Last week I had to interview another local food writer for an upcoming project. He suggested we meet at Union Bear and I jumped on it. It was a warm, sunny day, and I remembered their killer indoor/outdoor bar. Sitting outside with the sun at my back and a cool…
Torchy’s Tacos, which began several years ago out of a trailer in Austin, is busy with expansion plans. A new spot in Allen opened a couple of weeks ago and, per the Dallas Biz Journal, the SMU location has a sign out front promising it will be “opening soon.” And…
A French blog, Convergence Alimentaire, has assembled a road map of the 10 largest multinational brands that run a racket on supermarket shelves. From the Convergence Alimentaire website (after a quick drive through Google translate): Hundreds of brands that we find on the supermarket shelves give the impression that our…
Trolling Yelp one night in search of ice cream near my apartment, I came across a listing for Creamy Bastard (no relation to our own beloved Cheap Bastard, although I’m sure Alice is creamy in her own right). Reviewers touted it as the best frozen custard around, but there was no…
The Arts and Jazz Festival should be called the My Chest Will Hurt On Monday Convention. Taking a step into city limits, you’re olfactory sense is assaulted with the undeniable, comforting aroma of all things battered and fried. If only Village Voice Media would invest in smell-o-vision…
In the coming months, I’ll spend most of my time hidden away indoors in the air-conditioned igloo also known as my apartment. So what better way to spend a Meatless Monday than at the farmers market? Rumor has it the Dallas Farmers Market may not be long for this world;…
More festivals this weekend. The 6th Annual Real Texas Festival kicks off today. I wasn’t around for it last year, but Nick Rallo was and he gave the event a ringing endorsement. There are worse ways to spend your time than sampling barbecue from entrants chasing a $500 grand champion…
Thursday morning on Sports Radio 1310 the Ticket, the Musers dedicated a segment to the lost art of family dinners. They (loosely) cited a new report supporting the old doctrine that a family that breaks bread together stays together. Their conversation was, as always, insightful and thought-provoking. They made P1s…
Last week the Dallas Morning News tallied the votes and crowned its burger king. Angry Dog, the Deep Ellum grease pit with a loyal following, beat out Mooyah Burger, the Dallas-based burger chain built on double-meat patties and french fries with a cooking process you need an engineering degree to…
As the curb says, “watch your step” when entering the front door at Mason Bar; the sudden step up could be potentially lethal for tipsy girls in heels. Inside, a couple occupies stools at one end of the bar, and save for them it’s empty — just a quiet Monday night…
I first encountered Velvet Hammer at Eno’s. I was wrapping up “research” for an upcoming review and wanted to unwind in Oak Cliff. If you haven’t had the chance to drink beer with Jake Reck, the super-bearded bartender who’s often working the upstairs bar, you should — Reck knows his…
Each week, Justin Bitner goes hunting for DFW’s most interesting sandwiches. Have a sandwich suggestion? Leave it in the comments and he’ll check it out. Venue: Old World Sausage Co. Sandwich: The Italian Beef and Sausage Sandwich ($6.95) Bread: Good old hoagie Toppings: Home-stuffed Italian sausage, thinly sliced Italian beef,…
There’s strategy in everything. Red lights, slot machines, napping at work, bunting. The odds are always better if you have a plan. Strategy! So what would be the best strategy for eating as many oysters as possible in 30 seconds? Are those slippery bivalves easier to shovel in with your…
The Deep Ellum Brewing Company continues to build out its presence in the Dallas neighborhood known for its iconic pizza and old-school tattoos. Tonight they’ll host their first weeknight brewery tour, which will continue every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. To court potential customers (as if the beer…
Eater dug up a scoop on Uptown’s Top Chef destination, Private Social. A post on the restaurant’s Facebook page hints at expansion plans, asking applicants to send in their resumes. Chef Tiffany Derry has yet to release any details on what she’s planning on doing with her expanded staff, but…
Word out of the Monrovia, California, HQ for Trader Joe’s, is that the company’s first two Texas stores will both open on Friday, June 15 at 8 a.m. One is in the Woodlands north of Houston and the other in Fort Worth. The Fort Worth location at 2701 South Hulen…
She says she wanted to try the food, but we think Cheap Bastard stopped by Moon Wok just to have an excuse to break out her fedora, single white glove and sequined ruby dancing shoes. You can find the place at 8670 Skillman St., 214-221-8888. Times I drove by and…
The North Texas Beer Festival is coming to that far- off convention center in Las Colinas. More than 200 beers will be available for tasting, organizers say, and 50 brewers will be featured at the event, including large-market brewers Samuel Adams, New Belgium and Magic Hat, and smaller breweries like…
Jonathan Colley is one of the resident barkeeps and beer nerds in the basement at West Village (aka Union Bear). He got into the beer biz by frequenting his neighborhood watering holes in Oak Cliff, where he met the ambitious Spillers Group. When they recently opened Union Bear, they hired…
Cleanse. It’s a word that strikes fear into the heart of every foodie and non-foodie alike. A cleanse used to mean a woman named Monica was about to get up close and personal with a big scary tube to literally flush your system. Nowadays a cleanse usually involves juicing (which…
“You can always judge the quality of a cook or restaurant by roast chicken,” Julia Child once wrote. I’m not sure if she was the first to utter those words, but they have been hers ever since. They’re words I happen to believe in. I’ve devoted too much time to…
Back in February, McDonald’s announced it was through with gestation-crated pork products. We feared for McRib sandwiches, Sausage McMuffins and everything topped with bacon, so we called Paul Shapiro, a spokesman for the Humane Society, to talk out the impact of the move. Shapiro called the event an earthquake in…
