It was tequila. I was maybe 20 and celebrating a birthday with a friend from college. We split a bottle straight down the center, slamming shots with lime and salt while nursing beer to keep “hydrated.” You know how this story ends: We lay on the floor for nearly eight…
“This bowl is really hot,” the food-runner said, with a conviction I’d never seen attached to the warning. I was sitting at the bar at Rohst, Lower Greenville’s new Korean-ish restaurant, on a quiet Thursday evening. Rice hissed and popped from the spitting cauldron. My waiter’s eyes said, “Touch this…
This week I take a look at Rohst, the newest only Korean outpost on Lower Greenville Avenue. I loved the restaurants layout, but the menu was a hard sell. Dishes that boasted tasty flavor components lacked something in execution. Dishes that were cooked well, boasted quirky flavor components. I’m still…
City of Ate had just posted its monthly revolving doors column when the Dallas Morning News reported on the closing of Cafe San Miguel yesterday. The owners sent out an email to diners saying, “After making a home at 1907 N. Henderson Ave. for over 6 years, with great sadness…
Houston-based food journalist Robb Walsh wrote yesterday about the red tide outbreak, which has caused the delayed opening of Texas’ oyster beds. Oyster harvesting was closed until further notice by the Texas Department of Health State Services (DSHS) on October 26, leaving Walsh and the rest of us hungry people…
Bravo will premiere the newest and Texiest season of Top Chef tomorrow at 9 p.m. After weeks months of bitching about reporting on the show, your tax dollars and some quirky contestants, we’re ready to watch each episode closely. We’re even ready to booze it up while we do it…
The cupcake bubble continues to swell. Perhaps it is a trend that’s here to stay. Cupcakes are cute, affordable, portable and fun. But they’re also cakes for people who can’t handle a real slice of cake. While long lines continue to cause issues cupcake bakeries in the northeast, Dallas seems…
While it may be 80 today, Fall is definitely here. With evening temperatures falling, patio drinking is becoming more of a challenge. I was at the Katy Trail Ice House this weekend and saw several waitresses wearing gloves to protect their hands from ice cold beers. A few customers were…
When I first came to Dallas, many commenters thought I would be some sort of carpet bagging elitist who would swoop into town and declare everything that didn’t align with my northern ideals unsatisfactory. While I did complain about some bad guacamole, and I remain steadfast in my distaste for…
What a week in food, with celebrity interviews, a ton of pizza and a popular blogger take down. This week I reviewed Dough Pizzeria Napoletana. I noted that most diners seemed to be enjoying their meals but couldn’t find a VPN certificate hanging on the walls. It turned out that…
Two weeks ago we picked up the phone and asked Mayor Mike Rawlings for his five favorite slices in Dallas. He was eager to play along and gave us some decent picks, but now it’s time for City of Ate to get in on the fun. Broken down by category,…
Not even Game 6 of the World Series could keep local food fetishists from getting their Anthony Bourdain fix last night. The author-speaker-cook-TV-host-and-more took the Majestic stage to a nearly packed house last night, for a talk and Q&A sponsored by City of Ate. (Read my interview with Bourdain here.)…
“What do you think of Rick’s Mean Bean’s,” I asked Katherine Grover, co-founder of Two Sisters Organic, a small, local pickle purveyor trying to get off the ground in Dallas. “Nobody likes a limp pickle,” she replied. Grover wasn’t trying to disparage Rick’s — she thinks they make a fine…
The oystermen of Galveston Bay can’t get a break. First the Texas drought raised the salinity of the water they fished, then changes to water rights regulations threatened to keep it there. Now they’re unable to harvest until otherwise notified. Yesterday the Texas Department of State Health Services issued a…
Ten years ago I hopped a plane and flew to Rome, took a train north to Florence and then back south to Orvietto, a small town in southwestern Umbria, before returning eventually to Rome. I didn’t tour the Vatican, the Coliseum or the Pantheon. Didn’t walk the halls of the…
Oh, Dough. I wanted to love you, but something wasn’t quite right. After splitting two apps and two pizzas between three people, and leaving a bloated, tired shell of my former self, I started thinking about Neapolitan pizza. The Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN) has been certifying pizzerias for years, prescribing…
Vitruvian Park’s Art & Wine Stroll has been canceled for this Thursday due to rain. Attendees who purchased a ticket can either go Friday or Saturday evening or request a refund here. Chef Richard Chamberlain also had a pop-up dinner planned for the same nights. The dinner, called “Elements,” will…
The McRib is back. Again. The sandwich with a cult-like following will be released nationally through November 14. McDonald’s official website is pimping out McRib’s return by describing the sandwiches with brazen alliteration — tantalizingly tart pickles, sensationally savory onions, magnificently mouthwatering boneless rib and sweetly sumptuous barbecue sauce. All…
Yesterday, I called Paula Blackmon, Chief of Staff for the city of Dallas, to verify Ed Murph’s claim that the city had proclaimed today Chicken Fried Steak Day. It took her a few minutes to find the proclamation, which gave us some time to talk CFS. “My favorite is my…
Early Phoenicians believed that a primeval egg split open to form heaven and earth; I believe eggs were created for pizza. Peperoni? That’s a topping made in America. You won’t see it in Italy anywhere. Some thinly-shaved ham is nice. I like basil and cheese, too. But a lightly cooked…
It’s almost arrived. After months of anticipation, your artery walls will finally get to celebrate Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day tomorrow. Norma’s Cafe is getting in on the action. If you eat there tomorrow, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win free chicken fried steak for a year, which…
Today is Food Day. And while most food holidays are utter bullshit, I tend to think that this is actually an important holiday. Food Day is targeted, focusing on conscious eating, local sourcing, organic ingredients, and basically cooking like you give a damn. According to a local Food Day Facebook…
