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French Room Chef: Marcus Strietzel

From the PR peeps:

It is official (unofficially no announcement from the camp has been made but not a secret either) As you can tell just a bit proud and wanted to let you know that the new Executive Chef of The Adolphus has been named it is The former Exec. Banquet Chef Marcus Strietzel.  Chef Strietzel has been with the hotel since 1999 and has worked under and next to some of those chef’s that made The French Room what it has become today. (William Koval & Jason Weaver)  The local Dallas boy is not new to the dallas scene, born & raised in Plano is certainly in touch with the local competition and tradition of the hotel and the French room.

UPDATE: Headline should read: Adolphus Hotel Chef.

TV With Laura: The Naughty Kitchen, Episode 1

Hello. My name is Laura. You might know me from my Bachelor/Bachelorette write-ups. Perhaps not. Let me start by letting you guys know that I don’t pretend to know anything about cooking or food. For that stuff, you’ll have to look to our experts. Proper reviews are here and here.

But here’s what I do know: reality television. And you know how I knew that Ms. Beck wasn’t going to come out a winner here? The program airs on Oxygen, a channel that specializes in making women look, um.., less than great. America’s Next Top Model, Bad Girl’s Club, and Snapped–a fun 30-minute program that has but one plot: women go nuts and kill people—run almost non-stop on this channel. It makes little difference that The Naughty Kitchen apparently has the same producers as Ace of Cakes because those very producers have thrown out virtually every good thing about the relatively chill Ace. Naughty is too long (an hour), too frenetic (How many times do they need to cut away to a shot of a cocktail? We get it! Central 214 has a bar, too!), and too contrived (Fascinating that everyone in town, including Beck’s hairstylist, has intel that The Dallas Morning News has done a review before it’s even come out!) Let’s jump for more analysis.

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Re: Greek Food Festival in Dallas Starts on Friday

Once again, SideDishers have proved to be a tough—and, dare I say, slightly over-critical—crowd. I read the comments about the Greek Food Festival. I mean, it’s not like Holy Trinity is a restaurant, people! It’s a church! The food and pastry is made by volunteers who toil away for weeks in preparation for this, the biggest church fundraiser of the year. I suggest that you try to feed thousands of people at a time, and see how well you do. IJS. The festival is meant to be a celebration of Greek culture and food–not the most amazing culinary experience of your life. Is the fenekia as good as my my nouna’s? No. Is the baklava as good as mine? Of course not. (Then again, neither my nouna nor I has attempted to make thousands of pastries. I bet even ours would suffer in those kinds of quantities.) But will you have a good time–either on a date, with friends, or with your kids? Most certainly. Perhaps your “reviews” are best reserved for a real dining establishment.

P.S. Yes, I’ve been known to attend Holy Trinity from time to time. But I’m not coming to the defense of my people for personal reasons. I’m defending the hundreds of volunteers who are just trying to serve their community and do a good thing for the church. How can you find fault with that?

Restaurant Review: Cadot Restaurant in Dallas

Trout topped with langoustine. See that delicate pink turnip on the green beans? Make sure you try them.

Other than the dessert soufflés, there is a lot to like about Cadot. Long-time Dallas chefs Gaspar Stantic and Jean-Marie Cadot are turning out some nice French-influenced dishes. Click here to read my full review of Cadot.

(photo by Kevin Hunter Marple)

Wine Dinner (And Stuff and Such and Beyond) Wednesday

I apologize for the blatant copy and paste of information below, but I had an emergency surgery on my eye yesterday for a torn retina and I only have a day or two to suck sympathy out of you and my co-workers. PLUS, I have to get ready for this afternoon’s SideDish CheeseHead’s CELEBRATION OF  TEXAS CHEESE AND WINE EVENT at Celebration. The weather is going to be fabulous and we’ll be out on the patio. I’ll be the one with the cheesehead hat and the black eye patch!

Back to business:

Maquire’s. Has a new “Chef’s Seasonal Tasting Menu.” Three courses for $30; four courses for $37. Upgrade to wine pairing is $40 or $49. Details below. 972.818.0068

TJ’s Seafood. They don’t want you to get bored with seafood so they have new recipes, ideas, and sauces and marinades.  Fish Taco Sauce – so many of you have come in making fish tacos we decided to get a great fish taco sauce.  Fish Tacos are a fun (and kid friendly) way to get the family eating healthy fish. Tilapia is great and cost effective. Honey & Jalapeno Grill Glaze – perfect on salmon, swordfish, sea bass or anything else on the grill. If you can’t stand the heat, get away from the grill….this one is a little spicy! Japanese-Style House Marinade – if you like the Citrus Wasabi & Honey Ginger House Marinades, you’ll love this one. Lots of soy, sesame oil, ginger and cilantro.  Justs marinate shrimp, scallops and tuna for 20-30 min before grill or saute.

Cibus Ristorante. Has Bocce in the Park brought to you by NorthPark Center and The Italian Club of Dallas. Sunday, September 27th from noon to 4pm in CenterPark at NorthPark. Join us for a fun-filled afternoon for the entire family. Learn to play Bocce Ball if you never have or join the pros from the Italian Club for a lively game. Cibus will be grilling in the garden as well as offering selections from their regular menu plus refreshing cocktails and specialty coffee drinks. 214-692-0001.

Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen. Will host first beer dinner with Rahr & Sons Brewery.
Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen will debut its first ever beer dinner hosted by world-renowned Rahr & Sons Brewery, Fort Worth’s German award-winning brewery. Melissa “Mel” Simmons, Rahr & Sons Brewery Representative, will introduce their most famous beers accompanied with Rathbun’s extraordinary plates. For the first time at Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, guests will experience their very own “Oktoberfest” tradition in their seats. The dinner menu and beer pairings detailed below. Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

The 500, Inc.’s WineFest 2009. The 500, Inc. announces the spectacular 7th Annual WineFest featuring an exciting selection of wine and delicious cuisine from over 20 of the area’s top eateries, a large silent auction, live music and the pleasurable company of friends and family in the hundreds. WineFest 2009 will be held on Saturday, October 24 from 6:30pm – 10pm at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison.  Advance tickets are $35 per person before October 23 and may be purchased online at www.winefest500.com.  Tickets at the door cost $40.  Proceeds of the event benefit the beneficiaries of The 500, Inc., a volunteer organization that has donated over $12 million to more than 35 local arts organizations over the past 40 years.  For more information about The 500, Inc., call 214.565.0200 or visit www.the500inc.org. Details below. (more…)

TV With Laura: The Naughty Kitchen With Blythe Beck

Laura Kostelny, the managing editor of D Home, is a reality TV junkie. She likes to write about reality TV. Laura is going to file her assessment of last night’s episode of The Naughty Kitchen with Blythe Beck soon. I watched the last fifteen minutes and I know Laura very well. Stay tuned, I think we’ll have a lot to talk about.

Fight Cancer While Eating Great Food at BubblyQ

Join the Young Texans Against Cancer this Thursday night for BubblyQ, a fun event hosted by reality-star-to-be chef Blythe Beck and chef Dean Fearing. The party is at Eddie Dean’s Ranch, and food from restaurants like Bijoux, Charlie Palmer, Nobu, Hibiscus, and many more, will be served. Local country singer Owen Temple and DJ’s Jennifer Miller and Jeff Mitchell will perform. The cost? $60 for members, $75 for non-members. Jump for all the info.

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