Pairing Off: Supermarket Cheese

Each week, Pairing Off attempts to find just the right bottle of wine to go with ordinary food.There’s no real shame in picking up a brick of Colby, Monterey Jack or one of those so called “Swiss” cheeses you find on grocery shelves–not really. You can’t make it to Scardello…

On The Range: Chilaquiles

Seriously, you would think that the people of Mexico had enough hangover remedies. After all, this is the culture that gave us menudo, that savory dish of cow or sheep stomach soup that is de rigueur eating on New Year’s morning–not to mention other sopas such as chicken tortilla, which…

First Look: Urbino Pizza e Pasta

Urbino starts out with two strikes against it. First off, there’s the name. Oh, Urbino’s cute and all–but the third incarnation of Urbano Café sits just a mile away. (That’s Urbano with an “A”, not Urbino with an “I”. ) There’s also a new pizza joint in Plano called Urban…

Dude Food: Hattie’s

Each week the Dude Food guys assess the ‘masculinity’ of Dallas area dives. The more fried meat and junk on the walls, the better the rating…Hattie’s418 Bishop Avenue214-942-7400Dude Factor: 10, or Jake Tyler Brigance, on a scale of 1 (Darby Shaw) to 10.The first time I walked into Hattie’s, I…

Veggie Guy: Park

The guys at Park are awfully proud of their wine list. It is pretty impressive. They even go as far as denoting which wines are organic, produced by women (what’s that all about?), and which are vegan. But while they can “get you drunk,” as our waitress joked, their vegan…

Wake And Break

Anybody can fry an egg. Well, not necessarily anybody. But why not start your day with something that’ll really put a smile on your face, something your Mom might not approve of? You know–like a chocolate waffle dripping with Kahlúa crème or a burrito the size of a duffel bag…

The Newsletter Cometh

Well, it cameth…telling subscribers to the free email publication how to support Share Our Strength, where to snag free coffee and why Urban Taco is a go-to place on Tuesdays. Sign up now for Hot off the Grill. It’s don’t cost nothin’ and you’ll be, you know, protected.[Note: the two…

Photos: Bean To Bar Tasting with DallasChocolate.org

For the first event in their brief history, dallaschocolate.org hosted chocolatiers Alan McClure and Steve DeVries for a tasting and a dinner focused on American “bean to bar” chocolate production.Teresa Gubbins, who recapped the event for Pegasus, says the visiting chocolate producers repeatedly urged folks there to think of chocolate…

(Un)Cool Water: Raw Foodists Make A Splash

Brian Hudson Smith, celebrated mastermind behind Bliss Raw Café’s Elixir Bar, recently parted ways with his creation. Why did this happen? Because of a little thing called water.See, as with most fads and trends, this new one–raw foods–is changing faster than most of its devotees can keep up with, and…

Short Orders: Nazar

Nazar15107 Addison Rd.Addison972-726-0100Hardly anything has changed since this place transformed itself from the Turkish restaurant called Shish to the Turkish restaurant called Nazar.Oh, there’s a new owner and all. But I’m almost certain I had the same waiter as my last trip to Shish. There’s the same strange situation where…

Some High-End Restaurants Just Don’t Measure Up

Not being a fan of crowds, my intention was to avoid Restaurant Week. Yet somehow I ended up at Fearing’s for an evening of rushed–as in ‘get the hell out, we need to turn this table’–yet very pleasant service…and mediocre courses.It’s quite likely, of course, that Fearing’s crew pay less…

How ‘Bout Them Knockers: Panda’s Restaurant and Bar

Each week in ‘Knockers’ we order from a different delivery restaurant, assessing their efficiency and keeping a running score.Panda’s Restaurant & Bar3917 Cedar Springs Rd214-528-9999214-528-3818214-526-3333Promised delivery time: 30-45 minutesActual delivery time: 28 minutesDialing options: 3Early delivery: 10Number of times name of my dish, “Subgun wonton,” ran through my head the…

Laid Back On The Lake

Back when we lived way east on 30 near Zion Road, we nicknamed that giant reservoir out there “Lake Ray Stumpy”, for reasons we probably don’t have to explain. The weather’s been kinder lately, though, and things are looking much fuller. Probably no coincidence that business there has reached high…

Sloppy Seconds: A Case of the Mondays

In this back-to-school edition of Sloppy Seconds, we’re recapping a hectic week that saw complications both technical and interpersonal as the City of Ate crew went about its business. Still, from wine classes to a little meta-analysis, last week saw plenty of learning opportunities for devotees of the Dallas dining…

Question Of The Week: What Is The Best New Restaurant Of 2009?

Yeah, I know–the year’s not up yet. But our annual “Best of Dallas” issue comes out in September and I’ve already turned in my selection.So what’s your pick for best restaurant to open so far this year? Is it a fancy spot like Five-Sixty or something simple–Lumi, perhaps, or Si?…

And The Winner Is…

It was an unusually frantic week at City of Ate, thanks in part to those [expletive deleted]’s at Lazare, but more to our own tedious blogging software, which one day decided–all on its own–to block all comments.Still, we had a lot to work with. And if we were giving away…

Handle The Proof: An Oregon Grappa

Most people first encounter grappa in the form of a cheap, punishing brand–the taste of cleaning fluids and jet exhaust being the gentler characteristics.Generally it’s also their last encounter with the spirit conjured from the pulpy leftovers of wine pressings. That’s right, the unique flavor of grappa (or marc in…

Just What Do They Sell In A Cheese Shop?

“How does this place make money?” You know you’ve heard that question dozens of times–whether from a friend or in your own head–when looking at the small, boutique purveyors so popular in the food world these days. We encountered it just yesterday on a trip to Scardello Artisan Cheese from…

Hophead: Is Bigger Really That Much Better?

This week, Sigel’s announced that it is taking early orders for a dozen 6-liter bottles of Unibroue’s La Fin Du Monde golden ale. Catch is, these collector’s items come at the eyebrow-raising (or unibrow-raising) price of $219.99 a bottle. And that’s a discount: the “regular price,” according to Sigel’s, is…

Mi Cocina vs Carolina’s Mexican Cuisine: Mole Melee

Like so many of the world’s most famous dishes, the true origins of mole are shrouded by time. Is it, as many insist, from Puebla or did cooks in Oaxaca first concoct the spicy bitter chocolate sauce? Maybe it was created by nuns. Some say it resulted from a kitchen…