Articles for November 7th, 2012

Whole Foods Market is Building a Store in Uptown

posted by Carol Shih | November 7th, 2012 4:48pm | filed under Groceries | 2 Comments »

Uptowners, convenient grocery store shopping is coming your way. Whole Foods is building a new store in the vacant parking lot between Fairmont and Routh, says the Dallas Business Journal. My officemates got really excited until I told them the most critical part of this news:

It’s not happening until 2015.

2 Comments »

Into Shelley’s Belly: Henry’s Tavern

posted by Carol Shih | November 7th, 2012 2:20pm | filed under beer, beer pairings, Beverages, Into Shelley's Belly | 2 Comments »

The signage (left); ambience (right) photos by Matthew Shelley

We all have that friend, the absurdly athletic, easy going good man who lets nothing shake his handsome feathers. He knows how to prepare duck a l’orange or a roast beef sandwich on rye. He smokes cigars but doesn’t inhale, and he knows who Arthur Rimbaud is. He also possesses a keen ability to construct objects from wood, hammer nails, and comfort a woman. Well, Plano has a new candidate to fill the shoes of said friend, and its name is Henry’s Tavern. Henry’s Tavern’s was born in Portland, Oregon; a place Dallas would be wise to consider tailoring its style towards… just, you know, a little.

Jump for some fun.

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People We Love: Ben and Blaine from Impact Foods

posted by Iris Zubair | November 7th, 2012 9:30am | filed under People we love, Politics of Food | 3 Comments »

Blaine Iler (left) and Ben Hurt (right) help feed the hungry in Honduras; photo by Leslie Katz

Think back to when you were in college and the professor posed a question for the class. If you were anything like me, you were too shy to raise your hand. Luckily, both Ben Hurt and Blaine Iler aren’t the shy types, and when they raised their hands on that fateful day in class, it was the beginning of a fruitful partnership that is helping to positively impact the world.

Since they both had ambitions in entrepreneurship, Ben and Blaine decided to put their heads together to come up with an idea that could benefit the biggest problems facing society today. They decided on a conscious capitalism project called Impact Foods to help alleviate world hunger. After a trip to Honduras, the vision became even more clear that something effective needed to be done. They followed in the footsteps of SMU alum Blake Mycoskie, who started a little project called TOMS Shoes, by proposing the 1:1 business model. They launched their business. For each package of granola sold, Impact Foods donates a micronutrient pack to a malnourished child. Now the granola can be bought in stores like Whole Foods for $6.99 each.

I had a lovely chat with both Ben and Blaine and decided to delve deeper into their vision for a better tomorrow.

Jump for the Q&A.

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Good Morning Dallas Restaurants. Get Ready for Obamacare

posted by Nancy Nichols | November 7th, 2012 9:08am | filed under Restaurant 101, restaurant business news | 5 Comments »

Restaurant Shrink: Mathew Mabel.

I’m happy Obama won. I’m also glad Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana because many restaurateurs may need to take a few hits before they open their books and try to figure out how they are going to deal with the Affordable Care Act. Restaurants, and other businesses with over 50-full-time employees, will have to ante up in 2014.

Dallas restaurant industry analyst Mathew Mabel offers some sage advice. His company, Surrender, deals with these situations all the time. This morning Mabel says,

Newsflash: the world will not end any time soon and you will keep going.The best businesses are taking action now to build the revenue and profits they need to pay for their allocation of Obamacare. Even if your business is not affected, I suggest you act like it is. Why? Because there is nothing like looming new expenses to inspire you to figure out how to make your company stronger, more successful, reach more customers, bring in more revenue, and generate higher profits. When the Affordable Care Act — whether you like it or not — impacts a business, it can become a cure for being lazy about implementing improvements.

As I always say: Don’t fight it bite it. Now, let’s get ready for the tourism boom in Colorado and Washington.

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The Refrigerator Challenge: Top Chef Season 10 Contestant Joshua Valentine

posted by Nancy Nichols | November 7th, 2012 9:00am | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Food On TV, Top Chef Season 10 |

The premiere of Top Chef’s tenth season airs TONIGHT on Bravo at 9PM. Dallas has three (out of 21) contestants on the show: Danyele McPherson (The Grape), John Tesar (Spoon), and Joshua Valentine (FT 33).

I asked all three chefs to send me photos of their refrigerators and answer a questionnaire about their food-storing habits. Danyele McPherson filed her report on Monday. Yesterday, John “The John” Tesar took time from his busy 48/7-schedule to provide a brief look into his unique fridge. Today, one Joshua Valentine, the pastry chef at FT33 opens his fridge and shows us his stuff. Valentine drinks beer, keeps okra until it rots, and has to ask his wife for permission to buy a new lawnmower.

His refrigerator says it all. You might as well jump.

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