You Mean Nancy Nichols Doesn’t Make More Than Rachael Ray?!?

Forbes has the lowdown on your favorite celebrity chefs and how much they earned last year. The always perky Rachael “YUM-O” Ray? A nice $18 million followed closely by Wolfgang Puck with $16 million. Surprisingly, queen of cholesterol Paula Deen only pulls in $4.5 million. Still, that’s a lotta of sugah, hon.

Disher Review #3: Bijoux

My inbox is flooded! Love it. Keep it comin’. Just got a longer and equally fabulous review from a diner who noshed at Bijoux. Jump for all the info.

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Disher Review #2: Fearings

This is a short one–but we still love it. A dashing Disher (we’re certain) says:

Some friends and I managed, several weeks ago, to get reservations at Fearing’s last night for the kickoff of RW.  As always, it most definitely did not disapoint.

The menu was limited, of course, but still damn good.  Appetizer was choice of the Caesar salad with the red chili dressing or (of course) the chicken tortilla soup.  For entrees, your choices were the salmon with apricot barbecue sauce, the pork tenderloin, or the chili-braised spare ribs, which is what I had.  Very tender.  Dessert was a fairly forgettable dark chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse.  Throw in a few bottles of great wine, and it made for a very very good evening.

Yogurtland Makes Dallas Debut

Remember when TCBY was the place to go for frozen yogurt? Well, it’s 2008 and there’s a new player in town, appropriately named Yogurtland. With the store’s grand opening this past weekend in Carrollton, Dallasites were finally able to taste what all the fuss is about.

With 16 rotating flavors including pistachio, peach tart and New York cheesecake, all dispensed from wall-mounted machines and priced at a reasonable 30 cents per ounce, Yogurtland puts the power in the hands of its patrons letting them decide just how much is enough. The store offers 33 different fruit and candy toppings, as well as yogurt frappes and smoothies. For the health conscious, there’s ”no sugar added” yogurt, as well as shaved ice for those not in the mood for yogurt. Update: Yogurtland just informed us they no longer offer frappes, smoothies or shaved ice.

The dream of Yogurtland was to take the “kid in a candy shop” concept and maximize it. So does that mean we can revert to our childhood ways of smothering ridiculous amounts of toppings over our frozen yogurt without ever feeling guilty? Sweet.

Tastings Galore

So you aren’t interested in any of the wine tastings going on this month. Well, how about a beer tasting? The Libertine Bar is hosting its monthly beer dinner on August 26 at 7 pm, featuring specialty ales and lagers like El Salvador Pilsner and Unibroue Blanche de Chambly. And to complement the flavors of the featured five, they’ve gone the extra step and paired them with mouth-watering dishes like lobster sliders and mascarpone mushroom ravioli. Lobster sliders? I’d go just to try those. The dinner is $40 and reservations are required.

New Menu Items at Hibiscus Definitely Sound Good for Eating

Chef Garreth Dickey and the crew at Henderson Avenue fave Hibiscus have just launched a new summer/early fall menu. New dishes include a crab and cucumber soup, a burrata and tomato salad, a mushroom salad, a prime beef burger with truffle fries, roasted lobster cornucopia (not sure but we’re certain it’s wonderful), and a bistro-style chicken. Happy eating.

Disher Review #1: The Mansion

Our first Restaurant Week reader review is in! You make us so happy. Follow the jump to hear all the deets about the Disher’s dining experience at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek (hint: she liked it). And please, send more reviews in when you can.

(And apologies for the late-ish post, our internet has been down all morning long).

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Somebody Help This Poor Girl Out

Here’s a tough one. I have a reader who is looking for a good Egyptian restaurant in Dallas. I resisted sending her to The Egyptian Room (Campisi’s) on Mockingbird and, at the risk of sounding like I don’t know my geography, directing her to Queen of Sheba (Ethiopian/Italian). Anybody out there? Speaking of Campisi’s, Gina is polishing up her next “How to Open a Restaurant” blog post. (However, I couldn’t resist the food pyramid.)

Tei An: First Reviews Are In

Two everyday Dishers sent in reviews after dining at Tei An, Teiichi Sakurai’s new spot at One Arts Plaza last night. Different strokes for different folks:

One disappointed diner sez: “I’ll wait 6 months and see if the Screen Door is still open and wait 2 additional months for Tei An.”

While another raves: “Just got back… it’s beautiful, a stunning room. The Soba Bar is one of the coolest setting around - and with a window spanning the back wall, through which the artists creating the fresh buckwheat noodles are visible. It’s a joy to have real soba now in Dallas, We sampled 3 cold soba dipping selections - it’s the real deal. I encourage everyone interested to give these items a try, perhaps we can educate some palates with this classic Japanese delicacy! (it was also great to see Yosuke back behind the bar, and fun to see all the Teppo and Tei-Tei staff and chefs celebrating the opening!)

Keep ‘em coming, y’all. Scooby dooby doo-bee.