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Mark Abuzzahab and Eric Nadel at Sundown at the Granada. Photography by Jason Acton.

Most of you know Eric Nadel as the voice of the Texas Rangers. This year, Eric begins his 34^th year as a Rangers broadcaster in 2012, his 18^th as the lead radio voice. The other day, he picked up his seventh 2011 Texas Sportscaster of the Year Award from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. When he’s off the air, he practices his new hobby as a concert promoter. He’s helping a few female singers  get gigs. His current hot property is Daphne Willis. 

Nadel loves to eat. He leans towards vegetarian food most of the time, but he can be seduced by a bitchin’ burger every once in a while. When he travels, he sends reports of restaurants he discovers in American league cities. Last night he was invited to a “friends and family” preview dinner at Sundown at the Granada. He was so excited when he finished he dashed off this quick review and sent it to me at 11:41PM.

Most people were eating burgers and sliders but we found a very wide range of vegetarian options and we tried four of them, all of which were great. We had stuffed avocados (you get three different kinds on a plate), a chopped salad (with kale, sweet potato, avocado and all the normal veggies too), homemade veggie burger, and a succulent quinoa-black bean-sweet potato dish with avocado sauce. Unfortunately I totally forgot to take pictures. If tonight was any indication, you will really like this place. They are buying locally produced ingredients such as grass fed beef and free range chicken whenever possible, avoiding the Sysco type distributors whenever they can. The owner and his wife are vegan primarily for health reasons, but he says he has no trouble giving the public whatever they want to eat. He has come up with a big vegetarian selection with lots of taste, great seasoning. It’s the best tasting vegetarian food I have had in Dallas. And the other people were raving about the burgers. The chef is the guy who has been catering for the bands at the Granada.

Florida Stone Crabs – a trip to Miami without leaving your home. Stone crabs are sweet, mild, and delicious. Dip in TJ’s Creamy Mustard Sauce for an authentic experience. Prices are in flux – right now LARGE claws are 31.99/lb.

Thanks for that, Jon. Oh, and I love the video. It cracks me up.

The premise: “Each episode pushes three chefs to their physical and mental limits as they must adjust to extreme conditions and unpredictable curveballs such as swimming across a lake for ingredients and using a car engine as a makeshift stove.” The victorious chef pockets $10 grand which, after taxes, might be $5,000. Whatever, soon we have yet another Dallas chef on TV. I hope Tesar wins. He could flaunt his victory over Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern.

The first time I watched the trailer below, I thought it was a joke. It’s not. It’s reality. Excuse me while I open a can of Sterno for lunch.

FOOD NETWORK’S EXTREME CHEF SIZZLE by multivu

Two Dogs Dining in a Busy Restaurant

I was most impressed by chef Marco J. Martinez of Matt’s Rancho Martinez. Marco is the youngest son of the late, great Matt Martinez, Jr. Marco created a “Southern plus prairie plus Texan” dish which consisted of a thick waffle covered with smoked rabbit and jalapeno cole slaw. I’d give second place to Chef Tim Byres of Smoke. He served melt-in-your-mouth ribs with a sassy chimichurri sauce and blue cheese spiked grits. As always, Jacques Pepin floated around the crowd chatting and sampling the food by Texas chefs. He is perhaps the kindest man in the business.

Go below for video and pictures. And make plans to attend next year (April 20-22). It’s an intimate event and the proceeds go to supporting graduate fellowships to students studying vititculture and/or enology at Texas Tech.

On with the show. Watch Jacques Pepin drink red wine. Katherine Clapner spin sugar. Greg Bruni make my favorite new wine!

Jacques Loves Red Wine!

Katherine Clapner of Dude, Sweet Chocolates Spins Magic!

Greg Bruni of Llano Estacado Makes My Newest Favorite White Wine!

Chef Marco J. Martinez of Matt's Rancho Martinez.

Waffle with braised rabbit and jalapeno cole slaw by Chef Marco Martinez.

The Wines from Texas, France, and California

Ed Auler (Fall Creek Winery) and Paula Lambert.

Jacques Pepin enjoys the show.

Jacques and his daughter Claudine hit the red dirt dance floor

The Tweeting Chef: Stephan Pyles.

The outdoor kitchen at Perini Ranch Steakhouse.

Emcees Tiffany Collins and Guy Stout (Glazer's).

Red sky and mesquite trees.

Final dine around on the grounds of Perini Ranch

Chef Tim Byres of Smoke plates ribs and grits.

Veuve Clicquot Champagne reception at Buffalo Gap Wine & Food Summit.

Last night was the fancy kick-off Champagne reception followed by a 5-course seated dinner in a luxurious tent behind Perini Ranch Steakhouse. The 50-mph winds died down just as the first bottle of Veuve Clicqout popped and the crowd of close to 200 walked the grounds of Lisa and Tom Perini’s ranch. This is the 7^th annual Food & Wine Summit at Buffalo Gap organized by the late Fess Parker of Fess Parker Winery & Vineyards, Dr. Richard Becker of Becker Vineyards, and Lisa and Tom Perini of Perini Ranch Steakhouse.

Special guests included Jacques Pepin and his daughter Claudine. In their honor Dallas chef Stephan Pyles created an “Inspirations from France” menu (pictures below) and each dish was paired with wines from Texas, France, or California (or all three!). The evening was emceed by Master Sommelier and Glazer’s guru Guy Stout and Tiffany Collins of the Texas Beef Council. The highlight of the evening was a surprise appearance by the Hardin Simmons Cowboy band (video below). The red dust floor went flying as diners stood up to dance. Even Jacques and Claudine took a little waltz across the Texas dirt.

I’m a hardened veteran when it comes to food and wine events, but last evening’s dinner was not only unique, it made me proud to be a Texan. We make some fabulous wine. And food.

Go below for the show.

My place at the table.

Amuse Bouche Mussel soup shooter with saffron Wines: Brennan Vineyards, Viognier 2009 (Texas); Perrin & Fils Reserve Cote du Rhone Blanc 2009 (France)

Foie gras mousse with candied bacon, truffle brioche, and kumquat marmalade Wines: Coquerel Family Wine Estates, Terrior Coquerel, Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (Napa Valley); John Anthony Vineyards, Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Napa Valley)

Salmon rillettes with roasted beet-potato salad and mustard caviar Wines: E. Guigal, Gigondas, 2006 (France); Becker Vineyards, Reserve Grenache, Tallent Vineyard, 2009 (Texas; Rowland Cellars, Ramspeck, Pinot Noir, 2009 (Napa Valley)

Grilled beef with bordelaise and braised oxtail. Wild mushroom tart. Wines: Fess Parker Vineyards, Epiphany Gypsy Red Rhone Blend, 2007 (Santa Barbara County); Ladera Vineyards, Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 (Napa Valley); Delas Freres, Cote du Rhone Rouge 2008 (France)

Simca’s Mont Blanc with macadamia nut brittle and blackberries Wine: Truchard Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 (Carneros/Napa)

ORGANIZERS DANCE AND KISS!



Jump to hear what they all had to say.

The 1969 Chevrolet school bus, Woodstock Edition.

Last Saturday was the latest in a lengthening list of Dallas Foodie Tours: The 2011 Dallas Pizza Tour. Like the Burger, Taco, and Vegan tours that preceded the tour was the brainchild of Steven Doyle, best known as never having written for Dallas/Ft. Worth Construction News (ed note: The list of Dallas publications that Steve Doyle has written for is now so long it is easier to just list the ones he hasn’t written for). As with previous tours we took our 1969 Chevrolet School Bus (Woodstock Edition) and traveled around several premier pizza sites in town, tasting at each stop. The good folks at Elm Street Bar were kind enough to provide us with a keg of beer which kept the 20 or so participants from dying of thirst on the way.

Janet Provost's kitchen and pizza

From base camp in Deep Ellum we headed out to the leafy lanes of  The OC and the house of Janice Provost, co-owner and co-chef of Parigi. There we sampled pizzas made by her and her husband ranging from classic Margherita through to taste benders like white truffle mushroom. The crust was the most idiosyncratic part. It was thin and crisp, almost to the point of being flat bread. The taste was as dry as a stone ground cracker. Pizza crust is a very personal thing and the variations on this tour turned out to be huge. To my taste, this was my favorite.

Jump for the whole story.

Next we drove out to Rockwall, noted for having the last gas station this side of Nepal, for a tasting at Zanata where they put pizzas together for us in a real pizza oven. Check out the movie.

We were starting to feel full as we headed back to town. Several people tested the medical

Coal Vines

proposition that if you drink enough beer it restores your appetite. Our next stop was Coal Vines in Uptown. To put this interesting place into context, consider the types of pizza places we had seen. The first was an artisanal restaurant owner’s home. The second was a classic dine-in pizzeria with nice tables and exposed brick walls. Coal Vines was nothing like either of these. It is a wine bar that specializes in pizza, and is equally serious about both. High end wine bargains include Stags Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon ($75) and Conundrum White Wine Blend ($42). The surroundings are all upscale wood and wine cabinets. The tables are dark wood, and the chairs are the type you sink in to. The concept is the product of the Nick and Sam’s people. Such has been its success that they are about to roll it out nationally, with a Kansas City location opening within months.

Finally it was back down to Deep Ellum for our penultimate stop at Serious Pizza. They are a chain that had opened this, their first Dallas location, two days earlier. Again the concept was new. Serious Pizza specializes in two things: wide pizzas that barely fit into the trunk of the average car and a pizza theater  involving tossing the massive things to form the dough into the proper shape for the crust. Apparently, in the opening days around bar chucking out time, the lines formed three deep to watch this.

Cane Rosso

Our last call was at the new, but seemingly long established, Cane Rosso. Jay Jerrier worked for 20 years at the company that designed the Fukushima nuclear power plant, so designing his pizza oven was a piece of pie. The crust of his pizzas are crisp on the outside but soft in the middle and his tomato topping seemed to be just more intense than the others we tried.

Overall, a great tour. Next: Barbecue!

Watch Spike on Cooking Channel.  Katherine Clapner of Dude, Sweet Chocolate is going to be on TV tonight making cognac tobacco chocolate. Deets here.

Pray to the baseball gods. GO RANGERS!