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Valentine’s Day Dining in Dallas: Last Call

Over it.

This is the last post for Valentine’s Day dining options in Dallas. Open his link and you will find romantic options from restaurants, bakeries, and take-out spots. If you are a restaurant and you are not on this list, please post your information in the comments section.

Restaurant Review: Norma’s Café in North Dallas

Pancakes at Norma's Cafe by Kevin Marple.

What a great day to eat pancakes. Breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner! Norma’s Café serves great pancakes all day. Recently, we sent Teresa Gubbins to check out the newest Norma’s in Farmers Branch North Dallas. I think she likes it.  Almost as much as Miss Yvonne really, really likes Cowboy Curtis’ jheri curl mullet.

Tea Talk: Friendship Tea at the Dallas Arboretum

We know we told you we’d post reviews of The Adolphus and Fearing’s tea services first, but we were just invited to the Friendship Tea service at the Dallas Arboretum, and it’s the freshest in our minds, so here goes. We’ll start by telling you we were pleasantly surprised by our experience. (A friend of ours wasn’t pleased with her experience from a year ago.) We were greeted by a friendly face, treated by the pleasant, white-gloved Nelson, and happy with the view of the gardens and our favorite teas, finger sandwiches, and desserts.

Jump for the details of the Arboretum’s Friendship Tea, which ends on February 28.
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Hanging Out in Preston Royal in Dallas: The Chicken Coop and Gazebo Burgers

Last night I sorta dined around Preston Royal Shopping Center, home of my crack house, Pinkberry. I explored all four quadrants of the center. I popped in Nothing But Bundt Cakes a chain dedicated to, well, nothing but variations of bundt cakes. It is a very cheery spot and I only tasted the chocolate chocolate chip drizzled with cream cheese frosting. Then I stopped into Gazebo Burgers and ordered one of their ginormous grilled chicken sandwiches with grilled onions and honey mustard.  I noticed that, across the parking lot from Gazebo Burgers,  a new spot, The Chicken Coop, is about to open next to Sushi Star. The logo looks franchise-y but a quick Google search didn’t turn up a link. (Go, Kirk.)  I parked in front of Neuhaus Café and noticed they had a nice dinner crowd. Of course, Pinkberry was mobbed. Fourteen dollars and forty three cents later, I was bound for home. BTW, those chicken sandwiches at Gazebo are delicious. They are almost as good as the ones at Stan’s Blue Note.

Folks From Uncle Willie’s Pies in Red Oak Visit D Magazine

A few hours ago, someone from Uncle Willie’s Pies in Red Oak dropped off ten slices of pie from Uncle Willie’s Pies in Red Oak. (Got that search engine?) Anywhoo, I decided to drop what I was doing and make a pie chart out of the pies and take a picture for you. The Circle of Pies is pictured along with the purple army man that sits on my desk and points his gun at me when I am on deadline. I haven’t tried the pie but the crust looks sensational. I’ve kept the cherry pie and have boxed up the rest and sent it over to the 4th floor at Belo. I’d hate to be Bruno (Leslie Brenner’s elliptical) tonight!! Moving on.

Inside the Life of a Restaurant Critic

So, you all know Leslie Brenner is on a diet, right. She is on one she very cleverly invented called The Restaurant Critic’s Diet. Good stuff. She has lost 9 pounds without sacrificing her dedication to her job as a dining critic.

In an article written by Teresa Gubbins, the skinny bitch over at PegNews, demands more details from La Brenner. TG wants to see before and after shots of Brenner’s project and Brenner’s starting and ending weight. Methinks not happening.

However, as she always does, Teresa brings up an interesting topic: Is Mathew McConaughey as good in bed as he is on his surf board. Wait, that wasn’t Teresa. TGub believes that people want to know insider-y details about restaurant critics:  What do we look like? Where do we eat on our own dime penny? Where do we live? Whom do we date? What language does our husband speak? How many cats do we have? You know, very intimate things about our secret lives.

To satiate your curiosity, and to keep you away from Pinkberry, I thought I’d share a “morning after” picture that I accidentally snapped last year. It is not staged. I like to call it “Banana Cream Pie at Midnight.” (Click on it to make it bigger.) If you can tell me where the pie was paid for, I’ll tell you how much I weigh.

Does Dallas Have a Yogurt District?

Hard-core froyo addicts do not order toppings.

Yesterday, after I confessed my addiction to the Swirly Goodness of Pinkberry, a commenter, John M, admitted he is tempted to mainline frozen yogurt. He’s even begs you for a place to score. Light a cig, pull up a cold folding chair, and listen to his story:

OK, now I have a Red Mango a block away from my house and a Yogalicious, Orange Cup and Pinkberry half a mile and a free trolly ride away. I’m too lazy and a creature of habit to figure this out and have tried none of them so could someone please tell me where I should be going since I apparently live in the yogurt district now?

A yogurt district. Brilliant. The thought of a yogurt district in Dallas makes my heart race. Image a city full of froyo addicts. Taking public transportation to get  a fix. Pinkberry’s secret recipe sold to undercover agents in the alley behind Landry’s  in the West End. Red Mango corporate executives gunned down in an Italian restaurant. (Oh wait, we don’t have any good ones. Okay, a New American restaurant with truffle fries.) Dallas, once again, will make international headlines. Al Pacino is still around. He will play John M. in a remake of Panic in Needle Park .

Do you have two or more froyo spots near your house? Are you scared? Do you let your kids go to Menchie’s alone? (Full disclosure: I relapsed last night and hit Pinkberry at 7:30 pm. There were 16 kids between 14 and 18 in that tiny store.) You think this is a joke? Then your mother never allowed you to eat baked cellulite.

I Love Pinkberry. Two More Locations Set to Open in Dallas.

There. I said it. I love Pinkberry. I didn’t want to like it. In fact, I didn’t tell any of my friends I was sneaking over to Preston Royal every night for a LARGE cup of chocolate swirly goodness. (Sorry, their words not mine.) I didn’t think I had a problem until one night I got out of my pajamas and drove over before they closed. I bought three cups (almost $17!) to keep in my freezer.

How could I face Teresa, my counselor at Jenny Craig, with this news? (Oh, no! I just gave away a super secret about myself!) My 5’5” frame couldn’t take so much excess swirly goodness 7 nights a week, I had to stop. So I did. Cold (beat, beat, beat) turkey.

I am ten days swirly goodness sober.  So, I hesitate to tell you that Pinkberry will be serving swirly goodness in West Village by February 12.

Hey, Adam Saxton, Director of Development and Pinkberry Brand Manager at Saxton Pierce Restaurant Corporation, what are you doing?  “Watching the Pinkberry brand earn fans locally has been a very exciting experience for our corporation.  Few brands gain the instant following that Pinkberry does, and we are excited to bring Pinkberry to an additional part of Dallas so more people locally can experience the one-of-a-kind product, dedication to customer service, and the inspiring environment that go along with a Pinkberry store.”  He added “this second location is just the beginning of Pinkberry in North Texas.  We look forward to announcing additional location in the coming weeks.”

(Chant with me: Northwest Highway and Midway.)

Society Bakery Sells Whoopie Pies; The WP Trend Is On

New holiday whoopie pies at Society Bakery.

Last week, Nancy told us about whoopie pies at Tart Bakery and and Maple & Motor Burgers and Beer. One more, and whoopies were a trend, she said. Well, here’s our third: Society Bakery is selling them, and they brought us some to try. In the box: chocolate mint (gourmet Thin Mint, they say), brown sugar, bread pudding, and spice. The pies are saucer-sized and make a great cupcake alternative, IMO. My favorite was the brown sugar. Loved the maple whoopie filling, which is like vanilla frosting but much less sweet. The cake-to-frosting ratio will also likely be appealing to pepole who get overwhelmed with mile-high frosted cupcakes.

If these look good to you and you want a sample, stop by Society tomorrow night from 6–8 for their joint open house with the Corner Market. They will be giving away samples of these new flavors as well as some of their other goodies.

Pinkberry Dallas Opens With Chocolate Yogurt and Champagne

Pinkberry owner Adam Saxton smiles pretty and eats yogurt.

Last night was the grand opening party of Pinkberry Dallas, the frozen yogurt store that started the tart frozen yogurt craze in 2005. Back then, you couldn’t open up an In Touch without seeing a photo of Leo DiCaprio or Lindsay Lohan chowing down on the stuff, and rumor had it that lines were so long you had to wait an hour for a taste of the Swirly Goodness (not our term: that’s what Pinkberry press release calls it). We didn’t see any celebs last night (does Lucy Wrubel count?), but there was a searchlight, and there was a line out the door for the yogurt, so there. Our location, at Preston and Royal next to Barnes and Noble and the Merge clothing store, is the first in the U.S. outside of New York and California. The party was also the debut of Chocolate Pinkberry, and for now, we’re the only city that has it (woot!). It was explained to me that the chocolate comes from Mexico and is very expensive, because it’s tough to find chocolate that would mix with their yogurt and taste good. I thought the chocolate flavor was fine, but I like Pinkberry (and others like it) because of the tang, and chocolate doesn’t have it. I’m sticking with the original. Jump for photos and more info.

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New Cookie Company In Carrollton: ZitaCookies

Sugar cookie with Key lime glaze.

Anybody tried ZitaCookies on Old Denton Road in Foodie Town, I mean, Carrollton? It’s a mom shop (pop has another job) dedicated to baking fresh cookies. Owner Zita DeGraffenreid delivers in town, mails orders all over the place, and offers a Cookie of the Month program. Check it out and report back. 972-245-4100.

Restaurant Review: Bliss Raw Café and Elixir Bar in Dallas

Strawberry cream pie. (photo by Kevin Hunter Marple)

Teresa Gubbins has something to say about everything. Today she has something to say about Bliss Raw Café and Elixir Bar in Dallas. I have not been to Bliss, well the restaurant anyway, but I hear that the regulars are, well, quite regular.

Greek Food Festival in Dallas Starts on Friday

This upcoming weekend, September 25-27, is the 53rd Greek Food Festival in Dallas. There will be “thousands upon thousands” of Greek pastries, overflowing cups of coffee (a new addition this year), and “heaping plates of gyros and grilled souvlaki.” And dancing, lots of dancing, music, and goodies to buy. Click here for more info or jump for details. (more…)

New Sweet Release from Kessler Cookie Company

We’ve been big fans of the sweet boys over at Kessler Cookie Company and their Oak Cliff baked goodness for quite some time. We even named their oatmeal cranberry walnut cookie the city’s best cookie back in 2004. Just found out that KCC is producing an exclusive cookie for Dream Cafe: the Dream Ranger cookie is a blend of oatmeal, chocolate, and coconut. You can find it at both Dream Cafe locations (Uptown and Addison).

Will Central 214 Top Chef Blythe Beck Bottom Out on TV?

Is reality TV good for the career of a chef? I don’t watch enough to have an educated opinion but, from where I sit, it looks like more top chefs bottom out after their 15 minutes, or months, of fame. Casey who? Tre what? Lisa Garza is where? Dig what I’m shooting at you?

Next girl up is Central 214’s Blythe Beck. She will star in The Naughty Kitchen With Chef Blythe Beck on Oxygen. I’ve never really understood the naughty kitchen concept. So I checked the shows website. It says:

Blythe Beck, the fiery young chef and star of Oxygen’s upcoming series The Naughty Kitchen With Chef Blythe Beck, shows off her distinctive sexy American cuisine, her cutting edge Dallas restaurant, Central 214, and her loud and flamboyant staff. The Naughty Kitchen With Chef Blythe Beck is certain to cook up the drama both in and out of the kitchen. Oxygen follows executive chef Blythe Beck, a 29-year old Texas native, who is plus-sized in stature and personality, and her colorful crew at Central 214, inside and outside the kitchen as they interact with the Dallas elite and the local university students.

Monday night I went to Central 214 to check it out and write a mini-review. Sadly, I didn’t see waitresses in garter belts or waiters wearing thongs, but I did find the Door Whores. And calories. Lots of calories. What is sexy about calories? I guess we will find out when the show starts on September 22nd. Somebody tell me this is a good thing.

Pinkberry To Open in Dallas’s Preston Royal

 Pinkberry, “the taste that launched 1,000 parking tickets,” is going to open (next to Barnes & Noble and Merge)  in Dallas’ Preston Royal Village. It will be the first US location to open outside of the California and New York markets.

UPDATE: They’re looking for a manager!

UPDATED UPDATE: Opening in early November.

Restaurant News in Dallas

Central Market: Only two days left to submit your Hatch chile recipe to Central Market’s Contest. Do. It. Now.

Free Gelato: Paciugo Gelato in Plano is so happy to be open they are giving away gelato today from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at their new location in the North Phase at The Shops At Legacy. 972-398-0224.

Pastry News: EatGreenDFW.com now carries fusion pastries from Florine Bowman.  “Now you can order Apricot/Walnut Scones, Cinnamon Rolls and her Discovery Breakfast, a selection of two Apricot/Walnuts Scones, two Cranberries Scones, two Cinnamon Rolls, and two Blueberries Muffins.”

Premium Pour: Between August 24 and Sept 6, Park Cities Prime–all premium wines by the bottle ($150 and up) will be ½ off with dinner. Offer is not valid with other deals. 214-691-7763.

Imported Wine Sale:  Sigel’s in Addison is having a sale on over 300 selections. Selections below the jump. (more…)

Dallas Food & Wine Events & News

Chipotle. Free food giveaway during tax free weekend. If you buy a burrito, order of tacos, salad, or bowl on Tuesday, August 18th or Wednesday, August 19th you’ll receive a free entrée during tax free weekend on August 21st-August 23rd.

Sacred Cellars is offering another “Steal of the Week.” 2005 Flora Springs “Trilogy” Napa Valley. 95 points – Wine Enthusiast. 93 points – Robert Parker/Wine Advocate.
$34.99 per bottle + sales tax (where applicable) and $7 shipping, or free local pickup available.

La Duni Latin Kitchen and Coffee Studio at NorthPark Center. Co-hosting with Bacardi Rums to present a hands-on Mojito Class on Thursday, August 27 from 6:30-7:30pm (registration begins at 6pm).  Learn the three methods of classic Mojitos cocktails, one shaken, one muddled, and one fired while enjoying light bites from the award-winning la Duni kitchen. Cost is $17 in advance and $22 in advance. [Ed note. I have no idea what that means.]  Reservations are required. 214-987-2260.  Capacity is limited. La Duni Latin Kitchen & Coffee Studio is located on Level One beneath AMC NorthPark 15 Theaters facing the beautiful Center Park, 8687 N. Central Expressway Suite 1516 in Dallas, TX.

Café Lago. From owner Gabriela Kovacic: “Ron Jones, a product of the White Rock area and passionate musician will be performing Thursday the 20th. He will be joined by Darwin Martin on the keyboard these fellows are pros! Their smooth and eloquent execution of some classic pieces along with his amazingly accurate version of Pink Floyd will have you calmly enjoying the evening, sipping on Sangria and amazed at his talent. The benefit to being at Cafe Lago when Ron performs is that you never know who else will drop by – could be a drummer, percussionist, trumpet player, or maybe a soft subtle jazz singer! Also, Kerri Arista, the Cafe Lago Sweetheart as we call her, is currently on a challenge to write 50 songs in 90 days. Her craft at songwriting has evolved beautifully and her sweet renditions of her many songs give Cafe Lago diners a warm environment.  She sings Friday Nights 14th & 28th. Come this Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. and taste more than 17 sparkling wines from all over the world.  See which sparkler is as good as Champagne but at a fraction of the price.”

FUQUA Wines. Summer Wine Series, Cont. Sparklers 2. This will be a blind tasting.  Besides all of the sparklers, we will also taste our FUQUA wines as well.  This tasting is limited to 16 people and costs $18 per person.  Buy your ticket and make your reservations at here.

Cake Ball Company. “The Cake Ball Company offers an array of delicious hand-held confections inspired from Robin Ankeny’s mother’s family recipe. After starting a family, Ankeny began using the recipe to make the miniature, coated desserts for gatherings with family and friends. Soon her cake balls were in such high demand that the next obvious step was to make cake balls available to everyone and open The Cake Ball Company in Dallas with the help of Deb Corley and Charlotte Lyon. Each cake ball is approximately 1.25 inches round and made over a two-day process that involves baking and blending the cake balls with creamy icing before dipping them into a beautiful confectionery coating.”

They are having a birthday and are selling a special Birthday Cake flavor for $1.00 each on August 20. Deets here.

Big Fatty’s Flaming Foods In Valley View: Are You Ready For Your Close-up?

I parked on W. Lovers next to this car last night. I’m placing an order today. Cranberry Cayenne Hot Biscotti and Mistress Karlita’s Spanking Rub will be mine. Anyone?

Tom Landis Of Texadelphia In Dallas Brings Amy’s Ice Cream Of Austin To Dallas

I just received a long rambling press release from Tom Landis. Besides having a baby tomorrow, the news is that he tried to make his own ice cream to sell at Texadelphia, failed miserably, and decided to import Amy’s Ice Cream from Austin. (Oh, and he is three years sober.) Sounds like the ice cream will be in Dallas Texadelphia locations starting next Wednesday. “Oh, and we ain’t making a penny off of it for awhile,” said Landis. “All proceeds will go to “Helping Austin Musicians,” a charity that helps Austin musicians with medical bills, etc.”
Full release below: (more…)

Twitter Dining Review In Dallas: Join Me Tonight

I’m headed out to do a dining review. See if you can guess my location. (DSideDish)

Comfort Food In Dallas: What Comforts You

I am getting a little uncomfortable with the direction comfort food is taking. Can I blame it on the Gen Y population? Sure, why not. They don’t read SideDish. Gen Y’ers are more Britney than Julia.

While the overall trend in dining today is to eat sloooowly, the Gen Y’ers I know are more content to snack quickly. What happened to the good old days of turning on The Thorn Birds (before you knew Richard Chamberlain was gay), grabbing a spoon and a half gallon of ice cream, and eating the whole thing? Once, after I got turned down for what I thought was my dream job, I went back to my apartment, made a three-layer German chocolate cake, and ate every last crumb. Did I feel better? You betcha.

What is comfort food? At home it is one thing, but now restaurants are trying to comfort us in public. Take Kent Rathbun. (beat, beat…) He has gourmet comfort food. He isn’t alone; there are lots of folks making their mortgage payments by selling upscale mac and cheese. Isn’t gourmet comfort food an oxymoron? If you agree, then WTF is healthy comfort food? A lie? You betcha.

I was curious to see if there were any distinctive differences between generations when it came to constant cravings. I didn’t have to Google far to find this little salty tidbit. Jump with me. (more…)

Society Bakery New Kids on the Block Cake A Hit With “The Guys”

Society Bakery's NKOTB cake. The hottest one is second from the right.

A couple of weeks ago, a very exciting thing happened. The New Kids on the Block came to town. If you get my newsletter (Oh, you don’t? Sign up here) or ever check out www.dmagazine.com, you probably already know how excited this makes me. (I know it’s not the coolest thing in the world, but we all have our guilty pleasures, and this one’s mine. Haters to the left.) So when Roshi Muns from Society Bakery sent me this picture, I had to know more details. Like, why wasn’t I invited to this party. Here is her story:

The New Kids manager found us. They had asked a local contact where to get an awesome cake and they said Society Bakery! So they sent us their tour poster to get inspiration. The party was a private band and crew party at Gilleys the night before their Friday night concert. It was to celebrate the completion of 140 shows on their tour. They took the pic and sent an email saying they loved it. And this week they sent us a care package with hats and t-shirts and blankets and cds and even baby clothes. We put their pic up in the bakery.

The cake was half chocolate, half vanilla, with vanilla frosting. I’m posting this because I know I’m not the only person out there who wants to squeal a little bit when they see this picture. Also, props to Society Bakery. I need to come visit. And after I leave, if you’re missing a t-shirt or two, I don’t know anything about it.

SideDish Movie Screening: Julie & Julia And Whole Foods In Dallas

Okay Dishers, you’ve heard about the movie, read my review, and are already sick of the trailers on TV, BUT I bet you still want to see this flick for FREE. I have 5 pair of tickets to give away. All you have to do is fill out this tiny little form for a chance to win 2 tickets to see Julie & Julia next Thursday, August 6th at 7:30 p.m. at the Angelika. Then you can thank Karen Lukin of Whole Foods for making it happen. If you want to get psyched for the movie or you just happen to be in Preston Forest next Monday (August 3), Whole Foods is hosting a “We Remember Julia” cooking class at 9:00 a.m. It is also free. Begging for freebies is always encouraged. Bring it. (You have to see the fake yawn scene.)

UPDATE: NYT article on food prep for the movie.

Ben & Jerry’s Opens Two New Stores: McKinney and Highland Village

New Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops are open at the Eldorado Plaza in McKinney and Shops at Highland Village. To help celebrate the shops and all things ice cream, all three local Ben & Jerry’s (Plano, McKinney and Highland Village) spots are offering a “Buy One Get One Free Sundaes on Mondays.” The “We Wish it Were Monday” promo will run all summer through the end of August.  (Vermonster Sundae not included.) On the lighter side, Ben & Jerry’s also offers a new line of smoothies that are all under 250 calories.