Happy 4th to Dallas Uncorked

 Dallas Uncorked is one of those organizations I’d like to know more about. For example, how many cute, single, normal guys attend the events? Well, either way I’m sold, because drinking wine with a bunch of other people who like to drink wine is what I do most weekends anyway. The group’s fourth birthday is on April 17, and they’re having a bash at Candleroom (raise it!), complete with wine (duh) and food from Andrew Ormsby Catering and TUCKER Restaurant. And gifts too, for us! I like those kind of birthdays. Full details below.

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A Little Fishy Told Me

Nancy and I just got these mini fishbowls in the mail, complete with a Cowboy Fish stress reliever squeezy toy, wearing a cowboy hat and sake holster, sporting a mustache, pictured at left. Because we’re in Texas, ya’ll! This is to announce the opening of RA Sushi on March 24 at the Shops at Legacy. I do appreciate gifts, and he’s actually kinda cute.

I’ve eaten at RA in Scottsdale (the original location), and I honestly don’t remember much about the food. I do remember this was a great place to take a bachelorette. The press release says they offer “fresh sushi, hip music and contemporary decor all rolled up into one flavorful experience.” Yep, sounds right. Sushi rolls include the “Tootsy Maki,” with crab mix (!), shrimp, and cucumber wrapped in seaweed and encased in rice, and “innovative” (cough) entrees like apple teriyaki salmon. Someone who lives there will have to let me know how it is, in the meantime, I’ll be taking out our shipping stress on the Mr. CF.

Pizza Pizza

Famous New York pizzeria Grimaldi‘s has just opened its first Dallas outpost. (And apparently the NY guys have gone to great lengths to ensure that our Dallas crust tastes the same as it does in Brooklyn by hiring a chemist to re-create the mineral content and composition of the water.) Celebrities seem to love those hand-tossed pizzas cooked in a coal-fired brick oven. I wonder if that means that we’ll be spotting Vince Vaughn in West Village. And maybe he’ll buy me one of Patsy Grimaldi’s signature martinis. A girl can dream.

Re: Mexican Meltdown

Todd, to be honest, Mia’s is my favorite Tex-Mex place in Dallas—probably because it is my mom’s favorite, too. When I was growing up, she used to drive us to Lemmon all the way from Plano for a “special treat.” In fact, when she’s in my neck of the woods, Mia’s is always where she wants to meet me for lunch. I’m not sure why I strayed the other day. That’ll teach me.

P.S. Speaking of brisket, I had the brisket quesadillas there not too long ago. To quote the ridiculously annoying Rachael Ray: YUM-O.

Fearing’s Named One of NY Times 10 “Intriguing Restaurants Outside of New York”

Huge news: Frank Bruni, food critic from the New York Times, has named Fearing’s as one of his ten “Intriguing Restaurants Outside of New York” in today’s Dining and Wine section. Click here to read. He traveled across the country to find his top places, and they had to have opened between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2007. He says:

All in all I visited 15 acclaimed, ambitious, promising or intriguing new restaurants from coast to coast, excluding New York City, in late January and early February.

I identified these restaurants through extensive reading and inquiries to food lovers around the country. The work of the chefs at many of the restaurants automatically draws interest. Other restaurants had simply generated considerable chatter.

Others on the list include Guy Savoy in Las Vegas and Cochon in New Orleans. (Fearings also beat out Thomas Keller’s new Ad Hoc). This week, he reviews Central Michel Richard in Washington, D.C., and Tilth in Seattle, with the others being discussed in the next three weeks. Go, Dean!

Radio DJ Is Crushin’ On Casey

It’s no surprise that lovely Top Chef finalist Casey Thompson has a few male admirers, and this morning, listeners learned that one of those is Gene Gates from the Gene and Julie Morning show on 103.7 Lite FM. Dorian Isenberg of J. Dorian Chocolatier presented Mr. Gates with a surprise: A poster-size version of D Magazine’s February cover, which features Casey looking pretty and hangin’ out at Shinsei restaurant. We’re assuming he was excited, but hopefully not too excited. Click here to see pics of the poster.

RE: Mexican Meltdown

Jennifer, next time try Mia’s on Lemmon Avenue. Yes, the parking lot is cramped and the wait can be long. But after a plate of brisket tacos (done elsewhere but not as good as Mama Mia’s), I was left wondering why it had been so long since my last visit. Oh yeah. That hellish parking lot.

Mexican Meltdown

Something was amiss today at the Mi Cocina in Highland Park Village. No fewer than four people came by our table—multiple times—to see if we were okay, to offer us more chips, more salsa, more water. But what they should have been worried about is why it took so freakin’ long to get a bowl of tortilla soup, a bean chalupa, and a Rico salad with beef. I watched as table after table around us—seated after we were—received their lunch. It was weird. Not the usual brisk, efficient, hurry-up-and-turn-the-table service I’m used to at Mi Cocina—especially not during lunch hour on a weekday. The worst part? The bean chalupa and tortilla soup were cold. Normally it’s some of the most reliable food and service around. Today it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Sigh.

Cogill Battles Conlon in Savor Dallas Italian Food Showdown

This match-up seems lopsided to me, but then again, I’ve got a feeling Gary Cogill can probably knit us a sweater, throw a perfect curveball, and whip up a monster Italian meal faster than we can say, “Good Morning Texas.” On March 5, the GMT host will battle Nove’s chef Chris Conlon in an all-out Italian food showdown, all on live TV. Both Cogill and Conlon will make a meal, the judges will decide which one is best, the crowd will get to sample the surely-delicious food (!), all in the name of good fun. Actually, it’s part of Savor Dallas, a food and wine festival that starts later in the week. Now if they could just get Brenda Teele to bite into a big red pepper and scream “Allez Cuisine!” to start the competition, it would be truly amazing.

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