When I was a kid, the best eating of the year was crawfish season. My people are from Louisiana, so at least once a year, someone was buying several cases of beer and a few hundred pounds of crawfish for a big-ass party. The crawfish of my childhood were cooked…
If coffee is important to you in a biological or emotional way, then you probably have an attachment to a coffee shop. If your love/addiction runs deep, you have a go-to place in every neighborhood in town. But what makes a coffee shop really good? The kind of good that…
On Friday, Brian Lusher of The Grape announced that his chef de cuisine Danyele McPherson would be leaving the restaurant. She’s to be replaced by Jed Demler, who previously worked multiple positions at Hibiscus on Henderson Avenue. McPherson started at The Grape as sous chef in March 2011, after a…
Brunch! That beautiful tradition of carbs and meats and caffeine and booze. And yes, we talk about it quite often. Had enough yet? Of course not! Because guess what? There’s another weekend coming up at the end of this very week! And if weekends are just good for one thing,…
Editor’s note: Please scroll down to the bottom of this post and hit “play” before reading for best results. Repeat as necessary. In honor of the third season of the hit TV show Dallas, Southfork Bottling Co. is teaming up with Warner Bros. to launch a new whiskey. J.R. Ewing…
Armadillo Ale Works out of Denton (although until they get their own brewery, out of Deep Ellum Brewing Co.) needs a little help with the heavy lifting. They’ve entered a contest through FedEx Small Business for a $25,000 grant that would do wonders for the company. See Also: Armadillo Ale…
The last time I was in Oak Cliff and writing about bar food, it was in response to the meals I’d had while reviewing Ten Bells Tavern. I was impressed that the owners of what seemed like just-another-pub took the time and spent the resources to bring on a serious…
The list of excuses is endless: your boss is a jerk and you need some personal space to avoid going all Office Space on him: You’ve billed too many hours for the quarter and you can’t work any more, anyway; it’s greater than 72 degrees during a month that normally…
First the big news: Yesterday, this year’s James Beard nominees were announced and Dallas has a respectable showing. Abacus and Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek received nominations for Outstanding Service, which may not come as a huge surprise considering these two Dallas institutions are known for pampering their guests to…
Yesterday the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for the 2014 James Beard Award. Seven of the semi-finalists for the prestigious awards are Dallas-based, including Matt McAllister of FT33, David Uygur of Lucia and newcomer Trinity Groves restaurant Casa Rubia. This selection obviously includes some of the best chefs in…
News broke recently that world-famous, Seattle-based doughnut maker Top Pot is expanding to Dallas this spring. This adds another notch in the city’s budding doughnut fascination, which includes a handful of classic spots and newer, sleeker models like Hypnotic and Glazed Donut Works. Top Pot will plop down in a…
Staring down at a plate like this, it’s easy to forget you’re in a new Oak Cliff restaurant. Picture two massive slabs of seared meatloaf, inundated by a lava flow of red gravy, with a plop of simple mashed potatoes and a pile of green beans desperately fighting for any…
The rules were simple in Cary Grant’s day. A gentleman should open doors for a lady, walk to the street-side of a sidewalk and always pull out a chair at the dinner table. And when the napkins hit the table he should be ready to pounce on the check when…
The new Lockhart Smokehouse, right on Plano’s main square, is up and running, and the crowds are already forming. Tuesday afternoon, your peak-time lunch wait would have been a good 40 minutes or so, which is cruel given that you can smell Plano’s barbecue mecca from more than a block…
If you truly believe that the preparation of food is a culinary art, then you’re likely to appreciate the new exhibition at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth. Art and Appetite explores the food as portrayed by American artists, as far back as the 18th century. There’s even a…
Beef: It’s what’s for rich people. Prices of Texas’ most loved protein source continue to rise this year, reflecting the impact of more than three years of drought. Weather conditions have forced ranchers to cull their herds in response to water access and feed prices, and the U.S. cattle heard…
CBD Provisions is still gaining momentum. I loved the restaurant when I reviewed it last year, and after positive coverage from most publications in the Dallas area, it’s now earned a nod from Texas Monthly. For now you can only access a small spot on an apple shandy that’s being…
Spoilers ahead. Tread lightly. If you aren’t watching the Netflix original series House of Cards, stop reading this article immediately. If you’re at work, go home, turn on Netflix, and prepare to spend the next 12 hours being consumed by one of the best shows sort of on television. You…
It’s almost a fundamental desire. Whether a tiny vibration in the back of your mind or a well-developed dream with plans and drawn-out concepts, many of us have had an “I should open a restaurant” fantasy. The thing is, we really shouldn’t. Well more than half of all restaurants fail…
Remember last summer, when Lakewood Brewing Co. hosted its first birthday party at Goodfriend? The front parking lot was packed and most cars were flagged into satellite lots. The patio was packed and inside the dining room, drinkers tipped back glasses elbow to elbow. Lakewood Brewer Wim Bens brought nearly…
There’s a dichotomy brewing among fast-casual restaurants. Burger places have enjoyed decades of dominance, and continue to expand in a market as saturated as their overwhelmed burger buns. If a new strip mall arises, there stands a good chance that a burger restaurant will take at least one of the…
It’s been just longer than two years since Jon Rudin and Erin Kirby took a tour of Franconia Brewing Company’s facilities in McKinney. Brewers of all sizes offer tours as a way of connecting with customers, sharing knowledge and offering plenty of beer. This tour, however, came with an unexpected…
