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Articles about History of Dallas Food

Lisa Garza Names Jeffery Hobbs “Leader of the Kitchen” at Sissy’s Fried Chicken

Lisa Garza juggles relationships to get Sissy's Fried Chicken open.

At this moment, Lisa Garza is doing a walk through of her new space on Henderson Ave. The former Hector’s on Henderson will soon be transformed into Sissy’s Fried Chicken. La Garza’s idea is to serve “low-country” food in honor of her Southern roots in a “Billy Reid” dining room. Tea-infused vodkas (trending!) and specialty cocktails (a must have) will be featured.

Although La Garza is all about sisterhood (“I am Sissy,” Garza says. “Sissy is southern slang for “sister” and I am developing every aspect.”) there will be no sissy in the kitchen. La G has plucked Jeffery Hobbs and named him “leader of the kitchen.”

Oh, it’s a tangled tale—an episode of As the Restaurant Turns. Here’s the synopsis: Lisa was married to Chef Gilbert Garza. Together they operated Suze Restaurant, the cozy spot on Midway and NW Highway. At some point, Jeffery Hobbs joined the happy couple to work on the kitchen team as chef and partner. Hobbs and Gilbert ran a great restaurant. Lisa concentrated on catering. Lisa was picked as a contestant on Next Food Network Star. The experience was devastating, as most former TV reality participants will admit is generally the case. The Garzas divorced and Lisa retreated for a couple of years. She emerged as a fancy caterer. Found a new guy. Got re-married and is now pregnant with new restaurant.

After eight years at Suze, Hobbs splits to partner with burgeoning bully restaurateur, Jack “Maple & Motor” Perkins. They’re consulting on taco joints. Then La G calls Hobbs and asks him to be the “leader of her kitchen.” According to La G, Gilbert has given his blessing to the deal. See, there can be happy endings. Or beginnings. Stay tuned.

posted by Nancy Nichols | December 8th, 2011 11:45am | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Cult Cuisine, Food On TV, History of Dallas Food, How to Open a Restaurant 101, I Went to College for This?, Nostalgia, Openings, Restaurant News, Second coming, hostess gifts, make mine a double, sassy pants, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 8 Comments »

Special Report: Fine Dining Returns to the Pyramid Restaurant at The Fairmont in Dallas

View When Dining In The Pyramid Garden

Back in the day, The Pyramid Room at the Fairmont Hotel was a top destination restaurant for Dallas diners. Over the years, corporate priorities changed at the hotel and the restaurant turned into a JAHR (Just Another Hotel Restaurant). However, in the last two years, and somewhat under the radar, the pendulum has swung back. The restaurant underwent a major remodel to keep the class but remove the starch. The last chef, J.W. Foster, left a large herb garden growing on the rooftop patio. Now André Natera, an experienced hand in Fairmont circles, is the executive chef and he has performed a major shakeup in the kitchen. Incoming sommelier, Hunter Hammett, has vastly increased the number and quality of wine selections. There are now 235 selections and the list has a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

The interior of the restaurant is accented the dramatic wine cellar that line the walls at each end of the main dining room. Hundreds of bottles lay behind glass partitions in a climate-controlled environment. These are all the signs of an establishment on the move. It is clear that the Pyramid Restaurant and Bar (as it is now called) is aiming to rejoin the top flight of Dallas restaurants as a destination for Dallasites and visitors alike. At a media event last week, I was fortunate to try the best and certainly the most unusual experience one can have at the Pyramid (as I will shorten its lengthy name to from now on): Dining in the garden on the terrace, several floors above street level. (more…)

posted by Andrew Chalk | November 8th, 2011 9:51am | filed under Andrew Chalk, History of Dallas Food, Restaurant News | 3 Comments »

Last Call for Tickets: 17th Annual Hoedown at Fair Park’s Food & Fiber Pavilion

Celebrate the sweet life of Mama Ida Papert.

Don’t plan on showing up at the 17th Annual Hoedown tonight without a ticket. They must be purchased in advance here.

Never been to one? Well, get off your butt and head to at Fair Park’s Food & Fiber Pavilion tonight at 6:30PM. This is a special celebration presented by the Dallas Farmers Market Friends for the Dallas Farmers Market. Not only does it mark the DFM’s 70th, it will also be held as a tribute to one of Dallas’ more dedicated civic servants and the 1991 Founder of the Dallas Farmers Market Friends, Ida Papert, who sadly passed away in January of this year. If that isn’t enough, then here’s a bonus: The Lil’ Blue Pills are playing!

posted by Nancy Nichols | November 3rd, 2011 11:06am | filed under Charity events, Events, Farmers Markets, History of Dallas Food, Local/Slow Food, party | 1 Comment »

Let’s Play: Three Degrees of Dean Fearing

Last night, Amy Severson couldn’t sleep. She turned on the light, grabbed a pen and paper, and started doodling.

First, a few things to disclose. I talked to Dean Fearing’s about this endeavor because my memory isn’t what it used to be. Second, when you see “Sfuzzi,” it refers to the original, not the current (for the youngsters in the audience). Third, I know there are bound to be errors, too bad. This was the best I could do at 3:30 in the morning. Fourth, I have tried to update locations, but some are questionable, thus the “?”

Remember this chart is the first draft of a larger project. Looking forward to adding more names and connections.

posted by Nancy Nichols | November 3rd, 2011 10:06am | filed under Amy Severson, Celebrity Chefs, Chefs, Hippie revolutions, History of Dallas Food, Overprivileged chimps, Peripatetic chefs, Procrastination is part of the creative process, food art | 25 Comments »

Mai’s Oriental in Snider Plaza is Closed

A friend just called and told me Mai’s Oriental in Snider Plaza had closed. I looked up some old reviews of the spot which was opened by Mai Phom in 1994. Then I realized that sometime within the last two years, the name of the restaurant was changed to Jiang’s Cuisine. I had no idea the restaurant had switched hands until this moment.

I feel horrible. Mai Phom was Dallas’ primary Vietnamese cuisine evangelist. She opened the city’s first popular Vietnamese restaurant in 1980. The original restaurant in East Dallas still bears her name but she moved to the tiny spot in Snider Plaza where she could be found every day. My former colleague Mary Brown Malouf once wrote:

“Those were the days when ethnic food meant Mexican food, unless it meant Szechuan. Now Vietnamese is practically mainstream and even has at least one almost upscale representative. Mainly, it has become habitual; many of us go out for Vietnamese as often as we go out for Mexican. So it seems strange to me that Mai, who was a pioneer, is now relatively unknown. Her little restaurant in Snider Plaza is practically a secret.”

I tried to reach someone with the restaurant to get a clear picture of what has transpired, but they have already closed and there is no voicemail. If anybody out there has the story, I’d love to know it.

UPPITY DATE: Jiang’s Cuisine has moved.

posted by Nancy Nichols | October 19th, 2011 9:00am | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Closings, History of Dallas Food, I Hate it When That Happens, Mistakes I made, Nostalgia, Restaurant News | 11 Comments »

History of Dallas Food: Prohibition in Dallas, Part 1

Inspired by the first two episodes of Ken Burn’s Prohibition on KERA, Amy Severson and I did a little digging into some of the details of what was going on in Dallas before, during, and after prohibition. The third, and final, episode is tonight at 9PM. It’s been a fascinating documentary. Today, we scratch the surface of prohibition in Dallas.

Dripping Dry Dallas. That was the name earned by our city after the repeal of prohibition in 1933.

If you’ve watched the first two episodes of Ken Burn’s historical presentation, Prohibition, our country’s brief love affair with forced sobriety, you already know the national temperance movement came about as a reaction to the despair brought on families affected by alcoholism.

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posted by Nancy Nichols | October 4th, 2011 1:25pm | filed under AgriBusiness, Bad critters, Drinking, Food Crime, History of Dallas Food, cheap wine | 6 Comments »

History of Dallas Food: The Golden Pheasant

In 1992, Renie Steves, a food and wine writer in Fort Worth, wrote a book called Dallas is Cooking. In the forward, Caroline Rose Hunt reminisces about the Golden Pheasant. “The steaks served at the Golden Pheasant located on Commerce between the Adolphus and Neiman Marcus were the best in town. A stuffed Chinese golden pheasant looked down on the diners, many who came fro out of the city to engage in the booming oil business.”

This week, Amy Severson and I continue our History of Dallas Food series on SideDish with a look at The Golden Pheasant, a French restaurant known for their sizzling steak platters. If you would like to take a look back at some of our earlier reports, here are the links: La Tunisia, Ida Chitwood. and Eltee O. Dave.

The Golden Pheasant Restaurant was a Dallas institution for over 45 years. If its story were a play, it would be a tragedy filled with mobsters, mysterious murders, and fires. The opulent restaurant opened in 1915 and operated under four different owners in four locations until it burned to the ground in 1964 and left four firemen dead. The last location was in the grassy lot which now sits next to the valet stand at the Magnolia Hotel. The fountain behind the hotel is a silent memorial of what was, even to this day, the worst loss in the history of the Dallas Fire Department.

Jump for the whole story.

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posted by Nancy Nichols | September 7th, 2011 1:30pm | filed under Bad critters, History of Dallas Food | 8 Comments »

Stuff the Catering Van and Get a Free Appetizer at Desperados’ “Say Adios to Hunger” Food Drive

Wondering what’s going on with the Desperados’ Greenville Avenue renovation? Looks like we’ll see some action there in the coming week.  In the meantime, let’s talk about the fact that September 1 marks Desperados’ 35th anniversary. In honor of the date, Desperados will launch their  Say Adios To Hunger campaign with the North Texas Food Bank.  Desperados is committed to providing the cash equivalent of 35,000 meals to the NTFB and is offering a free appetizer at both locations to customers who bring in non-perishable food items to help stuff the catering van.
jump for some feel-good quotes… (more…)

posted by Sarah Reiss | August 25th, 2011 11:31am | filed under History of Dallas Food, fundraiser, lunch | 1 Comment »

The History of Hedary’s in DFW

Teresa Gubbins has a nice piece today on the history of the Hedary family and the restaurants they have opened and closed over the years. The family has created some of the most memorable Lebanese food in Dallas and Fort Worth. Click here for the whole story.

posted by Nancy Nichols | August 18th, 2011 10:48am | filed under Ethnic Food, History of Dallas Food, Restaurant News, Skinny bitches |

History of Dallas Food: The Legend of Eltee O. Dave and Dave’s Barbecue

Photo of Dave's Barbecue in Elm Thicket courtesy of Dallas Public Library.

Last summer, Amy Severson, co-owner of Sevy’s, blogger, and all-around smart person, and I had what we thought was a great idea. We decided to write a book on the history of Dallas food. We began collecting bits and pieces of information and interviewed grandchildren of long-lost Dallas restaurants and food businesses. What we have found is unique and amazing and over the next few months, we will post some of the discoveries .In Part 1, we wrote about La Tunisia. Part 2  profiled Mrs. Ida Chitwood . Today we present the Legend of Eltee O. Dave.

We all know the story of Dallas barbecue giant Sonny Bryan, but very little has been written about Dallas’ successful pitmaster Eltee O. Dave. When the 12-year Dave rode his bike from Grimes County (between College Station and Houston) to Dallas in 1915, he had no idea he would become a successful African American in the 1940s. Many old-timers consider him to be Dallas’ first home-grown African American millionaire.

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posted by Nancy Nichols | August 11th, 2011 1:08pm | filed under BBQ, History of Dallas Food | 7 Comments »

The History of Dallas Food: The Amazing Mrs. Ida Chitwood

Last summer, Amy Severson, co-owner of Sevy’s, blogger, and all-around smart person, and I had what we thought was a great idea. We decided to write a book on the history of Dallas food. We began collecting bits and pieces of information and interviewed grandchildren of long-lost Dallas restaurants and food businesses. What we have found is unique and amazing and over the next few months, we will post some of the discoveries.In Part 1, we wrote about La Tunisia. Today we profile Mrs. Ida Chitwood, a courageous woman who lived in Dallas and may have been our first national cooking show star.

You all know Casey, Tre, Lisa, and Tiffany. But do you know Ida?

Mrs. Ida Mae Chitwood (nee Keener) was Dallas’ first “super star” food personality. A pioneer in Texas and across the nation, her free cooking demonstrations were attended by hundreds of thousands of women from Albuquerque to Syracuse, New York. She made headlines wherever she went. “Thousands hear Mrs. Ida Chitwood Lecture” ran across the top of the San Antonio Light on February 2, 1929. On November 17, 1933, the Chicago Daily Tribune exclaimed “Five Thousand Women of the West Side Yesterday Heard Mrs. Ida M. Chitwood.” The Chicago Tribune reported “Sophie Tucker of the Stage gets a few pointers from Mrs. Ida M. Chitwood” on November 22, 1934. Even after her popularity during the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s, she’s almost been forgotten in the history of Dallas food.

Ida was born in Tennessee in 1885, the fifth of ten children. The family relocated to Ector, Texas when her father, who worked for the railroad, was transferred. Ida could have had a quiet, life as a housewife and mother. In 1908, at age 23, she married farmer Loren Chitwood and they had baby girl who they named Christeen. But Loren was killed when the mule he was riding ran into a barb-wire fence and his throat was cut when the mule tried to pull away.  The mule returned home without him. Christeen was only 10 months old.

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posted by Nancy Nichols | July 12th, 2011 10:54am | filed under History of Dallas Food | 22 Comments »

History of Dallas Food: La Tunisia

Photo of postcard from La Tunisia in Dallas.

Last summer, Amy Severson, co-owner of Sevy’s, blogger, and all-around smart person, and I  had what we thought was a great idea. We decided to write a book on the history of Dallas food. We did a zillion searches and couldn’t come up with one book that covered the subject. We began collecting bits and pieces of information. Amy spent days at the library researching anything related to the restaurant or food business in the  Dallas area. She has interviewed grandchildren of long-lost Dallas restaurants and food businesses. What we have found is unique and amazing and over the next few months, we will post some of the discoveries.

Today, we start with our History of Dallas Food series with La Tunisia, an opulent restaurant that opened in 1959. My grandfather used to take me to La Tunisia for special occasions. Do you have memories of La Tunisia? I thought they moved to Preston Royal, but Amy has traced it to McKinney Avenue. However, we did find postcards and a menu which I’ve photographed and posted below the jump. Here’s our report:

There was a time in history when the term “middle eastern conflict” referred to the weekly disagreement between Jeannie and Major Anthony Nelson.

Jump, please.

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posted by Nancy Nichols | June 23rd, 2011 11:30am | filed under History of Dallas Food, Nostalgia, Restaurant News | 40 Comments »