Sara Kerens

​This week's Dallas food bloggers learned to trust empty parking lots, took Mary into their own Bloody hands, and found peace on Earth at Potager Café and the Dallas Islamic Center. More Dallas restaurants have Gone Texan, and don't expect to find wines from any other place except the homeland at the State Fair. Check out this week's Sloppy Seconds.

The Week in Review(s):
Your own Dallas Observer:
Diners new to Potager Café in Arlington might notice what is not there: computers, printed menus, valets, service or even set prices. But the owners and devoted regulars, as our food  Hanna Raskin observed, are doing just fine without those things. In its place? A simple philosophy to make "honest food for people who care about what they eat." Click here for the full review.

The Dallas Morning News:
It was an "As the Salad Bowl Spins" soap opera of ups and down at The Mercury for Leslie Brenner. After three visits, she still doesn't know what to think. Be it a wilted salad that should have never made it to the table, farmed fish "mistaken" for wild fish or an obscure but perfectly prepared cocktail--your next visit may be a roll of the dice. Check out the full review here.
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Sara Kerens

The burgers are great, the desserts are tiny at Square Burger

​This week's Dallas food blog coverage is a medley of Czech chili, lamb burgers at Square Burger, good eats from Ethiopia, seafood stew from San Francisco, and gun-eating Texans. We'll help you to prepare your sweet tooth for the weekend with a sugar rush of cupcakes, chocolate and frozen yogurt. Check out this week's Sloppy Seconds.

The Week in Review(s):
Your own Dallas Observer:
Hanna Raskin headed to Square Burger in McKinney's historic downtown square for a round burger. Burgers made with hormone-free meat and sweet potato fries made her drive north worthwhile, even if it meant covering herself in lamb burger juice. Check out the full review.

Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner drove west to Cowtown to meet up with former Top Chef finalist Casey Thompson at Brownstone, a Manhattan-style restaurant with Southern-style cooking. Don't miss the Grandmother's biscuit pan and fresh ice cream and sorbets, made by Thompson herself. Check out the full review.

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Gold Class Cinemas

​This week's Dallas food blog coverage saw lots of action over at Stephen Pyles and a musical chairs of restaurant openings and closings all over the metroplex. Bargain priced wine and seafood may be in short supply at some venues, and a couple of bloggers gave the benefit of the doubt to restaurants after giving them a second thought. Check out this week's Sloppy Seconds.

The Week in Review(s):
Your own Dallas Observer: Hanna Raskin reviewed Gold Class Cinemas in Fairview,
and the view from her comfy recliner was more than just fair. Her ultimate movie experience rivaled that of even her most luxurious restaurant visits, all with no silverware required. Click here for the full review.

Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner reviewed The Common Table (check out our own Hanna Raskin's review from two weeks ago) but was none too impressed with the food or the waitstaff (neither was Hanna). Brenner found the restaurant--home to the 16-foot long communal table, hence the name--was a little too noisy but had good beer, provided that they had what was ordered. Check out the full review here.

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See the full Horne & Dekker experience in our slideshow.

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This week Dallas food bloggers and critics searched for exotic pizzas, beat the heat with cold beer and colder snow cones, followed the scent to taco stands and learned a lesson in German-to-English translation. Check out this week's Sloppy Seconds. 

The Week in Review(s):
Your own Dallas Observer:
Hanna Raskin learned the hard way that menu descriptions at Horne & Dekker are not to be taken literally. The cutesy menu and jokester decorations are sure to amuse, but overcooked and over-sweetened menu items are no laughing matter. Check out her full review here. 

Dallas Morning News:
With Leslie Brenner out for the week on vacation, the hands shot up to volunteer to eat for free. Mark Vamos visited Zea Woodfire Grill, run by Iron Chef America winner Kent Rathbun, and Emily Wise Miller 's sat down for a meal at El Tizoncito - a locally owned, authentic taquería disguised as a chain restaurant - and encountered a few surprises like black bean soup instead of chips and salsa and chopped pineapple among the condiments.

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Sara Kerens

Though this may look great, we were not impressed.

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This week's Dallas food blog coverage is a sampling of Vietnamese feasts and uncommonly bad food, a stolen can of Whoopass and stale popcorn, an elaborate post-Gospel Last Supper and vegan barbecue, and more highlights. Check out this week's Sloppy Seconds.

The Week in Review(s):
Your own Dallas Observer:
Hanna Raskin dubbed The Common Table in Uptown Dallas as a great place to drink beer and a not-so-great place to eat dinner, which is a shame considering that it's a restaurant. The staff was uninformed but well-meaning and the creatively named cocktails did little garner interest. Check out her full review here.

Dallas Morning News:
At Saigon Block in Richardson, Leslie Brenner ate her way through seven courses of beef called the bo bay mon and a seafood and vegetable hot pot called ta pin lu do bien. Try saying that with a mouth full of egg noodles. Here's the full review.

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Photo by Jose Ralat Maldanado

The Pyramid Restaurant's Andre Natera was this week's media darling.

​This week's Dallas foodie coverage is an assortment of organic, frozen and fried foods, dried and proscuitto-wrapped figs at the height of fig season, fancy Finnish foods and a battle at the Pyramid. Check out this week's Sloppy Seconds.

The Week in Review(s):
Your own Dallas Observer: This week Hanna Raskin ventured to the Pyramid Restaurant & Bar at the Fairmont Hotel where Chef André Natera needs only to climb up two floors to the roof for the freshest herbs, fruits and vegetables, as he used in a dinner salad with cubed and lightly torched watermelon wedges.

Dallas Morning News: Oddly enough, Leslie Brenner also reviewed the Pyramid, praising the duck with poached and dried figs and appetizer with scallops, all the more affordable menu now with Chef Natera at the helm. Complimentary side dishes and Hunter Hammett's extensive wine list of international and Texas wines don't hurt either.

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Photo by Sara Kerens

Los Cabos: This is how they do it in Oklahoma.

This week's Dallas foodie coverage is a buffet of news and new menu items, from sparkling wines, giant burgers, tiny and fiery cocktails, shops opening and closing and then some. Check out this week's Sloppy Seconds.

The Week in Review(s):
Your own Dallas Observer:
This week Hanna Raskin ventured to Addison to " target="_blank">Los Cabos, and was less than impressed with the Oklahoma version of Tex-Mex. It may be better to skip the franchise location and set your sights on the company-owned location set to open in Grapevine this April.

Dallas Morning News:
Suzanne Marta visited La Carreta Argentina in Oak Cliff, which opened in April. She found perfect empanadas available in 10 varieties, and overcooked and underseasoned the steak. Here's the full review.

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City of Aters, this week we are bringing back an old feature that our former web editor-turned-staff writer, Patrick Michels, used to do every Friday afternoon. It's an end of the week wrap-up of sorts featuring restaurant reviews and City of Ate highlights. This time around we decided to include other Dallas food blogs in Sloppy Seconds -- you know, the more, the merrier.

This week seemed to be all about the taco, with the Austin-based Torchy's finally coming to Dallas, but isn't every week about tacos? Italian cuisine was the theme of restaurant reviews, but we won't go into detail quite yet -- just read below. Here's this week's Sloppy Seconds.

The Week in Review(s):

Your own Dallas Observer: This week Hanna Raskin traveled over to the new Italian eatery Ristorante Nicola on Preston Road, a sibling of Nicola's Ristorante Italiano in Plano. We know the names are confusing. Apparently, the Bolognese sauce was lacking a little something while the baby arugula salad was not. Click here to read more from this week's review.

Dallas Morning News: Leslie Brenner stops by the old/new pizza joint Sfuzzi on McKinney Avenue. Back in the late 1980's, then-restaurant critic Waltrina Stovall gave it four stars, but the joint closed because the company went bankrupt. Now it's 2010 and Sfuzzi's is alive again, but only receiving one star from Brenner. Ouch. Here's the full review.

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​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:

• Handle the Proof: Why I Hate the 'Mixology' Trend
  What could be a venomous polemic turns quickly into a love letter to cocktails done right.
  
• Girl Drink Drunk: Mad Men
  The latest TV show-themed GDD (you'll recall this one) finds room for the girl drink in a man's drink world.
  
• Down On The Grass-Fed Farm
  If you can put up with the mosquitoes, the long hours and all the bullshit (real and imagined) without going insane, then grass-fed ranching may be right for you.
  
• Appetite For Instruction: Grammie's Mac and Cheese
  When something's really got you down, just let grandma throw a few dishes in the oven and watch how fast it all gets better.
  

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:

• Some High-End Restaurants Just Don't Measure Up
  How fine is the fine dining, really, at some of Dallas' most hyped spots?
  
• Dude Food: Hattie's
  When chicken meets waffle, it's instant dude cred, even with white tablecloths, a doting waitstaff and a full set of silverware.
  
• Wake and Break
  Because breakfast is too important to leave to oatmeal and cartoon animals. The best outside-the-box spots to get your firstmeal.
  
• (Un)Cool Water: Raw Foodists Make A Splash
  To the most dedicated raw food/elixir devotees, it's this simple: drive hours for your water, or drink charcoal. That's science, or something.