Articles about questionable judgment

Chef Najat Kaanache is Staying at Private Social

Najat Kaanache and Stephan Pyles at Perini Ranch in Buffalo Gap.

Chefs Consulting: Najat Kaanache and Stephan Pyles at Perini Ranch in Buffalo Gap. (photo courtesy of  Najat Kaanache.)

Feisty executive chef Najat Kaanache is digging in her heels and staying in the kitchen of Private Social. Kaanache is in the process of putting together a new Awesome Texas Food menu which she will debut next week. I reached Kaanache this morning and we chatted about some of her ideas.

This gal, who writes a blog called The Pilgrim Chef,  has some serious credentials. Her parents are Moroccan but she grew up in Spain where her passions for cooking and science collided. She has worked with modernist chefs such as Ferran Adria, Thomas Keller, and Grant Achatz. When I learned of the changes going on at Private Social, I wrote: “I can’t imagine she will stick around to do awesome things with Texas food. Somebody needs to back her in a Moroccan restaurant.”

Color me wrong. Kaanache is turning Texan. She learned a lot about Texas food when she consulted on Stampede 66, Stephan Pyles’ salute to his fifth-generation-awesome-Texas cooking. Pyles is a huge fan of Spanish modernist cooking (miss you, Fuego!) and he has been injecting modernist techniques into his cooking for some time. His Stampede 66 combines the right blend of Texas and weird science.

“I spent several months living in Dallas working as consultant to Stephan Pyles creating his whole menu concept, recipes, and hands-on training his staff for Stampede 66,” Kaanache says. “I even designed a menu with him that we executed together for the Buffalo Gap Wine and Food Summit last year at the Perini Ranch.”

I had to ask: Does Pyles view Kaanache’s Awesome Texas Food as competition?

“I believe he thinks there is competition but there is not competition,” Kaanache says. “He uses more modern techniques than me.”

Pyles sees it differently. “The only competition I’ve seen came when she opened Private Social and she tried to hire away some of my staff,” Pyles says. “My question is why isn’t she doing Moroccan or Spanish. I wouldn’t open a tapas place in San Sebastián or a sushi joint in Tokyo.”

Kaanache is sending details on the new menu and other changes to the restaurant. Whatever they decide to do, Private Social has a big battle ahead of them. I checked the TABC’s Mixed Beverage Tax Receipts for the month of March 2013 which was posted on April 22.  The list, which is public information, shows the tax remittances of restaurants with liquor licenses. The amount of the tax paid represents 14 percent of total liquor sales price. (To figure total sales, you divide the amount of the tax by .14.) Private Social paid $3,205.75 which translates into approximately $22,898 total liquor sales. Their next door neighbor, Del Frisco’s Grille, paid $34,303.50 which translates into approximately $245,025 total liquor sales.

Fasten your seatbelts, Dishers. It’s going to be a bumpy road to recovery. (I really wish she would open a Moroccan restaurant.)

UPDATE: Kaanache’s details below. The menu… Continue reading "Chef Najat Kaanache is Staying at Private Social"

9 Comments »

Why I Hate the DMN’s Star Ratings: Reason Number 6,432

Star System: Eeny meeny miny moe...

Star System: Eeny meeny miny moe…

I’ve expressed my opinion on the DMN‘s star rating system too many times to count. In case you care: You can find one here and another here.  I’ve even suggested a reasonably quick fix to making the system more meaningful.

I read Leslie Brenner’s reviews. Sometimes my skin crawls and my eyes burn after I try to relate the number of negative (or positive) comments to the number of stars. There should be a direct correlation. I also feel price point should not be a determining factor when handing out stars.

And that is why today I am taking a shot at Brenner’s co-reviewer, Mark Vamos. He writes a glowing review of Marc Cassel’s 20 Feet Seafood Joint and then slaps on two wimpy stars.

He writes:

The lobster roll:  “honest roll to please a cranky Yankee.” (What more could you ask for in one?)

Oysters: “Bluepoint oysters on the half shell, served over ice. They’re briny and meaty — and, don’t hate me, so much better raw than our gulf oysters — and perfect with just a spritz of lemon.” (I don’t hate you. You’re right. But how can you use the word perfect anywhere in a two-star review?)

Other bites: “fine Mexican shrimp cocktail” “his justly praised Green Room mussels” “fish and chips are another unpretentious offering” (And you paid what for all of this goodness? Shouldn’t that count as a positive?)

I don’t have any connection to Marc Cassel or 20 Feet or Mark Vamos. It’s just that his review woke up dark dragon of anger that has been asleep in my brain. Mark, I’d love to hear how you arrived at two stars. Email lines are open. Operators are standing by. Except for Carol. She’s in Taiwan. Eating ramen. Like the pork belly ramen made by Marc Cassel.

22 Comments »

Hey, Five Sixty, Answer Your Dang Phone and Other Aggravations

grrrI’m a lot crabby today. It started last night when I arranged to meet a colleague for drinks at The Establishment, the new craft cocktail lounge on Travis. The place opened a week or so ago and is owned by Brian Williams and Michael Martensen the boys behind Cedars Social. I arrived at 5:45PM and found the doors locked. Of course, they are too cool to put up a sign but I’d seen the picture of the entrance on Facebook so at least I was in-the-know enough to know which of the five doors into the space to knock on. Using my iPhone, I went to their Facebook page for hours.

Apparently they are too cool to list their hours. From reading older posts it looks like they randomly decided when to open:  Sometimes 5PM; sometimes 7PM. Also, the bar isn’t called The Establishment—that will be the name once they get the kitchen open. The bar/lounge is actually called Smyth. Unless you are on Facebook 24/7, you wouldn’t have a clue. I called the phone number which was answered by some space cadet at Cedars Social who couldn’t help me one bit. Strange business model if you ask me. Maybe it works in New York, but this is Dallas and I think Tristan Simon taught us a while back at Sense that private or reservations-only bars don’t work here. The ‘80s are over.

Next…

Continue reading "Hey, Five Sixty, Answer Your Dang Phone and Other Aggravations"

22 Comments »

SideDish Pie Lover Gets a Surprise at Cindi’s Deli

PieGate: Sara Lee at Cindi's.

PieGate: Sara Lee at Cindi’s.

One of our most loyal and lovely SideDish readers popped into Cindi’s Deli to buy a lemon meringue pie. When she got home, she tore off the Cindi’s wrapper and found another: Chef Pierre, a division of Sara Lee. The menu promotes “Fresh Baked Goods Daily” but it doesn’t claim the pie is homemade. A whole pie is $14. According to Sara Lee, the pie is made with “real imported lemon oil.”

18 Comments »

Over 600 Million Chickens Die so You Can Eat Them During The Super Bowl

I have never understood the popularity of chicken wings. The majority of the ones I have tried are just masses of fried dough swimming in a hot or sweet sauce. Sometimes there is even a wad of what looks like chicken meat on the inside.

This Sunday, Super Bowl watchers will consume 1.25 BILLION chicken wings. PETA reports 600 million chickens are killed just to satiate football fans for one day. I’m not a card-carrying PETA member, but of all of the animals we consume, chickens get the shaft. And it makes me crazy when people refuse to eat red meat because they consider the action unethical, but have no problem eating chicken. Especially when you can do a little research and make better choices of the meats you do choose to consume. However, there is nothing good about chicken wings.

2 Comments »

Help Me Get SideDish on TV

The Wicked.

In case you missed Tim’s announcement last month:

 D Magazine Partners (the magazine’s parent company) and London Broadcasting have announced a partnership that should make the local television landscape look a little more interesting. London, a local firm, owns a unique property called KTXD. It is an independent, must-carry station in a major media market. That means it is not beholden to a network like CBS or NBC, and the FCC requires that local cable providers carry it. Right now, KTXD broadcasts a lot of old classics but it plans to transition to all local programming. That’s where we come in. The station will rebrand itself as D-TV one show at a time.

So far we have several shows in production and the staff is encouraged to submit ideas. I pitched a couple of food-related shows to our publisher, Wick Allison, and he refuses to listen to me. I have emailed, called, and left voice mails with ideas. I need your help convincing him SideDish deserves a show. The possibilities are endless. Get creative and we’ll put you on TV!

30 Comments »

Restaurant Review: Monica’s Nueva Cocina & Mi Lounge in Dallas

Chef Hector Hernandez and owner Monica Greene; Olmec maskes; Mexican lasagna. (photography by Kevin Marple)

My first thought: a hundred reasons and more than a dozen years would prevent me from reviewing Monica’s Nueva Cocina & Mi Lounge. I have known the owner, Monica Greene, since before I became a restaurant critic. Despite my closet full of disguises, I figured there was no way I could sneak in without being recognized.

One late-September morning, though, I called Greene to ask her how the restaurant was doing. She outlined many of the changes she went through during the year it took to open. Her original plan for the space was to create a 70-seat, chef-driven, regional Mexican restaurant called Tajin. At the time, Greene was itching to get back in the kitchen and cook the food she grew up eating. She chose the name to honor Mexican history. At the El Tajin ruins near Veracruz, archaeologists uncovered relics from the Olmec people, the first major civilization in Mexico.
After neighboring restaurant Sushi Axiom closed, Greene changed her concept. She incorporated that space and geared her food to a more mainstream audience. She doubled the original fl oor plan to 7,600 square feet that include two dining rooms, two bars, room for 200 guests, and the sushi bar left by Sushi Axiom. She changed the menu from fried grasshoppers, venison carpaccio, frog legs, and no chips and salsa to “real Mexican food with a respect for Tex-Mex.” Greene hired chef Hector Hernandez from Alma and Hibiscus, and she put herself in the front of the house.
Near the end of our chat, Greene said something that I now wish she hadn’t. She told me she was leaving forNew York in a couple of days and, after that, she was taking a vacation inTurkey. I decided to write the review. I could eat anonymously, and, if it came to that, I figured our friendship could survive a negative review.

Stay with me. 

1 Comment »

Hot Dog News! Get Your Hot Dog News! Takeru Kobayashi Joins the Hofmann Hot Dogs!

Eating Sensation: Takeru Kobayashi can eat 69 hot dogs.

Who is Takeru Kobayashi? What are Hofmann Hot Dogs? Have you been living as a homosexuain a cave?

Kobayashi, excuse me, Kobi (小林尊), is the “Japanese eating sensation” who has claimed “dozens of competitive eating titles, including downing a world record 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes in July 2011.” That is not a typo. SIXTY NINE. (He also inhaled 337 chicken wings in 37 minutes.)

This morning Hofmann Sausage Company of Syracuse and the Zaccanelli Food Group of Dallas signed Kobi (please don’t confuse him with this loser) “as a business partner and brand ambassador.” Kobi joins, wait for it, the “Dream Team of Hofmann ownership which includes Roger Staubach, Frank Zaccanelli, Phil Romano, and Jim Boeheim and drives the creation of a new business division designed to expand the U.S. and international reach of Hofmann Hot Dogs.”

In other words, Hofmann Hot Dogs, the oldest hot dog company in America, are now posed to become the new hamburger. If Dallas restaurateur Phil Romano has his way, every child in America will eat 2,000 pounds of Hofmann hot dogs a year. Romano plans to roll out hundreds (thousands?) of Hofmann hot dog restaurants across the country. First one is set to open in Trinity Groves.

If you don’t believe me, you can just jump.

If you don’t want to  jump, you can watch Kobayashi eat…

Continue reading "Hot Dog News! Get Your Hot Dog News! Takeru Kobayashi Joins the Hofmann Hot Dogs!"

6 Comments »

Be Scared: Cupcakes ATMs are Coming to Dallas

Yes way.

It’s 1 a.m. and you have a massive cupcake craving that’s ruining your entire night. What do you do? Suck it up? Brave the night, albeit cupcakeless, as man was designed to do since the very beginning of time?

No, because starting as early as fall, word has it that you can go to a cupcake ATM at Sprinkles‘ Plaza at Preston Center location for a late-night snack. The machine is supposed to hold 600 cupcakes at one time, and, according to Bradford Pearson on Park Cities People, “the cupcakes are cycled out to maintain freshness. All uneaten cakes go to a local charity.”

Pray, tell me which local charity would want stale Sprinkles cupcakes? The fresh ones are honestly scary enough. It’s a simple mathematical formula for those of you who understand equations. 1 Sprinkles cupcake consumed = 1 new cavity created.

Convenience has reached a whole new level of ridiculosity. I fear for future generations.

18 Comments »

Panera Bread and Chipotle Now Feature Sous-Vide Cooking

It seems like only yesterday we were all marveling at the new wave in techno cooking: the process of sous-vide. The circulators and gadgets looked fancy and complicated and the results were certainly impressive.

Fast forward to the real yesterday and the story in the Huffington Post: How Sous Vide Went From Haute Cuisine To Casual Dining. Writer Carey Polis tells us how large franchises such as Chipotle and Panera Bread have embraced the sous-vide technique and are now featuring boil-in-a-bag items on their menus.

Anybody else out there remember Stouffer’s or Banquet boil-in-a-bag dinners? If so, perhaps your mom was also an early pioneer (Tomasina Keller?) of sous-vide cooking when she slit open a thick plastic bag and poured chipped beef or Chicken ala King over semi-burnt toast.

Continue reading "Panera Bread and Chipotle Now Feature Sous-Vide Cooking"

PizzaMania: “Like” Cane Rosso in Dallas on Facebook, Get $1 Pizza Tonight

Jay Jerrier is either the smartest restaurateur when it comes to using social media effectively or a total social media whore. The distinction doesn’t matter. He has 5,000 “likes” on his Facebook page and, to celebrate, he “doing $1 pizzas tonight at Cane Rosso from 6pm – 9pm.” His goal is to real 10,000 “likes” and do it again. Rules:

Tonight only at our Deep Ellum restaurant

- $1 Marinara, Margherita, or Focaccia…no additions or substitutions

- Dine In ONLY

- 6pm – 9pm…we open at 6pm!!

- Be nice to your servers (i.e. please tip them like you paid full price…a $0.25 tip is not cool)

- It is NOT BYOB tonight

Who knows what will happen if Facebook adds a “love” button. Let’s get this party started.

3 Comments »

Restaurant Scam Alert: Order Needed For Pick Up

I can’t believe anyone would fall for this, but I’m throwing it out there just in case someone is tempted to believe this is real. The email address is contact@bolsa.com. I’m pretty sure those guys at Bolsa type better than this and they don’t know what Skype is.

Hello how are you doing today,My Name is Mrs Candy Moore , I will like to make an Order for Chicken Salad  OR  Sandwiches   to feed 150 people is needed on the  15th JUNE is for my Mothers Birthday Party ,and it will be pick up 3pm on the event date Go ahead and get me the Total cost now..And also i want you to get back to me  with your Information such as Full Name ,Restaurant Address and Phone Number or Cellphone Number so that i can text you as well …so that i can have it forward to the Private Carrier that will be coming with there Cold and Warmer Truck to pick up the Order …You can also talk to me on my Skpe … enrique.martinez310

Can anyone provide enlightenment on how this would ever work? I don’t get it.

11 Comments »

Interesting Read: The Truth Behind Food Labels

Cage-free chickens party down.

Every once in a while, usually in a doctor’s office, I come across a magazine article that compels me to tear it out and save for future reference. Thankfully, this piece titled “The Truth Behind Food Labels” is not only in print, you can read it online. In the May-June issue of Audubon magazine, Gretel H. Schueller writes a straightforward guide, for lack of a better word, to the labels on food items that promote an array of feel-good, environment-friendly assertions. You see “cage free,” “hormone free,” “all natural,” “organic,” “fair trade,” and “biodynamic” in stores everywhere. Which designations are authentic? Schueller details the good, bad, and the ugly truths behind the label and the greenwashing of food items. Bullet points:

Free Range: When it comes to “free range” and “free roaming,” all a poultry farmer needs to show is “that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside,”… The animals may get only short periods outside in a cramped area—the USDA considers five minutes adequate to approve use of the claim. There are no restrictions regarding what the birds can be fed.

American Humane Certified: A program of the American Humane Association, this label permits both caged and cage-free options for egg-laying hens. A caged hen can be crammed into a space the size of a sheet of paper. Forced molting through starvation is prohibited, but beak cutting is allowed.

Dolphin Safe: This is a partially certified claim because the National Marine Fisheries Service verifies only tuna caught from a specific region—the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean—and not all tuna. Tuna from this designated area might bear a label that includes the additional phrase “US Department of Commerce.” Tuna caught outside this area and labeled “dolphin safe” has not been independently substantiated. To muddy the waters further, the dolphin-safe label is not licensed by any single organization, so there are no universal standards in place and most companies have developed their own logos.

The bottom line: If you see Cruelty Free, Cage free, Environmentally Friendly, Nature’s Friend, No Chemicals, Vegetarian Fed on a package, disregard it. The vague labels mean nothing and have no standards to back them. Anybody can say any of those things about anything. Trust is gone. (This post was written in a certified caged and toxic environment.) READ THIS NOW.

7 Comments »

Guess the Name of This Dallas Restaurant

We had so much fun the first time we played this game. Let’s play it again. Can you guess the name of this restaurant?

20 Comments »

Avner Samuel and Jon Stevens Ride Again: Snack Opens in Dallas May 22

The Avner Samuel; The Bailey. En fuego.

Whirling dervish chef Avner Samuel and his sidekick chef Jon Stevens are ready to open Snack, their “street-food-inspired-low price-points-small-plates-daily-chalkboard-special restaurant on Henderson in the space formerly known as Horne & Dekker. (Whew!) There will be three bar areas: one with cocktails, wine and beer; the second is a raw bar, but also includes a charcuterie element and hot small plates; the third, features a large wood-burning oven for made-to-order flatbreads and distinct hot dishes. (Whew!) Listen up:

From the age-old market-squares and bazaars to today’s street food vendors, SNACK is the creation of a street-to-table inspired menu. The menu includes dinner items such as short rib tacos with pineapple habanero and cilantro crema ($8), pork shumai dumplings ($9), chicken shawarmas with cucumber tahini and pickled onion ($8), and smoked oysters escabeche served with wood oven toasted bread ($7).  The brunch menu features items from a pan-fried egg sandwich with Serrano ham and avocado ($13), to a charcuterie flatbread with pan-fried egg, arugula and herbs ($14); and “street tacos” a la carte with a small assortment of sweeter entrees, like coconut griddle cakes ($11), to choose from.

Bizarre is right! Let’s see, Samuel-Stevens now oversee two locations of Nosh Euro Bistro, Snack, the transition of Bailey’s Prime Plus from steak joint to a chef-driven kitchen, and the addition of the lavish Aurora Room to BPP.  My guess is Samuel and Stevens already have their paws on the menu at The Chesterfield. What? You hear there will be more Nosh Euro Bistros if this relationship lasts? Oh, glorious Dallas dining. Are you coming back to life or going crazy?

UPDATE: Snack will have it’s own valet parking.

8 Comments »

Bailey’s Prime Plus Reveals New Menu

Ed Bailey certainly has a lot going on all around him. He is retooling the menu at Bailey’s Prime Plus with the help of Nosh Euro Bistro chefs Avner Samuel and Jon Stevens. He is also battling for control of The Chesterfield, his downtown cocktail lounge. I’m still waiting to hear Bailey’s side of The Chesterfield story, but in the meantime, I will give you the latest from the kitchen at BPP. The new menu, which looks very similar to Nosh’s menu, will debut on May 10. There are no prices with the release, but I image the “grilled lamb merguez sausage charmoula, tomato confit, and black olives” and the “herb roasted free range chicken creamy polenta, “panzanella” salad, and sherry gastrique” will, together, be less that one of Bailey’s former cowboy rib-eyes. Bailey’s Prime Minus menu below. Continue reading "Bailey’s Prime Plus Reveals New Menu"

11 Comments »

Spread Eagle Saloon Spreads its Wings Today

Krista Nightengale discovered breastaurant-ish Spread Eagle Saloon last August, and since then we’ve been eager to see how its marketing team would deal with such a, uh, wonderful name. Turns out today is owner Scott Scripps’ Grand Opening Party featuring $3 drinks and live entertainment starting at 8pm. I’d rewrite the rest of the press release, but it’s more effective if you read it yourself. Couldn’t have said it any better.

Guests will be able to order from the full menu which contains starters like the Pork Belly Stuffed Jalapenos with Honey-Bourbon Shiner Bock Glaze, Roasted Garlic Goat Cheese Fritters, or a Scotch Egg; Sandwiches like The Loaf (meatloaf with pickled shallots and Muenster cheese on a Ciabatta bun), or the Pig Press (smoked ham w/pork belly, sweet pickles, and Swiss cheese), or a “Traditionally Awesome” Turkey Club. In addition to the food, visitors to Spread Eagle Saloon can order from the distinct beer menu which features over 40 varieties of traditional American, Overseas, and American Craft Beers, all served cold in the can. A popular recent trend in craft brewing, canning provides for a fresh product uncontaminated by light and loss of carbonation and is environmentally friendly by means of recycling and lesser shipping weight.

Spread Eagle Saloon is owned and operated by Dallas native and SMU grad Scott Scripps. Scripps is a downtown resident as well and so is invested both personally and financially in the success of Dallas’ core neighborhood.

As for the name? Well, let’s just say there may have been some drinks involved.

Restaurant hours run from 4pm-2am on Monday through Sunday; kitchen closes at 11pm. Lunch and day-time hours will be added in mid-March.

7 Comments »

Occupy Nana: A Peaceful, Tell-Your-Nana-Love-Stories Protest to Keep it Alive

My plea: I can’t write it, sing it, dance it, or say any better than Neil Sedaka. You can help save Nana by writing your stories about your experiences at Nana. Put on your go-go boots and come-a come-a, down dooby do down, down to the comments.

15 Comments »

Jack in the Box Offers Bacon Milkshakes

The world is going pig-crazy.

On Friday, I heard that Jack in the Box was offering a very limited number of bacon milkshakes as a secret menu item. Did anyone get a chance to try one? I almost dropped everything to go search for one, but then I remembered my sanity. Now I’m lying deep in the trenches of regret.

8 Comments »

Bits and Bites: Restaurant News

I was away from my computer most of the day yesterday and when I finally got around to reading the food news, I realized I missed some significant action. Here, in no certain order, are a few things  I failed to report.

Teresa “Gubbshoe” Gubbins and Mike “Whole In One” Hiller tied in a race to be the first to report the closing of Horne & Dekker. Gubbshoe coaxed a quote from owner Flynn Dekker. However, Hiller has some bitchin’ discounts on laundry detergent you can download from escapehatchdallas.com.

Leslie “LaLa” Brenner ran the inside track and clearly beat the field on this announcement: Michael Sindoni, formerly of AGAINN restaurant in Washington DC, has taken the reigns as The Joule hotel’s Executive Chef and will be responsible for overseeing all food & beverage for the hotel including private banquets, room service, and the new Charlie Palmer food hall which is part of the hotel’s 2012 expansion. The restaurant will close for a short while and emerge as Charlie Palmer Steak which will be overseen by executive sous chef Joel Harrington. “LaLa” also admits she has a mild eating disorder when it comes to bread crumbs: “I am a sucker for bread crumbs,” she writes. “And they seem to be very much in the air these days. Or in the kitchen, anyway.”  And I thought it was ragweed! (SideThought: Who thought the name AGAINN was a good idea?) Moving on.

EaterDallas needs a boost to their self esteem. This morning they use today’s warm weather forecast as a clever lead into the riveting announcement of Eater Hottest Chef Competition. Then they bash themselves over the head for doing so: “…while we’ve never been great at weather metaphors we are about to get real good at giving you some eye candy. Who is the hottest?” I think the metaphor worked beautifully. After all, it is as hot as Dean Fearing outside at this very moment and the forecast says late afternoon temperatures will be as cool as Matt McCallister. Good work, Merritt!

The 8th Annual Savor Dallas is almost here! March 30-31 to be exact. Cue the press release quote from Jim “Red” White:  “We are excited to see Savor Dallas grow from its downtown Dallas base to include new events in Bishop Arts and Las Colinas.” says Jim White, Savor Dallas co-founder along with his wife Vicki Briley-White. “We’ve added a cool concert at the Kessler Theater, and created some great cooking and tasting opportunities that will benefit local food and wine groups like Les Dames d’Escoffier.” The White’s and company have lined up some big names in the business and have 400 premium wines to pour. It’s all here. Or call 888-728-6747.

4 Comments »