​Loft 610 Urban Restaurant and Lounge recently named Chef Tre Wilcox their new executive chef--and announced plans to open a second concept driven by the popular cook.

Yes, popular: You might know him as the former Chef de Cuisine at the five-star Dallas eatery Abacus, and he was on season three of a little known, hardly at all talked about show called Top Chef. Oh, you've heard of it? He also helped the Rathbun brothers take down Bobby Flay on Iron Chef, but believe it or not, winning wasn't the fun part of the show for him.

Between being the spokesperson for Chantal Cookware and preparing to debut his full menu at Loft 610 next week, somehow Chef Tre found time to fit us into his busy schedule for a quick chat. It probably also helped that he was trapped in a cab on his way to the hotel.

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​"In Naples, a pizza maker is kinda like a rock star."

It's been a year since Jay Jerrier, co-owner of Campania in Southlake, fired up a mobile oven and took his show on the road. Now Cane Rosso gourmet pizza catering is one of the hottest tickets in town. As he gears up for the return of his popular pizza nights at Times Ten Cellars (while on the prowl for a brick-and-mortar location), we sat down for a little chat.

Jerrier might have a hard time narrowing down his favorite 80's hair band (RATT? Tesla? Crüe?), but when it comes to his pies, there's no room for debate. In other words, don't ask for one of those "freakin' Hawaiian pizzas." You've been warned...

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© john ater / photographer

​Sharon Hage's petite East Dallas restaurant is always discussed with exuberance and awe. Since its debut in May of 2001, York Street's 12 tables have become some of the most precious culinary real estate in the city. Hage herself is lauded as a trendsetter, one of the first area chefs to make local ingredients a high priority.

Despite popular misconception, however, it ain't all that hard to snag one of the 42 seat's in Hage's house. Really--she told us so.

You may also be surprised to hear that this straightforward chef doesn't give much of a flip about food fashions. Oh, and you won't see her resting on laurels anytime soon, either...

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Karen Kitchen, Benjamin Andrade and owner Charles Dean Bowen of Tea Thyme & Tisane.

​Say you wanna open a restaurant. You envision yourself cooking and smiling and rainbows are shining and somewhere in the distance a chorus of angels is singing. Or a chorus of Harleys--depends on what makes you happy.

Anyway, you get the idea.

We all know it ain't that easy--but have you ever stopped to think about how hard it really is? Food business is a complicated endeavor. It would help if you had some experience in accounting, and maybe knew a little about real estate, too...and wouldn't it be cool if you were friends with a pastry chef?

We sat down with Charles Dean Bowen, owner of one-month-old Tea Thyme & Tisane and learned how his past life experiences (none of which involve food) might be just what'll make his new business a winner.

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​A week ago today, Leslie Brenner of the Dallas Morning News dropped a bomb on the Eats blog: nine-year-old Lola on Fairmount Street is closing in October.

The Uptown charmer has earned top marks from reviewers and locals alike for its thoughtful, well-executed menu and top-notch wine program. The announcement was disappointing, to say the least. In the words of our own Dave Faries, "Damn."

Chef David Uygur has been with Lola since 2002 (with a brief break in 2005 to pursue another opportunity). He is widely considered to be one of the most talented chefs in town, and dining busy bodies are buzzing about what his next move might be. Some have even hinted at The Mansion on Turtle Creek. Today, the man himself will set the record straight on that rumor and others.

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Obviously he's the one in the middle.

 David Pedack is a live wire. Handsome, boyish and unpredictable, he's the guy who knows everyone, the guy who can really work a room.

We'd expect nothing less, given his many years behind-the-scenes (or behind the bar) on the Dallas nightlife circuit. But everyone's gotta grow up sometime. In 2008, the 43-year-old veteran of the Samba Room and Nikita--among other local hot spots--settled in at the Blue Collar Bar on Henderson Avenue. His place, his rules, low-key by design.

Just this week, Pedack took another step away from glitz and glam with the opening of Urbino Pizza e Pasta, his casual new Italian eatery right up the street from Blue Collar. Between the communal picnic tables and the pop art posters on the wall, Urbino is a world away from hard doors, velvet ropes and bottle service. That's not to say, however, that Pedack isn't still dealing with more than a few high-maintenance clients...

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The new executive chef at Stephan Pyles.

"I'm inexperienced. But my eagerness, I think, makes up for that."

It's been almost two weeks since star Southwestern chef Stephan Pyles turned heads in the Dallas dining world by appointing Matt McCallister Executive Chef of his self-named restaurant downtown. The rumor mill's been working overtime ever since, with whispers of 28-year-old McCallister's lack of formal training making the rounds.

True, McCallister didn't go to culinary school. He grew up in restaurants, but went to art school instead. His baby face also brings to mind an "aw shucks" kid next door from a 1950's sitcom.

But don't let those innocent looks fool you. What you won't see in most pictures is that McCallister's whites conceal a striking, multi-colored tattoo swirling up the length of his left arm. And that ink ain't the only surprise this young chef has up his sleeve.

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Uptown Restaurant GM Is Out To Save The Planet, As Much As Possible

Patrick Michels

When Angela Birt signed on as general manager for State & Allen Lounge, she saw waste everywhere.

Not extraordinary amounts of it, mind you--just the usual run on materials every restaurant goes through. "We use so much as an industry," she says. So with the full support of ownership, Birt began loading up the company van, hauling recyclables to whoever would take them.

"It started from there and we went crazy with it," she explains.

Crazy enough to have recycled 24 tons of paper, plastics, glass and even cooking oil over the past six months--enough to earn an award from the city.

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Could Another Train Wreck Be Far Behind?

Cassel in his Dragonfly days: "I didn't like that place."

That's how his trademark "collision cuisine" got it's name. Someone wrote that Cassel's cooking was like a train wreck on the plate--but it worked.

At least that's how he recalls it. And it worked well enough to make the Green Room an institution. The young chef and his "pirate crew" earned impressive reviews, standing ovations from those in the dining room and all kinds of accolades.

Then Cassel jumped to Dragonfly in Hotel ZaZa and, well, it didn't work anymore.

After a few years of catering and odd cooking jobs, Cassel returns to the grind with the opening--soon--of Park, a new concept on Henderson. But does that also mean the return of collision cuisine...?
 
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