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.

How is it that I hold the key to the secret method of boiling an egg? My first job in a kitchen called for me to make 300 deviled eggs every morning for 2 years. Do the freaking math. I have peeled a ****load of eggs in my day. Okay, don’t say I never gave you anything. I’m opening a vein and spilling it now:

Place ROOM TEMPERAURE eggs in lukewarm tap water. Add (a lot) of iodized salt. Bring the water to a boil slowly and allow it to “soft rumble™” (MINE!) for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. If you are cooking on electric heat soft rumble for 2 minutes and leave the pan on the element.  NOW, and this is critical: how fast they are ready will depend on how many eggs are in the water. If you have a couple dozen, leave them in the water until it is cool. Otherwise, usually 20 minutes will do. BEFORE you proceed to the next step, fish one of the eggs from the water, dry it off, and spin it. YES, SPIN IT on the counter. If it wobbles around like Stephen Doyle at 2AM, it isn’t done. If it twirls around fast and steady like Leslie Brenner when she lived in LA, it’s ready to peel. Pour out the water, NOT THE EGGS YOU NINNY, and refill the pan with cool water. Peel the eggs while they are submerged in water. Sometimes I toss a little ice in there if I find a difficult egg. If your eggs crack while cooking, like me on deadline, you’re totally screwed. Repeat the above process.

Your nubby little fingers can now type me a thank you note.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled work load.

Urban Crust's team with Salvatore Gisellu and Nathan and Bonnie Shea pose for their victory shot..

D Magazine intern Carol Shih attended the Pizza Smackdown at West Village shopping center last Thursday. She observed three of the cities’ biggest pizza egos, I mean chefs. Here is here account of the shenanigans.

I am happy to report there were no casualties at the Mobile Pizza Smackdown (except for some bruised egos).  The American Heart Association hosted their annual kick-off event and bravely invited Paolo Cavalli of Cavalli Pizzeria, Salvatore Gisellu of Urban Crust, and Jay Jerrier of Il Cane Rosso to a pizza battle in a corner alley of West Village. It seemed harmless enough to innocent bystanders there to just wine and dine, but unbeknownst to them, this was an epic, all-out pizza war between three rival chefs battling to become the King of Pizza.

Jump for the details.

The weapons? Three wood-burning ovens on wheels, the freshest ingredients, and three different styles of pizza. Current members and non-members of the Society and AHA walked between the chefs, sampling pies and wine provided by Pogos while dropping gold coins at whichever tent they felt deserved all the pizza glory.

Paolo Cavalli of Cavalli's Pizzeria.

Paolo Cavalli of Cavalli Pizzeria stood under the first tent, sweating from his oven’s 700 degree temperature and talking about his pies as tenderly as he would talk about his offspring. Making pizza is close to his heart. Knowing Cavalli’s Pizzeria is the oldest restaurant of the three, I decided to try this pizza first, biting into fresh mozzarella melted inside a light tomato sauce. My first instinct was to shake the slice and see if anything fell out. Nope. This margherita pizza held itself together well despite my abuse. When asked about the pizza feud, Cavalli bluntly stated: “It’s been going on since we opened. More with Il Cane Rosso. With Jay we have a bickering kind-of-forth relationship. Let’s just say he gets a lot of his inspiration from us, if you know what I mean.”

Il Cane Rosso’s owner, Jay Jerrier, had a different opinion. “Well, I didn’t know there is a rivalry!” he said with a big smile. “If there is, nobody told me. The competition really doesn’t mean anything to us. We’re here to support the charity and, honestly, we didn’t even know it was a smackdown.”

The chef and owners of Urban Crust (Nathan and Bonnie Shea and chef Salvatore Gisellu) agreed with Cavalli when it came to Jay, mentioning that Il Cane Rosso now has 4-5 of their ex-employees. Despite this minor issue, they are still cordial with each other – in fact, throughout the evening everyone had been quite well-behaved so far. No shouting, no yelling; just three pizza chefs feeding happy people. Nothing was noticeably tense about the event until Jerrier disappeared thirty minutes before they announced the winner. Noticing Jay’s small pile of gold coins (clearly he wasn’t going to claim any title), I looked over and spotted Paolo Cavalli and Nathan Shea of Urban Crust wildly gesticulating to each other about some matter.

A little after eight, the moment everyone was waiting for finally came. Urban Crust amassed the most gold coins and won bragging rights for having the best pizza that night. Of the twelve people I asked, all twelve unanimously agreed that Urban Crust had the best taste, thickness, and a perfect crisp on all sides and the middle – a trait that Jay’s thin, soggier slices couldn’t match up to. But even though Urban Crust told me they were “all about the crust,” I still preferred Cavalli’s crust. It was lighter, more airy, and had just the right amount of chewiness. Still, there is no doubt that Salvatore Gisellu has magical, pie-making hands. His Black & Blue pizza is the best combination of basil pesto, juicy sirloin, baby Portobello’s, onions, and blue cheese this mouth of mine has ever tasted.

Urban Crust's Buffalino pizza (Buffalo mozzarella, teardrop tomatoes, grana padano cheese, basil and garlic

At least all the chefs agreed on one thing: they were happy to help out with charity and feed hungry people; the competition, they said, was just a side thing. It probably didn’t help, though, that Cavalli and Gisellu prepared appetizers and drinks in addition to their pies. Jerrier grumbled to me at one point (before his disappearance) that he wasn’t “bribing people with fresh fruit and sangria illegally.”  Despite one unsolved mystery, I’d say the entire event went smoothly, thanks to bigInk PR for their creative minds and muscles. It’s all in the name of friendly competition, wouldn’t you agree?

If you spot the word YUM in a post after today, you will win a prize. Carry on.

The altar is up. Prepare to worship.

Kellyn Curtis is reporting that the In-N-Out Burger locations in Frisco and Allen will open on Wednesday. She got an email from Carl Van Fleet, the head dude at In-N-Out so I guess they will open on Wednesday.

However, I went out to Frisco this morning and talked to a corporate person who said “sometime this week” about 20 times. I introduced myself to a nice man with a nice Southern Californian tan and told him I was too old to drive to Frisco every morning to see if they were opening. He smiled and said, “All I can say is sometime this week.” I offered him money. “No, I can’t take that. It’s sometime this week.” I asked him if he was in fact Carl Van Fleet. He said, “No, Carl will be here sometime this week.” By the time I got back to the office, Miss Kellyn had an email from Carl Van Fleet. So, all I learned is that the guy I was talking to was not Carl Van Fleet because he didn’t have a phone on him.

Jump for my photo essay.

Squeaky clean in Frisco.

(left) The talk box is ready. Signage? Not so much. (right) The Inside from outside.

(left) The trash cans are clean and ready for your trash. (right) Very SoCal landscaping.

Deel Lincoln's bubble-themed chandeliers. (photo by Sarah Reiss)

Here’s what you need to know about Dee Lincoln’s second Tasting Room & Bubble Bar:

Two levels, Cedar Springs, yummy flatbread, pillows that feel like silky lamb’s fur, loads of reflective surfaces, excellent bubble-themed chandeliers, many many Park Cities babes in booty accentuating get-ups, wine dispensaries, valet, outdoor patio.

Observe…

jump to check out some pics…

Outdoor patio (left), the view from the second floor mezzanine (right). (photos by Sarah Reiss)

Jump and growl.

Hi Nancy,

If you are working on any stories for Cinco de Mayo, please consider my client Wolfgang Puck Signature Tortilla soup. This recipe, now available to consumers everywhere, is based on a dish Chef Puck serves in his own restaurants. The organic vegetable stock, organic tomatoes, corn and peppers along with tortilla flour are a perfect blend for the festive occasion and only costs $2.50 (MSRP) at your local grocery store!

Serve on its own or with any of your favorite additions such as tortilla chips, salsa, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. If you are entertaining, take a suggestion from Chef Puck himself who says there’s no shame in passing partially store-bought dishes off as your own creations. Wolfgang says, “To entertain like a chef, be smart – don’t spend all of your time cooking. Use one of my soups, hide the can and say you did it all yourself. You have to cheat a little, it’s ok!”

Please let me know if you have any questions, are interested in a Wolfgang Puck Soup giveaway or would like to receive a sample of Wolfgang Puck Signature Tortilla soup.

Really? It’s “based on a dish Chef Puck serves?” Doesn’t Chef Puck have enough money already. The last hotel I stayed in had a coffee maker and coffee with Wolfgang Puck’s mug on them.  But asking a publicist to write e-mails like the one above just makes me tired. What are the odds Chef Puck really said “to entertain like a chef, be smart—don’t spend your time cooking.”

Am I being too critical?

The One Arts Plaza patio of The Commissary. (Photo by Desirée Espada.)

The local chef groupies’ tongues are wagging so vigorously today that we can feel the breeze up here on the 21st floor. I, like they, attended the industry preview of The Commissary last night. Facebook and blogger reviews are already slathering on praise. Imagine what they’ll say when it actually opens.

jump for our thoughts and more pictures…

Given that the joint hasn’t officially hung out its shingle yet, writing any kind of review at this point, positive or negative, would be unfair. Instead, we’ll wait until next week to give it the attention it deserves. It would also be close to impossible for me to judge the food given that I had the opportunity to taste very little of it. Sliders, desserts, and assorted finger foods swirled around us during the hour I was there, but only once came within reach. Turns out, the local foodies had a strategy: hang out close to the kitchen and nab the food as it comes off the line.

Clearly, my gals and I had made a grave tactical error by sitting on the patio. We could see the waitresses and their trays circulating in the near distance, always  picked clean before making it to our area, no matter how much we pleaded with the servers to show us a little love on the next round. So, in an act of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,”  I got up and walked into the kitchen myself and grabbed a crab cake slider off a platter held by Mr. Tesar himself. I’m not proud of myself, but it was the only way I was going to get my hands on one.

John Tesar and his tasty (albeit messy) crab cake slider, a mini version of the future crab cake burger. (Photos by Desirée Espada.)

Cons: The crab cake was a little unwieldy in slider form and the mini-bun was toasted to the point of crumbling.

Pros: The part that made it into my mouth was darn tasty, even though I ended up wearing most of it.

Trust him; it's tasty. (Photo by Desirée Espada.)

Back outside on the patio, trays of wine and beer (the server had no idea what the wines were; the beer was Fireman’s No. 4), kept a-comin’. As we waited for a nibble, the most stylish of our group shared that she was initially turned away at the door by the 20-something hostess because she clearly “wasn’t industry.” Eh? True, she wasn’t wearing a pink fedora or a snakeskin jacket (both nearby), but she was far more relevant to the operation than many people there. (Sorry, I can divulge no more.) Still mulling over this culling process.

Finally, at the 60 minute mark, a server came by with the remains of a tray of gherkin-topped cheeseburger sliders. We snapped up them, as well as the entire accompanying container of fries, which were satisfyingly salty.

Mini bacon cheeseburgers. (Photo by Desirée Espada.)

Before heading home, we took a turn through the restaurant’s interior. A couple examples of Lucy Billingsley’s (John Tesar’s partner in the project) collection of gi-normous clocks from around the world hang above the bar and in the room housing the chef’s table. Side note: The private chef’s room was, by far, my favorite space with its modernist chandelier, slab table (also from Billingsley’s personal collection), and Tesar’s signature punchbowls.

Chef's table (left); Sonhui Pak and Kevin Gray (right). (Photos by Desirée Espada.)

But like I said, anything beyond observations at this point would be unfair. I’ll reserve judgment until I can order (and receive) full-size food off the menu next week. Good thing it’s so close to the office. I envision lunches around the patio fire pits. In the meantime, here are some more pics of last night’s show, party, preview:

The Commissary at the foot of One Arts (left); Greger Nilzen and Lesley Mutschink. (Photos by Desirée Espada.)

From left: L to R - Christine Ganaden, Toki Uchiyama, Pauline Lai, Vi Nguyen, Christina Rattanavong, and Caly Ngo. Mystery woman. (Photos by Desirée Espada.)

Tete-a-tete (left); DJ JT Donaldson. (Photos by Desirée Espada.)

Tesar in the hot zone. (Photo by Desirée Espada.)

News: How a Woman’s Hormones can Make Family Holiday Get-Togethers Better

Women who have upcoming family holiday gatherings to attend can make them more enjoyable (and avoid the usual holiday headaches) when they know how their hormones will be impacting their mood, energy, patience and everything else that affects how smoothly family get-togethers go.

Oh, you can’t stop now.

Women can check out the new Hormonology Guide to Family Get-Togethers to find out what to expect from their upcoming family holiday meal based on where they are in their monthly hormone cycle, plus easy ways to make the family event better. For instance, if you’re in Week 1 of your cycle, seek out family members you adore! In Week 2? Careful of spur-of-the-moment confessionals! Week 3? Your best bet is to sit next to a chatterbox! Week 4? Sidle up to the punch bowl! To find out why, visit myhormonesmademedoit.com/hormonology-guide-to-family-get-togethers.

And what about men? They can find out how their hormones impact their hour-to-hour mood in the Male Hormone Guide (myhormonesmademedoit.com/the-male-hormone-cycle).

You may reprint the Hormonology Guide to Family Get-Togethers with attribution.

About Gabrielle Lichterman

Gabrielle Lichterman, a nationally-known women’s health journalist, is the founder of Hormonology, the Hormone Horoscope, a horoscope based solely on women’s hormones. She’s the author of 28 Days: What Your Cycle Reveals about Your Love Life, Moods, and Potential (Adams Media, 2005), which has been translated into four languages and was named one of the top 10 women’s health books of 2005 by About.com. Gabrielle offers a free daily Hormone Horoscope at myhormonesmademedoit.com.

[Ed. note: No changes made to this release]

What’s the big deal? One of the contact names for the restaurant is Michael Costa. Yes, the same Michael Costa involved in last year’s Las Colinas Prime saga that included TABC raids, gun shots, alleged theft, unpaid workers and contractors, and arrest warrants. Grab your Snuggie and read all about it here:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

I called Mr. Costa and asked him if he was back in the restaurant business. He said, “Yes, in fact I’ve got several things going on.” And then he told me he was walking into a meeting and referred me to a publicist. I am waiting. I’m sure many others are waiting as well. Keep your eyes peeled.

That would be MISTER Foochebag to you.

Tip of the toque to Lisa Petty for turning me on to this link, which led me to this link, that led me to this psycho foodie highly caffeinated twitter- holic who allegedly “invented” the term foochebag. Until I found this link to Brandon Smith, an  intern for ABC 7 Chicago’s food reporter, Steve Dolinsky. (Hi, Steve!)

Foochebag: “foodies who are categorized by “attention-seeking, elitism, and superficiality.” Basically, arrogant food bloggers and Twitter users.

Wow, it’s a new day. Are you a foochebag? I guess I am because I know Steve Dolinsky! You are if you are the “mayor” of any restaurant in Dallas. Step forward and let thyself be known.

Update: Mister Foochebag claims he learned the term from Michael Nagrant.

Phaedra from Houston lays claim to coining the term foochebag.

Update: Phaedra in Houston is claiming the rights. I am a douche canoe for calling her a psycho foodie.

From DRG Headquarters

Kenny Mills is no longer Executive Chef at Dallas Chop House and is no longer with DRG Concepts.

This development is the result of a management decision regarding operations and implementation of corporate culinary direction to ensure the success of the restaurant.

DRG Concepts President and Dallas Chop House Founder/Owner Mike Hoque said, “Chef Mills’ leadership in the kitchen at Dallas Chop House is appreciated and everyone at DRG wishes him all the best. In response to any questions that may arise from guests on how this management change will impact the DCH experience, it should be noted that the menu, recipes and features of the concept were developed with the collective culinary leadership at DRG, and were not the sole result of Chef Mills’ work. DRG Concepts Corporate Chef A.J. Joglekar and Culinary Director Chef John Tesar will continue to develop and deliver recipes at Dallas Chop House that exceed all expectations, and will do the same for all DRG Concepts brands. And DRG Concepts operations leadership will ensure that the experience and service that our customers receive continues to be stellar.” New leadership in the Executive Chef position at Dallas Chop House will be announced when ready.

Kenny Mills

“I put in my notice two weeks ago,” says Mills. “They [DRG] fired my sous chef and put in one of Tesar’s guys. I came in on June 1 and there was a whole new crew in my kitchen.”

Tesar, of course, is John Tesar the recently appointed culinary director for DRG. “Tesar wouldn’t let me run my kitchen. He told me I was an over-the-hill no talent cook. Life is just too short to work with people I don’t like.”

I spoke with Tesar briefly this morning. When I asked him what was going on with Kenny he said, “Hey, I’m the culinary director. This is just as big a shock to me as it is to you. I had no idea.”

At one point Mills sat down with owner Mike Hoque. “I told him I couldn’t run my kitchen like this and he said he would take care of it but nothing changed. I’ve done everything Mike has asked me to do here. But after Tesar slammed a bread bucket at me, I knew that if I stayed it wouldn’t work.”

Mills already has a new job lined up. UPDATE: Teresa Gubbins says Mills will begin his new job at Villa-O on July 6.

With season 7 of “Top Chef” about to heat up, Dallas area fans of Chef Tom Colicchio (and his Contemporary American cuisine) are in for a real treat later this June.  They can actually book a seat at the table and enjoy Colicchio’s creations as he joins Chef de Cuisine Jeff Harris in the craft | DALLAS kitchen at W Dallas – Victory.

Jump for more.

The Scoop:

Chef/owner Tom Colicchio will be joining Chef de Cuisine Jeff Harris in the kitchen at craft | DALLAS on June 23rd and June 24th. Interested diners can reserve a table to sample some of Tom and Jeff’s favorite ingredients of the season — purple hull peas, sweet corn, and Copper River sockeye salmon, to name a few — now being incorporated into the menu.  Come on in and join us in congratulating Tom on his 2010 James Beard Outstanding Chef Award. Reservations can be made by calling 214.397.4111 or visiting the restaurant online and clicking on “reservations/hours.”

Appetizers now start at $5 (previously started at $8)

Almost all pizza prices have been lowered by $1 or more

The Kids Pizza (Regular size, which serves 2) is now $10. This equates to $5 pizza dinner per child

Almost all sandwich-salad combos have been lowered to $8

The PLT cold sandwich is $7. All sandwiches are $7-9 – very competitive with just about any other restaurant lunch option.

Pretty cool, huh? If all I have to do is ask, I’m going to start asking for a lot more. Let’s begin: I could really use a raise. And how about a new “Facetime” iPhone? And an iPad, while we’re at it, so I can take on Chris Cree in Words with Friends?

I’ll let you know when and if the good fortune keeps coming in. Until it does, go eat at Neo and make sure to let us know what you think.

Patrón Tequila certainly tests the mettle of its fans. Last week, they challenged them to solve a perplexing riddle in order to be told, roughly, “Go to the junction of I-35 and Oak Lawn at 6:45pm and await a text giving you your final destination of the Patrón Secret Dining Society. Only the intellectually astute got through to where their education probably left them wondering: Why, when the heroes of classical mythology got sent to exotic locations for solving riddles, did I get to be sent here? What would Odysseus do? Camp out under the I-35 overpass? At least Scylla (a six-headed monster that Homer never described as ‘cuddly’) would not have followed. [ed. note: huh?]

A text message directed the patrons the final few hundred yards – down Oak Lawn to an unnoteworthy office park where a unit has been turned into The Apartment. Not an apartment, The Apartment. You can’t just take your 2 bedroom, throw away the beer cans, and claim you have recreated this place. Oh no. The Apartment is full of chic furniture and a décor befitting a place in the trendy Design District.

Trendy on the inside.

Details: The Apartment – Cool Venue With a Year’s Supply of Toilet Tissue.

Tequila Blurs Reality: Patrón marshaled us in the reception area with the lure of a cocktail named Forbidden Apple (Patrón Silver, Unfiltered Apple Juice, Ginger Liqueur, Velvet Falernum.)

To satisfy the stomach where was Tuna Tartare, prepped small dice and served atop avocado puree, radish and fresh cilantro. All of this was posed in one of those large spoons allowing one to eat it in one gulp and then discard the spoon.

At this point we still didn’t really know the purpose of this society so I hunted down Pam Dzierzanowski, event director for Patrón tequila, for an explanation (video below).

She stressed the events were all about brand awareness. Patrón is cool/hip/edgy (and all other euphemisms born from ‘groovy’), mixable in cocktails, and it goes with food. That explained the choice of location, the hiring of celebrity chef Tre Wilcox (Executive Chef of Loft610) to prepare those hors d’Oeuvres and a five course meal, mixologist Kevin Nickens (wine and cocktail guy at Loft610) to design and prepare cocktails to go with each course and a top DJ to make sound throughout.

Four local artists were also showcased. Cassandra MacGregor makes hats in Oak Cliff. How would you show these off? In a case? On a mannequin? No. Get the waitstaff to wear them.

f. is for frank is not just a grammatical abomination, its clever, quirky jewelry and accessories made by Shannah Frank and Casey Melton on Manufacturing St. (just missed being called Riverfront St.) in Dallas. They made the pewter place card holders. Mine was a dressed turkey with a slot in its back. The person next to me had an apple pie, complete with straps of pastry on top.

Bill Gerton provided large abstract paintings for the bleach white walls of The Apartment and Dowdy Studio provided custom T-shirts.

The first course cocktail was Grapefruit Breeze (Patrón  Reposado, Patrón  Citronge, Fresh Grapefruit, Lemon Juice, Black Raspberry Liqueur). As delivered, this separated into two pink layers with a thin liquid layer on top and a more pulpy one down below. I sipped it and wondered if the two needed to be stirred together as the fruit was not very intense. Mixing did not help. I would like Kevin to use cryo techniques to concentrate grapefruit juice and then add the concentrate back to the other ingredients. That might be one helluva fix as well as making Kevin Nickens the Ferran Adria of Frisco, TX. Patrón Citronge is an orange liqueur, although details are hard to find. Since Patrón lists it with their tequilas on their web site I presume that the base alcohol is tequila. This cocktail was matched with Bacon Wrapped Jumbo Shrimp, Jalapena Jack Cheese Grits with Patrón Tequila Lime Sauce.

The second course cocktail was Mint Fresh (Patrón Reposado, Lemon Wedges, Mint, Brandy, Orgeat Syrup, Soda). Kevin explained that this was inspired by the Cuban Mojito. The tequila provided a firm base that offset the sweetness in the syrup, preventing this becoming cloying. It was served with Grilled Wild King Salmon, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Asparagus, Citrus, Olives. The salmon was cooked so that the exterior was a crisp crusty layer that looked as rustic as a 1000 year old building. The interior was succulent and still orangey-pink. Tre explained that it had been only seasoned and pan-seared (no soaking, sous vide, poach or other preparation). It was a steelhead from the Pacific Northwest. The asparagus was cut on the, now obligatory, long ways-ply and coiled on the plate in a fashionable DNA Helix configuration.

For the third course cocktail we had near perfection in a martini glass. The Ginger Cup (Patrón Silver, Ginger Liqueur, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup and a Splash of Soda) kept the ginger in check so that it was just a hint in the flavor profile. The lime juice enlivened the drink and the un-aged tequila gave it an earthy kick. The Pan-Seared Pork Tenderloin, Ginger Parsnip Puree, Spicy Sesame Glaze used the parsnips as a substitute starch for potatoes. I just wish I had more of it!

The fourth course cocktail was Pomegranate Splash (Patrón Añejo, Patrón XO Café and Pomegranate Liqueur). Patrón XO Café is a coffee liqueur based on tequila. It dominated the taste. I could not taste the pomegranate but it appeared to have contributed its red hue to the color. We ate Kobe Beef Short Ribs, Smoked Cheddar Bread Pudding, Grilled Jicama Slaw. The firm sinews of the beef were richly flavored and this was a popular dish.

The final course was dessert, The cocktail was named Café Affair (Patrón  Añejo, Patrón  XO Café, Patrón Citronge, Amaretto, Dark Chocolate Liqueur, Milk, Garnished with Heavy Cream). From the list of ingredients one might think that this was the kitchen sink of cocktails but it was coffee and cream that predominated. It went well with the Red Chili-Lime Panna Cotta, Grilled Pineapple and Strawberry Foam. This was the first time I have had panna cotta streaked with hot chilies. It works because of the heat dispersive properties of the fat in the panna cotta. The cocktail had the heavy cream layered on top, so it helped as well.

Only 25 or so lucky winners managed to get to this dinner. From what I heard, they left feeling well satisfied. The questions now are: Will they make their cocktails with Patrón tequila? Will they drink Patrón with food? Will they be able to find their way home? I think Patrón proved their first point. Their tequila is versatile enough to be used in many types of cocktail. Certainly, the range of flavors in tequilas from Silver (aka Blanco) through to Añejo (oak aged for at least one year), give it an advantage over market leading spirit vodka but it remains to be seen whether recent sales growth (5%-10% per year) among premium tequilas can be maintained. As for tequila with food: It doesn’t clash, but I need to do more experimenting before I decide that it is preferable to wine.

Austin Simmons and Jeramie Robison now playing at Tesars.

“Fashionable types and foodies alike contemplated the fate of well reviewed and received Tesar’s Modern Steaks & Seafood, when its namesake, Chef John Tesar, abruptly departed the Houston area restaurant less than a year after its August 2009 debut.”

That is the first sentence of a press release announcing a few changes that have occurred at the restaurant in The Woodlands. Irreconcilable differences between Tesar and restaurant backers left the seeming successful restaurant with a big problem—Tesar’s no longer had a Tesar. Instead of faking it or informing their customers that John Tesar was not a chef but a valiant seafood-loving soldier who died (slowly) in the battle of the Alamo, they decided to delete the apostrophe and move forward.

Anywhoo, Tesar the chef, may have taken his apostrophe with him but he left two Dallas chefs behind. Apparently,  they are kicking some sass down there. (Hi, Allison!).  Austin Simmons, who trained under John “The Tease” Tesar at The Mansion and was a sous chef at Tesar’s has been named  co-executive chef, the title he shares with another Tesar and Mansion alum, Jeramie Robison.

According to Stuart Rosenberg, the PR rep for Tesar’s Tesars, the determined restaurant “recently celebrated its best night in revenues since opening less than a year ago.” (Has it only been a year?) Robison goes on to say, “Buzz is slowly building locally for these two young chefs who have been giving Chef Tesar well deserved credit for the training that has enabled them to take on their new roles.”

He says a lot more below. Go.

BIOS:

Robison enrolling at Johnson & Wales University in Denver, and Simmons attending Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin.  Robison returned to Ruston a mere four months into his studies, however, when a serious accident sidelined his father, Robison temporarily moved home to take over his dad’s work position while he was in recovery.  Not to be deterred, Robison returned to school shortly thereafter at the El Centro Food & Hospitality Institute in Dallas, a fateful decision that continued a complementary course to that of Simmons.

Robison and Simmons immediately pursued culinary degrees, Robison enrolling at Johnson & Wales University in Denver, and Simmons attending Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin.  Robison returned to Ruston a mere four months into his studies, however, when a serious accident sidelined his father, Robison temporarily moved home to take over his dad’s work position while he was in recovery.  Not to be deterred, Robison returned to school shortly thereafter at the El Centro Food & Hospitality Institute in Dallas, a fateful decision that continued a complementary course to that of Simmons.

When Austin Simmons graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, he moved to Dallas in hopes of working at the famed Mansion on Turtle Creek.  Turned away almost daily over the course of several weeks due to his lack of restaurant experience, his persistence finally paid off, and he was offered an internship.  The Mansion played an equally pivotal role in Robison’s career, when he smartly seized the opportunity to join the kitchen staff while at El Centro.

It was at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, where Robison and Simmons found each other, and each found a reverence for fine dining, in addition to a respect of the skills and success of master chefs.  Simmons worked the chef’s table at The Mansion for three and a half years, first honing his craft under James Beard Award winning chef Dean Fearing, and later, under John Tesar.

He also endured a grueling several weeks at a second job, assisting with the opening of celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s Dallas venture Five-Sixty.  Robison joined the staff at The Mansion during Tesar’s appointment, training diligently for two years and being named employee of the month during his stint.

After their respective stints at The Mansion, Robison ventured to New York City to work under celebrated chef David Burke at Fish Tail, while Simmons learned the management side of the restaurant business at Blackfinn in Dallas.  The Woodlands came calling again though, and less than a year ago, the pair found themselves side-by-side as sous chefs working under John Tesar at Tesar’s Modern Steak & Seafood in The Woodlands.  Upon Tesar’s departure from the restaurant, Robison and Simmons caught a once-in-a-lifetime break, and with the support of the ownership, management and customers, all of whom they have built strong relationships with, jumped on the opportunity to lead and redirect the kitchen in their newfound positions.

The tenacity and trajectory of Austin Simmons and Jeramie Robison is evident in their industrious pasts and their present positions at Tesars.  The two have proven time and again that they both have an appreciation for and practice of the perseverance and passion necessary for success in the culinary world.  Today they stand poised to put into place years of hard work and training; a real opportunity-meets-preparedness moment that find the duo facing forward with Tesars in their sites, skills and knives sharpened.