100 Favorite Dishes, No. 98: Arepas at Zaguan Latin Cafe

To prepare for this fall’s Best of Dallas® 2012 issue, we’re counting down (in no particular order) our 100 Favorite Dishes. If there’s a dish you think we should try, leave it in the comments, or email me. Not every sandwich has to be a full-service gut bomb. Sometimes you…

Hattie’s Helped Build Bishop Arts, and 10 Years Later People Are Still Coming

It’s 7 on a Friday night, and there’s something odd, eerie even, about the Bishop Arts District. There are these things called “pedestrians” here (pronounced “ped-ESS-tree-ans”), moving past crowded patio tables on long, limb-looking contraptions that are strangely devoid of mufflers. Elsewhere people are idling — standing, it’s apparently called…

Restore Your Meat-Pummeled Body with Ali Baba’s Tabouleh

It’s a bit tiresome to hear a critic gripe about all the food they’re forced to eat. (There are worse ways to make a living.) After reviewing near back-to-back Southern comfort restaurants, though, I felt pretty pummeled with fat and meat. I needed a break. While interviewing an Italian chef…

The Sushi Axiom on Cedar Springs is Closed

Sushi Axiom (formerly Fin Sushi) at 4123 Cedar Springs Road closed for good yesterday in a combined decision of the owners and business partner Monica Green. The spot will be combined with an adjacent space, which is owned by the same group, and will reopen as a Mexican concept. Sushi…

The Food of Denton’s Arts and Jazz Festival

The Arts and Jazz Festival should be called the My Chest Will Hurt On Monday Convention. Taking a step into city limits, you’re olfactory sense is assaulted with the undeniable, comforting aroma of all things battered and fried. If only Village Voice Media would invest in smell-o-vision…

The Magic Behind Peticolas Brewing Company’s Velvet Hammer

I first encountered Velvet Hammer at Eno’s. I was wrapping up “research” for an upcoming review and wanted to unwind in Oak Cliff. If you haven’t had the chance to drink beer with Jake Reck, the super-bearded bartender who’s often working the upstairs bar, you should — Reck knows his…

Old World Sausage Co.’s Beef and Sausage Sandwich Is a Link to the Past

Each week, Justin Bitner goes hunting for DFW’s most interesting sandwiches. Have a sandwich suggestion? Leave it in the comments and he’ll check it out. Venue: Old World Sausage Co. Sandwich: The Italian Beef and Sausage Sandwich ($6.95) Bread: Good old hoagie Toppings: Home-stuffed Italian sausage, thinly sliced Italian beef,…

At Jeff Harris’ Bolsa, One Dish Reveals the Chef’s Chops

“You can always judge the quality of a cook or restaurant by roast chicken,” Julia Child once wrote. I’m not sure if she was the first to utter those words, but they have been hers ever since. They’re words I happen to believe in. I’ve devoted too much time to…

How to Eat the Grape’s Mussels

Offering mussels on a menu is a lot like offering a burger. You see both everywhere, and each is highly dependent on the primary ingredient. Mussels are especially finicky — they’re only as good as they are tonight, and tomorrow they may be a complete disappointment in the same dining…

Driftwood is Half Off for Oak Cliffers Tomorrow

The new seafood spot Driftwood, at 642 West Davis in Oak Cliff, is offering 50 percent off to Oak Cliff residents tomorrow. I spoke with owner Jonn Baudoin about the promotion. “We’re part of the community here now,” said Baudoin, “and we just want to show our appreciation.” As SideDish…