Articles for August 23rd, 2012

What To Drink Now: Tequila

posted by Hayley Hamilton | August 23rd, 2012 7:14pm | filed under cocktails, Wine & Spirits | 3 Comments »

Dallas had new-generation tequila all stars in town this week, visiting bars, restaurants and retailers to discuss the attributes of their premium tequila brands while tasting a few sips along the way.  The two founders of Milagro, Danny Schneeweiss and Moy Guindi, as well as Tequila Avion President Jenna Fagnan.  I had a chance to sit down with both tequila producers to discuss what sets their brands apart from all others.

Milagro Tequila founders Danny Schneeweiss ( left) and Moy Guindi with their Unico, a hand-crafted tequila launched this year which only 1200 bottles were made.

Tuesday afternoon I met with the charming founders of Milagro Tequila, Danny and Moy.  Two entrepreneurs that met in business school in their hometown of Mexico City.  They had teamed on a few projects in their business classes, continually winning the profits of the internal class contests and proving that they could potentially create a successful partnership, but tequila wasn’t always the first thought. However, as school days flew by, sipping their nation’s signature spirit, they knew they could potentially create a new tequila that wasn’t the same flavor profile those before them had sipped for generations, with somewhat harsh tones and often a tinge of bitterness.

The two friends wanted to create a clean, fresh product filled with the sweet notes of the agave plant.  They wanted to create a contemporary tequila that still embraced the traditions by focusing on quality and flavor.  They wanted to make a modern Mexican spirit that could rival any other premium spirit in the world. Continue reading "What To Drink Now: Tequila"

3 Comments »

Fresh Hop Beer is Like Vacation Sex

posted by Carol Shih | August 23rd, 2012 5:03pm | filed under beer, Beverages | 1 Comment »

… is what Drew Huerter, the Head Brewer of Deep Ellum Brewing Co., says on receiving several boxes of 2012 Centennial hops from Portland, Oregon’s Indie Hops today. Huerter and Tait Lifto are driving to the airport at 8:30 p.m. tonight to pick up this shipment that was literally picked this morning and air-shipped directly to the Deep Ellum bros, so they can take it straight to the lab where the dudes are going to brew fresh hop beer (tentatively called “Hop Seeker”) tomorrow morning.

Huerter explains that drinking fresh hop beer is ““like vacation sex – it’s like regular sex as they are both fun and the mechanics are the same, but there’s something ‘extra’ in fresh hops that is difficult to quantify.”

The DEBC’s newest beer should hit markets in about 3 to 4 weeks. According to Lifto, it will contain “Gambrinus Munich malt, Great Western Vienna & C150 malts, Rahr Pale Ale malt and Raw Cane Sugar along with Summit, Chinook, Glacier, Columbus and fresh Oregon-grown Centennial hops (in the hop back) – the fresh Centennial hops add a jucier, grassier terroir (pardon my French) to the nose. It will be stylistically close to an American Strong Ale or Imperial Amber Ale weighing in at a very respectable 8.0% abv.”

1 Comment »

Gladys Aston, Matriarch of Aston’s Bakery, Died on Monday

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 23rd, 2012 4:16pm | filed under Amy Severson, Baking, cake, R.I.P. | 12 Comments »

Gladys Aston passed away on Monday August 20 after a long illness. She was 75. Gladys worked side by side with her husband Richard, and later her daughter Mary Miller making cakes for the residents of the Park Cities and Dallas at the now 78-year old Aston’s Bakery.

Born in Minnesota on March 28th 1937, Gladys Irene Johnson was the 11th of 12 children. Her parents were small farmers. She worked at National Foods as a baker, and met Richard Aston who was doing an internship for Dunwoody College. They married, and in 1970 moved with their daughter Mary to Dallas where Richard’s father had opened Aston’s Bakery in 1934.

This afternoon Amy Severson stopped by the bakery and spoke with Mary. Mary said that even when her mother was no longer able to come into the bakery, she would call several times a day to find out if everything was being handled correctly. Her mother’s concern for taking care of their customers extended to her dying wish to her husband: “If I die overnight on a workday, please don’t call Mary [to help me] because there’s nothing she can do and she needs to get them [customers] their cakes.” When Mary took over the day-to-day operations and moved it to Lovers Lane, she became the first of the third generation to run the bakery.

Gladys is survived by her husband, Richard, daughter Mary and husband Jeff Miller, and grandchildren Garrett and Mallory. Services will he held on Monday, August 27th, 1:00 at North Dallas Funeral Home. Donations in Gladys’ memory may be made to either Operation Kindness or The Family Place.

12 Comments »

Get Your Stomachs Ready: Matt McCallister’s FT33 Opens in the Design District This October 2012

posted by Carol Shih | August 23rd, 2012 1:14pm | filed under Openings/Closings, Restaurant News | 5 Comments »

One of this fall’s most anticipated restaurant openings is finally happening off Hi Line Drive in the Design District. FT33, Matt McCallister’s first restaurant, is going to have a seasonally-driven menu featuring the season’s freshest ingredients. Just last week, Ryan Tedder of FT33 was named Texas’ Best Sommelier, so this restaurant’s already garnering awards without even batting an eye. Wait, but what does FT33 actually mean? For those of you unaccustomed to chef speak, “FT” is a chef’s term for “fire table,” which cues the kitchen to get the next course ready for a table, and “33″ is the chef’s table in the dining room. Read the rest of the press release to get a taste of what’s to come:

Jump for it.

Continue reading "Get Your Stomachs Ready: Matt McCallister’s FT33 Opens in the Design District This October 2012"

5 Comments »

Chef Brian Luscher of The Grape is Cooking This Thursday’s “Dinner for Two” at Bolsa Mercado

posted by Carol Shih | August 23rd, 2012 11:42am | filed under Eat This Now! |

Luscher makes sitting on pipes look cool. (photo by Joy Zhang)

It’s perfect picnic weather outside, dontcha think? Not a cloud in the sky and not a hurricane on the horizon (good luck with that today, Republican National Convention). Do your stove a favor and leave it alone tonight. Instead, pick up this three-course “Dinner for Two” at Bolsa Mercado made by Chef Brian Luscher at The Grape; he’s incorporated some produce grown in the Dallas County Youth Village’s garden. Proceeds benefit Cafe Momentum.

Salad

Toby Haggard’s Texas arugula & mizuna salad, charred corn, pickled onions, Texas tomatoes, Vital Farms egg, hand-torn croutons and fresh herb buttermilk dressing

Entree

Dry-rubbed local beef flank steak, roasted yams with pole beans, Caprino Royale goat feta & flat leaf parsley and black pepper-lemon butter

Dessert

Black plum cornmeal butter cake with spiced rum anglaise

Farm to Market Report: Weekend of August 25-26

posted by Carol Shih | August 23rd, 2012 10:36am | filed under Farm to Market Report | 2 Comments »

Our beloved farmers market girl, Erin Ahlfinger, found a new job, so we are all mourning her presence here. Unfortunately, this also means you will no longer be seeing her face in the little logo that comes with these reports every week, because obviously I look nothing like her. My face is more grocery bag-shaped.

Coppell Farmers Market: Listen to the Horny Toad Band play some sweet blue grass tunes as you shop one of the best farmers markets around town. In case you’ve been pining after them, Elliott Grows will be back after getting their new hydroponics operation set up. This week they have lettuces, greens, basil, and bok choy for purchase.

793 S. Coppell Rd.
Saturday, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Cowtown Farmers Market: Director Gwin Grimes writes:

“We have one Wednesday market left for our Westside location (traffic circle; 3821 Southwest Blvd.), Aug. 29, from 8 a.m. until noon. Saturdays continue 8 a.m. to noon year-round. Our Downtown Fort Worth market on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. continues through the fall.

We have a new crop of peaches (Red Globe, a freestone variety) in from Doak Orchards in Montague County. Native pears are in, and they are larger than usual this year, reports Greg Johnson of B&G Gardens in Poolville (Parker County). Last of the black-eyed peas are expected this Saturday, and summer field tomatoes are on the wane except cherry varieties, which are still producing prodigiously. Eggplant, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, onions and okra are still plentiful at market, as are melons of all kinds. Louisiana Green Velvet okra, a smooth, slender variety grown by Gerald Pruitt of Teague, is the market’s newest taste sensation — it’s even good raw.”

3821 Southwest Blvd.
Saturday, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Continue reading "Farm to Market Report: Weekend of August 25-26"

2 Comments »

Look What I Made: Texas Shaped Food Part II

posted by Travis Awalt | August 23rd, 2012 9:48am | filed under Breakfast, Look What I Made, Recipes, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Grilled grits with poached egg and Hatch cream (photos by Travis Awalt)

It’s Hatch green chile season, or so I’ve heard (can’t remember where), so I thought I would pander to that crowd this week, in the form of grilled grits with poached egg and Hatch chile cream.

As usual, when I do food from New Mexico, I like to throw in something shaped like Texas — people find that kind of thing “cute,” whatever the hell that means, and, though I can’t prove it, I’m pretty sure foods shaped like Texas are more nourishing than those shaped like other states. If the picture didn’t give it away, eggs get the Texas treatment this time. Of course, you can poach your eggs like normal (I guess), just, whatever you do, don’t try to shape them like Delaware. That would look and taste bad.

P.S. I threw in some fried stuff for no real reason. Enjoy!
Continue reading "Look What I Made: Texas Shaped Food Part II"

2 Comments »

KRLD Restaurant Week 2012: Reader Reviews

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 23rd, 2012 9:00am | filed under KRLD Restaurant Week 2012 | 5 Comments »

Today is day eleven of  KRLD Restaurant Week. Are you participating? If so, please share your experiences. Tip your servers and if they are exceptional, snap their picture, take down their name, and allow us to adore them.

5 Comments »