Hey, we’re a corporate entity and all that, but our weekly Hot off the Grill, food news in one place, handy e-newsletter just might keep you informed and save you a little time, as well. Besides, it promotes City of Ate, so we’d be cads if we didn’t recipro…recepri…do the…
It’s hard to imagine a downtown Italian grocery achieving such popularity. But Jimmy’s Food Store, run by brothers Paul and Mike DiCarlo, has an enviable following.Why not? The family operation has been in the same location since 1966…except for much of 2005, when fire gutted the building. They cure sausages,…
“This is amazing. It’s a true miracle.” (Mr. Tempest, a masked Mexican wrestler visiting Las Palmas restaurant in Calexico, California, where the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe–or the Virgin Mary, depending–appeared on a griddle. More than 100 pilgrims rushed to the place to worship the grease stain. Naturally, the…
Gloria’s5100 Belt Line, Addison972-387-8442Gloria’s, if everybody wants you…The formula for success in the restaurant industry depends upon…well, let’s stop there. Several formulas exist, But if a restaurant wants to draw steady crowds and surpass margin of income averages, it seems to hinge on a catchy beat and non-threatening lyric. In…
When a restaurant first opens to the public, there’s always a period when things–both little and big–go decidedly wrong.No matter how many hours managers devote to training staff on the menu, they flub up when asked about ingredients. Still unfamiliar with the dining room layout, food runners deliver entrees to…
West Village is cool, sure. But after seven years as a cocktail waitress, Henderson has seen a lot of “cool” in a lot of places. The Social House waitress and bartender has been through just about everything–at Frankie’s in Uptown, West End Pub, House of Blues…all around Dallas, really. Working the…
“[Sales] may have been negatively impacted by media surrounding swine flu.” (Chuck E. Cheese executive Michael Magusiak on the effect of the “pandemic” on the family friendly pizza chain’s fortunes, The restaurants suffered a 20 percent drop in same-store sales during the first three days last week…although first-quarter earnings were…
Why is the patio at Primo’s so popular?Certainly there are nicer patios at places serving better food. So what’s the attraction?Results from last week, in which we asked what features make for a true dive. Several well thought through posts showed up in response–as well as one in haiku form…
You know, we had a winner selected. It was a comment posted by someone on DMN’s blog. Unfortunately, we came up empty when we went to look for it today.Either someone deleted the comment or we completely misremembered just where we first saw it. (Both are distinct possibilities.) So, after…
Few bartenders know how to make a decent mint julep and few people order the bourbon cocktail. There must be a connection.But which came first? It’s a perfect cooler for blazing summer days (which seem unlikely to arrive anytime soon)–icy fresh, with a wicked punch–and one closely tied to the…
The chef and co-owner of Ava, the new and much talked about Rockwall destination, got his start waiting tables right after high school. But it was his decision to enter El Centro’s culinary program that really set things in motion.From there, the Dallas native worked in hotel and country club…
“It’s killing our markets. Where they got the name, I just don’t know.” (Iowa hog farmer Francis Gilmore on the effect of swine flu on the value of his product. Since the outbreak and spread of this virus, hog prices have dropped from a $62 per 100 pounds average to $59 per…
We were trying to think of any significant restaurant closings in Dallas over the last 30 days and nothing, besides that odd moment when Kavala in Oak Cliff shut down then reopened almost immediately. So, we had to call our buddy Teresa Gubbins and pry into her database-like brain.Thanks TG.Just…
Sweet Basil17610 Midway972-733-1500Sometimes your expectations, well…Let’s just say that from the outside, Sweet Basil resembles some kind of candy shop, what with the brightly striped awning and cute name.The only hints of its true nature–apart from the “Italian Cafe” printed on the awning–is a small patio decorated with an classical-style…
He spent a lot of time in and around the pizza joints of New York–minus four years spent at a Pennsylvania college and a bit living in D.C.So it’s no wonder Green longed for a taste of the familiar after moving to Dallas. He sold medical supplies and software for…
“I’ll either look like a genius or a fool.” (Ed Bailey, owner of the just opened Bailey’s Prime Plus in Cedar Hill–as well as three more proposed branches of the upscale steakhouse–on his prospects over the next year as he sells off profitable McDonald’s locations in favor of fine dining…
There are a couple of things you should know before heading to Inca’s, the Peruvian hangout in Carrollton. First, on a recent Friday night visit, the not-quite-dog-whistle shrieks of kids filled the dining room as three little rugrats bounced around, trying their best to drown out a live band. The…
One thing that becomes clear, as we move through this series, is that pairings can be a bit fussy.The nonchalant approach of discarding a specific recommendation in favor of something easier to find within the same style doesn’t always work–at least not when you’re dealing with beasts such as processed…
The Victor Tangos bartender has been at it for just about a decade. In that time he’s seen a lot: the rise of hard door clubs and bottle service, the resurgence of old school cocktails, good times and bad. But it’s almost as if Bedell was born into the business…
“This is about McDonald’s becoming a beverage destination and building off our offerings of fountain beverages.” (Karen Wells, vice president of U.S. strategy and menu for McDonald’s, on a new with Plano’s Dr. Pepper Snapple Group replacing Pibb Xtra–a Coco-Cola product–with Dr. Pepper. Guess the Doctor has more drawing power…
Yep–once again time to plug, shamelessly and without mercy, the Observer’s email newsletter. Hot off the Grill comes to subscriber in-boxes every Monday evening with all the restaurant-related news and events and stuff you might want to know…without having to sort through all these blog items. ‘Tis the season for…
Less than a decade ago, he was riding on good restaurant reviews and a thriving Deep Ellum club scene. The man behind the award-winning Liberty Noodles and then popular Club Clearview even ventured into the lounge scene with a place called Open.On the other end of the spectrum was Yarbrough’s…
