New and Noteworthy
Dali Wine Bar Restaurant, Dallas and Kenzo Sushi Bistro, Katy.
Executive editor Patricia Sharpe grew up in Austin and holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. After working as a teacher (in English and Spanish) and at the Texas Historical Commission (writing historical markers), she joined the staff of Texas Monthly in 1974. Initially, she edited the magazine’s cultural and restaurant listings and wrote a consumer feature called Touts. She eventually focused exclusively on food. Her humorous story “War Fare,” an account of living for 48 hours on military MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), was included in the anthology Best Food Writing 2002. Many of her stories appear in the 2008 UT Press collection Texas Monthly on Food. Her story about being a restaurant critic, titled “Confessions of a ‘Skinny Bitch,’ ” won a James Beard Foundation award for magazine food writing in 2006.
Sharpe has contributed to Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and the New York Times. She writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Dali Wine Bar Restaurant, Dallas and Kenzo Sushi Bistro, Katy.
By the most conservative estimate, my dear departed father ate at the Nighthawk, near the UT campus 18,237 times in his eighty years on this earth. That’s lunch every working day for 35 years (he was a journalism prof), followed by a snack in the middle of the afternoon. The
To hell with Zagat. What you want is The Ultimate Food Lover’s Guide to Houston. A little larger than a pocket book but still handy (at 5″ x 8″), it is a smart, witty, 352-page guide to not only Houston restaurants but the area’s entire food scene. I especially like
No, it’s not as lucrative as the Pillsbury Bake-off, but it’s not as nerve-racking either. Enter the Driskill Hotel’s first annual Pie Bake-off and you could be the winner of a $500 gift certificate from the historic Austin hotel. Plus, your pie will be famous not just for fifteen minutes
Beaver’s Ice House, in Houston, has gone blue with a vengeance. You know Beaver’s, right, it’s Monica Pope’s retro-mod barbecue joint. Seems that the girl has thrown political neutrality to the four winds and is having what she calls “Blue State Tuesdays” there every Tuesday evening from
Poor June Cleaver would be so confused. The pretty, proper dining room at Screen Door—the two-month-old restaurant at Dallas’s One Arts Plaza—looks as if it could be the Cleavers’ living room. But June would never have served iced tea in a milk bottle. And if there had been daughters in
Café ZolHouston This charming spot offers an intriguing selection of what it calls “Scandinavian tapas.” The lobster chowder with crawfish and the Exotic House Salad of greens, grapes, and kiwi whetted our appetite for an amalgam of flavors and textures. Give serious consideration to the shrimp in phyllo with
Paul Petersen, executive chef of Cafe Cenizo at the Gage Hotel in Marathon, is scouting locations in Austin. So says a trustworthy source. Plans are to develop a second restaurant here in town, with Paul directing both it and the one at the Gage. Fantastic! Read up
I think it’s weekend silliness setting in, but I am rolling on the floor (well, maybe flopping around on the floor is more like it) after reading the list of attractions for a trip to Palau, including fabulous waterfalls, jungle river-boat cruises, and fruit bat soup! Yes,
I won’t mention the shock to a Texan’s system of seeing several signs in Vancouver for ‘Steamed Burritos.” I mean, I love the city, but are they INSANE in British Columbia? Oh, all right, I didn’t try one (would you?), so how can I criticize? Even so, the whole idea
Houston
Sage on West Alabama, Houston and El Chile, Austin
Need someone to create a menu for the ultimate backyard feast? Paul Petersen, the executive chef at Marathon’s Gage Hotel, is ready, grilling, and able.
Wouldn’t you know it? I flee Texas for Vancouver, Canada and they’re having a heat wave–gawd, it must have been 90 degrees yesterday. There is no justice. But, still, what a beautiful city. Struck out on a couple of recommended places–don’t bother with Congee Noodle–it’s allegedly an authnetic noodle house,
A skeptical reader has issued a challenge. He noticed that all of our top five picks in the barbecue feature (June 2008) were from Central Texas. Very suspicious, he says, given that the TM headquarters is in Austin. How do I know you guys didn’t just go to
In the “Know Before You Go” category, I’m just sayin’ that if you don’t get your pre-order into Snow’s by this Wednesday, June 11, you may come up empty (see post just below this one for details). I talked to Kerry Bexley, the owner (pictured), this morning, and he’s feeling a
As you know, our cover story touted Snow’s BBQ, in the Central Texas burg of Lexington, as our number one barbecue joint in the state. Since the article hit the newsstands, little Snow’s has been swamped. We got this email from them a few days later: “WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
Never let it be said that I missed an opportunity to toot my own horn. Well, and the horns of my colleagues. TM has a new book out–a melting pot with our best food stories of the last decade or so. Now you don’t have to feel guilty about tossing
Well, well, well. The Texas Hill Country was the numero uno summer travel destination in the NY Times this Sunday. Specifically, they touted our wineries (this image is of Flat Creek Estate). Also, to toot our own horn some more, remember that you can
Eighteen hungry reviewers. 14,773 miles driven/flown. 341 joints visited. Countless bites of brisket, sausage, chicken, pork, white bread, potato salad, and slaw—and vats of sauce—ingested. There are only fifty slots on our quinquennial list of the best places to eat barbecue in Texas. Only five of those got high honors.
When you dine out for a living, you can get a bad “been there, ate that” attitude. While other people are e-mailing each other like crazy over their latest find, you’re hitting the “delete” key as fast as possible. But a few months ago, notes from readers about a San
Villa O, Dallas and Trattoria Lisina, Driftwood
Here’s something that fits right in with the local food craze: “Nose to tail eating.” I just gave it a whirl at Feast, in Houston. Granted, the idea of eating the whole critter, inside and out, may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but what they’re doing at Feast
These images from the New York Times web site are amazing. (From May 14, Dining.)
The best thing about this box of chocolates? No calories. Ever. Why? Because these bonbons and truffles from Hulet are made of glass. Check them out. The pictures are amazing.
Dallas
Bistro Don Camillo, Houston and August E’s, Fredericksburg
I pity anyone who doesn’t live in Austin, because they can’t have lunch at La Traviata. Today chef-owner Marion Gillcrist did ravioli with lamb shank in ragu, a marvel of parchment-thin pasta filled with fluffy ricotta in a deeply meaty sauce swimming with fava beans, crisp green peas, and
Houston
Café Pita, Houston and Rise no1, Dallas
How many downtown Houston restaurants look out on real, honest-to-God trees? Whatever the number—and I suspect it’s in the single digits—you can add another to the list: the Grove. I’ll get to the food in a minute, but first let me say one word about the Grove’s setting: wow.You stroll
Merchants Grand CaféSan Antonio You might wonder what this simple, white, “big box” space used to be. Then a local tells you it was a hardware store. Ah, that makes perfect sense. The Alamo Heights newcomer has a name chef at the helm (Jonathan Parker, from the River Walk’s
If I close my eyes tight, I can still taste the cloudlike custard filling of Au Petit Paris’s tartelette de tomates confit, with its milky hint of mozzarella and sweet, delicate bits of tomato; the warm, flaky pastry crust is simply museum quality. On the side is a pristine salad
Café CentralEl Paso What’s new at venerable Café Central? The decor, for one thing. The border stalwart has shed its animal-print upholstery and New York–bistro look in favor of a classic redo, with sleek chocolate-brown chairs, chrome sculptures, unusual art, and floor-to-ceiling beveled mirrors along the back wall. Given
What will dining, both out and in, be like in decades to come? We asked the state’s top chefs and food folk, from Dean Fearing and Hugo Ortega to David Bull and Charles Butt.
Bear with me—I’m trying to remember the olden days when a restaurant with more than two locations was by definition terrible. Nope, chains have changed. Sure, we’ll always have mass feeders like Chili’s and the Black-eyed Pea, but upscale chains are a different proposition altogether. And as much as I
Rebecca’s Table, Fredericksburg and So Vino Wine Bar & Bistro, Houston
What makes for a great steak? Is it grade, aging, type of feed, breed of cow? After personally visiting twenty steakhouses and trying more than fifty steaks for my portion of our December 2007 cover story, “Meat Your Maker,” I still couldn’t decide.Often the expensive ones were the best, but
What makes for a great steak? Is it grade, aging, type of feed, breed of cow? After personally visiting twenty steakhouses and trying more than fifty steaks for my portion of our December 2007 cover story, “Meat Your Maker,” I still couldn’t decide.Often the expensive ones were the best, but
Where to buy Akaushi, the best beef in Texas.
Dallas
Liberty Bistro, New BraunfelsAt this patriotic spot in the former city hall, founder Darren Scroggins has concocted a brick-and-mortar civic lesson. Portraits of presidents, and a few first ladies, preside (benevolently, we hope) over the tables, and even the private dining rooms have righteous names: the House, the Senate, the
Liberty Bistro, New BraunfelsAt this patriotic spot in the former city hall, founder Darren Scroggins has concocted a brick-and-mortar civic lesson. Portraits of presidents, and a few first ladies, preside (benevolently, we hope) over the tables, and even the private dining rooms have righteous names: the House, the Senate, the
From city to country, fancy to down-home, the state’s 38 best steakhouses. Plus: the Japanese beef that everyone should be eating, our favorite butcher shops, and how to grill a ribeye that even your father-in-law will love.
It was the long-ago winter when my family’s two superannuated cats expired right before the holidays that Mother issued a surprising edict: “We’re having Christmas dinner at the Four Seasons this year.” It took three days to pry the reason out of her: She couldn’t bear the thought of
Casa Colombia, Austin and Grooves Restaurant And Lounge, Houston
Richard and Bunny Becker on making Texas wine.
Brasserie Max And Julie, Houston and Soleil Bistro and Wine Bar, San Antonio
Estâncía Churrascaría, Austin and Kavála Mediterranean Grill, Dallas.
Monarch, Houston and Sangría Tapas y Bar, Dallas.