The "P" Word

When we get hold of a good word, we like to run it into the ground. Especially when it makes us appear smarter than our associate degree in kitchen physics would imply. But not everybody feels this way, especially longtime Dallas chef Avner Samuel, who is now at Bistro A. In the November 16-22 edition of Hash Over, we made what is perhaps a tired reference to the rambling restaurateuring flock as peripatetic, as we and a few other writers have done on numerous occasions, specifically in reference to Samuel. "It looked like the media put that image on me when there are so many other people that have moved a hell of a lot more than me, and I've stuck here for three years now, and this word keeps coming up," he says. "Was it very important to put my name next to Marc Haines and that Steve guy?" he asks, referring to fellow food nomads Marc Haines at Cuba Libre and general manager Steve Occhipinti, now at Texas de Brazil in Dallas. Samuel argues that his successful stint at Bistro A, nuzzled in Snider Plaza, is inching toward its third anniversary, for God's sake--hardly evidence of incessant drifting. (He also says rumors that his restaurant is on the block are untrue.) Samuel is right. We got lazy. And as this column goes to press, we're working on several pieces on how this immensely talented chef has fallen into a habitual rut.

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Caterer Jim Lee's invasion of the former 8.0 space in the Quadrangle is taking shape. Slowly. The founder of GourmetDallas and Jim Lee Events says the space, dubbed The Silver Room, hasn't been fully assembled and won't officially open until the first of the year. Lee is gradually adding brushed metal bar cabinetry, doors, and stainless steel-laced clouds in the ceiling, creating a sort of tribute to metallic minimalism. "We opened before we were actually finished," he says, keeping an eye on holiday party potential. The "New American Fusion cuisine" menu is crafted by Bryan Chambers, who once slung hash at The Riviera, The Green Room, The Firehouse, and the extinct Bistro and Clive & Stuart's Island Cuisine. The Silver Room is open only for lunch, brunch, and private parties...Dean McSherry of the Lincoln Restaurant Group (formerly of DMC Hospitality) says the Dallas-based restaurant-services firm has bagged a management contract with Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grills, which has locations in various cities, including Grapevine, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia. The company did have a previous management contract with the Blooper/Bandstand/New Year's Rockin' Eve TV host's restaurants some three years ago according to McSherry, but Clark's company scuttled it to pull those services in-house.