Articles for September 16th, 2009

Ruth Reichl Book Signing at Williams Sonoma Northpark in Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | September 16th, 2009 5:29pm | filed under AgriBusiness, Awards, Celebrity Chefs, Cheese, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, Twitter | 2 Comments »

Hey Ruth, I’ll come to your Gourmet Today book signing at Williams Sonoma in Northpark on Wednesday, September 23 at 3:00 p.m. if you will come to SideDish’s Celebration of Texas Wine and Cheese from 5:00 to 7:00pm the same day. You will get to meet fellow author Paula Lambert of the award-winning Mozzarella Company and the folks from Latte Da and Lucky Layla. All three local cheese makers just picked up multiple awards at the 25th Annual American Cheese Society Competition. You will also get to sample some fine red wine from Kiepersol Estates in East Texas. It’s all happening at Celebration Restaurant on West Lovers in Dallas. Have your handlers arrange it. Gourmet magazine needs to taste this cheese and drink this wine. ( I Twittered this post to Reichl.)

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Bailey’s Prime Plus Opened Last Night. Leslie Brenner is First Customer in the Door.

posted by Nancy Nichols | September 16th, 2009 5:09pm | filed under April Fools, Celebrity Diners, Cheap trick for comments, Restaurant News, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, Skinny bitches, Steakhouses | 16 Comments »

Ms.potatoContinuing her search for world-class dining in Dallas, DMN dining critic Leslie “Catch a Falling Star” Brenner (finally) found a baked potato at a local steak restaurant. After visiting the Cedar Hill location of Bailey’s Prime, La Brenner was more than disappointed to find only baked sweet potatoes on the menu. Owner Ed Bailey obviously paid attention to Brenner—last night the new Bailey’s Prime Plus on Park Lane near Northpark made its debut and right there on the menu was a big ‘ol baker with all of the trimmings. “Leslie was the first one through the door,” said Misty, a made up name for a hostess at Bailey’s. “She demanded a center booth, a baked potato, and a map of the world.” Extra! Extra! Read all about it.

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Save the Date: 26th Annual Beaujolais Wine Festival in Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | September 16th, 2009 2:25pm | filed under Events, Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits | 2 Comments »
Kristen Blair, Miss Texas (America).
Kristen Blair, Miss Texas (America).

This event is always crowded and full of overly hyped wine, but lots of people love to toast the release of  Beaujolais Nouveau. This year’s fete is November 20th at the InterContinental Dallas. The theme? Bordeaux Meets Texas. Translation: Texas wines will also be served.

AND, as the press release says, “Miss Texas 2009 will be on hand for autographs and photo opportunities. Other highlights include a fashion show by Texas Top Designers, jugglers, mimes, dancing, a silent auction, and more.” (Guess her name isn’t important.)

Tickets are $55 per person; and parties of 4 or more are $50 each. Tickets at the door are $60 each. Call 972-241-0111 to order tickets or register online.

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Federal Government Wants You to Lose Weight and They Want to Control Your Calorie Intake

posted by Nancy Nichols | September 16th, 2009 11:44am | filed under AgriBusiness, Rants, Restaurant News | 30 Comments »

How many of you are aware of Bill 2726, a federal act aimed at chain restaurants with “at least 20” outlets to post calorie facts in plain view on their menus? If they don’t they get fined up to $1,000 per offense. The bill has already passed in California and Oregon and is currently before Congress.
Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Dallas-based Romano’s Macaroni Grill CEO Brad Blum is trying to get ahead of the game by reworking the calorie content of the chain’s food. Last January their 1,630-calorie dessert ravioli was rated “worst dessert in America” by Men’s Health magazine. The call out has nothing to do with how the dessert tastes, just that it has so many calories.
So, what does this all mean to you dear Dishers? It means you get to share your opinion on whether or not this is a good thing. Is it fair that the chain restaurants have to cut calories while the independents don’t? In the WSJ article one Chicago restaurant consult blames the downward trend in casual dining sales on consumers who choose to eat healthier food at home. Ah, I don’t agree with that. What is to keep people from ordering two?

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Hot Dogs in Dallas: Costco in Plano

posted by Nancy Nichols | September 16th, 2009 9:25am | filed under AgriBusiness, cheap eats, Reviews, Sandwiches | 9 Comments »

costco1This will be my last hot dog report for a while—my stomach is still recovering from Sunday. After I visited Double Dip Frozen Custard in Frisco, I headed over to Costco to try their dog. I thought Costco sold Sabrett or Hebrew National in their concession stand, but when I got there I was not too surprised to find Kirkland products on the menu. (Hebrew National dogs are available in the refrigerated meats section.) Short story: the all-beef Kirkland dogs are cooked in a shallow pan of hot water and any flavor the “meat” might had ever had has been boiled away. They present a nice beef-to-steamed-bun ratio—almost an inch of  the wiener hang from each end. They are cheap: two dogs and refillable drinks were $3.25! And they offer freshly diced onions, but I’ll eat before I go again. Oh wait, I did that last time. Maybe that is why I’ve been sipping Sprite and eating Wheat Thins for two days. Moving on.

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Howard Schultz is Headed to Starbucks in Highland Park Village

posted by Nancy Nichols | September 16th, 2009 9:15am | filed under AgriBusiness, Beverages, Coffee, Food Crime, Skinny bitches | 6 Comments »

An over-caffeinated Disher just called from her iPhone to report that all of the baristas and employees of Starbucks in HPV are readying for their close up with Starbuck’s chairman and CEO, Howard Schultz. “Oh my god,” she exclaimed. “The place is buzzing. They have the back area roped off and tables are set with manila folders and food samples.” So, there you have it. CEO groupies, you have been informed.

UPDATE: Apparently Mr. Schultz is escorting his board of directors, including Bill Bradley (Go, early 70s’ Knicks!), around Dallas.

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