Matt Spillers’ parents, Allen and Donna Spillers, have had long careers in the local restaurant business. While raising their three boys in Dallas, dinner out was more than just a family meal together, but also an on-going education on how to run a restaurant. Always drawn to the kitchen, after…
Anthony Bourdain recently created an iTunes Celebrity Playlist. And what does a playlist say about a person? Everything. It’s their soul on paper. Bourdain isn’t necessarily shy though, case evidence being his current media scuffle with Paula Deen. So it’s no surprise that the unruly Ramones headline the list and…
It was Saturday night, and Campo Modern Country Bistro, the latest house-turned-restaurant in Oak Cliff, was loud and crowded. A jeans-clad waitstaff donning gray Campo T-shirts — all fit, muscular guys, oddly — whisked plates from the pass in the back to painted-white tables. The bar, flanked with angular stools…
Pools of melted cheese, surfboard-sized steaks, plates with color wheels that range from beige to French beige: These, for the most part, are the images that come to mind when considering Dallas dining circa 2000. Now, though? Legions of diners, each armed with a WordPress app at the ready and…
If ever there were a week for a foodie to pick up a print copy of the Observer, this is that week. Editor Joe dropped the proof of Lauren Drewes Daniels’ cover story on my desk last week, and I devoured the story beginning to end on the spot. In…
It’s odd putting time into a restaurant review when you know the restaurant you’re writing about will most likely not exist as it does for very long. Campo Modern Country Bistro, the subject of this week’s review, opened last year with Matt McCallister as its “consulting executive chef.” After designing…
The Wall Street Journal shines light on kombucha, a fermented beverage made from freshly brewed tea, bacteria and yeast. The preparation, popularized by health nuts, is slowly becoming a trendy alternative beverage and ingredient at bars and restaurants everywhere. Joel Levin, the service manager at the Meddlesome Moth, confirms that…
Whole Foods Market announced recently that it will close its Dallas bakehouse, located on University near Central, which for the past 12 years has produced breads and pastries for its eight area stores, as well as Little Rock, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. After the spring closure, baked items for local…
Kay Agnew and her daughter, Margaux, have opened a new restaurant in the Design District called Bridge Bistro, at 921 North Riverfront. Kay has been part of the Dallas dining scene for more than 25 years. She opened Margaux’s (named after her daughter) in 1985 and moved around a few…
The West Village isn’t typically a favorite destination ‘hood of mine unless I’m seeking fro-yo or a sale on cardigans, but a Yelp search pointed me in the direction of Thai-Vietnamese spot Malai when I found myself in dire need of a drink on a Sunday evening. I have zero…
Nothing says toned and sexy like endless piles of free pancakes. But at least this order is stacked up for charity. IHOP announced that Laura Kaeppeler, recently crowned Miss America, plans to serve as spokeswoman for IHOP’s annual National Pancake Day celebration on Tuesday, February 28. The event benefits Children’s…
Right now in Washington, D.C., Whopper-craving citizens can get front-door delivery. Yes, oh yes, Burger King is rolling out a pilot program for bringing the meat to you — in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. It comes with a $2 delivery charge and you must order a minimum of $8 (or…
Over the weekend I dropped into the office to jot down some thoughts on a recent meal and checked out the #boycottdrpepper feed I’ve been keeping an eye on. This tweet popped up just as I was watching: DrPepper @Galcos pulls all Dr. Pepper/Snapple products from shelves after @DublinDrPepper shut…
Booze correspondent Whitney Filloon is experiment with going meat-free once a week. Here’s her latest animal-fat-less dispatch. “How can you hate on a joint whose tagline is ‘We Love You’?” This is what I thought to myself as I walked through the door at Oak Cliff vegan destination Spiral Diner…
A search on Amazon.com for “Chicken Soup for the Hungover Soul” quickly reveals that there is no such title in existence (I smell an e-book opportunity!), most likely because no one wakes up with a pounding headache and the taste of bad choices lingering in their mouth and reaches to…
Chances are decent you’ve got one down the street from you, but when was the last time you stepped into your local donut shop? The answer for me is never. So in my never-ending search for new breakfast spots, I put my local shop to the test. Probably like everyone…
On last night’s Daily Show, John Stewart and Mario Batali schooled us on Super PACs in a way that will be forever seared in our minds. If my poli sci teacher used even an ounce of this type of imagery, who knows where I’d be now. (Working for a Super…
Friday’s chilly temps made for a soup kind of day, so I headed to Malai Thai, knowing that I’d get something hearty with a little heat. The bartender set me up with a bowl of Thai coconut soup, which was fantastic. Then, a few minutes after I was done with…
Whether you prefer romaine or radicchio, it’s a sad week to wrap here at City of Ate. Dr Pepper is dead — the real stuff not the corporate crap — and coverage has been popping up all over the internets. Leslie Minora talked to a few local businesses about the…
A truckload of jalapeño peppers was seized in Pharr, Texas, this Thursday, according to a Customs and Border Patrol news release. The alleged marijuana from this seizure has an estimated street value of approximately $3,162,530. CBP officers seized the narcotics and the tractor-trailer. The peppers stand accused of attempting to…
Just days after Texans celebrate the state’s Independence Day on March 2, drinkers can support its independent brewers and try offerings from all five of the DFW area’s functional breweries. (That number won’t be five forever, but more on that later.)Corey Pond at The Common Table says Rahr & Sons…
Chefs for Farmers, a Dallas based group who celebrate small, local farms, is having some fun on their facebook page to promote their annual event.They asked Brian Luscher from the Grape to come up with a random question for fellow participant Stephan Pyles. Luscher asked: Your hard work as a…
