Articles for June 24th, 2010

Top Chef D.C. Episode 2 Recap

posted by Kellyn Curtis | June 24th, 2010 3:36pm | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Food On TV | 9 Comments »

Our girl Tiffany finishes strong this week.

It seems that things are finally starting to heat up on Top Chef D.C. Last night’s episode featured Siamese chefs and drunk middle school kids. Now that’s what I call reality TV! Jump for the recap.

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Civic Tap Room to Open in Bluffview

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 24th, 2010 12:32pm | filed under beer, Restaurant News | 7 Comments »

If I could still grip my 3-iron, it would be possible to hit the soon-to-open Civic Tap Room with a screaming hook shot through a bazillion live oaks. Eric Nicholson, over at People Newspapers, has the story on the new brew pub and beer boutique dedicated to Texas beers. Nick Griffin, a PGA golfer who also teaches at L.B. Houston Golf Course,  is set to open Civic Tap in September. Beer is the new wine/cupcake/slider.

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Wimbledon Tennis Update: John Isner Wins Epic Match

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 24th, 2010 10:51am | filed under Procrastination is part of the creative process, Silly Reasons to Celebrate | 8 Comments »

John Isner has won! (70-68 in 5th set) The 25-year old American just completed an epic tennis match at Wimbledon. Longest tennis match in history. Sorry, Nicolas Mahut. Five match points. (11 hours and five minutes!) Crazy good stuff! Umpire admits he didn’t pee for 7 hours and 25 minutes. He is getting an award. Seriously.

Isner: “It stinks someone has to lose.”

Mahut: “At this moment it is really painful, the crowd is completely fantastic and John served unbelievable. We just played the greatest match ever.”

Both served over 100 aces.  Mahut had to serve 65 times to keep serve. BBC reporter says, “Mahut looks gutted.” Love BBC.

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Update: The Mysterious Disappearance of Jose ‘Pepe’ Ayala, Manager of Javier’s in Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 24th, 2010 9:58am | filed under Foodie People, Restaurant News | 7 Comments »

Illustration by Richard Mia.

Jose “Pepe” Ayala, the popular manager of Javier’s in Dallas disappeared on April 20, 2010. I didn’t know about it until May 3rd when I read this post on The Advocate.

I relayed the information to SideDish readers.  After a week or so, I started searching news outlets for  updates. I found nothing except a post on the Dallas Morning News’ Crime Blog. No investigative story; no notice of a reward for information concerning Jose “Pepe” Ayala’s disappearance anywhere.

The whole situation didn’t make sense. I sat down with my editor Tim Rogers. Together we did a cursory search for Ayala on Public Data and found Ayala had been arrested eight times for driving while intoxicated. The last arrest was Friday morning, April 16. Ayala was reported missing on April 20. We called Thomas Korosec to investigate. His story is in the July issue of D Magazine.

When news broke in early May that Jose “Pepe” Ayala had vanished, something didn’t add up. The beloved general manager of Javier’s Gourmet Mexicano had been missing since April 20, when he didn’t show up for work, the first such absence in his 30 years at the Knox-Henderson restaurant.

His daughter, Carmen Ayala-Heritage, told NBC Channel 5 she was so worried that she couldn’t eat or sleep. Her 56-year-old father had dropped out of sight, leaving behind his diabetes medicine, his car keys, and his passport. His bank account hadn’t been touched, she said.

The rest is here.

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Mockingbird Station Market in Dallas is Today

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 24th, 2010 9:19am | filed under cookies, Farmers Markets, Groceries, Hippie revolutions, Local/Slow Food |

This evening from 4:00 to 7:00pm show up at Mockingbird Station for their weekly market. Here are just a few of the products available today. The press release says:

Granola, fresh blueberries, pastured meats, eggs and cheese. Try Grapevine Grains’ signature granolas on your ice cream — refreshingly natural on these 100-degree days.  Or top of your ice cream with Berry Best Farm’s certified organic blueberries. And when you come by check out the pastured beef and pork from Truth Hill Farms, cheeses from Full Quiver Farms and some fresh Gulf seafood from the Texas coast courtesy of the Shrimp Stop (untainted by the oil spill), Stephanie’s Premium Bakery (cookies), Wackym’s Kitchen (cookies), WeMe Breads (crusty breads, ranch dressing “to die for”), Texas Honeybee Guild (guess!) and Luscombe Farms (jalapeno jelly). For more information on the vendors.

Maker’s Mark Bourbon Tasting at Fearing’s in Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 24th, 2010 9:05am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Events, Restaurant News |

Andrew Chalk attended a “food and booze” event at Fearing’s last night. It wasn’t a hard sell to get him there. He files this report:

Here’s a “True or False” pop quiz:

1)        Bourbon can only come from Kentucky?

2)       Chef Dean Fearing is a native Texan?

If you guessed false on both, you are correct. Yes, most bourbon comes from the Bluegrass State but some is made elsewhere. And yes, Dean Fearing was also “made” in Kentucky. Well, he’s from there. (And he admits to concealing his first shots of Maker’s Mark Bourbon in eggnog.)

Those are just two–okay three– of the interesting facts revealed at Maker’s Mark’s global unveiling of their first new product, Maker’s 46. It is an indication of the importance of the Texas market that the company chose to announce the product here, rather than in Kentucky. And what better spot than Fearing’s at The Ritz Carlton with a Kentucky-born chef. All of Fearing’s food—from salmon to pulled pork—was made with Maker’s 46.

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