Articles for April 20th, 2009

FUQUA-Gate: Lee Fuqua Speaks

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 20th, 2009 6:12pm | filed under Food Fight!, North Texas Wine | 16 Comments »

fightIn case you’ve missed the thread about FUQUA Wines and where his grapes come from,  here’s the link. I just caught up with Lee who has been working 24/7 over the last five days. His head just cleared from a tasting last night that ended with a  smooth-drinking 1925 Haut-Brion.

Me: Lee, why didn’t you just make it easy on all of us and just answer the question?

Lee: I didn’t like the way the guy asked the question.

Me: Yeah, but it looks like you’re being a jerk too by not answering the question. Even I know your grapes come from California. What gives?

Lee: It’s not a secret and it’s not a big deal. All of the grapes are Tempranillo–the Texas grapes are from the high plains and the other fruit is from Santa Barbara, California. I’m a real person and I follow all of the rules. Every wine writer in Dallas knows what I use. I just don’t like the way the guy asked the question. It says on the front page of my web page what kind of grapes I use and it has said that for eight years.

Peace out. Men will be boys.

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Not Kosher: I Washed A Corned Beef Sandwich From Roaster’s New York Deli With A Bagel And Lox

posted by Evan Grant | April 20th, 2009 5:47pm | filed under Delis | 3 Comments »

Used to be my good friend Nancy would occasionally drop goodies off at my house, just because she was a good friend. Then she’d do it because we were neighbors. Now that we are colleagues, everything comes with a price tag. The price for the Puck Bunny leaving a care package in my fridge Sunday afternoon was this: “Well, you are going to blog about it.” Well, here I am, working for my dinner.

Continue reading "Not Kosher: I Washed A Corned Beef Sandwich From Roaster’s New York Deli With A Bagel And Lox"

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Courtney Luscher Of The Grape Passes Level 1 Of The Master Sommelier Exam

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 20th, 2009 5:44pm | filed under Chefs, Foodie People, Texas Sommelier Conference, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 2 Comments »

courtney_loveCourtney Luscher studied hard to pass the first level of the Master Sommelier exam and today she learned that she passed with flying big jammy nose colors. The test is the first tier of  testing conducted by the Court of Master Sommeliers (not to be confused with this court). You know Courtney; she’s married to chef Brian C. Luscher. Together they own and operate The Grape. Congrats. (That’s not really Mrs. L to the left. Oh wait, I mean Mrs. Luscher.)

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More Top Chef News: Casey and Tre Do Dallas

posted by Todd Johnson | April 20th, 2009 5:30pm | filed under Chefs, Events, Food On TV |

2781_1131060604692_1472567709_30309582_119043_nSo, the Top Chef tour came to Dallas yesterday at the West Village starring TC faves and hometown celebs Casey Thompson and Tre Wilcox. I’ll be honest: It was kind of boring. Granted, you have to be highly entertaining to make a cooking demo exciting. And both chefs were working on very little sleep. (Due to storms, they had spent 15 hours stuck in a Houston airport.) But come on. This is Top Chef. My favorite show. I want sizzle. I want pizzazz. I want crying, bitchslaps, and someone threatening to shave someone’s head. What did I get? The following: 1) Casey makes a mean cuttlefish tossed in mint and pea shoots served with blanched English peas and burrata. 2) You can find cuttlefish (which is like a creamy calamari, according to Ms. Thompson) at Thai Oriental Food Store off of Lower Greenville. 3) Casey is a self proclaimed “fireball.” 4) Casey knows how to charm a crowd. Tre needs to speak up. His low voice is hard to hear. 5) Top Chef now sells t-shirts that quote chef Andrew from Top Chef Chicago: “I Have a Culinary Boner.” Charming.

Test Kitchen: Tre Wilcox’s Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Cheese Grits and Chipotle-Tomato Butter Sauce

posted by Todd Johnson | April 20th, 2009 3:50pm | filed under Bacon, Books, Chefs, Recipes, Reviews | 6 Comments »

10_topchefcookbook_lglSo, let me admit upfront: I love cookbooks more than cooking. My library is lousy with them and, though I often entertain the notion of cooking a four-course meal from scratch, I’m more in love with the romance than the reality. In other words, takeout rules in the Johnson household. That’s what makes this new SideDish feature—Test Kitchen—such a delicious challenge. I’ll dust off a local cookbook or published recipe, attempt to prepare it (please note the word “attempt”), and blog the results plus a photo of the finished product. You, dear SideDishers, get to discover which local recipes are winners and losers. I, your foolish amateur chef, get to sharpen my knife skills while documenting my culinary shortcomings for the blogosphere to read. So, see? It’s a win-win. For my inaugural outing, I tackled Top Chef season three contestant and local fave Tre Wilcox (formerly of Abacus) and his episode seven winning bacon-wrapped shrimp with cheese grits and chipotle-tomato butter sauce. It’s from Top Chef: The Cookbook and I have a new respect for sauciers after this back breaker.

Continue reading "Test Kitchen: Tre Wilcox’s Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Cheese Grits and Chipotle-Tomato Butter Sauce"

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Dallas Farmers Market Roundtable Discussion: The Video

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 20th, 2009 2:47pm | filed under Foodie Video, Local/Slow Food | 2 Comments »

Here is a (rough) video, starring Marguerite Robbins of  My Rancher All-Natural Meats, from yesterday’s discussion at The Dallas Farmers Market.

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Test Test

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 20th, 2009 2:35pm | filed under Uncategorized |

China seems to be in the back end of SideDish. One moment please.

Dallas Farmers Market Friends Hosts Roundtable Discussion: Local Chefs And Farmers Share The Love Of Buying Local

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 20th, 2009 12:26pm | filed under Chefs, Events, Food Fight!, Hippie revolutions, Local/Slow Food, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News, Travel, Wine & Spirits | 5 Comments »
<b>Farmers and chefs bond at a "roundtable" discussion at the Dallas Farmers Market</b>.

Farmers and chefs bond at a "roundtable" discussion at the Dallas Farmers Market.

Yesterday afternoon, Dallas Farmers Market Friends hosted the 2nd Annual Chef’s Roundtable to help form a symbiotic relationship between local farmers and small producers and area chefs and restaurants. The meeting was spearheaded by Chad Houser, chef at Parigi, and moderated by Ryan Eason, president of Dallas Farmers Market Friends.

Media turnout for yesterday's discussion.

Media turnout for yesterday's discussion.

The first session was open only to the media, which consisted of Teresa Gubbins and me. TG and I got a front-row seat to an interesting dialog that took place between chefs Graham Dodd (Bolsa), David Uygur (Lola), Scott Gottlich (Bijoux and Second Floor), Jeffrey Hobbs (Suze), and Houser (Parigi) and a group of local produce, dairy farmers, and ranchers that included Doug and Marguerite Robbins (My Rancher), J.T. Lemley (Canton’s most famous Tomato Man), Deborah Rogers (Deborah’s Farmstead Cheese in Fort Worth), Connie and Stuart Veldhuizen (cheese makers from Dublin), and Rocky and Celeste Tassioni (Tassioni Farms).

Marguerite Robbins of My Rancher all-natural meats in Greenville and Chef Chad Hauser from Parigi.

Marguerite Robbins of My Rancher all-natural meats in Greenville and Chef Chad Houser from Parigi.

First you need to know about the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 (HR 875). In my opinion, it is nothing but bureaucratic bad news for small producers in the U.S. food industry. In short: if passed, the federal government, not the state, would force small family farms to pay for additional federal inspections (about $4,000 a visit), require them to increase insurance coverage of their product to $5 million (an additional $5,000 cost), and a host of other labeling requirements. Marguerite Robbins—who “takes care of the cows” while her husband Doug “does all of the selling”—is not happy. “We are small family farms,” she said. “We have to do a good job with our product or we’re out of business. If I have to pay extra to conform to what the government expects out of big business, then the quality of food everywhere will be diminished.”

Case in point: the recent tomato, pistachio, and jalapeno scares. When local farmers sell to big conglomerates, their product is mixed with like products from all over the world. “Hey, they tell us not to drink the water in Mexico when we go there,” said Rocky Tassioni. “But they [U.S. government] have no problem selling tomatoes that have been watered with the same water.”

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Dallas, We Have A Real Pastrami Sandwich: Roaster’s New York Deli & Bagels

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 20th, 2009 10:56am | filed under catering, Chefs, Delis, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News, Reviews, Wine & Spirits | 24 Comments »
Hanging TVs and hanging salami hang with the locals at Roaster's

Hanging TVs and hanging salami hang with the locals at Roaster's.

Yesterday I hit Roaster’s (old Ed’s Deli space at LBJ & Preston) around 1:00p.pm. and the place was jumping. There was still a wait for tables but since we were the only deuce, we were seated quickly. The staff was flying around the room at dizzying speed thrusting jars of home made pickles and metal bowls of cole slaw on the table while they rearranged the condiments and slapped down the plastic (with pictures!) menu. Customers: kids a go-go, old Jewish ladies, young families, middle-aged foodies. I felt like I was dining on a Carnival cruise docked in Nassau.

Delicious cole slaw and pickles are free.

Delicious cole slaw and pickles are free.

Anywhoo, I just wanted to tell you about the pastrami sandwich because it is worth the trip: hot and hand-sliced pastrami it’s packed and piled high. Mine was on toasted rye with melted Swiss and extra Russian dressing. I scooped the cole claw, which was light and slightly sweet, on top. I ate half and thought I would burst. Some serious foodies feel that the pastries and breakfast platters are super expensive but the sandwich ($11.95) was enough for two.

Looks like they’ve shortened their name from Roaster’s  ‘N Toasters to  Roaster’s. I don’t care what they call it– when my mouth was full of pastrami I could have closed my eyes and imagined myself sitting at Carnegie Deli in New York. (Then again, I was highly caffeinated.) Evan Grant will review the lox, bagels, and corned beef later. UPDATE: FYI, they are only open for breakfast and lunch.

The pastrami is way better than my photography

The pastrami is way better than my photography.

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Liza Garza To Appear On Good Morning Texas

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 20th, 2009 9:04am | filed under Food On TV, Foodie People | 2 Comments »

Sorry for the late notice, La Garza is on channel 8 right now.

UPDATE: She has hard news: concentrating on kids camps, has a TV deal in the works, and readying to roll out “a multi-unit franchise concept” she has been working on for seven years.

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