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Articles about ChirpyChirpy

Trader Joe’s Second Dallas Location to Open at North Central Expressway and Walnut Hill

from Provident Realty Advisors

The DMN reports that Trader Joe’s is planning to open a second location in Dallas on the corner of North Central Expressway and Walnut Hill Lane. It’s set to open next year in a 14,000-square-foot store once construction begins late this year or early 2013. This means that in a year (if all goes well), I will be able to buy my precious Trader Joe’s Cat Cookies (the ginger flavor is the snappiest) at not one, but two locations in Dallas. Those cookies are extremely addicting, and a tub always disappears quickly when it’s around me because I snarf them down without even realizing.

Liz Johnstone is just as gleefully excited, since she has a thing for Gummy Tummies – these little penguin characters with fruit juice that bursts from their belly pouches. Talking about Trader Joe’s snacks makes me want to pick up a construction tool and start working on that building myself so it’ll be ready sooner.

Who else has a particular Trader Joe’s food they dearly love? Share your wealth of knowledge below. Let’s plan our grocery list before the Plano store opens later this summer.

posted by Carol Shih | May 21st, 2012 11:32am | filed under Breaking News, ChirpyChirpy, candy | 6 Comments »

Monica Greene is Making Some Changes: She’s Leaving Monica’s Aca Y Alla to Open Monica’s Nueva Cocina and ME Lounge

Monica Greene has never been afraid of change. Moments ago she told me she is leaving the business of Monica’s Aca Y Alla in Deep Ellum to her partners who will close the restaurant at 2914 Main Street, remodel the space, and reopen as a yet-to-be-named Mexican restaurant. Monica is moving all of her energy over to the iLume Building on Cedar Springs where she has been in the planning stages of opening Tajin. When the Sushi Axiom closed, Monica decided to take the space and open up the walls of Tajin into the space and create a new concept. The 7,600-square food space will now be Monica’s Nueva Cocina and ME Lounge. It was a difficult decision for Greene to leave Deep Ellum where she has been a major player for over 20 years. More on the food later. Monica has written a letter to YOU. It’s below.

UPDATE: Monica is on her way to Houston. I got lucky when she answered her cell phone. “This [move] has been a real struggle for me,””Greene said. I’ve always been committed to urban development. I believe in Dallas but unfortunately the area [Deep Ellum] has taken a long time to develop. It’s time for me to expand and open my doors to a larger audience.”

I say, you go girl. It’s a great move. She has been in, what I would call, an abusive relationship with Deep Ellum for a long time. It’s time she made a fresh start. That girl has some balls. Oh, wait. Nevermind.

(more…)

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 18th, 2012 3:44pm | filed under Best Gay Hangout Restaurant Evah!, Breaking News, Celebrity Chefs, Chick Chefs Rule!, ChirpyChirpy, Hippie revolutions, I'm about to get fired, Mexican Revolution, Restaurant News, SideDish Readers Are Smart People, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, margaritas, party, restaurant business news, sassy pants, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 12 Comments »

A Peep at the Coops: The East Dallas Urban Coop Tour

There is so much going on this weekend (i.e. Taste Addison, Crawfish Boil at Dodie’s, etc.) that it’s got to be hard deciding what to do and where to go. Let me see if I can help. Clear your schedule, drop what you’re doing on May 20, and go visit some chickens on the Peep at the Coops tour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. One of the most attractive aspects about living in Dallas is that we are surrounded by a creative niche of people who love chickens and build some of the wackiest, out-of-the-box coops for them. You’ll get to take a peek at 13 different coops, learn about backyard chickens in four different seminars, and possibly win the raffle for a mobile chicken coop. Most importantly, the money you’re paying for the tour is going directly to Stonewall Gardens at Stonewall Jackson Elementary, an outdoor lab where students learn about science and nature by actually connecting with the it. To sign up, email stonewall.gardens@yahoo.com.

Now it’s time for your favorite part of the week: Friday Fun Fact Time. Allow me to leave you with three random chicken tidbits in order to whet your appetite for Sunday. These will be sure to impress your date (not really).

Random fact #1: A tiny egg without yolk is sometimes called a dwarf, wind, or fart egg.

Random fact #2: Some ducks, like the domestic Muscovy Duck, are compatible with chickens. They patrol for slugs and are efficient foragers.

Random fact #3: According to the Egg Nutrition Center, a fresh egg has 72 calories with 6.3 grams of protein. It has a total fat of 4.8 grams and 186 milligrams of cholesterol.

posted by Carol Shih | May 18th, 2012 9:55am | filed under ChirpyChirpy, chickens | 1 Comment »

Garden Cafe Gets Some Chickens

Francesca, Violet, and Sunshine (photo provided by Mark Wootton)

Chef/manager Mark Wootton of the Garden Cafe has some new female friends, but they’re not human. They’re hens, and their names are Francesca, Violet, and Sunshine. The think-sustainably family over on Junius Street partnered up with its neighbors (The Lab and Little Bean) to install a chicken coop in the back garden.

Cluck after you jump. (more…)

posted by Carol Shih | April 18th, 2012 11:30am | filed under AgriBusiness, Chirpy, ChirpyChirpy, cheeep, chickens | 3 Comments »

Central 214: Chef Graham Dodds is Nuts for Eggs

Photographer Kevin Marple+Graham Dodds' Scotch egg=Central 214 deliciousness.

Graham Dodds, execuchef at Central 214, is doing some crazy stuff with eggs. He serves a Poached Farm Egg: an egg atop a Lyonnais salad of chopped greens, lardons and crumbled Caprino Royale goat cheese ($10 at lunch and pictured below the jump). Cut the floppy egg with your knife and the viscous yolk flows out like molten lava and runs with an iridescence that makes you wonder if you should be wearing protective dark glasses. {Ed. note: I’m leaving it in!]

The unavoidable feeling of richness carries through to the taste as well. It reminds me of what a farm egg is supposed to taste like. They do because Dodds buys them from Steven at Urban Acres. You can too. They come from Yellow Prairie Farm in Caldwell Texas,  where the farmer’s name is Dan. He is just one of the small producers that Dodds has fastidiously sought out during his years working as a chef.

Jump for the glory of Graham Dodds’ eggs. (more…)

posted by Andrew Chalk | March 30th, 2012 11:46am | filed under Andrew Chalk, ChirpyChirpy, Farmers Markets, appetizers | 6 Comments »

Jack in the Box Offers Bacon Milkshakes

The world is going pig-crazy.

On Friday, I heard that Jack in the Box was offering a very limited number of bacon milkshakes as a secret menu item. Did anyone get a chance to try one? I almost dropped everything to go search for one, but then I remembered my sanity. Now I’m lying deep in the trenches of regret.

posted by Carol Shih | February 6th, 2012 4:39pm | filed under Bacon, Breaking News, ChirpyChirpy, Making Up Is Hard To Do, Really?, Special Offers, Special Report, hold on to your effin hat, questionable judgment | 8 Comments »

Update on Trader Joe’s in Dallas

Grass does not grow beneath Teresa Gubbins' shoes.

Leave it to Teresa “Gumshoe” Gubbins to find a snitch in Trader Joe’s camp. Since the grocery chain announced they were planning locations in Dallas last May, they have been quite secretive about their locations. According to TG, you can rule out the former location on Greenville Ave. Her Deep Throat coughs up three possible locations: Walnut Hill and Central, Knox Ave., and Fort Worth. All of the details are here.

There was a time when Trader Joe’s was cool and funky and carried stuff you couldn’t find elsewhere, but I think the company is now running on a tired image. In the 70s,  Two Buck Chuck played a significant role in nursing wine drinkers off the Spanada bottle but the last TBC I sampled burned the enamel off my teeth. So, Trader Joe’s? Yes or no? Why?

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 29th, 2011 10:10am | filed under Best Gay Hangout Restaurant Evah!, Breaking News, Bureaucratic red tape, ChirpyChirpy, Cult Cuisine, Groceries, Health Food, Hippie revolutions, Junk Food, Merguez Sausage Hunt, Skinny bitches, Vegetarian/Vegan, Yum is Dumb, cheap wine, restaurant business news, sassy pants | 20 Comments »

What Would Happen if Women Opened Restaurants With Male Body Parts as Themes

‘Scuse me while I saddle up my high horse. Am I the only woman who is concerned about the sudden surge in Breastaurants. I mean really 35 additional Twin Peaks? A bar opening in downtown called The Spread Eagle? Seriously boys? How would you like to take your daughter into one of the restaurant’s the gals in our office just conceptualized. We call them Peteries.

Hunky Town, Twin Pricks, Tooter’s, Pecker’s Hot Italian Sausage, Tube Steak Junction, Cake Balls to the Walls, Nuts and Butts, Quickies, Long Dong Silver, Tally Whacker’s, Love Mussels, Wee Willie’s, Twig and Berries.

Ladies, the floor is open.

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 23rd, 2011 2:12pm | filed under Bad Names For Restaurants List, Best Gay Hangout Restaurant Evah!, Bring it!, Cheap trick for comments, ChirpyChirpy, Dog Friendly, Drinking, Goats!, Hole in the wall, I Went to College for This?, I'm about to get fired, Keep Dallas Douchey!, Merguez Sausage Hunt, Murmur, Newfangled condiments, Not-so-skinny bitches, Nutjobs, Overprivileged chimps, Procrastination is part of the creative process, Rants, RudeDudes, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, Slow News Day, Spicy foods, Yum is Dumb, breastaurants, cupcakes, hostess gifts, questionable judgment, restaurant business news, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 53 Comments »

2011 KRLD Restaurant Week: Server of the Week Winner!

Matt DeMoss of The Grape is our pick for Server of the Week. Photo by Margie Hubbard.

The first week KRLD Restaurant is over and I have to say I’m a little disappointed in you guys. I loved reading all of your reviews of your meals but most of you neglected to mention your server by name. Much less take a picture of them and submit said server for our unofficial “Server of the Week” contest. However, Disher Margie Hubbard didn’t fail. She sends this photo of Matt along with a comment:  “Our server, Matt DeMoss, at The Grape was excellent!  Well spoken, poised. There when you need him and not overly attentive.  Just right!  Our meal was fabulous and so was he. Cute, too!”

See, that wasn’t so hard. Shout outs go to Abacus servers Steve and Steve (submitted by B), Candace at Hibiscus (submitted by Linda 12), and Ken at Abacus (submitted by Amateur).

There are still openings for restaurants participating in the extended version of KRLD Restaurant Week. Check them out here. Don’t be shy. Take your camera. These servers are working their butts off.

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 22nd, 2011 10:05am | filed under Awards, ChirpyChirpy, Good Service, KRLD RESTAURANT WEEK 2011 | 5 Comments »

Garden Cafe Reopens Today

Mark Wootton, the cook as he prefers to be called, at Garden Café says Garden Café is back up and running. Last night he emailed this note.

We have been struck by lightning twice in the last couple of years. What are the odds? So, we have been instructed to buy lottery tickets… and we will!

Mark was the cook before and after the lightning. OH NO. That song.

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 17th, 2011 9:51am | filed under ChirpyChirpy, Gardening, Musical Press Releases, Restaurant News | 1 Comment »

Campo Modern Country Bistro to Open in Oak Cliff

Miguel Vicéns and John Paul Valverde owners of Coevál Studio, a firm that recently designed and built two Mexican restaurants in Fort Worth, is taking over the former La Carreta Argentine space on North Beckley in Oak Cliff. They will rework the space and open it as Campo Modern Country Bistro. This news comes from Steven Doyle of CraveDFW. He sends a hot link and a note:

I interviewed a design group that does restaurants and found out that Matt is their consulting chef and opening soon in Oak Cliff.  This isn’t his main restaurant that will open most likely first quarter 2012, but one he will consult on and have a presence indefinitely.

Matt is Matt McCallister. You know Matt. The execuchef at Stephan Pyles left his high profile gig to “Play” in kitchens around the world. Currently he is popping up in restaurants around town, like Café Momentum. He’s got  a chef’s fantasy job. If you’re not his Facebook friend, you are one uninformed Dallas diner.

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 17th, 2011 9:40am | filed under Bring it!, ChirpyChirpy, Cult Cuisine, Hot Links!, Openings, Restaurant News, hostess gifts | 1 Comment »

My Turn: Dough Pizzeria Napoletana in Dallas

Arugula and prosciutto pie from Dough Pizzeria Napoletana in Dallas. (N.N.)

The boys at the office wanted to try Dough’s (I am now officially shortening the name) pizza so, ever eager to please Zac and Tim, I headed over. I arrived a little before noon. No lines. The restaurant was about 80 percent occuPIED. There were five people at the host stand, one of which I believe was co-founder Lori Horn. (The Dallas location is owned and operated by Keith Hall and Brad Liles.)

Anywhoo, I asked if they did take-out. The gal I believe to be Lori Horn (GBTBLH) winced. “We really wish you would have a seat and eat your pizza here,” said GBTBLH. “By the time you transport it anywhere you will not get the whole experience. It only takes 90 seconds to make and it just doesn’t taste the same outside of the restaurant.” I persisted. “My office workers will be very disappointed,” I said. Then GBTBLH said I should call them and have them come over. I really didn’t want to have to explain what Tim Rogers would say to that phone call so I insisted one more time.

With a heavy heart, GBTBLH made me the second person to order take-out at Dough in Dallas.

Jump. (more…)

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 16th, 2011 2:54pm | filed under Bring it!, ChirpyChirpy, Cult Cuisine, I Went to College for This?, It's just lunch, Nutjobs, Openings, Overprivileged chimps, Restaurant News, Second coming | 33 Comments »

Special Report: First Customer at Dough Spends $62 for Lunch. Sends Pictures and Report

Jon Battle looking victorious outside of Dough on opening day.

Ladies and gentlemen, and I use those terms loosely, meet Jon Battle. He pestered me for months about the opening of Dough in Dallas. He’s a FANatic fan of their pizza. Well, the persistent Mr. Battle was the first official Dallas customer to enter Dough Pizzeria Napoletana when they opened this morning. He took a bunch of nice pictures which I have entered below the jump. (more…)

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 16th, 2011 1:42pm | filed under Bring it!, Celebrity Diners, ChirpyChirpy, Cult Cuisine, Openings, Restaurant News, SideDish Bump!, Special Report, Yum is Dumb, pizza | 21 Comments »

Dough Pizzeria Napoletana Opens in TEN MINUTES

Ohmigod, omigod, you guys. Dough Pizzeria Napoletana Opens in TEN MINUTES. Our man on the scene, appropriately named Jon Battle, is first in line.

THIS DOOR WILL OPEN IN 4 MINUTES. DALLAS WILL BE A DIFFERENT CITY!
posted by Nancy Nichols | August 16th, 2011 10:54am | filed under Celebrity Diners, ChirpyChirpy, I Went to College for This?, pizza | 2 Comments »

Somebody Help This Poor Boy: Calzones in Dallas

This kinda sorta rude Disher sez:

Nancy, you all seem to write about Pizza, especially Jay Jerrier’s. Can you move your brain away from Cane Rosso and perhaps tell me about where to get a calzone?

I picked the wrong day to quit feeling chirpy, chirpy, cheep, cheep! (Warning, that song will attach to your brain forever.) And dude, you don’t need to capitalize the P in pizza. Calzone suggestions anyone? Jay?

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 16th, 2011 9:58am | filed under ChirpyChirpy, Cult Cuisine, Diets are stupid, Hippie revolutions, I Went to College for This?, Keep Dallas Douchey!, Nostalgia, Really?, Restaurant News, RudeDudes, Somebody Help, Yum is Dumb, cheep, pizza | 17 Comments »