Financing a brewery, either in part or whole, through crowd funding campaigns like Kickstarter is a fascinating phenomenon. Old-fashioned lengthy business plans with amortization charts, projections and risk assessments are buried at the bottom of the recycling bin, or better yet, under a box of hipster-cut, 100-percent organic cotton T-shirts…

It’s American Craft Beer Week. For many of you, this means it’s business as usual. For some of you, it’s an excuse to imbibe in some craft beers all week long. The Brewers Association, a national non-profit group, created this “Mother of all Beer Weeks” to advance the beer culture…

With graduation ceremonies in full bloom, we contacted a few local chefs for some bits of wise advice for culinary school graduates. First, we asked them about their worst jobs after school, then for a few pieces of advice to help thrust new grads into a world of mildly socially…

Having déjà vu? Feel like we’ve been here before? Well, don’t pinch yourself. Be calm. You’re not crazy. We have been here before. For years the great cupcake bakers of Texas have fought for the freedom to sell their delicate clouds of sugar and butter to a hungry public. With…

Previously we told you about the Grapevine Craft Brewery. Gary Humble fell in love with Grapevine about the same time he fell in love with craft beer, so he decided to open up a (rather swank) craft brewery, which they’ve recently broken ground on. It’ll be the craft beer stop…

In addition to the weekly line up of culinary and drink-ary events, it’s American Craft Beer Week. There are so many things to do, you’re head will spin. Let’s get to spinning. Thursday, May 16 Cuban Dulceria International Bakery is hosting their 4th Annual Cuban Nostalgia event Thursday through Saturday…

USA Today just reported that there’s a great rib sandwich smackdown in the making. Burger King, which has been hustling to capture new customers recently with inventive menu items like bacon sundaes and Cinnabons, will roll out a rib sandwich this summer. Like the McD’s original, the BK rib creation…

Recently we wanted to learn about the best places in Dallas to drink tequila. Not in the sense of slamming shots, but in terms of a robust or select collection. Honestly, at first the idea was to create a quick list of the best five or 10 spots. Then after…

The last time I remember seeing an operational drive-in theater was in 1980 in Houston. I wasn’t actually at the theater; rather we were driving past it on the freeway. The huge screen was right near the highway showing Brooke Shields in the Blue Lagoon. I was fairly young and,…

The Dallas chapter of the Slow Food Movement and Greenling are getting together to host a workday at the “We Over Me Farm” at Paul Quinn College this Saturday. Several years ago the college transformed its football field into a massive garden. Farm manager Andrea Bithell squeezes as much as…

Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream … but was it local cream? And did the cows eat organic grass? And who owns the dairy? Tell us, mice. People have questions about their food these days. Recently I spotted a Texas butter called Falfurrias at the grocery store…

Each week (or thereabout) we track down a chef for a few burning questions. This week, Tim Byres of Smoke and Chicken Scratch was willing to participate. He indulged us in a few of his favorite cookbooks and weird surprises in the walk-in. What are a few of your favorite…

This Saturday is the third annual North Texas Beer and Wine Festival at the Irving Convention Center from 2 to 7 p.m. Organizer Darrell Faircloth started this event three years ago, back in the old days when craft beer festivals were unheard of. Most of the local North Texas brewers…

There’s a bit of bad news for raw milk drinkers. You’ll have to continue the trips out to the farm for your creamy elixir fix. Currently Texas law stipulates that raw milk can only be purchased on the farms where it is produced. A bill introduced this legislative session, HB…

Wednesday, May 8 It’s a culinary showdown at the Dallas Contemporary as Scott Romano battles Matt McCallister of FT-33 in the Iron Fork chef challenge. The King Bucks will perform as guests (you!) sample food from different restaurants along with wine, beer and cocktails. Tickets are on sale at observerironfork.com…

Jack Mac’s Swill and Grill opened on Preston Road in North Dallas last year, right on the heels of the explosion in the local craft beer movement. Jack and Amy MacDonald’s restaurant has a strong local focus that supports not only Texas breweries, but wineries and distilleries as well. The…

A few weeks ago I mentioned to my editor a post about Bud’s new flavor of the season, Straw-Ber-Rtia. He said something like, “Not so much, LDD. You’ll need to drink it and tell us about it, not just that it’s happened.” (Editor’s note: Indulging a bent for mild sadism…

Buddy Cramer, co-owner of Katy Trail Ice House, and his investment group have officially taken over the old Bandito’s spot in West Plano. We’ve sort of already been teased with this, as Scott Reitz reported a year ago on the Bandito’s Tex-Mex Ice House project. That is officially done now…