Believe it or not, Chipotle’s marketing manager for the DFW area found his position through Career Builder–wading through several months of listing before he coming across what turned out to be the right fit.Now Burns has marketing responsibilities for Chipotle’s 36 local restaurants, including the one that opened last month…

“Restaurants should want to promote the farmers they support, but listing every farm for every ingredient (e.g., ‘Eagle Rock Farm cilantro,’ ‘Skogly Fields butter beans’) is unnecessary and, in the end, tedious.” (Andrew Knowlton, writing in Bon Appetit, in response to the question of whether the local and organic “thing”…

Haven’t signed up for our weekly restaurant newsletter, Hot off the Grill? Well, do it–soon. You’ll discover why our writer type person thinks the Texas Department of Agriculture is one really hip organization (something to do with heavy wine drinking) and some details about a new Hawaiian place. Besides, the…

Not only is he on the poll for this year’s Indy 500, Castroneves has won the “greatest spectacle in racing” twice before. He’s also been a winner at Texas Motor Speedway and–just to show he has moves off the track–Dancing with the Stars, as well.The Sao Paulo native earned the…

“The Tipp sucked.” (Eric Celeste on the soon-to-close Tipperary Inn, saying what needed to be said amongst all the ‘aw, shucks’ tributes. The bald guy got it right. It’s not as if the city is losing an institution, after all. Plenty of shabby beer joints still standing, too. As stated…

Irish Rover8250 Gaylord Parkway, Frisco214-618-6222No need to venture here for the food. You can also ignore the decor, a den of predictable Irish-themed odds and ends surrounded by dark wood and glass–what anyone gets when they call up and order an authentic look-alike.Go for the beer and the folks who…

So much to rant about this week–the Dewhurst Bill, consideration of a code of ethics for food bloggers, that sort of thing. But an email this morning about “culinary constructivism,” as practiced by chefs at Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental, raised a few questions.Well, one question, really: why?According to the release,…

Yep, mom. In honor of Mother’s Day–technically yesterday, but what the hell–mom sets things straight. She grew up in the Lead Belt of Missouri, graduated from Mizzou and taught university English and Communications…as well as tossing some batting practice here and there. After all, her father had been one hell…

“I’m pleased with the results. We thought this was what the people wanted.” (Rowlett mayor John Harper on the approval by voters on Saturday of a ban on smoking in that city’s restaurants–all enclosed public spaces, really–first passed by the city council in February. A petition drive force the special…

Nick & Sam’s Grill is hot. But since 2003, that same location has housed Martini Ranch, Stolik, Standard and Strong’s Everyday Tavern. Or look at Lazare, opening in the Ferre/Pescabar spot. Or Five-Sixty…There are plenty of examples. But is the location or the concept at fault? And what overcomes the…

Let’s begin, as we do every week, by making excuses for not scouring all the literature–on and off line–for potential winning commentary and for our habit of forgetting much of what we did come across during the course of the week (which may or may not have something to do…

You can find decent sparkling wines pretty much anywhere. And it’s no real drain on the bank account to try out, say, a bottle of New Mexico’s Gruet. But the splurge bottles–the vintage Champagnes–can run close to $500. No problem if you’re a basketball star treating the live-in who’s name…

The chair of Share Our Strength Taste of the Nation for North Texas is busier than ever these days as she prepares for the big fundraising dinner.Since 1988, annual events in up to 20 cities around the country have raised more than $70 million toward the prevention of childhood hunger…

“To be honest, back then, it was more about meeting a certain type of woman at these kind of restaurants–it was about free love, and it was a cool time, and the women didn’t wear bras! And that was as big an appeal as the food was. You went to…

People we’d like to shake hands with:Blogger Lisa Petty (who also handles Appetite For Instruction in these pages), who won a contest and now gets to have dinner with Ted Allen on Friday. It’s an especially momentous occasion because, she claims, it will mark her first celebrity encounter since bumping…

May Dragon4848 Belt Line, Addison972-392-9998According to my fortune, there’s an “interesting musical opportunity” in my very near future. This could, of course, mean only one thing: the Sex Pistols are back together and in need of a Sid Vicious stand in. Either that or Pete Freedman wants me to post…

Everyone in the world of ice cream knows his name. Many of the local restaurateurs do, as well, for Gentry’s Plano-based company Henry’s Homemade Ice Cream deals with many of the city’s upscale venues.Since moving his company to Texas from Philadelphia, he’s racked up dozens of awards, including first place…

“Extra points for the almost in the round bar that allows for awkward flirting by those who are twice-divorced and back in war paint.” (Mr. Dallas on the scene at the restyled Catalina–formerly Catalina Room–which he praises for inexpensive, classic cocktails. Be warned: the man says the crowd is ‘decidedly…

No matter how many variables I threw him, the guy from Crush kept pointing to the same three wines, although not in the same order.It has a lot of fat. Yes, this would be best, but these would be good. I think it’s cured with Chianti. Maybe, so this will…

Hell with all this ‘mixologist’ talk. After 16 years behind a bar, Bryan calls himself an inebriation specialist.The Grapevine’s longstanding early shift bartender–he signed on in 1998–knows most people in the joint by name…or he will, if you show up again. His casual, chatty and honest style fits in with…

“Speculation that Starbucks is losing retail market share to competitors has been grossly exaggerated. Our customers are not trading down.” (Howard Schultz, chairman of Starbucks, announcing lower pricing on certain items in some markets to combat slower sales. The Seattle-based chain reported a 77 percent drop in earnings for the…