Articles for February 28th, 2011

CuriousDish: Date Averaging and Restaurant Pairing

posted by George Lewis | February 28th, 2011 4:06pm | filed under Restaurant 101, Uncategorized, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 12 Comments »

Long ago, a friend of mine then in his mid-30s detailed his approach to dating. On a first date he would take a woman out for drinks, proceed to a Dallas Stars game, and end the evening with a lovely wine-infused dinner.  He admitted he threw down almost $600. Mark had a lot of first dates.

I was stunned. “How in the world do you afford that,” I asked.  Mark explained his idea which he called date averaging.  The first date would be a grand, expensive evening at one of Dallas’ top restaurants.  For the second and third date, he would scale back to a cool, hip dive.

Are you a date averager? If so, let’s consider Restaurant Pairing. Which two restaurants would you match for such a first and second date?  I’ll offer up the first pairing: The French Room  followed by Louie’s. Now, let’s  hear yours.

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Couple of Good Food Gigs: Les Dames d’Escoffier Raiser Grazer and Savor Dallas’ Wine Panel Tasting Seminar

posted by Nancy Nichols | February 28th, 2011 2:35pm | filed under fundraiser, Savor dallas, Wine & Spirits | 1 Comment »

One. As I have said before, the silent auction at the annual Les Dames d’Escoffier Raiser Grazer event is the best around. If you love food and travel you can get some great bargains. The next RG is Sunday (March 6) from 5-8 at City Place (2711 North Haskell). Les Dames is a group of female food professionals devoted to raising money to provide scholarships to woman trying to break into the industry. This year an all-star line up of local chefs will provide food and wine. The evening is a steal at $50 a person. Tickets and information here.

Two. Savor Dallas is just around the corner. The dates March 18 and 19. One of the most popular events is the Savor Dallas Wine Panel Tasting Seminar which will take place on March 19 at 3:00PM. This year the interactive tasting will feature some of the great names in the Texas wine industry: Dr. Richard Becker, proprietor of Becker Vineyards in Fredericksburg, with his Cabernet Sauvignon, and Kim McPherson, from McPherson Cellars in Lubbock sampling his Viognier. Winemakers from all over the country will also be on hand. All of the details, including where to get tickets are below. Continue reading "Couple of Good Food Gigs: Les Dames d’Escoffier Raiser Grazer and Savor Dallas’ Wine Panel Tasting Seminar"

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Guerrilla-Style Photography: Capturing Images of the Secret Menu at In-N-Out for D Magazine

posted by Nancy Nichols | February 28th, 2011 1:55pm | filed under Burgers, Crazy Technology, Cult Cuisine, Food Crime, Food Porn, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News | 25 Comments »

Kevin Marple secret hotel room studio at the Holiday Inn Express in Marina del Rey.

D Magazine food photographer Kevin Marple traveled to LA to capture images we needed to compile “The Newbie’s Guide to In-N-Out.”  He returned with the pictures but he went through hamburger hell to get them. Here’s his story.

I’ve had art directors send me into some wild scenarios. And when D Magazine’s Creative Director Todd Johnson called and asked me if I could get to Southern California for a photo shoot, I said sure. In hindsight, I realize I should have asked a few more questions. At the time I didn’t know he was sending me into a private, secretive underworld. I just figured I get some time to hang in LA and shoot some burgers.

Like most of the population, I’d heard about In-N-Out but I didn’t really understand the hype. During a pre-production meeting, I got a briefing on my assignment.

Johnson wanted me to photograph burgers and some of the secret items on the In-N-Out Burger menu. Secret items on a fast food hamburger menu? I had a few questions. Like: How do I order them? What if they don’t have them? Do I have to learn a secret handshake or password?

Johnson explained that In-N-Out was very protective of their brand. They don’t allow photography in any of the restaurants or corporate headquarters. It was up to me to get to Southern California and figure out a covert plan of action to get the photos D wanted.

Jump for the whole bloody story.

Continue reading "Guerrilla-Style Photography: Capturing Images of the Secret Menu at In-N-Out for D Magazine"

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Wine Tasting — It’s All In the Glass

posted by Andrew Chalk | February 28th, 2011 10:01am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Wine & Spirits | 1 Comment »

Thomas Leman, Regional Sales Manager, Southwest USA for Riedel came to Dallas on Wednesday. At the Míele Gallery in the Dallas Design District he demonstrated how the aroma and taste of wine changes depending what kind of glass it is served in. You can try the experiment in the video yourself this weekend with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and a Riedel ‘Vinum Series’ Bordeaux glass from Neiman-Marcus, Macy’s or Sigel’s. It really is very instructive.

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Empty Bowls Full To the Brim With Supporters of North Texas Food Bank

posted by Sarah Reiss | February 28th, 2011 9:30am | filed under Events, fundraiser | 1 Comment »

Empty Bowls booths (left) and supporters (right). Photos by Courtney Foreman.

Last Friday, D editorial intern Courtney Foreman attended the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for the North Texas Food Bank at the Meyerson. Behold her observations:

Guests at Friday’s Empty Bowls Luncheon (benefiting the North Texas Food Bank) mingled in the Meyerson Symphony Center lobby amid tables blanketed with hundreds of handcrafted bowls. Hand crafted by local artisans, the bowls served as both artpieces and serve ware for soup from over 20 of Dallas’ top restaurants. The Place at Perry’s showed up with a tomato artichoke bisque; Tom Thumb Markets presented a tomato basil and a fiesta tortilla soup, and Truluck’s satisfied with a crab and corn chowder. Freebirds burrito bowl station turned out to be the most popular by far with lines stretching out from the booth for the entirety of the luncheon. Smartly, Best of Big D’s Empire Baking Company served sourdough bread and chocolate pecan brownies. Guests flocked to The Children’s Medical Center & Sodexo ‘s chocolate-covered strawberries, mini peanut butter cupcakes, and Oreo cake balls.

New booths this year: Bolsa, Truluck’s, Pizza Inn, Horne & Dekker, Empire Baking Co., Chill Bubble Tea, and Freebirds World Burrito. Proceeds benefit the NTFB’s hunger relief efforts.

Lines snake through the Meyerson (left); sweet potato soup (right). Photos by Courtney Foreman.

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Vote in the 2011 Best of Big D Readers’ Choice: Food and Drink Poll. Once an Hour Through March 13.

posted by Jason Heid | February 28th, 2011 9:03am | filed under best of big d | 2 Comments »

Need more information? Click here.

Otherwise, get to it.

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