Craft Chef Is Leaving Us For Peaches and Sunshine

Park Cities People blogger JB Hayes broke the news this Friday that Craft’s Exec Chef Kevin Maxey is leaving town. Maxey is heading to Atlanta, where he is going to open Craft Atlanta in the Mansion on Peachtree. Taking his place will be Anthony Zapolla, current sous chef at Craft Dallas. Good luck to Maxey, who was always very sweet and helpful when dealing with annoying press types like myself.

Apparently, lucky Tony is running around France hanging out with his former boss, Alain Ducasse, before taking over for Maxey in the kitchen. Jealous.

Dallas Restaurants Are Struggling To Stay Alive

Last week AP ran this story on the horror all restaurateurs are facing: the price of food is soaring faster than the price of oil. Most of the local owners and chefs I have spoken with are struggling hard to keep menu prices reasonable and still make enough to stay in business. These people are not magicians; they just can’t wave a wand over their menu and make this reality go away. They have to adjust and we, as consumers, have to adapt along with them if we want to keep our restaurant community healthy. I’m not just talking about high-end restaurants, pizza joints are taking a hard hit–the price of flour has doubled in the last two weeks. Restaurant owners who place a complimentary basket of rolls, bread, or corn tortilla chips on your table may as well lay down a couple of ten-dollar bills—their cost for these giveaways is astounding. Rice, milk, and beef? Same song: second, third, and fourth verses. Fine dining can still be fine but be kind to restaurateurs who substitute local or regional products for high-end ingredients flown in from far away. Thankfully Dallas is about to hit the prime growing season for fresh fruits and vegetables. Stock up. Freeze it. Hug a chef.

Update: See Part 2 Here

Bice Goes Buh-Bye

This makes me sad: Bice, the fancy-pants Italian restaurant in the Crescent Building closed yesterday. (Thanks to the hawk-like eyes and ears of “Our Own” Teresa Gubbins at Pegasus News for working on Mother’s Day when she could have been home nurturing her clutter of kitties.) So Dallas, you say you want fine Italian and when you get it–Il Mulino and Bice–you don’t eat it. I’m (kinda) sorry but I miss Il Mulino. I thought it was good. Sure it was expensive. Would (could) I pay for it during these troubled economic times? Prolly not as often as I’d like but would for sure if that guy on a white–OK, it can be black–horse with saddlebags full of economic stimulus checks rides into town this afternoon and whisks me away to N9NE for a $69 margarita. Until then, the fact remains little Big D-ers: you want red sauce with that pasta. Next.