Local Schmocal

"This mission creep has the original locavores 

choking on their yerba mate."

This sentence pretty much sums up the controversy brewing over the subject of Kim Severson's article "When 'Local' Makes It Big" from Wednesday's New York Times.  She explores the "broad interpretation" of the meaning of "local food" embraced by large corporations (such as Frito-Lay) in an effort to capitalize on this growing consumer trend.  It's an interesting and educational look at how, as Michael Pollan puts it, corporations "can turn any critique into a new way to sell food."

C&S

Vapiano: Dinner and a Show

I had the pleasure of visiting Vapiano, Mockingbird Station's new "fresh-casual" restaurant, last weekend for lunch and a chat with owner Tim McCallum.  In addition to serving up delicious, made-from-scratch Italian pastas, pizzas and salads, McCallum is also committed to making this first Texas outpost of the European chain reflect its unique location.  Here are  just a few of the local touches I loved:

- Texas wine.  Vapiano offers an eclectic array of wines by the glass and bottle.  I was pleasantly surprised to note Grape Creek Vineyards' Bellissimo is on the list.

The restaurant's indoor herb garden

- Local "greens".  Over 1,000 herb plants are growing at restaurant, many surrounding two olive trees transplanted from Bella Vista Ranch in Wimberley.

- Resident artists.  Works by local artists decorate the walls in Vapiano's chic red cocktail lounge and a giant blackboard hangs in the dining room, painted with colorful scenes by SMU art students.

A chef at Vapiano, putting on the "show"

This attention to detail is also reflected in the food - and that's the most important part, right?  All of Vapiano's pastas and sauces are made fresh in-house, and the aforementioned herbs are harvested for use in the restaurant's signature dressings.

And speaking of pasta, one of the most interesting aspects of a trip to Vapiano is watching the chefs prepare your meal right before your eyes.  “Part of Vapiano is the show," McCallum explained to me, with a smile. Utilizing futuristic magnetic induction cooktops, their chefs can whip up a simmering sauce in the blink of an eye.  Add some fusilli and call it a meal!  Limitless choices for customization (make it spicy, try a new pasta, add some chicken or steak, etc.) also make the process interactive.

...Oh, and did I mention that no dish is over $10.95?  In fact, many ring in at around $8.  Nice.  Check out www.vapianointernational.com for more info and menus.  

C&S

Bliss & Tell: A First Look at Bliss Raw Cafe

How much do you know about the raw food movement?  

Until last week, I didn’t know much – and what I learned 

might surprise you...

My good friend Eddie G. of Dallas Vegan, an all-around awesome guy, invited me to attend a “first look and taste” at Bliss Raw Café and Elixir Bar on Greenville Avenue last Friday, and it was an experience I won’t soon forget.  In preparation for our feast, I grilled Eddie (who is not a raw foodist, but knows a lot about it) on the various ins and outs of this peculiar and fascinating way of life:  What does it mean, exactly?  What are its purported benefits?  And most of all, why is it so hot-hot-hot (or “cool”, as it were) right now in 2009?

In its simplest terms, eating “raw” means consuming foods that have not been cooked.  Pretty simple, right?  Well, not really.  Foods deemed acceptable by raw foodists have not been heated above 115 degrees, but more importantly, great attention is paid to certain “super foods” – additives derived from plants and medicinal herbs that enhance the flavor and increase the health benefits of raw dishes.  More on those later.  Further, special kitchen contraptions – dehydrators and the like – are employed in advanced raw kitchens to simulate baked goods and other cooked items using raw ingredients.  The lengths to which a raw chef will go to simulate a hamburger bun, for instance, without the benefit of leavening agents or a conventional oven, is nothing short of alchemy.  More on that later, too.  To put it mildly, there is much more at work here than tossing salads and blending smoothies.

But why go to all this trouble in the first place?  Well, raw foodists believe that consuming foods in their raw state is the best way for the body to receive the full benefit of everything they have to offer.  They believe that optimum health (including increased energy and stamina and the prevention of disease) is achieved only by eating food that has not been subjected to the damaging power of heat.  Many Hollywood celebs have adopted this way of life in recent years, and as Eddie pointed out in his article for the City of Ate: As L.A. does, so does Dallas – eventually.  But there's much more to Bliss than jumping on the latest designer diet bandwagon.

Eddie and I arrived at the café on a sparkling, sunny afternoon, and the tiny spot was bustling with busy chefs and food-lovers eagerly awaiting this “first taste” experience.  We were greeted by Maria Whitworth, official spokesperson of the new restaurant, who showed us to our seats at a small bar on one side of the tiny, street-car shaped space.   Chefs Brian Hudson Smith, Brett Thompson and Johnny Raw Appleseed were hard at work in the kitchen (that's Ms. Appleseed and Mr. Hudson clowning for the camera, above).  After meeting and greeting the other guests – two lovely local actresses and a friendly girl who, like me, would be experiencing her first raw meal – Maria presented us with menus and the food parade began.  What a spread!

Here is a run-down of everything we sampled – the hits, the misses and the show-stopping surprises:

Appetizer

Nori Bites:  This dish was all about presentation – it looked like a beautiful plate of sushi from any top Asian restaurant in town.  A dipping sauce of Nama Shoyu (unpasteurized soy sauce), ginger, lemon juice and garlic was a refreshing condiment.  The flavor was not unlike a California Roll with a little of Mom’s tuna salad in the background.  Eddie didn’t care for it, but I enjoyed its subtle play on traditional sushi-roll flavors.

Soup

Corn Chowder: I am sad to report that this was the “thudder” of the meal.  Both Eddie and I felt the dish was too rich and the raw green onion garnish overwhelmed the subtle flavor of fresh corn.

Entrees

Rawko-Taco Plate with Chocolate Salad: (pictured at left)  This was my very favorite dish of the day.  These “rawko-tacos” are a wonderful twist on traditional tacos, featuring all the comforting Mexican spices you’d expect and a few surprising new flavors.  The rust-colored taco shell, containing corn, flax meal, onion and spices, had just the right sturdy but chewy texture to stand up to its filling of sundried tomato and sunflower seed paste.  Might sound strange, but it was absolutely on-the-money.

Chocolate Salad on the side was a cole slaw-like combo of cabbage, avocado and “Chocolate Bliss”, one of the aforementioned “super food” powders containing cacao, hemp seeds and all manner of dried fruits.  According to the package, those who consume “Chocolate Bliss” can expect “continuous peak mood, energy and beauty”.  Such benefits don’t come cheap, but the folks at Bliss Café have figured out how to work “super foods” into many menu items while keeping prices reasonable.

Pesto Pizza:  Unfortunately, after the stunning success of the taco plate, this pizza faded into the background.  It did, however, feature nice Italian spices and the pesto topper was as delicious as any conventional pesto I’d ever tasted.

SunnBurger:  (pictured above) Johnny also calls this her “SuperBurger”, as it features another “super food” called "Revitaphi".  This powder contains over 40 probiotics, along with various veggies and enzymes, and Johnny believes it inspires her artistically in addition to its physical benefits.  I have to admit that I wasn’t thinking too much about all that, however, after I took my first bite. This burger was delicious!  The bun was especially clever, approximating a tender Mrs. Baird’s by way of kamut, agave and who-knows-what else.  The patty itself was standard fare, but in combination with that bodacious bun and a schmear of cashew “mayo”, it went far beyond the usual boring beef-less burger.  Bravo!

Dessert

Both the Coconut Berry Parfait and the Strawberry Sheezcake were creamy and comforting and not overly sweet.  The Sheezcake was my fave, owing to its rich crust that tasted a lot like halvah, one of my favorite childhood treats.

Elixirs

With each course, Brian presented one of his special smoothie-like concoctions, all of which were intriguing and a couple of which were downright sinful.  We especially liked the Minty Hemp Drink, which tasted just like your favorite minty milkshake from the corner ice cream shop.  (photo, left:  Brian the Elixir Mixologist)

Ultimately, the experience was eye-opening – but not at all for the reasons I had anticipated.   For starters, Johnny and the gang are so down to earth, so absolutely approachable, I didn’t end up feeling like a heathen in church on Easter Sunday (as I was afraid I would).  If anything, they are even more excited for their food to reach those of us outside of their immediate circle.  Second, far from pretentious or too-cool-for-school, the restaurant is actually so “Austin” it’s not even funny.   It embodies the laid-back, casual cool we associate with our neighbor to the south, and Johnny herself, pierced and be-clogged and sparkling with health, looked like she beamed up from Guadalupe St. just in time for the tasting.  And last but not least, I’d totally go back.  While I don’t intend on converting to a raw diet any time soon, I’m sipping a “Chocolate Bliss” smoothie as I write this post, and am now tuned-in to another delicious niche cuisine available here in Dallas.

Bliss Raw Café and Elixir Bar

6855 Greenville Avenue

214-987-0204

Opens April 28th

Is Malbec The New Merlot?

The Wall Street Journal wine report linked below is doubly interesting:  Not only does it present some startling stats about current wine purchasing trends, but interviewee Howard Silverman also offers up an assertion about Malbec, that hot new red from Argentina.  

As proprietor of Howard's Wine Cellar in Chicago, Silverman has witnessed first-hand the recent consumer migration toward lower-priced wines (a trend dubbed "trading down" in the biz), and has apparently spent considerable time and effort seeking out quality bottles that fall into the $10-$20 range.  One of his bargain best-sellers is of the aforementioned South American variety, and he explains that these days, Malbec seems to be the "new Merlot".  In other words, the delicious crowd-pleaser is here to stay.

WSJ:  Fine Wine on a Beer Budget

Enjoy,

C&S

Friday Digest: Restaurants, Reading and News

For the past few weeks, I've been in full exploration mode, both at home and out-and-about.  So many new restaurants to visit, so many subjects to explore!  Here's a small sampling from my recent culinary adventures, as well as some recommended reading and an exciting announcement:

Tasting Notes

The following are first impressions of a few restaurants visited during the past couple of weeks - no reviews, just quick bites.  Have you been?  If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts as well!

Kozy

4433 McKinney Ave., Dallas

214-219-5044  

I'd heard raves about this tiny spot, serving chef-driven plates marked by creative flavor combinations and fresh, often local, ingredients.  I popped in with a friend around noon on a Saturday to find the place humming but thankfully not jam-packed.  We settled into a booth and perused the menu; both breakfast and lunch were available.  After a brief confab with our mohawked waiter, I selected the Kozy Salad with Salmon and my date went with the grass-fed beef (I believe) tacos.

My salad was generous, studded with berries and slivers of green apple.  Topped with a glistening, marbled salmon filet, cooked to medium as per my request, it was both refreshing and satisfying.  A small cup of balsamic vinaigrette on the side was perfection.  The tacos were also proclaimed a "hit", but to my eye, that plate was lacking.  Two tacos and a little guacamole for a double-digit price tag?  I was assured that they were more than filling, however, and to be fair, meat of that quality costs a pretty penny.  Also, my friend commented that he was actually pleased to be spared the usual carb-a-rific plate-fillers.  In the end, we were both happy campers, save a few hiccups in service.  I'll definitely be heading back to Kozy soon.

Vietnam

4302 Bryan St., Dallas

214-821-4542

Last Monday's episode of No Reservations left me with a mad pho craving, so when my pops called to see if I had lunch plans the next day, I was quick to suggest we visit a spot that I'd been meaning to try for some time.  A friend had recommended Vietnam ages ago, and I was sure they'd have something to satisfy the soup monkey on my back.  Sure enough, Vietnam has a full menu of traditional pho variations, as well as an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet on weekdays.  Dad opted for the buffet (natch), and I selected the pho with beef.  In fact, the menu had a wide array of dishes to choose from, including traditional spring rolls and entrees, in addition to soups.  

While I slurped and crunched and sipped my way through my steaming bowl of pho, Dad paraded a seemingly endless array of colorful dishes across the table in front of me.  He proclaimed most of them "good" and a few of them "great", with just a couple ranking in the "eh" division.  My pho was also a solid "good", featuring full-flavored broth and a generous tangle of tender rice noodles.  Requisite garnishes of bean sprouts, cilantro, basil and lime were fresh and plentiful.  I can't say much for the atmosphere at Vietnam, but it seems to be a very popular spot for a quick and affordable lunch.  I'll keep it on my list for the next time a pho craving strikes.

Black Friar Pub

2621 McKinney Ave., Dallas

214-953-0599

A friend tipped me off to this new bar from the owner of the Idle Rich, and even if I hadn't known ahead of time, I would have figured out the connection to its sibling across the street shortly after walking through the door.  Black Friar's menu of beers and bites and those famous cheese boards is just about the same as you'll find at Idle Rich (or The Old Monk, for that matter), and the pub-type atmosphere also felt familiar.  The after-work crowd on our visit was friendly, and the beers were nice and cold, but the service left much to be desired. 

After attempting to flag down one of several waitresses for a quarter of an hour, we gave up and trekked to the bar for our first round.  The second round ended up being self-service, too, but someone eventually wandered our direction after we tried to order food from the bartender.  In the waitresses' defense, it was a busy night, and I'm sure the exercise did us good.  At any rate, we had a great time and the tab was nice and tiny.

Enrich Your Mind

Salt:  A World History

by Mark Kurlansky

"A salt is a small but perfect thing."

Salt built the Great Wall of China, and paved the way to the American West.  It was the driving force behind the first of the famed Roman roads and an indispensable element in the sacred Egyptian process of mummification.  Prized as an aphrodisiac and an explosive, a preservative and a palliative, salt has been and always will be a crucial commodity to civilizations around the world.  This fascinating book details salt's role in the rise and fall of empires and its uses in chemistry, medicine, warfare and, of course, cookery, throughout recorded time.  I was shocked to learn the extent to which salt - making it, storing it, trading it and using it - has shaped our world.  This book is a great read for food lovers and history buffs alike!

In The News

And, finally, we have an announcement to make:  

DallasEats has been named one of the top food blogs in the city by Where The Locals Eat, a guide to the best restaurants in the country.  We're honored to be featured on this national site, along with news, recommendations and other tasty tidbits.  Thanks a million, and we promise to keep up the good work!

NBC DFW's Around Town

Did you know there's a new source for dining news you can use here in Dallas/Fort Worth? 

Check out NBC DFW's Around Town site for info on openings, closings, special events and more.  Recent features include a face-off between two North Texas barbeque favorites, a tip on where to find top-notch Tex-Mex treats and a budget-friendly cooking lesson from a pair of local chefs.  Yum.  

New articles and videos are posted every day, and Around Town can also be seen throughout the week on the NBC 5 news (Hi, Annie!) - so be sure and set the TiVo.  What a delicious addition to the Dallas dining scene!

C&S

Sunflower (aka Newflower) Farmers Market

A DallasEats Preview!

We here at DallasEats have been very curious about Sunflower Farmers Market, a new chain of health, planet and budget-conscious grocery stores that just arrived in North Texas.  Promising "Serious Food...Silly Prices", Sunflower's down-to-Earth mindset and no-frills esthetic (along with other cost-cutting measures) allow them to pass big savings on to the consumer.  As detailed in the company's Mission Statement, Sunflower offers "Better-than-supermarket quality at better-than-supermarket prices".  Sounds like a plan to us!

Late last week, I ventured north to visit the chain's first Metroplex outpost in Plano, and got a taste of what to expect when their Dallas location opens on Henderson Avenue next month.  With two grown siblings and one Dad in tow, I explored the store from entrance to check-out, snapping pics and taking notes.  Below are our group's impressions, in words and snapshots: 

Picture #1:  First of all, the store is called Newflower, not Sunflower.  A friendly checker told us that this change was necessitated by the fact that a store in Fort Worth has already laid claim to the original name.  A quick internet search turned up a small chain of vitamin stores called Sunflower Shoppe, There was no mention of a legal situation, so it may just be a move to avoid confusion in this part of the state.

Picture #2:  The store is small, but packed full of merchandise.  Along the perimeter are breads, meats and produce, with grocery and bulk items in the center.  Wine & Beer and Health & Beauty cozy up cheek-to-cheek on the right-hand side (as you walk in).

Picture #3:  Bulk snacks are a big player at Newflower.  Free-standing displays held nibbles to satisfy just about any craving - trail mix, assorted pretzels, licorice in several flavors, wasabi peas and more.  In the words of one group member, it was "nosherai heaven".

Picture #4:  Instead of an "International Aisle", more free-standing displays held Asian and Italian ingredients ("Mama Mia" sign visible in rear).

Picture #5:  The frozen seafood section held a wide selection but, frankly, was not very appealing.

Picture #6:  On the other hand, we loved the fill-your-own-bear bulk honey station!

Additional Observations & Comments:

C&S:  "Loved the large selection of Texas wines!  Prices were low, as promised, however I had quality questions about several items. "

Rachel:  "I saw a lot of brands I'd never heard of...but some I've also seen at Whole Foods.  I also saw a lot of Texas gems."

David:  "They're great, but Whole Foods would have an advantage in bakery and meats - not pricewise, but in selection and presentation.  Staff seems like a very happy group!"

Dad:  "I have no problem with the store as a whole, but the meat department leaves something to be desired.  Also, I'd like it if the local products were labeled more clearly, like at Whole Foods."

And now it's your turn, folks:

Has anyone been to Newflower in Plano?

What did you think?

Oh Brother's, Where Art Thou?

For me and my hubby, Sundays are for three things: God (at least a few times a year), football, and fried chicken - not necessarily in that order. When I get my pick, the fried chicken is from Brother's, the famous East Dallas destination for spicy, crunchy and utterly delicious chicken.

Earlier this week, I was absolutely gobsmacked to hear that after nine years of churning out the crispy goods, Brother's had closed its doors. I rarely get upset at the closing of a restaurant, but to me, this was a biggie. It was just such a neighborhood institution - the kind of place that you tell your friends about, who then thank you profusely every time you see each other.

According to Unfair Park, there is a chance (although quite slim) that Brother's will reopen. There's also a slightly more likely possibility that the owners will open another type of concept, probably a bar, that will serve the famous chicken. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that it happens, because I think it's possible that the only thing that could make Brother's chicken any better would be to serve it alongside a cold beer.

I guess this Sunday it will be Williams Chicken at our house. Sigh. Williams is good eatin', but even though I'll enjoy it, I'll be pining for another.

The One Dollar Diet Project

Could you live on just $1 a day?





Kerri Leonard and Christopher Greenslate of Encinitas, California fed themselves on just $1 a day for the month of September this year, and chronicled the experience in their blog, One Dollar Diet Project. The New York Times' Tara Parker-Pope wrote of the couple and their eye-opening experiment in an article that came out this week entitled Money is Tight, and Junk Food Beckons. After reading that piece, I was eager to find out more about Kerri and Christopher's month of scarcity, conceived as a means by which to better understand what it's like to live at or near the poverty level on a day to day basis.

I read the blog from beginning to end yesterday, and it was both fascinating and thought-provoking. Through the course of their One Dollar Diet Project, these two social studies teachers ate countless servings of peanut butter, rice, beans and (often just shy of stale) homemade bread, all the while learning firsthand of the emotional and physical impact of subsisting on pennies a day.

On the first evening of the experiment, after running down her day's intake of unadorned oatmeal and tiny bean burritos, Kerri wrote, "It seems odd to me that we have the luxury of doing this as an experiment when there are millions of families who have to budget their meals like this every day." As days turned to weeks, she and Christopher maintained this thoughtful perspective, with only a few instances of weakness, temptation or general hunger-induced grumpiness (Christopher, Day 12: "I'm exhausted. I have a headache. I lost another pound. I wish there was more to report."). Instead of dwelling on their hunger and dwindling energy levels, the couple delved deeper and deeper into feelings of communion and empathy with those around the world living in poverty or just struggling to make ends meet.

This blog has amassed a large group of readers since the beginning of September, and will no doubt continue to attract even more as word spreads of the One Dollar Diet Project. Ultimately, the couple's goal is to raise awareness. As Christopher put it on Day 18: "...the need to have a dialogue about poverty is long overdue."

Kerri and Christopher are now considering what their next experiment might entail. It should also be mentioned that they accepted donations during the project, and ended up making a sizeable contribution to a non-profit in their area. Here's to this smart, thoughful couple! Reading their diary made me think long and hard about the food choices I make every day, and about how fortunate I am to be afforded the luxury of making those choices in the first place. I will not soon forget the lessons that I learned from their sacrifice.

Food for Thought

If all Americans observed one meatless day per week, 

we'd save an amount of carbon equal to taking 

20 million midsize sedans off the road for a year. 

Wow.  

I learned that from Michael Pollan's article, Farmer in Chief, in last weekend's New York Times Magazine.  Check it out - there's plenty more where this came from.

New York Times Magazine Food Issue

Fellow foodie friends, if you have not yet seen last Sunday's issue of the New York Times Magazine, click the link below to check out a collection of incredible readables on a wide-ranging array of food-related topics.

New York Times Magazine - Food Fights!

This week's special Food Issue is chock full of interesting, though-provoking and downright entertaining stuff. Why Tip? by Paul Wachter got me thinking about, well, why we tip, and presented an interesting study of a restaurant that decided tipping should be a thing of the past. Mark Bittman, as usual, was awesome, and I'm smack in the middle of Samantha Shapiro's Kosher Wars (will finish up right after this post!). I'm also curious about the interactive feature titled Inside the Fridge of a Foodie.

The real stand-out, however, is Michael Pollan's Farmer in Chief. This author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto has presented an eloquent and persuasive argument for the sweeping change of this country's relationship with food and farming in the form of a letter to our next President. Holy cow - talk about food for thought...

Scardello Artisan Cheese - Coming Soon!

Those of you who know Mr. C&S know that he's the kind of guy who asks for cheese for his birthday - that's right, *cheese* - so you can only imagine the twitter he went into upon seeing a new banner across an empty storefront at Oak Lawn and Lemmon this past Saturday.  It proclaimed the imminent arrival of our very own neighborhood artisan cheese shop, and I couldn't get to the computer fast enough to find out more about it. 

Scardello Artisan Cheese, slated to open in mid-October, is Rich Rogers' baby.  An email I received from Rich today illustrated just how passionate he is about cheese, family and the new store:

"Scardello is an artisan cheese shop focused on handcrafted cheese and tasty accompaniments.  We plan to have a large selection ... from Texas and the US as well as European cheeses.  Everything will be available to taste and cut to order. 

The shop is named after my grandfather, Pete Scardello, who taught me a love for great food and sharing with friends and family.  Growing up in a small Texas town, cooking was not something a lot of men did.  My grandfather was the exception.  

After spending 15 years in video production telling the stories of our clients, I now get to focus that storytelling energy on all of the fantastic cheese we will carry and the artisans who make them."

Rich sounds like an awesome guy, and we can't wait for Scardello's grand opening!

Scardello Artisan Cheese

www.scardellocheese.com

Coming soon to 3511 Oak Lawn Avenue

Noteworthy Culinary News Items

This is just a quickie on two items of note in the world of Dallas dining today:

1.  Doughmonkey, Snyder Plaza's answer to Heaven on Earth, is closing its doors for good.  

I read this yesterday afternoon on the Guidelive Eats blog not minutes after having a conversation with a friend about the next time we'd be heading over that way for some of Rhonda's amazing chocolate chip cookies and jewel-like gems of handcrafted artisan chocolate.  I could go on and on about the proliferation of status-shops pushing $5 boulders in cupcake wrappers and wonder aloud about why a place like Doughmonkey can't seem to stay afloat.  But I won't.

2.  Check out the awesome review of the Landmark Restaurant in the Guide today!

I had the unique pleasure of dining at the Landmark recently with a dear friend on a 4-course menu prepared by Chef Jeff himself.  I can attest to the review's accuracy - the food was awesome, and Chef Jeff is definitely a rising star.  Really nice guy, too.  Big Congrats!