Articles for January 19th, 2012

Mozzarella Company Racks Up Another Award

posted by Nancy Nichols | January 19th, 2012 4:08pm | filed under Cheese, Local/Slow Food | 1 Comment »

Paula Lambert wears the medal and points to her award-winning Hoja Santa at the reception that followed the awards ceremony.

This note just in from Paula Lambert, founder/owner of Dallas’ Mozzarella Company in Deep Ellum.

I am just back from San Francisco where our Hoja Santa Goat Cheese won a Good Food Award.  We were one of twelve cheesemakers across the country that won. There was an awards ceremony on Friday evening followed by a reception where all the winning foods were served. And there was a market at the Ferry Building on Saturday where we must have served samples of Hoja Santa to at least 1200 people, if not 1500! It was non-stop!

More information here.

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The Chesterfield: My New Favorite Lunch Spot in the Entire World

posted by Tim Rogers | January 19th, 2012 3:59pm | filed under Uncategorized | 11 Comments »

Okay, yes, yes, yes. I have not actually eaten there yet. I have to admit that it’s a bit strange to endorse a lunch spot without ever actually having eaten there. But you know what else is strange? String theory. Don’t understand it. Can’t explain it. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not a thing that people spend their lives studying. Right?

I popped into the new Chesterfield today after having eaten a fine turkey sandwich (with a side of mac and cheese) at City Tavern. Highly recommended. But what’s this at the Chesterfield? A menu of $1 cocktails? Hey, whoa: basil gimlet (vodka, fresh lime, basil); raspberry Collins (vodka, lemon, raspberry, soda); Buena Suerte (tequila, lime, ginger, mint); Ward 8 (whiskey, lemon, orange, old grenadine); vanilla old fashion (whiskey, vanilla, orange, angostura).

But there are two catches: 1) The $1 cocktails are available only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 2) you must order food. Hmm. The Bonnie Parker sandwich sounds good. For $9, you get beer-brined turkey with Muenster and garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato, and pickled onion on a soft roll. For a bit more, $13, you might opt for the L.E.S., which is house-made pastrami and sauerkraut with Gruyere cheese and Russian dressing on toasted rye. But run your eyes up the menu, and you’ll see the flat breads. The Standard (roasted tomato, house-made mozzarella, arugula pesto) will run you a very reasonable $6. BUT. HANG ON. The Simple (olive oil and rosemary with grated ricotta) is just $3. Three bucks!

You see where I’m headed here. If my math is correct, you can order a flat bread and a cocktail for $4. We all know that it won’t end there. One $1 cocktail is going to lead to five $1 cocktails. Obviously. Because there are five cocktails on the $1 menu. But that still means lunch is only going to cost you roughly $11 (figure an $8 tab, plus a $3 tip, if you’re watching the bottom line).

And that is why, only having drunk one Maker’s on the rocks (pictured, $8), I can heartily endorse the lunch at The Chesterfield.

You’re welcome.

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Urban Crust in Plano Seeks Advice from Mark Miller for New Concept Called Urban Rio in Plano

posted by Nancy Nichols | January 19th, 2012 1:25pm | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News | 2 Comments »

When Nathan Shea, the owner of  Urban Crust in downtown Plano, announced to TGubb he was going to open Urban Rio, he didn’t mention he’d asked celebrity chef Mark Miller to consult. According to the story that ran in mid-December, Shea planned to do a Mexican concept on the first floor and a catering kitchen for Urban Crust on the second floor.

This morning the KidLinks Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving the emotional and physical needs of children by directly funding therapeutic music programs in North Texas, announced the chef lineup for its second annual “Symphony of Chefs” fine dining event on February 27, 2012. The release mentioned that one of the celebrity chefs participating in the event will be Mark Miller, the famous chef of Coyote Café in Santa Fe.

I tried to reach Shea at Urban Crust but he was unavailable. However, the publicist for the event, Elizabeth Peichel, says:

He is consulting on a new Dallas restaurant that’s opening in a few months called UrbanRio (owned by the folks at Urban Crust in Plano), and that’s what’s bringing him to Dallas that week of the event.

I thought I remembered hearing or reading that Miller was once looking for property in Dallas to open his own place. Peichel is checking into it. Meanwhile the event details are below.

Continue reading "Urban Crust in Plano Seeks Advice from Mark Miller for New Concept Called Urban Rio in Plano"

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First Take: Oak in the Dallas Design District

posted by Nancy Nichols | January 19th, 2012 11:20am | filed under First Take, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News | 10 Comments »

Oak Restaurant in the Dallas Design District. Photography by Desiree Espada.

What to Expect: To be knocked out by the interior design and the food. The space, designed by PLAN B (Royce Ring & Alex Urrunaga) worked closely with owners Richard and Tiffanee Ellman to create a modern, contemporary living room where couches replace booths. Veteran Tommy (Candleroom, Sunset Lounge, The Dram) DeAlano, also a partner, oversees the day-to-day operations. The threesome have created the perfect attitude for Oak’s location in the Dallas Design District.

Jump for details and beautiful photography by Desiree Espada.

Continue reading "First Take: Oak in the Dallas Design District"

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Places to Celebrate Chinese New Year

posted by Carol Shih | January 19th, 2012 10:37am | filed under Chinese New Year, Ethnic Food, Good Asian Grub, Things To Do, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Dragon babies, this is your lucky year.

Prepare to move halfway across the world for that dream job as a tattoo artist, meet the love of your life (potentially George Clooney, but don’t get your hopes up), and exert your independent strength in some political rally where you’ll end up smelling like those Occupy Wall Street dudes. In any case, you should probably celebrate at these places before your luck runs out.

Kirin Court is going to be a hot spot for Chinese people who like to start off their new year just like everyone else in Asia: family style. It’s going to be packed, especially on Jan 18, Jan 28 and Feb 4 when lion dancers will perform around 7pm. Sit around a circle table with 8-10 people and stuff your faces with lobster, garlic fried chicken, pig feet, and red bean soup for dessert. $278 for ten people and $208 for eight.

Never in a million years would I endorse P.F. Chang’s since I can’t stand fake Chinese food, but P.F. Chang’s will be handing out red envelopes containing unknown rewards to guests who visit between January 23 and February 6. I don’t want to be held responsible if evil spirits haunt you for not receiving a red envelope this year, so maybe you should go just to drink their specialty Dragon Punch cocktail.

Steel Restaurant and Lounge‘s website mistakenly thinks it’ll be the Year of the Rabbit, but at least its dinner menu between January 23-29 has it right: three courses for $45 per person with whole fish, duck, noodles, and shrimp. Here’s the menu in case you’re not convinced yet. Traditional lion dancing by the kids from Chin Woo School will take place on January 23 at 8pm.

Reminder: Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck is having a prix fixe menu for $125 per person like Nancy mentioned in this post. If you’d like to see him in person on February 1, reserve a spot soon.

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Special Report: The Self-Serve Wine Dispenser at Dee Lincoln’s Tasting Room and Bubble Bar in Uptown

posted by Andrew Chalk | January 19th, 2012 9:27am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Restaurant News, Wine & Spirits | 2 Comments »

Remember the first time your parents bought you a soda and you were allowed to serve yourself as much as you wanted? Thanks to Dee Lincoln, you can pour like a kid and drink like an adult. The Uptown location Dee Lincoln Tasting Room and Bubble Bar has the latest generation of the enomatic Italian designed system that allows consumers to serve themselves wine (sparkling and still), and stores the remaining contents in temperature-controlled conditions for up to 10 days. The only bummer is, unlike most drink stations, these refills are not free. (Insert sad little English boy face here).

Jump for details.

Continue reading "Special Report: The Self-Serve Wine Dispenser at Dee Lincoln’s Tasting Room and Bubble Bar in Uptown"

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