Articles for April 4th, 2012

Quality Employees Flee Bailey’s Prime Steakhouse in Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 4th, 2012 5:35pm | filed under Chefs, Overprivileged chimps, Restaurant News | 11 Comments »

Last week Andrew Chalk attended a dinner at Bailey’s Prime Steakhouse. He reported former execuchef Grant Morgan had left. Chalk also said Michael Ehlert, the chef owner Ed Bailey hired to get The Chesterfield up and running, “will become the executive chef of a new high-end modern French restaurant backed by Bailey later this year.” Today, according Steven Doyle, Ehlert and his fiancee Jennifer Jaco, who is also the sommelier at Bailey’s, have left the restaurant and are now “on the loose.” Methinks Mr. Bailey may be difficult to please? He’s got a lot of money and has seduced a lot of talent to his businesses but he seems to have trouble keeping them on board.

11 Comments »

Somebody Help This Girl: Walnettos in Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 4th, 2012 1:38pm | filed under candy | 3 Comments »

She rough and tough but clueless. Hear her worst-mother-of-the-year plea:

My kids no longer eat jelly beans and malted milk eggs, but I still want to create a nice Easter basket for them.  They love Walnettos, the old-fashion walnut chew.  Does anyone know where I can buy them in Dallas?  There’s no time to get them from my usual source, Vermont Country Store.

3 Comments »

Dallas and Fort Worth Area Food Trucks Want to Help With Disaster Relief

posted by George Lewis | April 4th, 2012 11:53am | filed under Breaking News, Food Trucks | 7 Comments »

Rock 'n' Roll Taco's Former Support Vehicle (from RnR Twitter link)

Several of the local food trucks are already out helping with disaster relief.  So-Cal Tacos is in the Arlington/Kennedale area helping out.  The Butcher’s Son is sending one of their trucks out to help.  Many of our local food trucks are donating their tips to disaster relief. If you are an organization in need of assistance with feeding crews or families during clean-up, put your contact information in the comments section, and hopefully, you will hear from one of the food trucks to help.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Tacos won’t be one of those helping out as they themselves are recovering from tornado damage. I’m sure many of you saw this car on the news yesterday. It was the car of Mary Ann Quiñonez, the owner and operator of Rock ‘n’ Roll Tacos. She was picking up her daughter at Crosby Elementary School in the Diamond Creek subdivision of Forney, and just missed being in the car that was tossed 100 yards into the next field. Luckily, Mary Ann and her daughter escaped the car and ran for safety to the school before it was hurled away.

Update: Enticed Shaved Ice is donating 100% of sales tonight to the Red Cross.  They’ll be located at the Walgreens at Midway and Frankford.

Update: Bud Kennedy reports via Twitter:  “Food truck @SoCalTacos and others being turned away from feeding Arlington relief workers, per FB; it’s a secured area.”

7 Comments »

If Only I Could Stock My Imaginary Perfect Kitchen With These Goodies

posted by Carol Shih | April 4th, 2012 11:52am | filed under Food is art. Art is Food. | 1 Comment »

Modern ceramic mug for $24 from shopterrain.com

Instead of, you know, working, I am doing some online shopping in secret. Except it doesn’t really count as ‘shopping’ when you know you can’t afford a set of natural Opinel knives for $88, does it?

This is all D Home’s doing. Ever since I got hooked onto their blog, I’ve been drooling over pretty photos of chairs and flowers and chandeliers, none of which I actually need. But now that my imagination is running wild with crazy redecorating ideas, the first place I want to start is in the kitchen. It’s where I spend a good chunk of my time eating and pretending to know how to cook.

Jump if you like drooling too.

Continue reading "If Only I Could Stock My Imaginary Perfect Kitchen With These Goodies"

1 Comment »

Hotel Palomar In Dallas Supports Promise of Peace Community Garden at Spring Wine Hour

posted by Andrew Chalk | April 4th, 2012 10:48am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Charity events, Dog Friendly, Gardening, Wine & Spirits |

The Ackermans Entertain at Hotel Palomar's Spring Wine Hour

One perk for guests at the Hotel Palomar in Dallas is the Wine Hour they host in the evenings. Last week, the hotel opened the event to the public and combined it with a fundraiser for the Promise of Peace Community Garden. The Ackermans provided musical entertainment. Promise of Peace is a non-profit active in East Dallas that aims to reduce the school dropout rate, reduce crime, gang involvement and teen pregnancy through local initiatives that increase community involvement. The organization’s two main activities are the community garden on East Grand and photography classes.
More below. Continue reading "Hotel Palomar In Dallas Supports Promise of Peace Community Garden at Spring Wine Hour"

Oak Cliff Cellars Tasting at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas

posted by Andrew Chalk | April 4th, 2012 10:24am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Wine & Spirits, Wine Pairing |

Jim Richardson (J.R. as he is known) is a living practitioner of the axiom that to make a small fortune in the wine business one should start with a large one. He and his wife founded Oak Cliff Cellars in 2008 in California’s Napa Valley. J.R. spent a year finding the right wine maker. He eventually picked Bruce Regalia, a winemaker at Madrigal who was trained by Chico State University and Duckhorn Vineyards. They named the winery after their home town because Snooty Duck seemed too ridiculous.

J.R. hosted an Oak Cliff Cellars wine tasting and dinner at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek last week (one location where his wines are on the list) and invited me as his guest. Bruno Davaillon, Mansion execuchef, prepared a menu to pair with grape varieties as diverse as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Mourvèdre, and Petite Sirah.

Let’s get this party started.

Continue reading "Oak Cliff Cellars Tasting at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas"

Two New Restaurants: Torchy’s Taco and Southern Breeze Market Café

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 4th, 2012 9:43am | filed under cupcakes, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News | 8 Comments »

Allen is about to welcome two new restaurants: Torchy’s Taco and Southern Breeze Market Café. Torchy’s will open at 1008 W. McDermott Drive, Suite 600, next Wednesday (April 11). They will announce other Dallas-area locations they plan to open soon.

Okay, sinus medication, let’s try this post again. Sorry for the confusion but head is heavier than heaven. There are two new restaurants opening: Torchy’s Taco in Allen and Southern Breeze in Keller.

Southern Breeze Market Café, owned by the culinary husband-and-wife team of Melody and Daniel Fitzgerald, will make its debut on April 10 in Old Town Keller. Melody, a former pastry chef at the Mansion, and Daniel, former front-of-the-house-man at Tillmans’ at Tillman’s Roadhouse and Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine in Fort Worth, and Morton’s of Chicago Steakhouse in Dallas, currently own and operate Sugar & Frosting, a cupcakery in Allen. The “Timeless Southern Cuisine” (trending) and “Carolina Chic, comfort food dishes seasoned with a modern-day culinary flair.”

Jump. Hard. And help me get this song out of my head.

The press release: Continue reading "Two New Restaurants: Torchy’s Taco and Southern Breeze Market Café"

8 Comments »

What To Drink Now: Making and Drinking Cava with Segura Viudas, Part 1

posted by Hayley Hamilton | April 4th, 2012 8:59am | filed under press trips, Wine & Spirits |

40+ year old Macabeo vines on the Segura Viudas estate.

Spain is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, confirmed last week by the plane loads of spring breakers traveling to the country out of DFW.   I’ve just returned from a week in the Catalan region in and around Barcelona for an in depth look into the world of making Cava in the classic Methode Champanoise style from great Spanish grapes.   I was an invited guest of Segura Viudas Cava which makes approximately 400,000 cases of the bubbly a year ranging in price from around $8 a bottle to $20 a bottle; but to simply say that this is an $8 bottle of bubbly would be a severe injustice to the product that is created with dedication, respect and intense passion.

Over several days my traveling companions and I had an “assemblage” experience, learning the art of making Cava from vine to glass.  The French term “assemblage” is simply blending of several fine wines, generally from different grape-varieties, independently vinified.  However, much goes into the process before you get to the actual blend.  So the next few posts will take you through the same experience I had in learning the art of making this artisanal product in the heart of the Penedes region of Spain. Continue reading "What To Drink Now: Making and Drinking Cava with Segura Viudas, Part 1"