Ready for the weekend? You should be. With a massive food truck festival to the north, and a big ass beer festival to the west, there are lots of reasons to get out of the house this weekend. We should probably wrap up the week before we start drinking, though.

This week I reviewed nothing, opting instead to take a look at Diners Drive-ins and Dives, and the effect the show is having on some of our favorite food businesses.

Elsewhere on City of Ate, we got day drunk at Bolsa, ate mac and cheese at NHS Tavern and slurped a big bowl of beefy noodles at the Noodle House.

We also handed Good 2 Go taco a box, and they handed us our ass. So far every chef has beaten the box. Maybe Alice should stop up those quirky ingredients. Maybe the box is a pussy. Either way it's still fun to read.

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It's about that time!

Cinco de headache is close. You've got one more evening till you can spend the entirety of Saturday pummeling your liver with bad margaritas and shotgunned Miller Lites while eating your own weight in tortilla chips. Happy hour's calling, but first we've got a week to wrap up. (And make sure you enter our Iron Fork VIP ticket contest before you duck out of the office.)

This week I reviewed Hattie's, which impressed me with its near decade of comforting southern cooking across the Trinity River. I also kicked off 100 Favorite dishes with No. 100 and No.99..

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More festivals this weekend. The 6th Annual Real Texas Festival kicks off today. I wasn't around for it last year, but Nick Rallo was and he gave the event a ringing endorsement. There are worse ways to spend your time than sampling barbecue from entrants chasing a $500 grand champion prize. Things kick off at 5 p.m. today, but don't sneak out yet. We have a week to wrap up first.

This week I reviewed Bolsa. Jeff Harris and Matt Balke's new spring menu feels like a rebirth for the restaurant, and it's a compelling place to eat right now.

Yu Darvish should be pitching this weekend. Which means you'll be able to get one of these at Rangers Ballpark. There's no word yet if any of Sara's ideas have been incorporated into the stadium's offerings.

Tabbedout isn't available at the stadium, but it is working at nearly 50 locations around Dallas. If you're caught up at a busy bar this weekend you should give the app a spin.

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Sara Kerens

Gloomy out there Dallas. Not just the clouds in the sky, either. Michael Martensen's tweet about Dallas' vapid drinks looms over Dallas' cocktail scene. Maybe the guy just needs another drink?

I could use one. But let's take a look at the Dallas food news scene from this week before we kick off the weekend.

I reviewed Sissy's this week and gushed about the place. Jeffery Hobbs' pressure-fried bird is worth a visit on its own. They've got a pretty great bar to sit at, too.

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Get your beaver burgers while you still can.

The weekend is here, and it promises to be a good one with the Big Texas Beer Fest offering craft brews for the masses. I'm sure you guys want to get it started as much as I do, but first there's a week to wrap.

This week I reviewed Company Cafe. The restaurant has some great qualities and will hopefully work through its growing pains, but for now there are just too many better places to eat.

Elsewhere, Alice "the Cheap Bastard" Laussade took over the entire Observer in true ball-busting, boob-slapping, unicorn-fart fashion. If you haven't picked up a print copy, do.

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The Katy Trail Ice House is bustling at the moment.

Baseball is officially here. I ran over to the Katy Trail Ice House to test an iPhone app and snapped this shot while I was there. Rangers fans are out in full force. If any of you find your way to the stadium this weekend, here's some food you might want to check out.

I'll talk about that iPhone app next week, but first, let's wrap up this week in Dallas food news.

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Last week seemed slow: I could hardly find any stories to string together into a Lettuce wrap up. This week, however, I'm having trouble deciding how to fit all of these interesting stories in. Happy hour's in only getting closer, so I better cut to the chase.

This was the week of pink slime for City of Ate. We picked apart the Beef Product Inc. Wall Street Journal ad, and then Rick Perry stepped in to declare his love for the pasty product. To counteract all the processed meat, Lauren wrote a Deep Ellum Urban Garden post, and ran a quick number on Dallas Chef's support of the farm at Paul Quinn College.

Like Chinese pastries? Alex does. He wrote an ode to the art that has me craving red bean paste.

You should also check out Jesse's story on Ballast Point's arrival. He's also compiled a few beer events at the Meddlesome Moth and the Common Table. Since I have beer on my mind, I should probably mention my review of Union Bear: the West Village's finest place to grab a beer. Unless you're a teetotaler (shame) then you can read about this bacon soda we stumbled upon.

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If you went out for lunch today, you're well aware that spring is here. Summer probably isn't too far off, which has me thinking about crab shacks, lobster rolls and other things near the shore. Maybe that's why I decided to review Sea Breeze Fish Market and Grill. The Plano restaurant has no surf or sand, but with a cold beer in one hand and a lobster roll in the other, you could almost pretend.

Elsewhere in City of Ate, Lauren bitched about Pinkberry, and I bitched about coconut water. While Lauren was upset about the cost of her frozen treat, I thought coconut water just didn't taste very good.

We also welcomed Chicken Scratch to the Dallas world of elevated fried chicken. Paired up with a neighboring bar, the Foundry, Tim Byres new offering is the ying to Lisa Garza's fried-chicken yang.

The Beard nominations are out and the Mansion's Bruno Davaillon is headed to NYC. We reached out to congratulate the chef, and asked him where he'd be eating while he spent time in Manhattan. Bar Boulud, anyone?

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Welcome to the longest weekend of your life. Between the parade, block party, concerts (stoked for Ryan Bingham by the way) English breakfasts, cabbage dinners, green beers, Irish pubs, whiskey shots, sunshine, crowds, food truck parties and other happenings, there's a good chance some of us will never recover from so much fun. Can't fight it, though. Might as well embrace it. Just be sure to stock that fridge with some Gatorade before you head out tonight.

This week I reviewed 303 Bar and Grill. I didn't like it. But I do like Oak Cliff and think that it's Dallas' most interesting restaurant neighborhood right now. I wonder what the bar at Oddfellows is like on St. Patrick's Day?

Hoochie's is open for business. The new Denton oyster bar has a terrible name, but it has oysters and its patio is made of magic. What more do you need? How about a terrible taco?

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You guys know what I'll be eating this weekend.

Another week has come to a close, this one under a shroud of dark gray clouds. Not really looking that inspiring yet, is it? Maybe this is your last good weekend to stay at home and make a big pot of chili. You could even put beans in it. I promise I won't tell. Before you hit your grocery store to pick up meat and fixins, we've got a week to wrap up.

This week I reviewed Central 214. If you haven't been, I think you should check it out. If you're not up for a heavy meal, just have a seat at the bar. Graham Dodd's bar food menu is a great one.

Bolsa Mercado has no bar, but you should pay them a visit anyway. This turkey sandwich is looking good. Or maybe you're headed up north to Denton 35. If you go we've got a list of places to eat. Cleaning your beard is all you, though.

If you'd rather try and be healthy this week there's a new juice place to check out. It's probably a great way to cleanse after eating and over cheesed sandwich or a walking taco.

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