Articles about Not-so-skinny bitches
The 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas: How I Picked Them
Click the image and the list shall be revealed.
We decided to do the 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas about a year ago. The last time D Magazine published a list like this was in August 1990. At that time, D employed three food writers: Mary Brown Malouf, Betty Cook, and Lawson Taitte. To achieve their list, they used the inspiration of food essayist Waverley Root who once wrote of Parisian restaurants, “Only a very rash person would attempt to list these restaurants in their order of merit. Let us be rash.”
Malouf, Cook, and Taitte weren’t entirely impulsive. They devised and traded quirky lists and held anonymous voting polls over a course of several months. They argued a lot. The only thing they agreed on was that they unmasked the “subtle and not-so-subtle nuances that make restaurants memorable.”
I wasn’t as methodological mainly because I wrote the list myself, and only the demons in my brain fought it out. I wanted to call it The Best Dallas Restaurants in Dallas because, to make the task easier, I cut out Tarrant County, which includes Grapevine, and eliminated restaurants that were not born in Dallas (Sorry, Pappas Bros.) I battled myself for months. I started with a database of 1,600 restaurants, which is divided into cuisine categories. I picked the top two or three or ten of each category (obviously some are larger) and put them on a spreadsheet in no particular order. I manipulated the list every day. I asked friends, family, and colleagues for their opinions, and, in some cases, I even listened to them. I have been writing about restaurants for almost 17 years; in the end, I trusted my instincts. My goal was to answer the question I get asked most often: “What is the best restaurant in Dallas?” I gave you my picks. The top 20 places are restaurants where I spend my own money. The cutting room floor is littered with exceptional restaurants.
To the haters, I say this: Nobody bought his or her way onto this list. Also, magazine advertising dollars do not enter my mind. They never have and they never will and I am lucky to have a publisher who backs me up and allows me to spend a great deal of money to honestly review restaurants.
After we went to press, Escondido Restaurant (#60) closed. The first alternate, Local, is now at spot 100 and all the restaurants from above 60 have moved up one spot. That is the function of long lead time for magazine deadlines.
You can agree or disagree with me. That is the nature of creating lists like this. I welcome your thoughtful criticisms and observations. The Dallas restaurant scene is at an all-time high. We have so many talented, energetic people working to feed us. I wanted to showcase that. I now turn it over to you.
Click here for the full list of the 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas.
36 Comments »Celebrate D Magazine’s 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas on May 22 at Trinity Groves
I have just completed D Magazine‘s June cover story: The 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas. Yes, I wrote 100 restaurant reviews and ranked the top 100 restaurants in Dallas. To complete the task, I had to toss out Fort Worth, Grapevine, and the mid-cities. Maybe next time. (Which will not be in my life time.) I’m so tired I thought it would be a great idea to throw a party and celebrate the 100 best restaurants in Dallas. The marketing people agreed.
Join me and many of the 100 best restaurants in Dallas for a giant soiree on May 22 from 6-8PM at Sharon Van Meter’s 3015 Trinity Groves. The festivities will feature food from the top chefs in Dallas and the fare will feature an eclectic mix of haute cuisine, off-the-beaten-path barbecue, and a variety of dishes from ethnic restaurants. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to mingle with an unprecedented gathering of chefs and restaurateurs from the top restaurants in Dallas. 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.
I’m thinking about doing a “Throw a Cream Pie in Nancy’s Face” booth to raise money for my favorite charity. Could happen. Buy your tickets here.
1 Comment »The Nine Best Mom and Pop Tex-Mex Restaurants in Dallas
Former D Magazine editor Mary Brown Malouf and I ate our way across town looking for the best one-location-only Tex-Mex joints. We conquered 17 joints in 7 days. Here are our top ten. Yes, we know Tejano was sold after we went to press and no we don’t feel bad leaving Mia’s off the list. Everybody got one shot and the day we ate at Mia’s was not their best. Update: Make that nine, we deleted Tejano.
Let’s begin with two words: processed cheese.
In this age of artisanal, responsibly raised protein, people shudder when they read those words. But you can’t have Tex-Mex—still the most meaningful cuisine to emerge from this state—without it.
We’re all about understanding other cultures and learning to appreciate Mexico’s authentic regional cuisines. Love that stuff wrapped in the banana leaves. Love the million and one moles. But those are, well, Mexican cuisines. Tex-Mex is ours. Its gold standard is the cheese enchilada, and a cheese enchilada requires greasy, yellow cheese. So does a soft cheese taco. So does a platter of nachos. And, of course, chile con queso is nothing but. We’re talking American. We’re talking Velveeta.
Newcomers eager to try Dallas’ most famous cuisine tend to be, if not dismayed, then certainly unsettled the first time a server shoves a platter—“Hot plate!”—of earth-tone glop in front of them. Maybe you had to grow up with it. For sure you have to live with it awhile to love it. But for most of us, Tex-Mex is the taste we crave when we are away and the one that defines “home.” Most of us have a steady relationship with our favorite Tex-Mex place, our go-to joint that makes it just the way we like it. No matter that there’s only one way to make a real cheese enchilada (soften a tortilla in hot, flavored fat, roll it around chopped onions and grated cheese, cover it with thinned chili con carne and more grated cheese). Each restaurant has its own signature flavor. You can argue the superiority of your favorite until you’re azule in the face, but it’s like trying to convince a Philadelphian that Pat’s is better than Geno’s. Or vice versa.
17 Comments »The Top Twelve Bites I Put in My Mouth in 2012
There’s a common sentiment among restaurant critics: We eat a lot of poor quality and mediocre food before we taste something memorable. But, oh baby, when that over-the-top bite hits your mouth, you know you’ve found it. Something about the drink, dish, or dessert pushes it above the hundreds of thousands of other bites you’ve taken over the year.
The following items rocked my senses in 2012. In no particular order, and off the top of my head, they are:
Start Restaurant’s Mediterranean quinoa salad with fresh feta, ruby red tomatoes, barely blanched broccoli, and kalamata olives lightly tossed with extra virgin olive oil and herb vinaigrette.
Seasonal Smash at FT 33. Ketel One Oranje, Hum, organic rum muddled cranberry, lemon, and habanero simple syrup, apricot, and fresh thyme poured over clear, cubed ice.
Corn ice cream at Monica’s Nueva Cocina.
Yeasty angel biscuits at Sissy’s Southern Fried Chicken.
The 7-ounce steak topped with a dab of bone marrow at Oak.
The celery root and carrot salad spiked with fresh mint at Canary By Gorji.
Maine lobster and blood sausage in Syrah reduction at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek.
Roghan Josh, chunks of lamb in traditional brown onion gravy spiced with coriander, turmeric, tomato sauce, and red pepper at Mughlai.
The sashimi salad with silky raw fish on curvy ribbons of white seaweed at Tei-An.
Crack in a Box, hazelnuts, almonds, and macadamia nuts blended with 72% South American chocolate with raw cocoa nibs from Dude, Sweet Chocolate.
Housemade stout beer ice cream sundae decorated with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, meringue chocolate kisses, and crumbles of pretzel streusel at Cook Hall.
French onion soup thickened with caramelized onions, nutty Gruyere, and a thick slice of a baguette at Boulevardier .
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Don’t Eat This Now: Drunk Bread at Max’s Wine Dive
Triple major gross misconduct penalty for this dish.
I was excited to try Max’s Wine Dine. I love Champagne and fried chicken. Been pairing them together since college. Monday night I unofficially dined at Max’s with some dear friends. Good News: The Henri Billiot Brut Rose Champagne was a lovely way to end a day. Bad News: The pan borracho (“drunk bread) is a disgusting mess of torn sourdough bread, prosciutto, and thyme soaked in a savory white wine custard and baked with Gruyere, provolone, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. It, unlike the fried chicken, is not meant to be paired with Champagne. This dish is a culinary crime and felony charges ought to be filed. Can I get a witness.
Hey, wanna play a guessing game? Go below.
Continue reading "Don’t Eat This Now: Drunk Bread at Max’s Wine Dive"
6 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.
12 Comments »Restaurant Rant: Why I Continue to (Really) Hate Paula Deen
Chicken pot pie at Lady & Sons in 2008. One serving could feed a family of four.
In August 2008, I traveled to Savannah, Georgia where I dined at Paula Deen’s restaurant Lady & Sons. We ran a post titled “Paula Deen Wants to Kill You.” I wrote:
I can still smell the rancid butter that hit us in the face when we walked in the door. I’ve got to find the pictures I took of the food I ate–everything was dripping in butter. I remember the chicken pot pie was big enough for four and almost everything was fried. OK, she admits she’s “not your cardiologist,” but she really is contributing to the delinquency of dieters. The night we went, at least 75 per cent of the diners were beyond overweight–they were obese. It was sad–like people watching at the slots in Vegas–everyone was gambling with their lives.
Last week Paula Deen confirmed the rumor: she has Type 2 diabetes. I wonder how many of her dedicated fans also suffer from Type 2? This really chaps my sass because two members of my family didn’t have a choice: they both were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when they were young. They have to continually monitor their diet and control their blood sugar. However, Ms. Deen, and other people who put on blinders and continue to fill their body with fat and sugar, had an option. Like not eating a burger made with Krispy Kreme donuts. It’s now rumored that Deen may become the spokesperson for Novartis, a company with a drug designed to treat diabetes. If she personally profits from developing Type 2 diabetes (Hey yáll, I’m your endocrinologist!), I’m going to go berserk. I can already see the talk show circuit lighting up. It makes me sick.
81 Comments »Somebody Help This Poor Girl: Paris, as in Texas
One of the most loyal Dishers in Dallas is heading to Paris, Texas tomorrow. She wants to know every place she can eat along the way or in town. Won’t you help her find some valuable calories?
2 Comments »The Perfect Procrastination: How To Boil an Egg
My perfectly boiled egg.
As you can tell from the headline, I am deep in the process of procrastinating. While my real job calls for thousands of words about dining, I am convinced it is far more important that I drop what I am supposed to be doing and answer a question sent to me by PR boy toy Jef Tingley. Yes, he spells his name with one “f,” but I will save that analysis for a later procrastination post.
“Jef with one f” asked me how to boil an egg. Don’t laugh. How many times have you had tiny shards of shell pierce the delicate skin beneath your fingernail? I shared my secret with “Jef with one f” by private message on Facebook which made several people curious enough to email and ask (BEG!) for my secret.
You are going to have to jump hard. Continue reading "The Perfect Procrastination: How To Boil an Egg"
11 Comments »Top Twelve Bites I Put in My Mouth in 2011
Mi Dia: The best bite I put in my mouth in 2011.
There’s a common sentiment among restaurant critics: We have to eat a lot of poor quality and mediocre food before we taste something memorable. But, oh baby, when that over-the-top bite hits your mouth, you know you’ve found it. Something about the drink, dish, or dessert pushes it above the hundreds of thousands of other bites you’ve taken over the year.
The following items rocked my senses in 2011. In no particular order, and off the top of my head, they are:
- Italian “English” muffins at Eatzi’s. (Extra points for the McCutcheon’s preserves.)
- The Scarf Dancer cocktail at Marquee Grill and Bar.
- Fried avocados at The Commissary.
- Ox eyes stacked enchiladas at Mi Dia From Scratch. (Blue corn tortillas, beef, cheese, and onion enchiladas, topped with New Mexico red & green chile sauces, crema & fried eggs. (The best bite of the year.)
- Lemon cake at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse.
- Steamed swordfish with a salad of fresh summer greens at Lucia.
- The salad of chopped iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, avocado, and crispy prosciutto at Maggiano’s. (A good chopped salad is hard to find.)
- A double-double animal-style burger at In-N-Out Burger. However, the fries are forgettable.
- I got straight past the pizza and Cane Rosso and dive face first into a Cuban sandwich: a magnificent mess of tender Berkshire pork shoulder braised with beer and onions; layered with prosciutto, baby Swiss cheese, and horseradish pickles; and piled on puffy, hot bread spread with spicy mustard and Calabrian chile aioli.
- The green curry chicken served in an iron pot at Malai Kitchen.
- The charcuterie plate at The Grape.
- The slow-cooked oxtail scented with hoja santa and served with a cob of roasted corn and masa dumplings at Mesa.
Most Pleasant Meal of the Year: Dinner at Lavendou. Sometimes the taste of the food is elevated by the overall dining experience. Usually it happens spontaneously. One cold, rainy evening I went to dinner at Lavendou with two dear friends. The dining room was crowded and festive, but not loud. The service was friendly, but not in-your-face. The food was delicious and the French wine stimulated our conversation for hours. We left full of more than food. We shared a meal that was more than just a sum of its parts on a cold, rainy Monday night.
7 Comments »Confession: I am Guilty of a Heinous Wine Crime
Good wines gone bad.
Forgive me Master Sommeliers and wine collectors around the world, I have sinned. I am here to confess my deepest darkest wine secret: I improperly stored four bottles of fabulous wine. For nearly 35 years.
Look at the photos and weep with (for?) me. I recently uncovered these bottles in a box buried beneath a pile of old Christmas decorations in my garage. Yes, my garage, where it sat for close to 35 summers, winters, springs, and falls. I am a human species of Phylloxera.
I could have pulled another Billionaire’s Vinegar and called Sotheby’s and claimed the wine was given to me by Richard Nixon and I’ve kept it hidden in a bricked-up Paris cellar. Instead I’m posting pictures of my crime. Perhaps there are others who have committed the same dirty deed.
Full confession below. Continue reading "Confession: I am Guilty of a Heinous Wine Crime"
22 Comments »Judges Pick the Best BBQ from Texas and Oklahoma! Now it’s Your Turn to Vote at The Red River BBQ Shootout
As I mentioned yesterday, several of us got together at the Dallas Chop House last night to judge some barbecue. The seven pitmasters (three from Oklahoma, four from Texas) got their smokers out to Main Street Garden early yesterday, pulled onto the Great Lawn (except for Big Daddy’s, whose 46-foot smoker was unable to fit on the lawn), and got to work. They were each given St. Louis-cut ribs and told to cook for five hungry judges.
We reaped the fruits of their labor last night. (We being Cathy Barber from the Dallas Morning News, Teresa Gubbins from Pegasus News, Robert Wilonsky from the Dallas Observer, and Dave Cathey from the Oklahoman.) We judged the ribs on texture, tenderness, appearance, and sauce. We judged the crust, the cut, the rub. We wondered if the ribs were too spicy. Too sweet? Was the fat cooked down? Was there too little fat? Did we like the pumpkin-y sauce? What about the hot sauce? How about that pickle? After about two hours and sampling 35 ribs apiece (don’t worry, we didn’t all of them), we were stuffed. And we’d made a decision.
The winners are all below. Go.
Restaurant Review: New Herrera’s Café on Maple Avenue
New Herrera's on Maple. (photo by Kevin Marple)
In 1971, I spent most of my Sunday mornings in a line around the original Herrera’s on Maple Avenue. My friends and I would sit under a dripping window AC unit for hours, waiting for our turn at one of the nine tables inside the tiny, lard-based Tex-Mex restaurant. Once seated, you popped open the six-pack of Coors you brought with you and watched founder Amelia Herrera hand-pat flour tortillas by the front door. The food was such a religious experience for me that, 17 years later, I got married at Herrera’s, which by then had moved into a bigger building across the street and expanded into more locations all over Dallas. Recently, they moved into a newer building down Maple.
3 Comments »Somebody Help This Poor Girl: Hot Dogs in Dallas
If I told you this gal’s last name, you would know she is not financially challenged. However, her lack of knowledge about good hot dogs in Dallas is deprived. She writes:
Nancy, I am in the mood for a real hot dog. Not a boiled on like the guy outside of Home Depot (YUCK!). Every time we go to New York I go to Nathan’s (YUM!) is there anything like that here?
Even though she used both “y” words, I think we should help her. Here are some links (HAH!) to several places we’ve hit: Costco. Eddie’s. Wild About Harry’s. Double Dip Frozen Custard in Frisco.
26 Comments »Texas State Fair Food: Fun or Foul?
I was talking with a friend of mine who loves the fried food madness of the Texas State Fair. Obviously many other people share her passion for fried strawberry waffles, fried margaritas, fried butter, and fried bubblegum. The recent “winners” for this year’s State Fair were announced Wednesday and the local blogs comment boxes have lit up like fried Christmas trees.
I hate it all as much as I hated eating in Paula Deen’s restaurant in Savannah. I can still smell the cloud of burnt butter that met me at the door of Lady and Sons Restaurant. The portions were obnoxiously huge and I had to shower when I got back to my hotel.
The last time I visited the Fair, I sat at one of the picnic benches and watched a family of three eat their way through a pile of food. The husband and wife, maybe in their early 40s, were obese. The woman was in a wheel chair with an oxygen tank. The husband, who weighed at least 350 pounds, was shoveling food in his mouth using both hands. The saddest sight was their son. He couldn’t have been 12 years old and already on the verge of obesity. He was listlessly staring at the ground and gnawing on a huge turkey leg.
I can hear you crying: “It’s only once a year. Live a little. Have some fun.” I can’t. That isn’t fun or funny to me. It’s gross.
32 Comments »John Tesar’s Hater’s Party Turns Into a Love-In
Anqullkah Udama, Elaine Vasquez, John Tesar, Maria Mejia, and Rich Lacamana (Photo by Desirée Espada)
I snuck in to John Tesar’s Hater’s Party last night. My friend Laura and I arrived early and watched them set up. Tesar was running around organizing the seating and the free booze and tacos in the Camanera Tequila truck parked outside the restaurant. By the time we left (7:30PM), there were about 40 people on the patio. I witnessed no hate; only love for John Tesar. Our photographer, Desiree Espada, took pictures.
Jump for the love of John.
Continue reading "John Tesar’s Hater’s Party Turns Into a Love-In"
Voting Opens for the CBS Most Valuable Blogger Awards 2011
We can’t promise you world peace or affordable health care, but we can promise to continue doing what we do best: reporting on the food, fun, facts, fantasies, and frolics taking place in the Dallas food scene. All you have to do is go to the Dining/Entertainment tab on this site, scroll to SideDish, and click on the tab to the right. You can vote once a day in each category. FrontBurner and Park Cities People are pitted against each other under Local Affairs.
CBS to Host Most Valuable Blogger Competition
I bet Steven Doyle doesn’t even know about this!! I just happened to stumble across it on the CBS site. Looks like they are going to have a Most Valuable Blogger competition. I would never suggest who you should nominate but The Scott at Dallasfood.org has already made his sentiments known. This is going to be an interesting ride.
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What Would Happen if Women Opened Restaurants With Male Body Parts as Themes
‘Scuse me while I saddle up my high horse. Am I the only woman who is concerned about the sudden surge in Breastaurants. I mean really 35 additional Twin Peaks? A bar opening in downtown called The Spread Eagle? Seriously boys? How would you like to take your daughter into one of the restaurant’s the gals in our office just conceptualized. We call them Peteries.
Ladies, the floor is open.
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