Articles for June 20th, 2012

Upcoming Opportunities To Taste

posted by Hayley Hamilton | June 20th, 2012 2:26pm | filed under Wine & Spirits, Wine Dinner Wednesday | 1 Comment »

It is a wonderful thing to be a wine lover in Dallas because we never lack for outstanding opportunities to taste something great on any given day, often paired with delicious bites prepared by some of the best chefs around town.  Here are a few opportunities that should not be missed.

Tonight and tomorrow night at Jimmy’s Food Store they welcome two great wine producers from the Campania region of Italy for special tastings of their lush Italian wines. Tonight Maurizo deRosa, Export Manager, of Feudi di San Gregorio will pour selections from their portfolio including their Lacyma Christi, Falanghina, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo, called the most noble southern white varietal in Italy.  Tomorrow, Jimmy’s will host Owner and Winemaker of Terradora di Paolo, Lucio Mastroberardino whose family has been making wine for over 130 years!  Lucio is known for combining the traditional with modern advances in his winemaking at his expansive winery in Southern Italy.  Wines to be tasted include Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo, Falanghina, Aglianico, Taurasi and more.  Each tasting will start at 6:30 and each will have a selection of appetizers served as well.  Reservations required – email Paul@jimmysfoodstore.com. Continue reading "Upcoming Opportunities To Taste"

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Somebody Help This Poor Girl: Venue for a Meeting/Happy Hour

posted by Krista Nightengale | June 20th, 2012 12:49pm | filed under Uncategorized | 14 Comments »

I need your help. I’m planning a meeting for July 13. It’ll start around 3. We will have a lot of paperwork that we’ll be digging through, hashing out, and commenting on. We need a place that allows us to spread out our paper, talk without having to raise our voices over background noise, serves good drinks, serves food if the meeting goes that long, and doesn’t mind us sitting around for a few hours. I’d prefer something near downtown or Uptown.

Please help!

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Nora Restaurant on Greenville is Open Today

posted by Carol Shih | June 20th, 2012 12:08pm | filed under Openings/Closings, Restaurant News |

Greenville is welcoming a new friend to the neighborhood. Nora Restaurant, a cozy and sleek spot, is opening to the public for the first time today, offering an exotic menu of Afghan dishes at 1928 Greenville Avenue. If you have no idea what the heezy some of these dishes are (i.e. badenjan chalao, qabili palao, and mantoo), just point and smile. Nobody will be able to resist a toothy grin.

Eating Lunch With Celebrity Chef David Rocco

posted by Lesley Mann Lynch | June 20th, 2012 9:30am | filed under Celebrity Chefs, It's just lunch | 1 Comment »

The handsome David Rocco (photo by Lesley Lynch)

Where do celebrity chefs eat when they are in Dallas? Meddlesome Moth. At least, that’s where I met David Rocco, Canadian-Italian celebrity chef, for lunch yesterday. Rocco was in town promoting his new book, Made In Italy, while juggling a half-dozen other responsibilities. We slipped into a quiet booth in the back, and the lunch hour slipped by as I would expect any lunch with any upstanding Italian guy: with an abundance of gesticulations, references to good olive oil, and stories about the important women in his life (his wife and twin daughters).

After perusing the offerings, I asked the celeb chef what he looks for on a menu at a mid-priced restaurant. He prefaced his response by saying that he never expects to be wowed anymore since he’s had so much good food around the world, but admitted that he was always searching for food that represented wherever he happened to be. After agreeing that we all had a light appetite, we ended up ordering four appetizers to share: fried hominy, house made hummus, heirloom tomato caprese, and seared ahi tuna.

Jump for more Rocco. Continue reading "Eating Lunch With Celebrity Chef David Rocco"

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Eats and Drinks: Summer Beer Festival and Southwest Foodservice Expo

posted by Carol Shih | June 20th, 2012 8:18am | filed under beer, Brews News, Events |

Sigel’s newsletters tells me that there’s going to be a free Summer Beer Festival at 5757 Greenville Avenue this Saturday, June 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. If you get yourself a beer festival passport, you can try up to 20 of the 50 brews available for sampling. Some of the tastings include: Deschutes Twilight Ale, Bridgeport Summer Squeeze, Rahr Summertime Wheat, Sierra Nevada Summerfest, and Redhook Pilsner.

The Texas Restaurant Association is hosting the Southwest Foodservice Expo from June 24-25 at the Dallas Convention Center. If you’re curious about the restaurant business, this is probably a convention you should be attending. The two-day schedule is packed with barista competitions, panels on being a woman in the industry, and seminars teaching you how to source locally. Believe me, it’s hard deciding what to do from all the offerings. Come Monday afternoon, though, I’ll definitely be sitting in the front row at the culinary showcase to watch James Beard’s Best Chef of Southwest Paul Qui make food art.