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Late last night, after a tense end-of-session standoff on the Senate floor, the beefed-up Cottage Food Bill, HB 970, passed and is now on the way to the Governor's desk. As we reported last week, there was some fear the bill wouldn't make it on the final calendar for a Senate vote. Then, once that hurdle was passed, it came down to the wire.

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Time to Cry Over Spilled Milk: Raw Milk Bill Dies

Home bakers across the state will wake up to the good news. Around midnight last night, a follower on the Texas Baker's Bill Facebook page posted, "I'll take my 21 flavors of fudge to the market."

For a brief history, in the 2011 legislative session a bill made it legal for home bakers to sell certain goods, which did not require refrigeration. This session, Representative Eddie Rodriguez of Austin introduced a bill that expanded sells to include nut butters, popcorn, cereal, granola, vinegars, dried fruits and vegetables, mustard, pickles, coffee and tea.

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The Hospitality Sweet

The Hospitality Sweet, a quaint little bakery and café, opened earlier this week inside the historic downtown post office and courthouse at the corner of Ervay and Bryan streets (400 North Ervay, Suite 175). This building was originally constructed in the 1930s and has been undergoing a massive redevelopment for years led by developer Shawn Todd.

The newly installed Hospitality Sweet is the second bakery spot for Meghan Adams, who also has a small outpost inside the vintage furniture store Timothy Oulton, at Knox-Henderson. This new downtown café is, however, full service.

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Alice Laussade

Mot Hai Ba storefront, caption: Mot Hai Ba, 6047 Lewis St., right next to the Texaco.

Jeana Johnson and Colleen O'Hare are opening a new Vietnamese restaurant named Mot Hai Ba tonight. I don't know the days of the week very well, so I checked it out last night, before they were open. So, take a look, drool, and drive your mopeds there tonight. Behold: A Sampling of the Food Things of Mot Hai Ba.

I was treated to three dishes at Mot Hai Ba. The first was their steamed rice noodle, pork, mushroom and crispy shallot. This came with a bowl of broth, which Johnson instructed me to dip the rolls into. Just as I finished the roll, a staff member came by my table and slid a fried egg into the remaining broth. Nobody hates that.

Because people have made such a big dang deal out of the name of this restaurant (Saying that "Mot Hai Ba tops the cake of really, really bad names," and "I'm adding it to our growing list of worst names for restaurants, ever"), I figured it was a good idea to clarify with Johnson and O'Hare that I had mastered the correct pronunciation of the name.

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Meats and a hush puppy = happiness.

Jack Perkins' new BBQstaurant, Slow Bone, will ("hopefully") be open this Tuesday. I pretended not to know how time works and I went for lunch today. It worked for me once. Pretty sure it won't work again. But, we can all enjoy the results. Behold: the meats and other food-and-beverage-type things of Slow Bone.

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Love Shack of Denton and its glorious Bigfat-burgers-with-a-bigfat-egg-on-top were laid to rest in October when Tim Love decided to close the doors and revamp the space with visions of dry-aged steak and white tablecloths dancing in his head. Fast forward to now and Queenie's steakhouse (115 E. Hickory St.) is up and running and open to the public after a successful soft opening last week.

Gone are tangly piles of golden fried onion strings and crispy "yardbird" baskets, replaced by chicken-fried lobster and Wagyu steak waiting to be paired with a choice of savory sides and of course a glass of wine. Or four. Love's subtle humor (which rendered me giggly) is present in the form of his "Texas Vegetarian" menu options featuring pheasant confit, a pork porterhouse and lamb chops.

Total number of people confused by this: all of them.

Total number of servers with a "How come nobody thinks this is funny" look on their face: all of them.

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Yup. Spam.

Happy Aloha Tuesday, Dallas. There's a new Hawaiian barbecue place on Lemmon Avenue, and it looks pretty interesting. Aloha Hawaiian BBQ opened just last week with bamboo window treatments, a mural of the Hawaiian mountains painted on the wall, and Hawaiian radio playing over the sound system.

I'd tell you more about the music, but every song I listened to completely stumped Shazam. I did recognize a Styx cover though, and I have to say you haven't lived until you've heard Come Sail Away complete with ukelele, all while munching on Spam musubi.

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Boca Chica Tapas & Tequila

Boca Chica Tapas & Tequila recently opened above the old Bailey's Prime Plus space at the Shops at Park Lane. Designed by the always-swank Plan B Group, this spot specializes in stiff drinks and modern (yet, sometimes ancient) Mexican fare.

This little mouth is the latest footprint from Restaurants America, which is the parent company of several new restaurants in Dallas, like Park Tavern, which also at The Shops at Park Lane, the Mockingbird Taproom at Mockingbird Station, Prime Bar on Cedar Springs and Townhouse at the Galleria. Nationwide, the group owns and operates about 25 restaurants.

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This isn't your mama's meatloaf sandwich.

The Corner Bar is making its attempt to be a gustatory den of the highest order. Skim the menu and you'll see all the buzzwords you expect to see associated with Dallas' fine-dining restaurants.

Tom Spicer's greens make multiple appearances, and there are hot dogs from Luscher's Red Hots. The Quercia ham on the charcuterie board? It's commonly lauded as the finest made in America. There's a Chicago-style Italian beef and a meatloaf sandwich that will make you miss Mom's. There are chicken wings and other bar snacks, too.

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Catherine Downes

The LOT (7530 E. Grand Ave.), located off the Santa Fe Trail in the enormous space that once housed the Backyard Beach Bar, opens its doors to the public today.

The East Dallas restaurant and beer garden is the product of some serious teamwork; restauranteur John McBride (El Fenix), food consultant Sharon Hage and designer Hatsumi Kuzuu (Tei An, FT33 and Sissy's Southern Kitchen & Bar) have joined forces on the culinary project. The LOT boasts a spacious dining room and bar and an equally large outdoor patio; the pool that once occupied the Backyard Beach Bar's has been filled in with gravel and lined with wooden picnic tables and canopies. The backyard is home to two sand-filled playgrounds; one for kids and another for adults (who are young at heart and/or have taken serious advantage of the beer garden).

The menu spans a wide variety of fare, most of which falls in the $7-$10 range and includes everything from cayenne fried cauliflower with buttermilk dip ($6), catfish tacos ($8), a turkey meatloaf sandwich served on sourdough with white cheddar, peppered bacon and mayo ($9) and a pulled chicken sandwich ($12). There is also a juice bar serving seasonal juices for $6 each (spirits can be added for an additional $2). Other libations include the Lakewood lemonade (Maker's Mark, lemonade, ginger and mint for $7), East Dallas iced tea (Captain Morgan spiced rum, peach schnapps and house-brewed iced tea for $7) and the White Rock martini (Pinnacle berry vodka, triple sec and cranberry juice).

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Photos by Catherine Downes

McKinney Avenue, the vein that cuts through Uptown and supplies all connected to it with endless varieties of bars and restaurants, has a new offering for its people: Belly & Trumpet. Miles away from the New York City-modeled, gourmet hot dog purveyor The Bowery that sat in its place mere months ago, Belly & Trumpet feels more like ... well ... it's not from around here, that's for sure.

Let's begin with its lush, plum walls dotted with sexy, mysterious art. Add plush booths, red velvet and lighting that's dim but not so dark you can't see your food. Which is good for you, dear diner, because the dishes chefs and menu co-designers Brian Zenner and Rudy Mendoza (of Oak and the Mansion, respectively) have created are ravishing.

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