The Texas State Fair is a little more than a month away, and already deep-fry chatter abounds. Yesterday Alice Laussade listed eight ideas that push the fryer-busting envelope (that post has been updated with a dream that came true), and commenters continue to chime in with their own fat-laden recommendations…

The first DFW Food Truck Festival has generated quite a buzz. Organizer Jasper Russo says blogs covering the event have driven a surge of customers to his website. The RSVP page he usually uses to gauge interest in his tasting events received a spike in traffic, and some 400 food-truck…

I’d just written a post on food safety and ever-so-slightly under-cooked chicken when a blog post from Esquire landed in my in-box. “How to Eat Raw Chicken” is the title. Unsettling? Maybe. But maybe not. The Japanese love all sorts of raw things, poultry included. This short number in The…

There’s a little party happenin’ at Il Cane Rosso this evening. According to a post owner Jay Jerrier threw up on Facebook last night: Looking for something fun to do Thursday night? Want to get a shot at being on TV? Then get over to Cane Rosso in Deep Ellum…

The Heart Attack Grill opened last spring to a media shit-show. Jenny Block posted an article covering the open that coined the place Hooters in Hell. The story got 11 times more traffic than a typical City of Ate post, and that’s exactly what owner Jon Basso wanted. The marketing…

A new Tumblr blog is making the rounds on the Internet. First on the LA Weekly and then in Broward. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to let Aters have a crack at it. I use Yelp a lot. Whenever someone offers a restaurant recommendation I pull out my iPhone and…

Has this happened to you? You’re preparing for a dinner party or other event a day ahead. You spend all night making a big pot of chicken stock or maybe chili or soup. The dish is finished and glorious, but too hot for the fridge. And then tired from hours…

School kicks off this week, and the Cheap Bastard’s column listing helpful tips for packing lunches made me wonder how local chefs arm their kids for cafeteria trades. You’d think these kids, blessed with master cooks for parents, would end up with foie gras — or at least some choice…

The lobster population in the coastal waters of Maine continues to swell, according to a story  in The New York Times today. Ecologists and concerned parties speaking out on behalf of waterman have reason for concern, but for the rest of us, it’s time we do our part and break…

Leora Azoulay Lesh and Heather Zidell may have bitten off more than they can chew. The partners dove in head first with their plan to open a small basement bakery in the East Side Center. To differentiate their bakery, they bought and renovated a small Airstream trailer they hoped they…

We made it Aters. Another Restaurant Week has come to a close. When I wrote about its beginning last Monday, many chimed in with experiences yet to come. Capital Grille, Salum, Nosh, Nonna, Abacus: Everyone dove in with enthusiasm listing the places they planned to patronize. But now the dust…

Being a food critic is a fine way to make a living, though it certainly has pitfalls. I knew I’d be eating out a lot, but maybe not this much. During a dinner conversation this weekend my friends and I discussed the contents of my refrigerator. Currently, there’s an empty…

A Dallas district court is presiding over a series of disputes between Nhat Ngo and Charles “Lucky” Johnson, co-owners of Luckie’s Smokehouse in Oak Cliff. Ngo filed suit against his partner earlier this summer, requesting a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction. His suit brands Johnson a drunk and…

It’s a tough job, but food news is food news. The sequel to The Flying Pink Pig, a food truck parody and porn film, will hit the shelves August 30. The movie took an interesting turn after media coverage exploded surrounding allegations that Joe Kim, the owner of the truck…

I don’t love brunch, but I understand its appeal. Why sit down to black coffee, two eggs over-easy, some bacon and toast when you can gorge on eggs Benedict and wash it down with a mimosa that’s endless and sweet? Why poke at a single pastry when you can sample…

Have you gotten to Alan Richman’s scathing back and forth account of M.Wells? The article is making the rounds this week and describes an odd email exchange between critic and restauranteur, involving plenty of bad taste and alleged sexual harassment. Richman also apologized to his readers for seemingly encouraging bad…

Yesterday we told you about a new restaurant concept, started by Grant Achatz, proprietor of Alinea in Chicago. The concept riffs on dinner theater, charging a fixed price for a ticket before the event instead of leaving a bill after. The menu also shifts four times a year to keep…

I’ve been alluding for a while now to a restaurant whose playlist rubbed me the wrong way. Turns out the mystery restaurant with the incongruous soundtrack is Craft Dallas, whose music selection is completely uncomplementary to the scene it’s trying to set. The restaurant’s manager would do well to stick…

I’ve been eying the weather channel a lot lately. Not for the temperature, but for the pollen count, which apparently will begin an upward march as soon as the mercury begins to wane and the fall allergy season kicks off. Allergies aren’t good for food critics, as you might have…