comparisons between the two are inevitable. The problem is, they’re completely misplaced. The two stores actually offer entirely different goods and services, and…
Last week, my silver-haired mother ate an Egg McMuffin for the first time in her life. I won’t go into the details surrounding her surrender to fast food, except that circumstances demanded it, that she’d reached the point between hunger and availability otherwise known as a rock and a hard…
I still think Randy Newman should have taken home the Oscar for best song, and my opinion was reinforced when I walked into Eastside Grill where they were playing “Good Old Boys,” Newman’s brilliant album about Louisiana and Huey P. Long, which became the soundtrack for our early dinner. Newman…
Brunch at Parigi is such a natural idea, it’s hard to believe it’s a new one. The venerable cafe, which still seems as fresh as it did when it opened 10 years ago, is certainly the perfect setting, with its pale color scheme and wide windows, for a leisurely spring…
No one has as nationalist an attitude about their food as the French, who have always regarded la cuisine as their own national treasure and cultural heritage, as important to maintain as the Louvre. And no one is as unprotective of their culinary heritage as the Americans, who have always…
Lower Greenville Avenue mostly is a post-hippie haven. Lots of vintage clothing, lots of hemp stores, lots of casual restaurants with eclectically dressed diners usually adorned with multiple earrings and sensible shoes. Even the Grape, pretty haute for Lower Greenville, has the kind of vintage quaintness that substitutes for style…
We knew all along a glass of wine was good for us, but finally, wine is officially considered a health food, even recommended by the USDA as a heart-healthy addition to the daily diet. That means that Eureka!, the restaurant whose theme is “health food doesn’t have to taste like…
No matter where or when, the meal–a “dining experience,” as we in the business call it–is judged according to a combination of three basic standards: the quality of the food, the quality of the service, and the quality of the atmosphere or ambiance. Other things do figure into it, but…
Last week, I was served a baby pig snout. It’s not often you’re challenged by your plate and palate to that extent in Dallas because adventures in eating here are limited. The territory is mostly familiar: Dallas is as great a desert of diversity in dining as it is in…
The wonderful thing about food is not just how it tastes, but what it evokes; there are, after all, certain foods and drinks that provide their own atmosphere. Orange juice is a wake-up call, even if you drink it at night. A glass of champagne is a party, even if…
It’s a hard, hard way to go, the restaurant business. Someone should write a blues song about it. It’s so hard that the owners of Billy Blues Barbecue just up and left it, evidently after one particularly bad night. Who knows? Maybe their pot washer quit or their smoker was…
Indian food in Dallas has almost gotten to the level of Mexican food:You can expect to find a usable Indian restaurant within reasonable driving distance from anywhere in the area. The name Taj Mahal inspires lofty expectations, even though you know they’re unfounded–ridiculously so, in the case of the Dallas…
