Praram with shrimp

Thai-rrific was a North Dallas favorite until it moved to Oak Lawn last year. And since I live around there, I am sure glad it did.

Despite the Cedar Springs address, the restaurant fronts Throckmorton Street. Big windows provide a view of the well-lit dining room and its diners: concrete floor, tables topped with white paper over white clothes and black banquettes, two-tops and four-tops of boys from the hood drinking bottles of wine they brought in themselves.

We were seated at a half banquette/half table set up in a cozy corner and proceeded to fill our bellies.

We started with the pik gai yut, or stuffed wings. Our waitress said it was the house specialty. Essentially it was two large chicken sausages shaped like wings. What I mean by that is that ground chicken was mixed with cilantro, onions, rice, and lemongrass and kind of formed into wing shapes before being roasted and sliced and presented in a brown sauce. Lip-smacking good.

Pik gai yut with cilantro, onions, and lemongrass [left

Six fat shrimp sat atop our praram, lightly sauteed red and white cabbage and broccoli in a curry-peanut sauce. Of our three entrees, this was the one we ate the most of. There were no leftovers to take home.

There was also no coconut curry to choose from, so we went with a yellow curry dish called gang karee. Big hunks of white potato, thin-sliced carrots, and slivers of chicken swam in a flavorful yellow curry. Though we ordered all three entrees “medium heat,” this one seemed to have more heat than the others – enough to create a temporary ring of fire around my mouth.

Service was friendly and efficient, though our waitress kept stepping on my dining partner’s feet. Apparently they both wear giant shoes.

Various brightly colored cakes fill a dessert case by the door. And one many-layered cake, each layer a different color for a rainbow nod to the neighborhood, sat under a glass dome. We skipped the sweets, but that chocolate frosting sure did look good.

4000 Cedar Springs Road
Dallas, TX 75219
972-241-2412
Sun-Thu, 11 am-10 pm
Fri & Sat, 11 am-4 am

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

Garden Cafe Then….

Garden Cafe Now…

When Dale Wootton bought a run down strip center on Junius street in the early 1990’s it was easy for an outsider to say, “what is Dale doing?” But he had a vision created from a deep love for the neighborhood.  Since then he transformed an old eyesore for Junius Heights into one of the most popular and comfortable breakfast and lunch spots in Lakewood, Garden Cafe.  It is a cozy restaurant dedicated to using fresh produce from their garden in their southern, comfort food cuisine. He even put in a large, fenced in play area adjacent to the back garden so the kids could have their own place to play while their parents finished brunch on the outdoor, dog friendly patio.

Now, Wootton wants to expand his business by adding dinner service, just to 10pm, with a selection of wine and beer available.  He and his attorneys have done at least a year and a half of leg work on this, petitioning, rezoning, doing out-reach, asking the neighborhood for feedback, and constantly making concessions.

They have come up with a Special Use Permit proposal which add a wine and beer license, while addresses and concedes to most of the concerns that have been voiced from the neighborhood, including that the building will always only have 1 story, the back patio space will never be expanded beyond its current size, the Cafe will close at 10pm every night, the Cafe will never be a drive in or drive through, outdoor amplified sound is prohibited, the current occupancy levels for the restaurant and garden area is 115 total, no alcohol will be sold or consumed in the garden area adjacent to the outdoor patio.

At a recent meeting residents in the area expressed concern over the Garden Cafe becoming a “biker bar,” because that is obviously what happens when you introduce wine and beer to the beverage options in any restaurant; and that late night crowds and loud music until all hours of the night will ruin the neighborhood, because that is what happens with restaurants that close at 10pm; and selling alcohol across from a park, that 20 years ago was filled with gang violence before Wootton purchased the property, automatically means that this is a safety concern and neighborhood kids will be put in harms way.

With this, and another go round with the city, Wootton the additional concession that 50% of all sales in the Cafe will be food, keeping the goal for this to stay a neighborhood restaurant always.

If the Cafe kept the current zoning and in the future Wootton decided to sell, here are some things, according to attorney Roger Albright that could be built in this Junius Heights neighborhood legally and without restriction.

“IF the Garden Café was unable to obtain its proposed PD/sup and merely kept the existing zoning the site could be developed  by someone other than Dale as follows:

1.        Currently Contains 35,000 sf., 10,000 in current building 5000 in parking, 20,000 in garden—pave garden area, add 80 parking spaces.
2.       80 spaces would allow additional 4000 sf of restaurant and 8000 sf of retail.
3.       Build second story which is allowed in NS zoning and tract F of Junius Heights Historic District( up to 30’)
4.       Build roof deck on top of second story ( for that “downtown view”). Doesn’t count as square footage so long as it’s not fully covered.
5.       Open 24 hours a day /7 days a week
6.       Live and/or amplified music on the roof deck.

Again we have a PD/sup proposal that would block all this.”

I live two blocks from the Garden Cafe and would love nothing more than to walk to the Cafe and enjoy a good meal with a glass of wine over dinner on their patio, with my sweetheart and my dog. I understand there are many opinions on this.  It is the heated debate on neighborhood porches, as we gather to enjoy a glass of wine and the nice weather….just as we would do at Garden Cafe.

If you are in support of the proposal, the Garden Cafe is asking you to email or write your city council member or Mayor Rawlings in support of the rezoning request for Garden Cafe. The email doesn’t have to be long, just a note to say you are in support of the Garden Cafe’s request for a beer and wine license, as well as any additional comments.  And, they are asking to be included on copy. Garden Café’s email: gardencafe@swbell.net; Find your city council members here. Look up your district here.

The city council hearing is on September 14th so please act fast.  You do not have to live in the city of Dallas to express your support for the Garden Cafe.

Get your Slurpees for nothing. Free chicks not included.

Who likes free? Who likes Slurpees? Who likes free Slurpees? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, I’ve got a deal for you. Actually, 7-Eleven does. Take it away corporate office:

7-Eleven Inc.’s 84th birthday on July 11th, aka 7-Eleven Day, participating 7-Eleven® stores across the nation will celebrate by giving customers a free 7.11-oz size Slurpee® beverage. As a special birthday treat, a select 7-Eleven store in Dallas also will hold a series of competitions, including timed Slurpee-drinking contests, one-minute 7-Eleven-themed challenges and a Twitter popularity contest. Winners will be rewarded with exclusive 7-Eleven prizes.

More surprises below! Go.

Why: With the theme “Our Birthday – Your Bash,” participating 7-Eleven stores will thank customers for their patronage and support by offering a free Slurpee in a cup specially designed for this day while supplies last.  Fans in Dallas will get an extra treat by participating in a variety of prize-winning games to round out the birthday celebration.

Where:  7-Eleven #17718

4104 Gaston Avenue @ Haskell

Dallas, TX  75246

When: Monday, July 11, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Jump softly.

Gotcha! It’s a press release. Dig it:

Chef DAT Underground Dinner at My Private Chef Kitchen and Showroom

Chef David Anthony Temple (aka Chef DAT) is hosting one of his Underground Dinners at the kitchen of My Private Chef which is operated by Holly Muller.

When: (This Thursday Night) 6/30/11

Where: My Private Chef Kitchen and Showroom, 2901 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas 75226; 214.679.0999

Time: 8pm

Cost: $60/person + gratuity

Menu: Vegan

Special Notes:  BYOB

RSVP: davidanthonycooks@gmail.com

About My Private Chef

15 years in cold corporate America led Holly Muller to the warm temperatures of St. Thomas for a year sabbatical in 2004. With her left brain on bed rest, she embraced her affinity and raw talent for cooking and applied for a chef position on a private yacht. Months of satisfied appetites and of her own fulfillment, Holly realized that she had discovered more than an extended vacation.

As her corporate position eventually beckoned from Phoenix, the taste of the bubbling future resonated with Holly.  She sustained her kinship with cooking in Arizona as a chef’s assistant at Sur La Table outside of her 9 to 5 role. Here she taught and demonstrated culinary fundamentals, baking basics and international food trends until a corporate relocation brought her to Dallas. After arrival she was quickly hired for Sur La Table as a cooking assistant and promoted to cooking instructor. Holly further honed her skills as a culinary specialist and teacher at the Uptown location as well as in an immersion cooking school in Tuscany focused on Mediterranean cuisine.

It wasn’t until her father was diagnosed with heart disease however that Holly carved out her culinary alcove. Once her father’s health declined and her nephew began a battle with debilitating allergies she made her final exit from the demanding day job. With family well-being in mind, she carefully crafted a menu to deter sodium, fat, gluten, preservatives and other betting ingredients. Her dishes were an immediate hit with her family and soon her outlying network.

As the demand for her dishes mounted, Holly opened a Deep Ellum location of My Private Chef in November 2010. The kitchen and showroom is located within the old Rush Patisserie building, which also served as the backdrop for The Good Guys, a television show starring Tom Hanks’ son Collin. The Elm Street kitchen specializes in prepared foods that accommodate a food regimen low in sodium and sugar and high in protein and fiber. Clients regularly receive a variety of well balanced, portioned meals from a globally inspired menu which currently spotlights items such as spinach and asiago quiche with Truffle oil, mini turkey and sausage breakfast burgers with sweet potato hash, pulled pork tenderloin with maple sweet potatoes, Hawaiian chicken with spicy pineapple, tilapia cakes with mango relish and snap peas, Mexican turkey lasagna with Spanish brown rice and Tuscan chicken with great northern beans.

Holly soon realized that her initial intent to provide well balanced flavorful foods with health advantages to her family, also aided the lifestyle of many health conscious foodies. Clients continually praise her variety of flavorful menus, celebrate a reduction in body fat, weight loss and deterred side effects to allergies.

Clients choose from a menu of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and can pay as low as  $150 for a five day supply of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Freshly prepared food is frozen, then hand delivered or picked up and is ready to eat in four to eight minutes.

Holly also caters and offers individual cooking instruction at her Deep Ellum kitchen.

About My Private Chef:

My Private Chef is a personalized cooking service that offers freshly prepared globally inspired meals that enhance a healthy lifestyle. Holly Muller, founder and chef, has an evolving menu of home-grown recipes inspired by her exotic travels and family health concerns. Each meal is high in protein and fiber, low in sugar and sodium and packed with flavor. Weekly food regimens are prepared with the freshest ingredients, frozen and delivered or picked up.  Chef Muller also caters and offers cooking instruction in the home or at her Deep Ellum kitchen. Additionally the My Private Chef showroom is available for private parties.

My Private Chef, 2901 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas 75226; 214.679.0999; holly@my-privatechef.com,   www.my-privatechef.com.

Meet Howard Marc Spector, a local attorney and a wine collector. He gave up golf in 1998 to pursue his passion for wine. He won’t tell me how much wine he has in his cellar, but to give you an insight into his wine profile, he will allow me to print a breakdown of his collection: 25% German, 33% French, 10% Italian, 10% Spain/Portugal, 15-20% USA.

When he goes out to dinner, he likes to tote his own wine. He has perfected the fine art of B.Y.O.B. Today he starts a series of B.Y.O.B reports. Along the way, he will fill you in on how he and  his wine club manage to drink the wine they want at the restaurant they choose. Welcome him.

Twelve pound vinyl luggage hanging off your shoulder may not seem like a chic fashion accessory, but for wine lovers everywhere, there is no better item of arm-candy than a three-bottle wine carrier with a strap as wide as a scarf. And even if you don’t want to toss around phrases like “tea-infused,” “tannic structure,” “kirsch,” and “essence of wet dog fur,” you may still enjoy the Holy Grail of food and wine — BYOB.

BYOB used to sound cheap – it meant we had a surplus of folks on the party list, but a deficit in the beer budget.  Now we have a more rarefied term for BYOB – corkage, as in “Do you allow corkage?” Over time, I am going to let you in on my local wine group’s corkage secrets.  Who we are, where we go, what wines we bring, and how we decide.  I’ll also explain the etiquette of corkage – how to ask, how to ask again, how to get a restaurant to reconsider, and how not to screw it up for the rest of us.

Jump for the whole story.

This week we donned our Ropers and Stetsons, polished up our belt-buckles, checked the dates on our carry permits, and moseyed on over to Fort Worth’s Nonna Tata. Corkage? Si, grazie mille! because Nonna Tata has no alcohol license.  Website or online menu?  Nope.  Cash only please; no credit cards.  And no reservations.  My “tannic structure” friend even mentioned that we should bring our own wine glasses (except she used the word stemware).

They had glasses, but she was right, the place is spartan. Bar-height tables are flanked with backless stools that seem to have been salvaged from a local margarita hangout.  It’s more Maine lobster shack than osteria. We arrived at 5:15 to find twenty people in line ahead of us waiting for the 5:30 opening. Luckily, the doors were unlocked right on time. Unluckily, there are only seats inside for 20, so we found ourselves displaced to the patio where eau de dumpster wafted over us and the temperature hovered in the high-90s. After frantically relocating to the section of the patio that occupied the sidewalk, we settled in. (About an hour later, a table opened up inside which the hostess kindly made available to us.)

Nonna Tata is not your daddy’s Italian. It’s your Italian grandmother’s Italian.  No fettuccine Alfredo, no fried mozzarella sticks, no meatballs, and no pizza.  Instead, a lovely antipasto plate arrived to start the meal with house-cured meats, a frittata, supple ricotta and warm focaccia. Salads were fresh but uninspired —the Salad della Nonna was virtually indistinguishable from the allegedly more elaborate Nonna VIP version; both were a collection of standard-fare ingredients accompanied by an odd chipotle-based dressing that would have been at home in Houston’s, but not Italy. The Insalata di Cesare, while crisp, lacked any garlic, anchovy or parmesan punch.

The sixteen different pasta dishes on the menu is where Nonna Tata radiates both heat and light. Tortelli di Melanzane (large pasta pockets with eggplant, Parmesan and a pistachio butter) and Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Prezzemolo (garlic, parsley, olive oil, red pepper and Parmesan) were impeccably flavored and prepared perfectly al dente. Pasta ai Gamberi (spaghetti with fresh shrimp, cherry tomatoes, onions, parley and garlic) was equal parts simplicity and precision. A dish of Tagliata con Parmigiano e Olio Tartufato (thinly sliced tenderloin with Parmesan and truffle oil) would have been a go-to item at any other area Italian restaurant, but paled in comparison because the pastas were so sublime.

Desserts also managed to impress. Salame di Cioccolata, a dish of frozen chocolate cookie “salami” slices, was imaginative and tasty, while the Torta di Ricotta con Salsa al Limone (ricotta and almond cake with lemon sauce) was moist, zesty and decadent.  The Tiramisu, on the other hand, was a forgettable mush of cream and ladyfingers lacking any noticeable coffee flavor in the pastry.

For the wines, we opted to bring big reds — a 2003 Pax Lauterbach Hill Syrah, a 2001 La Plazuela Tempranillo blend from Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha region and a 2003 Dezzani Barolo. Of the three, the La Plazuela was the most forceful — inky, and full bodied, with black fruits bounded by leather and tannin. It could easily last five more years in the bottle. The Pax was mature, all red fruit and acid, and a nice contrast to the meatier Spanish wine. The last wine, Barolo, is released no earlier than 3 years after the vintage.  At five years after release, the Dezzani was still just a baby with plenty of fruit, tannin, and acid.  Give it another five to ten years to strut its stuff.

Nonna Tata’s Bottle Count:  (3½ Bottles out of 4)

A QUICK WORD ABOUT MY RATINGS.  BYOB is not a Michelin or, even Zagat, experience. Food is paramount. Value is important. Bring my own glasses? Not an issue.  Open my own bottle? Bring it on – still no demerits. But don’t talk to me about linen napkins, sniffing the cork, or music.

So the “Bottle Count” scale is:

4   Great food, good service, and potential to impress my wife.

3   We’re happy to be regulars.

2    It’ll do.

1   We’ll just open a bottle at the house.

Nonna Tata

1400 W Magnolia Ave

Fort Worth, TX 76104

(817) 332-0250

Lunch:  Tue-Fri 11 am – 3 pm

Dinner: Tue-Thu 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Fri 5:30 pm – 9:30

Enter Highland Park Cafeteria’s picnic program. Click onto Highland Park Cafeteria’s website by 2 pm on the day of the concert and staff will assemble a custom picnic (think cookies, sandwiches, chips/guacamole, gourmet cheese tray, salads, hotdogs, BBQ sandwiches, beverages, whatever) and have it ready for pick-up by 6 pm in their van next to the Martin Rutchik Concert Stage.

Problem solved. Disaster narrowly averted. Catastrophe staved off for another week.

Tonight’s guest is Katy Jane Bothum, executive director of the Texas Hill Country Wineries. She’ll be talking about plans for the Hill Country Wine Trail’s road shows around the state, the upcoming Austin Wine and Music Festival taking place Memorial Day weekend, and other updates from the #2 fastest-growing wine destination in the nation.

As part of Twitter Tuesday, pick up one or more of these three wines from Texas Hill Country Wineries – Bending Branch Winery Tannat, , Dry Comal Creek Vineyards 2009 Black Spanish, and Becker Vineyards 2010 Viognier.

To chat with Katy Jane, follow her on Twitter @TexasWineTrail and use the hashtag #GOTEXAN.

Jump if you don’t know how to Twitter.
If you’re new to Twitter, here’s how you participate: just sign up for a free Twitter account at www.twitter.com. Go to the Tweetchat room set up for Texas Twitter Tuesdays: http://tweetchat.com/room/GOTEXAN. No registration is required. In the Tweetchat room, participants are invited to follow tweets, add comments, and share thoughts. Participants should use the hashtag #GOTEXAN with Tweets, if using TweetDeck or another tool.

Discuss…

Two Doors Down is currently a holding area for Urbano patrons waiting for seats. Here, two patrons enjoy a glass of wine.

Owners Kristenand Mitch Kauffman have leased a space two doors down from Urbano Cafe. They plan to add another dining room. Mitch calls it Two Doors Down.  The space has a full kitchen but Chef K’eo Velasquez may not be flitting between the two.  It may be used more for special events and catering and it opens next week! Details to come.

Here is something we have not seen for a long time: a new Malaysian restaurant! Blue Ginger Garden is situated in the southeast corner of Independence and Parker in central Plano.  Signs in the front proclaim: Malaysian Cuisine and Nyonya Delights. Those are clues that the people behind this establishment are aware of the multiple cultures that underpin the cuisine in that country where the majority of the population (60%) is Malay, Chinese make up 30%, and almost another 30 % is Indian. Malaysia is the crucible for merging these ethnic cuisines to produce something that, like grapes in a fine wine, is more than the sum of its parts. The best-known example is Nyonya cuisine, a confluence of Chinese and native Malay influences. The result is that a Malaysian restaurant has the potential to be a very special experience or a disaster if the kitchen fails to grapple with the subtleties of cooking the recipes of so many cultures.

The menu at Blue Ginger Garden is ambitious. You could start with Indian-inspired roti canai (Indian pancake) $2.75 . Continue with a bit of China with the Penang chow kueh teow (stir-fried noodle, Penang-style) $8.75 before proceeding to nyonya acar (mixed vegetable relish) $$5.75 or nyonya pig trotters with vinegar $8.95. The menu is five pages long and includes the lunch menu where  everything is less than $7.

The people behind Blue Ginger Garden are Esther & Hai Say. Hai, a retired engineer, works the front of the house. Esther, a former tailor(her work bedecks the windows and walls),  is in the kitchen. If you think backgrounds so removed from the restaurant business are unpropitious for a good meal, taste the food. On our visit the chef showed a dutiful attention to flavors and textures. My dining companion, a native Malaysian who had just returned from a two-week vacation back home, pronounced Blue Ginger’s roti canai better than the versions she ate in Malaysia. I particularly enjoyed the (Chinese influence) hometown pork belly with wood ear, an interesting mushroom that looks like a window blind and tastes meaty like a shitake).

The restaurant  has been open for two weeks and is still working themselves out, but early signs are good. If you have a group of 8 to 10 people, you may want to reserve the private room. Oh, and Blue Ginger Garden is BYOB. We will be back.

I thought we were a little light on the Whoopass around here. We forgive your associate, but ask that she please return the silverware and fine china. Just remember that opening the can of Whoopass may cause harm…serious harm.

For the record,  no china or silverware was swiped from the restaurant—just one No. 303 can of Whoopass. We asked you to guess what was in the can and we had a few bets going on around the office. Watch The Whoopass Mystery for the reveal.