Pruss has a big responsibility. As winemaker at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, she has the weight of a massive reputation on her shoulders. Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was one of the California wines included in the 1976 Judgment of Paris: the first time the major grape categories of France and California wines competed against each other in a blind tasting by French experts. The shocking ending: California won! The event was so significant Hollywood produced a movie, Bottle Shock,  that contained more drama than facts of the actual event.

Jump.

In reality, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was  voted the best red wine in the world for its 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cask 23 which is now recognized as the Stag’s Leap District AVA. The tiny winery, drawing its grapes from a 44-acre block purchased for $200,000 in 1970, received global attention.

In 1998, founder and owner, Warren Winiarski hired Nicki Pruss. She had  responded to a  job advertisement pinned on the Napa County College of Viticulture & Winery Technology for a Grape Tester. Her job, for four months of the year, was to take daily samples from various parts of the vineyard of the grapes as they ripened. From June to September she measured sugar levels, malic acid, cluster and berry weight, and  submit her findings  to winemaker Michael Silacci who determined when to go into wine country’s equivalent of Defcon I and rustle up the forces to harvest the grapes (increasingly at night).

From that lowly but vital line position, Pruss worked her way up to wine maker in 2005. She has been at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars ever since, even surviving a change of ownership in 2007 when Winiarski retired and the estate was sold to a joint venture of Marchesi Antinori Srl and Chateau Ste, Michelle.

The 1994 ‘Cask 23’ Estate Nape Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was the heir to the 1973 wine that won the Judgment of Paris. At 18 years of age it was brawny, intense, and far more complex than most 18-year-old wines. The nose has a dustyness which is more common in Rutherford wines. There is an intense aroma of both red and dark fruit. There is a good tannic backbone. The finish is clipped and the mouth feel of the fruit slightly dried suggesting that this is a wine to drink now. Like all legendary wine houses, this wine is, above all, a style. You either buy into it or you do not, but it is important for all serious wine drinkers to know what Cask 23 represents.

In 1986 Winiarski purchased the neighboring Fay Vineyard, one of the best vineyards in California. The result is a line of FAY wines. The 1999 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “FAY” Estate, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is particularly impressive. The nose has five-spice and cedar. The aromas explode with blueberries. There is unmistakable French oak and substantial body in the mouth.

Also impressive is the 2007 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Napa Valley Merlot, a wine for which the winery receives no love.  However, I feel it is one of the best Merlots out of California. It has an open and extremely complex nose. There are hints of blueberries, mint, cedar, chocolate, and molasses. The dark fruit in the mouth leaps out of the wine. But it is not a fruit bomb. It is too complex and well-balanced. The finish hangs around seemingly forever. It is still very tannic, despite being five years old and made from Merlot. This is a wine that is simply massively structured.

The staff and Master Sommelier Barbara Werley at Pappas Bros. provided professional service throughout the evening. The wine arrived at the correct temperature and in peak condition.

I’ve done a decent amount of travel around Dallas as part of my own personal taco crusade.  But unfortunately, my taco radar is pretty much dark across the taco dense region just east of Harry Hines and north of Northwest Highway.  A few establishments have crossed my path in this area, but one experience in particular which involved a tiny, no-name roadside taqueria, lack of electricity and refrigeration and a putrid, spoiled pork barbacoa taco, has left such a sour taste in my mouth that I rarely adventure there these days.

Luckily, I was redirected back to the area by the highly respected taco tycoon, Jose Ralat-Maldonado of Taco Trail fame.  When this dude tells you to make a trip somewhere, it’s best not to question his authority.  This particular outing brought me to a previously unheard of joint called La Nueva Fresh and Hot.  I am a sucker for fresh, I’m a sucker for hot, I’m even a sucker for neuva.  How could I go wrong? I couldn’t.

Read on amigos…

When one enters the indiscrete, strip-mall tortilla shop of La Nueva Fresh and Hot, there is an immediate barrage of smells and sounds.  The aroma of freshly ground corn permeates the air as the incessant whir and grind of a conveyor-belt tortilla press nearly makes conversation within the shop impossible.  A plume of hot air from the machinery and stovetops slaps you across the face a few times as you walk through the door.  This place is not striving for atmosphere, don’t expect anyone to tuck your chair in or gently place a black silk napkin across your lap, La Nueva just wants to stuff you full of delicious tacos and they don’t care how that gets done.

What convinced me to sample La Nueva in the first place was the promise of exceptional pork guisado tacos, a personal favorite of mine, composed of stewed meats in rich, hearty sauces. La Nueva’s may be the best I’ve sampled for years.

Guisado tacos come in two varieties at La Nueva, pork verde and pork rojo.  The verde version incorporates tender, succulent pork stewed in a blend of sweet tomatillos and peppers and with a surprisingly spicy finish. The rojo version is laced with strips of cactus to give an earthy, slightly tart flavor to the stewed pork meat. Each guisado comes nestled in soft corn or flour tortillas, that couldn’t get much fresher, or hotter for that matter. Both were exquisite, but for me, I think the verde really stole the show.

La Nueva Fresh and Hot is the epitome of a hidden gem, a place that certainly deserves more attention from loyal tacoists in this city.  It may be a bit off the beaten path, but you know how Robert Frost felt about taking the road less traveled. And that dude knew his tacos.

La Nueva Fresh and Hot

9625 Webb Chapel Rd.

Dallas, TX

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.

Seared Scallops at Social 121

Some months ago I took a look at Social 121 shortly after its opening. I recently returned for a media event to see how the place is progressing. The Social 121 concept was always bold: create a restaurant and nightclub as hip as any in town out in the exurbs at the border of Plano and Frisco. But would it be able to sustain enough business?  Is the hippest demographic well-represented way up north, or are the cool kids of Dallas willing to travel that far? Almost one year after its opening, I can report: it’s solid, man.

Social 121 occupies the lower corner of a multi-story office building surrounded by lots of close-by free self-parking (or valet if you prefer). Immediately inside the entrance is a large bar area popular for happy hours with the thousands of office workers in the large Granite Park office development. Here they aim to sling cocktails as esoteric as any in town. To the right is an archway that leads to a pit-like area where the bulk of the tables are set for food service. On one side is a wall of glass behind which is the wine cellar, temperature controlled and backlit in an urban lightshow of dusty blue. On another wall is the open kitchen where chef Jason Skinner still practices his craft.

On another wall is an archway to an extension room for private groups. Perhaps most interesting are some steps near the entrance that lead up to a small platform above the pit that looks down, from the second floor, like a kind of crow’s nest. At 10 p.m., when the restaurant winds down, the tables in the pit area are moved, and it becomes a dance floor that grooves to the sounds of a DJ until 2 a.m.

Baby Spinach Salad

We checked out the culinary offerings on this visit. Saturday night offers a prix-fixe menu of four courses for $65 as well as à la carte selections (Monday – Thursday also offers a chef’s tasting menu of six set courses for $50 – a bargain – plus $25 for an accompanying wine pairing). Both reflect solid New American favorites presented classically insofar as sauces and sides go. We opted for the prix-fixe.

For the first course, the classic caesar salad has the anchovies in the dressing, rather than at the side, which I initially worried would emaciate their taste. It turned out to be a successful way of infusing the flavors evenly. Baby spinach salad came with tart Granny Smith apple batonettes and crispy walnut pieces, as well as the taste of bacon from the vinaigrette and blue cheese crumbled on the leaves.

Crab Cake

There are four choices for the second course, and they make for a hard decision. We had to skip the promising-sounding lamb lollipops (even with an ‘l’ missing from the menu, presumably to save calories) and duck confit spring rolls in favor of the crab cake and the braised short-rib pot stickers. I had the crab cakes on account of a vow I have taken. Recall how history is littered with famous vows. For example, religious vows of abstinence, or Paul Masson’s vow “to sell no wine before its time” (so much for that). I have vowed to always eat crab cakes when they are on the menu until I find the best interpretation of this classic dish in Dallas. The current title is held by a friend who makes one involving no binding agents (he uses anti-matter to hold the whole together). Social 121’s version could not wrest the title from him, but was enjoyable nonetheless. The pot stickers were a winner.

We hit the seared scallops and the bone-in pork chop for our third (and main) course. The picture of the scallops atop their bacon and scallion risotto and tomato butter sauce speaks to Social 121 owner Scott Siers’ ability to live up to his name – that’s a perfect sear. While the scallop dish was light, the pork chop

Bone-In Pork Chop

dish was for hearty appetites. The sides were fingerling potatoes, creamed spinach, and wild mushrooms lapped with port demi-glace. Recommended on cold winter nights.

Desserts are Love Cake (a chocolate cake), bread pudding or crème brulée. We had the latter, which came with curious cookies with hearts on them.

I strongly recommend that you check out the wine list, which may be the best value in North Dallas. Most selections are about twice retail, versus the 3-times in other restaurants. Some are even lower. For example, 2006 Cain Concept (a Cabernet Sauvignon Blend) is $58 (vs. $50 retail). And the 100 selection list has a strong domestic slate as well. Outside the US, you tend to be stuck with one selection from each wine region (with nothing from Alsace or Barolo, for example) but there is a selection of six sparkling wines, three dessert wines, and 14 by-the-glass selections. I would be hard put to get bored by the selection here given those reasonable prices.

Social 121 offers solid food, great wine prices, a large cocktail selection, and a night club, all in pleasant surroundings, to a part of town that is otherwise not well served by this combination. Its second year looks promising.

Slow-cooked pork covered with caramelized onions and peppers.

Nick Badovinus and chef Dan Riley have been hunkered down for over a year developing the menu and creating all kinds of delicious roasted meats for Off-Site Kitchen. Today he is finally opening the doors!

Now, hold your horses. The dining room is tiny. Off-Site Kitchen is basically a take-out restaurant with a few stools inside and some picnic tables outside. Here are some pictures of what you can expect. The food, inspired by “what line cooks eat,” is basically simple sandwiches and breakfast burritos made from quality roasted meats. Roll the Badovinus quote of the year:

“It’s light industrial food,” he said. “It’s the kind of food you want to eat before you go solder something.”

Off-Site Kitchen will be open for lunch only from 10:30AM until 3PM for the next two weeks. Then the breakfast menu will kick in and they will begin serving at 7AM and will remain open until 7PM. “After we hit our stride, we’ll start rolling out the meat-by-the-pound program,” Badovinus said. “I’m so excited. This place is a real man cave.”

The original date for OSK’s opening was February 14, 2011. After Badovinus missed his mark, he decided to workshop the place and open on Valentine’s Day this year. “You see how many financial sacrifices I made to pay for my original vision,” Badovinus said. “I mean I’ve got a wheelbarrow of pork rinds down here. Who doesn’t love that?”

Badovinus was only half-joking about the Valentine’s Day opening. He and chef Dan Riley have used the Off-Site Kitchen space to tweak the menus of Badovinus’ other restaurants (Neighborhood Services, Neighborhood Services Tavern, and Neighborhood Services Bar & Grill). They also use the huge kitchen as a commissary for the other restaurants. The receive, portion, and distribute all of the meat and seafood at Off-Site Kitchen.

SOLDER, EAT, REPORT. No call-in orders. Plan to show up and wait.

[Also, Neighborhood Services Bar & Grill in Preston Royal will open for lunch in two weeks.]

The menu and photos are below.

Wheelbarrow of pork rinds.

Cherry cola pie.

Green chile cheeseburger.

First customer.

Tim Love's new Woodshed.

I swiped this photo off chef Tim Love’s own Twitter feed; I doubt he’ll mind. He’s laid back like that.

Word on the street is that, in his new Woodshed smokehouse on Riverfront Drive in Fort Worth, he’ll be serving six to eight meats per day and have more than 30 beers on tap. We hear that wild boar and banh mi will feature prominently on the menu.

Back in August, June Naylor over at dfw.com talked about it here. At the risk of beating Tim’s horse to death (note: we can guarantee that horse, dead or otherwise, will NOT be on the menu), let us just say that we are excited to see how it all smokes out.

My question: What is behind that bone? (Photo by Melanie Dunea from the book, My Last Supper)

Anthony Bourdain will be at The Majestic tonight. Tickets are still available. I understand there will be a Q&A segment in the show. Can’t go? Send me your questions. I’ll try to get them answered.

Oh, and Tony. Tonight is the sixth game of the World Series. Our Texas Rangers could be champions before your show is over. You’ve will have hard core Rangers fans in the audience with DVRs recording the game. Please do not give game updates. That goes for you fans in the audience. If I see one of you on your cell phone getting game results, I WILL CUT YOU.

Lucia's Porchetta

Monday afternoon Plate Magazine, a chef and restaurant publication out of Chicago, brought a group of local chefs, and a few writers, together for a lunch at Lucia in Oak Cliff honoring the beloved pig and featuring products from Italy, including Speck ham, Asiago cheese and wine from Alto Aldige.  

The room was buzzing as Cocchi Americano Cocktails were poured for the group as they gathered.  A refreshing mix of Cocchi Americano, an herb and citrus infused Muscato, with soda and orange rind– a perfect aperitif. Some of the invited chefs included Taco and Dunia Borga from La Duni, Scott Gottlich (Bijoux, Second Floor), Teech (Tei-An), Jill Bergus (Lockhart Smokehouse), and Dude, Sweet Dude’s Katherine Clappner.

Lucia Salumi

The idea behind the lunch was to introduce chefs to these great Italian products, trying them over lunch, as well as give them an opportunity to sit back and enjoy a great meal.  Quite the lunch to start a work week.

Once seated, happy chefs enjoyed Cantina Terlano Pinto Bianco with plates of  salumi and crostini, including heavenly Eggplant Asiago, N’duja, Chicken Liver, Prosciutto Piccolo, Black Pepper Salame and Soppressata.

Eggplant Asiago, N'duja and Chicken Liver Crostini

Spaghetti with Spicy Tripe Stew, Speck and Asiago

Arugula, Fennel and Red Onion Salad with Testa Fritta

Chef/Owner David Uygur of Lucia

Spaghetti with Spicy Tripe Stew, Speck and a perfect egg followed as the second course, along with house made bread for dipping into the yolk.

A main course of Porchetta with a fennel, arugula and red onion followed, paired with a fruit forward J. Hofstatter Pinto Nero Mevzan.

Sanguinaccio or pig’s blood pudding ended the meal, with a silky texture and a taste just like rich and creamy chocolate pudding.

Sanguinaccio with Candied Orange and Cocoa Nibs