Articles about My Happy Pills Are Working

Shortage of Speculoos Cookie Butter at Trader Joe’s

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 24th, 2013 10:32am | filed under Breakfast, Breaking News, condiments, Cubicle Cuisine, Diets are stupid, Dog Friendly, Food Writing, FTC Rules Approved Post, Groceries, hostess gifts, Hot Links!, My Happy Pills Are Working, Skinny bitches | 1 Comment »

Oh. My. God. Teresa “Gubbshoe” Gubbins has uncovered the startling news. I will not steal her thunder because her story is deliciously funny. I supposed hoarders are selling on eBay.

 

 

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Join Us: 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas Party at 3015 at Trinity Groves

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 20th, 2013 9:20am | filed under Bring it!, Celebrity Chefs, Celebrity Diners, Delusional behavior, I Went to College for This?, My Happy Pills Are Working, questionable behavior, restaurant business news, Restaurant News, Shamless self promotion | 6 Comments »
100Best_pie 2

Come on! Do it!

T-minus 57 hours and counting. At 6PM on Wednesday, May 22, the pre-release date editions of the June issue of D Magazine will be delivered to Sharon Van Meter’s 3015 at Trinity Groves. And we are throwing a party from 6-8PM to celebrate the cover story: 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas. At 7PM, we will announce the top ten best restaurants in Dallas. So far we have representatives from 64 restaurants which range from a mom-and-pop in Richardson to a swanky haute cuisine spot in Uptown. There will be food: an eclectic mix of haute cuisine, off-the-beaten-path barbecue, and a variety of dishes from ethnic restaurants. Along with the food tastings, there will be cocktails by Brugal Rum, beer by Trumer Pilsner, DJ Jose Guevara, Land Rovers on display and a See’s Candy buffet. Additional sponsors include Express Working Capital and Poggenpohl.

If you don’t like my picks, you can throw a pie at me. I’ll be right outside the front door waiting for you. It will cost you $20 to toss a pie but the money collected will go to the North Texas Food Bank.Click here for event tickets ($50.)

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Drink This Now: Seasonal Smash Made With Hum at FT33

posted by Nancy Nichols | November 30th, 2012 10:28am | filed under 'Burbalicious, Beverages, make mine a double, Mixology is fancy for bartender, My Happy Pills Are Working, Reviews, Sexy food | 1 Comment »

Last night I fell in love with HumBotanical, a sexy 70 proof herbaceous liqueur made with organic rum, fair trade hibiscus, organic ginger, green cardamom and kaffir lime.   The drink was featured as the Seasonal Smash at FT33. If it isn’t on the ever-changing cocktail list when you go, ask them to make you one. It’s a gorgeous concoction of  Ketel One Oranje, Hum,  muddled cranberry, lemon, and habanero simple syrup, apricot, and fresh thyme poured over clear cubed ice (my favorite!). The drink is made with organic rum and is pungent with pepper, fragrant with lime, and finishes with a slightly sweet and spicy kick of  cardamom. One of my very experienced dining partners said she’s never seen it for sale in Dallas and wondered how FT33 managed to smuggle the booze in from it’s epicenter in Chicago. However, one quick visit to Hum’s website informed me the spirit is alive and well at Pogo’s. BTW, the bar at FT33 opens at 4:30PM. See ya later.

Uppity Date: Jasper Russo of Sigel’s says: “Hum Botanical  was introduced to the Dallas retail market by Sigel’s in April.It has been stocked in at least 4 of our stores continually since that time ($44.99): Greenville Ave, Fitzhugh, Addison, The Quadrangle. We are also the class B wholesaler responsible for supplying FT33.

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RaceTrac Announces Chef-Driven Gas Station in Little Elm

posted by Nancy Nichols | June 6th, 2012 12:01pm | filed under Breaking News, Chef groupies, Chef-driven gas stations, Christopher Baccus, Crazy Technology, Cult Cuisine, donuts, Frozen Yogurt, Groceries, I Went to College for This?, make mine a double, My Happy Pills Are Working | 2 Comments »

Get Your Motor Running: Race Trac Chef Bob Derian chops a mysterious ingredient.

See the picture of the nice man? His name is Bob Derian and he is a chef. His official title is Director of Food & Beverage Innovation at RaceTrac Petroleum. His job is to create a delightful food experience in a gas station convenience store. We love good food in gas stations, especially tacos. But a chef-driven gas station is unique.

Brace yourself, Bertha. On June 21, Little Elm will debut the first RaceTrac’s RT6K store in our area. The 6,000-square foot gasoline convenience store will feature a 24-hour Swirl World Yogurt frozen yogurt shop with more than 40 toppings to choose from, a walk-in beer cooler, free Wi-Fi, tasty breakfast items, premium coffee, and outdoor seating. I can’t wait until John Tesar gets his hands on this concept. A free sous-vide burger with every fill-up. Oh, the possibilities are endless. (2100 FM 423. Little Elm, TX 75068)

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Guess the Name of This Dallas Restaurant

posted by Nancy Nichols | May 18th, 2012 3:25pm | filed under Best Gay Hangout Restaurant Evah!, Cheap trick for comments, Contests, Cult Cuisine, game, hold on to your effin hat, 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, questionable judgment, Restaurant News, SideDish Bump! | 20 Comments »

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?

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

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, restaurant business news, Shamless self promotion, Somebody Help, That is Just Wrong, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 12 Comments »

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.

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John Tesar to Open Spoon Bar & Kitchen in Preston Center, Take Two

posted by Nancy Nichols | April 23rd, 2012 1:34pm | filed under Breaking News, Celebrity Chefs, Cooking Classes, Hippie revolutions, My Happy Pills Are Working, Openings/Closings, Peripatetic chefs, restaurant business news, Restaurant News, seafood, Second coming, SideDish Bump!, The Brad, youthful spontaneous restaurants | 5 Comments »

Pregnant With Paperwork: John Tesar has a lease.

John Tesar will not be stopped. The former (fill-in-the-blank) chef has inked a deal to take over the former La Tramontana space on Westchester in Preston Center. In January, Tesar announced he would be opening Spoon Bar & Kitchen in another space. However, the landlord killed the deal and Tesar moved his operation down the street.  Tesar has a signed lease, architect, and contractor and is scheduled to begin later this week.

Spoon will seat 68 and feature a 15-seat bar with a built-in raw bar and small plate menu. Tesar will be center stage in an open kitchen whipping up “three unique dining experiences”:  an a la carte menu that will change weekly; two nightly tasting menus (one from the land and the other from the sea); and a private chef’s table for 10. Cooking classes! Wine maker dinners! Eight seats almost in the kitchen! He plans to open fall 2012. Bring it, Tesar! Let’s Spoon! According to JT’s PR machine: Spoon is “ranked number seven on Eater National’s “25 Most Awaited Restaurant Openings of 2012.”

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The Most Underrated Restaurant in Dallas: Canary By Gorji

posted by Nancy Nichols | March 14th, 2012 10:57am | filed under Celebrity Chefs, fish, Food is art. Art is Food., GO TEXAN, My Happy Pills Are Working, Ouiet Restaurants, pork, Reviews | 19 Comments »

Sweet Face: Chef Mansour Gorji.

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.

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