“I’m going to wait until this one gets to court.” (Avi Adelman, addressing charges that he violently shoved a woman while trying to get through a crowd on lower Greenville to videotape yet another drunk. As quoted by the Dallas Morning News.)…
Some decades ago, there was this little chippy up on Hampstead High Street, a short walk from our London flat. It was here I first encountered Britain’s symbolic pub dish, fish and chips: a choice of cod—if memory serves—or plaice, battered and dripping grease, rolled with soggy fries in an…
When these things hit the market sometime back before disco–maybe even before streaking–Pringles canisters told a whole creation story: how machines shredded potatoes into a near liquid paste, reconstituted this mass into wavy wafers and such. It was all very appetizing.The process, in fact, remains so far removed from ‘normal’…
After graduating from the California Culinary Academy, Landsberg cooked at restaurants in Sacramento and San Francisco. However, he became a star after moving to Dallas in 1996. Working alongside David Holben and Gilbert Garza, he helped open Toscana. From there, he worked high end places like Seventeen Seventeen, the Atruim…
“No one seems to understand why iced coffee costs so much more than the regular stuff.” (GQ magazine, pondering the expense added for steeping water and grounds overnight in a French press. As stated in their June issue.)…
In a scandal very much like the one where French and Russian figure skating judges fixed Olympics results, I was robbed this morning of a cake decorating crown that was–by at least one account–rightfully mine.But first, the important stuff: The annual “cake-off”–in which the likes of Robbie Owens and Teresa…
Sometime in the overnight hours, Hot off the Grill arrived in subscriber in-boxes. This can’t-miss issue goes to the source to find out why Zymology closed after so many raves. We think that’s enough for one newsletter. But not our intrepid newsletter writer type person. There’s a whole bunch of…
How many service industry careers begin in college? Hard to say, really–but one assumes the number is significant. After all, the income is good and you can work through the summer.Rachal intends to graduate from SMU next year with a degree in finance. In the meantime, the Chicago native has…
“While in many respects [Pringles] are different from potato crisps and so they are near the borderline, they are sufficiently similar to satisfy that test.” (Britain’s Value Added Tax and Duties Tribunal, presenting their case that Pringles are indeed potato chips. Procter & Gamble UK, makers of the chips–crisps in…
Maguire’s17552 Dallas Parkway972-818-0068When a restaurateur decides to back a second (or third) venture, does the original suffer? Yeah, sometimes.But Mark Maguire is an old hand at openings, what with the former M Grill and current Rise No. 1 and Maximo to his credit. Still, the North Dallas location–Maguire’s–continues to plug…
I’ve touched on service issues before in this column, but the topic deserves another crack.Back in March I addressed a series of slip ups constituting what I thought was a frustrating downward trend in the quality of service at Dallas restaurants. For instance, on a couple review visits wait staff…
When contestants for the upcoming series of The Next Food Network Star were announced, she was labeled the ‘stay at home mom.’ Indeed, the Keller resident tends to four young children–which, of course, means cooking three meals a day, just about every day of the week. Producers for the show…
“Not too thin, not too fat, neither spartan nor gobbed with anything exotic.” (Jane and Michael Stern, describing in Gourmet magazine the perfect lunch counter burger. They contend, quite rightly, that burgers people tend to love are approachable, democratic–meaning devoid of frills such as foie gras. As stated in the…
The Dallas area has been hitting better than even in the openings and closings department. But when one closes…This month the new, well-reviewed “gastro-pub” on lower Greenville, Zymology, shut down. Suddenly and quietly. From all accounts, the venue proved too good for its neighborhood. The breakdown:EnteringVapiano–The German-based, Italian-kinda-themed chain in…
We’re talking about those times when you have guests over for drinks, of course. Despite the comfy chair and nice leather couch, the dining room table or poolside patio, everyone eventually gathers in the kitchen. This is so even when the space is cramped, narrow or has one of those…
City of Ate seems to be running a little behind as the short week comes to its close. So instead of interns poring through hundreds of posts on a dozen or so local blogs to find a ‘winner,’ one guy whipped through a page of items to come up with…
Bartenders should be allowed to tweak cocktail recipes. Creativity, after all, is what sets one place apart from another.Thus when mixologizing a particular cocktail, some may prefer to make the drink stronger, some sweeter. One might add basil where the other chooses mint–all acceptable, to a certain extent. The mixed…
Last weekend the Port City Wus…I mean, Jaguars (from Shreveport) failed to show for their whuppin’. Such is life in the minor leagues. So this weekend, the Dallas Diesel head to Beaumont where we will exorcise the Southeast Texas Demons.Meanwhile, I no longer have proper use of my knees unless…
He was the 100th American wine professional to earn the title of Master Sommelier, but that’s not the only thing Tidwell can be proud of.After graduating from LSU with a degree in international trade and finance, this son of a small town preacher set off for culinary school at the…
“The UPS guy drops things off and he sees my 4-by-8-by-6-foot pile of food and I say, ‘What are you doing to prepare, buddy?'” (Jim Wiseman of La Jolla, California–figures–who has taken to survivalist ways in fear that an economic collapse would empty store shelves. Mmm…pile of food. Wiseman’s behavior…
View Larger MapSettling in for dinner at the esteemed pizza joint, my friend asked if I’d seen the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode that included Louie’s. Nope–don’t watch the show, although I’ve run across it now and again.Nothing wrong with the concept, mind you. I would simply prefer they highlight…
How long has Gingerman been around? Judging by the crowds assembling there on a daily basis, the beer joint has become somewhat of a fixture. Shuler, however, has been working for the Quadrangle area bar for just a few weeks–although that doesn’t mean he’s a newcomer. The Baltimore native graduated…
