Eatzi's spaghetti (photos by Carol Shih)

This Thursday, eatZi’s is opening its third location along West State Hwy 114. Phil Romano’s gourmet market and bakery is expanding its chain just north of Dallas where suburbanites can also get a taste of simple comfort foods made fresh daily.

At the eatZi’s preview night yesterday, the new store swung its doors open for some local shoppers. Its storefront, which had previously been plastered with a Luby’s Cafeteria sign, looked like a carbon copy of the Oak Lawn location. The inside is also exactly the same as the other two locations, with a few exceptions. “What we did was we took the best of both stores and combined them,” says Elis Droubi, the General Manager. A coffee bar greets you in front because eatZi planners noticed that it did well there in the Lovers store, and salads and sandwiches have a big presence at the Grapevine store.

Jump for preview photos.

Besides getting rid of the produce wall that you can find in the Oak Lawn location, the Grapevine eatZi’s is meant to give you the same feeling as the other two stores. Classical music plays through the loud speakers while you shop for those famous meatballs, indecisively waiver between buying a ciabatta or sourdough boule because you love both equally, and order those crunchy green beans amandine with almonds from behind the ready-made glass counters. It’s the same concept, same type of food, and still has the same quality.

“We wanted people to feel like they were at other stores,” says Droubi. He eagerly anticipates eatZi’s May 17 grand opening day at 10 a.m. There will be a great deal of free samples in the store throughout the entire weekend.

And while Grapeviners might be rejoicing right now, Droubi tells me that Plano also has something to look forward to. The fourth eatZi’s will certainly be making its way there.

Crab cake samples

Cellar selections

Atchafalaya with crawfish étouffée from the Alligator Cafe. Photography by Kevin Hunter Marple.

Cajun food is soul food. There’s nothing better than chowing down on a bowl of gumbo or crawfish etouffee that makes your insides feel warm and gooey – which is exactly how I spent Mardi Gras in New Orleans last year. I ate fried oyster po’ boys and laughed at all the drunk people. I scarfed down beignets at 2 am sitting next to a table of old grandmas wearing inappropriate clothing for their age. And mine, for that matter. Since you can’t get the whole Mardi Gras experience here in Dallas (and let’s face it, who doesn’t like watching debauchery sometimes?), here’s where you should go to get a taste:

Jump for some Cajun cravings

King Cakes- That’s the Cake Bakery is selling King cakes in two flavors: cheesecake and cinnamon. They’re $14 each, 12 inches round, and you should order them three days before you need to pick up. They’ll also make special cupcakes with Mardi Gras colors if you request.

2540 King Arthur Blvd., Ste. 111
Lewisville, TX 75056 Get Directions »
214-402-7355 (phone)

http://www.thatsthecake.com/

Mardi Gras Pies- Emporium Pie Pop Up Shop has a top-secret Mardi Gras special at their test location this weekend. Young piemakers Megan Wilkes and Mary Guantt will also be offering the “Drunken Nut” (bourbon pecan with shortbread crust) and the “Smooth Operator” (French silk chocolate in a crispy pretzel crust). Our lucky contributor, Daniel Walker, is visiting on Saturday, and should be back with a full report.

314 N. Bishop Ave.Dallas, TX 75208
February 18, 20129 am-2 pm
February 19, 20122 pm-7 pm

Gumbo Party- KNON 89.3 FM radio is hosting its 12th Annual Mardi Gras Gumbo Party at Poor David’s Pub this Sunday from 5 to 10 pm. The Alligator Cafe, Offshores Nextdoor, Louisiana Red, Crawdads of Dallas, and Fish City Grill will be vying for the “Best Gumbo of Dallas” title. Gumbo tasting lasts from 5 to 7 pm.

Sunday, February 19
Poor David’s Pub
1313 South Lamar Street , Dallas, TX
5 – 10 pm
$15 – $20

Crawfish Boil- There’s a pre-parade crawfish boil with a side of jambalaya at the Mardi Gras Oak Cliff celebration. Click here for more details.

February 19, 2012 2 pm
Bishops Arts District

Fat Tuesday- Fish City Grill is doing a Fat Tuesday celebration at all locations on Tuesday, February 21st. Get your beads, New Orleans BBQ, crawfish, and shrimp fix inside a festive atmosphere. Plenty of local musicians should be there to jazz up the sound.

If you know some top-secret Mardi Gras food celebrations, write them below in the comments.

My Last Supper at Nana: Grilled duck with beets. Photography by Kevin Marple.

This news breaks my heart. Nana Restaurant at the Hilton Anatole, led by the talented and innovative chef Anthony Bombaci, will close on June 9. The restaurant will undergo reconstructive surgery and emerge as an upscale steak house in late September.

Here are some of the details I’ve beat out the bushes. The new name has not been selected. (We can certainly help with that. Leave your suggestion below.) The interior, designed by a California firm, will be “contemporary with an LA-inspired design.” (The skyline view will remain Dallas’!) The menu will be “all about steaks and one-of-a-kind sides and desserts.” The executive chef of the steakhouse hasn’t been confirmed, but that person will work under Anthony Bombaci who has been promoted. I don’t know his position at this point.

Oh, Nana. You have been such a blessing to this city. We loved you when Doug Brown was the chef and Jason Foss was the pastry chef. We loved you during the fancy days when David McMillan sent entrees out of Versace and Rosenthal china and general manager and wine expert Paul Pinnell roamed the room. We love you for bringing Anthony Bombaci to Dallas. This news makes me appreciate my last meal at Nana even more.

Make a final visit and pay homage to Nana. You have a little over three months to get your Bombaci fix. Make a reservation now: 214-761-7470. And name the new restaurant below!

The world is going pig-crazy.

On Friday, I heard that Jack in the Box was offering a very limited number of bacon milkshakes as a secret menu item. Did anyone get a chance to try one? I almost dropped everything to go search for one, but then I remembered my sanity. Now I’m lying deep in the trenches of regret.

Jump for details.

Dates:
Friday, January 27, 2012 10:00-1:00 TRADE ONLY
Friday, January 27, 2012 1:00-7:00
Saturday, January 28, 2012 10:00-6:00
Sunday, January 29, 2012 10:00-5:00

Place:
Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas
500 W Las Colinas Blvd.
Irving, TX 75039

Contact:
Gregory Bagarozy
845.661.3616
pducerp@earthlink.net

Get yer tickets at the Convention Center Box Office ($15) or buy them online at ZestFest’s website.

Oh yeah, it's for real.

We’re suckers for any press release that contains the following sentences:

• Yes, this is really real.
• Don’t you judge us; we all knew it would end up here someday.
• And yeah, your right we probably did go too far this time.
• Sorry, Mom.

It seems a couple well-intentioned entrepreneurs have teamed up with J&D’s Foods to create a little something they’re calling baconlube—the world’s first bacon-flavored, water-based, American-made, personal lubricant.

Billing itself as the “gold standard of meat-flavored massage oils” (natch) baconlube, they say, is like the McRib of sex: it’s delicious, makes men crazy, is here for a limited time, and is in short supply.

If you’re thinking “stocking stuffer!” (let’s stay on track here), we’re right behind you. But the boys only made 3,000 bottles of this pork-flavored nectar. It hit the interwebs yesterday at www.baconlube.com. How much, you ask, for a product that promises such a satisfying holiday season? Only $11.99.

you know you want more. jump for it…Still on the fence? Here’s a little rationalization.

FACT – People are passionate about bacon.  According to a recent survey of Canadians by Maple Leaf Foods, Canada’s market leader in the bacon category, when asked to choose between bacon and sex, more than four in 10 (43%) chose bacon.  Thanks to baconlube, Canadians will never have to choose between two of life’s greatest pleasures again.  So you’re welcome Canada, you’re welcome – we’ve got your back.

Need I mention, we’ve requested a sample?

City Street food truck

Our food truck industry is quickly evolving.  The ever-innovative Hunter Johnson and food truck partner Jessica Smith are helping Chef DAT escape from the underground for one night at Winetastic.  City Street Grille will be parked outside of Winetastic next Wednesday, November 16 with guest Chef DAT leading, with Hunter and Jessica in supporting roles, and sommelier Terri Burney matching flights of wine inside.  DAT has a menu of Spiceman’s arugula salad, kabocha squash soup, seared tenderloin of beef, and black garlic ice cream.  They are starting at 6pm and going until 9pm or until the food runs out.  Winetastic can seat 45 inside and another dozen on the patio.  No reservations, though.  Winetastic is located at 4140 Lemmon Ave. and their phone is (214) 559-8910.

City Street Grille is planning more events with Chef DAT in the future.

And that begs the question: Which one of our celeb-u-chefs would you want to see cooking on a Dallas food truck?  Sharon Hage?  Blythe Beck?  Anastacia “AQ” Quiñones?

D Magazine’s Loren Means loves to watch Top Chef. Therefore, she volunteered to watch all of the episodes this season and write a recap. She’s a Texan and she’s on Texan stereotype alert. Go, Loren.

Top Chef is back and according to Bravo’s tagline for the show, “Everything is Bigger in Texas!” Wow, I wonder where they got that idea. Note to producers: We are bigger than France. And our buildings are NOT bigger than those in New York. So there’s one strike. I suggest you change your promotion from bigger to better. On to the show.

After meeting most of the cheftestants last night–not all 29 of them, but most–I think it’s safe to say we have some very talented people on this season. Tom Colicchio appears more aggressive this season and he kicked them off Simon Cowell-style. Grrr. I like this Tom.

Oh, it gets better.

Well, the cast of 29 very excited chefs is certainly large. Last night the enthusiastic contestants congregated in front of the (small) Alamo. Padma shows up to greet them and also inform them that only 16 will continue on to compete.  Chris C. is so excited to see her! “Damn, Padma looks hot. I have to stay in this competition just so I can look at her.”  (Note to Chris: as a non-participating viewer I will see gobs of Padma. If your main focus is to stare at Padma – go home and turn on the TV. Lord, I already don’t like him.)

Once all the excitement settled, Padma welcomed the cheftestants to San Antonio and, for me, this moment felt a bit like the Travel Channel meets the Food Network. Padma, dressed in a long flowy pink strapless dress, welcomed the group who stood in front of the Alamo. They could have been standing in front of a tree. She made no reference to the significance of the building which, for many of us, represents the brave men who battled Santa Anna’s army. Ozzy Osbourne peed on the Alamo and PeeWee Herman, well, I’m sure they will get to Mr. Herman’s contribution to Texas history in a future episode.

The opening shot dissolves. We reopen in a kitchen!

We meet Group 1 which is comprised of 10 chefs.  There are several executive chefs, a couple chefs de cusine, one personal chef/caterer who later introduced himself as a “chef to the celebrities”, one self- taught underdog, and one who is currently “between jobs.”  Immediately, we see some clear front runners.  Emeril Lagasse is the guest judge for the Quickfire in which the chefs are presented with a whole pig and they must each choose a cut to prepare for the judges. Once the chefs have made their decisions, two volunteers jump forward to butcher the pig. Hilarity ensues.

Well, not really but I was laughing outloud as a vegan chef, who hasn’t worked with meat in 10 years, attempted to slice out the ribs while the “chef to the celebs” attacked the pig, Lord of Flies-style. He wielded a saw and boasted that he never has to butcher his own meat because his clients are wealthy. Fortunately, Chris Jones of Moto, steps in and relieves his vegan friend, Collin. Also fortunate, no one steps in for Stone, Chef Tyler Stone. Tom Colicchio strolls up shortly after Tyler has hacked the tenderloin in half. Horrified by such atrocities, Tom practically donkey kicks the kid out of the kitchen mid-challenge. After putting up a little fight and a final “fair enough” Tyler leaves and I laugh. I like this season’s Tom.

The other 9 chefs are able to finish their dishes and present them for Tom, Padma, and Emeril to judge. Some chefs will get the majority vote and receive a chef’s coat; others will be put on “the bubble” and have to compete again later for one of the 16 spots.

Earning a chef’s coat in this group are Heather, Nyesha, Chris J., Richie, and Sarah.  Grayson, who is between jobs, and Molly, who claims to be a fine dining chef aboard a cruise ship which is a total oxymoron to me, are sent to “the bubble” while the sweet vegan, Collin and the heart- warming underdog, Simon are sent packing. (Like a vegan chef had a chance at winning this? Not fair.)

Next up is Group two. Wow, you can almost smell the pedigree in the room. Everyone in this group is an executive chef, a restaurant owner, or a chef de cuisine. All have worked with incredibly talented chefs and all brought their A game.  All but Nina.  Gayle joins us as the judge for this Quickfire where the chefs must choose a main ingredient as a group. (Team building time!)  They are presented with several choices but ultimately all decide that rabbit is the most versatile. Everyone flies into action, and when the buzzer goes off, Nina is caught with an un-plated Thumper. Bye Nina. Dakota, Whitney, Chuy, Chris C., Keith, and Ty-lor all receive chef’s coats.  Janine, who didn’t get her sauce on the plate, and Edward, whose rabbit was undercooked, are sent to “the bubble” where they remain to fight another day.

Episode one ended with 11 spots filled, four chefs on “the bubble” and 10 cheftestants in group three waiting to compete. With only 4 spots left, the pressure is certainly on for group three.

I think this will be an exciting and fun season and I can already see we will witness some excellent talent in the kitchen. After next week, we’ll have the final sweet 16 but, for now, Keith, Nyesha, Sarah and Heather have my vote. Would love to hear your favs.

Happy tails to you until we meet next week.

Anthony Bourdain on stage at the Majestic Theater in Dallas. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

Last night, Anthony Bourdain fans packed the Majestic Theater. Baseball be damned, the worshipers of All-Things-Anthony showed up to lay themselves at the cowboy-booted feet of their hero.

Tony walked onto the stage at 8:10 and greeted the audience: “I am a whore. I am in every way compromised, jaded, bought and paid for, including my nice f—ing jacket.”

For the next hour and 45 minutes, the crowd hung on his every word. He was loose, casual, at ease, good-natured, straight forward, no bull. He was exactly the guy you see on TV, except, in person, you could see just how fine he wears boot-cut jeans.

After the show, we got to hang out with Tony and watch him sign books and greet his fans. Hundreds of folks bought books and stood in line to get his autograph. He walked into the VIP room and he very calmly said, “Look, I’m here and I’m not leaving until every book is signed, every picture is taken. I’m not in a hurry, so grab some food, have a drink, relax.”

I plan to write a longer report, but my day job calls. In the meantime, I’ll post the pictures that Tony most graciously allowed our photographer, Elizabeth Lavin, to shoot. Oh, and John “Jimmy Sears” Tesar was there. I mean everywhere. If you notice him in every shot, it is because he tried to get in every shot. At one point I thought he was going to start signing copies of Bourdain’s Medium Raw. He could have. That’s how he serves his burgers.

On to the show.

Bory Taft, Leena Varehese, Kim Chang Chung Lee. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

The Tony, The Tesar, The Brad. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

Linda Tucker scores a photo op. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

Bethlehem? No, the VIP room at The Majestic Theater after Anthony Bourdain's show. (Photo by ELizabeth Lavin)

Tesar hogs the spotlight. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

A Bourdain. A beer. A book. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

Nobody went home hungry. (photo by Elizabeth Lavin)

On September 30, the landlord, 18020 N. Dallas Parkway, LTD filed a motion to convert the Chapter 11 filing to a Chapter 7. Chapter 11 means creditors are held off until reorganization or refinancing is obtained. Chapter 7 means there is no hope for reorganization and assets are to be distributed to creditors. A meeting of the creditors is scheduled for November 7.

The chef left right after Costa was arrested by the TABC on September 20 and Costa’s liquor license is suspended. He’s operating without a sales tax license, liquor license, and a chef? I’ll say this, the guy doesn’t go down easy.

Here is a pdf of the motion filed by 1820N. Dallas Parkway, LTD

This quick assessment from a professional food critic who reviewed Dallas restaurants while taking copious amounts of sinus medication? After my ENT doctor read about Raskin’s sinus problems,  he called me and said: “She had no business reviewing restaurants. Her palate was dead.” If I were a restaurateur who was reviewed during her reign, I’d be demanding a redo. No wonder she called Dallas a “dining nowhereville.” She wasn’t able to taste anything. She blathers on:

I shouldn’t be surprised that the imagined relationship between rigorous professional criticism and good food doesn’t hold up. I moved here from Dallas, a city that’s covered ruthlessly by established food critics, including the Dallas Morning News‘ Leslie Brenner, D Magazine’s Nancy Nichols, and Texas Monthly’s Pat Sharpe. The food there isn’t any better for it.

Hanna, you take one trip to Portland and declare “Portland appears to have entered the post-professional critic era, and the food scene hasn’t suffered.” Oh my. I need a Xanax. Writers in Portland were sadly laid off by print publications. Raskin should be next.

Each course will be paired with a beer selection from her prized cellar and will include:

jump for the menu…

First course:

Pate de canard and chicharrones de pato (duck pate with crispy duck pork rinds) paired with Transatlantique Kreik, a spontaneously fermented Lambic ale made with Polish cherries

Second course:

Roasted beet salad with an almond gazpacho and white balsamic syrup, served alongside Biere de Mars

Third course:

Breast of Guinea fowl with curried potatoes, arugula puree, and dried mango chutney paired with Super Cru

Fourth course:

Wild California Sturgeon filet with tempura pineapple and a “cherry coke” glaze, served with Dunkel-weiss, a “grand cru dunkel-weiss”

Fifth course:

Pork belly confit with Cannellini beans and a rosemary pesto with roasted grape marmalade served with La Folie

Dessert

Sticky bun bread pudding served with an Abbey Grand Cru.

Tickets for the event are $85, which includes tax and gratuity, and can be purchased by calling 214-628-7900. Tickets are limited, and reservations are required.

This morning, however, Steven Doyle reported this even more interesting (and par for the course) quote from the wild life of Mr. T:

“We closed The Table but we are about to open it back up again. It will be called One Art. The One Art is about the art of being a chef. There will be two seating’s, five nights a week. Much like Ad Hoc. There will be 3 courses or more. It will cost a flat $55. Everything farm to table and local as humanly possible. Less reliant on foie and truffles.”

So, there you have it. Let loose.