Eat more chicken from Barcelona

Don’t know how it happened but our web listing for Chic From Barcelona said the restaurant is closed. It’s not. It’s open. Go. Eat. Report.

However, there is one common thread to their tales—apparently a long-time customer was in the house on closing night and he/she asked the manager what kind of severance package Hammond was handing out to the employees. From what I can piece together, the customer went nuts when he/she found out there was no severance package in the works. So,  he/she handed the manager his/her credit card (Black American Express) and told her to charge $10,000 on the card and distribute the money to the staff. Several former staffers report that owner Hammond wasn’t too happy about that and a argument broke out in the dining room and the police were called.

Meanwhile, Hammond has opened reworked his Park Cities Prime into Preston’s, a chef driven (Jon Schwarzenberger) restaurant centered around local and organic ingredients with a Texas twist.

The Chapmans of Chapman Chile Kitchen.

I spent the weekend making my way through a couple of quarts of spicy chili I bought from Fran Chapman at the Dallas Farmers Market. This morning I planned to replenish my freezer and pulled up the website for Chapman Chile Kitchen. The hours of operation have been crossed out and the following notice appears on the home page. I left a message and will wait for details. Sad news for chili lovers.

Hiatus. We have come to the realization that Fran needs to delegate more of the day-to-day kitchen operations. She has spent the last year chopping onions, stuffing jalapenos and grinding toasted peppers while attempting to hold together a house with four young children. The problem is that even with our loyal customer base, the space we currently occupy just cannot generate the kind of income needed to employ extra help. Our much-ballyhooed expansion seems to be on infinite hold as the owner of the building cannot decide if he should stay or go. We thought the return of the beer and wine license to the ghetto convenience store would herald an acceleration of the renovation but this has not been the case.

It is with light-hearted irreverence that we announce our hiatus from Chapman Chile. That’s right; we’re taking a break. The simple truth is the Kitchen never made much money and frankly we are tired of subsidizing the endeavor. We know the problem – no seating and short hours. Without money we can not rectify those shortcomings.

Fran and I would like to sincerely thank everyone – even the person who told us buffalo were extinct. This has been an amazing experience. Lessons learned and contacts made will occupy the coming months as we formulate the next step; we are not done. Hopefully we will be back soon with a new space, the money and menu to give this a real go (if you have money let’s talk!).

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; For in that sleep what business plans may come?

Call 214-887-8872 to get your chile and chili fix while you still can.

Hey kids in the peanut gallery! Matthew Antonovich wants to hear you sing!

Chef Matthew “Sipango,etc.” Antonovich is planning to open a ginormous “first Thai steakhouse in America” in a yet undisclosed location. More details here. The concept sounds bizarre/overly ambitious, but chef Matthew won me over with this money quote: “God bless the recession I have found great deals on equipment, designers and food service experts hungry to put Dallas back on the map of best restaurants in America.”

Anywhoo, last night at 10:24, Antonovich left a comment on an old post with an update. He says:

I am happy to say I am continuing with final lease negotiations with a fantastic landlord and developer of Dallas’s most exciting neighborhood. I have plans to open my 12,000 square foot restaurant that will house a first of its kind “Prime” Thai Steak House, Live Entertainment “Sipango Style”, a casual dining room with under $15 small plate courses, A Sushi Bar, Asian Noodle Bar, Indian Dine up Counter, location to be disclosed soon. Hint 6 minutes from Highlands Ranch. I am so happy that people are interested. My partners love the free press so any comments are welcome, especially from the peanut gallery.

A 12,000-square-foot global confusion restaurant six miles from this Highlands Ranch? I’m not sure. This would mean that “Dallas’ most exciting neighborhood” is in Denton County.  But I’d bet you knuckleheads in the peanut gallery know Highlands Ranch. Enlighten me.

Sometimes I need a reminder about the special dining experiences in Dallas. You fall into a habit—chalupas and bean soup at Fernando’s, fried rice at Shinsei, a chicken salad sandwich at Zoës Kitchen—and you forget about the those little jewel boxes, tucked into neighborhoods, out of the spotlight. Last night I had the good fortune of feasting on the James Beard menu, available through tonight, at Bijoux. Full disclosure: we were invited to dine.

Bijoux has a fixed-price menu: $58 for three courses or $72 for five. The James Beard dinner is a little different; you can choose three courses or do a tasting of all six, but “everyone gets canapés,” said our server, which made it easier for me to select only three. The canapés, above, from left to right, include fennel salmon rillette (fair), duck prosciutto with huckleberry (what huckleberry?), foie gras macaron (so magnificent I ate two), and deviled quail egg with caviar (my friend hijacked both). Our palates prepped, we dove into the second course, which for me was the purple sweet potato agnolotti—a harmonious balance of sweet (sweet potato), salty (Parmigiano-Reggiano), and rich (black truffle).

My second choice: duck confit pot pie. I admit I have a thing for pot pies. (I’m going to digress for a second, but I need to tell you that Diet Gourmet, where I order food regularly, makes a mean, low-calorie chicken pot pie. I order a bunch and freeze them.) This was as precious as it was preciously prepared. The pastry “lid” sat all cocky, hanging off the rim. So I pushed it aside and broke into the flaky crust, scooping up every bit of soupy goodness, all hearty with wild mushrooms and Broccolini. My friend, who ordered off the main menu, was busily scarfing down spoonfuls of risotto, all jazzed up simply with black truffles and Parmigiano-Reggiano—an earthy and warm dish on a snowy winter night.

Before I get to dessert—yes, that photo to the left, with that slab of foie gras, is dessert—I have to tell you about a happy accident. We received a trio of pork, which we hadn’t ordered but got to keep. I have five words for you: candied bacon and scrambled eggs. Rock-and-roll. Back to dessert: it was billed as lemon waffles with foie gras ice cream, maple gastrique, and crème fraîche. What arrived was a fat quivering slab of foie gras, so seared and rich, dwarfing its little lemon waffle perch. The foie gras ice cream—yes, slightly disconcerting, which I think is a texture and temperature thing for me, a problem I have often with savory and strange ice cream—is the mound atop waffle no. 2. Oh, it’s too much! I thought to myself. I’ll never finish! And, yet, I kept slicing into it, swirling it around in lemon curd, until it was gone. All. Gone.

Some dish on Dish.

I’ve heard from several frequent and upset Dish Restaurant Nightclub and Lounge (and Beyond) customers this morning. Seems they are not happy about some recent changes in the management team of the Dish, the creation of “Dallas restaurateur and nightclub guru” Tim “obar, LIFT, Dragonfly” McEneny and partner Doug “Beyond the Box” Brown. Here is one concern/question.

Could you find out why Tim at Dish fired both of his Gay Managers –the gayborhood is planning a revolt.

Yow. Zah. A quick e-mail to an insider reveals that McEneny recently sold LIFT and replaced the two Dish  management types and with former Fuse and LIFT peeps. Oh, and I buried my lead: Executive chef, Brian Sommers, was fired yesterday. I know nothing about the gay issue in this scenario but I doubt sexual orientation was a factor since Dish is located on Cedar Springs and in the heart of Gaytown Dallas. I’m just stating the facts according to an inside source. (Or, for those of you in the Buddhahood, it could just be another case of warm impermanence.)

For the last 16 months, Badovinus’ 90-seat restaurant on West Lovers did not take reservations, was not permitted to open for lunch or offer outdoor seating. There was always a wait for a table.  “We pissed off a lot of people with our space,” said Badovinus at 7:16 this morning. “So many customers said, ‘I love your place, dude, but I just don’t have four hours to give you to eat there.’”

First up will be Neighborhood Services Tavern which will open “by Valentine’s Day” in the space formerly known as Soley on Henderson Avenue. The lease is signed and the project has already been approved. The menu features  “about 12 small plates, 12 large plates, daily and nightly specials, dips, snacks, classic cocktails, and a sub-50 [dollar] wine list.” The kitchen will be headed by Mike Williams, the opening sous chef for Neighborhood Services, who once cheffed at Craft Dallas.

Neighborhood Services Bar & Grill will open in the controversial Taco Mundo space in Preston Royal Shopping Center in late May or early June. “PR” will have all of his “yes factors”—lunch, outside dining, and loads of parking. The menu will be a casual version of Neighborhood Services. Chef Jeff Bekavac, a line cook for Badovinus at Hibiscus and currently in the kitchen at Neighborhood Services, will run “PR”.

“That leaves me with a great opportunity at Neighborhood Services and by that I mean I can really finally serve the neighborhood. It will allow us to move into a reservation-based model,” said Badovinus.  “Dude, I would think this strategy was crazy if I didn’t already have 80 dishes that the customer has already approved with their pocketbooks. The risk is daunting but you have to listen to the marketplace. When your customers say grow, it sure makes it easier. I am so blessed by the support I’ve received since I opened. I’m just looking forward to being able to say yes for a change.”

Marc’s famous mussels by Kevin Hunter Marple.

Are you crazy about chef Marc Cassel’s mussels? Do you love Spam on your pizza? Is bocce a cheese, a font, or a game? Extra, extra, read all about it.

Over 400 German restaurants, located throughout the United States participated in this first year of the search for the “Best German Restaurant in America.” Bavarian Grill, located in Plano, Texas, garnered almost one third of all the validated votes cast during the two-month online voting period. They also received the majority of positive judging forms from “undercover judges,” and the restaurant scored well with teams of expert judges who dined incognito at the highest scoring German restaurants. Health Department inspections were also reviewed to confirm a consistent “A” rating for the restaurant.

The goal of the annual competition, according to Inga Bowyer, president of GermanDeli.com, is to recognize German restaurants that serve up a truly ethnic experience. According to Bowyer, Bavarian Grill’s classic German entrees like schnitzel, sauerbraten, bratwurst, and roasted ham hock are complimented by a selection of over 50 different imported German beers.

Das ist alle! Lassen Sie uns essen!

UPDATE: We will be celebrating this Wednesday, October 14 at 7 pm with a victory party where we’ll be presented a plaque by Inga Bowyer, President of GermanDeli.com.  We’d love for you, and any Side Dish readers, to join us for the celebration!

]]> http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/2009/10/12/best-german-restaurant-in-america-bavarian-grill-in-plano/feed/ 21 http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/2009/09/14/hot-dogs-in-dallas-double-dip-frozen-custard-in-frisco/ http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/2009/09/14/hot-dogs-in-dallas-double-dip-frozen-custard-in-frisco/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:16:39 +0000 Nancy Nichols http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/?p=8906

Bad picture of a bad Spicy Dog.

On September 3rd, I asked you guys an innocent question: What’s for lunch? I was jonsing for a hot dog. You all chimed in with suggestions and I headed out to try a few. First stop was Dog Stop. Then came Eddie’s Deli, Zinsky’s Delicatessen, and Wild About Harry’s. I ate two dogs in each place and even after eight, I was still happy to look for more.

Yesterday I drove to Main Street in old Frisco to try the dogs at Double Dip Frozen Custard. The sign our front claims: “Double Dip Famous Dogs. Large, Lean All-Beef Hot Dogs on a Wheat Bun!” The list of selections is rated by the number of napkins it takes to eat each dog. You’ll need two for the Spicy Dog with green chili relish and honey dill mustard. It takes at least three to handle the Chili Dog made with “Texas-style chili.” Four napkins will get you through their Super Dog “piled high with green chili relish, Texas-style chili, and chopped onions.”

What they desperately need on the menu are barf bags.

Bad picture of a bad Chili Dog.

I could have filled two after consuming only half of my Spicy Dog, a stone cold wiener “cooked” on one of those cheesy rotating hot dog racks. It was topped with cold, runny sweet green chili relish that ran down my arm and pooled in the cuffs of my white shirt. To make the dog even more intolerable, there was the mound of unmelted grated cheese covering the whole mess. My “I’ll-Eat-Anything” friend who subbed for Evan, who was busy living baseball rainout hell, was equally disgusted with his Chili Dog. I had to ask questions.

“What kind of hot dogs do you use?” I asked one of the chirpy young girls working the stand. None of them had a clue. “Can you look at a package and tell me?” I pushed. “Oh, I think they are Farmstead or Frank or something like that,” muttered one. “What about the chili,” I asked. “Oh, we just heat it up,” said another.

So here is the deal: they call it Double Dip Custard for a reason. They have zillions of frozen custard options such as shakes, caliches (“like a blizzard”), sundaes, splits, topping, nuts, and flavors. They are dog friendly and kid friendly, just not hot dog friendly. I have spent the last 24 hours sipping broth, drinking water, and eating Wheat Thins.

About a year ago, I started to read the book, the United States of Arugula, the first sentence of which included a reference to author David Kamp having a “rapturous food memory” of some “Cantonese lobster dish unveiled from beneath a dome in some dimly lit place with a name like Jade Pagoda.”

I never made it all the way through the book, but the sentence stays with me to this day. It has conjured a craving that I can’t seem to quence in Dallas. Mainly it is this: I want to revisit the ’70s and relive a “rapturous food memory,” by having a waiter in some dimly lit place with a name like Won Ton, Lotus Garden or Lai Lai (actual names of Chinese restaurants from my youth in Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale) unveil a plate of Wor Su Gai.

Or, as you may know it: Almond Fried Chicken.

That’s how I knew my fried fowl friend when it was the staple of every Chinese dinner we had. It usually followed some Won Ton soup the color of chicken bullion cube, an order of spare ribs and some giant egg rolls with bits of roast pork and bay shrimp inside, not just cabbage. Those were the days, man. Column A, Column B, Family Dinners.

I’ve been in Dallas nearly 13 years now and have lived in four different neighborhoods. Every time I move, I set up my utilities and then set out in search of two things in the new ‘hood: The girl of my dreams and the gai of my desires. No luck on either. Actually, I’ve come closer to finding the girl than the chicken.

It’s not like I’m looking for something exotic; Wor Su Gai only sounds that way. IFirst of all, it’s about as Chinese as me. It is basically this: Fried chicken – similar to that you’d find in Lemon Chicken or Sweet and Sour Chicken. Add a little brown gravy, similar to what you’d receive with Egg Fu Yong. And some almonds. That’s it. When I see Almond Chicken on a menu, I get a hint of excitement, only to have it dashed when I’m told the chicken is cubed, not breaded and served with lots of celery. I’ve even gone so far as to ask folks to make it, describing it exactly as I just did. I’ve received Sweet and Sour Chicken with Egg Fu Yong gravy, which, by the way, is not appetizing in the least. It’s also not the dish. I can’t seem to get them to leave the sweet and sour sauce off. Or the Lemon sauce. No. No. No. No.

I’ve been on Chinese food crawls with New York-reared Chinese-food freaks, who like me, want the stuff of their childhood. We got the same stares in Richardson that I’ve gotten in Las Colinas and on McKinney Avenue.

I’ve searched the web and there are numerous recipes for the dish. There also appear to be lots of other folks like me: Too lazy to cook and desperate for a fix of the Chinese food with which they grew up.  It’s apparently still popular in the Midwest. And when I go visit my folks in Atlanta, there are still a couple of places serving it.

Does anybody out there know this dish? Does anybody out there know a place that serves this dish? Does anybody out there know a Chinese restaurant owner who ows them a favor and would add it to the menu? Will somebody cook it for me?

Help!

Is there some comfort food from your past that you crave and can’t find here anywhere. Anything you’ve been dying for, but can’t find. Consider this your clearing house for old-school comfort food tips. Dishers, I plead with you. Help me and one another.

For the first installment of SideDish TableTalk, I knew just where to go to round up a couple of fellow Chosen People to talk about Zinsky’s Delicatessen. What follows is the transcript of that conversation (or, if you prefer, complaint fest). We all seem to like Zinsky’s very much, but that doesn’t stop myself, “The Pastrami Kid,” and “Harry” from finding something to kvetch about. Below we discuss important Deli issues such as the one-handed sandwich, kasha knishes, and bagels. You don’t have to be Jewish to appreciate this, but it helps.

Evan: Hello, gentlemen. Hello?

Pastrami Kid: I am here. Where is Harry? And Sally?

Evan: Just so everybody knows, I guess I should make this disclaimer on why we are talking about Zinsky’s deli: We are all middle-aged, all of Jewish background and all enjoy food. Oh, and we’ve all been to Zinsky’s.

Evan: So, what are your impressions?

Pastrami Kid: I like the place a lot. It’s a really comfortable place to hang out, to start with.

Pastrami Kid: Which, in itself, sets it apart from your typical NY deli.

Pastrami Kid: The waitresses are too friendly. They would never make it at the Carnegie. They actually ask you how you would like certain things made…like matzoh brie for example…”would you like that made with onions or without?”

Evan: Don’t know that they would have made it at Gilbert’s for that matter. When Harry and I went, we sat for a good 30 minutes after eating our last bite of food and not one kvetch from the staff.

Harry: Sorry I’m late, I was eating.

Pastrami Kid: Don’t talk with food in your mouth, Harry.

Evan: Very surprising, Harry. So, what were your impressions of Zinsky’s?

Harry: It is a good Dallas deli but…

Harry: Too clean. Too polite. Too goyish. I want attitude and a corned beef sandwich I need two hands to hold.

Pastrami Kid: Yeah, there is an awful lot of smiling going on.

Harry: At least the waitress, who was far too nice, didn’t ask if we wanted mayo on the corned beef.

Pastrami Kid: So you are objecting to the one-handed sandwich?

Harry: What else?

Harry: To be completely authentic here all questions should be answered with a question.

Evan: That is a good point, Harry. Like talking to my dad. I say “Hello, how are you?” He says “How am I? How should I be?”

Pastrami Kid: How about the corned beef itself?

Evan: The sandwich is rather small, I gotta say that. I want to be able to complain that “you could feed an army” with that thing, because how much fun is it if you just eat the food and enjoy it? I need to kvetch.

Pastrami Kid: OK, but you two guys are the corned beef eaters. How is the meat?

Harry: So what’s to say about the corned beef? It was OK.

Evan: I thought the Corned Beef was very good, very lean, no?

Pastrami Kid: OK? As in Stage Deli ok? As in Brooklyn ok? Or as in St Patrick’s Day with cabbage ok?

Harry: And since you didn’t ask, I thought it was a mistake to put the counter in the back. I like to peruse the goods before I buy.

Pastrami Kid: you can’t walk 10 yards to the counter??

Evan: Oy vey.

Harry: And by the way, that parking lot is crowded.

Evan: Not enough signage. Harry was walking all the way to Royal China before I stopped him.

Harry: Is there anything more Jewish than Chinese food?

Harry: I’ll say this, though, the matzoh balls were delicious. The soup not so bad, too.

Pastrami Kid: I agree on the matzoh ball soup

Evan: What do you know? Me, too. Momma, I’m sorry for saying this, but these matzoh balls might have been better than yours. Oh, I cause her such tzuris.

Evan: Two golf ball sized matzoh balls that allow for enough soup. Other places, they just try and wow with the size of their balls (that’s not a euphemism), you know what I mean? These were light and tasty.

Pastrami Kid: You could go to Royal China and throw in a few kreplach because Zinsky’s doesn’t have any. I hear they are thinking about adding them, though.

Harry: No Kreplach, no knishes, either.

Pastrami Kid: As for knishes. NO KNISHES??? Are you kidding me? They could buy the NY frozen knishes which are delicious and have them shipped down, couldn’t they? The square ones, I mean.

Harry: And there absolutely has to be kasha knishes.

Evan: I can’t get over the knish thing. What are they trying to do to me? Every other attempt at a Jewish deli in town had square knishes and they were fine. They go better with the corned beef sandwiches.

Pastrami Kid: I think kasha knishes might scare off all the gentiles.

Harry: Deli News has round knishes. Good too. But last time they slipped in a meat knish on me. Not good.

Evan: But enough about corned beef, Kid, how was the pastrami? Another one of the few “Jewish” delicacies on the menu.

Pastrami Kid: speaking of which, we need some help on the potato salad and cole slaw, no?

Pastrami Kid: OK, you asked about the pastrami? You want good pastrami? They’ve got GREAT pastrami.

Harry: Back to the soup. I asked for some, you know, crackers and they served up Tam Tams.

Evan: Tam Tams. Nice touch. My bubby used to have those.

Pastrami Kid: Serves you right for asking for crackers. The matzoh balls aren’t enough for you? You’re eating too much starch, Harry. My cardiologist says to cut out some of that white starch.

Harry: Hey, it’s not a health food restaurant.

Pastrami Kid: I know, I know. I’m just looking out for you, bubbelah.

Harry: I’ll also say this, for a fancy shmancy deli, the prices weren’t bad.

Evan: A half-sandwich and soup for $7.25 is pretty good. Even if the sandwich is small. Now, back to the sandwiches. What else have you tried besides corned beef?

Pastrami Kid: Sorry I gotta have pastrami…..it’s as good as the pastrami I recently had in New York. They slice it a little thick, but who’s complaining?

Harry: I consider myself a turkey maven. Roasted off the bone. It was not bad, right?

Evan: Here’s another concern: No chopped liver. Or gefilte fish. Not that I would ever willingly touch either one, but how can you not have that stuff there, I mean to at least scare the kids?

Evan: They have a BLT, but no tongue?

Evan: Oh wait, I just found the chopped liver. Never mind.

Harry: If you are ever in the Bronx, by Yankee Stadium, there used to be the Roxy Deli. And there was one across the street. They were crowded and delicious.

Pastrami Kid: Yeah, now across from Yankee Stadium there is a place called Yankee Stadium.

Evan: I heard nobody goes there anymore, though.

Pastrami Kid: They got two of them, side by side

Harry: Oy. Like a his and hers?

Pastrami Kid: We could have use two Ebbets Fields, I tell you that

Pastrami Kid: OK, lets talk about hot dogs.

Harry: Soriano?

Evan: I was thinking T.O.

Pastrami Kid:  Zinsky shocked me with his hot dog….delicious.

Evan: You liked his weiner (again not a euphemism)?

Harry: I’ll tell you this…Shouldn’t they be called frankfurters or franks?

Pastrami Kid: Great buns, too….and I don’t mean the ones on that cute little waitress.

Harry: We may need to stop I am getting very hungry.

Pastrami Kid: You just ate.

Evan: Yeah, but he’s skin and bones. Skin and bones.

Evan: They are called hot dogs on the menu, but there is a mention of “franks” and “knackwurst” below. But we all know that knocks better as specials.

Harry: Exactly. Why not call a “frank” a “frank?” Who are they afraid of? The goyim?

Evan: The hot dogs are Boar’s Head. I think they were excellent. Just enough spice to the dog and, I know this is going to sound weird, but I like a good casing on my hot dog. Something that makes it go snap or crunch. Boar’s Head can make a casing, I’ll tell you that. I would have liked the dog to be grilled just a little bit more. I like my franks/dogs/weiners Cajun style – a little blackened.

Pastrami Kid: Nathans always had that crunch, a little juice flying. … Just don’t boil them like those idiots at Fenway Park.

Harry: There is no finer hot dog in the world than Nathans. And this is not a Cajun restaurant. It is a DELI!

Pastrami Kid: I think Evan was just trying to be, you know, hip.

Evan: Nathan makes a good dog. And there is no better place to play skee-ball.

Harry: Oh yes, I had the noodle kugel. It was a little too, sweet, no? Did anyone else have the sweet kugel?

Harry: And by the way now that I think of it, where was the kishka?

Pastrami Kid: No, I tried to come on to that sweet girl Kugel, but she shot me down. … But, you know, you are right. WE WANT KISHKA!

Evan: I had some of Harry’s kugel and I’m going to give my mother more worries – like if I told her I was seeing a shiksa – but I thought the kugel was good. There was some cheesy filling – farmers cheese, maybe? Almost like eating a blintze.

Harry: I’m guessing you give your mom tsuris in your every waking hour.

Pastrami Kid: Kishka and knishes; kishka and knishes. We could get some picket signs and stand outside the restaurant.

Pastrami Kid: If it ever gets below 90 degrees. You can get a serious shvitz out there.

Harry: Pastrami you are a mensh. That’s not the Jewish thing to do. Stand outside and picket? Please.

Pastrami Kid: That’s revolutionary in my neighborhood, but I’ve already filled the suggestion box to overflowing.

Evan: And how can they not have an early bird special? What about all of us who want to eat dinner at 4 or 4:30.

Pastrami Kid: yeah, they are open late, though, on Friday and Saturday.

Pastrami Kid: OK, how about the elephant in the room???? B-A-G-E-L-S

Harry: Didn’t taste the bagels. How were they?

Evan: Uh-oh, Harry, you asked the wrong question. Here he goes …

Pastrami Kid: THEY MIGHT MAKE IT IN OMAHA … NOT IN NY OR DALLAS. They are too tough and have very little taste. Look, New Yorkers are the worst snobs in the world. But they are dead on about their bagels. There are no New York bagels in Dallas.

Evan: But let’s be fair: Is there a good bagel in Dallas?

Harry: There are lots of good bagels in Dallas. They are all at the airport passing through in sack lunches.

Pastrami Kid: Cindy’s has tasty bagels but they are not New York bagels. Actually, Einstein’s has the closest thing to a NY bagel. … But the lox was good at Zinsky’s and the vegetable cream cheese shmear was fine.

Harry: Einstein’s, oy vey! Maybe you got hit in the head with a foul ball?

Pastrami Kid: Relatively speaking, Einstein’s are ok.

Evan: Since I’m in New York at the moment, I am planning to go actually pay for a bagel later on. Just as research, you know.

Pastrami Kid: Hell just froze over.

Harry: Early bird special? Do they have an “Early Bird” at Zinsky’s.

Evan: No. No early bird. You want to eat at 4:30? No problem. You are still going to pay full price.

Harry: Just a thought.

Pastrami Kid: Good idea. Early birds, knishes, kishka, fly in some New York bagels.

Harry: Don’t forget Kasha.

Evan: But they do cater Bar Mitzvahs. Says so right on the menu. I, also, am available for Bar Mitvahs. Weddings. And Bris, too.

Evan: So, you two mensches, I take it that for all the lack of the foods that disgusted us in our childhood, you would go back to Zinsky’s?

Harry: Would I go back? Why not? … Actually, I’d go back in a heart beat.

Pastrami Kid: I will go back there regularly if they don’t change the pastrami, the matzoh ball soup, and the hot dog.

Evan: But we gotta have the Ks, right? Knishes, Kreplach, Kasha and Kishka, right?

Harry: And kugel.

Evan: They have kugel, dumkopf, you just didn’t like it.

Harry: Oh, yeah. I didn’t like it. … I’d still go back in a heartbeat.

Here is a transcript of our phone conversation.
NN: What is the concept for The Moth?
SW: Huh? I hate that word. I am not calling it a gastropub which has been done to death but never really even done right. It is [Moth] a bar with better food. It will be chef-driven and will open March 1, 2010. The food will be easy and honest. We are interviewing chefs right now. We will deal with local stuff but let me tell you, if it is no good we won’t use it. So there.

NN: Oh, a BBF?
SW: Yes. And let me tell you—we not doing sliders, mac and cheese, flatbreads, or anything with aioli on it. If I see the word aioli again, I will shoot myself. I’m am sick of it all. We may have a wood-burning oven but if we do a pizza it will not be a flatbread it will be a $%^&*@ pizza and it will be a small part of what we do.

NN: Your other restaurants, Flying Saucer and Flying Fish, seem to have a common denominator. Did you call it The Moth because it flies?
SW: I have no idea why I am calling it The Moth. I like it. I like the way it sounds. That is as deep as I am. There is no visual or spiritual element or significance.

NN: Describe the menu.
SW: Well, it will be predominately small plates. At lunch there will a strong ladies element with a nice menu of healthy selections. At night it will turn into more a guy’s place. The beer element is 50% of the drink component but we will also have more wine and liquor than the Flying Saucer.  We will also have a great outdoor patio.

NN: What else?
SW: Well the developer is putting in three other restaurants in the development.

NN: What is the development called?
SW: *#%@, I can’t remember. Something like LOL for Lower Oak Lawn.

NN: Hmm. That is an unfortunate acronym. They should call it LoOla so that people won’t be laughing out loud.
SW: Hmm. You should write that.

If you have a question for Mr. Wynne or would like to apply for a job. Leave a comment.

If you want to be the first to know, add your e-mail address to the list under the SideDish Supper Club icon to the right. (No need to repeat if you’ve already done so.) The details will go to that list first. The restaurant is small and it will sell out fast. The evening, September 17th, will be peachy.