Articles for January, 2011
Dakota’s in Downtown Dallas is About to Get Groovy
Lincoln Properties has always been the force behind Dakota’s, the subterranean restaurant on Akard. They still are but they’ve hired NL Group, a restaurant management group run by Tim McEneny to poof up the place. You know Tim. He’s given us such hot spots as Dragonfly, Obar, Lift Lounge, and Dish. Now, he’s going to wave a magic wand over Dakota’s and make it sing.
“We are going to do some unique things to the space,” says McEneny. “The outdoor patio with the waterfall will be enhanced with a tent and live music.” They also plan to create a private dining space and reconfigure some of the indoor seating. The menu will be simplified by chef Doug Brown. There will still be steaks but other items will be updated and the two-page list of options reduced to one. “We aren’t going to close the restaurant for construction,” says McEneny. “But you will see changes by April 1.”
The biggest change will come in the bar. Happy hour will feature sexy cocktails and a sophisticated wine-by-the glass program. And there will be music. And wonderful roses. Good news for downtowners.
TDA Holds First “Texas Twitter Tuesday” About Texas Wine This Week
Would you like to join a “conversation”about Texas wines? Get your Twitter on tomorrow when the Texas Department of Agriculture hosts the first Texas Twitter Tuesday. Here’s all the press release news that is fit to print.
2 Comments »LEARN ABOUT TEXAS WINES 140 CHARACTERS AT A TIME
BY JOINING TEXAS TWITTER TUESDAY
AUSTIN, Texas – Jan. 20, 2011 – Wine lovers around the world who want to know more about Texas wines, promising varietals, Texas terroir, the growth of the industry and other GO TEXAN topics can now chat virtually with experts and other Texas wine enthusiasts on “Texas Twitter Tuesday.”
You will have to jump for MORE.
Continue reading "TDA Holds First “Texas Twitter Tuesday” About Texas Wine This Week"
What I’m Drinking Now: Cointreau with Ambassador Richard Lambert
Brand Ambassador that is. Cointreau Brand Ambassador Richard Lambert was in town last week from France meeting with a group of Dallas bartenders and mixologists about super premium Cointreau liqueur. I had a chance to sit down with him for a few minutes, and even better, toast with him, which being that he is a charming Frenchmen, was very fun.
Before toasting we visited about the brand and what makes Cointreau such a special orange liqueur. I have used Cointreau before, mainly as a margarita ingredient, but little did I know that Cointreau is one of the oldest and finest, still family operated fruit liqueurs in the world.
Continue reading "What I’m Drinking Now: Cointreau with Ambassador Richard Lambert"
4 Comments »Special Report: Steven Doyle’s Dallas Vegan Tour 2011
Luxury coach for Vegan Tour 2011.
I wondered if I should eat a large breakfast in advance of Saturday’s 2011 Dallas Vegan Tour (organized by Steven Doyle). After all, just how far through the day can a piece of lettuce and a few shreds of carrot take you? After finishing a stonking good vegan chili (Va-Va-Vegan Chili, $4.95) at our first stop which was the Anvil Pub, the question became inverted: How would I get through the day if each of our half-dozen planned stops served this much food? Beans, onions and Smart Ground substituted for the meat. I never tasted the difference.
Continue reading "Special Report: Steven Doyle’s Dallas Vegan Tour 2011"
6 Comments »Tom Spicer’s Garden at F.M. 1410 is Safe for Now
I just heard from Tom Spicer. Friday he sent out a note to let his customers know that his garden was going to become a parking lot. The concrete contractors showed up to measure and Tom was hopping mad to find out he was losing his living by a third party. Hark! It turns out that the concrete company possibly measured the wrong address. Spicer’s landlord, Jack Kemp, assures him it was a mistake. Here’s Tom:
Mr. Kemp is on the record (recent voice mails) as saying it was a mistake or that it was for some other purpose/property or the concrete company got the wrong address.
So, the crises is solved and it’s business as usual at Spicer’s FM1410.
Special Report: Remembering Mama Ida Papert
TRUE FRIEND: Ida Papert has shopped at and supported the Dallas Farmers Market since the ’50s. photography by Elizabeth Lavin
Chad Houser, chef at Parigi, is the president of Dallas Farmers Market Friends, the organization founded by Ida Papert. He asked his good friend Randy Potts to write a short piece about Mama Ida. “I didn’t really choose Ida, or intend to write a piece like this,” says Potts. “Houser asked me to write a couple paragraphs on her for the Friends but I pretty much fell in love with her in the process and wrote this as a sort of tribute, not really knowing if I’d ever do anything with it.”
So far only tentative plans for public services have been announced: They will be held at Temple Emanu-El on Monday, January 31st at 2 pm, but please confirm that time tomorrow morning here on SideDish or in the DMN.
Update: According to Mama Ida’s good friend Marsha Singer, the correct time for the service is 12:30 PM tomorrow.
Below is a tribute written by Randy Potts.
“Mama” Ida and the Friends of the Farmers Market: The Story of Dallas’ Favorite Locavore
Not every farmers market has a local matriarch, but the Dallas Farmers Market does, and her name is Ida Papert. Walking through the market on a Saturday morning, “Mama” Ida is greeted like royalty, hugged at almost every stall, her money often refused. She carries a bag around with her that says “Ida’s Gotta Have,” and this bag is full from the beginning of her shopping to the end. Her bag begins the shopping day filled with preserves she’s made from produce she bought at the market, and as she goes around distributing her little jars at each stall she is given something in return – tomatoes and spinach from Mr. Lemley, fresh eggs from Paul the Sweet Roasted Corn Man. On this particular Saturday, “Mama” Ida has made Red Pepper jelly, and sent me home with a jar as well.
Continue reading "Special Report: Remembering Mama Ida Papert"
Ida Papert Founder of Dallas Farmers Market Friends is Dead
Mama Ida and the winning team of Joshua Webster, Elvin Westbrook, Charles Miller, and Aaron Cessac at the Third Annual Mama Ida's Ice Cream Social in 2008.
I am so sad to report that Ida Papert passed away last night. Mama Ida has been a driving force behind the Dallas Farmers Market since the mid-50s. Her tireless efforts to make the Farmers Market a vibrant force in downtown Dallas are well-known among foodies, farmers, and bureaucrats alike. In 1991, she formed the Dallas Farmers Market Friends, an advocacy group that boasts more than 400 members, and, in 1993, she joined forces with the American Institute of Wine and Food to start cooking classes in the Market’s Shed No. 2.
Each summer the Dallas Farmers Market Friends hosts the Mama Ida’s Ice Cream Social. Local culinary students and kids from the Dallas County Youth Village are given local ingredients and a chance to compete for a cash prize. She was a tireless fighter for farmers and local ingredients. Personally, I can not imagine a world without Mama Ida. She was a dear friend and the most loving, giving person I’ve ever know.
Mama Ida, we will miss you. I think we should organize a effort to name one of the sheds after Mama Ida.
8 Comments »Veldhuizen Farms Unveils New Web Site Design
One of the best cheeses in Texas is made at Veldhuizen Farms. Bosque Blue is a Stilton-like blue cheese from Veldhuizen’s herds in Dublin Texas (the same town that gave birth to Dr. Pepper!).
With that in mind we are happy to pass along the latest news from Veldhuizen Farms:
3 Comments »We pleased to announce the launch of our new & improved website!
If our website were a cheddar, we’d say it’s SHARP!
See for yourself here. Enjoy this accomplishment with us by taking 15% off your next purchase of cheese! Use coupon code NEWWEB online, or print off this email and bring it in to the shop. Limit 1 redemption per customer. Valid on cheese purchases only, up to 8 total pounds. Whole wheels excluded. Not valid on shipping. Expires 2/28/2011. If you’d like to order more than 8 pounds for delivery, please call the shop to do so, at (254) 968-3098. We’ll be glad to apply the discount to the first 8 pounds of your order.
Tom Spicer Loses His Garden
Some disappointing news from our favorite spice man Tom Spicer:
The first of the concrete companies have showed up at my FM 1410 garden to measure how much concrete will be needed to pave it over. If you’ve ever been to this neighborhood to shop at Jimmy’s or my store or Urbano, you know that parking is a real big problem.
So now my garden landlords (different than the one I lease the retail storefront.) Jack Kemp, Karen and Robert Udishen see there’s some real potential money to be made with a parking lot.
They own several empty lots in this neighbor hood but the closest one to Jimmy’s is my garden so…Any way…I’m hoping to hold a few fundraisers so I can buy an urban parcel to cultivate.
I will also probably relocate my business as well and return to wholesale only as Urbano, who I as keeper of the keys at 1410 N. Fitzhugh, all but installed them into both spaces on either side after they closed their Uptown location due high rent and sluggish economy have been licking their chops at the deck I put in which will ultimately overlook a smashing new parking lot.
I’m keeping it brief because I have lots to consider including where I’m going to go from here.
Oh…and Jack Kemp didn’t have the huevos to call me about this new twist. The concrete company sent a rep to walk off my garden dimensions, how bout them apples, Dallas. Keepin real spicy y’all and will let you know how things develop.
I think this is job for SideDish. We’ll get something going for you Spice Man. You are a treasure to the city.
UPDATE: Robert Wilonsky has a few more details.
27 Comments »Food Feedback Friday
Hey, Dishers. Where did you eat this week? Did you find something fabulous? Did you find something foul? We’d love to hear your thoughts on your latest restaurant experiences. Here’s what you reported last week.
Who Ever Said Bordeaux Is Dead Hasn’t Been to Dallas
One of the 2011 ”trends” I had read about was that Bordeaux was dead….I don’t agree, and it seems others in Dallas don’t either by the number of guests packed into The Grape last night for their monthly “Come As You Are” wine dinner featuring a selection of Bordeaux wines paired with Chef/Owner Brian Luscher’s scrumptious fare.
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Former Bolsa Mixologist Shakes Things Up in Plano at Zanata
Dub is now doing his thing at Zanata in Plano.
Walter “Dub” Davis has made a few cocktails in Dallas. He has worked at the Loon, Obar, Steel, and Bolsa. For two years he worked alongside Eddie “Lucky” Campbell and Michael Martensen. Recently he took his talents to Zanata in Plano. Since, he has morphed from bartender to mixologist. “I was already looking to maybe do something in that area because of the old school downtown architecture in an area that has nothing but strip malls,” he says. “I am doing market fresh, vintage, and classic cocktails. Also some molecular mixology (foams, liquid nitrogen, etc). And in the next few weeks I will be implementing an ice program with hand-chipped ice for whiskey lovers.” Way to go, Dub. Plano, the new Bishop Arts?
6 Comments »Gear up for V-Day With a Chocolate Tasting at The Cultured Cup This Saturday
On Saturday, The Cultured Cup will host a pre-Valentines Day tasting of (among other treats) Nibs chocolatier Steve Smith’s 43rd Blend Tea Truffle from his new collection of French-style chocolates. In addition to blood orange and strawberry, the truffle gets its flavor from a tea blend created for the 43rd President and his wife.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Big Bottles Abound for Cotes du Coeur
Last night Cotes du Coeur hosted their Big Bottle Night in preparation for their 20th gala benefiting the American Heart Associationthis April 9. Dozens of Dallas wine lovers gathered at the home of Pam and Gary Patsley to donate their large format, “big” bottles for the Big Bottle Wine Alley auction featured at every Cotes du Coeur event, and the bottles were impressive. From a 2008 Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir donated by Lisa Ross, to a Staglin2003 Cabernet Sauvignon donated by Brenda and Clay Cockerell, to a 2007 Domaine de la JanasseChateauneuf du Pape donated by Greg Schonert, to a 12 year vertical of Norma Jeane donated by Hunter and Emily Bywaters. Continue reading "Big Bottles Abound for Cotes du Coeur"
Super Bowl: Green Bay Reporter Wants Good Food in North Texas
Hark! Football writers will be descending on North Texas. Apparently some of them like more than steak and strip joints. This request comes from Tom Rozwadowski, a reporter for Green Bay Press-Gazette/Green Bay Hub.
I’m trying to consume as much dining information as possible from your site, but I thought it might be more useful to go straight to the source. I’ll be in Dallas for the entire week covering the Super Bowl and am looking to eat as much amazing food as possible while there. I’m pretty sure I’ll be staying right downtown, but I’ll have a car, so I’m open to traveling out wherever need be. Could I bother you for a few quick “MUST” recommendations (breakfast, lunch or dinner, various price ranges) while down in the Big D? (I’m a “Top Chef” fan and saw that Casey Thompson’s restaurant was given a good review on your site, so I’m marking that one down already.)
Here is your chance to show him the real Dallas. Hut-one, hut-two. Snap.
33 Comments »Restaurant Rant: Super Bowl Not a Big Deal for Most Dallas Restaurants
Call me a curmudgeon but I don’t think the fact that the Super Bowl is coming to the area is going to make or break too many local restaurants. Sure, a few will profit from corporate buy-outs and private events, but for the most part the majority of small independent restaurants will suffer. Why? Because many locals don’t give a flip about football and the last thing they are going to do is go out to dinner when they think every restaurant in town is booked with rowdy out-of-towners.
I’m sure the “Gentleman’s Clubs” and Kent, Dean, and Stephan will do well. Good for them. However, how many Cheeseheads are going to head to Scardello’s or Mozzarella Company to sample local, artisanal cheese? How many Iron City Beer guzzlers will sample a Texas beer flight at the Meddlesome Moth? Hey Jay-Z, are you there? We’d love to hear your plans. The rest of us are either fleeing the city or hunkering down at say The Grape, Local, Cadot, or Suze. Restaurants, make your pitches below.
Don’t be afraid to dine out at your favorite local hang next weekend. Make it Minorities Rule weekend. The lunatics will be elsewhere. That’s my 5 cents. Your ball.
6 Comments »Cedars Social Pre-Opens on Jan. 31 With Five “Supper Bowl” Chef Dinners
On Monday Jan. 31, the new Cedars Social cocktail den and kitchen will kick off its Supper Bowl, a pre-opening dinner series with menus prepared by Tim Byres (Jan. 31st), Bradley Ogden (Feb. 1), Matt McCallister (Feb. 2), John Tesar (Feb. 3), and Tiffany Derry (Feb. 4). Notable mixologist Michael Martensen will be on hand “handcrafting” cocktails. Each dinner can only accommodate 40 people, so reserve early.
6:30 pm cocktails and small plates
7 pm supper, cocktails, and wine
Cost: $125 per person
Call 214-928-7700 or email supperbowl@thecedarssocial.com to reserve your spot.
The Cedars Social is located at 1326 South Lamar. Supper Bowl is sponsored by Russian Standard Vodka.
Cane Rosso’s Jay Jerrier in His Own Words
In the current issue, I profiled Jay Jerrier of Cane Rosso, who is opening his new pizza joint in Deep Ellum in a few days. For those who prefer pictures to words, our friends at The Wolf Group produced a video. Enjoy.
Hanna Raskin is Stripped of Anonymity on Eater.com
The ability for dining critics to remain anonymous is almost impossible these days. While Leslie Brenner and I cling to the idea that we are still somewhat unknown (cue laugh track), the Dallas Observer’s Hanna Raskin attended Monday night’s Foodways Texas event and wore a nametag. Of course, Eater.com has posted her picture. Do you think this matters? Can I sell my fat suit and wig collection on eBay? And if that is Hanna? Girl, you need to eat more.
19 Comments »Chefs for Farmers: Next Gig at Highland Park Cafeteria in Dallas on March 13
Chef Matt McCallister loves farmers. photo by Kevin Marple.
My first headline for this post was “How Cute is Matt McCallister?” Then I continued to read the list of chefs who are participating in the next Chef for Farmers event and I decided I could write that same headline about all of them. Well, maybe not Jack Perkins. He’s too grizzly. And John Tesar isn’t boyishly cute. He is John Tesar.
Anywhoo, the technically jobless McCallister is credited with founding Chefs for Farmers, the organization dedicated to raising the “awareness for the importance of using local ingredients and supporting the farms and farmers in and around Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas.”
I hate long tables so I’m glad to read that this event at the Highland Park “Casa Linda” Cafeteria, is glorifying cafeteria-style seating and McCallister plans to spin farm tunes alongside DJs Jennifer Miller and Paul Paredes. I’m humming the Old MacDonald remix as I type. (For the record, I made the “spin farm tunes” up. But it’s a good idea.”IJS.) Oh, and it’s BYOHairnet.
Go below fo mo.
Continue reading "Chefs for Farmers: Next Gig at Highland Park Cafeteria in Dallas on March 13"
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