Lauren Drewes Daniels

Lauren Drewes Daniels is the food editor of the Dallas Observer. She started working as a freelance writer in 2013 and became editor in 2021. She covers Dallas' evolving dining scene, the many openings and closings as well as trends and breaking news. She oversees annual lists including Top 100 Bars and Top 100 Restaurants and contributes to the Best of Dallas. If you have a tip about an amazing pastry, pie or taco, let her know.

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Spec's Liquor Working to Buy Sigel's, Spread Its Big-Box Booziness Throughout the Land

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 29, 2011

Word is out that Houston-based Spec's Wine, Spirits and Finer Foods is looking to buy Sigel's Beverages of Dallas. Per the Dallas Morning News, Sigel's president John Rector confirmed that the two companies were in talks. Sigel's has 10 area stores and a warehouse, which employs 250 people. On a...
Trader Joe's Opening on Lower Greenville, in Plano

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 29, 2011

Trader Joe's has finally revealed its plans for the Dallas area. Per Gubbins at Pegasus (via the DMN), the first is slated to open this spring at Preston and Park in Plano, and the second at the old Arcadia Theater location on Lower Greenville, which is scheduled to open in...
Greenling to Bring Local Organic Produce Delivery to Dallas

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 28, 2011

Eater Dallas reported earlier this week that Greenling, an organic produce delivery company out of Austin, is expanding to Dallas in January. Greenling works directly with local, sustainable farmers and producers, and delivers weekly food bins to residences. There is a $25 minimum for all orders, but the delivery service...
Easy Sliders Food Truck Rolls Up

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 23, 2011

The Easy Slider food truck hits the streets in Big D today for their first lunch service. Co-owners Miley Holmes and Caroline Perini worked together at the House of Blues and decided to cash it in and put it all down a bright blue food truck and sell small sandwiches...
Easy Foodie Gifts That Involve Whiskey, Marshmallows and Capes

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 21, 2011

I hate it when people get all pansy about last-minute shopping. We're still four days out. It's 2011. We can make so much happen in one hour it's mind-boggling. "Last minute" is on the drive over you run in any place that's open and buy a gift certificate or print...
At Rudolph's Meat Market: Keeping Old-School Butchery Alive One Tip Roast at a Time

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 21, 2011

In 1895, Austrian immigrant Martin Rudolph opened Rudolph's Meat Market in Deep Ellum. Almost 50 years later, Cyrill "Sid" Pokladnik, who was an employee, bought the butcher shop, and it has remained in his family since. Pokladnik's five grandchildren all take part in running it now. I recently spoke with...
Spec's Liquor Has Opened On Walnut Hill and It's Massive (Photos)

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 21, 2011

Spec's newest liquor-and-everything emporium opened this past weekend at Walnut Hill and Central. It's hard to describe this spot because there's just so much going on. You know how we do everything bigger in Texas? Ya, that. And I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I like my...
Five Holiday Breads for Soaking Up Holiday Booze (and Where to Find Them)

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 20, 2011

Bread. The essential form of sustenance for most of us homo sapiens. More importantly, that from which doughnuts and cake evolved. I decided to take a look at different cultures' spins on holiday bread, and why so few take up such an inordinate amount of shelf space this time of...
Have a Soufflé in Your PJs at Rise No. 1

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 19, 2011

Food comas are an inherit part of the holidays. Gluttonous meals planned weeks in advance are devoured in less than 20 minutes, and all that's left is the amazing mess to clean up while fighting through food fog and heavy lethargy. Excited? Yeah, me too. The day after Christmas is...
City of Ate's Holiday Gift Guide

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 16, 2011

It's getting late. There are only eight shopping days left before Christmas. If you're doing your shopping online, you should blow off work the rest of the day and get to it. We've compiled a list to guide you. These unique items will give the impression you searched far and...
Oak Cliff's CocoAndré Chocolatier Hits the Catwalk, and Keeps Hitting its Stride

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 15, 2011

In 1985 Andrea Pedraza found herself in need of a little extra cash when a friend told her about a new chocolate shop that had just opened and was hiring. Going to the interview, Pedraza was hopeful, but didn't think working in a chocolate shop was realistic. Three weeks later,...
New Dallas City Council Rules Should Get Food Trucks Rolling into Dallas

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 15, 2011

Over on Pegausus News, DFW Food Truck Foodie reported yesterday that the Dallas City Council has released the headlock they'd had on many North Texas food trucks by resolving a few code compliance issues. The biggest change is to allow retrofitted trucks. Previously the code allowed only original food trucks...
The Chesterfield Opens Downtown with Swanky Food and Drinks (Photos)

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 15, 2011

The Chesterfield opened this week at 1404 Main St. in downtown Dallas. Deep burgundy couches and velvet armchairs along with brass chandeliers and a dark-wood bar gives this mixology den a distinguished, swank feel. With an "official" capacity of less than 50, the narrow restaurant and bar is cozy and...
Rathbun Chef Jennifer Newbold on the Rules of the Kitchen, Her Mussels and the Dallas Palate

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 14, 2011

Jennifer Newbold has been the chef at Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen for about six months now. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she grew up eating food from her family farm and would like to see an easier way to bring the farm to the table here. She came to Dallas...
Now Open: Bolsa Mercado in Oak Cliff (Photos)

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 14, 2011

The much-awaited Bolsa Mercado opened this week in Oak Cliff, just a few doors down from its farm-to-table mother ship Bolsa. This high-end grocery store and deli boasts shelves stocked with dips, sauces, honey, spices, root beer, local cheeses, breads, chocolates and countless other items. And for the boozers: 100...
Santas Rampage in Dallas this Weekend

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 13, 2011

What's a Santa Rampage, you ask? It's hundreds of Santas bar-hopping together spreading holiday cheer. They congregate, stick together (because 300 Santas entering a bar is much cooler than just three) and take the city by red, furry storm. Organized via Facebook and Twitter, this year's rampage is planned for...
Guy Fieri Also Marked His Territory at Afrah in Richardson. Somehow That's Less Annoying.

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 12, 2011

Amidst his stops at Dallas' well loved "dives," Guy Fieri and his Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives crew filmed at the Middle Eastern restaurant Afrah in Richardson last week. Brothers Ayad, Youssef and Nabil El-horr, who co-own and manage the restaurant together, initially opened Afrah just as a sweet shop back...
Guy Fieri Just Marked His Territory at Il Cane Rosso

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 9, 2011

Maple and Motor, you're not alone. This morning Il Cane Rosso posted this on their Facebook page: Cane Rosso is CLOSED at lunch today for a private Holiday Party. We will re-open for dinner at 5pm! Come down and try some of Deep Ellum Brewing Company's beers AND a Lockhart...
Urban Acres Holiday Market: Saturday in Oak Cliff

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 9, 2011

On Saturday Urban Acres will have a Holiday Market at their shop in the Oak Cliff, where local purveyors will be on hand to peddle their artisan foods and crafts. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., bring along your holiday shopping list, because you'll surely be able to scratch off...
Sylvan Thirty to Include "Culinary Incubator" for Local Artisans and Chefs

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 8, 2011

Catty-corner from The Belmont Hotel in Oak Cliff is vast emptiness. The remnants of the Alamo Hotel were swept away long ago, save the vintage sign along Fort Worth Avenue, which serves as a stark reminder of what were once better times for the area. That could change next year,...
Baboush Chef Yaser Khalaf on How to Make it in America (It All Starts in Lexington)

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 8, 2011

Yaser Khalaf, owner of Medina and Baboush in the West Village, traveled throughout the Middle East and Europe as a child. Then in college, he traversed America, Route 66-style, in a van in which he literally blew the engine. His life-long passion for food, culture and people helped mold him...
Now Open: Draft Pick Sports Bar and Grill Near the AAC (Photos)

By Lauren Drewes Daniels
Dec 8, 2011

Draft Picks Sports Bar and Grill, which opened in late September, sits less than a half-mile south of the American Airlines Center, right where Victory Avenue ends. Naturally, as with all sports bars, they have a few TVs, although how many is purely arbitrary. Ten or 20 used to be...

Archives from 2011

Lauren Drewes Daniels

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