Norma’s Cafe is celebrating its 61st anniversary tomorrow morning, which means rollback prices for a few of the staple southern dishes.
Norma’s opened during 1956 in Oak Cliff on Highway 80, offering high pie, from scratch homey dishes such as chicken fried steak and meatloaf, and plenty of mash potatoes and veggies. These are the things of an era gone by that are still craved by hungry patrons to the restaurant.
Filed under Crave
by Steven Doyle
The pop-up dinner is the ultimate in self-expression for a chef. No longer are the constraints of concept in play, instead the chef may allow his culinary imagination to take flight and escape the daily grind of a set menu. This may have been true at a recent dinner held in the warehouse of 1888 Olive Press located in East Dallas and owned by a former Lamborghini salesman, Kenneth Hamburger, II who hosted the James Beard winning and exec chef from Smoke, Tim Byres.
Chef Byres is part of an on-going pop-up company called RVC Promotions owned by Ryan and Sunnye Childers, and their company comes up with these totally unique ideas, chefs and locations through out each month. An olive juicing company is merely one of the many locations used by the Childers. Think more traditional locales such as the Whole Foods demo kitchen and Neiman Marcus, to the sublime as breweries and distilleries. And these are not always necessarily dinners, they are often cooking classes which end in guests dining on their lesson plans. Continue reading
Filed under Crave, Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
Meat Church pastor and pitmaster Matt Pittman was destined to make great BBQ. He was born into a family that enjoyed immense hospitality and put on a great spread for guests, and learned his love for cooking from his grandmother, June. June is also the name of his rolling BBQ competition cooker. Continue reading
Filed under Crave, Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
Grilling season is in full swing and it is time you thought about tossing out the old rusty model you have been clinging to for so many years. We have a little guidance in selecting a new model that will not only impress your neighbors, but ease you through many summers ahead. Unlike our pal Hank Hill, we prefer using real charcoal for a better tasting product.
When using charcoal, we recommend natural lump charcoal and not briquettes which can be laced with undesirable ingredients. Lump charcoal burns hot, and with some brands your grill can reach over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. Perfect for grilling steaks. You just can’t get this kind of heat out of briquettes. Plus there is very little waste cleanup with natural charcoal. Continue reading
by Steven Doyle
There have been so many unusual pop-ups as of late and this one looks especially fun. The scene takes place at the 1888 Olive Press in Dallas. Chef Tim Byres (Smoke, The Theodore) joins 1888 Olive Press for a cocktail class and dinner. Guests will dine on four courses created by Chef Byres, tour the facility where the 1888 Diritiest Martini Mix is made, then learn how to prep and pour the perfect Dirty Martini and Mexican Martini. Continue reading
Filed under Crave, Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
The building that houses Chicken Moto was an auto repair shop before the team converted it into a full service restaurant with bar. Co-owner Sam Osee explains, “I love motorcycles, beers and fried chicken. These are perhaps the pure joys of my life outside of faith and family. Why not have great fried chicken and drink some cold beer in a place that feels comfortable and inviting.” Continue reading
Filed under Crave, Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
Food trucks have permeated our lifestyle and we are seeing them now so often we almost do not pay attention. In Texas Austin is the food truck Mecca, but we have our share in Dallas and they are doing some great things. Tasty things.
Sure, we can find the usual suspects at Klyde Warren Park, lined up dutifully dispersing good grub to the masses all week long, and the truck Yard has a constant rotation in their repertoire which keeps us on our toes, and there are other delicious hot spots across the city where you can scope out your favorites. We have even seen trucks lined up for parties, often prepaid by the host, and this would include weddings and bar mitzvahs. Those are always good fetes. Continue reading
Filed under Crave, Steven Doyle
