This has been, by any standard, an interesting year. Americans made history by living up to—finally—the “regardless of race, creed or color” principle we ostensibly cherish. That President-elect Barack Obama came from the usually disheveled ranks of that often-pointless party known as “Democrats” makes our national break with the past…
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Taking a break from his duties as radio personality and producer of the popular Bo & Jim morning show on Lone Star 92.5, Randy James found himself in California.Fresno, California.Actually, he is spending the holidays with family there. Yet he still consented to providing City of Ate with a Top…
Just about three years ago, the damn near legendary Dallas Morning News food critic Dotty Griffith decided to hang up the notepad and head down to Austin. Now, the UT grad and unrepentant Texan (who once said “barbecue is the most American of foods; to hell with apple pie”) spent…
We here at the City of Ate are big fans of Fox 4’s Good Day…and not just because the other morning shows wrap up at some unknown but clearly ungodly hour. No, it’s because long about the break of day–8:45 or so–they run a cooking segment.Every weekday some local chef…
Disc jockeys work their asses off. While we’re listening to a song, they’re racking up breaks and answering the phone. While we’re pressing the seek button during commercials, they quickly record and edit contest winner calls before scribbling down log information for the FCC folks. Even when they jabber away…
So good he also posted these on his 97.1 KEGL blog–actually he told us “blahg,” but it pretty much means the same thing. Listed in no particular order. “The white dream is my fav,” he says. CHRISTMAS COSMOPOLITAN ½ oz. Cointreau ½ oz. Cranberry juice 1 tsp. Fresh…
It’s been over two months since Urban Dog Coffee reopened its refurbished doors on Oak Lawn, and the renovated digs are well-worth a visit. The café now includes two rooms of tables, plush chairs and free wireless in a space complete with paintings by local artists and music by local…
I bid farewell to 2008 by, like Ricky Bobby, thanking little baby Jesus for giving us specialty holiday brews. What better way to soothe the white-knuckle stress of shopping, the friction of family gatherings and the frustration of assembling crappy toys than with a high-ABV beer? Jonathan Shikes at our…
If, thanks to Hollywood, one is likely to compare the seeming randomness of destiny to a Whitman’s Sampler, what then stands in for life’s certainties? Perhaps it’s too local to gain large-scale popularity, but I would suggest RJ Mexican Cuisine. When you ask waitresses at this popular and longstanding West…
Looking back on an all too brief year matching wines with everyday foods–you know, things from cans, boxes, fast food joints, and so on–it occurs to me the experts consulted each week performed admirably.Suspiciously so, as if they had already guzzled rose with their Taco Bueno takeaway on several occasions,…
She was highly regarded for her nuanced writing and rare ability to chain smoke through a meal and still understand the flavors. She was 71 and had been hospitalized for about a week.Teresa Gubbins at Pegasus News says it all. Expect a lengthy obituary in tomorrow’s Dallas Morning News.I knew…
People may poke fun at her striking bob, but none disparage Lisa Garza’s skill in the kitchen. This year the sometime singer and sort of restaurateur gained fame nationally as a contestant on The Next Food Network Star and locally through tons of media buzz.Whether she makes it big time…
Make that “Slaughterhouse Nine,” including the once great Rudolf, pictured here in rare form.In one of the more disturbing promotions, Park Cities Prime offers reindeer chops through December 30, or as long as the carcasses of Prancer, Cupid and Blitzen are fit to cook. That’s right–16 ounces of Dancer steak…
Six weeks of things fried and greasy, slopped in barbecue sauce or glopped from a buffet tub–damn it’s been great.Mostly.This year was a short one, considering we started City of Ate less than two months ago. The Dude Food dudes return to action January 6, 2009, diving weekly into the…
Our resident political curmudgeon gets around. Between the office, city council meetings, back to the office, over to that proposed inland port, pausing to scoff at the site of Dallas’ signature bridge and the road to nowhere then to the office once again for a quip-trading session with Wilonsky, he…
Normally an end of the year Top 10 list should account for at least ten items–more if a tie score happens to muddle things. But the powers behind City of Ate (which would be us) sorta procrastinated until long about November, so…well, we only got around to testing out the…
For those wondering why things got quiet over on Unfair Park for a couple hours Friday afternoon, you can blame a City Of Ate taste test gone horribly wrong. The self-proclaimed World’s First Extreme Relaxation Beverage, Drank is marketed as an “anti-energy drink,” with the tagline “Slow your roll.” Rather…
Scene, 62 Main, The Club, Nove Italiano, Metro Grill, Sushi on McKinney, Martini Park, Brothers..The roll call of restaurant closings throughout this embattled year makes 2008 sound like a culinary Iwo Jima. We can almost picture John Wayne poised on the black volcanic sands, reading off the names: Bice? Didn’t…
You may have noticed a little bit of a chill in the air this Monday (specifically a wind chill of 18 degrees). You might have even car-skated over a thin little layer of ice on your way home from the city’s cubicles and retail counters. These elements and some additional…
A little bit of holiday party advice from those fun-loving folks at Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. Seems in this litigious nation of ours that a few hosts remain unaware of their personal liability if, say, Uncle Eddie downs half a bottle of bourbon at the family gathering,…
If the potential for boredom and awkward conversation make you dread the family togetherness that comes with the holidays, allow me to make a suggestion: Farkle. Basically, Farkle is a game in which you roll six dice and gain points for 1s, 5s and various number combinations. The winner is…
