It's a Losing Season for the Cowboys and Dallas' Fancy Restaurants

By Hanna Raskin Mon., Oct. 11 2010 at 1:30 PM

Even chefs who aren't sports fans are ruing the Rangers' performance this weekend, since the extended series is likely to keep eaters out of their dining rooms for a few more nights.

Central 214's executive chef Blythe Beck says high-end restaurants can't compete with championship baseball.

"Restaurants don't do well because people want to be at a bar, drinking and swearing," she says.

And baseball's not the only distraction: the State Fair, college football and the Cowboys make fall one of the toughest seasons for fine-dining restaurants in Dallas.

"When the Cowboys play, it's dead," Beck says. "Sports in this town are crazy: Life stops."

But Beck isn't wishing for an early end to the Rangers' run - and not just because she has Ranger tickets to the American League Championship Series. A die-hard Dallas booster, she's willing to withstand a few slow nights in exchange for a World Series win.

"It would be so historic," Beck says. "And for the Cowboys, our dirty fantasy is for the Cowboys to play the first Super Bowl in our hometown."

After this weekend's losses, both events seem slightly less probable. Beck says she's taking the blame, since she attended both games on Sunday.

"All of Dallas can hate me now," she says.