Articles for July 7th, 2010

Twin Peaks Owner and Bolsa Partners Join Forces on Whiskey Cake Restaurant in Plano

posted by Jason Heid | July 7th, 2010 3:03pm | filed under Uncategorized | 24 Comments »

“Breastaurant” owner Randy DeWitt has apparently settled on a name for his newest concept, which he expects to open in late October or November. The brains behind Twin Peaks and the Ranch at Las Colinas (as well as formerly of Rockfish and Half Shells Oyster Bar) wants to create “a slice of Henderson Avenue in Plano.” To do that he’s reached out to the toast of Davis Street, some of the guys behind Bolsa.

(UPDATE: Commenters have wondered, and so I clarify: It’s Royce Ring and Alex Urrunaga of Plan B who are involved with the new concept — which will be absolutely nothing like Twin Peaks. Chris Zielke and Christopher Jeffers are not involved.)

The plan is for a chef-driven (though they’re still looking for a head chef), locally-sourced, decidedly non-chain stop where Collin County couples can head for a great date night without having to drive all the way into the center of Dallas. They’re taking over the spot where Plano Tavern (closed when its parent company, Bennigan’s, went under) was, right off the Dallas North Tollway at Parker Road.

A lot of design work continues, but they’ve recently settled on a name, which DeWitt says their focus groups embraced: Whiskey Cake.

“It’s counterintuitive,” DeWitt says of the name. “It doesn’t seem like a restaurant. Whiskey Cake — what is that? But it seems to resonate.”

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A Visit with David Adelsheim

posted by Hayley Hamilton | July 7th, 2010 2:18pm | filed under Wine & Spirits | 1 Comment »

 A few weeks ago I has the opportunity to visit with one of Oregon’s first, and some would say best, winery founders, David Adelsheim.  David was in town for a special dinner with his club members the evening before, and stuck around to visit with me the next morning. 

Upon first impression I knew I would like David.  He has an immediately recognizable passion for the industry, and a nonchalant approach for creating his high quality wine.
Continue reading "A Visit with David Adelsheim"

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Stephan Pyles Talks About Molecular Gastronomy at Fuego in Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | July 7th, 2010 12:34pm | filed under Andrew Chalk, Celebrity Chefs, Celebrity Diners, Crazy Technology, Foodie Video, Restaurant News, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 31 Comments »
Stephan Pyles reinvents the wheel. Well, he introduces molecular gastronomy to Dallas. Same difference.

On August 5, Stephan Pyles will debut Fuego, a 4-seat “restaurant” in front of the wood-burning oven inside his restaurant Stephan Pyles. Fuego will feature a 7-10 course tasting menu that will include many items created with molecular gastronomy techniques along with other dishes (foie gras!) finished off or seared in the oven. Fuego will offer two seatings (6:30 and 9:00) on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Cost is $125.00 for food. Wine pairing is an additional $75.00. It’s no surprise that Fuego is almost totally booked for August.

Yesterday, Andrew Chalk and I visited with Pyles and his execuchef Matt McCallister and checked out their new kitchen laboratory. They took us through a series of demonstrations on   “cooking” with emulsion blenders, liquid nitrogen, and reverse spherification. Hungry? I suggest you throw some popcorn into the sous vide thermal circulator and get ready to watch the future of cooking in Dallas. Well, part of Dallas. Below you will find some fascinating videos.

There is a revolution sweeping the world of cuisine. It is called molecular gastronomy and consists of a bit of science, a bit of technique, and a bit of ingredient selection. Many of its practitioners don’t label themselves with the term but nonetheless hew to the principles. Globally, the restaurant voted the best in the world by the professional tome Restaurant Magazine three years running, El Bulli, is run by the high priest of this school of cuisine, Ferran Adria, and he is considered the ne plus ultra of three-star Michelin chefs.

(Liquid nitrogen mojitos below. OMG.) Continue reading "Stephan Pyles Talks About Molecular Gastronomy at Fuego in Dallas"

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