Today comes word: Restaurant America is putting a gastro sports pub in the Design District. It will be called Central Standard. Note to RA: you should have called the restaurant in Mockingbird Station Central Standard, IJS. No matter what they call it, the space is located in the ground floor of 1400 Hi Line, a 23-story, 314-unit multifamily project that is expected to open this summer and be completed in early 2013. Central Standard is expected to open in Fall 2012.

The press release says nothing about the food. Which begs the question: what is a gastro sport? Followed by:  what is gastro sports food? Balls? Wings? Ducks? Oh the possibilities are endless.

Upon arrival at Miami International Airport, I was stunned to find 92 percent of the people attempting to go through immigration, luggage retrieval, and customs while texting. I felt like I landed in a world of zombies. People ran their wheeled Tumi bags over my feet without noticing. They held up lines because they were distracted. I vowed not to go back to that.

Texting at the dinner table is not a new issue. I have a friend, oh we’ll call him Belevan, who texts in the car, in a movie, and at tables in fine restaurants. His defense is that he has to be available at all times. It’s a horrible emotional tornado that whips up when you text, Facebook, Tweet everything you do. I’m guilty. My job is time sensitive and dependent on instant information, but I am drawing the line now at the dinner table. There is nothing worse than talking to the top of someone’s head while they text in their lap.

It must drive restaurateurs nuts. Service people as well. It’s rude and disrespectful to the people you are eating with and the food you are eating. Anybody have a suggestion for how to stop the madness? Perhaps restaurants should add a phone usage charge to the bill.

After much consideration, pizza-maker extraordinaire Jay Jerrier and pizza-eater extraordinaire Evan Grant (that’s me), have come up with four finalists for our Name a Napoli Pizza contest.Tuesday (Feb. 7 or tomorrow to most of you), we will roll out some samples of these fine entries for you to taste and, as always, the full Cane Rosso menu will be available. One of these fine recipes will end up as a special pie on the Cane Rosso menu for the next month and one of these neophyte pizza creators will walk away with a nice little prize package. Maybe we can come up with some other surprises, too. So, if you are free come on down. We’d love your input here and at the restaurant. Here are the finalists. Be there at 7PM.

The first Del Frisco’s Grille in New York has been open for a while in very modest digs (ha!) at 50 Rock which is just down the street from their steakhouse in Manhattan. The NYC DFG is rocking. So is the Nick & Sam’s Grill, the light version on Nick & Sam’s here in Dallas. Judging from the crowd’s I’ve seen at Del Frisco’s Grille on McKinney, I think Del Frisco’s opening on McKinney Ave in the heart of uptown is a good idea.

Three major concerns leapt to mind before my first visit to DFG: it’s a new glitzy spot in douche bag central, casual off shoots from fine dining restaurants rarely wow me, and inevitably the bar will be 4 deep and I don’t like to wait on drinks. So I decided to visit mid-afternoon and I didn’t have to wait on a couple of Bentleys to move so I could get to the valet stand.

Jump for it.It’s a beautiful space and gigantic (18,000 sq ft) with an upstairs and a two-level glass wine cellar. The service staff appears very Uptown: cool hair and cool names but, at least when I visited, it wasn’t very busy and the service was attentive and friendly.

The was nothing particularly mind blowing on the menu and I didn’t see the need to order a steak (we know these guys can kill a cow with the best of them), so we ordered a crab cake with lobster sauce ($16), pimento cheese fritters with chipotle ranch ($9), NOLA BBQ shrimp with po’ boy bread ($14), and a main entree of veal meatloaf with wild mushrooms and Bordelaise sauce ($19).

The crab cake was exactly what I expected: 90% lump crab delicately held together until a simple nudge from the fork breaks it and the meat tumbles into the lobster sauce. Crab cakes in any steakhouse should be good and DGS’s lived up to my expectations.

I don’t know or trust anyone who doesn’t like fried cheese. [Ed. Note: make me your first!] DFG’s version was tasty. You could definitely taste the pimento and the breading was fairly light. I didn’t get any of the promised chipotle taste in the ranch dipping sauce, but there was something dark floating in there so presumably it was present.

I will go head to head with anyone on New Orleans-syle BBQ shrimp. I’m an expert. I love to eat it and I love to cook it. It’s so simple to make: basically butter, oil, garlic, rosemary, and Tabasco. Given DF’s New Orleans roots, I had high expectations for this starter.  Four big daddy U-10 shrimp with a good sear were served in a shallow pool of the famous sauce. Unfortunately, it tasted like someone in the kitchen was into “flour power.” The flavors were good but I couldn’t get past the grit from the flour that I suppose was added to thicken it up? The po’ boy bread was nicely toasted and would have been great for dipping if I hadn’t already hit carbo-overload on the sauce.

The screw-up factor is pretty low on meatloaf and DFG’s serves a good rendition. It’s moist with a good crust on top and the portion is huge–two big slabs over a mound of mashed potatoes. I’m not so sure the mushrooms as “wild” as the menu claimed. They sure looked like halved portobellos to me and the bordelaise was good not great. The dish was actually heightened by the fact that it was cold and raining and I needed some comfort food.

The wine list has the usual suspects from California and a short list of $10-$14 Pinots, Malbecs, and Shiraz to accompany the $15 Del Frisco’s Reserve Cabernet on their by-the-glass list. Overpriced reds in a steakhouse?  Who woulda thunk it?

As my late lunch lingered into happy hour, the douche bag factor began to grow exponentially. But that made for good people watching and some good pictures to put on my Pinterest page.

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?

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)

My question: What is behind that bone? (Photo by Melanie Dunea from the book, My Last Supper)

Anthony Bourdain will be at The Majestic tonight. Tickets are still available. I understand there will be a Q&A segment in the show. Can’t go? Send me your questions. I’ll try to get them answered.

Oh, and Tony. Tonight is the sixth game of the World Series. Our Texas Rangers could be champions before your show is over. You’ve will have hard core Rangers fans in the audience with DVRs recording the game. Please do not give game updates. That goes for you fans in the audience. If I see one of you on your cell phone getting game results, I WILL CUT YOU.

Winston’s Supper Club is opening in the old Star Canyon space at the Centrum. According to a posting on Craig’s List, Winston’s is “a new concept, Euro-style lounge with the best dj’s, sound, and food.” They are hiring “Performers/Talent/Dancers (think pussy cat dolls, also live models).” Oh, and bartenders, porters, and bookkeepers.

Anywhoo, I’m digging away and get off task. Oh, look! I find a permit pulled for a restaurant at 624 642 W. Davis. I’m not telling you the name of the LLC because Teresa Gubbins will be all over it like hot on fried bubblegum. I contacted several HIGH PROFILE restaurant people in The OC for info. Oh yes, they all know who and what it is, but none of them are talking. Okay, guys. I’ll remember that the next time you send me a press release about your new bartender or your fall brunch menu. Hah! Two can play this game. Grrr.

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.

The Deep Bowl at Company Cafe is delicious.

Late yesterday afternoon Steven “ubiquitous” Doyle sent me a link to a post he wrote about Company Café. He wanted me to link to it. Here’s a clip:

We spoke to Stephen White today, owner of Company Café, the relatively new restaurant on lower Greenville Avenue that brings to its clientele fresh, gluten free food with an organic twist, and he confirmed what we had heard about his new location which has broken ground across from the Katy Trail Ice House at 3136 Routh Street in Uptown Dallas.

I just called the restaurant and they quickly jumped to “no comment” when I asked about the move. The dude on the phone didn’t sound too happy. “No deals finalized. I’m not allowed to comment on this.” Curious. However, I just reached White and he says “it’s months away but we have city approval.” He didn’t sound too happy.

Here is a sample from one:

When tourists and travellers arrive in a new city, one of the first things they often look for is a place to grab a bite or get a good drink. Now, if they want to know where to find their favorite bar scene before they head out, they can turn to SceneTap, which shows the following in real time:

·         Number of people in the bar

·         Male-to-female ratio

·         Average age of patrons in the bar

·         Food and drink specials

SceneTap is a free app for iPhone, Android and the Web, and it gathers this information anonymously using facial detection cameras and “people-counting” technologies in participating bars.The app launched in Chicago in July and is expanding its network to a number of other major cities soon. More than 250 bars around the U.S. have signed up so far.

Here’s a stupid question. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Nancy, you all seem to write about Pizza, especially Jay Jerrier’s. Can you move your brain away from Cane Rosso and perhaps tell me about where to get a calzone?

I picked the wrong day to quit feeling chirpy, chirpy, cheep, cheep! (Warning, that song will attach to your brain forever.) And dude, you don’t need to capitalize the P in pizza. Calzone suggestions anyone? Jay?