
Cappuccino (left); cake balls are sold for $15 per dozen or $20 per dozen if they’re individually wrapped (right)
Man, if I could marry Meghan Adams’ strata, I would. The first time I ate that breakfast egg strata with brie, bell peppers, and potatoes, I had three whole helpings . We were at a D Academy class day, and I barely listened to the speakers that morning because I was so focused on all the food Adams was providing for us. (The strata, in particular.)
I’m excited (giddy, really) to announce that The Hospitality Sweet, Meghan Adams’ storefront, is opening inside the historic Post Office at 400 N. Ervay St. on Monday. Most of you who don’t live or work downtown probably don’t know the dearth of good, inexpensive food we have in this section of the city. If you want a quick, cheap meal, you’re forced to go into the tunnels for junky stuff like Kuai Dumplings. But now, downtown workers, you can say, “Screw the tunnels! I’m going to The Hospitality Sweet.”
Continue reading "The Hospitality Sweet Opens in Downtown Dallas on Monday"
Great news, SideDishers! The French Room’s old sous chef, Thomas Gray, is climbing the kitchen ladder. He’ll be taking over Brian Zenner’s old day job as Oak’s chef de cuisine. Does this mean Zenner’s out of a job? Heck no. Zenner’s been splitting his precious time working at Belly & Trumpet and Oak, but this news of his replacement confirms one of two things:
1) Either the Oak owners, Tiffanee and Richard Ellman, want Zenner to focus solely on their Uptown restaurant, Belly & Trumpet, OR
2) Zenner will be working at Belly & Trumpet AND helping out with the opening of PakPao (which means “kite” in Thai), the Oak owners’ new Thai restaurant opening in the Design District next month.
My guess is that Zenner is busily gearing up for PakPao’s opening. A few weeks ago, Tiffanee told me Zenner was born in Thailand and influenced by Asian cooking. It makes sense for him to be heading the PakPao kitchen, then. I’m counting down the days ’til it opens. Exciting things are happening, guys. My fingers are getting tingly just thinking about it.
Remarkable news just hit my inbox. Sylvan | Thirty, the West Dallas mixed-use development that finally broke ground on March 21, is getting a new restaurant tenant. It’s going to be called The Trough.
I know what you all are thinking, because it’s exactly what I’m thinking. “Trough? What the heck is a trough?! Why would someone ever name their restaurant after an animal feeder?”
Good 2 Go Tacos and ACME F&B owners, Colleen O’Hare and Jeana Johnson, are all about sourcing from local farms, whole animal allocation, and bringing simple and fresh ingredients to the table. “We want our guests to experience how ‘real food’ is supposed to taste like, but we want to do it with a funky twist,” says Johnson. They plan to open a restaurant that has two full-service bars with several intimate dining rooms and seating options. Plan B Design group will be creating imaginative rooms that range from the upscale to rustic. “Basically, we want everybody to feel comfortable. We want everyone to feel at home, no matter if they’re wearing jeans or a designer dress that costs $500.”
Continue reading "Sylvan | Thirty Announces its Newest Restaurant Tenant: The Trough"
Late last night, Mike Hiller posted on EscapeHatchDallas that Josh Valentine, pastry chef at FT33 and John Tesar’s archenemy on Top Chef: Seattle, has left Dallas to go back to Oklahoma. (This news comes soon after FT33 announced its chef de cuisine’s departure for NYC.) Hiller wasn’t able to get McCallister or Valentine to confirm this fact, but a kind PR woman for FT33 has told me that it’s true. Valentine is gone. Let’s hope he’s off to bigger and better opportunities.
The headline says it all, but here’s more from the press release:
DALLAS, TX (March 27, 2013) — Bradford Hodgkins has been named Chef de Cuisine at FT33. Hodgkins joins the culinary team at Matt McCallister’s Design District restaurant, where he will work in the kitchen with his former colleague from Stephan Pyles, now Owner and Executive Chef of FT33.
“Bradford and I have worked together for many years and I’m honored to have him join our team at FT33,” says Matt McCallister. “He provides a great balance in the kitchen, allowing me to focus on the creative aspects of the menu while executing stellar cuisine.”
Hodgkins is a self-taught chef who moved to Dallas in 2006 and began working at Stephan Pyles alongside McCallister for two years. He then moved to Second Floor, where he served as Executive Sous Chef with J Chastain and Scott Gottlich. After which, Hodgkins returned to Stephan Pyles to work with McCallister as his Executive Sous Chef.
Most recently, Hodgkins served as the Chef de Cuisine at Hotel ZaZa’s Dragonfly, where he worked alongside Executive Chef Dan Landsberg to create innovative twists on traditional modern American classics.
Update: Previous chef de cuisine, Brady Williams, is headed up to New York for work.
It took me three times to read this and understand, but here it comes, straight from the spicy Spicerman himself (via Facebook page). Hoo-ah!
1 Comment »BREAKING BREAK IN NEWS: THIS JUST IN… dit.dit. dah-dah-dash/back slash.
Yep we were broken into (again and for the 7th time in 7 years) and this time he was out for ca$h, cold, hard Dirty Randy ca$h but he was caught. It appears that when all he could find was half of a dollar bill (a $1.00 tip from a gig I played as a duet we literally split/tore it in half 50/50 ya know?) he found my sledge hammer and went berserk thrashing and bashing about leaving 5 holes that one of which went clean into Urbano catering’s unit A where the perp was CAUGHT. Well we’ve gone from a hole in the wall to MANY HOLES IN THE WALL. See Robert Wilonsky of the Dallas Morning New posts (online digital managing editor he is and “The Best” congrats Wilonsky) he was hot on the trail reading the DPD police reports early this morning rather than me go in to detail but thanks to Mitch Kaufman of Urbano Cafe for calling me @ 6:am from the back of a squad car while the perp was still in my store (and his where they caugh him) like a cranked up bull in a China shop he was. well… what can I say, pobresito soy yo? No, could’ve been so much worse.
Everyone is moving to Lower Greenville these days. It’s because they all want to be in close proximity to Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs when the grocery store finally opens. I don’t blame ‘em. Mudsmith just got there, Carnival Barker’s first storefront is heading there, yadda yadda yadda. It’s going to be one hell of a party on Greenville Avenue, come summer.
Since they figured the tenants in Lower Greenville are pretty cool, the owners of Goodfriend Beer Garden and Burger House decided join in the fun. Matt Tobin, Josh Yingling, and their partner-in-crime, Ryan Chaney (who couldn’t make it to our interview), decided to hire Oliver Sitrin (formerly from Village Marquee) to be the executive chef of their new restaurant, The Blind Butcher. It’s going to be at 1919 Greenville Ave, and it’s opening someday in the near future. (The press release says late spring.) The Goodfriend boys have known Oliver for awhile, but now they all get to be one big, happy family together. I’ll shut up now and let you hear the rest of the story for yourselves.
Matt Tobin: At first we were like, “Too bad Oliver’s not available.”
Oliver Sitrin: I came to Marquee because he (Tre Wilcox) brought me there. That’s my boy. Him leaving? I was going to leave also. I actually left one or two days before he did.
Rick Lopez over on on Oak Cliff People is the bearer of bad news:
Friends and family have confirmed today that restaurateur Norma Manis died Saturday afternoon.
A memorial service is still in the works for the pie-making darling who opened Norma’s Cafe with her daughters — including the Davis Street location that celebrated its 55th anniversary two years ago.
In an interview with Oak Cliff People two years ago, Manis told reporter Georgia Fisher that she wanted to be remembered for her last venture, Mama’s Daughter’s Diner, which she opened after selling Norma’s Cafe in 1986. ”Norma quit her job,” she said. “I’m not Norma anymore. I’m Mama. I sold my name when I sold that business.”
Acquaintances say Manis, who is survived by three daughters, had been in a coma after suffering a stroke recently.
I can’t find a photo of Norma anywhere on Google. If somebody has one and would like to share, feel free to email it to me. For now, though, I’m going to use this pretty picture of mile-high lemon meringue pie to represent the wonderful woman who brought these to Dallas. Teresa Gubbins once called Norma Cafe’s lemon meringue “a towering construction with a tall, firm hood of meringue and a lemon custard base that brings a happy little pucker to your lips.”
Thanks for all the happy puckering, Norma. We owe you a big one up there.
Continue reading "Norma Manis of Norma’s Cafe Passes Away at 80"
Wick Allison, D Magazine’s chairman and editor in chief, is in the process of developing a local television channel called D-TV. So far, he has refused to consider any type of local, food-related show. He’s out of town this week so I’m gonna run his show.
If you have an idea for a food show, leave it below. If you would like to star in your own idea for a food-related TV show, get out your smart phone, hit video, upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube, and email the link to me at nancyn@dmagazine.com. State your name, show idea, and then pitch the hell out of it. Please keep your ramblings to a minute or less. Use props, friends, dogs, food, whatever you want, but keep it (reasonably) clean.
This is not a joke. This is a genuine call to arms. Each audition tape will be posted on SideDish and sent to our D-TV producer, Janice Tomlin. Note to Wick: Don’t ever tell me I can’t have something. Come on y’all, kick up some sass. Send ASAP. Will run them through next Friday…
2 Comments »We have been working on a redesign of SideDish for almost a year. Now we are down to arranging our new ideas on the webpage. Before we take the next step, I thought I’d ask readers and restaurateurs what features you’d like to see (or not see) on SideDish. Hit us with your best shots.
24 Comments »Mr. Bradford Pearson alerted me to this happy news: Urban Acres is moo-oo-oo-ving.
Whoever wrote this blog post is very excited (!) and so are we (!)
Yup, IT’S OFFICIAL! Our Urban Acres store is moving to the corner of Beckley & Greenbriar this spring, right by Methodist Hospital. We’re taking over the old gas station building right next to Mama Connie’s Diner. Our new place has a covered front area as you can see in the photo which will become a patio. We also have lots of fun plans for the inside – we’ll keep you posted on progress!
Until then, we’ll still see you every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at our current store at 1301B West Davis!
This New York Times article has exploded all over Twitter already, but I just wanted to make sure all you guys were keeping up with current (yet will-be-classic) reading literature. Pete Wells, the food critic, rants about Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar in Times Square for two whole pages like, as my friend says, “a witchy eighth grader.” Clearly, he belongs in the same Fieri-hating camp as Anthony Bourdain.
9 Comments »In July, when we announced restaurateur Shannon Wynne’s plans to open Lark on the Park, we also uncovered the name of the investor behind the “official” restaurant to operate at the park which will officially open October 27 with a Polyphonic Spree concert. John Muse, partner and chairman of HM Capital Partners and a member of the Woodall Rogers Park Foundation, is partnering with chef John Coleman, formerly the executive chef and director of food and beverage at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dallas, to create and operate Savor.
Savor won’t be open for at least six months, but in late October or early November, Coleman will debut Relish, a food truck dedicated to solving the “common burger problem” by creating burger combinations with the ingredients mixed into the patty and grilled. Relish will eventually evolve into the park’s permanent, casual-food kiosk which is scheduled to open in mid-2013.
Muse and Coleman decided Savor would be a gastropub with “emphasis on fresh food and a shared experience.” The restaurant’s revenue will help support the operation of the Park. The exterior of 6,000-square foot restaurant pavilion and the performance pavillion, constructed through private donations, was designed by architect Thomas Phifer. Bill Johnson of The Johnson Studios in Atlanta is designing the restaurant’s interior which will include floor-to-ceiling glass walls, skylights to capture the changing light, and a sculpted ceiling designed to give the appearance of “sitting lightly” on the walls. Savor will have 320 seats, some of which will be in the covered patio.
This morning I spoke with John Coleman, an avid hiker and rock climber, to get some details on the food vibe of the project.
25 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 »Frito-Lay celebrated its 80th anniversary in a big way on Monday, October 1 at 9:45 a.m. How big, you ask? Big enough to try and set the record for the world’s largest Frito chili pie at the State Fair of Texas. The current Guinness World Record weighs in at a whopping 1,100 pounds, making this challenge a heavy feat, to say the least.
While many of us might imagine cooking the Frito pie in an over-sized container, the chefs at Frito Lay had a much more organized system. They used a curved, heated tray that cooked at a scorching 187 degrees. Hundreds of bags full of cheese, Frito chips, and chili were then filled to the brim of the tray and layered to perfection.
State Fair attendees gathered closer and closer as the smell of Frito pie wafted around Big Tex Circle. Before long, the crowd became enormous and frenzied with excitement.
Jump if you like Fritos
Continue reading "The State Fair of Texas Holds Record For World’s Largest Frito Chili Pie"
1 Comment »There is rarely a time when it is common to see a group of people congregated outside of a grocery store at the brink of dawn…that is unless a Trader Joe’s is opening in your neighborhood. Actually, it doesn’t necessarily even have to be in your neighborhood, as residents from Duncanville, Denison, Ellis, and Allen will attest while they stand in line at the opening of the new store in Plano.
There is an energy brewing amongst the excited patrons that feels celebratory and relieved at the same time. The store is decorated outside with balloons and employees can be seen inside setting up for the opening, dressed in their classic Hawaiin print shirts. Carts are lined up to perfection and ready, the grand opening banner is being put up, and it’s just a matter of hours before opening.
Jump for more. Continue reading "Get Those Grocery Lists Ready: Trader Joe’s Opens in Plano Today"
19 Comments »I’m going to file this one under “I Wish I’d Thought of That.” Am I the last person on the planet to learn about Three Dog Bakery in Plano and Southlake? Well I knew nada until this little puppy of a press release sat up and begged me to read it. It all happens Saturday, August 18th.
Free Pupcakes (a doggie cupcake, edible for humans, too!) will be handed out to every visitor to Three Dog Bakery in Southlake and in Plano on Saturday in celebration of International Pupcake Day!All visitors, two and four-legged, will be able to ask for their Free Pupcake from the pastry cases of the original bakery for dogs, while supplies last. Each pupcake is made with human-quality ingredients but just baked for a dogs diet. They certainly look delicious enough to eat! Three Dog Bakery celebrates International Pupcake Day annually, raising awareness for healthy & natural dog nutrition.
Pupcakes? What is next? Oh, there is more below. JUMP! Continue reading "Free, Yes Free, Pupcakes at Three Dog Bakery in Plano and Southlake"
3 Comments »Brian Marsters, Director of Operations for Matt’s Rancho Martinez, has saved 5,000 emails from customers asking when the new Lakewood location of this popular Tex-Mex restaurant will open. “I would like those 5,000 supporter to contact (Dallas City Councilmember) Angela Hunt and ask her the same question.” Marsters and co-owner Estella Martinez are befuddled by their situation. “We can’t open because we are caught in the crossfire of a feud between our landlord (Stonelake Investments), several area homeowners associations, and the City of Dallas.”
The saga started when Matt’s lease expired in February and the landlord chose to replace Matt’s with a Mi Cocina, which is already up and running. Matt’s relocated to the building vacated by Consignment Solutions at 1904 Skillman Ave. The opening has been delayed by a series of the usual suspects such as myriad permits, grease traps, and parking, but last Wednesday the plan for the restaurant and Stonelake Investments development projects clashed when Stonelake applied for a permit to close off a block of La Vista between Skillman and Live Oak and created a pedestrian mall.
Stay with me, now.
38 Comments »