Before I was a food critic I was a recipe tester. I worked with Bonnie Benwick at the Washington Post, who would send out a handful of recipes to her team and demand resultant dishes be brought to the office for sampling and photography. She would yell at us testers…
Like many food writers I’m sure, I’ve been watching Pulitzer-winning Jonathan Gold’s transition from the LA Weekly to the Los Angeles Times closely. The death of the star system at the daily publication has gotten a lot of attention, too, but it’s Gold’s first blog post that has invoked deep…
I was hoping that eating a Doritos flavored taco would inspire a few grafs of humorous prose, but instead it just spurred sorrow. Now, sitting at my desk after enduring my arterial assault, I feel depressed. I won’t call Taco Bell’s creation good or bad. It tastes exactly like what…
Dear Grilled Chicken Sandwich, You suck. I mean you really, really suck. I’m not just picking on The Blackfriar’s version pictured above — the McKinney Avenue pub just happened to be the unlucky subject of this food critic’s rant — I’m talking about all grilled chicken sandwiches everywhere. All of…
I wanted to sign up and pin nothing but hoagies. I found buns, “hoagie dip” and earrings instead…
Steak steak steak steak steak steak steak. The Dallas Morning News published a Pavlovian steakhouse slideshow the other day, with pictures and a link to a story published two summers ago that ranked Dallas’ best steakhouses. There are some sexy shots in that slideshow, but they invoked deja vu: D…
A-List Dallas recently published this list, called the “BEST of CityVoter Dallas A-List,” which is a confusing name for a list, but that’s beside my point. The point is, after all the nitpicking we let you guys do of Scott’s top five lists, we figured we’d take a crack. Let’s…
I’ll admit it. I’m a burger snob. I LOVE when a fancy steakhouse serves up blissful beef on a house-baked bun, with gorgeous fries and interesting, scratch-made condiments. Not that I always want to shell out a Jackson for true bovinity — humble burgers are great too. But I get…
There’s a trend I’ve noticed Dallas dining establishments that I think is growing and am certain should come to a stop. If you’re a frequent steak eater, you’ll know what I’m talking about. You order a rich, red California cabernet and a massive rib-eye steak — not some tiny baby…
Everyone holds dear a few suspect dishes from their past, usually from questionable chain restaurants. Because we like to watch him suffer, Scott will occasionally review those foods. This week: Chili’s Chicken Crispers, a long-lost love of Observer editor Joe Tone. I’ve had chicken tenders maybe eight times in my…
In my ongoing quest to eat more healthily, I ordered a salad at dinner last night, passing up on the Porch’s well regarded Stodg Burger. This is what I got. I know I only count 18, but come on. There have to be a couple hiding under there, right?…
Yesterday, the Department of State Health Services hosted a meeting in Austin on the proposed new labeling rules for the Texas Cottage Food law, which have bakers in an uproar. And if this video wasn’t a clear indication of how the city of Plano feels about the newfound freedom of…
When I came in this morning, my editor asked me if I wanted to write about National Tater Tot Day. Why wouldn’t I? We’ve already blogged about National Margarita Day, Pie Day, Tequila Day, and a boatload of other bullshit holidays. Why not give people a half-ass excuse to stuff…
The Super Bowl is coming, which means everyone must think about, write about, talk about and prepare for the egregious consumption of chicken wings. It’s a damn shame because most of the wings consumed during the big game will totally blow. I blame these guys for fucking up chicken wings…
There’s a large glass container filled with matchbooks in my apartment. Actually they’re in a big Ziploc bag because I’m too lazy to unpack them, but I used to have them out in a big glass bowl on a table in my living room. I’d use them like most people…
Apparently you guys like it when I’m angry, so I was all ready to launch into my next rant about the odd concept that is the modern yogurt shop, including Yumilicious in Uptown, which I visited last week. But it didn’t feel right to rail on the shop. Everyone in…
A Washington, DC-based sushi chain recently released a promotional video about shooting a sushi roll into space. Getting sushi into the stratosphere should be easy enough. A weather balloon was used to take a chair into space for a very similar commercial. Still, the video seemed a little fishy. I…
Dear Dallas, I’ve had enough of your authoritarian valet system. I think the hatred began this summer at Wild Salsa. It was a slow weekday night, and we pulled up, handed over $7 and watched the valet back the car up three spots and throw the transmission in park. I…
If you’ve consumed drinks at Marquee Grill, Black Swan, the Chesterfield, or any of the other high-end cocktail den around Dallas, you’re going to get a kick out of this video. The short depicts a mustachioed bartender-douchebag pontificating on the finer elements of mixology, through short, punchy snippets. It’s pretty…
Late last year, Forbes named Smashburger America’s most promising company. The article describes an American population as burger-obsessed and compares the Denver-based smashers to other chains, including Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Jack in the Box and Hardees. (Shake Shack, the undisputed fast food burger champion of the world, was…
Thinking about hosting a Super Bowl Party, but looking for a way to raise the bar? Well, we found it. Pizza Prints are melting stickers for pizza that you can eat. Sold in classic infomercial style (insert infomercial voice), they are “edible image decorations that turn your pizza into a…
A new website has been making the rounds for the past few weeks. Created by Coolagraphy, a creative consultancy dedicated to cool, wherethefuckshouldIgofordrinks uses your zip code or internet geolocation to offer up random watering holes with a side of salty banter. It’s fun for about seven seconds. Using Dallas…
