Articles for April 18th, 2012

Stephan Pyles Announces Names For Three New Restaurants

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 18th, 2012 12:33pm | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Openings/Closings, restaurant business news, Restaurant News | 8 Comments »

Well, gang. Looks like some of you came close to winning unofficial “guess the name of Stephan Pyles’ three new restaurants.” Today Mr. Pyles announces:

I have the name for the new restaurant at Park 17 [ at 1717 McKinney in Uptown]. It’s Stampede 66. The “Stampede” comes from the fact that we will have 8 sets of classic specimen longhorns (in stampeding motion) over the bar. Also, The Stampede was the name of the Country-Western Dance Hall in my home town of Big Spring that was the draw from all over West Texas on the weekends. It was the home of Hoyle Nix and his West Texas Cowboys that sang with Bob Wills. He did a version of “Big Ball’s in Cowtown” that rivals Wills’. The Stampede opened in 1954 and is still going strong today. Jody Nix took over the musical reigns from his dad some years ago and has had successful career of his own. And finally, my family’s café when I was growing up was the Phillip’s 66 Truck Stop Café. In addition, I’ve always been enamored by Route 66, which will be brought subtly (or maybe not so subtly) into the design.

Also I’ve decided to name the concept at Love Field Sky Canyon and will also be doing a Sky Canyon Wine Bar at DFW – terminal D with Gina Puente in June.

UPDATE: Opening dates: Sky Canyon Wine Bar – DFW – June, 2012. Stampede 66 – Late July/Early August , 2012. Sky Canyon – Love Field – April 2013

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Garden Cafe Gets Some Chickens

posted by Carol Shih | April 18th, 2012 11:30am | filed under AgriBusiness, cheeep, chickens, Chirpy, ChirpyChirpy | 3 Comments »

Francesca, Violet, and Sunshine (photo provided by Mark Wootton)

Chef/manager Mark Wootton of the Garden Cafe has some new female friends, but they’re not human. They’re hens, and their names are Francesca, Violet, and Sunshine. The think-sustainably family over on Junius Street partnered up with its neighbors (The Lab and Little Bean) to install a chicken coop in the back garden.

Cluck after you jump. Continue reading "Garden Cafe Gets Some Chickens"

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Viader Vineyards Showcases Their Wines at Bijoux in Dallas

posted by Andrew Chalk | April 18th, 2012 10:53am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Wine & Spirits, Wine Pairing | 1 Comment »

Viader and Dare Wines wait for their close-up.

Viader is a boutique California winery nestled in the foothills of the Howell Mountain Region of Napa Valley. This week they brought their wines to Dallas for a tasting. I was honored to be invited to the  dinner and tasting which took place at Bijoux, Scott and Gina Gottlich’s gem of a restaurant in Inwood Village. Predictably, the dining room was packed, reflecting the local following for both Viader and Bijoux. Guest of honor was Janet Viader, Director of Sales and Marketing for Viader and daughter of founder Delia Viader.

Let’s taste. Continue reading "Viader Vineyards Showcases Their Wines at Bijoux in Dallas"

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Upcoming Wine Events in Dallas

posted by Andrew Chalk | April 18th, 2012 9:20am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Steakhouses, Wine & Spirits, Wine Pairing | 1 Comment »

There are several noteworthy wine tastings happening in the next couple of weeks. Get your calendars and get tasting.

April 20th Pappas Bros: “An Evening With The Super Tuscans”. Details here, but it’s basically a walk-around tasting of 15 of the wines that changed the way the world regards Italian red wines.

April 21th Bistro Watel’s:  4:30pm.  Taste 8 Cabernets retailing from $50 to $150 for only $20 per person.
Limited space, reservations required by reply email, or at 214 720 0323.

April 24th Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek: 7:15pm. Wine dinner featuring wines from California’s Continuum Estate and Hirsch Vineyards. Mingle with Carissa Mondavi and Jasmine Hirsch and enjoy a reception and four-course menu created by Executive Chef Bruno Davaillon. 214.443.4747

April 25th Abacus: Vision Cellars Wine Dinner.  6:30pm. Please call Abbey Close at 214-559-3111.

April 28th, 7pm at Café  on the Green at The Four Seasons Resort and Club in Irving has a wine dinner with Côte Bonneville wines and winemaker Kerry Shiels  (972) 717-0700. The take: check out this rising star winery from Washington State. It is going to get a lot more national coverage in the next few years. New chef at the Café is worth checking out too.

May 1st Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse: “US Release of Penfold’s 2007 “Grange”. Details here, but it’s basically a national release party for one of the top ten wines in the world at 59 Ruth’s Chris steak houses across the country. The Dallas location hosts the dinner in north Texas.

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Tabbedout, a Phone App, Makes Bartenders’ Lives Easier

posted by Carol Shih | April 18th, 2012 8:44am | filed under Bars, Pub Concepts | 14 Comments »

Rick Orr's wife picked out this Tabbedout groomscake for their wedding last June. (photo by Ben Godkin)

Rick Orr, co-founder and EVP of Tabbedout, is a smart guy, but it’s not something he shoves in your face when you meet him. At least, that’s not what happened when I first encountered him and his then-fiancée at a little bistro in Austin last summer.

When Orr explained the concept of Tabbedout during our interview, I thought, “How neat,” and pushed it right out of my head. I was there to write about their nuptials, so wedding colors and flower arrangements seemed more important at the time. Since then, that conversation about his company has followed me to Dallas, where it’s hard not to notice people like Scott Reitz singing the praises of this iPhone and Android app.

This is how it works on smart phones: You download the sucker for free, enroll your basic billing info, and then you can open, view, and pay your tab at participating restaurants from the convenience of your phone.

Continue reading "Tabbedout, a Phone App, Makes Bartenders’ Lives Easier"

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