You’d think the world needs another vodka like it needs to see Karl Rove and Dick Cheney reprising the famous Britney-Madonna kiss on national TV.Already at the premium level we have Grey Goose (distilled multiple times and cut with limestone filtered water), Effen (distilled five times and filtered through peat),…
Dallas has always seemed a little confused about margaritas–even though the cocktail was reputedly invented by a local (albeit during a Mexico vacation).Perhaps it’s just a misunderstanding of semantics. You see, ‘cocktail’ is generally a drink consisting of three or more ingredients, all of which either come through on the…
I know you’ve wondered why local restaurants don’t serve faggots and why faggots aren’t welcome in Dallas supermarkets. Well, turns out it’s a question of marketing.And unless you’re the touchy sort, you’ve already realized that ‘faggot’ (as we use it here) is a food-related term–a kind of offal meatball once…
Cadillac Ranch857 John Carpenter FwyIrving972-506-7262Cadillac Ranch was a roller coaster ride when I reviewed the place sometime in…well, less than a year ago. My short term memory cuts in an out, even though I take plenty of herb-infused medicine for the problem.Tastes medicinal, anyway.I stopped by again last evening, in…
Great note on the Eats blog by Leslie Brenner. Thanks to a movie that turned them on to an old cookbook, some columnists have discovered classic French recipes are difficult. And reverence for her leaves out modern trendwriters like Michael Pollan. And she didn’t share today’s outlook on sexual orientation…Geez.Anyway,…
In a famous biblical parable, a son takes his family inheritance and wastes it on riotous living in some distant land, returning home with empty pockets and a deep sense of regret—which seems like an appropriate summary of chef Marc Cassel’s professional life, though almost in reverse. Dallas’ prodigal son…
Well, actually I’m not sure if it advances or diminishes the cause when McDonald’s gets involved. Anyway, this from one of their commercials for the Angus burger:”The bacon beckons like a springboard to paradise.”‘Nuff said…
Each week, Pairing Off attempts to find just the right bottle of wine to go with ordinary food.Whoever first decided to shatter fried tortillas into wedge shapes and open a jar of salsa was some kind of improvisational genius. In one moment he–or she, but most likely he–gave the art…
August is generally a slow restaurant month and this year was no exception. Aside from KRLD Restaurant Week madness, the surprise revelation about Lola, crowds piling into Marc Cassel’s Park and the buzz about Smoke, it was one lackluster stretch.September should be even more interesting, what with a grand opening…
When we found out about a National Bacon Day, some of us fell into a near fugue state. Finally–a nation fixed on celebrating, oh, labor and presidents and fat elves and the greeting card/chocolates industry found something worthwhile to honor.No need to rhapsodize about bacon. Nature’s most perfect food translates…
Central 2145680 N. Central Expy214-443-9339My waitress claims that in all those months of filming for “The Naughty Kitchen,” Oxygen’s culinary reality show featuring chef Blythe Beck, there was only one moment of real drama. Seems a female guest recoiled from the cameras because she was on a date–though not with…
Somewhere in between this weekend’s soccer games, F1 coverage from the greatest racetrack in the world and MotoGP at Indy, I managed to fit in a few restaurant visits…um, which makes it seem like I spend half my life in front of a television.Kinda pathetic, I guess. And it only…
Our respect for the SMU student body knows few bounds. So this little exchange from a couple of undergrads sitting at the next table made us proud.Boy, explaining that his taste in food has expanded: “I’m diversifying.”Girl: “Is that a word?”…
A notice pops up in my email just about every day announcing the arrival of some new fro-yo stand. Is there really a demand for all this? If so, what’s driving it? And what the hell’s wrong with ice cream?In other words, how many of these places will make it?Results…
So we could have awarded just about everyone posting comments to Eddie Garza’s piece this week on the waterborne controversy at Bliss. Just a few examples: bc: “In unrelated news, I’m going to live in a hyperbaric chamber filled with angel farts. Living angel farts.”Handsome Lance Manion: “Ever since they…
Years ago I took a glass tasting course from Riedel–which I’m sure you understand means I sampled wine from Riedel stemware.It’s an extraordinary thing: wine poured into a normal red or white wine glass tastes very different when served in one designed for the specific grape. In fact, the change…
Take a look at that grid of little boxes. Just like East Dallas, really–with newer homes and fewer trees. And no backyard chicken farming.Just this afternoon we received a note from Brian Rudolph, urging us to visit his Holy Grail Pub (an Old Monk spin-off), located somewhere in the ‘burbs…
Something about America’s Northeastern states grates on us Southwestern hicks.OK, so I’m really a Midwestern hick–our distrust of New England is about the same. So the opportunity to pit a local enterprise against a national chain bearing a blue blood name? Couldn’t resist.Rotisserie cooking relies on little more than heat…
Palomino500 Crescent Ct. (Atrium)214-999-1222Age can fray a restaurant. Leather wears, fittings crack and the room begins to lose its allure.Not so in the case of Palomino. The dining space at this veteran Crescent Court locale speaks of timeless dinner club finery, with an inviting bar and patio that’s just plain…
“It’s kinda weird, honestly,” chef David Uygur says of the impending closure of a restaurant he’s been associated with for seven years. “It’s only gradually becoming real.” For almost a decade Lola—the Van Roberts-owned cottage restaurant on Fairmount—stood as an icon of fine dining in the Uptown area, whether in…
Each week, Pairing Off attempts to find just the right bottle of wine to go with ordinary food.There’s no real shame in picking up a brick of Colby, Monterey Jack or one of those so called “Swiss” cheeses you find on grocery shelves–not really. You can’t make it to Scardello…
Well, it cameth…telling subscribers to the free email publication how to support Share Our Strength, where to snag free coffee and why Urban Taco is a go-to place on Tuesdays. Sign up now for Hot off the Grill. It’s don’t cost nothin’ and you’ll be, you know, protected.[Note: the two…
