Articles for May 12th, 2010

GO TEXAN WineCast – A Reason To Head To Grapevine!

posted by Hayley Hamilton | May 12th, 2010 2:46pm | filed under Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits |

The Texas Department of Agriculture continues with their production of videos about our Texas wine trails.  This week they go to Grapevine to explore the trail just to the north of Dallas. 

GO TEXAN WineCast: Grapevine
This week’s episode features the Grapevine Wine Trail located just north of Dallas/Ft. Worth in Grapevine, Texas. The trail is made up of nine wineries and hosts themed events such as the Hallo-wine Trail and the Valentine Wine Trail. With most of the wineries in historic Downtown Grapevine, this wine trail is almost entirely walkable. 

Central Market Readies for Passport Argentina

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 12th, 2010 12:25pm | filed under AgriBusiness, Cooking, Ethnic Food, Events, Grilling, Groceries, Hippie revolutions | 2 Comments »

Shop at Central Market.

Central Market kicks off their celebration, Passport Argentina, today with a ribbon cutting today with the Ambassador of Argentina to the U.S. at the Dallas store around 5:00 p.m.  For the next two weeks, all Central Market stores will hold an impressive array of events, tastings, cooking classes, wine specials, and talks and demonstrations with some of the greatest food talents from Argentina.

All of the festivities are listed here. Highlights include a wine dinner tomorrow night (Thursday, May 13, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.) with winemaker Laura Catena Mendoza (Only a few seats left. HURRY) and an outdoor grilling class with celebrity chef and restaurateur Francis Mallmann (Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way). There are in-store demonstrations and cooking classes for popular foods of Argentina such as empanadas, torta frita, pionono, and grilled meats. It’s all happening all of the time from May 12-25 at all Central Market stores. Eat. Drink. Report. Deets below. Continue reading "Central Market Readies for Passport Argentina"

2 Comments »

Reader Review: Al’s Steak and Salad Bar in Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 12th, 2010 11:05am | filed under Restaurant News, Reviews | 32 Comments »

I’ve been to Al’s Steak and Salad Bar in Preston Royal a couple of times. It’s not the best restaurant in the world or the worst—both times I’ve had a nice meal. However, a “woman in the restaurant business” with two small kids files this report.

I just had the worst experience ever at a restaurant, and I consider myself pretty tolerant after being in the restaurant business for many years. I arrived at Al’s Steak and Salad on Royal Lane, recently written up nicely in D Magazine, (with an 18-month-old and a 3- year-old) just me…for a nice 12-ounce steak at 5:30 before the “rush.” We were the ONLY people in the entire restaurant. They kept us waiting for 50 minutes to deliver me a well done steak (ordered medium). I sent it back. Redelivered a new one, after my little ones had already consumed all the French fries, and were on the verge of a melt down after now sitting for an hour. New one was delivered RAW. Kids are ready to go and I am frustrated and angry that no one has eaten anything other than French fries. I told them to wrap it up and that I would take it home and microwave it later. Waitress said she would take it off bill. I got the bill (10 minutes and an argument later with the owner) and it still had the steak on it. He said “well, you are taking the steak with you!” I said, then keep the steak. If I wanted my kids to only eat French fries, I would have taken them to McDonald’s. As a result, he took the steak off, but charged me a trip to the salad bar ($10.00) and the fries ($6.00). The salad bar is usually included with the meal at no additional charge. So I left a 10.00 tip and left after nearly 80 minutes in this small little neighborhood restaurant.

Single women and small kids? Hmm. Think this was the problem or just a case of wrong place wrong time?  Anybody out there with similar or opposite experiences?

32 Comments »