Pulled Pork and Salt Lick BBQ Sauce

Picked up a pork butt (Strangely named, as it’s actually the shoulder, which is why you’ll also find it labeled as “Pork Shoulder”, or an even more confusing “Pork Shoulder Butt”) to make pulled pork sammiches. I prefer mine topped with BBQ sauce. Turns out my favorite BBQ joint, The Salt Lick, has bottled their magic for all to enjoy. This is not news. The fact that you can get it at your local Central Market, is—at least to me.

Full report on the pork, and it’s butt, to come later this week.

Mini Review: La Cubanita

I went for lunch today, Nancy. Alberto Lombardi looks like he has another hit on his hands. Dressed in Caribbean blues and sea greens, the tiny dining room only seats 47 and the placed was packed. (And it’s only La Cubanita’s second day open.) We sat on the patio under heaters that didn’t work, but a round of cortaditos (Cuban sweetened espresso with steamed milk) kept us moderately warm. Hits included vegetarian empanadas stuffed with creamy spinach, mushrooms, and cojita cheese, Cuban cigars (crispy pork flautas), a fried catfish sandwich, and the best yucca fries I’ve had in Dallas. (Sorry, La Duni.) The yucca was moist and airy and the breading crisp and delicate. Seriously, I could have eaten an entire meal of those things. The only miss was a side of twice-cooked crispy green plantains. They were a little tough—once cooked would have been enough. Lombardi was there, working the crowd and looking quite the dandy. With his latest offering, I’m declaring the dapper Don the best restaurateur in Dallas. (Sorry, Tristan.) Any dissenting votes?

La Cubanita Is Abierto

Alberto Lombardi’s newest creation, La Cubanita, is now open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus late night dining on Friday and Saturday until 3:00am. How great is that? Jump for the menu.

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The Future Is Now

Run and hide.

Crabby Crab Crab at Oceanaire

Before last night, I hadn’t ever been to The Oceanaire restaurant, in the Galleria. It wasn’t even really on my radar. Well, hello! Where have I been? Last night they had a little media dinner in honor of Florida stone crabs, and guess what? It was great. Not only did we eat stone crabs (only one, sadly, and it was already peeled), we ate dungeness crab, Alaskan king crab, and the most fantastic lump crab cake. If I had more gas, more money and more time, I would go there for lunch and eat this every day.
Jump for more on a guy they keep in the walk-in and chef Chad Kelley’s star turn.

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Jean-Claude Vrinat, R.I.P.

I just learned that renowned restaurateur, Jean-Claude Vrinat, passed away on January 7. He was 71 years young. For over 30 years, Vrinat, owner of the Paris’ Taillevent restaurant, was regarded as the pinnacle of elegant French cuisine. One local chef deeply affected by this news is Mercury execuchef Chris Ward. He spent several summers as a guest celebrity chef in the kitchen at Taillevent and was one of the few people Vrinat called when he chose to dine stateside. In honor of Vrinat, Ward will host a “celebration of the life of Jean-Claude Vrinat” at Mercury restaurant on Friday. “He was by far one of the greatest restaurateurs and most respected wine experts of the culinary world,” says Ward. After Friday’s dinner, Ward will add a dish named after his friend and mentor to the menu. I say, pick up the phone now and make reservations. Chris Ward is ready to rock it and that’s always a treat.

Lawry’s The Prime Rib Goes Wild

Somebody at Lawry’s The Prime Rib has finally gotten with the new decade–they’ve dusted off the tired menu and are set to host an authentic Japanese Sake Dinner on Friday, January 25 at 7p.m. Lawry’s execuchef, Matthew Melton, will go off the Lawry’s deep end and prepare a five-course Japanese meal paired with the finest sake from the House of Gekkeikan. I went to a sake tasting a few weeks ago at SushiSamba and not only had a blast, I learned a ton about sake. Here’s your chance. Call 877-503-6688 for details and reservations. Warning: sake goes down easy. (Oh I can’t leave that line hanging there, can I?)

I Spy Something Different

Yesterday, when all my troubles seemed so far away, I learned, during a short interview with BLT Steak founding chef Laurent Tourondel, that he was in Dallas for a few days. Curious to see the joint with the head honcho in the house, I put on my best bag lady outfit and headed (back) out for a front row center seat at the bar. From our perch, my buddy Grumpy and I watched the international chef whip his Dallas staff into shape. And he whipped them good—they scurried around like scared wittle wabbits. Guess who else was there? Abacus execuchef and lobster shooter god, Kent Rathbun. He was holed up in the private dining room with a bunch of guys. Wonder who they were? BTW, BLT, Grumpy wants to know the name of the “hottie” at the hostess stand. Methinks she is underage.

Hot Chick With Great Legs Eats At Bob’s In Grapevine

OK, I admit I was sucked into watching Dancing With The Stars when Mark Cuban was dancing. Fascinating stuff, seriously. Why anyone would do that is beyond me, but they all seem to have some good clean fun. Anywhoo, one of the big dancing stars, Juliane Hough was spotted dining with her uncle, Trey Hough (Park Place Lexus in Grapevine) and Ken Schnitzer (founder and chairman of Park Place Dealerships). She signed a bunch of autographed and hoofed it back to her hotel, the Four Seasons in Las Colinas where she signed some more. Kick ball change, that.