As if opening one highly acclaimed restaurant wasn’t enough, Espartaco (“Taco”) Borga and his wife, Dunia, now run four–three versions of La Duni and the new Mexican-Peruvian place on Central Expressway called Alo.La Duni, named one of the nation’s best new restaurants of 2001, brought Borga into the limelight–and not…

“Our average check is lower, but transactions are up 10 to 15 percent.” (John Hurley, owner of Garibaldi’s Restaurant in Oakland, CA, on the value of a prix-fixe menu. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, fine dining restaurants are increasingly turning to multi-course, set price dinners to combat the recession…a trend…

She arrived in New York at the age of 12 in 1958. Half a century later, she’s a cooking icon with five cookbooks, four television series and six restaurants to her name.Bastianich’s most recent PBS cooking show, Lidia’s Italy, is such a hit in Dallas that she’s frequently asked to…

“The Irish pubs in Dallas are full of Americans who think they’re Irish.” (Barry Tate, quoted in a 2001 Observer piece. The then owner of The Londoner in Addison and now of the new place in the State-Thomas area was explaining the difference between British pubs and Irish pubs. Clearly…

Reikyu Sushi5321 E. Mockingbird Lane214-823-3772Has there ever been a craze as pervasive as sushi? America’s passion for raw fish began to build sometime in the very early 80s, which means it’s closing in on 40 years. That tops disco fever by 34 years. Our bitterness toward Japan for that faux…

Recently there appeared on the pages of dallasfood.org a discussion of the city’s confined culinary geography. Some people, as you all know, rarely deign to travel outside the loop because enough exists within the circular strip of asphalt to satisfy their needs. Quite a few, however, go a little further,…

As most of you know, highly respected restaurateur Matt Martinez, Jr. died Friday evening. More from the Dallas Morning News…

After 14 years on the Food Network and a small shelf full of cookbooks bearing his name, Florence is a true celebrity chef. But now he makes baby food. Yes, the man People called the “sexiest chef alive,” host of Food 911, How to Boil Water and now Tyler’s Ultimate…

“It’s a for-profit business, not a community event. It’s a bar mitzvah out of control.” (Neighborhood activist/curmudgeon Avi Adelman complaining before Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade down Greenville Avenue. Not sure what part of “saint” he misunderstood…although he is right, the party can get a little on the fun side…

Last evening we ended up at Nick & Sam’s Grill for happy hour, largely because we heard a certain prominent DWI lawyer would be there and, well, we need friends in that particular occupation.Just a precaution, mind you–but a wise one.As a new place, the junior Nick & Sam’s can…

The owner of Scardello Artisan Cheese on Oak Lawn used to be just your average film and video production person.In fact, he spent 15 years shooting and editing corporate video. But the Dalhart native always loved good food and–in particular–good cheese. In between projects he studied the history of cheese,…

“What I’m trying to get across is that chocolate is sneaking under the radar of unhealthy foods.” (David Walker, a British doctor, explaining his motion asking Parliament to introduce a tax on chocolate and products containing chocolate as a way to curb obesity. His proposal would have funneled revenue from…

Taverna3210 Armstrong Ave.214-520-9933You can imagine Europe from a table inside Taverna, especially on a dim and sputtering March evening. The drafty windows, the clicking of rain, the homey clutter–it’s like you’ve drifted somehow into an old world cafe…until Uptown boy walks in.He saw fit to cradle designer sunglasses above the…

How cool would it be to peddle beer? To sample it as part of your job?Well, Harrell is responsible for Saint Arnold’s, at least in this part of Texas. She holds tastings for lucky bar patrons, trots out seasonal brews for experts and pub owners and such. It’s the life…

“The good news for the restaurant industry is that consumers typically get hungry about every four to five hours, generally three times a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.” (Bob Derrington, securities analyst with Morgan Keegan & Co., on the ability of restaurants to weather nasty little…

Who eats these things anymore? Hell, you can hardly find anchovies on a Caesar salad. And tins of smoked oysters seemed passe decades ago.But someone must appreciate the metallic, acrid mush of the latter and hairy blast of salt that characterize the preserved fish–although likely with a few brewskis…while sitting…

“The taste buds of a ‘master of coffee’ are as important as the vocal chords of a singer or the legs of a top model, and this is one of the biggest single insurance policies taken out for one person. It shows how valuable Gennaro’s tongue is to the Costa…

The all-around athlete has sorta gone by the wayside. But in the restaurant industry, you still find those who work both the bar and the dining room.At Fuse, Durrett handles bartending duties some nights, works as a waiter on others. And on occasion he must run back and forth between…

“It’s a nice effort that looks good on its face. But it’s fluff when it comes to the real need for information on the potential down sides of alcohol consumption.” (George A. Hacker of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, commenting on a certain vodka brand’s new “enjoy…

Cape Buffalo17727 Addison Rd.972-381-9796Don’t order the tuna. Most people know better than to stretch the limits of certain kitchens, anyway. And it’s natural to make a few assumptions about this place.The name and facade scream “sports bar,” so you expect a mundane burger-and-fries menu and a lot of beer. Signs…

Few issues trouble those outside the professional food writing industry as much as anonymity–or the lack thereof.Critics themselves have long ago exhausted the topic, although it still comes up in our conversations from time to time. Some hope against the odds for complete anonymity. Others, including at least one national…