Chef Tim Byres, Chris Jeffers and Chris Zielke, co-owners of Smoke, have seen fit to transform the spacious old Jack’s Backyard spot to a beer garden called The Foundry and a chicken stand called Chicken Scratch. The latter isn’t open just quite yet, but the former — the drinking part…
It’s Monday again, and after a few treacherous Tex-Mex experiences, I’m ready to celebrate with a meatless meal I actually enjoy. One place on the table is Judi Restaurant and Bakery, which quietly opened last summer at 850 South Greenville in Richardson. I’m surprised there hasn’t been more fanfare. The…
Eating out on Valentine’s Day is like the fun house at a traveling carnival — all smoke and mirrors and unmet expectations. The bar is set too high, the pressure to perform too much, and in the end everyone feels duped. Yet every year when it rolls back through town,…
The Coppell Deli is a shack-like restaurant on a quiet street in a quiet neighborhood of its namesake town. I walked in and was happy to see only four people in the cafeteria-style dining room, two of whom were behind the counter. It’s a really plain-looking space: surrounded by white…
The good people of the UT Southwestern campus are about to be slapped in the mouth with slow-cooked meat. Jack Perkins and part of his Maple and Motor team expect to open his new taco assembly-line concept, ocaTaco, sometime this week. (According to Facebook, it’s looking like Wednesday.) And yes,…
We made it. Another week has come to a close, and after spending a decent amount of time recovering from my Super Bowl hangover, I’m ready to do it all again. But first there’s a week to wrap. Endive, perhaps? This week I reviewed Private Social and bitched about tepid…
I’m getting ready to embark on a pretty serious brisket taco excursion. The thought is: Trying the same dish at many different restaurants provides context about how individual restaurants interpret a particular preparation. Basically, I’m about to spend an entire day eating nothing but tortillas stuffed with stringy beef. Before…
Earlier this week I heard that Matt McCallister, the chef at Oak Cliff’s Campo, had put in his two weeks. I tried to call the chef to confirm, but we’ve been playing phone tag for days. I did get in touch with a manager there, who basically told me the…
Michelle Obama joined the folks from Top Chef this morning, as part of her tour celebrating the second anniversary of her “Let’s Move!” initiative. The folks from Bravo staged a mock cooking competition in front of scores of crumbsnatchers (who didn’t look that fat to me, by the way) from…
A couple weeks ago we met Abraham Bebell, the bar manager at Oak in the Design District. At the end of the interview, I asked Abe who in the local restaurant and bar scene I should meet next. He told me about Rich Allison, bar manager at the very popular…
For generations, people have been nervously asking, “Is a fast-food pizza chain the best place to make my marriage proposal?” Now Plano-based Pizza Hut is offering an answer. Their $10,010 package, according to the press release, (via Eater) includes a “stunning ruby stone flanked by shimmering diamonds,” a limo service,…
Marie Tedei created Eden’s Organic Garden Center and CSA farm for several reasons. One was self-fulfilling: She’s a studied horticulturist and has a passion for living clean and healthy off the land. But the primary reason was to have a place where the local community and farmers can create a…
Johnny’s Pizza House has opened its first North Texas location in Addison, at the northwest corner of Belt Line and Midway. Johnny’s is originally out of Monroe, Louisiana, where they have a fairly devout following. Their thick crusts are loaded with gooey cheese, and piling on the toppings is encouraged…
Valentine’s Day is coming, which pretty much sucks for everyone. If you’ve got a special someone, you’re guilted into going out and having your wallet gutted by a triple-digit, prix fixe, mediocre meal. Have fun with that. And if you’re not coupled up, you get to spend the evening alone…
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United has released a new restaurant guide. The 52-page guide makes no mention of food quality, ingredient sourcing, or a customer’s dining experience, but instead focuses on how well restaurants treat their employees. Wages, benefits and advancement opportunities are evaluated across more than 180 restaurants, giving silver…
There have never been more tears on Top Chef, including in our very own eyes, as there were throughout last night’s episode. The crying wasn’t from cutting raw onions. It wasn’t from sliced fingertips. It wasn’t even from the pork belly frying oil that nearly splashed in Ed’s eye. The…
This week, Cheap Bastard rolls the dice and finds she loves the crunchy fish taco (heh, heh, she said crunchy fish taco) at Taco Taco, 5954 Royal Lane, 214-750-4420.) Other diners in the restaurant besides me count: 0 Times I laughed when I realized that I recommend the crunchy fish…
Out on the eastern edge of Dallas yesterday, I punched my location into my Dive-Burger Finder App and Bell’s Better Burger popped up. Bless those satellites orbiting the Earth finding burgers for me. Bell’s Better Burger, at 2610 Peachtree Road in Mesquite, is strictly a drive-in. There are two large…
My first run-in with Private Social came just after the restaurant, helmed by Top Chef alum Tiffany Derry released its lunch menu. I noticed the noodles right away. Leslie Brenner and I had been begging Dallas for a proper Japanese noodle house, but it has never materialized. Perhaps a decent…
Tom Vincent of Texas Coffee School takes the business of grinding beans to a new level. And, yes, he actually has a school in Arlington. But he also regularly holds class at places like Oddfellows and The Original Pancake House in Addison. He got into the brew business several years…
Giving your sweetheart a box of assorted chocolates for Valentine’s Day is a great way to say “I really don’t know all that much about you.” A fine beer, on the other hand, is a bold move all but guaranteed to impress. And if it’s not appreciated? Well, better to…
When Private Social opened last fall, the occasion was marked with a red-carpet affair. Literally, the rug was rouge, and it was rolled out for the city’s socialites, both actual and aspiring, all craving a first look into Uptown’s latest offering to the upscale dining gods. The pseudo-celebrities were out…
