The Old-School Dessert Plate is Alive, if Not Well, At Taverna

Behold! Dessert Plate! I first met you back in high school, where I thanklessly waited tables at a seafood-meets-steak house on the Chesapeake Bay. There, in the walk-in fridge, you sat perched at the ready, covered in cellophane and prepared to advertize your glorious bounty to diners already stuffed with…

Candy Corn: The Worst Halloween Candy in the History of Ever

Candy corn, I hate you. Mainly because — and I’m going to be blunt here — you fucking suck. You taste like pre-digested marshmallows and Sweet Vanilla Shit Meadow Febreze had a flavor baby. You’re punishment candy. People who give out candy corn on Halloween would be better off giving…

Restaurant Websites That Make You NOT Want To Eat

You’ve seen this guy, right? Peanut butter jelly time is the number one indicator of poor website design. Sparkling mouse trailers, glimmering lights, dancing bananas — these are the hallmarks of your 13-year-old daughter’s MySpace page. Poorly chosen music played in a loop, excessive flash and clunky navigation also indicate…

The 10 Best Music Videos Featuring Puppets

Jim Henson modernized the age-old art of puppetry by using foam rubber to coat the puppets’ limbs. Previously, most TV puppets were made of carved wood. But Henson believed that foam rubber and cloth brought more life to the puppets’ movements. Turns out he was right: Henson’s puppet characters took over…

Onion Rings: Bigger Is Definitely Not Better

I’m over super-sized onion rings. They first made their appearance at steakhouses and burger joints but have become increasingly popular at bars everywhere. Often stacked like a tower to the heavens, they arrive precariously ready to topple and litter your table in shards of fried breading. Katy Trail Ice House…

CBS Is Looking For The Best Food Blogger, Kinda

Early last month, the CBS-11 announced a friendly competition to crown the area’s Most Valuable Bloggers. Categories include local affairs, sports, lifestyle, entertainment and dining, among others. Contestants are entered into the event through a nomination process in which anyone can participate. Currently 17 blogs have entered the food fray…

I Could Love You, Office Cafeteria, But You Make It So Damn Hard

I try and eat something interesting for lunch every day I can. Zaguan is a great Latin bakery across the street from the Observer HQ that serves a decent arepas. I covet Reina Pepiada: a salad of pulled chicken and avocado. Nosh, up the street, composes some beautiful plates at…

Dallas Line Cooks Need To Work On Their Burger Mechanics

Some burger town. I’ve probably had 20 or so since I got here, and I’ve noticed an alarming trend. Almost all of my burgers have arrived over-cooked. In fact of all the burgers I’ve had, only two or so (thanks, Grape and NHS) were cooked as ordered. The rest? Woefully…

KRLD Restaurant Week 2011: One foodbitch’s Experience.

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip… That all went down at Al Biernat’s with a lot of big, fake tits. Ah, KRLD Restaurant Week, a time when those of us who only think we belong on Most Eligible Dallas get to…

The Top 10 Music Video Vixens of All Time

We thought we’d takea chance to talk about a couple of our personal favorite topics — hair metal and video vixens. Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” video, along with being an editing masterpiece that serves as one of the highlights of the band’s career, featured Bobbie Brown, one of the ’80s most…

There Is Never A Good Excuse For Bad Guacamole

Earlier this week I mentioned a few Tex-Mex joints that are serving up some pretty sub-par guac. Ever ready to jump into the fray, a few Aters chimed in, saying I’d simply gone to the wrong restaurants. But the thing is, there’s no excuse for bad guacamole. Ever. If you…

Plate Hate: Why Is There a Forest In My Drink?

Leslie Brenner’s new Best of Guide touts Dallas’ top cocktails, complete with a swanky photo spread. One of the shots mirrors an experience I’ve had enough of. A high ball glass filled with glistening ice and dotted with kumquat slices is topped with not just a sprig of lavender, but…

The 28 Best Whistling Songs of All-Time

Peter Bjorn & John had already released a pair of marginally-successful albums and were even beginning to gain a small amount of notoriety as being one of Sweden’s most promising young pop bands by the time 2006 rolled around. But it was their third album, Writer’s Block, that really put…

The 30 Best One-Hit Wonders of ’90s Hip-Hop

 “Jump Around” was more than just a flash-in-the-pan radio hit — it’s been included on pretty much every “best hip-hop songs of all time” list. And who could disagree? It was a hell of a song. Plus, due to its constant usage in every sports arena on the planet, the song…