Articles for October 3rd, 2012

What To Drink Now: Glenfiddich

posted by Hayley Hamilton | October 3rd, 2012 3:03pm | filed under Wine & Spirits |

About every other day I get an email announcing a new spirit has launched and quite often Texas is one of the first state the hot new liquor is available.  As a spirit lover this is always exciting, as we are a society who loves a good cocktail and we are constantly on the look out for the next delicious drink.

In the midst of this, however, it is nice to see a brand that continues to see double digit sales growth as it celebrates the Quasquicentennial Anniversary. This year marks the 125th anniversary of Glenfiddich, created by William Grant along with his 7 sons and 2 daughters, who together embraced the vision of making the very best dram of scotch in the rolling Highlands of Scotland, naming it Glenfiddich, meaning “valley of the deer” in Gaelic.

Last night Glenfiddich hosted a birthday party at the Old Red Museum, gathering an eclectic mix of guests who shared one thing in common, their love of great single malt scotch. I had a chance to attend the event as a guest of Glenfiddich and sit down with Brand Ambassador, David Allardice, earlier this morning to talk about the product, the party and get his perspective on the ever changing spirits world as the company focuses on their next generation of scotch drinkers, while embracing those that know and love the brand. Continue reading "What To Drink Now: Glenfiddich"

State Fair of Texas Fried Food Feedback

posted by Nancy Nichols | October 3rd, 2012 1:44pm | filed under 'Burbalicious, Health Food, Junk Food, State Fair of Texas | 2 Comments »

Okay fried food fanatics, we are giving you a daily space to write your own reviews on the the great fried food you eat at the great State Fair of Texas.  Include the booth numbers if you remember. This post will be up daily until it’s all over and the grease traps are clear.

2 Comments »

A Highland Park Resident Rents Out Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe

posted by Caitlin Adams | October 3rd, 2012 11:38am | filed under Food Trucks, Free Stuff!, freebies | 7 Comments »

Robin Bagwell (left) with workers from DWHI to her right (photo by Caitlin Adams)

Highland Park resident Robin Bagwell decided to celebrate her 50th birthday in the most magnanimous way she knew how: She rented out a food truck to feed an entire community.

Ruthie’s Rolling Café parked in front of the Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute at the Juanita J. Craft Center this morning and treated those in the area to free bacon and sausage breakfast sandwiches. Bagwell rented out the food truck, owned by one of her friends, and rang in her milestone birthday in an unusual manner.

“My friends don’t want to go eat another birthday meal so I figured I would do something different,” Bagwell said.

Community members, DHWI patients and staff, and a handful of Bagwell’s friends turned up to the event to celebrate the birthday and score free breakfast. Continue reading "A Highland Park Resident Rents Out Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe"

7 Comments »

Urbano Café: BYOB Dinner With Sharon Hage

posted by Nancy Nichols | October 3rd, 2012 11:26am | filed under 'Burbalicious, AgriBusiness, Celebrity Chefs, Chick Chefs Rule!, Events |

On Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., Chef Sharon Hage will create a four-course dinner at Two Doors Down, the event space run by Urbano Café. Hage will be picking some ingredients from Tom Spicer’s garden next door. Seating is limited. Call 214-823-8550. Cost is $75 per person plus tax and gratuity. Menu is below.

UPDATE: Jasper Russo from Sigel’s sends some wine recommendations for the dinner. They are below

Continue reading "Urbano Café: BYOB Dinner With Sharon Hage"

El Padrino, the Last Taco Stand in Bishop Arts, is Closing November 1

posted by Carol Shih | October 3rd, 2012 10:47am | filed under Closings, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News, Tacos | 3 Comments »

The last taco stand in Bishop Arts (photo by Carol Shih)

The recent happy news concerning two restaurants moving in to Oak Cliff is still a painful reminder that El Padrino is closing on November 1.

When Lombardi Family Concepts signed the lease for the old Oak Cliff Mercantile building, this lease also included its takeover of the small taco kiosk known as El Padrino. Both Rob (Go Oak Cliff) and Bradford Pearson (Oak Cliff People) reported yesterday that these two new restaurants – the OC Mercantile and Dog House (hot dogs and frozen custard) – are moving into the old OC Mercantile space. A PR spokeswoman for the Lombardi group still doesn’t know what’s going to happen to the taco stand, but hopefully this means the Lombardis aren’t going to bulldoze the little kiosk. That would be sad.

Jump if you like jumping. Continue reading "El Padrino, the Last Taco Stand in Bishop Arts, is Closing November 1"

3 Comments »

Bloggers v Journalists: Strauss Marketing First Local PR Company to Request “Numbers” From Bloggers

posted by Nancy Nichols | October 3rd, 2012 10:04am | filed under As the Restaurant Turns, Bad critters, Bloggers, Breaking News, Food Crime, Free Stuff!, Pre World Series Depression | 15 Comments »

Thanks to all of you who participated in the two SideDish discussions (Bloggers v Journalists and Restaurants Beware of Food Writers who Expect Freebies). I thought the two posts brought up some great points and readers conducted an intelligent discussion. Apparently the restaurant industry and PR agencies took note. And I think we’re about to see some upgrades on how business is conducted.

Last night, someone forwarded me an email blast sent out by Nicki Patel at Strauss Marketing . She addresses “the people we normally deal with.”

Hope your week is off to a great start! In light of recent events and blogs, notably on D Side Dish at the end of last week, we are taking a step back and looking at how PR professionals and bloggers can better work together taking into account FTC guidelines. Several of our clients read the blog and comments, and have asked us to find a way to better evaluate their business decisions on offering complimentary products/dinners/experiences.

As a service to them we are asking that you please submit your most recent numbers on readership so that we may keep that on file. You are welcome to send over Google analytics, subscription numbers on feed burner (or other reliable sources), or any other tool you may use to track your readership, etc. Also, we know that some of you write not only for your blog, but occasionally for other publications as well. Please include that information so we are able to effectively pitch you on items that are appropriate and refrain from flooding your inboxes.

We know that is not a hard and fast number to base decisions on, but it is a start for us to be able to explain to our clients why offering up products/dinners/experiences is a smart idea. Thank you for your help on this and we hope to continue working with you in the future!

Kudos to Strauss Marketing for opening the door. “We felt your blog post addressed a situation that we deal with on an on going basis,”Patel said. “We saw this as an opportunity for us to address it as well.” Patel told me this morning she has already received “stats and information” from some on the list.

Hopefully the market will correct itself and restaurateurs won’t have to fear negative reviews from unaccredited bloggers and PR professionals won’t have to accommodate every person with a blog. There is a happy medium, or shall I say media, out there waiting to give you your money’s worth.

15 Comments »