Dallas Food Blog

Not the first time these things have saved the day.

​Got into the office a little while ago after having spent the morning comforting (meaning carrying around) an ailing cat and eating breakfast--a couple of Rice Krispies treats, but it counts.

That I did, in fact, stop for breakfast is of critical importance--or so says one of the greatest press releases ever to cross my inbox:

Dave,
Did you skip breakfast this morning? You might have a hankering for a full-figured woman...

Now if that doesn't grab your attention, nothing will. Thing goes on to say some research rag called Miller-McCune has determined how 'food goggles' (my term, not theirs) affect a man's perception of women. Hungry guys apparently get all worked up over--their words here--"females who are heavier, taller and older."

Like they say, go heavy or eat early.

Bite the big one.

​Some have noticed that we use "corn dog" instead of "corny dog."

There are a few good (and at least one rather pointless) reasons for this. As far as we understand things, corny dog is part of the Fletcher's brand and corn dog refers to the object in general. Before either of these, there was a "korn dog," though no one can pin down the invention of--and therefore proper phrase for--the crusty beast.

So we prefer to think of corny dogs like Champagne and corn dogs sparkling wine. Unless certain of terroir, we'll just stick with the latter.

That's one explanation. Of course, there is another matter.

Sometime around the age of 8, saying "corny dog" begins to seem childish. Now that we're chronological adults, we're pretty sure mentioning the phrase causes shrinkage.

​Had a brief conversation on Sunday with a woman named Banana (although it could have been Brianna, maybe even Bianca) about a newly opened spot on Trinity Mills at the Tollway.

The place is called Malarkey's Tavern and features a leprechaun on their marquee--so guessing Irish...though Banana said they had "good food," so it can't really be Irish. Then again, with something like 100 beers and a stock of whiskey, it could be.

I would send Hophead up to check it out, but our marketing department's goons grabbed him this morning--again. They're forcing him to chug Amstel Light until I mention Hot off the Grill.

You know Hot off the Grill, our weekly email newsletter? If you don't, you're missing news about Cedars, a new Mediterranean restaurant, as well as a slew of chef changes and a splashy event at Pearl Cup. Sign up here.

​Now I need to go revive Jesse with some high ABV beer.

I found this release in my inbox. It begins: "I wanted to share information for a new project lead by Chef Mario Batali and/or Country Music superstar Martina McBride called Share the Table. It is near and dear to their hearts."

The and/or part is truly touching. Shows just how committed they are to the project.

And that is? Oh, yeah: "to inspire, help and encourage people to have more meaningful dinners together as there is a huge societal benefit and a huge personal impact on those who share this one-on-one interaction on a regular basis."

Huge. Anyway, just thought I'd share.

Jayme Rutledge

Marguerite Robbins with her cattle.

​ Sweat pours down Marguerite's sun-baked face. She feels briars scratching through her dusty jeans. The buzzing and biting of mosquitoes is maddening. So is the old fence lining one of the back pastures. It's broken again.

Marguerite stops what she's doing. Why in the heck am I doing this? she asks herself.

Running the 142-acre east Texas cattle ranch she owns near Greenville with her husband Doug is back-breaking work. Marguerite, 55, does it mostly alone, but that doesn't deter her. "I don't actually mind it all that much," she says.

The Robbinses have been raising grass-finished cattle for five years. Ranches like theirs that raise grass-finished cattle make up a small fraction of the national beef industry, however. In Texas, the biggest cattle producing state in the country, most cattle at the 149,000 farms and ranches statewide are finished in feedlots and fattened on feed before being shipped to market. Grass-finished beef differs because cattle consume only their mother's milk, grass or hay from birth until market. They are never fed grain, or given hormones or antibiotics. It has surged in popularity over the last decade as demand for feedlot finished beef has fallen, taking prices with it.

I know you've wondered why local restaurants don't serve faggots and why faggots aren't welcome in Dallas supermarkets. Well, turns out it's a question of marketing.

And unless you're the touchy sort, you've already realized that 'faggot' (as we use it here) is a food-related term--a kind of offal meatball once popular in England. Seems there's an effort afoot to put faggots in every British home. As if...oh, never mind.
 
A good read this.

Great note on the Eats blog by Leslie Brenner. Thanks to a movie that turned them on to an old cookbook, some columnists have discovered classic French recipes are difficult. And reverence for her leaves out modern trendwriters like Michael Pollan. And she didn't share today's outlook on sexual orientation...

Geez.

Anyway, if you haven't read Brenner's post, click here.

​OK, so we're a little steamed here.

First off, our blog system was acting up: running like, well, me on a football field (which is to say slow), cutting off sentences when we pounded the keyboard in frustration, dropping comments. But it's all better now.

Then the people at Lazare, who last week confirmed they planned to forge ahead with the same staff and tighter menu, announced plans to close up within two weeks for a complete "rebranding." Based upon the initial information, we went ahead with a review of the place--one detailing their troubles more than the food. So I spent the hour before absolute deadline on Tuesday hacking together a review of Bella.

Lazare has done this before, parting ways with chef David Gilbert as Nancy Nichols' review went to press and Leslie Brenner prepared hers for filing.

Seems they knew all along just what a cock-up they'd created in the kitchen (alliteration eases my mood).

Oh...our photographer reports seeing former Lazare chef Ryan Carbery at Fuse.

As ever on top of things going down at Bob's...Wilonsky reports the details of a deal that may put Bob's on the block.

​The more things change, the more we find ourselves scratching our heads at the stuff the powers-that-be in the corporate food world come up with.

Pop Culture Vita Food Products, Inc. is the number one brand of refrigerated seafood products, sales-wise, as well as an industry leader in the smoked fish category. Don't ask us how this translates into their new soda-pop flavored dessert toppings and barbecue sauces, though. We just report this stuff.

The company's Vita Specialty Foods arm has just introduced Dr. Pepper, A&W, 7Up and Crush-branded syrups, marinades and such for those of us who just can't get enough high fructose corn syrup in our diets the old-fashioned way. Offerings include Orange Crush Orange and Vanilla Cream Dessert Topper, A&W Rich 'n Hearty BBQ Sauce and 7Up Refreshing Citrus Marinade.

No, we haven't tried 'em yet. You go first.

Does the city have something against chefs named David?

​David McMillan, recently ousted from Consilient restaurants. His long career includes Nana and his own 62 Main.




​David Gilbert, didn't fit in at Lazare. The rising star left and was replaced by his sous chef, Ryan Carbery.




​David Uygur, will be cast onto the streets when Lola closes. He's one of the city's most respected culinary masters.



How many Davids are left? Let's see--there's Holben at Del Frisco...

​It would be easy to blame it on Pinkberry.

The popular yogurt company's website touts that "in less than five years, Pinkberry has established a dominant leadership position in the frozen yogurt category." But that only tells part of the story. What this trendsetting treat shop kicked off in Los Angeles and New York has spread far and wide faster than a teeming colony of live active cultures.

Dallas, always but a half-step behind the coasts, has seen an influx of fro-yo shops over the past couple of years to rival the cupcake bakery explosion of, well, the last couple of years. In addition to Orange Cup (four DFW locations with a fifth on the way), Yogilicious (two area shops, soon to be four) and I Heart Yogurt (just one...for now), there's neighborhood fave Natsumi on Henderson and Red Mango even moved their corporate headquarters to Big D.

Oh, and we can look forward to our very own Pinkberry "coming soon".

Normally I find restaurant opening/closing stories to be rather tedious, as far as news goes. Places come and go all the time, you know.

But Leslie Brenner's announcement on Eats that Lola will soon shut down...Damn.

Turns out she was intent on reviewing the place. Guess what--I had one planned for the September 3 issue and had already made one visit. And I swear the Observer and Morning News don't coordinate.

Chef Brian Luscher, one of the big winners.

​Ah, bragging rights. Everyone wants to claim them, over your brother, a co-worker, the guy you battle for a parking space every morning. Now two Dallas restaurants hold them over the entire city.

Nana was just inducted into the Nation's Restaurant News 2009 Fine Dining Hall of Fame. Established in 1980, the award recognizes excellence in food, service and ambiance. Winners are personally selected by the editors of this longstanding industry publication. Keeping company with the likes of Blue Ginger in Boston, Herbsaint in New Orleans and Michael Mina in Las Vegas, Nana was the only honoree from Big D this year.

In other news, chef/owner Brian Luscher has been going "bonkers" since The Grape's Classic Cheeseburger was pronounced #1 on Texas Monthly's list of the Best Burgers in Texas.

dogs.lovetoknow.com

​Gabriela Pataro was just trying to follow the rules. In return she got dirty looks and arguments from a bunch of angry dog-lovers. "It wasn't a very positive thing for us," says the owner of Café Lago of her struggle to keep dogs off the property.

Open since 2000 just south of White Rock Lake, her restaurant features a large patio popular with neighborhood folks, many of whom want to dine with their furry companions. Time and again, customers would walk in with a four-legged friend and she was forced to play the bad guy. She loves dogs, too, but the law clearly stated (until recently, but we'll get to that) that no animals were allowed on restaurant patios.

"If someone had a dog on the patio, I'd risk getting a ticket," Pataro explains.

Those tickets could ring in as high as $75 an incident--and were written for her or Café Lago employees, not for the owners of the canines in question. Pataro struggled for years to find a solution. She grew tired of going around and around with customers, hearing tales of other area restaurants that chose to ignore the law. In 2004 (at the end of her rope), she started contacting various city offices to try and figure out why the law was selectively enforced and whether there might be a way to change it.

Today we received a note from the fine folks at Gardere, a highly respected Dallas law firm. Seems one of their clients, Donica Jimenez (founder and owner of Cafe Madrid restaurants), was upset that other publications listed Ildefonso Jimenez (of Si Tapas Restaurant) as a founder of Cafe Madrid.

The letter says "in the event the Dallas Observer writes a similar article, please note that Donica Jimenez founded Cafe Madrid in October 1989 and has been the restaurant owner since that time." Ildefonso Jimenez, according to the document, merely served as the general manager from March, 1990, to August, 1997.

At which point Donica and Ildefonso were divorced, according to the lawyer. Think it was an amicable settlement?

Unfair Park's Robert Wilonsky has been tracking Bob's--of steak & chophouse fame--many difficulties, updating the story again today (read it here). Over at SideDish, Nancy Nichols keeps up with the ne'erdowellness of another restaurant group (as you can see here).

Nancy's story, as she pursues it, will become even more sensational--trust me. Robert's piece will almost certainly end sadly, which is the way it should when...um, let's not go there.

I've said it before in these pages and will probably do so again: the people drawn into nightlife are not necessarily normal, clean cut sorts. Oh, there are plenty of reputable people, of course. But you constantly hear stories of gambling, drugs (including dealing), financial misdeeds, sexual harrassment, etc., etc.--in far greater volume than any other industry...including low-rent journalism.

Why we--meaning the Food Network and a few publications--want to make celebrities of this crowd, I've never been sure. But then again, look at our crop of celebrities these days...  

A couple of new food-related sites caught our eye last week...while we maybe should have been working. Aren't you glad we're willing to procrastinate? [Editor's note: you should have been working--and stealing stuff from the Internet to cover your tracks doesn't count].

SympathyFood.com: Why say it with flowers when you can say it with a three-pound fully-cooked beef brisket, complete with potato and veg? That's the question David Storke had in mind when he founded SympathyFood.com.

The Mayor of Bowling Green, Virginia and "death care" specialist (that's pc for undertaker), created his unique website offering an alternative to all those lovely--but totally useless--floral arrangements his clients received in their times of need. Since 2006, SympathyFood.com has been flash-freezing and Fed Ex-ing roasts, casseroles, chicken fingers and more. You can even send a blueberry crumb coffee cake or a key lime pie for dessert.

Entrees serve anywhere from 2-16 people, ringing in at $25 to $150-plus. Unusual though it may sound, the company's website boasts that SympathyFood.com is now endorsed by hundreds of funeral homes nationwide, and its testimonial page contains several heartfelt, glowing endorsements.

So when your only two friends show up at the funeral...

But It Is Pretty Damn Confusing, Even For The Servers Themselves. A More Than You Ever Want To Know Primer...

The restaurant industry might be one of the shadiest in the country. It is populated by the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Jason Sheehan, after all. But mainly this is due to the highly contested system of tipping.

Tipping is a primary source of income for waiters--at least in this country--so restaurants generally pay a much lower minimum wage: $2.13 an hour. Writer's wages...although some states, like California (damn socialists, the lot), have raised the standard to as high as $8.00. An estimated 2,371,750 wait staff nationwide receive a mean annual wage of $19,580, with a mean hourly wage of $9.41 (tips included). Interestingly, the largest mean annual wage for waiters is $27,610 in the state of Washington.

What's that mean? Who knows.

Most of this pay comes from the "optional" service tip, the one determined by customers. So waiters must smile and nod, waitresses show some cleavage and put up with randy male guests in order to supplement an otherwise inadequate minimum wage. If, by the end of the week, a server's ultimate salary doesn't even out to the standard minimum wage of $7.25, the employer is responsible for making up the difference in direct wages.

Even though a waiter or waitress is ultimately supposed to receive at least the standard minimum wage, the uncertainty of how many tips they make, and how much of those tips they get to keep, is what makes service such a hit-or-miss career.

Does California's storied burger chain have it in for Dallas? Unfair Park has the answer...for the time being.

A lot of renovation going on at a vacant site on Trinity Mills and the Tollway. Seems a new Norma's Cafe is coming to the Maguire's-Sullivan's-Cape Buffalo cluster. Looks like the crew is working under some kind of deadline pressure...

Word on the street has Hotel Belmont's Cliff Cafe shuttering its doors for a couple of months while Bolsa partners Chris Zielke and Christopher Jeffers renovate the space.

Their plan? Turn Cliff Cafe (or whatever they end up calling it) into a semi-upscale barbecue joint, adhering loosely to Bolsa's local and seasonal mantra. To run the kitchen and help with the restaurant's development, Zielke and Jeffers have teamed up with Tim Byres, until very recently the executive chef for Stephan Pyles.

Byres' CV includes stints at The Mansion (like everyone else, it seems) and his own acclaimed--but lightly attended--Standard.

Thus far the story goes.

Delfi's World [In Focus], via Flickr

A couple of notable news items came across the desk this weekend while you were out grillin' with Dad. Time to play catch up:

Last Friday, June 19th, Nestle USA announced a voluntary recall of nearly four dozen Toll House refrigerated dough products. The action was prompted by an FDA investigation into reported E. coli illnesses related to the consumption of raw cookie dough. The recall includes numerous varieties, from chocolate chip cookie dough to brownie bite dough to limited edition and seasonal specialties.

The Nestle USA website explains that "a number of consumers reporting illness reported consuming raw Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough. While the E. coli strain implicated in this investigation has not been detected in our product...we are initiating this voluntary recall." The company also emphasizes that "raw cookie dough should not be eaten", pointing out that a message to that effect is printed on each package of the aforementioned products.

Damn it. Raw cookie dough gives life meaning.

For more information, along with a complete list of recalled products, click here.

And on the local front, a loyal reader reports that Sorbeteria has closed. Those seeking a smoothie, float or granita from the frozen treat shop were directed to an email address or telephone number by a sign on the door, but so far neither contact has netted a response (telephone number is disconnected). You could satisfy your craving for something cold and sweet at Orange Cup across the street instead, or at Yogilicious or Paciugo in the West Village, or at Natsumi on Henderson, or...you get the idea.

Ever wonder if the steaks served at Texas Roadhouse--or any other restaurant, for that matter--were actually raised in Texas?

adamr.stone, via Flickr

Restaurant-goers in Upstate New York and Vermont, rightly proud of their famously pure, high-quality maple syrup, have come to expect the best, even when they go to IHOP. The only IHOP location in Vermont serves in-state syrup, and Senator Chuck Schumer says the restaurant should provide the same courtesy to New Yorkers in all 44 of its New York locations.

Schumer's on to something, here. When you get right down to it, wouldn't it taste great if more restaurant chains were compelled to serve local products when possible and appropriate? Not only would diners get the quality they expect, but local producers would get a bump in business.

On the other hand, this could open a whole new can of worms--locally dug, of course. If IHOP has to provide local syrup, what stops local pancake flour and orange juice producers from getting in on the action? It could all lead to a sort of bizarre protectionism. And it might wipe out the niche carved by restaurants already sourcing locally.

Besides, isn't compelling restaurant owners to do or not do something kinda wrong? Except when it comes to smoking bans or allowing Dewhurst to carry in his own wine, of course.

This week's roundup features hidden sugar, hidden protein, and gives you a reason to badger your teetotalling friends with the question, "why do you hate America?"

• If you don't own a coffee grinder, you'll probably want to after reading this. Then again, you could just consider your pre-ground cup of coffee as a protein supplement.
• Via BoingBoing, Sugarstacks.com is a sobering visual aid for those trying to understand how much sugar features in common food items. Food items are pictured along with sugar cubes equal to the amount of sugar in a "serving."
• Sure, the government's bailout plan was controversial, but here's a solution everyone can get behind. Turns out chugging may just be your patriotic duty.

Driving around DFW, you have to take notice of the seemingly endless strips of six-lane traffic and the stores and restaurants on either side.

Yeah, local dining hasn't suffered as much as in other parts of the U.S. But with Bloomberg reporting today that restaurants have a greater chance of failing than a year ago, it's tough not to think about the sheer number of eateries and wonder how consumers were ever able to support them all. Was demand ever that high?

As if overweight individuals needed more to make them feel socially undesirable, the past couple of weeks have seen at least three different online news outlets tackle the subject of human obesity and its possible environmental impacts, citing an increased carbon footprint. Live Science approaches the topic more sensitively than the Sun and BBC.

coloros, via Flickr

The subject has come up previously, in the New Yorker, who cites New Scientist:

A recent article in New Scientist suggested that the biggest problem arising from the epidemic of obesity is the additional carbon burden that fat people--who tend to eat a lot of meat and travel mostly in cars--place on the environment.

Interestingly, New Scientist's blog also puts forth the theory that obese people actually do the world a favor through carbon sequestration, suggesting a widespread dieting effort might actually increase atmospheric carbon.

So ait a minute...You mean maybe fat can save the world?

Fourth-graders leading a political movement, paying for tap water...

• JaseMan, via Flickr

  Wisconsin fourth-graders are organizing to boycott their school's lunches. Even weirder? Administrators take it seriously. The kids want healthier options on the menu and worked with their teacher to set up demonstration consisting of a pot-luck fresh-food lunch, full of fruits and salads brought in from home.
  
• It sounds like restaurants are taking cues from airlines. The New York Post reports many eateries are adding hidden fees to diners' tabs for things like water, bread and butter.

Ever wonder how much otherwise edible food gets tossed every day? If you haven't before, this post over at Treehugger will get you thinking. It cites a recent study at American University that found students waste less cafeteria food when they can't use trays, essentially because they can't pile up everything that looks good, and then they have to wait in line again with each trip back. So at least there's a solution in the works for college campuses.

Plus they can divert the money usually spent on trays to something useful, like recruiting athletes.

jbloom, via Flickr

But what about similar restaurants across the country, who serve it up cafeteria or buffet style? When food sits too long, it takes on a limp and pale aspect--and (hopefully) gets changed out. Meanwhile, anyone who's ever worked banquet events knows caterers generally err on the side of "too much." How many of these happen every day in the U.S.?

Back in 2004, Food Production Daily reported on a study estimating as much as half of the food produced for American consumption goes to waste. While that figure seems high, would you really be shocked if it's true? One notable tidbit from the article:

Valerie Everett, via Flickr

What do McDonald's and booger-tainted food have in common? They're both discussed in this week's roundup, of course!

• Depending on where you live, serving a booger sandwich might be a felony. Slate reports that food tampering laws vary from state to state, but in North Carolina--where that instant-classic Youtube clip was taped--everyone's favorite Domino's employees could face felony charges and up to a year in prison. The pair, who maintain that the tainted sandwich was never sent out, are stuck either way. Knowingly misleading the public about tainted food in NC carries up to five years.
• McDonald's remains America's number one fast-food (or "quick service," if you prefer) destination, according to a report released by Experian. The nine-page Powerpoint presentation, available here, ranks each chain by popularity and also each chain's previous standing going back to 2004. Mainstays like McDonald's and Burger King retained a firm grip on the top spots--and over all, the top 10 spots don't see much change. Plenty of shuffling goes on further down the list, however, where Jamba Juice and Chipotle jumped 30 and 20 spots, respectively, during the five-year period ending 2008. With malls and shopping centers closing down around the country, it should be interesting to survey the same landscape again in a couple of years.
• Ruby's Pub--it's in Iowa--posted a list (always popular) titled "The 86 Rules of Boozing." They're all pretty common-sensical, but number 33 bears repeating: "The only thing that tastes better than free liquor is stolen liquor." Although, if you steal a case of Coors Light...