Category Archives: Steven Doyle

Six DFW Roasters Worth a Detour This National Coffee Day

Cultivar

National Coffee Day lands on Tuesday, September 29, and the chains will spend it handing out free cups with an app download. Fine. Take the freebie if it’s on your way. Then spend the rest of the week somewhere that roasts its own beans, knows the regulars by their order, and has a story behind the counter.

Dallas and Fort Worth have plenty of those now, which was not always true. A few regulars have already had their own day on these pages, including Noble Coyote in Expo Park and Ascension. Here are six more shops worth a detour this week, split between both sides of the Metroplex.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Steven Doyle

Iconic Dallas Dish: Mia’s Brisket Tacos

Back in the early ’90s, the best thing at Mia’s Tex-Mex wasn’t on the menu. You had to know to ask for it, you had to come on a Wednesday, and you had to get there before it ran out.

Today it has a name, Butch’s Original Brisket Tacos, and it’s the dish Mia’s is known for all over Dallas.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Steven Doyle

Catfish, Chicken Fried Steak and 65 Years of Francis Family History in Frisco

Plenty of people who live in Frisco have never walked its Main Street. The city spread north and west so fast that the original townsite, the handful of blocks around the railroad tracks now known as the Frisco Rail District, can feel like something only the old-timers know about.

A lot of those old-timers eat at The Depot Cafe.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Steven Doyle

Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg

The tuba gets there first. Somewhere under a striped tent on Marktplatz, an oompah band finds its footing, and the sound rolls down Main Street past the limestone storefronts. By the time you reach the gate, the air smells like grilled sausage, and a few hundred strangers are getting ready to do the chicken dance together without a trace of embarrassment.

That is Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, and this year it runs October 2 through 4.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Steven Doyle

Weekend Brunch at Avra: Caviar, Cinnamon Rolls and a Little Greek Island in Uptown

Somewhere between the second mimosa and the whole grilled fish, Uptown Dallas starts to feel a long way off. Sunlight fills the glass walls of Avra’s Conservatory, plants hang overhead, and at the next table somebody is working through a tower of oysters at 12:30 on a Sunday without a trace of guilt.

Welcome to weekend brunch at Avra Estiatorio.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Steven Doyle

Negroni Week runs through Sunday, Sept. 27, and there’s no rule saying you have to make the classic. Gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth in equal parts is a perfect drink. It’s also a great starting point for playing around.

Waterloo Gin has two Texas-leaning versions worth trying at home this week.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Steven Doyle

Marlowe Debuts in Uptown Dallas | New Elevated Lounge Experience

The old brick building at 2912 McKinney Ave., near Howell, was Theory Nightclub for a while. Today it opens as Marlowe, a lounge that would like to handle your entire night, from a 6 o’clock martini to closing time at 2 a.m.

It isn’t quite a restaurant and it isn’t quite a club. Come early for drinks and a few plates, swing by after dinner somewhere else, or settle into a banquette and stay while the lights come down and the music comes up.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Steven Doyle

A Perfect Sunday Afternoon in Bishop Arts: Where to Eat, Shop and Drink

Sunday in Bishop Arts moves at its own speed. Dogs outnumber cars on some blocks, every patio seems to have a spritz on it, and around 2 o’clock you can hear a brass band before you can see it. Nobody is in a hurry, and that is exactly the right way to do it.

Here is how to spend an easy Sunday in the neighborhood, with a few places to eat at different price points, a couple of stops for shopping, and the best spots for a drink. Wear comfortable shoes. Everything here is walkable, which is the whole reason Oak Cliff folks guard this place like a family recipe.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under Steven Doyle