Looks like frozen yogurt! How can it be all bad. (photo courtesy of Elevation Burger.)

Poor Pink Slime. The frappéed beef scraps and connective tissues doused in ammonia used in food production has been called to the front of the class for being gross in a room full of politically correct food experts. What took you people so long to get all worked up about Pink Slime? Did you miss The Omnivore’s Dilemna? Fast Food Nation? Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle?

What’s next? Nasty Nitrates? According to the Food Chemical Codex,  sodium nitrite, used to cure meat and prolong the shelf life of food, contains residual heavy metals, arsenic, and lead. Will you think about that the next time you bite into a Yu Dog at the Ballpark?

What is my point? I think Pink Slime got a raw deal. Anyone who pays attention to what they eat already knows about this crap. But somebody came up with a catchy name to grab the headlines and—BOOM—Pink Slime is public enemy number one.

My inbox is full of messages from burger joints now touting they are “Pink-Slime-free.” (Good news for marketing folks.) Locally, Elevation Burger has declared its 28 restaurants as “Pink Slime Free Zones.” Goody for them. They were smart enough to start by serving 100% USDA-certified organic and 100% grass-fed beef. Just be prepared to put your money where the pink slime was. (Check out City of Ate’s breakdown on the economics of  a slime-free market.)

Carry on do-gooders. There are important battles to fight for healthy food. Just don’t get all high and mighty. Some of us still like to enjoy food in foreign countries that are lucky to have beef scraps to cook.

UPDATE: I received a voice mail from Richard Chamberlain. “Michael Costa worked for us briefly 16 years ago,” he said. “In his release he insinuates he is associated with us and that is not the case.”

PRESS RELEASE:

In case you didn’t get the memo, The Office Grill is coming to a neighborhood near you…and soon!  Dallas-based veteran restaurateur Michael Costa’s Rainmaker Group (Chamberlain’s, Popolo’s, Mediterraneo, Toscana, Fish, Riviera, and Nobu, to name a few) is in final discussions with a national restaurant consortium whose two chains are a household name and in negotiations with a few other developers to share the Office concept on a much larger scale. On the eve of it’s one-year anniversary, the Office Grill has decided to shut the doors on their North Dallas location to focus on developing the concept for a regional roll-out. “Although we have been so blessed with a great group of patrons, and we’ve made a lot of life-long friends that we hope to see in a few months at our central location, we knew from the onset that this location had some major challenges, if only from the fact that a decade of near-misses preceded us. What this year has given us is the time and the venue to test and tweak The Office Concept into something with broad viability and a strong economic engine. Sometimes it takes pulling back and re-evaluating before you can ramp up for growth of this nature,” says Costa. With an overall vision of closing deals while eating meals, The Office Concept fits perfectly with busy lifestyles, and provides, as one writer put it, “a perfect escape from cubicle hell.” This virtual office offers amenities that allow guests to truly make the office “their own”, such as wifi, printer/copier capabilities, and even a notary to help in sealing the deal. There are also lockers available in the Boardroom for those wanting to leave computers, letterhead, or even their own stapler in-house. “As with any strong brand, the power of the concept is the engine that drives it. It’s no secret that we’ve had a rough year with our lack of landlord support in our present location, but the idea and passion behind the Office Concept has proven consistent with current trending and our culture. People today are busy, and who else is creating a place where one doesn’t mind staying late at the Office?” Costa says. “We are very excited about the opportunity to roll the concept of turning work into play out in more communities in 2012.” Initial plans include the finalization of the locations for an Office Grill near downtown Dallas and in Houston and San Antonio. For more information, contact Michael Costa at 214.402.7357.

I am speechless.

The original SideDish post is here.

Here’s a link to “Get to Know Morgan Wilson” video.

Don't Mess With Texan: Dan "The Captain" Koller.

Dan Koller is one of my favorite people. Why? Because he scares me. He looks like a cuddly Teddy bear, but underneath that nice-guy veneer lies the heart (maybe) of a cold-blooded managing editor. Last night “The Captain,” as I call him, took his family to Rafa’s Cafe Mexicano on Lovers Lane. He files this report over on Park Cities People.

Last night, my family and I visited Rafa’s for the first time. I know this place is beloved by Park Cities families, as evidenced by the large number of them who were there when we were. But I judge a restaurant by how easy it makes my life as a parent, and Rafa’s failed in that regard.

Read more.

He wants to know where you take your kids to eat.

My question: What is behind that bone? (Photo by Melanie Dunea from the book, My Last Supper)

Anthony Bourdain will be at The Majestic tonight. Tickets are still available. I understand there will be a Q&A segment in the show. Can’t go? Send me your questions. I’ll try to get them answered.

Oh, and Tony. Tonight is the sixth game of the World Series. Our Texas Rangers could be champions before your show is over. You’ve will have hard core Rangers fans in the audience with DVRs recording the game. Please do not give game updates. That goes for you fans in the audience. If I see one of you on your cell phone getting game results, I WILL CUT YOU.

I was reading through Pegasus News when I ran across this incredible story: Morgan Wilson, who made it to the finals last year on Top Chef Just Desserts, has been indicted for possession of child pornography.

He is charged with not one, not two, but THREE second-degree felony charges of possession with intent to promote child pornography. His arrest was last December. Terms of his release included the monitoring of his internet activity and a $10,000 bond.

Wilson is still listed as the executive pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas, but is scheduled to appear in front of a Collin County judge on October 27.  Nancy texted Dean Fearing, execuchef of Fearing’s at the Ritz, and he texted back “No comment!!!!”

On Top Chef, Wilson seemed like such a suave, collected, although short-tempered, guy. As a regular follower of all-things-food related on TV, I watched Wilson and was proud that he was representing Plano on national TV. Now it feels weird to think that when I was watching the show, he’d already been arrested for having images of child pornography on his computer.

I may never be able to eat another cannoli again.

This morning comes word that a new scam is making the rounds. This time, it’s switched to an email:

How are you doing today? This Mr. John Morgan speaking, I will like to place an order to go, can i speak with the owner about the order? My Mom birthday is coming up on the 20th of October and i will like to place an order for 150 grill chicken sandwich with salad individual pack for the 150 guest, It will be pick up by 3pm on the given date, So can i know the price per person and the total cost for the order plus tax. Can i have your full restaurant address and your name so i can forward to the carrier that will be coming for the pick up of the order once the food is ready by 3pm on the given date and i want you to promise me and assure me you going to prepaire (sic) the food nice and delicious.

If you get this email and fall for it, I have no sympathy for you. If you get one, let me know.

Anybody have some suggestions for the former employees when it comes tax time? We never received check stubs or info on the taxes taken out of them, that is when we did get them and they didn’t bounce.

I contacted Gregory P. Williams, a CPA with Restaurant CFO Partners in Plano. He has a lot of answers. They are below. I’ve also included his contact information if you have more questions.

Here’s Greg:

Good question!  Below are the official IRS procedures to follow in this situation.  Even in bankruptcy, employers generally send out W-2’s.  If this is not the case in this situation, then I anticipate that the employee will have to follow procedures 2 & 3 and estimate their earnings.

If you haven’t received your W-2, follow these four steps:

1. Contact your employer -If you have not received your W-2, contact your employer to inquire if and when the W-2 was mailed. If it was mailed, it may have been returned to the employer because of an incorrect or incomplete address. After contacting the employer, allow a reasonable amount of time for them to resend or to issue the W-2.

2. Contact the IRS –  If you do not receive your W-2 by February 14th, contact the IRS for assistance at 800-829-1040. When you call, you must provide your name, address, city and state, including zip code, Social Security number, phone number and have the following information:

• Employer’s name, address, city and state, including zip code and phone number

• Dates of employment

• An estimate of the wages you earned, the federal income tax withheld, and when you worked for that employer during 2010. The estimate should be based on year-to-date information from your final pay stub or leave-and-earnings statement, if possible.

3. File your return – You still must file your tax return or request an extension to file April 16, 2012, even if you do not receive your Form W-2. If you have not received your Form W-2 by the due date, and have completed steps 1 and 2, you may use Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Attach Form 4852 to the return, estimating income and withholding taxes as accurately as possible.  There may be a delay in any refund due while the information is verified.

4. File a Form 1040X – On occasion, you may receive your missing W-2 after you filed your return using Form 4852, and the information may be different from what you reported on your return. If this happens, you must amend your return by filing a Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Gregory P. Williams

Restaurant CFO Partners

701 E. 15th Street

Suite 201

Plano, TX 75074

Tel: 972-633-8999

On September 30, the landlord, 18020 N. Dallas Parkway, LTD filed a motion to convert the Chapter 11 filing to a Chapter 7. Chapter 11 means creditors are held off until reorganization or refinancing is obtained. Chapter 7 means there is no hope for reorganization and assets are to be distributed to creditors. A meeting of the creditors is scheduled for November 7.

The chef left right after Costa was arrested by the TABC on September 20 and Costa’s liquor license is suspended. He’s operating without a sales tax license, liquor license, and a chef? I’ll say this, the guy doesn’t go down easy.

Here is a pdf of the motion filed by 1820N. Dallas Parkway, LTD

Inspired by the first two episodes of Ken Burn’s Prohibition on KERA, Amy Severson and I did a little digging into some of the details of what was going on in Dallas before, during, and after prohibition. The third, and final, episode is tonight at 9PM. It’s been a fascinating documentary. Today, we scratch the surface of prohibition in Dallas.

Dripping Dry Dallas. That was the name earned by our city after the repeal of prohibition in 1933.

If you’ve watched the first two episodes of Ken Burn’s historical presentation, Prohibition, our country’s brief love affair with forced sobriety, you already know the national temperance movement came about as a reaction to the despair brought on families affected by alcoholism.

Jump.

Prior to the national ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages, Dallas already had a strong, well-organized faction fighting to keep Dallas dry. Texas, like Kansas and Maine, joined the movement to ban alcohol way before the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the passing of Volstead Act passed in 1919. In 1897, The Texas Anti-Saloon League, was headquartered in Dallas. Even though it was a provisional committee, it didn’t stop the league from organizing anti-booze rallies until they were officially charted by the national office in 1907. The Texas Anti-Saloon League then paired with the Dallas Central chapter of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the Dallas Pastors’ Association, and reached out to African American citizens for their vote. The battle cry– “The Saloon Must Go”—was plastered on banners and posters all over the city.

Cry as they might, there were over 300 saloons in Dallas, approximately 1 for every 100 people. In a Dallas Morning News story printed on September 12, 1926, Historian William S. Adair quoted local resident George Cretien’s observations of the city: “Dallas was as quiet, law-abiding a community, as could be desired, until outsiders began to pour in in anticipation of the railroads, which were heading this way. Then, it began to fill up with saloons, gamblers and dance halls, wild men and wilder women.”

Saloons were plentiful and local alcohol manufacturers controlled the distribution, sometimes using nefarious techniques to specialize their particular drink over others. In order to gain competitive advantage, saloons would “enhance” barrels of whiskey with more potent products (tobacco, laudanum) to ensure a “regular” stream of business.

While the success of the Texas Anti-Saloon League endeavors varied county-by-county, there is little doubt about their strength in Dallas. They called for a local option election and Dallas County was completely dry in 1917, two years before the national ban. Even though Dallas Mayor Joe E. Lawther opposed the measure, the “Drys” brilliantly tied the issue to World War I, urging its passage as a moral stance on the war. The vote passed and Dallas remained dry until the passage of the 21st amendment in 1933. Locals rejoiced and thought it would be easier to get a drink in Dallas. But the new Mayor, George W. Sergeant, Sr., was also deacon of the Presbyterian Church and an Anti-Saloon League board member. So the behind-the-scenes drinking continued.

The final episode of Prohibition is on KERA, channel 13, tonight at 9PM. You can catch re-runs of the first two starting at 7PM. Or you can watch them online.

“What came next?” You might wonder? Well watch Part III on KERA tonight and drink it all in.

Michael Costa's mug shot. September 7, 2011.

I have been chronicling the career of Michael Costa for a couple of years. Costa has been a restaurant consultant in Dallas since the early ‘90s. In spring of 2009, I wrote several posts about his misbehavior and his penchant for writing hot checks at Las Colinas Prime . In October of 2010, I reported that Costa had resurfaced as a principal partner at The Office Grill. Soon after The Office opened, I received phone calls and emails from disgruntled workers who claimed Costa was writing bad checks and not paying vendors. I spoke with Costa and wrote a story his shady operations in the May issue of D Magazine.

This morning, I learned Costa was arrested last night for an outstanding warrant. So far, the only details I have received from James Yarbrough at the Dallas County Sheriff’s office are that Costa was picked up last night for “a bond forfeiture for theft of $1,500<20k.” According to another source, Costa spent the night at Decker Detention Center in jail and was released this morning. I am waiting for the full police report.

In 1992, Renie Steves, a food and wine writer in Fort Worth, wrote a book called Dallas is Cooking. In the forward, Caroline Rose Hunt reminisces about the Golden Pheasant. “The steaks served at the Golden Pheasant located on Commerce between the Adolphus and Neiman Marcus were the best in town. A stuffed Chinese golden pheasant looked down on the diners, many who came fro out of the city to engage in the booming oil business.”

This week, Amy Severson and I continue our History of Dallas Food series on SideDish with a look at The Golden Pheasant, a French restaurant known for their sizzling steak platters. If you would like to take a look back at some of our earlier reports, here are the links: La Tunisia, Ida Chitwood. and Eltee O. Dave.

The Golden Pheasant Restaurant was a Dallas institution for over 45 years. If its story were a play, it would be a tragedy filled with mobsters, mysterious murders, and fires. The opulent restaurant opened in 1915 and operated under four different owners in four locations until it burned to the ground in 1964 and left four firemen dead. The last location was in the grassy lot which now sits next to the valet stand at the Magnolia Hotel. The fountain behind the hotel is a silent memorial of what was, even to this day, the worst loss in the history of the Dallas Fire Department.

Jump for the whole story.

Very little is known about Mr. and Mrs. William Levey, the original owners who moved the restaurant from the first location on Ervay Street to 1404 ½ Main Street. Sometime around 1924, the Golden Pheasant moved to its third location at 1509 Commerce (now part of valet lot beside Neiman Marcus.). In 1928, the Golden Pheasant was sold to Paul Bathias, a popular maitre’d at The Adolphus and manager of The City Club. Nobody knows how he did it, but somehow Bathias produced $10,000 during the Depression and moved The Golden Pheasant to its final location, a two-story building at 1417 Commerce Street. Bathias opened the doors on December 31, 1931.

The interior was grand. There were heavy metal trimmed doors inlaid with bright stained glass pheasants. The vivid yellow awnings in front could be seen from far away and a sign above the doors advertised the restaurant had “a new cooling system to keep them comfortable.” Two large stuffed pheasants mounted atop tall pillars greeted guests in the foyer. Inside, the restaurant was long and narrow with small private alcoves on the side. A staircase in the back for the room led up to a mezzanine.

In 1940, Bathias sold the restaurant to Al Badger who was once the manager of the Dallas Country Club. Badger and his wife Bessie oversaw the day-to-day operations. Eventually they brought their son Al Jr. and his family back to Dallas to help them. Their grandson Al Badger, III has lived in Dallas almost all his life and is now an attorney here. His family lived on Bryn Mawr and Al III remembers going downtown to visit his grandparents’ restaurant. “I considered myself the head of quality control there,” he chuckled as he remembered his childhood. “We would ride the bus downtown as kids, and then catch the trolley across to the movies. Back then they had four theaters. Other than that there was no other place to go except for a couple of grocery stores and a few restaurants like Youngblood’s.”

Al III remembers a few of the waiters: “Uncle” John, Clarence Jones, and Willie Jackson. Many of the servers spent their entire careers working at the Golden Pheasant. “There was a woman cook named Nannie Bell who made a cottage cheese pie,” Al III said, “It was made of cottage cheese and pecans, and it was sweet tasting.” Grocers like Hunt’s sold the restaurant’s salad dressing used in the “famed” Golden Pheasant salad which included hearts of lettuce, hard boiled eggs, and Roquefort cheese. “The dressing was like a French dressing,” Al III said.

By the early ‘60s, the dining climate had changed downtown. New swanky hotels such as the Statler-Hilton offered Dallas a sleek version of the Las Vegas rat pack scene. To keep up, other downtown hotels renovated their dining rooms to keep their guests from wandering off the property. Retail and movie theaters began moving out of downtown and up to Preston Center and NorthPark. The Golden Pheasant changed hands once more in 1962. New owner Charles Darrell Bryant didn’t do so well with the business. When he experienced a dip in sales, he changed the name to the Pheasant Café.

The first alarm alerted the fire station at 2:33 in the morning of February 16, 1964. Within two hours, the blaze was five alarms and over 750 firemen fought the two-story flames. Four Dallas firefighters lost their lives when they were crushed when the basement of the Golden Pheasant collapsed. It took rescue workers over nine hours to dig the bodies out and when it was all over, only a sooty yellow awning remained.

The loss of The Golden Pheasant occurred less than three months after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by club owner Jack Ruby. Rumors of a dark Dallas underworld filled mob connections and shady nightclub owners became international news. The city decided to get tough on crime and they looked into the suspicious fire at The Golden Pheasant. They were well aware of the fact Mr. Bryant was the owner of the Copper Cow, another restaurant which had burned to the ground in 1960.

Henry Wade, Dallas District Attorney, tried to charge Charles Bryant with “murder by malice” in the deaths of the fire fighters. It was a new, risky, and hard-to-prove accusation. Ultimately the DA’s office reduced the Bryant charge to arson. The prosecution failed to make their case even with compelling evidence: a fiscal business loss with an awaiting $70,000 insurance policy; a mysterious identical fire found by an early arriving employee the day before; and testimony by a cook that Mr. Bryant offered him $1,000 a month before to burn the restaurant down. The jury was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, trouble plagued Mr. Bryant after the trial. The insurance company refused to pay the policy due to suspicious circumstances. Bryant sued but he lost the case. He was also part of state probe into his involvement in vending company and liquor-license financing. Bryant was also a suspect in the car bombing of Phil Hodges, owner of the Best Place Café, a man the Dallas Morning News reported as a “known gambling figure.” The police told the paper the case was closed a few years later when a witness came forward and confirmed Bryant’s involvement.

The last evening anyone saw Bryant alive he was with Bobby Wayne Vandiver, a suspected mob hit man who’d skipped bail in Houston a month where he was arrested for murder. The next morning Bryant was found in his car in east Dallas with two bullets in his head. During the trial, a witness confirmed Bobby Wayne had killed Bryant while the two were fighting over a case of dynamite. Two months later, Bobby Wayne would die in a shoot-out with Longview police while dining in a restaurant.

Many people like Caroline Rose Hunt have fond memories of dining at The Golden Pheasant. And many more mourned the loss of the the fallen heroes of the Dallas Fire Department: James Gresham (age 25), Ronald Manley (27), Jerry Henderson (29), and James Bingham (36).

[Ed note: Many thanks to Al Badger III for his help in telling this story.]



2. Groupon for tickets to see Stevie Nicks. I feel old.

Fans, just wanted to let you know that YELP has been removing our 5 star reviews for our McKinney location, we have talked to them and they have told us we can’t do anything about it. YELP has been unfair and removed 24 reviews all of which were 4 and 5 stars. But they keep calling us to advertise, and told us it would get better if we advertised. It’s all about making money, what a shame they used to be a great site.

Ouch! Maybe their cyber technicians can detect comments left by the same person. I don’t know. However, this morning comes a note from another just-as-loyal Disher.

I think you’d better take a seat and get ready for this rumble. Oh, and if you know Jack Perkins of Maple & Motor, you might want to text him a link. Okay? Let’s go.

Loyal Disher writes:

I’m sure you have seen this article about Yelp’s impact on restaurants [Ed. Note: I have now!] I use Yelp mainly when I’m going out of town but I use similar sites – Urbanspoon and Trip Advisor more often. I think the sites are relevant and have credibility. It’s interesting that so many restaurant owners seem to despise Yelp and think the reviewers who give them negative feedback are unknowledgeable.  One doesn’t have to look any further than Jack Perkins (M&M). He seems to be on a personal crusade to dispute anything negative said about him or his restaurant. Anywhere he can, he posts brash, bombastic rebuttals to reviewers (except for Yelp — I heard he got booted off Yelp for his harassment of reviewers.) I’ve seen other snide comments about Yelp and its users from other restaurant owners on their Facebook page.

I wondered what you, and more importantly, your readers think of Yelp and a restaurant owner who argues incessantly with reviewers that he doesn’t like.  I like Maple and Motor just fine and have no problem with the restaurant’s policies (I actually like them) but I can’t get past the blatant “you can go to hell if you have a complaint or issue with my restaurant” attitude.  I’m sure many restaurant owners have wanted to tell a paying customer where to go — but have thought twice. Where is the respect for the customer?   Has Yelp and similar sites caused this animosity towards customers?

Yow. Zah. What a crazy world we live in. I don’t think of Yelp, so I’m no help.  So, here’s the deal. Do you use Yelp, Urbanspoon, or Trip Advisor? If so, which one do you find the most useful? Have you had comments deleted?

Restaurant owners: I think I could get pissed by anonymous people leaving remarks about experiences in my restaurant. I remember Hector Garcia telling us about the four-top who that walked in and announced “Table for four. We are Yelpers.” Everybody is a food critic without standards. Speak up Dishers, Yelpers, Spooners, and Advisors.