On the Town with Ted Allen

How do you make a girl like me very, very happy?  

Send her out for a night on the town 

with one of her favorite food personalities!

Me, Ted Allen and Eddie G. outside Mercy in Addison

I was pleased as punch to attend a private dinner with Ted Allen of Chopped and Food Detectives fame last Friday night.  (You may also remember him as one of the Fab Five on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.)  Ted was touring through town with the folks from Robert Mondavi wines, and he joined me, Eddie G. and several other local food-lovers at Mercy Wine Bar before we all headed over for front-row seats at his Taste Addison appearance.

The crowd was comprised of contest winners (myself included) and their guests who had written in with a culinary question for Ted to tackle.  There were also a couple of local media-types in attendance, including Kim Pierce of the Dallas Morning News and Arnold Wayne Jones of the Dallas Voice.  (Eddie G. and I shared a table with Mr. Jones, who kept us in stitches throughout the evening!)

Ted arrived at the restaurant with little fanfare - no entourage for this down-to-earth guy - and proceeded to set everyone at ease with his friendly, outgoing personality.  Clad in a sport jacket, jeans and those trademark specs, he mingled with the crowd, shaking hands and signing cookbooks before we all settled in to a multi-course feast.  Ted, unfortunately, didn't get more than a few bites of the meal (which included, among other treats, tuna tartare with avocado and grilled filet mignon) as he discussed our prize-winning questions while we ate.

My question centered around my new pal Eddie G. of Dallas Vegan and our mutual love of wine.  Choosing a perfect bottle is rarely a problem for yours truly, but I wondered if Ted had any suggestions for vegan food pairings we could enjoy alongside.  While he admitted that veganism was a relatively unfamiliar concept to him, Ted seemed genuinely interested in learning more about the animal-free way of life, and even encouraged Eddie to "vegan-ize" a few recipes from his new cookbook and share the results.  Cool!

Speaking of wine, our dinner dishes were paired with four wines from the Robert Mondavi Private Selection line, including a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and a luscious Meritage blend that was the favorite at our table.  As Ted pointed out early in the evening, these wines drink much more "expensive" than their actual price tags.  Coming it at around $10-$15 each, they are definitely a great bottle for your buck.  I also enjoyed the Chardonnay, which is light on the oak and pairs well with food.

Ted Allen cooking for the crowd at Taste Addison

After dinner, we all headed over to Taste Addison (in a private luxury bus!) to watch Ted's live demo.  He cooked Shrimp Scampi over Zucchini Carpaccio for the crowd and took additional questions relating to food, wine and his days as a judge on Top Chef (he left the show when he got his own gig on the Food Network).  Afterward, Eddie and I headed back to Mercy for a little debriefing session and reflected on the evening.  We both agreed that Ted is a great guy - knowledgeable, approachable and engaging.  The whole night was a treat, made all the better because I could enjoy it with a dear friend.  Big thanks to Ted Allen and Robert Mondavi and Eddie G., my favorite vegan!

C&S

Tom Colicchio Doesn't Eat "Healthy"

In an interview posted on the New York Times' Well Blog today, celebrity chef and restaurateur Tom Colicchio shares some interesting opinions about how kids should eat and how parents should be cooking.

The Top Chef head honcho will participate in a panel discussion on family eating this weekend at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, along with the likes of Rachael Ray, South Beach diet founder Dr. Arthur Agatston and cookbook author and famous significant other, Jessica Seinfeld.  Even though I have no little ones of my own (unless you count dust bunnies), I found his comments on this subject enlightening and refreshingly off-the-cuff.  For instance, when questioned about whether restaurants are doing their fair share when it comes to promoting healthy eating, Colicchio quipped, "What chefs can do when it comes to getting the word out is have people understand food differently.  If food is well sourced and well prepared, I don’t think the word healthy needs to be brought into it. ...I’m not worried if I’m using four different cheeses and it’s high in fat.  It’s real food.  That’s what’s more important."

I wholeheartedly agree.  Between this and his recent life-saving heroics, Mr. C's stock has gone way up in my book.  Click here to read the interview in its entirety. 

C&S

 

Joan Nathan: "Tom Colicchio saved my life."

This just in:

Speaking of Top Chef, a story in this morning's New York Times reports that TC Head Honcho Tom Colicchio came to the rescue of cookbook author Joan Nathan in Washington Monday night.  

Nathan, while hosting a charity dinner benefitting local soup kitchens, "slumped to the floor choking" in front of a crowd of guests.  Alice Waters, who was among those who witnessed the incident, called out for help.  And faster than you can ask Is there a chef in the house?, Colicchio rushed to the rescue.  Our hero!

Nathan is now doing just fine.

Jerry Jones at Villa-O!

Or:

DallasEats Dines with Dallas Demigod

Well, I didn't dine with the Cowboys owner, per se, but I dined very close to him this past Saturday night at one of our favorite see-and-be-seen spots, Villa-O.

After a short wait at the bar (and some delicious Pinot Noir), our group of five was seated at a booth alongside a large party of giggling teenage girls. We were giggling quite a bit ourselves, so we didn't mind the table of exuberant, well-dressed youngsters who appeared to be celebrating a birthday in high style. Every girl looked party-perfect with a camera-ready smile, and at each of the 15 or so place settings, the guest's own picture grinned back at her from within a rhinestone-studded frame. Cuteness!

And amid all these sundresses and Swarovski stones, imagine our surprise to see none other than Mr. Jerry Jones presiding over the party! He and his wife and several other family members sat at their own table a short distance away. Mr. Jones was downright beaming in the company of his nearest and dearest at what we presume was his granddaughter's birthday party. Several other Hard Knocks regulars were also recognized.

The highlight of the meal came after the cutting of the cake when all members of the party filed out the front door of the restaurant to catch a glimpse of a shiny new white BMW SUV, complete with a giant silver bow. There was quite a bit more giggling after that, and many photos were snapped before the celebration concluded.

We love a good celebrity spotting here at DallasEats - especially a sports-related one, right FP? And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the food at Villa-O was, as usual, superb. Out of consideration for our readers, however, I'll refrain from any sports/food metaphors - i.e., "The lasagne totally scored a touchdown!" Feel free to thank me later.