The Avner Samuel; The Bailey. En fuego.

Whirling dervish chef Avner Samuel and his sidekick chef Jon Stevens are ready to open Snack, their “street-food-inspired-low price-points-small-plates-daily-chalkboard-special restaurant on Henderson in the space formerly known as Horne & Dekker. (Whew!) There will be three bar areas: one with cocktails, wine and beer; the second is a raw bar, but also includes a charcuterie element and hot small plates; the third, features a large wood-burning oven for made-to-order flatbreads and distinct hot dishes. (Whew!) Listen up:

From the age-old market-squares and bazaars to today’s street food vendors, SNACK is the creation of a street-to-table inspired menu. The menu includes dinner items such as short rib tacos with pineapple habanero and cilantro crema ($8), pork shumai dumplings ($9), chicken shawarmas with cucumber tahini and pickled onion ($8), and smoked oysters escabeche served with wood oven toasted bread ($7).  The brunch menu features items from a pan-fried egg sandwich with Serrano ham and avocado ($13), to a charcuterie flatbread with pan-fried egg, arugula and herbs ($14); and “street tacos” a la carte with a small assortment of sweeter entrees, like coconut griddle cakes ($11), to choose from.

Bizarre is right! Let’s see, Samuel-Stevens now oversee two locations of Nosh Euro Bistro, Snack, the transition of Bailey’s Prime Plus from steak joint to a chef-driven kitchen, and the addition of the lavish Aurora Room to BPP.  My guess is Samuel and Stevens already have their paws on the menu at The Chesterfield. What? You hear there will be more Nosh Euro Bistros if this relationship lasts? Oh, glorious Dallas dining. Are you coming back to life or going crazy?

UPDATE: Snack will have it’s own valet parking.

Are you ready for some hot dogs?

Yesterday, Merritt Martin of Eater Dallas, linked (ha!) to a story reporting Dallas-based Zaccanelli Food Group’s acquisition of the 133 year-old Hofmann Sausage Company in Syracuse, New York. She writes:

“Wait, what? Dallas-based Zaccanelli Food Group acquired Syracuse’s Hofmann Sausage Company in a multimillion dollar deal that means sausage expansion (well beyond Hot Haus rests, even into Texas groceries, gasp!) and, linking (ha) seemingly random investors the likes of Oneida Indian Nation, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and others.”

The “others” Martin omits are significant players that are anything but randomly linked. Like the “Zaccanelli” behind the group:  Frank Zaccanelli, a native of Syracuse, is the former team president of the Dallas Mavericks. He was the minority owner to Ross Perot Jr.’s majority. Together, they sold the team to our (foodie) hero, Mark Cuban. Before that, Zaccanelli was a big wig at Perot Jr.’s company and they did some big deals like Alliance Airport and large real estate developments all over the state. (Huge overstatement in the interest of time.) Zaccanelli Food Group received majority funding from the powerful central-New York based Oneida Indian Nation Enterprises, a group dedicated to “re-investing in Central New York.” Other investors include former Syracuse Police Chief and two-time Syracuse University All-American basketball player Dennis DuVal, Syracuse University Head Basketball Coach Jim Boeheim, Dallas Cowboys quarterback and businessman Roger Staubach, and several high-profile restaurateurs and sports figures.

The until-now family-owned and operated Hofmann Sausage Company is a well-respected name in the restaurant business. They make some fine sausages and hot dogs. Call me crazy, but I swear I ate a Hofmann dog at Fuddrucker’s a century ago. Oh, that brings me to another “other” in this multi-million-dollar-dog deal: Phil Romano, the creator of Fuddruckers®, World’s Greatest Hamburgers®. Secret fact: Romano ALSO grew up in Syracuse eating Hofmann dogs. He loves them so much he sells them at Eatzi’s! Now he’s going to show the world just how much he hearts Hofmann dogs. Romano is in charge of creating a national chain of Hofmann’s World’s Greatest Hot Dogs restaurants. (I’m sure the ® is still at the attorney’s office.)  I, for one, can’t wait. Hot dogs are the new hamburger.

Update: Hofmann products will be available in 64 Texas Albertson’s stores, including those in DFW, this weekend. That was fast.

(photo by Regina Peterman)

I’m not at all ashamed to profess my love for donuts.  Some may label these decadent morsels of fried dough a “guilty pleasure,” but when I sink my eager teeth into the perfect donut, I feel no guilt at all, simply a euphoric rush of gustatory satisfaction which no other breakfast pastry can provide.  Last year, I presented my list of the Best Donuts in Dallas, but since that time, we’ve seen some notable changes on the Dallas donut frontier.  The beloved Hypnotic Donuts traded in their inconspicuous habitation of a pizza joint in North Dallas for a vibrant new shop in East Dallas.  Other donut shops, such as Pookie’s Donuts on Lemmon Ave, who donut bombed D Magazine a few weeks ago, and Denton Square Donuts who I visited previously, are also getting in on the donut love currently wafting through the air around Dallas.

Jump for a hole lot more…

Banana Pudding Donut (Photo by Regina Peterman)

And now the latest in the world of donut indulgence comes to us from Forney, TX, a tiny town just east of Mesquite.  Not a place I normally travel to, but for exceptional donuts, my stomach and gas tank know no bounds.  I was first turned onto The Hole Thing by the diligent blogger, the walking sweet-tooth, Jayme Campbell of Confection Confessions, one of the few people I know whose love for donuts rivals my own. And so it was that early last Saturday morning, I made the mini-road trip to Forney, to see if The Hole Thing could stack up to some of the donut joints in my regular rotation.

(Photo by Regina Peterman)

Navigating Forney, despite its small size can be incredibly annoying, especially with construction filled roads, a smartphone Google Map on the fritz, and naught but a lousy Facebook map pin to point me in the right direction.  But by the grace of the donut gods and my keen sense of donut-trained olfaction, I pulled into The Hole Thing by 7:30 AM, plenty of time to get my hands on the good stuff.

The Hole Thing starts where most donut shops do, offering the standard array of plain glazed, chocolate glazed, old fashioned sour cream, etc.  But they are assuredly amping things up a bit with their wide assortment of novelty and specialty items, and they are going well beyond the now nearly ubiquitous maple and bacon bar.  I skipped the plain and opted for the unusual to see what this place really had to offer.  Luckily, I was more than pleased in my selections.

(Photo by Regina Peterman)

Blueberry Fritter (Photo by Regina Peterman)

Among the most memorable items was from their line of ”pie-based” donuts including blueberry cream frosted with blueberry pie filling, banana cream pie topped with crunchy banana chips, apple pie with chopped apples, vanilla and cinnamon crumb, lemon cream pie, key lime, and coconut cream. Other showstoppers include the wonderful banana pudding filled donut with wafer cookie crumble and banana chips, the piña colada donut with pineapple, whipped cream and coconut and the pineapple upside-down cake donut with a sweet brown sugar glaze, and (gasp!) a red velvet donut with chocolate drizzle.  As a huge supporter of fritters, I was ecstatic to see their work with these giants among donuts, with blueberry, apple, banana honey glazed, and a banana chocolate chip with peanut butter and chocolate fudge drizzle.

Coconut Cream, Blueberry Cream, and Key Lime Donuts (Photo by Regina Peterman)

Trust me, the options do not stop there. Candy bars, cookies, and cereals find their way onto many of The Hole Thing’s offerings. In addition to donuts, they are running a line of barbecue pockets including chopped brisket filled rolls and smoked pulled pork filled rolls, as well as cinnamon rolls, whoopie pies, and muffins.

I asked co-owner, Katie Vrana, what kind of things they had in mind for the future and among other ideas are a “donut bread pudding with bourbon caramel sauce,” and with the approach of summer they plan on incorporating peaches and berries from a local orchard and berry farm. Drooling yet?

Red Velvet Cake Donut (Photo by Regina Peterman)

The Hole Thing is headed by a trio of women, sisters Katie Vrana and Stephanie Winther, and their niece, Jennifer Thrash. They eventually brought on Scott Martin as head baker, a 15-year bakery veteran from Rhode Island who brought his experience to the team to ensure that what they produce at The Hole Thing is more than the text-book, just-add-water donut mix offerings which plague many run-of-the-mill donut joints around town. For only being open since early December 2011, they are already building a loyal following.  No surprise though, as attention to quality, creativity, and a little risk-taking often pays off in this town. I look forward to great things from these people.

The Hole Thing

571 S. FM 548 Ste 128

Forney, TX

(972) 564-4653

Blueberry Cream Donut (Photo by Regina Peterman)

(Photo by Regina Peterman)

The Smooth Operator: French Silk chocolate with pretzel crust

This past weekend may have been rainy and overcast, but a beacon of sunshine poured down upon the Bishop Arts District, resting on a quaint little renovated house painted brightly with hues of violet and blue.  Within these walls rested Dallas’ first “pop-up” pie shop, brought to us by the wonderful women at Emporium Pies, partners and co-owners, Mary Gauntt and Megan Wilkes. Wanting to test the waters a bit and see what kind of response the Dallas diners would have to a dedicated pie shop, they moved into the space at 314 N. Bishop Ave. over the weekend to provide this city with some of the finest pies it will ever see.

Walking inside, the space is small but cozy, with no more than a few chairs, a sales counter, a couple tiny tables with three stands displaying the day’s pie options.  On one rests a French silk chocolate pie with a crunchy pretzel crust, another holds a bourbon pecan pie with shortbread crust, the last displaying a streusel topped banana pie.  I ordered a slice of each, which were then all neatly packaged in small wicker baskets with a wooden fork and tied up with string (these are a few of my favorite things).  The entire presentation is so insanely cute, it makes fluffy baby bunnies look like swamp trolls.  I took a seat on the porch and dug in.

Jump for a whole lotta pie porn…

Most importantly, the pies are incredibly delicious.  I don’t profess to be a pie connoisseur by any means, but I have sat through a few holidays in my time and I’ve been known to demolish a good number of pies.  Pecan pie is a particular favorite of mine, and Emporium’s  version, “The Drunken Nut,” is (and I am not exaggerating) the best I’ve ever eaten.  Mary states that she “wanted to create a pie that was not too sweet, or too runny…or made you feel like you just ingested half a cup of corn syrup.”  (In fact, their version is not made with corn syrup at all.) But it is brilliantly done, sweet with tones of brown sugar and butter, chewy and nutty, the shortbread crust could be savored alone without need of any additional filling.

The French silk pie, “The Smooth Operator,” was inspired by the flavors of a chocolate covered pretzel. It’s smooth and creamy without feeling enormously heavy and rich, nor is it overpoweringly chocolately.  Its sweetness is perfectly complimented by the slightly salty crumble of the pretzel crust.  Again, a work of art.  Lastly, the “Bro’Nana” is made with a cinnamon banana filling topped with a walnut-oat streusel all resting in beautiful shortbread crust. As a long time fan of the banana, it was love at first bite.

The Drunken Nut: Bourbon Pecan/Shortbread Crust

The Bro'Nana: Cinnamon Banana/Walnut-Oat Streusel/Shortbread Crust

Mary states she has dreamt of owning her own bakery ever since she finished high school, and now with the help of her business partner, Megan, it looks like this dream is beginning to take shape.  Hallelujah!  Dallas needs more artisanal bake shops like this from people determined to offer the highest quality product possible. Their aim is take traditional recipes and add their own twist, with a focus on flavor rather than just sugar.  Every ounce of their pies is handmade – the crusts rolled by hand, the fruits all peeled by hand – and they are produced without preservatives, hydrogenated oils, and corn syrups.

As for future plans, they state that things have “slowly been taking form.” They’ve been doing a lot of business out of a commissary kitchen and are working towards a permanent store front.  While Bishop Arts is definitely a possibility, nothing is finalized yet. They plan to keep their menu dynamic and seasonal, with savory pies also a potential for the future. Frankly, I can’t wait to see these girls succeed.  While the age-old adage “easy as pie” may still be applicable to some instances in life, “easy as an Emporium pie” is certainly not going to be a catchphrase floating around Twitter any time soon.  Pies of this caliber require time, a dedication to the art of baking, and a passion for their product that still remains a rare thing in this city. So jump on your Twitter (@EmporiumPies) and keep an eye out for developments from these wonderful “purveyors of fine pie.”

Megan Wilkes (left) and Mary Gauntt (right) serving some very happy customers

A slice of the Bro'Nana

A slice of the Smooth Operator

Mayor Mike Rawlings shops in Central Market (left); Sweet potato chips topped with pan-seared tuna (right) - photos by Micah Nunley

There’s a new baby in the Central Market Family.

Renovators gutted in the inside of an old Borders to make room for the newest Central Market on Preston and Royal. Mayor Mike Rawlings, reps from the Dallas Public Library, North Dallas execs, loyal neighborhood friends, and random Central Market crazies were all invited to watch the ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday on February 14.

Today the store officially opened to the public at 8 a.m.

Go. Eat. Report. You can find them across from Hunkys Hamburgers on Bishop Ave. at 8th St.)

Wanna see some pie porn?

Italian sausage pizza (left); Co-owner Sydney Brown (right) photos by Micah Nunley

I stalked TX Delizioso on Twitter all weekend until they confirmed @carol_shih: “Come see us in the Arts District this Tuesday!” There was no way I was going to miss the debut of Dallas’ first pizza truck, so I quickly grabbed photo intern Micah Nunley to take some snaps of Sydney Brown and Lauren Noblett’s newest set of wheels: a truck offering made-to-order pizza and other Italian entrees.

Here’s how my lunch went down.

Chicken fried chicken breaded in homemade spices

Pros: I didn’t have to wait very long for someone to take my order. There was a good crowd of people standing outside (even though it was cold), and the sausage was tasty. It’s pretty impressive when you can build a pizza with any of the 20+ ingredients they have listed on the menu. In theory, you can order a pizza with ALL the ingredients. Pretty sweet, huh? Plus, there are some exotic items like TX fried bison.

Cons: It was only noon and the truck had already run out of fried bison and gravy for the chicken fried steak. Bummer. I spent $14 total for a small, doughy pizza and four “chicken fried chicken” tenders that I wish came with some kind of sauce. The truck doesn’t give out receipts (not working, maybe?), and the food wasn’t very filling. But perhaps I just eat a lot.

These guys have only been operating for a week or so, which probably accounts for most of those cons I just listed.

Here’s the menu for you food truckies:

McRib? Wie viel würze passt in einen burger!

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!

Jump for the whole list!

Read on…In it, she writes:

In 1960, there were just over three billion people alive in the world; now there are close to seven billion. So the global population of humans has more than doubled in 50 years. But at the same time people around the world have demanded more and more meat. (Consumption of animal products tracks closely with income, and, in the long term, per capita income has risen hugely.) So what has that meant for global livestock populations? Massive, massive growth.

In 1961, there were 3.9 billion chickens on earth, just over one per person. Now there are 19 billion, according to UN data analyzed by the Economist. That’s three for every person alive. The next most populous livestock is cattle; there are 1.4 billion of them.

Wild animals, meanwhile, have not fared as well. Since 1960, the global population of wild animals have tumbled by a quarter.

Now, I’m no economist, but I do have some questions. Given the massive numbers of religious and social vegetarians around the world and the number of people for whom chicken (or any meat) is still a luxury, the numbers grow even more staggering. My husband and I consume some chicken, but not more than one per week. I’m guessing you could probably say the same.

So,

• Are the numbers supply-driven or, like best-seller lists, are they based on projections?
• What happens to all of the waste?
• How many of those chickens end up being consumed in the US versus other countries?

Your thoughts?

UPPITY DATE: Hark! A press release just in from In-N-Out. Jump.

IN-N-OUT BURGERÒ

OPENS IN DALLAS, TEXAS

IRVINE, CA — In 1948, Harry and Esther Snyder founded In-N-Out Burger, California’s first “drive-thru” hamburger stand.  Today, hamburgers are still made-to-order, shakes are still made with real ice cream and In-N-Out associates are still treated like family.  Beginning June 23, 2011, In-N-Out hamburgers, shakes and fries will be served in Texas at our newest location in Dallas.

As with all locations, fresh ingredients will be supplied to the restaurants from In-N-Out.  Hamburger patties are made from 100% pure American beef and whole chucks are boned and ground by In-N-Out’s own butchers.  All patties are produced and delivered fresh throughout the week to the restaurants and are never frozen.  French fries are made from fresh, whole potatoes and are hand diced.  A warehouse and a state-of-the art patty production facility have been established in Dallas that will allow In-N-Out to serve all of Texas.

Stephen Kirk, who has been a veteran of In-N-Out for 20 years, will manage the new restaurant located at 7940 N. Central Expressway.  The restaurant will employ approximately 60 In-N-Out Burger Associates with a starting wage of $10 per hour.  There will be one drive-thru lane, with seating for 99 guests.  All In-N-Out Burger locations are open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. and until 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

In-N-Out has locations throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Texas.  In-N-Out expects to open 10-12 locations in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex within the next 12 months.  In-N-Out is still owned and operated by the Snyder family and none of the units are franchised.

The corporate offices are located at 4199 Campus Drive, Suite 900, Irvine, CA, 92612.

According to Tomaso, whose witty reporting on the opening of In-N-Out Burger gave us the phrase “hot on fries,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized 385 pounds of contraband bologna. (Which is a good name for a band.) Tomaso infers implies “some people who come to the United States from Mexico prefer the flavor of their native bologna to the comparatively bland varieties found in American supermarkets.”

Which begs the question: Do Mexican bologna manufacturers have a secret ingredient we need to know about? Maybe Maple & Motor needs to get the word out on their stellar baloney sandwich. Oh, I have a joke on the edge of my tongue but I can’t type it. Feel free to fill in the blank.

A little bit of Greenwich Village is headed to Dallas.

With our ferocious invasion of the In-N-Out’s double-doubles under control, we turn to face our next assault: conjugated linoleic acid from Murray’s Cheese on Bleecker Street in New York City.  No, we don’t need any rope, conjugated linoleic acid is a good thing. It is one of the healthy fats (love it!) found in cheese. There are many New Yorkers who think Murray’s Cheese shop is the best in New York. And, like so many New York businesses, Murray’s had humble ethnic start. From their website:

“Murray Greenberg was a Jewish Spanish civil war veteran and communist who opened a wholesale butter and egg shop a few doors up Cornelia street in 1940. The old timers tell me [current owner Rob Kaufelt] that even though he was an old leftie, he was still a street smart capitalist who used to buy cheese cheap and trim it and sell it. In the 70’s he sold the shop to his clerk Louis Tudda, an Italian immigrant from Calabria.” Grab a Kleenex and continue here. (I’d cast Dustin Hoffman as Murray and Helen Mirren as Paula Lambert in the movie War of the Cheeses.)

Fast forward to May 17, 2011. Murray’s has two locations in New York where they sell a gazillion cheeses. They have a books, cured meat, crackers, dried fruit and nuts, and an olive and antipasto bar. Phew!  And a serious online shopping site. However, you won’t need to order Murray’s cheese if you like Murray’s cheese because Murray’s cheese has made a deal with Kroger and soon their cheese will spread across North Texas. (They are already in Houston. What else would you expect from a communist cheese maker? No emails please.) It looks like a Kroger store in Irving (June-ish, not sure which location) will be the first outpost for Murray’s Cheese shop. I say shop because they are building little areas inside each Kroger to mimic the interior of the Greenwich Village store. (Twinwillow, I see a job opportunity in your future.) After that, it’s Katy bar the door– I hear the whole Upper East Side is relocating Frisco.

UPPITY DATE:

The first three shops to open in Dallas-Fort Worth are at the following Kroger locations:

-Irving  7505 N. MacArthur Blvd.  Irving, TX 75063 (Opening Date: 5/25/11)

-Dallas  5665 E. Mockingbird  Dallas, TX 75206 (Opening Date: 6/15/11)

-Fort Worth  3300 Texas Sage Trail Fort Worth, TX 76177 (Opening Date: 7/6/11)

More below.

Murray’s Cheese, the oldest cheese shop in New York City, is known for its huge selection of imported and domestic artisan cheeses and specialty foods.  Murray’s opened in 1940 in Greenwich Village as a neighborhood wholesaler of butter and eggs, and has since evolved into the country’s leading cheese destination. The company’s mission is to bring the best cheese selection to the United States and to educate customers about cheese.

Now, through an exclusive partnership with Kroger, Murray’s is opening specialty cheese shops within several stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Dallas-Fort Worth is part of a multi-divisional partnership of 50 cut-and-wrap specialty cheese departments in Kroger stores nationwide. Currently, Murray’s Cheese shops can be found in Kroger stores in Cincinnati, Atlanta, Houston, Huntsville, AL, and Knoxville, TN.

The first three shops to open in Dallas-Fort Worth are at the following Kroger locations:

-Irving  7505 N. MacArthur Blvd.  Irving, TX 75063 (Opening Date: 5/25/11)

-Dallas  5665 E. Mockingbird  Dallas, TX 75206 (Opening Date: 6/15/11)

-Fort Worth  3300 Texas Sage Trail Fort Worth, TX 76177 (Opening Date: 7/6/11)

In addition to 175 types of cheese, the shops will feature over 300 specialty food items like cured meat, crackers, dried fruit and nuts and an olive and antipasto bar.  The shops in Kroger will look much like the Greenwich Village flagship store in New York City. Shoppers can try cheese before they buy it and learn from cheesemasters who have been trained by Murray’s.

What people are saying about Murray’s…

“The temple to cheese” says Martha Stewart Living

“One of America’s greatest cheese shops” says Food Network chef Emeril Lagasse

“The world’s best cheese shop” according to Forbes.com