by Steven Doyle
Dallas Observer is excited to host the 3rd Annual Artopia on Saturday, January 26, 2013 from 8PM-11PM at Dallas Contemporary (161 Glass St). Artopia is a celebration of Dallas Culture & Art that incorporates food, drink, art, music and fashion into one evening. This one-night fete celebrates the exciting, vibrant Cultural scene in Dallas. Continue reading
Filed under Crave
by Steven Doyle
The Sunset Lounge is now humming along at peak performance. We stopped in for a few cocktails during the grand opening Wednesday evening where everything was $3 making for a rather light bar tab even with a few food items thrown in for good measure. Sad you missed that deal? Fret not my fellow bar hound, everything is $3 during happy hour each day, so enjoy that if you will.
The cocktails are magnificent. Many are throw backs to your father’s generation where they sipped large and in charge cocktails that were stuffed with giant rasps of fruit and cute umbrellas. I love a good retro drink, and the zombie is well worth the order. Cautionary tale: you are only allowed two of these babies and they are deceivingly delicious and full of 151 proof rum. Continue reading
Filed under Bar Food, Bar Opening, Bartenders, Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
Standard Pour has fast become one of the best cocktail bars in the city of Dallas. Under the guidance of barman and general manager Brian McCullough the McKinney Avenue hotspot attracts locals and industry people nightly. They are looking for well-crafted cocktails without the fuss that can be displayed at other bars. The steady hand of the bar staff is quite evident as they concoct every drink imaginable in split seconds, enabling the staff to move through lines of thirsty guests in a matter of minutes.
Pretty much everyone who reports on cocktails in Dallas agrees that Standard Pour is the standard pour, but there is more awaiting past that bright patina of libations. That is where the able bodied Chef Peja Krstic steps up to the mound offering his version of genius bar fare. Continue reading
Filed under Bar Food, Crave, McKinney Avenue, Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar, Plano’s award-winning farm-to-table restaurant, recently named Brent Hammer to the executive team as the concept’s new Chef de Cuisine, leaving Michael Ehlert at Hibiscus as Chef de Cuisine.
Hammer is a nationally known chef with more than a decade of experience in the restaurant industry where he has developed a talent for menu conception and evolved restaurant concepts across the country. Most recently, he served as Executive Chef and managing partner of Hibiscus, a Zagat-rated iconic Dallas restaurant, known for it’s locally sourced and seasonally driven menu. Continue reading
Filed under chefs, restaurant news, Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
Just a few months after opening his latest venture, Stephan Pyles is already tweaking Stampede 66. The homage to his hometown roots integrates cuisine from across the great state of Texas. Now Pyles is rethinking the idea of so much in one menu.
“My initial intent was to give diners a sampling of Texas foods cut from a broad cloth. In retrospect, I have come to realize the menu is perhaps too broad and tries to encompass too much. Streamlining the menu a bit will help the kitchen focus more intently on each of the items that remain,” said Pyles. Continue reading
Filed under Stephan Pyles, Steven Doyle, Tacos
by Jennifer Thomas
Those who like it hot will flock to the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas (ICCLC) this weekend for ZestFest 2013. ZestFest is a three-day fiery food event cooking up spicy tastes of all kinds: dipping sauces, salsas, mustards, marinades, cheeses, drinks, desserts and more. To up the sizzle factor, ZestFest offers live entertainment, fun contests, and cooking demos by culinary aces like Chef Jon Bonnell and local legend Eddie Deen. Continue reading
Filed under Jennifer Thomas
by Steven Doyle
Last week we began a short series that explored chili in the DFW area. We began with Jack’s Southern Comfort Food located on lowest Greenville Avenue where we found some pretty tremendous chili. We are hoping to uncover more bowls as we continue our search. We have had many really interesting suggestions, and we plan to hit them all up to see if Dallas is really a chili town.
That being said, we loaded up the crave wagon and aimed it towards Grapevine where the legacy of chili resides. Tolbert’s Restaurant is now owned by Frank X. Tolbert’s daughter, Kathleen Tolbert Ryan who also runs the big chili festival in Terlingua, which I am mighty happy to make that pilgrimage each year in November. Continue reading
Filed under Chili, fun with food, Hunt for a Bowl of red, Steven Doyle
by Karel Anne Tieszen
Terminal D of DFW has become a place that is actually pleasant to wait for a flight. It is helped by the presence of food that is worth your time, since you have to wait over an hour for your flight anyway, right? I was recently graced with a bit of “extra time” and thought I might try III Forks. Astounded they would be there in my favored Terminal D, I couldn’t imagine that it could hold up to the original. Continue reading
