Articles for March 28th, 2012

Dean Fearing Does New York: Hanging With Jean-Georges Vongerichten

posted by Nancy Nichols | March 28th, 2012 4:57pm | filed under Awards, Celebrity Chefs | 4 Comments »

Badovinus and Fearing lunched with Jean-Georges at Jean-Georges on Central Park West. (Photo from Badovinus)

Dallas chef Dean Fearing is in New York where he will be honored as a “Pioneer of American Cuisine” by The Culinary Institute of America. Fearing is standing in tall grass: tomorrow’s gala dinner will also honor Larry Forgione, Wolfgang Puck, Paul Prudhomme, and Alice Waters. Each honoree was asked to invite a protégée to prepare one of the courses for the dinner. Fearing picked Mansion alumn Nick “Neighborhood Services” Badovinus. On Thursday, Badovinus and his NHS on Lovers chef, Jeff Bekavac, will prepare slow-cooked (48 hours!) brisket tacos (Luna’s corn tortillas!) with New Mexico red chile barbecue sauce and Bosque County blue cheese cole slaw.

After the gala, Fearing heads to Tokyo to create a temporary version of Fearing’s inside the The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo.

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What To Drink Now: Spring Sparklers and Cocktails

posted by Hayley Hamilton | March 28th, 2012 2:54pm | filed under cocktails, Wine & Spirits | 1 Comment »

Though we never really had a winter, spring is definitely in the air with baby birds hatching, trees budding, tulips and iris’ filling gardens throughout the city, and menus getting lighter, fresher and greener.  To pair with these lightened up menus look no further than at the fresh herbs or the fruit aisle at your local market for inspiration, or simply pop open an always delicious bottle of bubbly, both will do the trick to get you in the springtime mood.  Here are a few ideas, some selections were sent for editorial consideration.

Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, Cremant, Sparkling Wine….whichever you prefer, a bubble is always the perfect aperitif or accompaniment to any menu, enjoyed from morning to night, especially when you find a low alcohol one that allows easy consumption from morning into the night.
I was recently invited and traveled to Spain with Segura Viudas for a full scale immersion into the world of making Cava (more on this to come) and found the crisp, dry Brut Cava to be an ideal accompaniment to anything from grilled spring onions, baby artichokes and white asparagus, to fresh green pea soup, to a simple snack of olives, almonds and lots of shaved Iberico ham. Continue reading "What To Drink Now: Spring Sparklers and Cocktails"

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Where to Take Your Mother-in-Law for Easter Brunch in Dallas

posted by Carol Shih | March 28th, 2012 1:56pm | filed under Brunch, Easter, Holidays | 5 Comments »

Easter brunch bunnies not for consumption (provided by flikr.com)

My favorite memory of Easter is not actually mine. It’s David Sedaris’. Way back when Sedaris was in France, he enrolled in an university to study French. The instructor once asked the class, “And what does one do on Easter? Would anyone like to tell us?”

This is when Sedaris attempted to explain to a class full of international students about the Easter bunny, while his peers, clearly mind-boggled by the idea that an entire holiday could be devoted to a scary rabbit, sat waiting for his answer. “Well, sure,” Sedaris said in broken French, “he come in the night when one sleep on a bed. With a hand, he have the basket, like for a bread.”

Creepy, eh?

Sorry, that has nothing to do with the following selection of restaurants where you can go for Easter brunch. Read the rest of the transcript on This American Life while you scroll through this handy list. I’ll also keep updating, so check back until April 8.

Jump like the Easter rabbit.

Continue reading "Where to Take Your Mother-in-Law for Easter Brunch in Dallas"

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Somebody Help This Poor Restaurant: American Express iPhone Coupon

posted by Nancy Nichols | March 28th, 2012 11:26am | filed under Buzz Killer!, restaurant business news | 15 Comments »

A frustrated restaurateur, who chooses to remain anonymous, asks fellow indie restaurants the following question:

We had a guest present an iPhone coupon from FourSquare at our restaurant yesterday. The deal is “spend $5, get $5 off.” The problem is we never signed up for couponing or advertising or ANYTHING with this company. The guest was very upset when he left. He kept showing everyone the coupon on his phone. He took the $5 out of the waiters tip – and told the waiter he was doing it because he was so pissed off about the iPhone coupon. We took the $5 out of petty cash and made the waiter all good. I’ve since learned the deal is a “Support Small Businesses” program agreement between American Express and Foursquare. American Express will give you $5 off your Amex statement when you log in on Foursquare at these places. Fortunately, we’re on that list. Unfortunately, nobody every informed us of the promotion so we could prepare our employees. Any other restaurants out there having problems with this? Other customers? Thanks.

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Top Caterer George Brown Featured at Connemara’s “Hops for Habitat” Fundraiser on April 7

posted by Carol Shih | March 28th, 2012 9:18am | filed under AgriBusiness |

Hello, George Brown (photo provided by Connemara)

See George hop. Hear George talk. Most importantly, watch George cook.

George W. Brown of the now-defunct GEORGE catering is participating in the Connemara Conservancy Foundation’s “Hops for Habitat” fundraiser series on April 7 at Montgomery Farm.

The first event on April 7 from 7 – 10 PM is designed to “raise money to support the Connemara mission of working with landowners and communities to protect and conserve critical natural landscapes remaining throughout North Texas. Food will be provided by a variety of local farmers and producers throughout the series.”

“This series is designed to bring the community together to celebrate the natural originality of North Texas,” said Connemara executive director Sandra Greenway. “From local brewmasters and chefs such as George, to fun and funky places to party, Hops For Habitat is great way to experience some of the best things North Texas has to offer.”

Tickets are $50 each and limited to 100 attendees. To buy one, go to connemaraconservancy.org.