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Articles about Making Up Is Hard To Do

Guess the Name of This Dallas Restaurant

We had so much fun the first time we played this game. Let’s play it again. Can you guess the name of this restaurant?

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 18th, 2012 3:25pm | filed under Best Gay Hangout Restaurant Evah!, Cheap trick for comments, Contests, Cult Cuisine, How About This Weather?, How to Open a Restaurant 101, I Went to College for This?, I'm about to get fired, Making Up Is Hard To Do, Merguez Sausage Hunt, My Happy Pills Are Working, Nutjobs, Overprivileged chimps, Peripatetic chefs, Procrastination is part of the creative process, Restaurant News, SideDish Bump!, game, hold on to your effin hat, questionable judgment | 20 Comments »

Open Letter to Mark Cuban: Shark Tank for Dallas Restaurateurs? I’d Watch it!

Bring it! Let's get this city turned around! (image swiped from ABC)

Dear Mark,

I am addicted to Shark Tank. And because I am too lazy to jump through the hoops to get on the show and present my idea, I’m using the power of my pudgy fingers to reach you. Let’s pick and roll:

I walk on the set of Shark Tank. “Daymond John, you are so out,” I say. “Barbara, if I wanted to sell my cellulite-reducing sous-vide hot dog you’d be my best friend, but I’m keeping it to myself. You’re out.”

I watch the other sharks glance around, really scared at this point, and go for the kill. “Kevin, don’t even open that ugly mouth. You’re out. Robert, you can buy me dinner after the show but, for now, you are dead to me.”

Cameras swing: Close-up of Cuban. Music swells.

Mark. We live in the same city. We love the same teams. More importantly, we eat in the same restaurants. Last night, our city’s finest chef, Bruno Davaillon of the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, lost Best Chef in the Southwest at the James Beard Awards in New York City to a young chef in Austin who appeared on Top Chef. It has been 18 years since a Dallas chef won this title. We need a local version of Shark Tank geared towards Dallas restaurateurs. That way, you and I can work together to tighten up our game and turn it around. We have the talent, we need the exposure. And that exposure shouldn’t have to come from the Food Network or Bravo.

I propose we put together a panel of experts and ask  restaurateurs to pitch their ideas BEFORE they decide to sink their life savings into an upscale seafood and sushi restaurant in a bad location. Let’s kick the steak house wannabes to Fort Worth. Mark, I’m asking you to invest whatever it takes to help us bring the talent of the Dallas restaurant community to the international scene. In exchange, I offer you fifty percent of my idea. Oh, and you can keep the Mavs.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Nancy

P.S. If this helps illustrate my talent: I promoted women’s basketball in Dallas before the Mavericks were a thought in your brain. Just ask Nancy Lieberman.

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 8th, 2012 10:14am | filed under Bring it!, Celebrity Chefs, GO MAVS!, Go Rangers!, Good Deeds, Hippie revolutions, How to Open a Restaurant 101, I'm about to get fired, Making Up Is Hard To Do, My Happy Pills Are Working, Not-so-skinny bitches, Nutjobs, Procrastination is part of the creative process, Rants, Shamless self promotion, Somebody Help, That is Just Wrong, restaurant business news, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 12 Comments »

Today is National Peach Cobbler Day: I Dare You to Find a Fresh Peach

Several of you smarty pants sent me snarky emails about the not one, but two posts we ran yesterday on National Grilled Cheese Day. Apparently a couple of  folks on our staff were so jacked up about NGCSD they couldn’t contain their joy. What’s the shame? Almost every food has a day, week, month, or a year. Like many other holidays we celebrate, these celebratory days are designed to keep marketing people employed.

In the spirit of supporting job growth in the United States, I bring you three foods you can eat this weekend that will stimulate gastric juices and the economy. (BTW, yesterday’s frenzy over the GCS overshadowed the fact that is was also National Licorice Day. Bummer for licorice, eh?) Today is National Peach Cobbler Day. I bet there isn’t a fresh peach in the northern hemisphere so you may have to celebrate Del-Monte style. Tomorrow is National Pecan Day! Dig that! And Sunday is National Glazed-Spiral Ham Day, not to be confused with National Baked Ham with Pineapple Day. You already missed that one.

I’m saving my calories for Eat Hot Chocolate Chip Cookies off George Clooney’s Belly Day! What day are you saving your calories for?

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 13th, 2012 10:36am | filed under Buzz Killer!, Making Up Is Hard To Do | 5 Comments »

Thursday Fun: What is the Perfect Name for a Dallas Beer?

Last night, a beer-making man asked me for my opinion. He wanted me to listen to some of the names he is workshopping for a Dallas-brewed beer. I told him I get paid for my opinions. (In truth, all of his ideas were moronic and demanding payment for my golden ideas was an easy way out of stating the obvious.) After we hung up, I thought of you. All of you who are so devilish and clever. He should consider himself lucky I’m tossing his question out there for all of you to answer. Do it. I swear if he uses any of them, I will get paid. For you, of course. Go.

posted by Nancy Nichols | March 29th, 2012 8:57am | filed under Brews News, Making Up Is Hard To Do | 4 Comments »

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins Owns Part of Mr. Mesero. Rules: “Best Steak in Town!”

Gromer Jeffers Jr, a reporter for the Trail Blazers Blog at the Dallas Morning News, states the facts:

1. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is in the restaurant business. He owns a small stake in Mr. Mesero, an Uptown Mexican spot that opened late last year.

2. Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia, Jenkins’ Democratic ally on the commissioners court, also has an ownership stake, along with her husband, former state Rep. Domingo Garcia.

3. Jenkins said he was brought into the deal by Mico Rodriguez, who gave Dallas the popular Mi Cocina restaurants.

Nothing wrong with that. Gromer goes on to quote said judge: “We’ve got the best steak dish in town,” Jenkins boasted.

Whoa, judge! That is quite a ruling. Then Gromer points out: DMN dining diva, Leslie Brenner, gave the joint one star. If I were Gromer or Rodriguez, I would demand a retrial. I don’t know about the steak, but the food I’ve eaten at Mr. Mesero is four-star. Whoops, I don’t do stars. Therefore, I call on a jury of my peers.

posted by Nancy Nichols | March 22nd, 2012 9:18am | filed under Celebrity Diners, Hot Links!, Making Up Is Hard To Do, Steak | 7 Comments »

What Restaurant or Cuisine Does Dallas Need?

Yes, it’s a slow news day but that doesn’t mean we can’t make some up. We spend a lot of time talking pros and cons of the cuisines available in Dallas so let’s put some effort into daydreaming about new ideas. If you could move one restaurant here, which one would it be? If you could bolster the profile of one cuisine, what would it be? I don’t know if you consider hot dogs a cuisine, but I’d love to see, for lack of a better term, gourmet hot dog and sausage restaurants with great beer lists and inventive side dishes and salads. Also, soup! Hot or cold. Okay, your turn. Go.

posted by Nancy Nichols | March 20th, 2012 10:18am | filed under As the Restaurant Turns, Making Up Is Hard To Do, restaurant business news | 58 Comments »

Coming Home From Vacation: Where is The First Place You Eat in Dallas

How many times have you returned from a vacation and rushed to your favorite restaurant for a fix of your favorite food? For almost 20 years, I drove from the airport to Mi Cocina in Preston Royal and went face down in a plate of nachos. Then came In-N-Out. Okay, so Andrew doesn’t love it. He’s British. He ingests cans of Spotted Dick Sponge Pudding and Vegemite, a nasty paste I use as a bug killer.

I lived in California for 11 years so perhaps I am experiencing the reverse-home-town-food-nostalgia syndrome that affects older people because when I returned from vacation last week, I drove straight to In-N-Out and devoured a DDAS (double-double animal style) like a rabid coyote. EVERYBODY knows you order the fries crispy at INO. Everybody but Andrew.

Anywhoo, where do you go when you re-enter your life in Dallas?

posted by Nancy Nichols | March 13th, 2012 10:59am | filed under Bring it!, Burgers, Cult Cuisine, Delusional behavior, Diets are stupid, Making Up Is Hard To Do, Mistakes I made, Nostalgia, Overprivileged chimps, make mine a double | 29 Comments »

Occupy Nana: A Peaceful, Tell-Your-Nana-Love-Stories Protest to Keep it Alive

My plea: I can’t write it, sing it, dance it, or say any better than Neil Sedaka. You can help save Nana by writing your stories about your experiences at Nana. Put on your go-go boots and come-a come-a, down dooby do down, down to the comments.

posted by Nancy Nichols | February 16th, 2012 9:16am | filed under Dancing, Food Fight!, Hippie revolutions, Making Up Is Hard To Do, Restaurant News, Sing-Alongs, Slow News Day, Special Offers, Steakhouses, That is Just Wrong, questionable judgment, restaurant business news | 15 Comments »

Men Will Be Boys: Jason Joseph Wins the “Name a Pizza for Mike Napoli” Contest at Cane Rosso

Big Cheeses: Evan Grant, Jay Jerrier, Eric Nadel.

Tuesday night, pizza lover and baseball writer, Evan Grant, and pizza maker and baseball lover, Jay Jerrier held the finals of the “Name a Pizza for Mike Napoli” contest at Cane Rosso. Four of the five finalists showed up to sample their until-then-never-tasted pizza recipes. Jerrier went to great lengths to make the pies. “We don’t make an Alfredo sauce, so I had to create one for Jason Joseph’s “Angel Tears” entry,” Jerrier said.

I slinked in at the end of the evening to try the pies and I’ve got to hand it to all who were picked in the finals. It was a tough decision. My favorite was Doug Fusella’s “The Cane Rosso Napoli Experience” with Jimmy’s sausage, meatballs, sopressata, spinach, and jalapenos. But Grant and Jerrier picked Joseph’s “Angel Tears,” a pie of Italian sausage, salami, sweet onion, jalapenos, roasted garlic, spinach, Roma tomatoes, and mozzarella dusted with Romano. Jump for all of the recipes and the rationale behind the ingredients below. AND PHOTOS!

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posted by Nancy Nichols | February 9th, 2012 9:00am | filed under Awards, Bacon, Cheese, Cult Cuisine, Go Rangers!, I Went to College for This?, Making Up Is Hard To Do, SideDish Bump!, Yu Darvish Loves Food, pizza |

Jack in the Box Offers Bacon Milkshakes

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.

posted by Carol Shih | February 6th, 2012 4:39pm | filed under Bacon, Breaking News, ChirpyChirpy, Making Up Is Hard To Do, Really?, Special Offers, Special Report, hold on to your effin hat, questionable judgment | 8 Comments »

Denny’s and Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan Team Up To Sell Skillet Meals

Don’t bite me for posting this. Let it be known that usually I am not easily motivated to promote national chains serving average food. I love dogs and I love National Geographic Wild’s “The Dog Whisperer” starring Cesar Milan. His dog-training shows are as addicting as “House Hunters International.” However, Cesar’s method of teaching one how to be the alpha member of the pack only works on animals. Every time Zac or Tim start to attack me, I stand tall and poke them deep in the solar plexus and “sisst, sisst, sisst” until my mouth is dry. They just look at me and continue to chew on my ego.

But hark! This morning comes word from the corporate world of Denny’s: They’re produced a video spoof dubbed “Skillet Whisperer” for Funny or Die. The company’s original intent was to find “someone energetic and who would connect with English-speaking Latinos but also the Spanish-preferred Latinos.” Instead they have produced a bilingual “commercial” funnier than any you’ll see on the Super Bowl. More importantly, it makes this middle-aged WASP want to try a skillet at Denny’s.

Skillet Whisperer with Cesar Millan – watch more funny videos

posted by Nancy Nichols | February 2nd, 2012 10:00am | filed under AgriBusiness, Celebrity Diners, Food On TV, Making Up Is Hard To Do, restaurant business news | 4 Comments »

Bits and Bites: Restaurant News

I was away from my computer most of the day yesterday and when I finally got around to reading the food news, I realized I missed some significant action. Here, in no certain order, are a few things  I failed to report.

Teresa “Gubbshoe” Gubbins and Mike “Whole In One” Hiller tied in a race to be the first to report the closing of Horne & Dekker. Gubbshoe coaxed a quote from owner Flynn Dekker. However, Hiller has some bitchin’ discounts on laundry detergent you can download from escapehatchdallas.com.

Leslie “LaLa” Brenner ran the inside track and clearly beat the field on this announcement: Michael Sindoni, formerly of AGAINN restaurant in Washington DC, has taken the reigns as The Joule hotel’s Executive Chef and will be responsible for overseeing all food & beverage for the hotel including private banquets, room service, and the new Charlie Palmer food hall which is part of the hotel’s 2012 expansion. The restaurant will close for a short while and emerge as Charlie Palmer Steak which will be overseen by executive sous chef Joel Harrington. “LaLa” also admits she has a mild eating disorder when it comes to bread crumbs: “I am a sucker for bread crumbs,” she writes. “And they seem to be very much in the air these days. Or in the kitchen, anyway.”  And I thought it was ragweed! (SideThought: Who thought the name AGAINN was a good idea?) Moving on.

EaterDallas needs a boost to their self esteem. This morning they use today’s warm weather forecast as a clever lead into the riveting announcement of Eater Hottest Chef Competition. Then they bash themselves over the head for doing so: “…while we’ve never been great at weather metaphors we are about to get real good at giving you some eye candy. Who is the hottest?” I think the metaphor worked beautifully. After all, it is as hot as Dean Fearing outside at this very moment and the forecast says late afternoon temperatures will be as cool as Matt McCallister. Good work, Merritt!

The 8th Annual Savor Dallas is almost here! March 30-31 to be exact. Cue the press release quote from Jim “Red” White:  “We are excited to see Savor Dallas grow from its downtown Dallas base to include new events in Bishop Arts and Las Colinas.” says Jim White, Savor Dallas co-founder along with his wife Vicki Briley-White. “We’ve added a cool concert at the Kessler Theater, and created some great cooking and tasting opportunities that will benefit local food and wine groups like Les Dames d’Escoffier.” The White’s and company have lined up some big names in the business and have 400 premium wines to pour. It’s all here. Or call 888-728-6747.

posted by Nancy Nichols | February 1st, 2012 12:17pm | filed under Closings, How About This Weather?, I Went to College for This?, Making Up Is Hard To Do, Pre World Series Depression, Procrastination is part of the creative process, Restaurant News, Rewritten Press Releases, Savor Dallas 2012, Slow News Day, questionable judgment | 4 Comments »