Articles for June 20th, 2011

Toy’s Café on Lemmon Avenue is Closed

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 20th, 2011 1:27pm | filed under Closings, Restaurant News | 11 Comments »

I heard Toy’s Cafe on Lemmon closed last week and I tried to call for verification. I didn’t get an answer so I called several of the surrounding businesses to see if anyone could confirm. (God forbid should I get in my car and drive over there.) Anywhoo, none of the people I contacted could speak enough English to understand what I asking them. However, a loyal Disher writes to say that Toy’s  sign is down and another announces the opening of Burger Island in the space. Sad news.

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Tuesday Night Supper Club—Chef Jeff Harris Opens RedFork Tavern on Fitzhugh

posted by Sarah Reiss | June 20th, 2011 11:34am | filed under cocktails, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News | 19 Comments »

The Burger at RedFork lives up to its simple name. (Photo by Brooklynne Peters.)

Join us in welcoming new contributor Brooklynne Peters, who will be bringing a new voice to SideDish as the writer behind Tuesday Night Supper Club. (Yes, today is Monday; consider this a sneak peek.) For her first entry, she visited RedFork, the much-awaited venture from Chef Jeff Harris (CRAFT). Take it away, Brooklynne…

While the exterior of RedFork, Chef Jeff Harris’ modern, unassuming new restaurant, doesn’t exactly scream “fine dining,” the interior is cool and open with concrete floors, marble slab tables, a long, sleek bar, and sizable patio. The location, while not immediately desirable, is convenient to Knox-Henderson and Uptown, which meant that even during last weekend’s soft opening, which we attended as guests, couples and groups poured in right from the starting bell.

read more about RedFork… Continue reading "Tuesday Night Supper Club—Chef Jeff Harris Opens RedFork Tavern on Fitzhugh"

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Special Report: Grape Growing on The Texas High Plains

posted by Andrew Chalk | June 20th, 2011 10:30am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits | 3 Comments »

Ground Control to Major Tom: We've spied grapes growing on the moon.

This photo may appear to be a lunar landing in a vineyard of another galaxy, but in reality this shot was taken at Newsom Vineyards in Yoakum Co., Texas. That’s in the high plains as in 3,600 feet above sea level. It may not look like the luscious Napa Valley, but this region of Texas produces most of the bed red wines in Texas. I’m sure some Hill Country grape growers will take issue with that statement, but many of them use Texas High Plains AVA (American Viticultural Area) fruit in their wine. Recently, I was a guest on a press tour led by the Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN program. We got a behind-the-scene look at of some of the best vineyards in the High Plains.

Jump for the whole story.

Continue reading "Special Report: Grape Growing on The Texas High Plains"

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Gas Station Tacos in Dallas: El Tacaso at Fina on Harry Hines

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 20th, 2011 10:00am | filed under Cult Cuisine, Gas Station Tacos, Nutjobs, Restaurant News, Tacos | 10 Comments »

Christopher Baccus loves cars and gas station tacos. We find that very attractive.

Dishers, meet Christopher Baccus. He’s a taco junkie and blogger. Not just any kind of taco, primarily those found in or near gas stations. We love to shine the light on folks fixated on food . Here’s his story and his first review of gas station tacos.

“I love to cook, but I enjoying eating even more. At home, I use local ingredients whenever possible and we buy all of our grass-fed meats from a small, local ranch. When I’m not at home cooking, I enjoy authentic ethnic cooking over an elegant gourmet meal. I’m a serious car nut and love tacos. After moving to Dallas last year, I kept finding great taco stands in local gas stations and after about the third meal my wife turned to me and said, “You should really start a book or blog about this.” I looked at her with a big grin and said, “Are you really encouraging this behavior?” A month later that I started the blog.”

Gas station Taquerias are often not located in a desirable part of town. Pulling up to a such gas stations in a flashy bright red convertible also has its drawbacks. My visit to El Tacaso at a Fina Station on Harry Hines was one of those time where it worked against me.

I began filling my tank and walked over to the outside counter of the taco stand covered by a faded blue awning. As I approached, a homeless man missing most of his front teeth and wearing a “Tap it and They Will Come” t-shirt asked me for some change. I hadn’t even placed my order yet and was in possession of a single $20 bill.

When it was my turn to order, I went with 2 fajita beef, 2 pastor, and 1 chicken taco all on corn tortillas with cilantro and onions. The “gentleman” next to me waited for my change of $13.75. I guess he figured he’d get a chunk of it by telling me how nice the two ladies who work the Taqueria are and how the people who run the gas station are “not so nice.”

Jump. Continue reading "Gas Station Tacos in Dallas: El Tacaso at Fina on Harry Hines"

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Something’s Brewing: I’m Talking to You Stephan Pyles

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 20th, 2011 9:00am | filed under Breaking News, Celebrity Chefs, I'm a rumor monger, It's just lunch, Keep Dallas Douchey!, Mistakes I made, Procrastination is part of the creative process, Restaurant News, Slow News Day | 4 Comments »

Pyles does the TwitterBug in Buffalo Gap earlier this spring.

I spent the whole weekend in front of my computer. That doesn’t mean I was working the whole time—I should have been—but a lot of the time I performed many other important tasks such as checking updates on TMZ, Facebook, and “the fightin’ SideDish followers” on Twitter.

Anywhoo, two names kept popping up in my Twitter @box: @chefpyles (as in Stephan) and @beyondthekit (chef David Gilbert. Remember him!). They were in Santa Fe together and eating all over town. Now, I wasn’t born yesterday,  I was born 21,389 days ago, so I have a little experience in predicting what the mischievous behavior of these two chefs means. I’m feeling bold enough to predict Pyles has a new restaurant in the works and he’s grooming David Gilbert to be his chef. Perhaps the Southwestern will rise again! But that’s just me. I could be wrong. It’s happened.

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