A Week at Crave

by Steven Doyle

photos by Robert Bostick

It was a big week in DFW and at Crave. We had a chance to sample much of what was offered at the Greenville Avenue St Pat’s Parade and found the best house parties near the Granada theater and M Streets with their crawfish boils, rocking bands and truckloads of kegs. A special shout out to a few houses on Ellsworth that were particularly hospitable and won the Crave Seal of Approval.

Last Sunday you could find a majority of the Crave staff at the latest Chefs for Farmers, and many of us noshed our way through the Highland Park Cafeteria where 15 of the city’s best chefs kicked up their favorite old school dishes from amazing chefs like ZaZa’s Dan Landsberg, Charlie Palmer’s Scott Romano and Kelly Hightower from Nova. What a marvelous cause that raises awareness to the local farmers and ranchers, but also raised some serious coin for The Family Place. That’s what these events are really about.

Last Monday we spent time at several restaurants including Smoke where chef Tim Byres smoked a whole hog and celebrated his victory with Food & Wine as top chef for the Southwest. Byres has been receiving plenty of accolades and for a good reason. The man can cook. if you haven’t been to Smoke recently, you are missing out on what could possibly be our city’s most authentic cuisine. The Brad did his usual fantastic coverage of the event.

Crave wants to give a shout out to Abraham Salum and send some well-deserved accolades to his new concept Komali that is perched against his name-sake Salum at Cole and Fitzhugh. Besides some wonderful dishes that are throwbacks from his upbringing in Mexico, the chef has concocted some pretty amazing cocktails, particularly the Tamarind margarita which delivers a kick and a dash of spiciness. So far my favorite includes the chile relleno de jaiba, a delicate relleno made with large lump crab.

We also had a chance to visit with the new chef at Park, Garreth Dickey and try out some items on his new menu. Dickey has worked at some notable kitchens in Dallas and has high aspirations for his new home. Check out my interview with the chef later today.

We blew through the week with a slight strain on the liver, and last night met with no exception as we kicked it up at several Dallas hotspots for round two of St. Patrick’s Day. The crowd at Idle Rich may have won our prize the most green and best band of the evening. The Killdares made us dance and forget there were 20 of Dallas’ finest waiting outside the gate of the temporary tent set up in the parking lot.

Tonight we continue the theme of the week at Savor Dallas Wine Stroll then some of the many events they are hosting tomorrow including the Grand Tasting. Hope to see some of you there. We will report on all the events Monday.