Articles for June 25th, 2012

Taco Bueno to Open in Allen Tomorrow. People Are Camping Overnight

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 25th, 2012 7:02pm | filed under mob scenes, Openings/Closings, restaurant business news, Restaurant News, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, Tacos | 12 Comments »

1st in line, Gilbert Gonzales, Richardson, arrived 12:30 p.m. 2nd in line, Judy Sulak, Richardson, arrived 1 p.m. 3rd in line, Todd Johnson, Dallas, arrived 3:45 p.m. 4th in line, Tom McAndrew, Plano, arrived 4:45 p.m. 5th in line, Joel Watson, Anna, arrived 5 p.m.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this news: The new Taco Bueno in Allen doesn’t open until 9:30 tomorrow morning, but fans have already started camping out. And these fans plan to stay where they are  overnight!  The the first 30 people in line get a $100 gift card. If you’d like to join the party, the address for the Allen location is 1709 N. Greenville Avenue (just South of Stacy Road).

Taco Bueno has 178 locations in seven states with the majority located in Texas, and Oklahoma. Following the Allen, Texas opening Taco Bueno will add a second location in Owasso, Oklahoma later this year. Stay tuned for future editions of Camping at Taco Bueno.

12 Comments »

Get Your Forks Ready. Denton is Opening its Market to Food Trucks.

posted by Carol Shih | June 25th, 2012 4:41pm | filed under Food Trucks |

City Councilman Kevin Roden just tweeted and Facebooked this big Denton news.

BREAKING FOOD TRUCK NEWS: Denton to stop enforcing 15 min rule, essentially opening up our market for food trucks to do business while we continue to rewrite our food ordinance. I’ll post more info on this when I have time tonight… get hungry!

Any suggestions on what Denton should rewrite? Maybe food trucks should give out free food to every 100th person? Hot dogs must be longer than two feet?

2012 Southwest Foodservice Expo Report: Nielsen-Massey Fine Vanillas

posted by Andrew Chalk | June 25th, 2012 1:27pm | filed under Andrew Chalk, Baking, cake | 1 Comment »

Andrew Chalk chats with Beth Bizegaio of Nielsen-Massey Fine Vanillas about the slow, cold extraction of vanilla beans.

1 Comment »

2012 Southwest Foodservice Expo Report: Nue, A New Texas Vodka

posted by Andrew Chalk | June 25th, 2012 12:40pm | filed under Andrew Chalk, Booze News, cocktails, GoTexan |

Former professional paintball players now make smooth vodka in Lewisville, Texas.

Chalk Talk: Guess the Fruit

posted by Andrew Chalk | June 25th, 2012 11:42am | filed under Andrew Chalk, April Fools, Ate it For $8, best of big d, Cheap trick for comments, Delusional behavior, Food Porn | 5 Comments »


Can you guess its name? Clue: It is on display at the Southwest Foodservice Expo at the FreshPoint booth.

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Something Wicked This Way Comes: Wicked Po’ Boys Opens Wednesday

posted by Carol Shih | June 25th, 2012 11:39am | filed under Openings/Closings, Restaurant News | 10 Comments »

Buckle up, Louisianians. Maybe you’ll finally get your po’ boy fix (cross your fingers) at the Wicked Po’ Boys opening to the public on 1811 Greenville Avenue this Wednesday, but it’s been open since last Thursday. Husband and wife team Joey Le and Lan Chi Le missed the distinct flavors of New Orleans so much they decided to hire Plan B Group and Gin Designs to help them come up with a solid concept.

Lan Chi Le says, “We felt that if we stayed true to the flavors of New Orleans, we would be doing something that Dallas would really embrace. We wanted to have a genuine and honest concept that would resonate here in our own city.”

Wicked Po’Boys menu includes a crawfish etoufee po’ boy, and other po’ boys stuffed with BBQ shrimp, fried shrimp and crispy soft shell crab recipes. The “Inland” selection of the menu includes creative po’boys such as tofu and roast beef and gravy.  And, of course, there’ll also be gumbo, crawfish etouffee, charred oysters, sides like Cajun house chips and dirty fries with roast beef, gravy and cheese.

Please don’t disappoint us, Wicked Po’ Boys. Dallas is counting on you to change our dry po’boy landscape.

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29th Annual Lone Star International Wine Competition Results: Texas Wines Rock

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 25th, 2012 11:10am | filed under GoTexan, Rewritten Press Releases, Texas Wine | 1 Comment »

Working noses.

The Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association (TWGAA) hosted the 2012 Lone Star International Wine Competition on June 4-5 at the Grapevine Convention Center. Co-Chairs, Michael Zerbach and Barbara Werley, and twenty-three judges from Texas and California judged 514 entries from all over the world. The Lone Star International Wine Competition is three competitions in one – Texas Competition, International Competition and Limited Production Competition.

Awards were given for Grand Star – Best of Show – in all three competitions in the Red Wine, White Wine, Fortified Wine, Late Harvest/ Dessert/Ice Wine, and Rose’/Blush Divisions. Eleven wines won Grand Star – Best of Show. Fifteen wines were honored with a Double Gold Award. Gold medals were given to 36 wines, Silver medals to 171 wines, and Bronze medals to 203 wines.

Texas wines won seven Grand Star – Best of Show – Awards, six Double Gold Awards, 20 Gold Medals, 114 Silver Medals, and 144 Bronze Medals. The winners were announced on Friday. DRINK TEXAS WINES!

1 Comment »

First Take: ACME F&B on McKinney Avenue

posted by Carol Shih | June 25th, 2012 10:47am | filed under First Take | 11 Comments »

Crab and grapefruit gratin with house pita (photos by Desiree Espada)

The day after ACME F&B opened on June 1, food blogs were buzzing with ACME fever, probably because every food critic in town was googly-eyed with the Dream Team that conceived of the restaurant in the first place. Who could blame them?  Cool chef/owners Colleen O’Hare and Jeana Johnson of Good 2 Go Taco partnered with equally cool Barcadia owners Brooke Humphries and Brianna Larson to open an upscale, yet all-you-can-wear-jeans restaurant-bar at McKinney and Monticello.

ACME F&B is the kind of place you go to get away from grandiose dining rooms with all the pomp and circumstance your comfy GAP t-shirts weren’t designed to enter. But at a restaurant whose interior Jeana Johnson describes as “steampunk farmhouse” (Use Wikipedia if you weren’t culturally conscience back in the 1980s/early 1990s) where an industrial-looking furnace built by Steve Maybury, and vintage décor – like an old cast iron and lampshade – complement dark wood walls, those grungy boots in the back of your closet can finally see the light.

Jump for more Desiree Espada photography. Continue reading "First Take: ACME F&B on McKinney Avenue"

11 Comments »

Breastaurants Are Busting Out All Over

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 25th, 2012 10:20am | filed under Bad Names For Restaurants List, breastaurants, I Went to College for This?, restaurant business news | 2 Comments »

iStock

According to msnbc.com, diners can look forward to an increase in sports-themed restaurants featuring scantily clad servers. Those servers would be women. In fact, the article refers to breastaurants as “part of a booming niche in the beleaguered restaurant industry.” Associated Press Reporter Candice Choi writes:

Instead of relying on lust alone, the new crop of restaurants is growing by offering new themes (think: rustic lodges and Celtic pubs) and varied menus (think: pot roast and shepherd’s pie instead of just burgers and wings). In other words, they’re hoping maybe people really are coming in for the food.

We’ve talked about this before. Last year, we wrote about Breastaurant Row in Lewisville. We also opened the floor to commenters to come up with names of restaurants using male body parts as themes. (Twin Pricks, Tooter’s, Pecker’s Hot Italian Sausage, Tube Steak Junction, Long Dong Silver, Tally Whacker’s, andTwig and Berries) Why do boys get all of the visuals? I can’t wait for a sports-themed restaurant where I can watch the Rangers on TV while noshing on a plate of Roman artichoke nachos served by an oiled stud muffin in a loin cloth. Join me?

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2012 Southwest Foodservice Expo Report: Mushrooms, Mushy Meat, and Shoes

posted by Andrew Chalk | June 25th, 2012 9:28am | filed under AgriBusiness, Andrew Chalk, beer, restaurant business news | 1 Comment »

FreshPoint displayed the varieties of mushrooms they sell.

The Southwest Foodservice Expo 2012 at the Dallas Convention Center began yesterday and continues through today. The massive trade show is must-go  for restaurants, institutions, chefs,  retailers or anyone whose life revolves around food service. I attended the first day to look for trends and new or interesting things. The miles of aisles were filled with vendors displaying cooking equipment, restaurant furniture, and cleaning equipment, along with food and liquor samples.  Jump to read about some food items you may see on local menus soon.

Continue reading "2012 Southwest Foodservice Expo Report: Mushrooms, Mushy Meat, and Shoes"

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