Los Torres Taquería opened last June, and like many small, family-owned Latino restaurants in Dallas, it began quietly turning out spicy, heady Mexican cooking right under the city’s nose. Business has been a little slow, said Ramiro Torres, who runs the restaurant with wife Irene and her sister Evangelina, but…
If you haven’t heard, next month’s Bon Appetit will name the 20 most important restaurants in America. Dallas didn’t make the list. Texas got two nods — both Uchi and Franklin BBQ in Austin were mentioned — but instead of celebrating Lone Star Pride, I’d rather examine why Dallas was…
If you look closely you can see them: the telltale shards of ice floating on the surface of your martini at Bob’s Steak and Chop House on Lemmon Avenue. The bar is dim and dark, and martinis are the precursor of choice to meals that often feature massive cuts of…
If I hadn’t recently reviewed Ellen’s Southern Kitchen, which took over the defunct Heart Attack Grill space, I might not have written about the H.A.G. ever again. It’s hard to believe the temple to excess is still in the news at all. Unless, of course, more people die while eating…
Starting today, close to a thousand members of the American Camp Association will descend on Dallas in flanneled and Teva’d droves, for what is one of the largest gathering of camping professionals in the country. As participants prepare to debate the merits of double-stitched tent seams, quote gratuitously from Wet,…
Valentine’s Day is getting closer, and while those who have a special someone are certainly sweating dinner reservations, flowers and other finishing touches for what is supposed to be no less than a perfect evening, those who are single get to kick up their heels and enjoy a night they…
Had any trouble fining Makers Mark on the shelves of your local liquor store as of late? I haven’t. The only reason I know is I’ve been zipping around town comparing prices at the big liquor stores like Spec’s, Total Wine, Sigel’s and others. It is completely anecdotal that Makers…
The recently elected Senator Charles Schwertner has been busier than a beehive down in Austin. In addition to standing up for conservative values and cracking down on illegal immigration, the senator just filed a very important piece of legislation. If it passes the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas…
Last week Nancy Nichols published a post on Side Dish that pondered the state of New York-style delis in Dallas. Nichols collected a few comments from a previous article on the recent closing of Gio’s Café and New York Deli. Those comments offered some theories on why delis haven’t worked…
This weather is just odd. I find myself craving things like morel mushrooms, asparagus and spring peas as of late, even though I’ve not nearly gotten my fill of braised lamb and other hearty winter dishes. I wonder if the recent warm weather indicates anything about the coming summer. If…
Maybe I’m a bit of a nerd, but I love a good documentary. SMU Students for a Better Society will host a screening of a new film that spends significant time not on the problems with our current food system, but on better ways of producing grub that people actually…
I’m sorry. It’s an obnoxious headline. I’m really ashamed of it. But it tells the story, it really does. The Flaming Lips commissioned a hundred anatomically correct chocolate hearts from Dude, Sweet Chocolate, as part of a promotional package. The special box featured a USB drive containing 15 of the…
The last bar list I put together was all about food. But if you’ve finished up your dinner or ate an entire hot mess for lunch, you don’t always need a bar that serves up a great burger. Sometimes you just want a drink. Sometimes you just want several. See…
Last night Hofmann’s Hots held a media preview at their new hot dog restaurant in Trinity Groves. They gave out a bunch of free hot dogs, and a lot of bloggers and reporters from newspapers took pictures and conducted interviews. The fast food restaurant is brought to you by the…
I couldn’t wait any longer. I’m a sucker for good seafood, and Marc Cassel’s new casual restaurant promised oysters on the half shell, fish and chips, sandwiches and more. Cassel leased the space right next to Goodfriend and Good 2 Go, rounding out a trio of restaurants offering tacos and…
I don’t normally point to the Daily Deals promotion that’s offered in tandem with the Observer website, but this one looks too good to pass up. If you read my recent review of Qariah Lebanese Restaurant & Lounge you know I’m pretty smitten with their sandwiches and lunch buffet. Today…
My excitement for Meso Maya quickly withered after dining at the restaurant two times. The food isn’t bad. In fact, some of it is quite good. What’s disappointing is what’s left on the table when multiple locations of the same restaurant open in one city. It’s boring. See also: -…
Meso Maya has a very likable chef working its kitchen. If you sit at the bar at downtown’s newest Mexican restaurant, which opened last December, you’ll easily find Nico Sanchez. Just over the bottles of tequila stacked behind the bar like a yellow sunset you’ll see him in the open…
Both the Bowery and The Stand sought to bring casual hot dog concepts to McKinney Avenue. Each closed shortly after opening. It would seem the Uptown hot dog bubble collapsed as quickly as it inflated. Now the Bowery’s creators, Richard & Tiffanee Ellman from Oak and John Paul Valverde, who…
Mia’s, Rafa’s, Desperados, Matt’s, El Fenix — certainly I haven’t eaten all the beef fajitas in Dallas, but I’ve eaten quite a few versions. I’ve been looking for perfectly cooked skirt steak, and most renditions I’ve had have been extremely tough and dry. See also: – Tasting the Worst Fajitas…
I have a special place in my heart for Norma’s, probably because it was where I had my first chicken-fried steak. It strikes me as odd that CFS isn’t more popular outside of Texas but it isn’t. And the fact that its become a regular part of my new culinary…
When I wrote about Ascension’s fancy coffee machine and said a monkey with a tamper could make good coffee with the thing, I meant it as a tongue and cheek comment about the automated capabilities of the equipment. Certainly skill is still required to draw flawless java, no matter how…
