Sunday, Sep. 13 2009 @ 11:45PM
We did our best to avoid blowing up here at City of Ate HQ, but really, that tantalizing taste of vacation on Monday just made it easier to get bitter over the other four workdays. Times like that, when you're right on the edge of letting your temper go, the right food writing can be just the thing to convince you to make love, not war (or
head to Plano for both at once).
The Week in Review(s):
- Your own Dallas Observer: Dave follows up on the of the very public tumult that began at Mi Cocina, with a trip to Carolina's Mexican Cuisine, where he says you'll really enjoy the patio, if you can get through the parking lot without starting something.
- Dallas Morning News: Park fails to win over Leslie Brenner (Dave's recent take found the glass closer to half-full). Still, it's a star better than Brenner's frustrating experience at Main Street Chop and Fish House.
Highlights from City of Ate:
Friday, Aug. 28 2009 @ 6:01PM
In the week that brought a spirited City of Ate debate over the merits of
eating in the Dallas suburbs, even if you live in the city, we covered plenty of other reasons to try new things. This week saw looks at ultra-pure water, soul food for the fancy, and the best breakfasts you're not eating in Dallas.
The Week in Review(s):
- Your own Dallas Observer: Dave ventures once more into Lola, before the Uptown spot takes its leave this October.
- Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner covers a charming, unimpressive visit to Rockwall's Bin 303. Kim Pierce digs past the novelty for what works and what doesn't at Bliss Raw Cafe and Elixir Bar.
Highlights from City of Ate:
Monday, Aug. 24 2009 @ 8:22AM
In this back-to-school edition of Sloppy Seconds, we're recapping a hectic week that saw complications
both technical and interpersonal as the City of Ate crew went about its business. Still, from
wine classes to a little meta-analysis, last week saw plenty of learning opportunities for devotees of the Dallas dining scene.
The Week in Review(s):
- Your own Dallas Observer: Dave bats around thoughts on the year's best new restaurants for a while, on the way to being impressed by chef Christopher Short's performance at Bella.
- Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner figures the folks at Hattie's are model students of what it takes to craft a proper dining experience. Cafe Istanbul, Brenner says, is a "fun, lively place" for a taste of Turkey at The Shops At Legacy.
Highlights from City of Ate:
Friday, Aug. 14 2009 @ 9:06PM
When it feels like the rest of the world is out on vacation, daydreams about island living come easily -- and even if a tropical refuge in Bishop Arts doesn't quite give the same effect, sometimes the right table in the right restaurant is vacation enough for now. Plus, there are plenty of "tropical" places where you still probably don't want to be.
The Week in Review(s):
- Your own Dallas Observer: The folks behind Hula Hotties have come a long way from selling hot sauce in Honolulu to dishing up tastes of the island life in Oak Cliff, and this week Dave takes a Hawaiian-influenced taste vacation to their dining room.
- Dallas Morning News: At Urbano Cafe, Leslie Brenner has a quirky, but ultimately pretty good couple of meals. Kim Pierce, meanwhile, can name a few good points about Frisco's Chez Moi, but while the menu's "French-inspired," not everything about the place could be called "inspired."
- D Magazine: Far as Nancy Nichols is concerned, if you're headed to the Four Seasons' Cafe On The Green, Las Colinas is one fine vacation destination.
Highlights from City of Ate:
- Girl Drink Drunk: Lazare
Pop Rocks-studded and carrying a fine pedigree, the drinks at Lazare give the GDD crew a taste of Park Cities -- or, as it shall henceforth be known, "An adventure that cost a shit-ton."
- Whataburger vs McDonald's: Fast Food Fisticuffs
If you seriously thought you could leave Texas and get fast food as good as back home, let Dave set you straight on this count: "Whataburger kicks ass."
- Chef David Uygur Looks At Life After Lola
Because there's no better time than the end of a gig to escape to the beach and count the waves. Or hatch schemes for your next restaurant.
- Top 10 Sexiest Female Chefs In Dallas
That City of Ate swimsuit calendar you've been hearing about? Nothing but lies, and shame on whoever started that rumor. Still, if they're looking for a photographer, I might know a guy...
Saturday, Aug. 8 2009 @ 12:58AM
Breakfast is really the only meal that could make that movie work. Not that
The Supper Club couldn't be great too -- but it would have to go in a different direction. This week we learned that Lola is on the way out, even if plenty more places are
just opening their doors. Wrapping up another week, all we've got left are the memories.
The Week in Review(s):
Highlights from City of Ate:
- New Age Brain Freeze
Whatever weird science lay behind the first few new-wave yogurt shops to land Stateside, it's all too formulaic now. On the occasion of FreshBerry's opening, Lisa looks at where the yogurt trend stands today.
- Dude Food: Jalapeno Tree
Scoring a "Schwarzenegger" on the dudeliness scale is pretty respectable, even if well shy of a "Bogart" -- or "Cameron Frye," for that matter. Spend an entire movie in a Gordie Howe jersey, and you're guaranteed a spot in the dude pantheon.
- A Taste of 10 Dallas Milkshakes
Speaking of which, the phrase "overpriced cup of mediocrity" has a real Cameron Frye ring to it, too.
- Want To Test Locovore Ways? Wait Awhile.
Dave ruminates on the practicality of a year-round locovore diet. He also mentions scurvy, which becomes consequential in the comments thread.
Saturday, Jul. 25 2009 @ 12:54AM
Some places we covered this week are punching above their weight, for better or for worse, and others are aiming purposefully low. The best of City of Ate this week covers a handful of spots toying with a new social place.
The Week in Review(s):
Highlights from City of Ate:
- Top 10 Chefs Who Deserve More Attention
One of these days, these chefs will get the fawning media attention they deserve. Wednesday was one of these days.
- Mia's vs Taco Diner: The Battle of the Briskets
In this corner, the "dirty old favorite" from Oak Lawn. In this corner, the pretty-boy West Village spot with the scenester patio. Who's got what it takes to best the brisket taco competition?
- First Look: The Cupcakery
You can fancy up the exterior all you want, but there's no making up for an overflowing trash can and a so-so cupcake.
- Short Orders: Uptown Pub
Somewhere between Uptown's strip mall roots at the Loon and its fancified West Village makeover, there's the Uptown Pub.
Friday, Jul. 17 2009 @ 8:20PM
Even as much as we honor hard work in America (nearly as much as
apple pie), we admire quick fixes, workarounds and clutch deliveries more. You say there's no easy way out? We say you're not looking hard enough. Or maybe you're looking
too hard. Either way, this week on City of Ate, we celebrate the folks who get it done the easy way.
The Week in Review(s):
- Your own Dallas Observer: Masaryk leaves Dave with the impression of a place that's gotten good at a "mod-Mex" move, and is doing it over and over.
- Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner's visit to Cadot peaks early, with raves over their Dover sole and the soufflé on her first visit. (Here's our take on Cadot from a few weeks back.) Brenner also tackles Sushi on McKinney this week, by her estimation a serviceable neghiborhood joint you want around for an easy fix for your sushi jones.
Highlights from City of Ate:
- Handle the Proof: Breaking the Mojito Rules
Stick with being a mojito purist, swear off fruity frozen drinks, and you'll have plenty of moral high ground -- but sometimes, if you loosen those rules a little, you'll discover a great drink you've been missing.
- Just Who Is This Matt McCallister Guy?
Working your way up through the restaurant business is nothing like easy, but folks still wonder how McCallister, without a formal culinary education, got to be Stephan Pyles' executive chef at 28.
- Girl Drink Drunk: Family Karaoke
Standing alone at the mic before a roomful of people and a confusing karaoke video may seem intimidating at first. But then the apple soju kicks in, and suddenly you're channeling Axl Rose.
- Dude Food: Taqueria El Si Hay
Sometimes the best place for tacos (even better than "The Best Taco in Texas") is just down the street. Sometimes, it's super cheap, too.
Friday, Jul. 10 2009 @ 6:34PM
Meat, in its many exotic forms, took center stage this week in local food writing, from steak tartare and meat loaf in the Morning News food reviews, to meatballs and veggie-friendly (but primarily meat-serving) restaurants on City of Ate.
The Week in Review(s):
- Your own Dallas Observer: Lemongrass is the site of this week's review, where Dave finds the spring rolls excellent, but the servers loyal to a fault.
- Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner finds the rabbit "lusty, tender and delicious" at Adelmo's Ristorante. Also, contributor Kim Pierce says everything would be just fine at Po-Bill's Cafe, if only everything tasted like the meat loaf.
Highlights from City of Ate:
Friday, Jul. 3 2009 @ 8:50PM
As we pause today to grill, drink and honor America, we recall those leaders who've helped shaped the country through skill, hard work and strength of personality -- appropriate enough for the end of a week of local food writing that embraced the power of the individual at the top.
The Week in Review(s):
- Your own Dallas Observer: With a couple of chefs behind the scenes, there's always someone there to take credit for great performances, and someone just out of sight to blame for the mishaps. Dave finds some of each at Cadot this week, but ultimately finds reason to be encouraged.
- Dallas Morning News: Texas native and Craft chef de cuisine Kevin Maxey is an all-star in Leslie Brenner's appreciation of the restaurant that's been a revolving door at the W Hotel. Contributor Lawson Taitte is utterly unimpressed by the sleek Euro dress-up, or the food itself at Vapiano, coming nowhere near the words "thank goodness," even if she does mention Chef Boyardee.
Highlights from City of Ate:
- Handle the Proof: The Spirit of '76
To judge by the historical record, nation-building is a little like bowling, washers or horseshoes -- better, to a point, when you've got a buzz going.
- Hophead: When Pairing Beer, the Sommerlier is Helpful... Sometimes
Trying to find the right beer to pair with an all-American corn dog gorging, we're met by a crisis of leadership on an online sommelier.
- Cliff Cafe Gets the Sack
With a strong guiding hand from the folks at Bolsa, Cliff Cafe is on the way to reinvention as a barbecue joint.
- Top 10 Greatest Cooking Shows Ever
Nobody in cooking depends on the power of their personality more than the cooking show host, who must sound intelligent, perform in the kitchen, and stay engaging in a one-on-one match with the camera.
Friday, Jun. 26 2009 @ 7:55PM
Whether driven by an asinine Constitutional amendment, grand notions of urban planning or draconian dietary shackles, folks who find they have to suck it up, tug at their bootstraps and get down to business -- they're the ones who make the real innovations. This week, one way or another, from hooch to homegrown tomatoes, we salute the DIY ethic at work in the local dining scene.
The Week in Review(s):
- Your own Dallas Observer: Way out in Rockwall, with an expert kitchen and a homegrown ethic, Dave finds that AVA is well worth the drive, and maybe even worth changing for, if the servers ask real nice.
- Dallas Morning News: Bailey's Prime Plus gets a single lonely star from Leslie Brenner, who sounds like she might've stumbled into a Cheesecake Factory by mistake.
- Dallas Voice: We're a week late mentioning Arnold Jones' take on Central 214, a strong endorsement of chef Blythe Beck's take-no-prisoners, spare-no-arteries approach in the kitchen.
Highlights from City of Ate:
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