D

Chateau Wine Market Closes Store Front

News came in from Chateau Wine Market on Travis.  The store front is now closed in lieu of operating the retail biz out of the temperature controlled cellars in the cozy Bodega Bar.  This comes on the heels of their sister bar, Ari’s, closing.  Hope the best for Amier and crew.

Bodega Bar with Chateau Wine Market operating out of its temperature controlled cellars is only changing cosmetically and not operationally. This is allowing me to focus more on bringing better tastings and value to our loyal customers. Our temperature controlled cellars are set to give you the best wine experience. Cellar Temperature bottles to consume at our relaxing wine lounge at retail. If I had a complaint about chateau wine market is the space was so large it was almost impossible to keep the inventory under 65 degrees.  I never thought the management company would allow us to split this suite otherwise I would have probably split this suite years ago. New Hours of Operation:  Sunday 2pm-10pm; Monday-Wednesday:12pm-12am; Thursday-Saturday: 12pm-1am

The Next Food Network Star Finale: Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Chicken is what our next Food Network Star chose to prepare in last night's ep.

I won’t spoil the surprise for those of you who haven’t seen it. Jump for the winner.

(more…)

Science Project: Making Wine At Vintner’s Cellar In Plano

Fueled by the Lee Fuqua controversy in early May, I decided to make my own wine. I’ve toured hundreds of wineries but I have never gone through the complete processes of constructing a wine. I picked Vintner’s Cellars in Plano for my laboratory and with the help of owner, Larry McDowell, I began the long process of creating my own Viognier out of grape juice from Chile. (Here is my first report. And here is my second.)

Over the last few months, I have returned to Plano to participate in every step. On Friday, I returned for the last time. We siphoned the wine off the lees, tasted it, tweaked it to my specs (I added sugar,and hints of grass and apricot), bottled, and labeled 30 bottles. As I said before, I set out to produce something light, fruity, and sassy. The wine needs to sit until late December. Then we will decide if it is perfect or plonk. Or perfect plonk. (Did you note I said “we”?)

Please understand, this is not a paid advertisement or promotion. This is a venture I sought out on my own. I learned a lot about wine making. Like patience. You must have patience. BTW, I hope my sixth grade teacher, Miss Hyde, at Arthur Kramer Elementary School sees this video. She was always dissappointed in my early science projects. Perhaps she will be around when I pick up my double gold medal.

Cigar Bars In Dallas: They’re Just Nasty

Amy Severson files a report on Richard Chamberlain’s new cigar bar in Addison. Okay, so cigar smokers are people too and they need a place to hang out and smoke cigars and order expensive wines and cognacs. I will not take that away from them. Unless the air they are polluting is attached to a restaurant. I have never met a cigar bar “in” a restaurant that I liked. Okay, Javier’s does a nice job of separating the men and their smoke from the dining room, but the last time I was in Del Frisco’s, I was smoked out. (I think they have since closed the smoking lounge.) Anywhoo, good for you RC, hope it works. If it does, please share your secret with other restaurants. It’s a surefire way to spoil a non-smokers dinner.

The Grape In Dallas: The Best Burger in Texas Now Available Mondays

You all know that other monthly magazine in Austin named the burger at The Grape the Best In Texas. Many of you were not happy to find out that the burger is only available on Sundays (11:30am-10pm). Not so, now you can sample the 10-ounce patty covered with Vermont white cheddar, peppered bacon, and Nathan’s horseradish half-sour pickles and Dijonaise on Mondays (4:30pm-10pm) as well. Anybody tried? Spill it.

Dalmore Scotch Tasting In Dallas

Last Thursday, Rhonda Reinhart and Sarah Evans attended a Delmore scotch tasting at Di Terra’s in Dallas. This is what they remember:

Richard Paterson by Sarah Eveans.

Meet Richard Paterson. He’s a scotch whisky master blender, and he came all the way from Glasgow to present a Dalmore scotch tasting Thursday night at Di Terra’s on Lower Greenville. I was there, and I was scared. See, I don’t drink scotch—or any brown liquor, really. So when Paterson started his speech by declaring that “Scotch whisky is not for p*****s,” I was frightened but also, oddly, delighted. I mean, he said “p*****s,” for crying out loud. I liked him already. Plus, what if I ended up loving the scotch? Then clearly I would be a badass and not a p-word, and that would make me very happy. But then we tasted the first selection. And, well, let’s just say things were not looking good for my badass-ness.

After a lesson on the proper process for scotch drinking—hold the glass at the bottom, swirl, smell, pour in water, hold in mouth, swallow—we tried a 12-year-old single malt that lingered in the throat and mouth long after the sip was swallowed. And I don’t mean that in a good way. The scotch was so strong and so burn-y, and I was obviously a p-word. Paterson said the top note was citrus. I couldn’t tell. I was too busy letting the Evian wash it all away.

Upset but undeterred, I pressed forward with scotch No. 2. This one, called Gran Reserva, was stronger. Great, right? I couldn’t even handle the first one. Sadly, the same thing happened. So, at this point, I’m thinking fine, whatever, maybe I’m not a scotch drinker. I could deal. (more…)

Someone Help This Poor Girl: Vegan Lunch In Plano

Nancy received this SOS late last night:

My friend Stacey has a friend from college coming to Plano this week on business for a short stay.  Although we are both close to being vegetarians, we are lost on this one.  My first suggestion was Dallas, but when I found out she only had time for lunch…I was lost!

IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE???  Please Help!!!

Dotty Griffith: Get Well Soon

Former DMN dining critic, Dotty Griffith who now lives in Austin, had hip replacement surgery yesterday. She will be in the hospital until Thursday. If you’d like to leave her a note, please do so below. if you live in Austin and would like to volunteer a meal or a bottle off wine, drop me an e-mail and I’ll give you details.

Picking Grapes At Kiepersol Winery In Bullard, Texas

See those grapes to the left? Today, they will be mine. Our staff photographer, Elizabeth “Spider Monkey” Lavin and I are out in East Texas doing a feature on Kiepersol Winery. It’s harvest time and today, while Spider Monkey is taking pictures, I will be harvesting grapes. Twitter reports (DSideDish) to follow.

Jimmy’s Food Store: It’s Time To Pre-Order Burrata

You have until Thursday (August 6) at 3:00 p.m. to pre-order burrata ($8.99 each), Crescenza Stracchino ($6.99 each), Robiola ($4.99) each, and caprino ($3.99 each) from Jimmy’s Food Store. Email Paul at paul@jimmysfoodstore.com and he will email you when it arrives. Better yet, hit the store and look for red dots on the wine bottles—they’re all 30% off.