News flash: Big-time Dallas chef Kent Rathbun is going casual. On Feb. 23, he will open Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen at 6130 Luther Lane, 214-890-1103. He says it will feature the kinds of dishes he ccoks for the family, and that he grew up eating himself. Hmmmmm. I’m
Maybe you know someone who adores cookbooks. For Valentine’s, get them Dallas Classic Desserts, a new, beautifully photographed little tome from Pelican ($15.95–but it’s actually already on Amazon for less!). Here’s some of what’s in it: a Valrhona chocolate bar from Bijoux restaurant; a blueberry cobbler with lemon-verbena frozen yogurt
Get high on Valentine’s–SXUL Chocolates (yes, their real name) has introduced a chocolate-flavored vodka in sexy black bottles. The company already markets irresistible bonbons, which I have tasted and can vouch for. If you want to try either the spirits or the sweets, check out the Spec’s liquor
I’ve been eating my way through a ton of ethnic restaurants for a story we’re doing. One of the highlights of my Houston trip was the Banana Leaf, a roughly six- or eight-month-old Malaysian cafe way out west on Bellaire Boulevard. It has split-bamboo-lined walls, giving it a bit of
Sometimes the rumor mill works overtime. A tale has been floating around San Antonio that Silo Elevated Cuisine–a favorite restaurant of mine, by the way–is closing. No way! Things got so bad that the managers sent out an email in an effort to squelch
Well, since the Food Network sent Guy Fieri (of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives) to Dallas to check out the Twisted Root Burger Company, I had to go too (seeing as how I was in town anyway). Good thing I got there at 7, because the line was to
Friends began to email back in August, saying, you gotta try this place in Austin named the Good Knight, it’s almost ready for prime time, some things are so good, yada yada yada (is that how you spell yada?). Finally, I went. Yes! First, lower your decor expectations (their ain’t
They’ve got a live one at the Dallas News: Leslie Brenner is going to be the new restaurant critic, starting mid-February. She’s got serious credentials, having been most recently the Sunday magazine editor at the LA Times and prior to that, the newspaper’s restaurant critic. Read more on the DMN
Jeffrey’s owner Ron Weiss is letting the news media know that Alma Alcocer-Thomas is leaving the Austin restaurant, where she has cooked, most recently as exeucutive chef, for sixteen years. The new man at the range will be Deegan McClung, who is now executive chef at Cissi’s Market on South
I think Texas Monthly needs to send me to the Truffle Festival in Eugene, Oregon. Never mind it’s totally for my own benefit and enjoyment. Ohmigod, theyre having truffle dinners (but of course), truffle cooking classes with hubba-hubba chefs, and book signings. Plus, you’re in OREGON! Listen to what
I’m having whip-lash over my attitude toward The Flavor Bible, the new book that everybody’s talking about from Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg (Little, Brown, pub.; $35 new). I love the chefs’ commentary (includes pithy remarks from two Texans–Sharon Hage of York Street in Dallas, and Monica Pope of T’afia
And while I was getting exercised over my fat sandwich (below), I was reading The Science of Good Food, a (sort of) new book on kitchen chemistry. If you love Alton Brown‘s Good Eats show (and who doesn’t?), you’ll probably like Science, although Brown’s a whole lot more riduculous
When, pray tell, did it become acceptable for nice restaurants to wad up the meat in the middle of the sandwich? I mean, I understand it at an Arby’s. Arby’s has no class. But I just had an (otherwise pretty good) thin-sliced beef and slaw and cheddar “Bevo” sandwich at
You might want to stake a claim to your local TV this Sunday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m. Central time. That’s when the Food Network will show its “Challenge” program featuring the famous Hico Steak Cook-off, Beef Symposium, and Tourist Trap. I was actually on hand this summer when
Wiseman House Chocolates just blows me away. It’s in the little burg of Hico (hie-ko) in north central Texas and it makes fantastic chocolates. Yes, right there, in town. Beautiful bonbons and truffles. Amazing hot chocolate mix, so rich. Now, they’ve been invited to the presidential inauguration. The Texas
Too much fun. Wool “bacon” phone carrying cases. See video to believe.
Plate & Vine is a new online cookbook with recipes from Texas chefs. One neat thing about it is that it automatically adjusts the recipes for the size of your group and it will generate a shopping list, too. It’s from the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas and they
The beloved scruffy building that housed downtown Austin’s Las Manitas Mexican restaurant is gone–razed Monday by the property owner. Ironically, plans are on hold for constructing a giant Marriott Hotel on the site. Of course, the demolition changes nothing. Las Manitas was doomed anyway and the building’s removal was only
In January, the Gage Hotel, which is one of my all-time favorite romantic destinations in West Texas (well, the rooms in the Los Portales section are, not the ones with the bathrooms down the hall in the historic building–not so romantic running into some unknown dude in his
Perhaps you never hung on every naughty, sensuous word of Gael Greene, who was New York magazine’s head restaurant critic for decades. But lots of us did, and when the news boiled over earlier this week that La Gael had gotten the sack, we were stunned. As one of her
Bud Royer, aka the Pie Man, just called to congratulate me on our Texas cafes story (the December cover). And that reminded me that Royers Round Top Cafe makes my favorite mail-order pies in Texas. And, yes, you can still order a pie for Thanksgiving–they do one-day shipping
If you haven’t been to Cover 3, go. We had a fantastic meal at this stylish new restaurant (it opened last week) on Anderson Lane in Austin. We admit we were a little skeptical of the concept–a high-end sports bar?–but we liked what we saw. And so
The New York-based Zagat guides have just come out with their latest rankings of hotels, resorts, and spas. What’s number one in the country? Texas’ own Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Fearing’s restaurant, in Dallas. Here’s what the breathless news release says: ‘Rated extraordinary to perfection in each
Social justice, moral rectitude, and mass compassion aren’t usually washed down with a margarita, but Carlos Santana believes he can serve up all of this and some delicious duck tacos at Maria Maria, a restaurant chain (they also have Joe Di Maggio’s in the Domain) with the first Texas outlet
Come January, Dallas is scheduled to get a new revolving restaurant atop Reunion Tower, courtesy of chef Wolfgang Puck. (The Tower is the dandelion-topped building from the opening credits of the TV show “Dallas,” in case you’re not from the city.) The name of the restaurant hasn’t been announced–in other
It’s a twofer–you ordinary foodies can take professional-quality cooking lessons AND you can see the teaching kitchens at the Culinary Institute of America’s campus in San Antonio. Two very cool classes are being offered to the general public for the first time. I’ve got to warn you,
Two Texas restaurants are in the limelight. Voice (pictured, at the Hotel Icon in Houston, under chef Michael Kramer) and Dallas’s Mansion on Turtle Creek (under relatively new chef John Tesar) have both made Esquire magazine’s list of the best new restaurants in the
As far as I’m concerned, any day is the right day to eat out, but tomorrow–Wednesday, October 1–is especially right. Why? Because some of your dining dollars may help a food bank in your city. The gig is the Go Texan Restaurant Round-Up, a charitable event sponsored by the Texas
I love this idea: Go out to eat on Wednesday, Oct. 1, and be a do-gooder without even breaking a sweat. A whole slew of Texas restaurants are part of the first-ever statewide dine-out day next week. If you visit them on Oct. 1, you’ll be promoting Texas foods and
Bobby Mueller, the owner of Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, is dead at the age of 69. His son Wayne Mueller, vows to carry on his dad’s tradition. Bobby–who was the son of Louie, who founded the sprawling barbecue restaurant in 1949–died in his sleep on Saturday morning. The death
When I arrived at work today (the Tuesday after Labor Day), the first words out of editor Evan Smith’s mouth were, “Las Manitas is closed. They’ve hauling the furniture and fixtures out the back and there’s a big sign on the front door that says, Closed Forever.” Forget the Republican
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
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
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
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.
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
Oh heck. I missed April Fool’s. Actually, this is for real. Don’t gag, but there is a recipe for Spam fajitas on the Internet. Yes, people, you cut Spam into strips and saute it with (get this) bell peppers and Chi-Chi’s salsa (another unforgettable product of the Hormel company)
I ran into the Fat Turkey Chocolate people at a little farmers market behind Casis Village in Austin last Saturday and they said they had some new combos, including a truffle with a dark chocolate shell and dark chocolate ganache as the filling, blended with, get ready, sweet potato