Scheduled Master Sommeliers include James Tidwell, Drew Hendricks, Wayne Belding, Brett Zimmerman, Guy Stout, Tim Gaiser, Laura Williamson, Keith Goldston, Nate Ready, Melissa Monosoff, Brian Cronin, Cameron  Douglas, John Szabo, Geoff Kruth, Laura DePasquale, Jay Fletcher, Andrew McNamara, Peter Neptune and Greg Harrington. The speaker lineup also includes James Beard Award Winners Rajat Parr and Paul Grieco, Master of wine Christy Canterbury, wine marketer Paul Wagner, Union Square Hospitality Group Wine Director John Ragan, and Leonetti Cellar Owner Chris Figgins.

The seminar topics, times, and various ticket prices are listed below. For more information or to register, click here. Like, fast.

You can be a sommelier like this Guy!

In addition to the seminar schedule, the Texas’ Best Sommelier competition runs behind the scenes. The prize for the winner includes scholarship money to be used for a Court of Master Sommeliers’ certification program. The winning sommelier will be announced at the Grand Tasting on Monday, August 13, which will include 150 world-class wines and hors d’oeuvres from Four Seasons Executive Chef Christof Syre.

CONFERENCE CALENDAR
Saturday, August 11-—Pre-conference tasting and social media boot camp
9:00am to 3:00pm
TASTING TRACK
9:00am –12:00pm:      Tasting Workshop: Understanding the Process of tasting—led select Master Sommeliers (TBD)
12:00 – 1:00pm:           Lunch (not included in admission)
1:00 – 3:00pm:            The Kimmeridgian Chain—led by Wayne Belding MS
SOCIAL MEDIA TRACK
9:00am –12:00pm:      Social Media Boot camp—led by blogger Tony Jones
12:00 –1:00pm:           Lunch (not included in admission)
1:00 –3:00pm:             Engaging People with Social Media—led by social media expert Rick Bakas

***Seminars are open to the public. Saturday passes cost $50 per person and include access to either the Tasting Track or Social Media Track (attendees are not permitted to interchange track offerings). Please note lunch is not included with admission.

Sunday, August 12
9:00am to 5:00pm—Educational seminars on contemporary issues to include:
•         Bordeaux—led by Wayne Belding MS and Brett Zimmerman MS
•         Texas Terroir—led by Guy Stout MS and Christy Canterbury MW
•         Riesling—led by Tim Gaiser MS, Laura Williamson MS, Paul Grieco and Keith Goldston MS
•         Oregon—led by Nate Ready, MS
•         Beer—led by Melissa Monosoff MS and Brian Cronin MS

***Seminars are open to the public. Sunday passes cost $175 per person and include lunch. Sunday and Monday passes are available at a discounted price of $225. Each class features at least eight wines to taste and lasts one hour and fifteen minutes. Seating is limited to 50 participants per seminar.
Although open to the public, these seminars are also appropriate for those working in the industry— such as distributor representatives, sommeliers, restaurant managers and servers.

Monday, August 13
9:00am to 5:00pm—Educational seminars on contemporary issues to include:
•         State of the Industry—led by Moderator James Tidwell MS and panel members
Drew Hendricks MS, Paul Wagner, Rajat Parr, John Ragan, Rick Bakas
•         New Zealand: Trends for the Future—led by Cameron Douglas MS and Andrew McNamara MS
•         Niagara Peninsula—led by John Szabo MS and Geoff Kruth MS
•         Cabernet Franc—led by Laura DePasquale MS, Jay Fletcher MS and Peter Neptune MS
•         Winery Retrospective: Leonetti Cellar—led by Chris Figgins and Greg Harrington MS

*** Monday, April 13 courses deliver industry-specific material and thus are only open to the trade. Each seminar features at least eight wines to taste and lasts one hour and fifteen minutes. Monday passes cost $75 per person and include lunch. Sunday and Monday passes are available at a discounted price of $225. Seating is limited to 50 participants per seminar.
6:00 to 7:00pm—Wine Pre-Reception
7:00 to 8:30pm—Grand Tasting and Texas’ Best Sommelier 2012 Announcement Ceremony
***Open to the public. Tickets cost $95 per person.  Attendance to the Grand Tasting is included in the multi-day pass.

***Complete package tickets including Sunday and Monday passes and Grand Tasting tickets can be purchased for $300

INFORMATION: TEXSOM will be held on August 12-13, 2012 at the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth a pre-conference tasting and social media boot camp will be held Saturday August 11. For more details and conference registration information, please visit www.texsom.com.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES: For media interested in attending or covering TEXSOM 2012, please contact Keely Garibaldi at C. Milan Communications, keely@cmilancomm.com or 415.392.6600.
ABOUT TEXSOM

TEXSOM and the Texas’ Best Sommelier Competition were founded by James Tidwell, MS, CWE, Sommelier at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas and Drew Hendricks, MS, CWE, Director of Beverage Education for Pappas Restaurants in Houston. Presented by the not-for-profit organizations, the Texas Sommelier Association and the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas, TEXSOM is the only event of its kind in the world. Since its inception in 2005, it has attracted more than 1,500 wine professionals, and more than 160 Texas sommeliers have competed.

ABOUT THE TEXAS SOMMELIER ASSOCIATION
The Texas Sommelier Association is a trade association comprised of Texas wine professionals. The Association promotes professional wine service standards, outlines paths for further wine education and certification, and raises public awareness about the professional standards and certifications for sommeliers. The organization sponsors the “Texas’ Best Sommelier” competition, with the winner being awarded scholarships for professional certification courses. This competition is held behind the scenes during the TEXSOM conference. For more information, visit www.texsom.com.

ABOUT THE WINE AND FOOD FOUNDATION OF TEXAS
The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas was established to connect its members and the general public with the value, creativity and craftsmanship inherently present in the culinary and viticulture arts. This mission is fulfilled by funding grants, scholarships and research aimed at elevating the quality, awareness and enjoyment of good food and fine wine as well as hosting education and social events that enhance the quality of life for members and communities. These programs offer unique opportunities to enrich the minds and palates of guests, who in turn can relate their experience with friends sharing common interests. For more information, visit www.winefoodfoundation.org.

David Lee, Chuck Homola, Larry Papkin, and Jonathan Barrows from the North Texas Homebrewers Association

One of our new summer interns, Teo Soares, loves beer, so we sent him off on his first assignment to the 2nd Annual North Texas Beer Festival. Looks like he survived.

“We’ll compete for shelf space, we’ll compete for tap handles, but in the end we’re all friends,” said Kendra Harrell, a sales manager for Saint Arnold Brewing Company. “We’re not going to rumble.” She paused. “Although, you know, maybe I will.”

Saint Arnold was one of fifty breweries at last Saturday’s North Texas Beer Festival, which drew about 4,500 visitors to the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. Jim Campbell from Andrews Distributing Company opened the Festival by presenting a $5,000 check to Honor Flight DFW, a local nonprofit that sponsors all-expense paid trips for veterans of World War II to the conflict’s memorial in Washington D.C. Before leaving the stage, Campbell reminded visitors to bid on a silent auction (which would eventually raise an additional $5,000 for the organization) and told us to drink.

Jump for the booze.

Beer reps tend to fit a certain mold: lively and a little brazen, with loud voices and firm handshakes. Harrell is no different. She has a fondness for phrases like, “I’m excited,” and, “That’s badass,” and, “We will continue to rock it.”

Saint Arnold, for which she works, brews its beers according to the Reinheitsgebot, the medieval German purity law that restricts brewers to four ingredients: water, malt, yeast, and hops. That list may be short, but the brewery makes the most of it. Its Summer Pils was crisp and hoppy but not bitter, while its Weedwacker tasted like cloves and left a hint of banana in my mouth. (When I asked how they make different beers using only four ingredients, Harrell took pity on my cluelessness and pointed out that wineries use only one.) Though some of the company’s seasonal offerings are brewed with berries and sugars, Saint Arnold mostly sticks to those four ingredients. According to Harrell, this is in contrast to other brewers, which, “if they could fit a kitchen sink into the brew tank and it would impart flavor, they would do it.”

To Christopher Hubbard, District Manager for North American Breweries, this fitting-of-the-kitchen-sink-into-the-brew-tank approach is what makes craft beers great. “There’s so many different ingredients you can put in. We’ve made beers with dandelions, different types of berries, chocolate—you name it.” The Rochester-based company owns Seattle’s Pyramid Breweries and Vermont’s Magic Hat Brewing Company, both of which had stands at Saturday’s event. Visitors who came by Magic Hat’s booth walked away with wristbands and samples of the brewery’s Magic Hat No. 9.

Though most vendors at Saturday’s event considered themselves craft brewers, beer giants Pabst, Miller, and Anheuser-Busch also pitched booths at the Festival. Their well-known beers offered alternatives to the more idiosyncratic flavors of smaller breweries. “There’s only so much motor oil you can drink,” said James “Rev” Frederick from Pabst. At Anheuser-Busch’s stand, the brand’s new Bud Light Lime-A-Rita was particularly popular. “You serve it over ice,” a rep explained.

Budweiser dubs itself “The King of Beers,” and in a sense it is: Anheuser-Busch today commands nearly 50% of the U.S. beer market. In terms of sales, large breweries rule the industry. But the crown comes at a cost. Harrell told me about the rep who visited her booth but only tried the Saint Arnold Root Beer because he viewed the brewery as a competitor. “He was also wearing a beer shirt that wasn’t a craft beer shirt,” she said.

Beer, after all, is a social drink. Chad Jacobson, who trekked to North Texas from Montana with the Big Sky Brewing Co., said the best thing about craft brewers is that, when the dust settles, “We can all go out and sit at the same table and have a drink.” Jeremiah Wallis, from the Kansas City-based Boulevard Brewing Co., echoed that sentiment: “All of us are friends. It’s all of us going with the big guys trying to get to their level, but we know we’ve got plenty of room to grow.”

While they remain underdogs, guys like Jacobson and Wallis share a sense of camaraderie and a love for the craft. “I think that if you talk to most craft brewers, you see the passion that they have for making really good beer and selling it to customers,” said Harrell. “It’s really cool to work for someone who says, ‘If it costs more to do it this way, that’s cool, because I want to make something really good and get it to customers and have them enjoy it.’”

That, to use her words, is badass.

Monday

• St. Arnold’s Brewing Co. Dinner at Union Bear. The brewery’s founder, Brock Wagner, is your drinking companion for the evening. Michael says he’s neutral on St. Arnold beers in general, but there’s no way this won’t be fun. One word caught my attention: sherbet. Easy math: sherbet + beer = disaster or delicious. Time will tell. Tickets are $55, seating is limited to 50.

Course 1: Oysters on the Half Shell served with a Farmer Brown Mignonette Sauce Paired w/ Chardonnay Barrel-Aged Farmer Brown Cask

Course 2: Seared Scallops with Melon Consomme and Creminelli Coppa Paired w/ Fancy Lawnmower and Weedwacker

Course 3: Union Bear’s Barolo Pizza- Drunken Salami, Toasted Onions & Peppers, Black Olives, Rosemary Paired w/ Spring Bock Course

Course 4: Steak and Frites Paired w/ Amber Ale Course

Course 5: Lemon Raspberry Thyme Sherbet Paired w/ Elissa IPA

• Pyramid Night at Flying Saucer on the Lake. Show up around 5 pm for a tapping of Pyramid Curveball Kolsch. Later, a rep from the brewing company will lead tastings of various Pyramid brews and food pairings. Raise your hand if you’ve drank your weight in Pyramid Apricot Ale. Unadvised.
• Shmaltz Brewing Company Vertical Jewbelation at Meddlesome Moth. 5 PM tapping, as usual.
• Franconia Oak Aged Mai Bock at the Holy Grail Pub.
• Franconia Mai Bock at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. $4 beer special, an appearance by Franconia brewmaster Dennis Wehrmann, and a small plates menu created by chef Anthony Bombaci. 5 pm-7:30 pm.
• Oskar Blues Brewery Beer Dinner at The Common Table. Five beers, five courses, $55. Starts at 7 pm. Beers: Mama’s Lil Yella Pils, Double Dry Hopped Deviant Dale’s Cask, Oaked Old Chub, Gubna, and 2011 Ten Fidy
• Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer tapping at Strangeways.

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Tuesday

• Alaskan Brewing Co. Tapping and Dinner at Flying Saucer on the Lake. It’s $35 for dinner with the brewery’s head brewer, Curtis Holmes—four courses with beer pairings, prepared by guest chefs Chad Bowden from Culpeppers Steakhouse, Greg Bussey from Victor Tango’s, Nathan Tate from Ava’s and Keith Grober from Meddlesome Moth.
• North Coast Grand Cru at Meddlesome Moth. Belgian beer out of Fort Bragg has to be good, right?
• (512) Whiskey Aged Double Pecan Porter at Holy Grail Pub. Michael drove to Lone Star Beverages in Carollton the day this Austin brewery’s pecan porter went on sale.  I’m pretty sure this stuff went fast, and that he’s now hoarding the bottles in his closet. But Holy Grail has a keg. Recommended.
• Real Ale Mysterium Verum at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. $4 beer, appearance by brew master Erik Ogershok, small plate menu. 5 pm-7:30 pm.
• Clown Shoes Muffintop tapping at Strangeways.

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Wednesday

• North Coast Night at Flying Saucer on the Lake. If you didn’t get enough North Coast Tuesday at the Moth, head here for the brewery’s Scrimshaw Pilsner and ACME IPA. Fort Worth’s Rahr and Sons will also be featured.
• Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head Collaboration at Meddlesome Moth. It’s called Life & Limb. I’ll be hanging on to both of those, hopefully. The 10% ABV dark beer is brewed with maple syrup.
• Sam Adams Homebrew Competition Winners at Holy Grail Pub. I am generally mistrustful of strangers, so I don’t know how I feel about drinking stuff that has been stirred up in a stranger’s house. That said…adventure!
• Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Boss Tom’s Golden Bock at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. $4 beer, appearance by Boulevard cicerone Jeremiah Wallis, small plate menu. 5 pm-7:30 pm.
• Left Coast Brewing tasting at Strangeways. Reps from the brewery will stake out the bar area and trot out their offerings (four year-round beers—Hop Juice Double IPA, Asylum Belgian Style Tripel Ale, Trestles IPA and Voo Doo American Stout.)

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Thursday

• Avery Brewing The Beast Grand Cru at Meddlesome Moth.
• Dogfish Head Brewery Night and Dinner at Flying Saucer on the Lake. Seven courses, plus pairings. Featured beers are: Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA, Midas Touch, Red & White, Indian Brown, Immort Ale, and Palo Santo.
• Unibroue Glass Night at Holy Grail Pub.
• Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Single Wide IPA at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. Craft beer happy hour (complimentary small bites paired with featured craft beers. Menu: Grilled Sweetbreads with Pico de Gallo, Slider with Cheese, Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Manchego, Chorizo & Pepperoncini). 5 pm-7:30 pm.
• Raiders of the Lost Hops keg tapping at Strangeways. It’s the bar’s last keg of the Sierra Nevada IPA.

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Friday

• Allagash Curieux at Meddlesome Moth. According the Moth’s Facebook page, this is the crown jewel—and probably the last keg of this stuff in Texas, though Michael thinks you can still find it in bottles. Anyway, it’s a beautiful bourbon barrel aged Tripel (strong pale ale). Michael hasn’t tried it, and neither have I. We’ve got a winner.
• Full Sail Brewery at Flying Sauce on the Lake. Full Sail’s a Portland brewery that totally preys on my “cute label” problem, meaning I often buy stuff because the bottle looks cool. They’re also giving away koozies, so there’s that.
• Sierra Nevada Glass Night at Holy Grail Pub.
• Stout Night at Nana’s Media Bar + Grill. Featured: Left Hand Brewing Co. Milk Stout (Irish “Car Bomb” Whiskey Gelee, Bailey’s Ice Cream), Left Hand Brewing Co. Milk Stout Boulevard (Guanaja Chocolate Ganache, Stout Air, Burnt Sugar Toffee, Valrhona Chocolate Pearls), and Deschutes Obsidian Stout (Sour Cherry Tart, Obsidian Stout Ice Cream). 5pm-10 pm.
• Super-secret double IPA tasting at Strangeways. Owner Eric Sanchez tells me that this is the only keg of mystery brew to grace the state of Texas. To find out what it is, you’ve got to go drink. You don’t need GPS to know where I’ll be Friday night.

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Saturday

• Dogfish Head Black & Blue at Meddlesome Moth. The black means blackberries and the blue means blueberries, so you should taste the tart. People seem conflicted on this particular brew, but I think this might be easy. If you like fruit beers, you will probably enjoy this one. If you don’t, you will probably want to drink something else.
• Leftover Madness at Flying Saucer on the Lake. My Beers With Friends friends and I are huge fans of Union Bear’s $3 “fire sale” beers, so this similar concept gets a thumbs up. Go nuts drinking everything left over from the week’s festivities at discounted prices.

“No Eddie, no us!” declared the gentleman. Well, sir, it looks like Lucky isn’t going to budge without a fight.

Lucky and police officer at 3:30PM . (Photo by Carol Shih)

Last Thursday, Ed Bailey, majority owner of The Chesterfield, called the police and attempted to have one of his minority owners, Eddie “Lucky” Campbell, removed from the premises. The operation failed.

According to Campbell, Gary Van Gundy, president of Edward C. Bailey Enterprises, showed up with an attorney a little before 3PM today and the police were asked to have Campbell removed.  “Yes, they’re here right now,” said Campbell from his cell phone. “They are trying to have me removed from the property.” Campbell showed the officers the lease which is in Campbell’s name. “They tried to say I was trespassing,” Campbell said. “But I’m not.”

Bailey and Campbell are locked in a bitter battle over how to operate the Chesterfield. Both teams are lawyered up and won’t get into specifics. Bailey owns 51% of the business but his name is not on the lease agreement. “Look, I’m here right now and I’m starting a huge all-night happy hour starting at 5:30 today. I am reinstating the staff that Bailey fired and those who walked out in disgust,” Campbell said. “These people have kids and need to work. Our disagreement is a private matter about business and I want to get it resolved.”

I asked him how he planned to run a business with an unhappy partner. “It’s difficult,” Campbell said. “I’m not a lawyer. Ed and I disagree on how to run this business. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still operating The Chesterfield.”

“Total Wine will offer a greater selection of wines, spirits, and beer in its store than any retailer in Dallas.”

Yow. Zah. That’s ballsy. I guess we’ll wait and see. Oh wait, Co-Owner and President David Trone has something to say:

“Total Wine & More will offer a shopping experience unlike any other in Dallas. We feature wine from nearly every wine-growing region in the world, as well as a tremendous selection of spirits from every price range, and a diverse offering of beers, from America’s most popular beers to hard-to-find microbrews and imports.  I believe Dallas residents will be surprised and amazed when they first enter our store.”

Bring it, Hoss. We’ll be the judge. Say, how much Texas wine are you bringing?

Speaking of green, Mr. Ham also said there was a rumor “on the street” that Rohst had set the record for sales on St. Patrick’s Day by topping $100,00 for the day. “That is just a rumor,” he said. “I know because I count the money.” The comment made me curious. What percentage of cash liquor sales are rung up? I mean a restaurant doing $100K a day? Anyone have an guesstimate or a thought on SPD business?

photography by Sergio Garza

First, a few St. Patrick’s Day fun facts:

St. Patrick wasn’t Irish.
Almost 37 million Americans claim Irish ancestry. (The rest just pretend on March 17.)
Nearly 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patrick’s Day.
There are four towns in the United States named “Shamrock.” Texas has one of them.
My sister used to eat all the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms box growing up.
Leprechauns exist.

Now, without further ado, we present a guide to boozing on the mean green holiday, organized by our favorite ‘hoods. We know we’ve left off some great bars that will be hosting great times (great time = green Irish beer, Celtic jams, and corned beef and cabbage), but this is just a little taste from a few different DFW territories.

The parade crowd surges down Greenville Avenue. (photo by Jerry McClure)

ADDISON
The Flying Saucer
There are plenty of places to grab a pint and a pinch, but this beer-lovers paradise is an obvious choice. They’re serving $3 Irish pints all day (including Guinness, Smithwick’s, Harp, Murphy’s Red, Murphy’s Stout, and Harpoon Celtic) and hosting DJ JD, who’s on deck at 9:30 pm.

Sherlock’s Baker St. Pub
This bar is huge and a guaranteed good time. The big tent outside will be set up and ready for lots of party people, live music, green beer, and a DJ later in the evening.

ARLINGTON
J. Gilligan’s Bar & Grill
This Irish watering hole is serving Irish nachos, green beer, and entertainment, including music inside and outside in the tent area, bagpipe players, Irish dancers, and live music by Hill City Band, Morning People, Sting Rays, and Clearfork. Party starts at 11 am.

FORT WORTH
Paddy Red’s Irish Pub
If a free price tag, green beer, complimentary party favors, Irish drink specials, corned beef and cabbage, and shepherd’s pie don’t excite you, how about the promised appearance of a leprechaun? Yeah. That’s what we thought.

HENDERSON AVENUE
The Old Monk
Opening early, this neighborhood favorite is offering live music from Homespun Remedies, Irish dancers, bagpipe performances, brunch from 10 am to 2 pm, and favorite Irish dishes like fish and chips, Shepherd’s pie, corned beef and cabbage, and corned beef Reubens.

Beer bonging, crazy dancing (dancing?), scantily clad women, and public shot-taking are all common sights during the St. Patrick's Day festivities on Greenville Avenue.

UPPER GREENVILLE
The Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade goes right through this area, so expect a crowd. Any watering hole that offers you a chance to squeeze through the masses and get to the bar is a good place to rest.

LOWER GREENVILLE
The Block Party is what you’ll find has taken over this area post-parade. A measly $8 gets you in the gate . I won’t lie to you: Last year’s block party was entirely too crowded to be enjoyable, but if you’re looking to be in the heart of the mayhem—I mean action—this is your best bet. You can move in and out of bars, grab a cold brew and hamburger from street vendors, and hear live music.

Sundown at Granada
We’re been waiting for these guys to open up their roof-top patio and it’s finally happening. Three Reggae bands will be playing upstairs (including The Effinays, Melody Memory, and Basic5) and a $5 menu will be serving tacos (beef or black bean) and BBQ brisket sandwiches.

LOWEST GREENVILLE
Crown & Harp
Just like the real St. Patrick, this bar is half British, half Irish. Starting at noon and ending in the wee hours of the morning, you can expect three Irish bands (including Blarney Street Hooligans, Pratty, and Irish Blind), Irish dancers, DJs spinning Irish, Ska, Reggae, and Soul, and Irish edibles like green beer, Irish stew, fish and chips, and drink specials all day and night.

UPTOWN
Blackfriar Pub
As they’re sibling bars and close neighbors (across the street), we can’t highlight one without the other. The two-day parking lot party here also starts on Friday. On Saturday, enjoy a bagpiper, live music by Petty Theft, and Irish food favorites fish and chips, Irish Reubens, and corned beef and cabbage served from 11 am to 10 pm.

The Idle Rich Pub
As part of the two-day tent party, which begins on Friday, you’ll find live music by The Killdares, Irish dancing, bagpiping, and Irish food, including corned beef and cabbage plate, fish and chips, Shepherd’s pie, and corned beef reubens served from 11 am to 10 pm. Festivities start at 10 am.

photography by Sergio Garza

OAK LAWN
The Library Bar
If green colored chaos isn’t your cup of whiskey, try this hotel bar for special Irish dishes (Reuben sandwich sliders with corned beef and Shepherd’s Pie), a fancy Emerald Isle Martini, and Irish beer specials (Guinness, Harp, and Killian’s Irish Red for $5). Available all month long.

DEEP ELLUM
Anvil Pub
It may not be an Irish pub, but it’ll sure look like one with the green decorations, Irish stew being served, and Jameson Irish Whiskey and Irish Car Bomb specials.

DOWNTOWN
The Chesterfield
This new hot spot’s keeping it classy with a limited edition house cocktail: the Irish Necktie. (A concoction of Jameson Irish Whiskey, ginger beer, and angostura bitters served in an old-fashioned glass.) Special menu items will include corned beef and magners cabbage and and Irish breakfast with black pudding, eggs, bacon, and soda bread, served until 11 pm.

FAR NORTH DALLAS
Mad Tavern
The new Alice in Wonderland-themed Irish pub way, way up in Far North Dallas will be open at 7 am (like they are every day) and serving Irish-themed drink and food specials. With nice weather (fingers crossed), the bar on patio will be the place to be with a band playing at 5 pm and 10 pm.

Londoner Charlie "Chuck" Bailey has a dedicated following among the Friday's crowd, even on this side of the pond. (photos by Karley Osborn)

We sent intern Karley Osborn out to brave a bartending championship in Grapevine on a Sunday night. What a trooper.

Two nights ago, while the rest of you were crying in your living rooms over Meryl Streep’s Oscar speech, I was cheering alongside the corporate world of TGI Friday’s as flair bartenders from nine of the chain’s international restaurants competed to become the “Greatest Bartender in the World.” Er, more specifically, the greatest TGI Friday’s bartender in the world.

The Gaylord’s Glass Cactus was decked out for the event’s 21st year like any 21-year-old’s birthday party venue should be with inflatable noise clappers, flashing strobe lights, and party anthems that sounded out of place until the drinks started flowing. Fans, friends, and family of the nine competitors helped themselves to fancified bar fixings like portabella sliders and fried jalapeno peppers as the competition introductions began around 7:00 p.m.

Jump for some Enrique Iglesias action.

Things got a little confusing when Enrique Iglesias (who probably hasn’t had so many people whip out their cell phones to take his picture since his 2003 mole removal) jumped onstage with Friday’s’ VP of Drink and Menu Innovation George Barton to talk about rum, which Enrique claims to have a “passion” for now that he’s a partial owner of Atlantico (ALERT: that was a promo).

Drink pile

Soon it was back to business, with Brad Kaplan of Colorado leading off the competition. Brad, last year’s Fan Favorite, said if he were to be a drink, he’d be a Buttery Nipple. Unfortunately, his hands ended up with the buttery label: he dropped a few bottles mid-juggle, and said sheepishly that he “could have felt better” about his performance after the time ran out.

But no worries, Brad—by the time your number was finished, certain members of the TGI Friday’s crew were dancing on tables and screaming your name like they were at a concert and you were Enrique. P.S. Don’t you wish your work conventions were a little more like Friday’s?

Next came guys like Paul from the Dominican Republic, who would be a Cosmo because the ladies love him, and Santiago from Sea World Orlando, who considers himself more of a Horny ‘Rita kinda guy. Rookie Ram Ong, this year’s Fan Favorite, hailed all the way from the Philippines.

The celeb judges—Kim Haasarud, a mixologist who has judged culinary creations on Iron Chef America, and Charlotte Voisey, a former UK Bartender of the Year who’s appeared on Top Chef Masters—chimed in occasionally to praise the “fluidity” of contestants as they balanced Bacardi bottles on their heads, spun Smirnoffs around the rims of martini glasses, and threw olives into the air before spearing them with a toothpick held between their lips.

Ultimately, it was Swede David Kringlund—another Cosmo—who took the $10,000 prize and the 2012 Best (TGI Friday’s) Bartender in the World title. When David triumphed over UK runner-up Charlie Bailey, the place erupted. After all, it was a long road to the top: David bested 8,000 other mixologists, battling through local, regional, and divisional competitions before arriving in Texas for the final showdown.

David Kringlund wins the 2012 World's Best (TGI Friday's) Bartender

“We’re on our way,” David declared proudly from the stage of his home store in Sweden.

It was no Meryl Streep moment, but it came pretty darn close. Confetti shot from the ceiling as the Swede was handed a trophy that resembled a snow ski, which he kissed passionately as the rest of the competitors hoisted him onto their shoulders.

It was a tender moment Enrique would have probably written a song about if he had stuck around for the end of the show. But surely he’ll send David home with a congratulatory case of Atlantico rum—the kind of liquid-gold trophy a bartender envies most.

Blue Mesa Grill Teams up with Ambhar Tequila for a series of workshops called Tequila Lab. Marcelo Nascimento, Ambhar’s lead mixologist, is teaching each lab participant how to make, mix, and enhance tequila drinks. Three drinks and a Blue Mesa menu are included with the class, so hurry and sign up if you would like to be one of the 35 participants.

7 PM Wednesday, February 29th.
Dallas/Northwest Hwy. location only – Lincoln Park, 7700 W. Northwest Hwy.
Limited to 35 participants. Please call (214) 378-8686 to sign up.
$35 per person includes drinks and appetizers.
For more information see www.bluemesagrill.com.

Not in the mood for tequila? Beer could be your answer.

For the first time in DFW history, there is going to be a Local Brewery Beer Pairing Dinner over at the Common Table. Deep Ellum Brewing Company (DEBC) is joining up with four other breweries (Franconia Brewing Co, Lakewood Brewing Co, Rahr & Sons Brewing Co and Peticolas Brewing Co) to host this sweet dinner. Chef Mike Smith will be cooking 5 courses paired with 5 beers. There are still 16 spots open for the March 5th dinner, and $15 per person is being donated to Open the Taps, a grassroots movement fighting for beer equality.

In the course of a 1 hour + show, Kinky referenced: Zorro, Batman, Johnny Cash, Willie, Lone Star Cafe in NYC, albinos, Rick Perry (of course), Molly Ivins, Barbara Jordan, Jim Nabors, Muhammed Ali, Townes Van Zandt, Ira Hayes and so many more I can’t remember. He brought Ruth Buzzi onstage from the audience to tell the story of how she once cut Kinky’s hair back in the 70s.

Kinky is in town promoting his Man In Black tequila. SideDish reporter Haley Hamilton is meeting with him at 2PM for a tasting. Good times.

Here's Art Grindle, I mean Kinky Friedman. He wants to sell you some tequila!

“This is not New Age Mexican Mouthwash like some of the stuff that has reached the market over the past 20 years or so,” Kinky said. “It is not smoothed out by multiple filtering and tailored to what some marketing guys think Americans want.  It’s the real deal and naturally smooth because we start with mature agave.”

Did he just say “mature?” If you’d like to taste Kinky’s tequila and hear him sing, head over to Allgood Café on Sunday, February 12. All I know is that it is an “evening performance.” Deets to follow. Check out Kinky’s liquor here.