Beeson goes
After nearly two years as The Mansion's wine-cellar master, Darryl Beeson was shown the door. Well, maybe not shown the door. Beeson says the decision was mutual. (The Mansion did not return calls for comment). But a day or so after his departure, the thing that struck Beeson is how small a town Dallas really is. He wasn't yet grieving a full 15 minutes over the loss of his Mansion slot, he says, when he got a call from a certain unopened high-profile restaurant soliciting his services. Beeson wouldn't say which one, but Scott Ginsburg, the onetime radio mogul who's bankrolling Voltaire on Keller Springs and the Tollway, can't say enough about Beeson's overall swellness. "I think he's a terrific guy," he says. "I think he's available, and I think he'd fit in nicely." But Ginsburg stops short of confirming Beeson is fitting in nicely. What he did say is that Voltaire will open November 4 for three days of "guinea pig tastings," or invitation-only menu samplings, with an official opening November 11. Another rumor Ginsburg refused to confirm is that one of Voltaire's house wines will be a 1981 Chateau Haut Brion. "We will be using a first-growth [Bordeaux]," Ginsburg says of Voltaire's by-the-glass offerings. "And I think we're the first restaurant in the Western World to have done that."
Irish jig
O'Dowd's Little Dublin, the Irish pub developed by Kansas City-based Hanrahan Investments and slated to go into the former Clive & Stuart's space on McKinney Avenue, won't be sloshing pints before Thanksgiving. Sources say the interior, crafted in Dublin from materials plucked from old Irish churches and schools, is on a boat somewhere on the Atlantic. But that isn't the only delay. Hanrahan revised its plans by adding a rooftop deck and expanded patio, which translates into an opening sometime just before Christmas.
List watch
It might seem strange sipping a Sauvignon blanc called Dog Point. After all, Sauvignon blanc aromas are sometimes compared to cat pee on weeds, but never to Lab whiz on fire hydrants. Goldwater Estates 1998 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc (named for a vineyard) from Marlborough, New Zealand, has plush tropical fruit aromas and a searing crispness broadened by smooth herbaciousness. Plus, it has a finish that throbs on the palate for a good long time. Find it on lists at Cool River Café, Al Biernat's, Star Canyon, Tei Tei Robata Bar, Pappas Brothers Steak House, and Voltaire. 
— Mark Stuertz
E-mail Dish at [email protected].
