Kitchen 1924 Closes

Dang, I go to dinner for two hours and another restaurant closes. Tip of the toque to TG. Sad.

Mozzarella Company Wins 7 Ribbons in Cheese Competition

Ms. Paula Lambert just dropped me a note to let us all know that her Mozzarella Company picked up 7 ribbons at the prestigious American Cheese Society Competition last weekend in Chicago. There were 1,149 cheese entered from 181 producers in 30 states plus 3 from Canada. Texas cheeses took home 18 ribbons. Another national winner in Big D. Jump for specifics.

UPDATE: Other local winners: Luckly Layla won five awards.Haute Goat won four awards. Latte Da won two awards. Pure Luck won one.

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Coming Tomorrow on SideDish

Sometimes, dear Dishers, this ding dang D Magazine project gets in the way and we fall behind on our Dishwashing duties. I promise you this: first thing tomorrow morning you will get Gina Campisi’s “How to Open a Restaurant.” Plus, a stunning new photograph of Ms. Campisi. We will also have Kyle’s video of the Lisa-watching party from last night. Plus, tons of other stuff that I am sure will just fall out of the sky and land on our keyboards.

The Mansion Joins Restaurant Week

Hug a farmer, feed a chef, and make a reservation for KRLD Restaurant Week. Today, Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek announced they are taking reservations for the fund raiser that runs from August 11—31. Click. Go. Spend.

Sushi Samba in Trouble?

“The times are tough now, just getting tougher
This old world is rough, its just getting rougher“-Bruce Springsteen

A law-lovin’ Disher sends news that Galleria Mall Investors filed a lawsuit on July 24 against Sushi Samba. According to the document, the defendants have failed to pay over $147,000 in rent towards their mall space.

UPDATE: Make that “Sushi Samba Closed and In Trouble!” So says, Freckle Face over at Eats.

Next Food Network Star: Casting Call

Dishers, dust off your talent show act and e-mail the nice, albeit confused, folks at the Food Network. The casting call for Season 5 of the Next Food Network Star has been issued! Come on Dallas, let’s keep it going. (I already miss Bob and Susie.) Send your name, contact info, and the reason why you should be the Next Food Network Star to: NFNS5@foodnetwork.com. Mine’s been sent. (Wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants!)

Tart Bakery Garners Foodie Cred

Just received this scoop in my inbox:

Tart has gone national, baby … and, no, it’s not an InStyle photo shoot of the sweet, sultry sisters of Tart, Kristen and Stephanie.

Tart is in the September 2008 issue of Bon Appétit magazine!! They are listed as one of the magazine’s favorite national dessert shops. WOO HOO!!! Check it out … coming soon to a newsstand near you.

That’s good news for Dallas, too. Cupcakes all around …

The Best Dessert in Dallas

So I went to Nonna for the first time on Friday night. In a word: delicious. I could go on about the arugula and frisee salad with goat cheese and figs, or the melt-in-your mouth short ribs, or the beautiful ribbons of pasta tossed with prosciutto, sage, and sweet corn. But, folks, the reason you need to make a reservation right now at Julian Barsotti’s place is the cloudlike semifreddo—similar to a frozen mousse—studded with praline nougat and pistachios and drizzled with Acacia honey. I may have even screwed up the description, because I am still drunk on its powers. My dining companion didn’t even want dessert, but he nearly jabbed me in the hand with his fork, trying to get the last bite of the just-sweet-enough goodness. If I had a better camera phone, I would have taken a picture. Just go and see for yourself. You will not be sorry.

Re: Next Food Network Star

Was it a publicity stunt? I don’t know. But even though I knew who was going to win, I tuned in anyway. I think because I was hoping that somehow the outcome would be different. Alas. I will not watch Aaron’s show. However, I do want to know if Adam would like to be my boyfriend. Hungry in Philadelphia, meet Hungry in Dallas. IJS.

Next Food Network Star Winner: Aaron McCargo

Shocking, really startling news, I know. We’ll have a kick-bass video of the only official Lisa Garza-watching party in Dallas online in a matter of hours, but first let us put this show to rest.

First of all, I’d like to welcome all of the new fans SideDish has made. Last Thursday night when we popped the Food Network for releasing the winners 3 days before the final show, the webby people at the FN decided to take down Bob’s blog and turn off all of comments and SideDish became the go-to-blog for Food Network talk. If you have a couple of hours, read the comments here. (Warning: crazy stuff!)

Secondly, I would like to congratulate Lisa for pulling off a great pilot for her Beautiful Basics cooking show. She pan-fried her inner I’m-not-good-enough demons and whipped the egg yolks of her savory zabaglione to the exact shade of her Carolina Herrera dress. (Hi Gilbert! Hi Ian!) Nice work, Lisa.

I learned a lot about the Food Network since this series began. I admit I don’t watch much of it–not because I think the shows are bad; I’m just not around a TV enough. I’m not tossing any judgment here, it’s just that the reality of my life leads me elsewhere.

That said, I feel sorry for the final three-I think the Food Network owes them an apology for spilling the favas before the ending. As I said the other day, all of the contestants sold their souls to the Foodie Devil when they signed the dotted line to participate. Even though they didn’t win, they are all still under contract and have to remit part of their earnings for the next two years to the Food Network. (Think American Idol.) Yes, I know it makes sense-they got an immense, to say the least, amount of promotion from the FN, and I’m sure Lisa’s catering line is ringing off the hook, but it still feels icky to me.

Aaron, I’d call you Big Daddy, but we already have one in our city and you do not want to mess with him. Good luck with Big Daddy’s House, I’m sure your mom and wife will watch. Adam, I thought those tong twirls would seal the deal for you. Sorry you lost, but you’re just a puppy. A few days on Lisa’s catering staff would get you up to speed.

Fightin’ Foodies of the SideDish Nation, the curtain is down on this phase of our journey but fear not, another drama (Hi Gina Campisi!) is about to begin on this very web page. We’d love to hear your final thoughts on last night’s Next Food Network Star show. Let it bleed.