This was a week of birthdays and goodbyes. Bonnell’s turned 25. Gloria’s hit 40. Bernard Tronche is coming up on 41 years at Saint-Emilion. Zen Sushi closed its doors in Bishop Arts, and Jacob Williamson opened Alamo Prime in The Colony.
The conversation I keep thinking about, though, was with Kent Rathbun and Christopher Tunnell about Ulloa’s, their Spanish and Peruvian place coming to Fort Worth Avenue in the spring.
We got to talking about how chefs actually learn. Kent talked about he could easily learn from a 90-year old woman who had been using the same recipe her whole life, a chef could easily do something with that. No recipe card. That doesn’t happen in culinary school. It happens when a chef gets on a plane and goes and eats somewhere else. The good ones travel, and you can taste it.
One more thing that didn’t make the story. A while back I posted about scrapple on my Facebook page, and the comments ran interesting. Christopher loves the stuff, and he cooks pig nose to tail, so it fits. He’s thinking about putting it on the Ulloa’s brunch menu early on. Nobody in Dallas is doing that. I’ll let you know if it happens.
— Steve
Worth Another Visit
Celebration has been on West Lovers Lane since 1971, when Ed Lowe opened it as a place where the food and the mood mattered more than the fuss. It closed earlier this year for a remodel, and it’s back, still in those old houses at 4503 W. Lovers Lane and still cooking from scratch every day. The order is the chicken fried steak with jalapeño gravy. The famous free seconds on main courses are still there too, now with a small upcharge, which is still one of the better deals in town. Here’s what we wrote in March.
I’ve been thinking about Parigi lately, mostly about the eggs. Janice Provost’s Oak Lawn bistro does a different deviled egg every day, made by a different member of the staff, and they post the day’s version on the board. Back in 2021 I figured that if I went 365 days straight, I’d eat 365 different deviled eggs. I still haven’t tried. Read the original.
This Weekend
Drinks: The first cold front calls for something warm. Ida Claire is pouring bourbon hot chocolate, and Mexican Sugar brings a spiked cocoa bomb to the table with a little theater. The full holiday drinks list is here.
Night Out: The Dallas Museum of Art stays open late Friday, 7 to 11 p.m., with live music, artist demonstrations and the current shows, including Radical Clay and Hale Woodruff’s Amistad paintings. The Plano Comedy Festival, the biggest in North Texas, runs all weekend with more than 100 acts. For music, They Might Be Giants play Friday and Saturday at The Echo Lounge & Music Hall, and Daughtry brings his 20 Years Unplugged tour to the Majestic Theatre on Saturday.
Brunch: Chefika in Preston Hollow Village does a traditional Turkish brunch, and Serdar Sensel’s börek and pide are reason enough to go. More on Chefika.
Dinner: Alamo Prime opened Thursday at Grandscape in The Colony, with Jacob Williamson in the kitchen. Texas beef, Mexican flavors, and save room for the Mexican Chocolate Crème Brûlée. Reservations are on OpenTable. Read the opening story.
In Case You Missed It
Bonnell’s turns 25, and the elk backstrap still leads the menu.
Gloria’s is 40, and Oak Cliff started the whole thing.
Zen Sushi closes after nearly 20 years in Bishop Arts.
