Articles about Blast to the Past

Somebody Help This Poor Girl: Hangover Cure in Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 6th, 2013 8:32am | filed under Bars, Blast to the Past, Booze News, Cinco de Mayo, How About This Weather?, I Went to College for This?, Junk Food | 14 Comments »

Incoming request from a gal who partied like it was Cinco de Mayo. Oh, it was. When she woke up this mornin’, she coulda sworn it was judgment day. Give her hope.

I haven’t done this since I graduated college (83). I went out with friends for brunch and we had a few drinks and then we had a few more and we just kept going. I took aspirin and drank Gatorade but lost it about 3AM. I am in my office and have a long day ahead of me. Does Red Bull work for hangovers? Thoughts? BTW, we stayed at the same bar all day. Shouldn’t they have cut us off? What is the law on that?

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International Bakery Cuban Dulceria Hosts “Cuba Nostalgia”

posted by Carol Shih | May 3rd, 2013 10:28am | filed under Baking, Blast to the Past |

Hear ye, hear ye -

The fair ladies of Carrollton’s International Bakery Cuban Dulceria are hosting a three-day Cuban extravaganza. If Cuba be the food of love, read on:

Dallas, Texas “CUBA NOSTALGIA”-in it’s 4th year at International Bakery Cuban Dulceria.
The premier Cuban event outside of Cuba is CUBA NOSTALGIA a journey back in time for those who remember the island’s glamorous times – and for those who never experienced them. There will be Cuban exhibits, artists and vendors, traditional Cuban foods, and of course music.

• Enjoy Cuban food from International Bakery Cuban Dulceria serving El Cuban, Pan con Lechon (pork sandwiches), Media Noche (midnight sandwich) and others plus pastel de carne, croquetas, papa rellenas (stuffed potato ball), mariquitas (plantain chips) and much more.

• Quench your thirst with traditional Cuban soft drinks like Iron beer (iron beer), Materva (mate), and Jupiña (pineapple). And of course enjoy the cold taste of Coca-Cola, whose first plant out of the U.S. was in Cuba.

• Savor our Families Favorites -pastelitos de Guayaba y Queso (Guava&Cheese pastry), Guayaba (Guava pastry) Pastelitos de Coco (Coconut pastry) & more. Dulces Finos, Capuchinos (drenched cones-cakes) Senoritas (Napoleons) Éclairs de Carmelo (Carmeled Éclair plus Éclairs de Chocolate (Chocolate Éclair)

• Experience tastings from Bacardi, Bustelo Supremo, Goya, Cigar Roller, Cuban Art, and Cuban Music by Carlos Guedes. See complete calendar on Facebook,

• Raffled Java Cabana gift baskets from Bustelo, Bacardi Rum and Goya baskets.

International Bakery Cuban Dulceria May 16, 17 and 18 th from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Our address 2662 N. Josey Lane, Suite 228, Carrollton, Texas 75007,  972.242.3797.

 

Fans of Cuba Libre Gets Special Treat From Nick Badovinus

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 24th, 2013 12:51pm | filed under Blast to the Past, Celebrity Diners, ChirpyChirpy, Nostalgia | 1 Comment »
The happiest Susan is Sueville.

The happiest Susan is Susanville.

Last month, I received an email from Paul, a SideDish reader. He wrote in an email with a subject line “Missing Cuba Libre”:

My wife and I were talking recently about how much we miss Cuba Libre, particularly a mixed basket of the plantain and tortillas chips with three sauces plus black-bean dip, the spinach salad with mango or passion-fruit vinaigrette, and, most of all, the phenomenal Voodoo Blackened Salmon atop coconut rice and sautéed vegetables. Moreover and aside from the palate-pleasing flavors, the salmon was always cooked to perfection as a narrow filet, but thicker than any cut I have found elsewhere in Dallas.

I forwarded the email to Nick Badovinus, the opening chef at Cuba Libre.  Today comes word that Badovinus rocked Paul’s, and his wife, Susan’s world.

This past Monday, for my wife Susan’s 45th birthday, Nick and his kitchen staff and Will (our extraordinary server), went above and beyond any dining experience in recent memory, properly pacing a phenomenal 3-hour culinary excursion for my wife Susan and two of our dear friends. Below is our menu and we continue to enjoy all that we brought home. I can’t succinctly write how extraordinary each dish was in its own unique way!

Nicely played, Badovinus. Dangerous precedent.

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Why I Hate the DMN’s Star Ratings: Reason Number 6,432

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 11th, 2013 12:59pm | filed under Blast to the Past, Bring it!, Food Writing, Hippie revolutions, I Hate it When That Happens, Nutjobs, questionable judgment, ramen, Reviews | 22 Comments »
Star System: Eeny meeny miny moe...

Star System: Eeny meeny miny moe…

I’ve expressed my opinion on the DMN‘s star rating system too many times to count. In case you care: You can find one here and another here.  I’ve even suggested a reasonably quick fix to making the system more meaningful.

I read Leslie Brenner’s reviews. Sometimes my skin crawls and my eyes burn after I try to relate the number of negative (or positive) comments to the number of stars. There should be a direct correlation. I also feel price point should not be a determining factor when handing out stars.

And that is why today I am taking a shot at Brenner’s co-reviewer, Mark Vamos. He writes a glowing review of Marc Cassel’s 20 Feet Seafood Joint and then slaps on two wimpy stars.

He writes:

The lobster roll:  “honest roll to please a cranky Yankee.” (What more could you ask for in one?)

Oysters: “Bluepoint oysters on the half shell, served over ice. They’re briny and meaty — and, don’t hate me, so much better raw than our gulf oysters — and perfect with just a spritz of lemon.” (I don’t hate you. You’re right. But how can you use the word perfect anywhere in a two-star review?)

Other bites: “fine Mexican shrimp cocktail” “his justly praised Green Room mussels” “fish and chips are another unpretentious offering” (And you paid what for all of this goodness? Shouldn’t that count as a positive?)

I don’t have any connection to Marc Cassel or 20 Feet or Mark Vamos. It’s just that his review woke up dark dragon of anger that has been asleep in my brain. Mark, I’d love to hear how you arrived at two stars. Email lines are open. Operators are standing by. Except for Carol. She’s in Taiwan. Eating ramen. Like the pork belly ramen made by Marc Cassel.

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The Year in Review: Dallas Dining Scene 2012

posted by Carol Shih | December 31st, 2012 6:00am | filed under Blast to the Past |

Tully Lewis in TuLu’s Gluten-Free Bakery

In a couple hours, it’ll be 2013. Scary, scary thought. At least 2012 was a pretty good year, right? I mean, we came pretty close to the end of the world (thanks, Mayans), but we’re still alive. Amazing how that worked out.

So here’s what happened on SideDish this year. Take a walk through Nostalgia Park with me as I review what’s happened during the last 365 days. We can even hold hands and skip past the trees together.

You ready?

Everybody wanted a piece of Preston Center. That area was h-o-t. Within the last nine months of 2012, a slew of places decided to nest in that little piece of land between the tollway, Preston Road, and Northwest Highway. TuLu’s, Ocho, Hopdoddy, Spoon, and Katherine Clapner’s Dude, Sweet Chocolate are making the Park Cities even more of a traffic hazard, and we already know that Wicked Po’ Boys is opening its second location three doors down from Hopdoddy in 2013. Lots to look forward to.

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Remembering Dallas Restaurants: Jamie’s Gourmet Burgers

posted by Nancy Nichols | November 27th, 2012 8:53am | filed under Blast to the Past, Nostalgia | 20 Comments »

In June, 2010, I wrote a blog post called Remembering Dallas Restaurants: How Far Back Do You Go. There were over 100 comments and reading them is a real trip down memory lane for those of us who have been around here for a long (really long) time. This morning comes an email from a reader. She’s jonsing for Jamie’s. Remember Jamie’s Gourmet Burgers on Lemon Avenue. One reader swears it was on Inwood but I remember it being behind Esquire Theater on Oak Lawn. They served stuffed burgers, curly fries, and baked beans. THE BEST thing about Jamie’s? The centerpiece was a flag and you raised it when you wanted a server. I can’t believe nobody else has ever done that. It’s brilliant. Anyway, back to my original point. Reader asks all you geezers out there to stretch your brains back to mid-70s.

 Nancy, Years ago there was a Jaimie’s (Jamie’s sp.?) restaurant on Lemon Ave.  They were known for their stuffed burgers.  One was with walnuts. Is there any way I can find this recipe? Or anything you know of that ?

Anybody else got a recipe request or story to tell?

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Excuse Me, Waiter! I Mean, Server? How Shall I Refer to You?

posted by Nancy Nichols | October 15th, 2012 11:41am | filed under Blast to the Past, Dishbag, People we love, R.I.P., restaurant service | 6 Comments »

Hall shall we refer to thee? Rhett?

The great Glenn Mitchell, host of KERA’s The Glenn Mitchell Show, once asked me if people who make a living waiting on tables prefer to be called waiters/waitresses or servers. I replied servers. I was a guest on his show at the time and the phone lines lit up with servers who demanded to be referred to as waiters/waitresses and vice versa. At the end of the hour, we tallied the votes and it was dead even.

That was 2004. I’m curious to hear from the masses now: What shall we call you?

BTW, I’ve come up with a new term for obnoxious foodies: Dishbags. Like it?

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Eat This Burger: The Cowboy at Regal Beagle

posted by Matthew Shelley | October 5th, 2012 2:05pm | filed under Blast to the Past, Burgers, Into Shelley's Belly | 18 Comments »

Chefs Nick Vakidis and Ben Johnson (left); Stuft buffalo fried chicken sandwich (right) photos by Matt Shelley

Animalistic hunger rages in my underbelly. I feel fists clenched and taste buds curdling. The stiffness in my calves is no doubt from the disco ball dangling like a thousand man giants reminding me of brighter nights beneath a Taiwanese moon in the July of Gelderlands Revival. A quick sniff reveals that food is served here at Regal Beagle. This place is a dive. Billiards rage and musical classics beckon from the jukebox. A patron named Jeff is asking me about my intentions, and he is charming and delightful. The locals drinking at two in the afternoon are boisterous and nonetheless calming. Black walls, billiards, foosball, and the horseshoe bar all tickle my fancy bone, and I give my hand to the charming chefs who have recently taken over the kitchen.

Ben Johnson and Nick Vakidis left Terilli’s to start up the kitchen at the Regal Beagle. For three weeks now, they have cut their fingers and blistered their social lives to build a beautiful stuffed burger, or Stuft, which is the name of the kitchen itself. I delighted in their story and entrepreneurial magnetism. Two dudes and a hefty skillet have come to this dungeon with a bright and beautiful basket of food. The stuffed buffalo fried chicken sandwich surprised me with its smoothness, much like my uncle Ricky on an all-night roller through Chinatown on my 13th birthday after the Mariners lost the World Series…and he still managed to commandeer three honeysuckles from the VIP for his indulgence.

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What Do You Remember About the Corner of Lovers and Greenville?

posted by Carol Shih | September 12th, 2012 3:47pm | filed under Blast to the Past, ChirpyChirpy, GoTexan, Groceries, Snacks | 36 Comments »

Before Central Market was built on the corner of Lovers and Greenville ten years ago, that spot was occupied by LouAnn’s nightclub, the “hub of the Dallas dining scene.” Performers like Lawrence Welk and Jimmy Reed use to bang up the stage with their music. Plenty of you, I’m sure, have stories to tell about this corner – stories that you may or may not remember, depending on how many Regal Beagles you had back in the day. So, to honor the 10th anniversary of Central Market, we’re asking you to tell your story in the comments down below.

Jump for the rest of the 10th anniversary celebration.

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