Imagine for one second that you happened to forget that it was Valentine’s Day next week.  Maybe you were busy at work, maybe you were simply swamped with World of Warcraft, who cares.  You forgot and now your wife  is giving you the what for. I know how you feel, I’ve been there before.  There’s a reason the arms of my micro-fiber couch have sleepy-drool stains on them.

Fear not compadres, there is a foolproof way to get yourself out of the dog house and back on that lovely pedestal.

Step 1: Flowers (they are all suckers for dead plants).

Step 2: Learn the value of a good-ole, tear jerkin’ apology.

Step 3: Surprise her with a night out at Stephan Pyles.

You wife will be putty in your hands.

Mr. Pyles is, obviously, not the new kid on the block. The dude is a pioneer of southwestern cooking, like the Daniel Boone of Dallas dining.  I have had some of the most fantastic dishes of my life at the tables of this culinary mastermind. Yet despite the periodic shifting in the menu, there is one dish which remains a constant at our dinner table, the delectable Tamale Tart.

This dish screams flavor like a banshee with a bullhorn.  It’s uniqueness and sophistication defines what the name of Pyles has come to represent, and it should be on the must-try list of any Dallas diner.

The tart starts with a roasted garlic custard, made from heavy cream, pureed roasted garlic, and eggs.  The custard fills a tamale tart composed of masa flour, cornmeal, cumin, bell pepper and ancho chili.  The entire things if finished with a crown of fresh lump crabmeat, and a smoked tomato sauce.

There you go, you are no longer pond scum, you are now the most sensitive, caring man in the world.  But don’t thank me for saving your marriage, thank the big man in the kitchen, Cap’n P.

After much consideration, pizza-maker extraordinaire Jay Jerrier and pizza-eater extraordinaire Evan Grant (that’s me), have come up with four finalists for our Name a Napoli Pizza contest.Tuesday (Feb. 7 or tomorrow to most of you), we will roll out some samples of these fine entries for you to taste and, as always, the full Cane Rosso menu will be available. One of these fine recipes will end up as a special pie on the Cane Rosso menu for the next month and one of these neophyte pizza creators will walk away with a nice little prize package. Maybe we can come up with some other surprises, too. So, if you are free come on down. We’d love your input here and at the restaurant. Here are the finalists. Be there at 7PM.

Dah DAT is fixing a pre-tasting dinner on Friday, January 6. The “Deep Ellum arrival time” is 7PM. The (deep) six-course eclectic New Orleans-inspired tasting menu is $70 per person (plus-plus). This event is BYOB. But you must call Sir Wilkes for a seat: 214-680-5740. Absinthe butter is the new olive oil.

Oh, and one more thing about DAT. He’s offering you a chance to ride VIP. Here’s his crazy pitch:

We about to make our list 100% PRIVATE. Which means that YOU will be an exclusive member of our list and the only way for an outsider to join this exclusive list of amazing people will be to pay a membership fee of $25 to receive the emails and information for these events.

Whatch yáll think ‘bout DAT?

Anthony Bourdain on stage at the Majestic Theater in Dallas. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

Last night, Anthony Bourdain fans packed the Majestic Theater. Baseball be damned, the worshipers of All-Things-Anthony showed up to lay themselves at the cowboy-booted feet of their hero.

Tony walked onto the stage at 8:10 and greeted the audience: “I am a whore. I am in every way compromised, jaded, bought and paid for, including my nice f—ing jacket.”

For the next hour and 45 minutes, the crowd hung on his every word. He was loose, casual, at ease, good-natured, straight forward, no bull. He was exactly the guy you see on TV, except, in person, you could see just how fine he wears boot-cut jeans.

After the show, we got to hang out with Tony and watch him sign books and greet his fans. Hundreds of folks bought books and stood in line to get his autograph. He walked into the VIP room and he very calmly said, “Look, I’m here and I’m not leaving until every book is signed, every picture is taken. I’m not in a hurry, so grab some food, have a drink, relax.”

I plan to write a longer report, but my day job calls. In the meantime, I’ll post the pictures that Tony most graciously allowed our photographer, Elizabeth Lavin, to shoot. Oh, and John “Jimmy Sears” Tesar was there. I mean everywhere. If you notice him in every shot, it is because he tried to get in every shot. At one point I thought he was going to start signing copies of Bourdain’s Medium Raw. He could have. That’s how he serves his burgers.

On to the show.

Bory Taft, Leena Varehese, Kim Chang Chung Lee. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

The Tony, The Tesar, The Brad. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

Linda Tucker scores a photo op. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

Bethlehem? No, the VIP room at The Majestic Theater after Anthony Bourdain's show. (Photo by ELizabeth Lavin)

Tesar hogs the spotlight. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

A Bourdain. A beer. A book. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

Nobody went home hungry. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)