Articles about Savor Dallas 2012

2012 Savor Dallas: Five Treasures From The Reserve Tasting

posted by Andrew Chalk | April 2nd, 2012 10:51am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Savor Dallas 2012, Wine & Spirits |

(Photography by Elizabeth Lavin)

This year’s Reserve Tasting, the event that rolls out the ultra premium wines and spirits (priced over $50 retail), took place Saturday evening at the  new Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. The wines were mostly from the U.S., but there were representatives from France, Spain, and Argentina as well. I tasted as many as I could and give you my top five,  in order of discovery:

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Savor Dallas: Arts District Stroll

posted by Carol Shih | April 2nd, 2012 10:22am | filed under Savor Dallas 2012 | 2 Comments »

Inside the Nasher Sculpture Center (photo by Kasumi Chow)

Friday afternoon, I jetted out of the office and walked right into Savor Dallas’ Arts District Stroll, which is exactly the same stroll I take every day on my way to the Arts District Parking Lot. So, Friday was basically no different except for one Ron Corning sighting in front of the Meyerson, a couple hundred women teetering in high heels along Flora Street with wine glasses in hand, and some tipsy people groping their dates while waiting in line for food. How lovely.

The weather was so beautiful that I spent most of my strolling time in the Nasher Sculpture Center because the scenery came straight out of a fairytale, and I’d determined – after a quick tour of the Meyerson and Winspear – that the concentration of food was highest here. This is where to get your money’s worth in terms of edibles. The party was quick to end after a mere two hours, and all 1500 people that attended dispersed quickly after 7 PM, probably rushing off to the next event at Kessler Theater where more sips and nibbles awaited them.

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Report From 2012 Savor Dallas: Top Ten Dishes Served at International Grand Tasting

posted by Daniel Walker | April 2nd, 2012 9:24am | filed under Awards, best of big d, cake, Celebrity Chefs, Charity events, Cheese, Chefs, Eat This Now!, Savor Dallas 2012 | 6 Comments »

Mint chicken salad from The Mint. (Photography by Elizabeth Lavin)

The popular International Grand Tasting at Savor Dallas 2012 took place on Saturday night at Irving Convention Center in Las Colinas. Organizers noted the move from Dallas to Irving was to make it easier for the residents of Fort Worth to attend.  Any worry that the change in venue would deter event patrons was quickly dispelled once the doors  swung open.  The place was packed, people shuffled around tightly, filling the venue as guests got the opportunity to hob-nob and rub elbows with some of the finest chefs in DFW.  The food and drink were, of course, spectacular as chefs were well prepared to excite and surprise their guests this year.

While nearly every dish our small group sampled was delightful, we thought we would pay homage to some of the most exciting and delicious dishes presented this year.  So here are (in no particular order) our picks of the Top 10 Best Bites of the 2012 Savor Dallas International Grand Tasting…

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Report From 2012 Savor Dallas: How To Pair Wine and Cheese

posted by Andrew Chalk | April 2nd, 2012 9:12am | filed under Andrew Chalk, Cheese, Savor Dallas 2012, Wine Pairing | 1 Comment »

Rich Rogers, cheesemonger and Michael Flynn, sommelier

I used to think that wine and cheese went together because cheese ameliorated some of the deficiencies in wine. It turns out I was wrong. This weekend, two experts in cheese and wine pairing presented a fascinating seminar, “The Perfect Pairing of Wine and Cheese,” to raise funds for the American Institute of Wine and Food. The event took place Saturday afternoon at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. The cheese guy was Rich Rogers. He and his wife founded Scardello Artisan Cheese in Dallas three and a half years ago. The wine guy was Michael Flynn, wine and beverage director of Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. He also contributed to the 2011 book A Food Lover’s Guide To Wine. So these guys have a lot of experience to contribute to this subject. And I learned more than I possibly thought I could.

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Reader Reviews: 2012 Savor Dallas

posted by Nancy Nichols | March 31st, 2012 11:40am | filed under Savor Dallas 2012 | 4 Comments »

Anybody out there savoring the events of this year’s Savor Dallas? We’d like to hear what you have to say about your experience. What have you sipped or sampled?Report your findings here.

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Savor Dallas is Next Weekend: Support the Dallas Chapter of Les Dames D’Escoffier

posted by Nancy Nichols | March 20th, 2012 11:03am | filed under catering, Celebrity Chefs, Charity events, cookbooks, Savor Dallas 2012 | 2 Comments »

If I had to choose one event to hit during Savor Dallas next weekend, I would pick Wine, Women and Lunch. Why, because I like wine and women and the good work done by the Dallas Chapter of Les Dames D’Escoffier. This elite group includes female chefs, restaurateurs, winemakers, cookbook writers, artisan food producers, and other heavy hitters in the food biz. Lunch with them on Saturday, March 31 from 11:30AM until 1:30PM at the Milestone Culinary Arts Center. The menu for the luncheon, which benefits the group, will feature recipes from the “Cooking with Les Dames D’Escoffier,” which features recipes from Julia Child, Lidia Bastianich, Gale Gand, Marcella Hazan, Alice Waters, and many more.”The $99 price includes a copy of the book.  To reserve your tickets, click here.

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Chalk Talk: A Winos Guide To The Reserve Tasting at Savor Dallas 2012

posted by Andrew Chalk | March 19th, 2012 12:38pm | filed under Andrew Chalk, Savor dallas, Savor Dallas 2012, Wine & Spirits, Wine Pairing | 2 Comments »

Savor Dallas is one of the, if not the, biggest food and wine festivals of the year in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The 2012 Savor Dallas takes place on March 30 & 31. They offer a slew of tasting events.  If you are a wine lover, then you must attend the best event of the festival: The Reserve Tasting. This year the event will take place on Saturday March 31 is at 5:30pm in the Irving Convention Center. Buy tickets now, a sellout is a certainty. Every single one of the approximately 50 wines in this tasting must retail for over $50 a bottle. However, some actually sell for a lot more.

Here’s my list of suggested highlights of the wines offered at the Reserve Tasting this year. I’ve  listed by normal tasting order. Comments may be totally out of order.

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Upcoming Opportunities To Taste For A Cause

posted by Hayley Hamilton | February 20th, 2012 1:53pm | filed under Celebrity Chefs, Charity events, Dallas Must-Do List, Savor Dallas 2012, Texas Wine, Wine & Spirits |

On March 4th, the dynamic ladies of the Dallas Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier host their annual raiser grazer and silent auction at Union Station from 5pm-8pm, with this year’s theme being “Dames In The City.” Les Dames is truly a one-of-a-kind organization, dedicated to supporting and promoting the achievements of women in the culinary profession. The Dallas chapter, which started in 1985, is filled with some of the finest women in the city whose passion for the food, wine and hospitality professions shines from deep within, including Grande Dame Caroline Rose Hunt, Janet Cobb, Janice Provost, Courtney Luscher, Rachel Gaffney, Sharon Hage, Kathryn Hall, Gina Puente and so many, many more. In celebration of Julia Child and what would have been her 100th birthday, the event will also feature a cake walk in her honor. Their annual event raises funds for their many endowment, scholarship and grant programs focused on helping women interested in food, wine and hospitality professions. Tickets are available here.

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Bits and Bites: Restaurant News

posted by Nancy Nichols | February 1st, 2012 12:17pm | filed under Closings, How About This Weather?, I Went to College for This?, Making Up Is Hard To Do, Pre World Series Depression, Procrastination is part of the creative process, questionable judgment, Restaurant News, Rewritten Press Releases, Savor Dallas 2012, Slow News Day | 4 Comments »

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.

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