by Steven Doyle
There are two very special dinners this week that will be sure to cool you off from the blazing heat we are suffering through this summer and we wish to share these with you.
Just weeks ago we were first on the scene to announce the latest chef to hit the underground scene. Chef Ryan Barnett has a few seats left tomorrow (Thursday, July 26) where he will treat guests to a 4-course dinner at My Private Chef in Deep Ellum. Continue reading
Filed under Ali Morgan, Rockwall
by Steven Doyle
Last evening I spent most of my dinner discussion on the attributes of a fine gin and tonic with the British makers of Fever Tree. The gents flew nearly 5,000 miles to attend Tales of the Cocktail where they are the official mixer sponsor. Last night’s dinner was the result of a lay-over coup and a few locals were able to meet and greet with full-on Texas hospitality.
I was personally anxious to try the tonic water thinking I had never tried the mixer before. I spend most of my summers sipping the cooling concoction, and switch to the darker spirits in less miserable months. Continue reading
Filed under Cocktails, Steven Doyle
The Dallas icon Mi Piaci Ristorante that has been serving Dallas upscale Italian cuisine for over 20 years has undergone a remodel and made some additions. The doors to the newly renovated Mi Piaci opens tomorrow (Thursday, July 26, 2012).
An intimate wine bar the Enoteca (“Wine Collective”) will now grace Mi Piaci and will offer small bites, an expansive cocktail selection and the award winning wine list that Mi Piaci has always been known for. If you are not in the mood for the intimate and prefer a little more high energy, Mi Piaci has also added Luna Lounge which will feature custom built banquets and floating vignettes all displayed under handmade chandeliers. Continue reading
Filed under restaurant news
It often seems that the need to halt the conspiratorial and destructive spiral of contemporary greed and ambition is more pronounced than ever, but the struggle to just to make ends meet from one day to the next often takes precedence. For me, this dissonance between action and inaction generates a troubling undercurrent of frustration, shame, and helplessness.
I feel even more disturbed when I, an unapologetic music consumer, consider the roles that mediated music plays in this system. On the one hand, it has the potential to provide meaning (and perhaps a sinister distraction) in a culture of isolation. Continue reading
Filed under Arts, Crave, the pharmacy of dr spin
by Steven Doyle
In 1989 when Gene Street Jr. and Dace Street opened Snookies on Oak Lawn they most likely had no idea what an institution the bar would become. To this day they serve up one of the better chicken fried steaks in the old family Street tradition.
Recently the Streets announced the closure of the northern most location of Snookies on Keller Springs. A spokesperson for the company said that location had not been performing as it had in the past. Continue reading
Filed under restaurant news, Restaurant Opening
by Steven Doyle
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Tales of the Cocktail, the largest bartending convention in the world, held each year in New Orleans. Last year we brought you up-to-the-minute coverage as our reporters on the scene slugged through many dozens of hospitality suites, sampling the latest in cocktails.
This year we have more correspondents attending Tales and a few well respected photographers that will bring us great news and glad tidings from the Crescent City, including the newest addition of a Dallas cocktail event taking place Wednesday morning. Continue reading
Filed under Cocktails, Crave, New Orleans, Tales of the Cocktail
by Steven Doyle
Common Table has planned and been selling tickets to the Untapped Beer Festival which will take place September 8, 2012 and feature indie beer along with a host of indie music including the Givers, The Antlers, Akron/Family, Burning Hotels, David Dondero and Fish Fry Bingo. The festival was originally slated to take place at and in front of The Common Table as a block party, but the festival has taken a life of its own as organizer Corey Pond believes it will simply be an easier proposition to have it at a larger venue.
The festival has been moved to Trinity groves and should be one of the first events to take place in this magical place just on the other side of the Calatrava-designed Margaret Hunt-Hill Bridge. Continue reading
Filed under Untapped Beer Festival
by Steven Doyle
In the mid 1900’s John “Bud” sailed the Great Lakes as a shipman, eventually graduating to captain. John “Bud”’s wife Helen would join the captain aboard his ship one day and was treated to a dessert bar that was like no other. Helen was so taken by this treat that she asked for the recipe, and to her delight the cook happily obliged. The cook’s name? Hank.
The recipe for the dessert bar was handed down for several generations and is now in the hands of Dallasite Stacy Shaw who had sampled the bars since she was quite young. She more recently asked her grandmother Edie for the recipe and today Shaw is marketing Hank’s Dessert Bars for all the world to share. Or so Shaw hopes. Continue reading
