The dates for one of the area’s most interesting events is set. On August 12- 13, the Four Seasons Resort & Club Dallas at Las Colinas will host the 8th Annual Texas Sommelier Conference. The three-day conference includes educational sessions, wine tastings, and social media workshops. The 2011 TexSom conference featured the largest contingent of Master Sommeliers at a public event. This year should be no different. However, you don’t have to be any kind of sommelier to buy a seat. Some of the names you can rub shoulders with include:
Scheduled Master Sommeliers include James Tidwell, Drew Hendricks, Wayne Belding, Brett Zimmerman, Guy Stout, Tim Gaiser, Laura Williamson, Keith Goldston, Nate Ready, Melissa Monosoff, Brian Cronin, Cameron Douglas, John Szabo, Geoff Kruth, Laura DePasquale, Jay Fletcher, Andrew McNamara, Peter Neptune and Greg Harrington. The speaker lineup also includes James Beard Award Winners Rajat Parr and Paul Grieco, Master of wine Christy Canterbury, wine marketer Paul Wagner, Union Square Hospitality Group Wine Director John Ragan, and Leonetti Cellar Owner Chris Figgins.
The seminar topics, times, and various ticket prices are listed below. For more information or to register, click here. Like, fast. (more…)

Edible Dallas' table (left); Dean Fearing honored for his support of local farm growers (right) photos by Elizabeth Lavin
Lee Park was the place to be last Sunday. Over 1,000 people showed up for sold-out Mixin’ It Up On The Boulevard, a massive food event organized by Chefs For Farmers. The two women credited with pulling together all of the details are Iris McCallister and Christina LaBarba. This dynamic duo coordinated over 40 chefs, 20 farmers, wineries, breweries, mixologists, and artisan producers and pulled off what appeared to be a flawless afternoon of celebration. Chefs for Farmers, a group that supports local farmers, chefs, and businesses, donated 100 percent of the proceeds to Meal On Wheels of Tarrant County and Water for Chizavane.
Each chef was paired with a local vendor. Guests were encouraged to make donations at each station to help them raise money for an item (refrigerator, etc) the vendor was trying to buy. The chef list was impressive: Fearing, Pyles, Rathbun, Derry, Natera, Houser, Provost, Harris, McCallister, to name only a few. The public sampled the food, talked to the participants, and listened to DJ sounds and the band Sugarfoote & Co. At one point Dean Fearing took the microphone and sang along. Elizabeth Lavin captured the day with her Nikon.
Jump for her shots.

(clockwise from top) Chef Graham Dodds, oxtail ragout with crispy gnocchi, and a Scotch egg. (Photography by Kevin Marple)
This month Todd Johnson checks in with Graham Dodds, the newish executive chef at Central 214. His cooking is a far cry from his predecessor Blythe Beck. Have you tried the newish Central 214?
With his shaggy beard and dark painter’s cap, Graham Dodds looks out of place in Central 214, the restaurant he now helms at Hotel Palomar. It feels like a typical hotel restaurant—contrived modern decor, nondescript white leather banquettes, amber walls—so focus-grouped that it lacks any personality. And it’s not just the new chef’s appearance. Dodds’ culinary history is far too personal for such an impersonal space.
For the past three years, Dodds was the executive chef at Bolsa, the award-winning spot in the Bishop Arts District. He was in on the project from its inception, and his farm-to-fork approach—championing local and seasonal ingredients—was fresh at the time, not the marketing gimmick it has become. Dodds’ creations were simple, his flavors pure. Nothing was over-sauced or overwrought. Bolsa was an instant hit, and it established North Oak Cliff as a dining destination. D Magazine named it the 2009 restaurant of the year.
White Rock Local Market at Green Spot Market and Fuels kicks off its fourth season of markets on Saturday March 24 (8AM 1PM). White Rock Local Market is a non-profit 501(c)(3), independent farmers market offering a venue for local farmers, ranchers and artisans to bring what they grow or make and sell directly to the East Dallas neighborhood.
To get things rolling, they are hosting a chili cookoff on Saturday. So far judges for the contest include Jeffery Hobbs (Sissy’s, Suze), Graham Dodds (Central 214), and Brian Luscher (The Grape). Winners take home vintage trophies and gift certificates for market products.
Jump for the market’s awesome vendor list and how to sign up for the cookoff. (more…)
I’ll be quick and to the point: Canary By Gorji is the most underrated restaurant in Dallas. Every time I eat there I am seduced by the creative cooking and I fall in love with Chef Mansour Gorji.
I took my family to Canary By Gorji for dinner last night and we had a comfortable, laid-back dining experience. (I don’t have pictures because I didn’t use my cell phone.) The music, service, food, and atmosphere all work together to produce a calm atmosphere. We left happy and I didn’t feel like I’d just worked a review.
If you’ve eaten at this small, mostly Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, you have met Gorji. When he isn’t at a market buying fresh ingredients, he is in his kitchen creating unique dishes or visiting with customers. He was the first chef to champion the pomegranate, which he still uses as a garnish on steaks and in sauces. Last night, I devoured a celery root (trending!) and carrot salad that was so fresh it tasted like it was just plucked from the garden. The filleted trout served with a just a touch of white wine and lemon sauce is topped with tart barberries and capers. His food is so clean; so delicious. My mother claimed the pork chop as “the best she’s ever eaten.”
Gorji is a hard working chef. Not only does he cook every night, he supports local charities and produces a line of products which are sold online and in local stores. I’ve never seen him without a smile and a good-natured laugh. Go visit him. He will dazzle your taste buds and your heart.

Our BBQ guy, Daniel Vaughn
Anthony Bourdain’s a smart man for selecting Daniel Vaughn, BBQ Snob and the genius behind “Full Custom Gospel BBQ”, to write one of the three titles for his new line of books published under Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Our favorite BBQ correspondent (who did his first print story with us) will be writing Prophets of Smoked Meat, a full-color tour of the best Texas barbeque joints he’s visited since he first got hooked on the ‘cue. The book will feature recipes of smoked classics and sides, and shed some light on some of the people whose passion drive the Texas BBQ food scene.
If you missed this episode, boy do I feel sorry for you. Bev kicked a lot of @$$.
Crazy BRAVO, I guess, was tired of hot-weather Texas and decided to see if the Top Chefs (Paul, Bev, Sarah, and Lindsay) could survive in the frozen tundra of British Columbia. They might as well have been in Siberia. All the chefs, sporting longer hairdos from a couple months off, immediately start hating on Bev the second they reconvene inside Whistler Olympic Park. Sarah’s resolution to “be a really nice person” (… right) turns into a big flop and outcasts Bev from the start. When the final four meet the judges again, Padma begins to explain their elimination challenge, The Culinary Games, which is split into three parts. At the end of each round, one person must die. (Kidding, kidding. Too bad this isn’t “The Hunger Games.”) The winner of each round wins $10,000 and a guaranteed spot in the final three.
Let the games begin!
Tito Beveridge (that’s his real name) is an unlikely character to be competing with the likes of Smirnoff, Belvedere, and Absolut when it comes to makig vodka. He’s a former petroleum industry geologist who went to UT. He worked in the US and South America before he switchied to mortgage banking. All the while, he nursed an interest in making spirits. If you knew him when, you probably were a recipient of a gift which contained his latest homemade vodka. When the mortgage market hit a downturn in the early 90s, he decided to turn his hobby into his occupation.
I’d say he made a monumental move. Jump for his story.
This holiday season I would like to devote some time and energy to supporting our hard-working small food businesses. We all know you can get great local products packaged together at Whole Foods and Central Market, but I’d like to create a post dedicated to those who need a little free advertising. Do you make a jelly, jam, chocolate, apron, coffee cake, ham, table linen, turkey, casserole, wine opener, olive oil, or brownie? Items you can purchase for gifts or to serve at a gathering. If so, send me an email with your information and a picture if you have one. If not, drop a sample by the office and we will photograph it. Some examples of businesses I am referring to are Dude, Sweet Chocolate, Crumbzz, Mozzarella Company—products made in the DFW area or close by. Send your sales pitch and contact or ordering information along with address, phone number and website. We’ll do the rest.

You can have chicken and waffles and fancy coffee at Company Cafe on the Trail. Photo by Kevin Marple.
Company Café made it to our list of Best New Restaurants in 2011. The locavore philosophy behind the menu is important and so is the wide variety of gluten-free dishes. I like Company Café because the food tastes good. I will go there as long as they can resource sweet potatoes.
On December 6, the second location on Company Café will open on the Katy Tail. The address is 3136 Routh Street and the parking entrance is on Browning just off Cedar Springs. The menu will include most of the healthy, organic dishes such as the Deep Bowl, gluten-free chicken and waffles, and gluten-free cakes. But their will be more. They are adding a Little Red Smokehouse from J&R Manufacturing in Mesquite and will offer smoked fish and meat.
And a La Marzocco Strada MP coffee maker like the one at Oddfellows. Company Café co-owner, Stephen White, says, “It’s the Maserati of coffee makers.” Several (hundred) web sites refer to this machine as a “barista’s wet dream.” There are fewer than 20 in the U.S. and Dallas has two. Somebody order another so we can make the La Marzocco Strada MP an official trend in Dallas. (It takes three of one thing.)
If you prefer a different buzz, Company Café on the Trail will have a full bar featuring house-infused vodka cocktails and, the waxing trend, a large patio. Remember, all distilled alcohols are gluten-free.
So, there you have it: something for everybody at Company Café on the Trail.
Last evening, the Texas winners of the recent American Cheese Society Competition 2011 displayed their award-winning cheeses at Celebration Restaurant. What a great turnout! The room was SRO with cheese lovers. It was so crowded I could barely get around the space to sample all of the cheeses and during my attempt to do so, I dropped my camera and the last hundred I shot are out of focus. However, I was thrilled to taste Pure Luck Farm and Dairy’s Hopelessly Blue goat cheese, Mozzarella Company’s Hoja Santa goat cheese, and Brazos Valley’s creamy cheddar. All of the cheesemakers and cheeses in attendance are listed below, along with the photos I salvaged. These people work their butts off to produce some fine cheese. Buy it. In quantities. Go Texas cheese! (And Rangers!)
Jump for the glorious cheeses.
Raya has told you where to go if you want to watch the game in public. However many of us prefer to view the game from the comfort of our own couch with a few friends and dogs. A commenter, who wants to party at home, asks what she can cook to represent each team. I know you will be tempted to say roasted a few Northern Cardinals. There are six of them in my front yard this very second. You can buy Nolan Ryan’s beef at Kroger and maybe do some toasted ravioli.
I say we get this party started! Get creative. Go Rangers!
This dinner event may be too groovy for words, but I’ll give it a shot. Our favorite forager Tom “Spiceman” Spicer is teaming up with Chef David Anthony Temple (aka underground chefDAT) and Artizone.com to present “Dinner in the Garden.” The event, benefitting the Family Place, takes place on Sunday, October 30 at 5PM. The food, paired with wine, will come from Artizone supported local farms and vendors or, if you speak DATspice: “Chef DAT will compose a one of a kind dinner concerto in 5 movements, to be performed in Spiceman’s urban garden with an orchestra of wines to match.” Oh, yeah. Get down on it for $100 per person. Tickets here . Phone answered here: 214-325-4642.
A couple of years ago we threw a cheesemaker appreciation reception at Celebration Restaurant. Well, we’re doing it again on October 27. Join us from 5:00 to 6:30PM as we taste the Texas cheeses that recently won American Cheese Society awards. Come meet Paula Lambert (Mozzarella Co.), Rebeccah Durkin (Brazos Valley), Amelia Sweethardt (Pure Luck), Edgar Diaz (Three Happy Cows), Dave Eagle (Eagle Mountain), and Dr. Anne C. Jones (Latte Da Dairy). And as always, the affable Meaders Ozarow (Empire Bakery) will be there with the bread. Check out all of the award-winning cheeses below. See you there!
Jump for the glorious cheeses.
The groovy folks at the Texas Agriculture Department really know how to throw a party. They also do a great job of promoting Texas food through their GO TEXAN program http://www.gotexan.org/. Each year they present a week-long celebration of Texas products by asking restaurants all over the state to create special fixed-price menus which consist of Texas products. The series of events, which runs from July 25-31, benefits local food banks.
Todd Staples, a man with a perfect last name for his job as Agriculture Commissioner, has this to say: “More chefs are working directly with farmers and ranchers to bring you fresh Texas food. The GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up is Texas’ only statewide dine-out week and is a great time to savor the best meats, vegetables, fruits and wines, while helping hungry Texans.”
The details are below. (more…)
Recently I asked Seth Martin, winemaker and owner of Perissos Vineyard and Winery whom I profiled here, about the status of the 2011 Texas wine grape harvest. I was well aware that 2010, a stellar year, would be a tough act to follow. He was kind enough to send photos of his grapes.
Martin talks about the 2011 harvest from his vineyards close to Burnet in the Hill Country. “I’d say excellent. The biggest single variable is that we did not have any late freezes at our place,”Martin said. “We have had enough water to keep the vines from dehydrating too much and as of the past week or so the wind has backed off a bit. Because of the lack of rainfall and unseasonable heat (3.7″ of rain since January) the disease pressure has been low.”
He sent this picture of his Syrah. Note how much vivid blue coloration is present in the grape skins. That means that they are close to ripeness so Martin must monitor the must weight (sugar), total acidity and pH of the grapes on a daily basis in order to catch what may be a spike in levels in a very short time. “So, overall I’d have to call this a good year so far,” Martin said. ” If we don’t get any rain, which I actually don’t want at this point, then the harvest will be early 9like 2009) and we can wait for mature flavors to develop. Sugars are starting to increase rapidly. Flavor comes last.”
Jump for more. (more…)
At the Southwest Foodservice Expo I caught up with Gary Kelleher of San Luis Spirits. The last time SideDish talked to him he was offering his Dripping Springs Vodka. Now, he has made a Texas gin! He talked about how he made it.