Trader Joe’s is at its best when snacks feel intentional—things you can grab without overthinking, whether you want something crunchy and salty, warm and comforting, or just a little better for you without sacrificing flavor. The real win is mixing pantry snacks with freezer staples that don’t feel like full meals but still satisfy. This list leans balanced and practical, with crowd-pleasers, freezer go-tos, and two solid healthier options that actually taste good.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
Few things rock my world as much as xiao long bao. The mighty dumpling power-packed with a meatball, (beef, pork, crab, the usual round up) supplied with a generous amount of broth and pleated into a package of steamed love.
Most agree that the xiao long bao’s story begins in the Shanghai suburb of Nanxiang over nearly 150 years ago. It is believed that Huang Mingxian wanted to create a dumpling that would surprise and delight the guests of his restaurant, Ri Hua Xuan. The elegant pleated dumpling was made by adding aspic – or a jellified meat stock – to pork mince, so that once steamed the aspic would melt, thereby filling the inside of the dumpling with a flavorsome broth. Continue reading
Filed under Crave, Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
In case you were unsure what all the commotion is going on in Inwood Village, there is a new grocer moving in, and they beg your pardon for all the dust.
Trader Joe’s first Dallas location opened on Lower Greenville Avenue back in August, and another store is under construction in the Preston Hollow Village development at I75 (North Central Expressway) and Walnut Hill Lane. Continue reading
Filed under Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
The Truck Yard is an overwhelming smash success you go by mere body count each night, including those precarious evenings when most stay huddled at home watching television, or manicuring their cats. Last evening we checked out the food truck park located on the sizzling hot Lowest Greenville Avenue area directly south of Trader Joes on Sears Street. The recent flack that Dallas Morning News critic shoveled at the venue made us even more excited to sit and sip, since we seem to have polar opposite ideas on what is fun to do and chew in Dallas.
The ice cream vendor Carnival Barker was easily found directly at the front facing Trader Joes just under the giant neon ice cream cone. Plenty of guests were able to locate and devour the house-made ice cream as when we visited about 7pm last night the owner was fresh out of product. Aaron Barker stated that he has been upping the amount of ice cream he makes each day and is now looking for more equipment to keep up with demand. He did have a handful of frozen bananas for sale, and we all know that there is always money in the banana stand. We have tasted the Barker ice cream on numerous occasions and love the stuff. Plenty of fun, inventive flavors when they are in stock. Continue reading
Filed under Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle
For those of us that live in the culinary world, this is one mother of all weekends. There are plenty of opportunities to sip, savor and otherwise endeavor new openings and foodie moments abound. Let’s highlight a few things you should be aware of going into the weekend.
Restaurant Week I am sure all our readers have put in their reservations for Restaurant Week, which officially runs from August 12-18, but this is PREVIEW WEEK. So diners have more chances to grab a great lunch or dinner at a special low price beginning at $25. We are really curious where craveDFW diners made their reservations. Continue reading
Filed under Steven Doyle
by Steven Doyle photos by Joy Zhang
Brooke Humphries, owner of Acme F&B, Barcadia Bar and Grill, and It’ll Do, will open the doors at Mudsmith this coming Monday, January 28th . Mudsmith promises to deliver a unique coffee shop experience serving celebrated Four Barrel coffee out of San Francisco.
We broke this story back in November noting that Humphries will be using the amazing Four Barrel Coffee that you actually must submit a plea along with your menu and concept information before you can be approved to sell the product. We go into greater detail about Four Barrel in our orignal story. It’s worth checking out. Continue reading
Filed under Coffee, Restaurant Opening, Steven Doyle
