Tonight at Garden Café there will be a screening of the movie "Viva Les Amis," a documentary about the funky, small coffee shop in Austin, Les Amis, that was part of the actual real weird movement prior to everyone figuring out 1) Austin was, in fact, a little weird and 2) weird is "okay," despite what we've been told all our lives. Problem is, when weird succumbs to ubiquity, it looses its appeal. Weird when everyone else is weird is normal. And there's no parking.

Tonight Mark Wootton of Garden Café, a locally-driven East Dallas neighborhood spot that is backed up by a huge garden, will screen the movie in what he hopes is the first in a series of films.

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Stephen Masker

We've written plenty about the new massive food monsters available at Rangers Ballpark, but while I was at a game recently I was able to see them next to their old school counterparts. It's kind of shocking how far things have come in recent years, and makes you wonder how far this trend will carry.

See also:
- Texas Rangers Invested in a Plethora of Glorious Gut Bombs This Off Season. Our Top Ten.
- Commodity Nachos Invented in Texas: Now They're Absolutely Everywhere

Remember the ballpark hot dog? Things used to be simple back in the day. A little mustard, a little onion, that little section of bun that's always left over when you've finished your seventh inning snack. Of course that same old dog is still available in a foil wrapped pouch for $5. But it doesn't look very impressive next to its present day counterpart.

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After 49 years of liquoring up Lower Greenville Avenue, the original location of Goody Goody Liquor will close its doors permanently on June 22. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the closure, saying the company was unable to negotiate a lease with a new property owner.

John Dragna, a banking pro and real estate investor, was the landlord when Joe Jansen first opened Goody Goody in 1964. Dragna died in 1990 and Jansen has been negotiating his lease with his trust since. But last year the property was sold to Centric Capital Inc., and when the lease came up for negotiation again the rent figure had tripled. The figure was high enough that Jansen decided to close his flagship store.

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Foodways Texas, Elgin BBQ

There's a barbecue revolution afoot. Put a tiara on that slab of meat and give it a dozen roses. Barbecue is the new beauty queen in the culinary world.

For many of us, smoked meat is as right as being born a Texan, or getting here as soon as you could. Brisket and ribs are clogging our veins and we all have our particular places or styles we grew up with. More than anything, we love to argue about which place or style is best.

After Texas Monthly anointed Daniel Vaughn as its barbecue editor, a New York Times article pointed to a "golden age of barbecue."

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Flickr

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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Catherine Downes

Lark on the Park, which I review in this week's paper, feels like the start of something to me. Downtown Dallas can be such a sleepy place in the evenings, and pedestrians are few and far between. There are a few lines outside of the clubs deeper downtown, and the bars draw a few patrons, but the streets always seem empty.

See Also:
- This Week's Review: LARK Brings Lunch to the Park

After one late dinner at LARK I took a walk around Klyde Warren Park and admired the skyline. I felt like I was in a different city. The park was dead compared to a busy Saturday afternoon, but there were a few people milling about. And you could hear the chatter from LARK's outdoor patio from across the street.

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@chefpyles

Remember last year when we stumbled on Stephan Pyles' Twitter feed? The chef was traveling around Mexico, gathering ideas for menu items for Stampede 66, and tweeting up a storm.

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- Stampede 66 Teases Tacos de Chipolines

Pyles snapped a picture of a bin full of grasshoppers and teased that selling tacos de chipolines in Dallas would be next to impossible. I cheered him on, but no luck. There were no grasshopper tacos when the new restaurant opened.

But what if they were to become available here in Dallas... Would anyone eat them?

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Damn pigs need to get a haircut and stop smoking weed.

High prices have lead many farmers across the country to look for cheaper feed sources. Now NPR reports that a Seattle butcher stumbled on an alternative that's doubled as a very successful marketing ploy.

William von Schneidau is feeding weed to his pigs. Now everyone's out to get some of his bacon.

If you're picturing a bunch of teenage pigs sitting around the pigsty eating pot brownies, you've got it all wrong. The growing medical marijuana industry is creating an excess byproduct of leaves, stems and root material. It turns out the surplus green makes for passable pig fodder. It also creates a lot of curious customers.

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If you happen to like pizza, which is pretty much everyone, and you like helping people, which should be everyone, then Cane Rosso is probably the restaurant you want to visit tonight. Jay Jerrier sent out an email earlier today announcing 100 percent of this evening's sales at the Deep Ellum location will be donated to the Red Cross for victims of the Oklahoma tornado.

Of course, we've got a squall line headed our way as we speak, so I checked in with Jay who confirms his special event is still on despite the inclement weather. Hopefully the storm will push through by 5:00 p.m. If it does brush the leaves and tree branches off your car and get to Cane Rosso tonight.

Mark Graham

If you can't get enough of blogger-turned-professional barbecue snob Daniel Vaughn, you might want to tune your radio dial (does anyone still do that?) to KERA 90.1 this afternoon at 1 p.m. The entire second hour of Krys Boyd's Think will be devoted to brisket, ribs, sausages and the endless debate of sauce versus no sauce.

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