After four straight kicks in the band nuts from Pitchfork.com’s notoriously fickle reviewers, Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken has learned to roll with the punches. “From our very first record and everything we’ve put out since, they’ve pretty much just ripped us a new one on all those reviews,” he says…
Filmmaker Sterlin Harjo’s point of view is infinitely more interesting than the average indie director’s, forgoing hip soundtracks and Wes Anderson-isms for simple portraits of Native American life in modern day Oklahoma. His latest film, Barking Water, was inspired by a letter dictated to Harjo by his grandmother in an…
Herrera’s4001 Maple Ave.214-528-9644Dude Factor: 7, or the Mavs Maniaacs, on a scale of 1 (Mike Bacsik) to 10 (Eduardo Najera).You might find this hard to believe, but before yesterday I hadn’t darkened Herrera’s door in five or so years, despite the fact that it’s situated directly in the shadow of…
He just delivered one of the most efficient playoff performances in NBA history. He’s got a lot of tape to watch. He’s got a zeppelin-sized hankering for some Mexican food. And he really, really wants to hang out with his friends from the Dallas Observer.Can you guess where Dirk Nowitzki’s…
Snow’s BBQ516 Main St.Lexington, Texas Dude Factor: 10, or Billy Joe Shaver, on a scale of 1 (Beth Toben) to 10.On a recent weekend trip to College Station to visit my fiance’s parents, I found myself with a few free hours on a Saturday while my lady and her mother…
As he puts it ad nauseum on his Web site, designer Johnny Earle founded his clothing company, Johnny Cupcakes, while selling his popular T-shirt designs out of the back of his beat-up ’89 Toyota Camry. The name came from a nickname given to him by fellow employees at a Newbury…
Texas Land & Cattle3130 Lemmon Ave.214-526-4664 Dude Factor: 8, or Thomas Haden Church, on a scale of 1 (Jackson Rathbone) to 10 (Joe Don Baker). Admit it, folks. Almost everyone that eats is a sucker for at least one or two chain restaurants. We won’t judge you (though someone might…
It seems the real Patch Adams was somewhat disappointed in the 1998 film of the same name, mostly because it jumbled the facts. For instance, the film claimed that Adams’ Gesundheit! Institute had already built the free hospital Adams had planned for years, while in reality the hospital is still…
Along with her father Pops, Mavis Staples helped revolutionize R&B in the ’60s and ’70s with the Staple Singers, the family band that produced some of the best socially-conscious anthems of the era. You might remember her best for her impassioned plea on “Respect Yourself”–“If you don’t respect yourself ain’t…
The Dallas Comedy Festival will show off the improv skills of comedy troupes from across this great nation–including Gangs of Recess (Fort Worth), Back to School Night (New York City), Chris and Tami (New Orleans/Austin), The Ones (Oklahoma City), Jill Bernard’s Drum Machine (Minneapolis) and Scram (Minneapolis/Chicago), as well as…
The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library seems like a strange place to exhibit the wares of a secret society, but that’s just what the mysterious craftsmen of the Dallas Spinners and Handweavers Guild will do there through May 2. See handmade objects made by members of this mysterious group from…
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has found himself in a bit of a pickle in recent weeks, forced to defend his own state’s universal health care system from conservative counterparts, who have noted certain undeniable similarities between Massachusetts’ 2006 reform and “Obamacare.” Defending himself on a recent episode of Fox…
JG’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers12101 Greenville Ave.972-644-8628Dude Factor: 9, or James Garner , on a scale of 1 (Ike, Taylor or Zac Hanson) to 10 (Wayne Coyne) Amigos, I have a confession to make. To me, anything north of Royal Lane might as well be Oklahoma. But since I’ve had some…
Stones Throw label head Peanut Butter Wolf was sure he was hearing long-lost soul classics when someone slipped him the first singles by Mayer Hawthorne (nee Andrew Mayer Cohen). He quickly came to realize the shocking truth—that a nerdy, white 30-year-old from Ann Arbor, Michigan, had, by handling the instrumental…
After a few days it seems your liver is finally recovering from Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. But then the realization hits you: St. Patrick’s Day is actually Wednesday. You thought you were done drinking green beer and listening to bagpipe music? Wahahahahaha–no way are you done drinking green beer…
For teenagers in the mid-’90s, Richard Linklater’s immortal Dazed and Confused was about the coolest movie you could rent. (And if, god forbid, it was checked out, we’d even settle for The Stoned Age, a horrible rip-off centered around finding chicks and the transformative experience of a Blue Oyster Cult…
Frankie’s Bar and Grill3227 McKinney Ave.214-999-8932 Dude Factor: 8, or Andre the Giant, on a scale of 1 (Shawn Bradley) to 10 (Shaq)Frankie’s Bar and Grill is one of those places we’ve driven by a million times and never even thought twice about. In fact, we regularly confuse it with…
Merle Haggard, Kris KristoffersonBass Hall, Fort WorthFebruary 17, 2010Better Than: Watching classic country performances on YouTube and thinking to yourself “damn, I wish I’d seen so-and-so before he died.” Dressed head to toe in black, 73-year-old legend Kris Kristofferson looked as cool as ever opening Wednesday night’s inspired pairing with…
Alligator Cafe4416 Live Oak St.214-821-6900Dude Factor: 10, or Justin Wilson, on a scale of 1 (Jared Leto) to 10.Today being Fat Tuesday and all, we decided to load up the Dude Food crew and head out to indulge in some fattening Cajun food. The fact that we missed out on…
Pappy’s Old Fashioned Hamburger Co.1475 W Mockingbird Lane214-678-0760Dude Factor: 9, or Pappy Van Winkle, on a scale of 1(Big Papi) to 10 (W. Lee “Pappy” O’ Daniel)Today I decided to venture afield for new Dude Food adventures, consulting Google and picking the nearest strange burger place I could find with…
Super Bowl week is upon us, and many of you are no doubt planning Sunday get-togethers to watch the New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts. You could play it safe with the requisite chips, dips and finger foods… or you could throw a Hail Mary with one of…
The twisted saga of Falcon the Balloon Boy might have hit a little close to home for artist Esther Pearl Watson, who grew up watching her father build his own scrap metal flying saucers in their North Texas backyard. Or actually, backyards–apparently a yard full of flying saucers is a…
