Is it bad that when I first got a glimpse of David Schecter’s dead gator discovery on his Twitter yesterday, my brain processed the news in this exact progression?
1) There is no way I’m stepping foot in Trinity River. Ever. Not after that Mud Run participant died there, and especially not after this 11.5 gator swam in those waters.
2) How many pounds of gator nuggets can you make with this big ‘ole reptile?
Your guesses, please.
D Home editor Joslyn Taylor had this brilliant idea of doing a cross post. Since the weather has been kind of wunderbar, we thought it’d be fun if I picked out my ideal picnic basket foods while Joslyn paired them with pretty basket accessories.
Jump if you can’t wait for this weekend.
One perk for guests at the Hotel Palomar in Dallas is the Wine Hour they host in the evenings. Last week, the hotel opened the event to the public and combined it with a fundraiser for the Promise of Peace Community Garden. The Ackermans provided musical entertainment. Promise of Peace is a non-profit active in East Dallas that aims to reduce the school dropout rate, reduce crime, gang involvement and teen pregnancy through local initiatives that increase community involvement. The organization’s two main activities are the community garden on East Grand and photography classes.
More below. (more…)
Hooray for hot dogs! One Mr. Ludwig Sawicki is almost ready to open his new hot dog restaurant, Bite the Weenie. “We are making at least 20 variations and styles of hot dogs and sausage sandwiches,” Sawicki said. “We should be ready to go next week.” Sawicki moved to Dallas from Chicago almost 15 years ago and “has been craving hot dogs since then.” Sawicki spent many years working in restaurants before a career in the firearms business. He’s pretty dang excited about his new hot dog store and hopes to populate Dallas with more locations. So far, the menu includes classic Chicago and New York-style dogs. Other cities with dogs include Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Tokyo, and Vera Cruz. There is a Saigon Dog and a foie gras dog. Here is the working menu. 9143 Boulevard 26, Suite 650. Richland Hills. 817-514-2313.
Hey, hosers! How’s it going, eh? What are your plans for Boxing Day? Betcha Yanks a toonie you didn’t know SideDish is freakin’ huge in Canada! Yep, it’s true, eh? Last time I was in Toronto (Toronnah) I spied some Canadian idiot sporting a toque (two-k) with a big red D on it! My brother-in-law went all Don Cherry on me and said the D stood for Detroit (dee-troi-e-ot). What else would you expect from a pansy Red Wings fan? (Q: What do you call 5 Detroit Red Wings players standing ear to ear? A: A wind tunnel!)
I love Boxing Day, the first business day after Christmas. All of Ontario closes and we sit on the chesterfield and chow down on donuts, beer, macaroni and cheese, and watch hockey. The NHL pretty much owns Canada on Boxing Day now. They have TEN GAMES scheduled. My friend’s mum puts out (uhoot) a hellofa buffet (boo-fay). And k.d. lang always sends me a fruit cake. Go Leafs! (Q: Why don’t the Leafs drink tea? A: Because the Canadiens have all the cups.) And hello Peterborough!
Three years ago, I introduced you to Charles Phoenix, the “Ambassador of Americana.” More importantly, I introduced you to his “recipe” for the Astro-Weenie Christmas Tree. (I made several for the D Magazine holiday party in 2008. Co-workers still stalk me for my secret herbal ingredient.)
Well, thanks to SideDish, Phoenix’s career and has catapulted over hosting grade school field trips and roller skating parties to doing national TV spots with Martha Stewart and commenting on NPR. (Rawlins in drag?) I think it’s time to bring back the Astro-Weenie recipe. Remember, as they say in England, you can always make one suitable for vegetarians. Mind your head.
Huh? Hasn’t this icky boneless mystery meat sandwich already had more comebacks than Donny and Marie? According to this, they’re rolling out the old queen on November 14. One interesting note in the story is that Germany is the only place where it’s always been available. WTF? Germany? McRib? Do you people eat this stuff? Food snobs speak up!
Every year the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas (GALT) works with the the Deep Ellum Foundation to raise funds for GALT’s work saving greyhounds. Pups (any breed and many breed) and their owners walk between participating merchants collecting poker cards. At the end the highest hand wins a prize. Entrants also got an event t-shirt, drink/food specials and GALT goody bag. Pup crawl stops included Trees, Club Dada, St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin, The Bone, and Reno’s Chop Shop.
SideDish planned to send Andrew Chalk to this but he was laid up due to a nagging FarmVille injury. However, he was able to send his dog to cover it…
McVItie barks below.
You don’t have to be a greyhound. You don’t have to own a greyhound. If your dog looks like a greyhound, runs like a greyhound, or barks at greyhounds he/she’s still eligible. In fact, this is on the same day as at French Fest on Slocum so, in principle, your dog could learn to bark in French, run in the dog park in Deep Ellum, and meet some greyhounds — all in one day!
Here’s how… (more…)
In a first for Dallas restaurant reviewing we present Corky the greyhound reviewing Chris Ward’s food at The Mercury.
Two things about boys: they don’t ask for directions when they are lost and they don’t bother to find out the name of what they are eating until they want it again. Listen to this one:
I first encountered this tasty treat while walking past a street vendor in Paris. It is a custard tart of some kind, I have never figured out the actual name.The are available everywhere in Paris from bakeries to street vendors and SO tasty. Please help!
Well, he at least took a picture and said please. Okay, let’s get busy.

Anqullkah Udama, Elaine Vasquez, John Tesar, Maria Mejia, and Rich Lacamana (Photo by Desirée Espada)
I snuck in to John Tesar’s Hater’s Party last night. My friend Laura and I arrived early and watched them set up. Tesar was running around organizing the seating and the free booze and tacos in the Camanera Tequila truck parked outside the restaurant. By the time we left (7:30PM), there were about 40 people on the patio. I witnessed no hate; only love for John Tesar. Our photographer, Desiree Espada, took pictures.
Jump for the love of John.
‘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.
An animal-loving Disher files this report:
Nancy, here’s a terrible experience last night [Saturday] at Maple & Motor. It turned out okay but could have been much different: A rather disheveled woman driving a green Mazda (with Wisconsin license plates) was at Maple & Motor around 7:30pm. It was 103. She left her dogs in the car with the windows barely cracked open. There was the long line of folks waiting to order and I knew they would have been trapped in that hot car for at least twenty minutes. Poor dogs.
Apparently the staff at M&M called for the owner to let the dogs out. However two groups of customers also called the police. I contacted owner Jack Perkins. “We did have a situation like that,” Perkins said. “We did champion the welfare of the animals, as we always will. The customer, who was not a regular, went home, left the animals, called in, and picked up the order later. No human or animal was injured in the making of their hamburgers. Well. I suppose the cow was.”
When Park Restaurant closed last month, veteran chef Garreth Dickey found himself without a job. Starting Monday, he will start his new gig as chef du cuisine at Dish. Dickey moved to Dallas to work for Stephan Pyles at Star Canyon. He also worked at the original Green Room, Jeroboam, The Porch, and Hibiscus before he replaced Marc Cassel at Park.
Doug Brown is still the head chef in Dish’s kitchen and he has been busy making some changes. Brown and Dickey will debut a new menu which will be refreshed weekly. “One section of the menu will be unique to the week,” owner Tim McEneny said. “Our core items such as our roasted chicken and barbecued short ribs will remain.”
McEneny is also involved in the facelift taking place at Dakota’s. They are in the process of covering the patio and changing the menu. They roll out a new cocktail and wines-by-the-glass program on Monday.
Eatzi’s has decided to change their music for a few weeks. My ears are so happy. I have nothing against opera music, but when those sopranos hit the high notes while I’m wait for a roasted chicken to get quartered, my cochleas recoil. The opera music will return next week.
Fearless Critic, The Dallas Restaurant Guide, a compilation of “Dallas’ top 250 places to dine as compiled from a panel of discerning local food writers” hits newsstands soon. According to the press release, “the slim and plucky collection of reviews” will guide the reader “beyond beef and Tex-Mex.” Fearless Critic guides to Austin, Houston, and San Antonio are already available. Thanks to Coco Owens, Associate Publisher & Social Media Director, the group is a “pithy bunch.” Full press release here. Love the bloated ego of Sambuca 360 review. Fear. Less.
About 150 people showed up to Hotel Palomar last night with their pets to sip beer (people), sniff butts (dogs), and eat cheeseburgers (both). Naughty Chef Blythe Beck was feeling rather nice as hostess of the patio picnic to honor her recent rescue dog, Sheriff, and raise money for Operation Kindness.
A puparazzo snapped pics of dogs and their owners on the red carpet as they entered the party. Later, while guests mingled, Beck made the rounds, touting the assets of adoptable dogs, including a terrier mix named Nisha (pictured). The crowd laughed when she said that her dog means more to her than “boys, food, or vodka.” Seems that plenty of party-goers could relate.
A blow-up kiddie pool provided canines with relief from the heat; a breeze kept the human crew cool. The evening wrapped up with a raffle of fluffy pet beds, self-cleaning litter boxes, and a hotel staycation for the lucky owner of a white Havanese.
Dog Friendly Patios in Dallas: Fun or Foul
This dog may look cuddly and sweet, but she could steal your burger or bite you in the leg if allowed on the patio of a restaurant.
Despite the heat, I’m seeing an uptick in the number of restaurants advertising their dog friendly patios. In mid-2008 the City of Dallas amended their ordinance allowing dogs on restaurant patios under certain conditions, such as no outside food prep, entering only through an outdoor entrance, leashed only, and not allowed to sit on tables, chairs, or counter tops.
I might take some heat for it here on SideDish, but I’m just not a fan of dogs on a restaurant patio. While 90% of dogs (and their owners) are well-behaved, that leaves 1 out of 10 that are not. When I lived in Europe, it was very common to have dogs on the patios and inside of the restaurants, roaming at will and sitting on chairs. I’ve had my fill of dogs sniffing around my table.
So let’s just throw this open for discussion. Are you a fan of dog friendly patios? Have you had any problems?
Bark.