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Around the World in 80 Sips

The W Hotel is hosting a tasty event October 8th featuring wine from Argentina, Australia, California, Chile, France, Greece, Portugal, Spain and more.  80+ wines will be poured for tasting in the W’s Great Room as they partner with Bottlenotes for this spectacular sipping event from 6pm-9pm.  Early bird tickets are available now!

The Beauty of Burrata

I visited Ferrari’s Italian Villa the other night to enjoy dinner with featured Chef, Stefano Secchi and his fantastic parents and Ferrari’s owners, Francesco and Jane.

Stefano had been shopping at Jimmy’s when our paths crossed as I was on the way to enjoy a Saturday ritual of visiting Tom Spicer’s market on Fitzhugh.  That was the day to stop by Jimmy’s, as they had just gotten in a fresh selection of glorious Burrata, arriving fresh from Italy.

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Guessing Games: Chicken Fried Steak From Ranchman’s Café in Ponder Texas

Okay, I win this round. Maybe if I’d given you guys a few more clues (or a freakin’ map), you might have guessed Ranchman’s Café as the restaurant that serves the chicken fried steak pictured below. (Anywhoo, congrats to Shelbyg75 for being commenter #67.)

Ranchman’s Café has been a figure on what remains of the Texas Blackland Prairie around Ponder (east of Denton) since 1948. (Or 14 years after Bonnie and Clyde attempted to rob the Ponder State Bank just down the street.) The spirit of long-time owner and founder Grace “Pete” Jackson lives on under the ownership of Dave Ross who worked as a cook for Pete in the 70s while he attended UNT.

I discovered Ranchman’s in 1970 when I was a freshman at UNT (them NTSU). My friends and I used to rent horses in Denton, ride across the land, and tie our fillies to the railing at the old post office across the street from Ranchman’s. We feasted on hand-cut steaks that Pete chicken-fried in a pan and homemade pie and napped under the big pecan tree down the road.

Fast forward to last Sunday when my mom, her friend Ann, and I drove up for a nostalgic dinner. The place looks the same: the linoleum on the original tables has been worn down to the wood. Instead of pan-fried T-bones, the kitchen tenderizes round steak, dips it in flour, and milk tosses it in a deep fryer. Almost everything on the side is fried: green tomatoes, squash, and most of the vegetables-of-the-day. Ranchman’s Café make Blythe Beck’s naughty food look like spa cuisine. Enough reading, watch the video for a tour of the restaurant and a chicken fried steak cooking demonstration. Reservations: 940-479-2221 (pre-order baked potatoes.)

Guessing Games: Identify This Chicken Fried Steak

You guys aren’t even CLOSE.

Okay, Dishers. Some of you are getting closer to naming the restaurant where this chicken fried steak is served. Currently, the initial post has 56 comments. Remember, the 67th commenter on any post wins a place at the table for a group dinner at The Grape. SO, do you want me to reveal this restaurant now or would you like to try a few more times. (PLEASE don’t run up the score, I can see you from the back end)

I’ll give you another clue: the Great Scott did not have it on his list. We are starting here at 56. Next comment is 57 and so forth. GO.

Al Biernat Looks at Real Estate in the Design District in Dallas

We are moving our offices downtown next Friday which will be a big blow to Al Biernat’s business. (Goodbye Al; hello Stephan Pyles!) And lest you throw at big rock at me for hanging out at Al’s, I, unlike Tim or Eric, am not a regular at Al’s. I go for meetings perhaps three times a year. Al will back me up here.

Anywhoo, I bumped into Al the other day and he told me he was looking at property in the Design District near Shannon Wynne’s new restaurant. The area (think Candy Evans) is HOT, HOT, HOT. “I just went to tour the place,” said Al. “I don’t really have any real plans in mind but I am not closing my eyes to the possibility of doing something down there.”

In case you haven’t heard, Lower Oak Lawn (Design District) is being developed as a destination for local restaurants and businesses only. No Starbuck’s. No Chicago-based steak joints. No chains. The area just west of I-35 and Oak Lawn Avenue is destined to become a cool, neighborhood hangout. I think a Little Al’s would kick sass down there. Is he going to do it? “I really have to think about it,” said Al. “I sat there for two hours and all I saw were Mercedes and Porsches. And Kim Dawson is there so there will be lots of beautiful young people around.” Sounds like a no brainer to me.

Fish Express in Preston Forest is Moving

Hmm, something fishy is going on at Preston Forest Shopping Center. Perhaps there are too many restaurants and not enough customers. (Living up to Tom Colicchio’s assesment of me as a “rumor monger,”  I will whisper that Chic From Barcelona could be next girl out. But that’s just a rumor.) My last count of places to eat at PFSC hovered close to 25. Today Mike Hoque will close Fish Express at Preston Forest and look to reopen at a location near Preston and Northwest Highway. The press release spins:

“With the successful launch of the brand’s second store in Frisco at Warren and Dallas Parkway, owner Mike Hoque saw the potential of being located in a denser destination retail location and decided to pursue a new location in North Dallas. Hoque is looking at locations near Preston and Northwest Highway.”

Whatever. Semantics. The location didn’t work. Denser retail location? How’s West Village working out for you, Lazare?