Articles for December 7th, 2011

Holiday Gifts For the Wine Lover

posted by Hayley Hamilton | December 7th, 2011 2:25pm | filed under Holidays, Wine & Spirits | 5 Comments »

Looking for the perfect gift for your wine loving friends, boss, loved ones, but don’t have a lot of time to shop?  Here are a few tips that I’ve come across recently that will make the buying easy, as shopping on line always does, and make you look good.

David Adelsheim is one of the fathers of Pinot Noir in Willamette Valley, starting his winery sheltered by the Chehalem Mountains in the early 1970′s.  Since then they have been producing world class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Their Reserve gift pack features the best of both of these with their 2009 Elizabeth’s Reserve Pinot Noir and their 2010 Caitlin’s Reserve Chardonnay.  2009 is said to be one of the best for Oregon Pinot Noir in recent years, and Adelsheim is sure to do it right. Continue reading "Holiday Gifts For the Wine Lover"

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Report: Stephan Pyles 12th Annual Celebrity Chef Dinner and Wine Auction

posted by Andrew Chalk | December 7th, 2011 1:24pm | filed under Andrew Chalk, Celebrity Chefs, Charity events, Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits | 2 Comments »

It is hard to believe  the Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner is already in its 12th year. The event raises money for the Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarship. Recipients of the scholarship compete in the Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarhip Cookoff, an Iron Chef-style event that takes place in the summer.  In the first phase of that competition, the student prepares an application packet which includes the menu that they would prepare. A panel of professional judges selects the top ten, which are sent to Stephan Pyles who selects the top three. In the second phase, the three finalists spend two days prepping, cooking, and erving their menus to a panel of culinary experts that includes Stephan Pyles. The winner receives a $15,000 scholarship made payable to their school, a $500 stipend to travel with Chef Pyles to a celebrity chef fundraising event, and the opportunity to present a course at the Celebrity Chef Dinner and Wine Auction which took place last Sunday.

Let’s get down to the evening. Continue reading "Report: Stephan Pyles 12th Annual Celebrity Chef Dinner and Wine Auction"

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Groovy Menu Changes at AllGood Café in Deep Ellum

posted by Nancy Nichols | December 7th, 2011 9:30am | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Cult Cuisine, Restaurant News | 2 Comments »

Good Times: Chef/Consultant Brian Hennington, Executive Chef Maximino Garcia, PM Chef/Sous Chef Cesar Martinez.

Mike Snider of AllGood Café is one nostalgic SOB. When he felt like his menu needed a little tweaking he called in Brian Hennington. Yow. Zah. Blast from the past: Hennington was the original “real” chef in Deep Ellum. He was the talent behind the first Deep Ellum Café (stories anyone?). Since DEC closed, Hennington has been working around the area consulting for Blue Mesa and The Bronx. He did a spell as at Inn of the Mountain of the Gods in Ruidosa, New Mexico and Hennington’s Texas Café in Granbury.

More importantly to Snider, Hennington played a big part in developing AllGood Café’s style and first menu which also included input from “Daddy Jack” Chaplin and AllGood’s execuchef Maximino Garcia. (This is starting to sound like the culinary version of The Traveling Wilburys). Recently the team reunited and put together some (hopefully) new hits. I’ve listed some of the “updated and refreshed” items below.

Snider told me he’s not the only one happy with the new menu. “The service staff is thrilled to have something new and different to eat,” Snider says. “It may seem like bragging but I have servers who work five or six days a week, many who have been here from five to nine years, and they eat usually each shift they work. Then they come back for dinner the same day or on their time.”

(BTW, Santa Fe-style is officially a trend in Dallas.) Continue reading "Groovy Menu Changes at AllGood Café in Deep Ellum"

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Sylvan | Thirty to Open “Culinary Incubator” With Chef Sharon Hage as Culinary Curator

posted by Nancy Nichols | December 7th, 2011 9:00am | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Farmers Markets, Hippie revolutions, Local/Slow Food, oak cliff, Restaurant News, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 16 Comments »

Oh my, what a great idea and perfect timing. Today comes word that an unnamed “culinary incubator,” a space to help start-up food entrepreneurs launch their own businesses, will open when Sylvan | Thirty opens next year. Local chef Sharon Hage will be the Culinary Curator. She is, in my book, the Earth Mother.

What a great fit. Hage will help local artisans and food businesses get up and running. The focus, naturally, will be on local start-ups and chefs upping their game. Participants will pay a membership to join. They will have access to a shared commercial kitchen and retail space which will enable them to sell their products without the initial expense of building out their own space. Cox Farms Market and Matador Meat & Wine have already signed on as neighbors at Sylvan | Thirty.

I think this culinary incubator needs a proper name. Shall we give it one?

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16 Dallas Holiday Cocktails You Must Try Now

posted by Raya Ramsey | December 7th, 2011 12:30am | filed under Awards, Bars, Beverages, Chocolate, Christmas, cocktails, Coffee, dessert, Drinking, Hanukkah, Holidays, Mixology is fancy for bartender, Nightlife, Wine & Spirits | 13 Comments »

Autumn Leaves at Victor Tangos (photography by Matthew Shelley)

I spent the last week researching bars serving up holiday cocktails in Big D. Then photographer Matthew Shelley and I made our way around town to give them a look and a taste. Here’s our toast to our new favorite holiday-inspired cocktails. Cheers.

Continue reading "16 Dallas Holiday Cocktails You Must Try Now"

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