by Steven Doyle
Tickets are on sale now for the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium’s Fall Texas BeerFeasts in Fort Worth, Austin and Sugar Land. Dates for each location’s events are as follows:
Stumble on for all the fun details… Continue reading
Filed under beer, Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
Looking for a quick bite this weekend I found myself in Nick and Sam’s Grill on Preston. I am a huge fan of the Nick and Sam’s Steak House on Maple, but in the past had found the Grill a bit lacking. Chef Scott Romano was brought in recently to spruce up the brand a bit, and that he has done.
Along with his crew of executive chefs Romano has elevated the Grill menus to something pretty special. I am still not a fan of the flatbread found on the Uptown menu as it is more a fat pizza than what you might traditionally call flatbread. But that being said, what I found on Preston this past weekend was endearing. Continue reading
Filed under Steven Doyle
by Andrew Chalk
High Plains Devastated – Central Texas Sees Good Harvest
The 2013 Texas grape harvest is a story of contrasts . The High Plains, the most important wine grape area, was hit by no fewer than five frosts in the spring, leading to a 90% decrease in grape output compared with last year. The frosts were, as consultant Bobby Cox wrote “timed to do maximum damage”. The Hill Country, Gulf Coast, and north east of the state saw much better, sometimes very good, conditions.
I posed six questions about the harvest thus far to every winery in Texas. Below I reproduce a selection of the responses that represent the overall picture. It is early days yet, as virtually every respondent remarked, so this report is preliminary. I will have another report around the end of the year. Continue reading
Filed under Andrew Chalk, Wine
by Judy Chamberlain photos by Travis Baugh
Condos and consignment stores dot the stretch of Highway 26 that swings into Colleyville, a bucolic town not far from DFW Airport, where cows graze in pastures in front of houses both grand and modest. I know Highway 26 well, especially on the side where it winds into Southlake Boulevard. Long before I moved to Dallas, I shopped by phone at Neiman Marcus Last Call in Grapevine Mills, the best location in the chain. I love, love, love that store and all the folks who work there.
To get to Colleyville from the Bass Pro Rd. exit on 635, one cuts across in Southlake at Kimball. The construction near the airport is nerve-wracking. Continue reading
Filed under Crave, Judy Chamberlain, Travis Baugh
by Andrew Chalk
What do you do if the rest of the world calls you a frog and thinks that you are arrogant just because you have the best shrug? If you are French winemaker Jean-Claude Mas you turn the joke back to them with a wine that displays a refined idiosyncrasy and calls itself The Arrogant Frog.
The importer just delivered bottles of their 2011 vintage. The red, a ”Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot” blend with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Chardonnay. Both come from France’s beautiful Languedoc region on the Mediterranean and both come in screw cap bottles. These are unprepossessing wines in name and packaging but surprisingly refined in taste. Good winemaking makes a good value wine for $10. Continue reading
Filed under Andrew Chalk, Wine
by Steven Doyle
Shuck and Jive is a really cool local hang out. I have personally made my way there many times over the years and always have a good meal, a very cold beer and a “Cheers” type of an afternoon each time with spirited conversation with the bartenders and patrons alike.
There are times when we must pay back for our good fortune and great times, and today I am calling for just such an occasion. In the last month Shuck and Jive on Greenville has been burglarized four times. Four times with a total loss of over $20,000. That is a huge poke in the eye for a small restaurant like Shuck and Jive. Continue reading
Filed under Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
You know Chef DAT. He is the chef that travels, cooks and is otherwise an all around bon vivante. He is also responsible for all those underground dinners you hear so much about. DAT is the undisputed king of the underground movement in the country and has been featured in national magazine and newspapers. We like to feature some of the more interesting dinners DAT hosts in his new secret digs somewhere in East Dallas, and he just alerted us to one that we would love to attend.
This Friday is going to be a very special night to remember. Chef Jon Stevens, originally from San Francisco, has worked in and run some of the best kitchens in Dallas – most recently Nosh. He will be opening the new restaurant, Mesero Miguel, with Mico Rodriguez very soon, with rumors of much more. Continue reading
Filed under Steven Doyle, Underground Dinner
by Steven Doyle
In seven U.S. cities, Red Bull Curates: The Canvas Cooler Project will pair 20 hand-picked artists with venue owners from some of the hottest local bars, lounges and restaurants. Artists will be given a 3-day challenge to transform a blank canvas-wrapped Red Bull Cooler into an inspired work of art, customized for permanent display at each venue. The art created in each city will be exhibited in a one-night only public showcase at a local gallery where attending guests and a panel of curatorial judges will vote on each piece, sending two artists, and possibly a third, to SCOPE Miami in December. In Dallas, the public showcase will take place on Thursday, July 25th at Life in Deep Ellum. Continue reading
Filed under Arts, Steven Doyle
