Zen Offers Raw Deals Every Monday

Michelle Carpenter, chef at Zen Sushi (380 W. Seventh St.) in Oak Cliff’s Bishop Arts District, celebrated her 40th birthday by offering a sake deal over the weekend. Unfortunately you missed it. We did, as well. But while that one-weekend only deal may be over, it ushered in the debut…

10 Questions: Erika Henderson

West Village is cool, sure. But after seven years as a cocktail waitress, Henderson has seen a lot of “cool” in a lot of places. The Social House waitress and bartender has been through just about everything–at Frankie’s in Uptown, West End Pub, House of Blues…all around Dallas, really. Working the…

Food For Thought 5.4.09

“[Sales] may have been negatively impacted by media surrounding swine flu.” (Chuck E. Cheese executive Michael Magusiak on the effect of the “pandemic” on the family friendly pizza chain’s fortunes, The restaurants suffered a 20 percent drop in same-store sales during the first three days last week…although first-quarter earnings were…

Sloppy Seconds: Summertime, and the Living’s Easy

Even these dark, ominous skies looming all around us, don’t make it less true: today is May 1, and summer’s right around the corner. That means patios, pools and mint juleps (or Cheladas) — and another week of highlights from City of Ate.The Week in Review(s):Your own Dallas Observer: A…

Chewing the Fat: Does Leaner Equal Greener?

As if overweight individuals needed more to make them feel socially undesirable, the past couple of weeks have seen at least three different online news outlets tackle the subject of human obesity and its possible environmental impacts, citing an increased carbon footprint. Live Science approaches the topic more sensitively than…

Question Of The Week

Why is the patio at Primo’s so popular?Certainly there are nicer patios at places serving better food. So what’s the attraction?Results from last week, in which we asked what features make for a true dive. Several well thought through posts showed up in response–as well as one in haiku form…

And The Winner Is…

You know, we had a winner selected. It was a comment posted by someone on DMN’s blog. Unfortunately, we came up empty when we went to look for it today.Either someone deleted the comment or we completely misremembered just where we first saw it. (Both are distinct possibilities.) So, after…

Handle The Proof: Mint Juleps

Few bartenders know how to make a decent mint julep and few people order the bourbon cocktail. There must be a connection.But which came first? It’s a perfect cooler for blazing summer days (which seem unlikely to arrive anytime soon)–icy fresh, with a wicked punch–and one closely tied to the…

Start Your Drinko Por Cinco Today At Masaryk

A few years back, when the economy was in better shape, people used to wring their hands about how retailers seemed to start the Christmas shopping season earlier and earlier every year. But have you ever noticed how, aside from the teetotalers and Avi Adelmans of the world, there are…

10 Questions: Randall Copeland

The chef and co-owner of Ava, the new and much talked about Rockwall destination, got his start waiting tables right after high school. But it was his decision to enter El Centro’s culinary program that really set things in motion.From there, the Dallas native worked in hotel and country club…

Food For Thought 5.1.09

“It’s killing our markets. Where they got the name, I just don’t know.” (Iowa hog farmer Francis Gilmore on the effect of swine flu on the value of his product. Since the outbreak and spread of this virus, hog prices have dropped from a $62 per 100 pounds average to $59 per…

Review and Gallery: Inca’s

Dave is really in his element for this week’s review of Inca’s, the home-style Peruvian strip-mall spot in Carrollton. He finds plenty to recommend, and you can read all about it here.To get a look at Inca’s — more than the mask on the wall featured in this week’s paper…

Revolving Doors: A Month To Remember?

We were trying to think of any significant restaurant closings in Dallas over the last 30 days and nothing, besides that odd moment when Kavala in Oak Cliff shut down then reopened almost immediately. So, we had to call our buddy Teresa Gubbins and pry into her database-like brain.Thanks TG.Just…

Hophead: Relive Your Skankin’ Days

Remember the great ska craze of the mid-90s? My memory of that era is a bit cloudy, but from what I recall it was a thankfully short-lived phenomenon in which kids rediscovered English ska punk from the ’80s, which itself was a rediscovery of the original version of ska, a…

Short Orders: Sweet Basil

Sweet Basil17610 Midway972-733-1500Sometimes your expectations, well…Let’s just say that from the outside, Sweet Basil resembles some kind of candy shop, what with the brightly striped awning and cute name.The only hints of its true nature–apart from the “Italian Cafe” printed on the awning–is a small patio decorated with an classical-style…

Veggie Girl: Food From Galilee

It wouldn’t be the media if there weren’t a cursory reference to the recession, so here goes: Order the vegetarian Maza Tray for dinner at Food From Galilee, and your $12 will have you eating like a veggie queen (or king) for a week. Can’t beat that, especially if you’re…

Appetite For Instruction: Brie With Red Grape Salsa

Demonstrated by Margie Hubbard The best cooks aren’t always professional chefs. Sometimes they’re just regular people who like to prepare food and love to eat. Take Margie Hubbard for instance. As the author of Eating in Dallas, she’s a banking specialist by day and influential food blogger by night…and early…

Eat, Drink And Watch Traffic On Stemmons

From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow, Nana at the Hilton Anatole will offer its monthly wine and food flight trio, Friday Night Flights. For $20 per head, plus tax and tip, you can sample three of the bar’s fine wines paired with scallop ceviche, drunken goat cheese and grilled…

10 Questions: Charlie Green

He spent a lot of time in and around the pizza joints of New York–minus four years spent at a Pennsylvania college and a bit living in D.C.So it’s no wonder Green longed for a taste of the familiar after moving to Dallas. He sold medical supplies and software for…

Food For Thought 4.30.09

“I’ll either look like a genius or a fool.” (Ed Bailey, owner of the just opened Bailey’s Prime Plus in Cedar Hill–as well as three more proposed branches of the upscale steakhouse–on his prospects over the next year as he sells off profitable McDonald’s locations in favor of fine dining…

Inca’s serves up down-home food from way, way down south

There are a couple of things you should know before heading to Inca’s, the Peruvian hangout in Carrollton. First, on a recent Friday night visit, the not-quite-dog-whistle shrieks of kids filled the dining room as three little rugrats bounced around, trying their best to drown out a live band. The…

Back Yard Burgers

There are literally hundreds of places you can get yourself a burger in Dallas. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s a Back Yard Burgers restaurant right across the street from a McDonald’s, which is awesomely located in the 24 Hour Fitness parking lot. (“Want fries with that…