EATS

Like some sliced-to-order artisan cheese, perhaps? Scardello, the new cheese shop on Oak Lawn Ave., opened quietly last Thursday. I'll have a fuller report on the blog tomorrow, but they've got a sharp-looking cheese case with some novel selections. Go check it out.

Today and Wednesday, Oct. 29, we are moving this blog and all Dallas Morning News blogs to a new set of servers, which will increase our stability and speed.

However, during the transition, you have to click to a special URL to see new posts.

Click here to be redirected to our new servers, which is where new posts can be found. But don't save or bookmark that new URL! It's only temporary. By Wednesday noon, our regular blog URL should be pointing to the proper servers, so please don't change your bookmarks.

Oh and don't comment on the posts here any more. First click to our new servers, above.

Thank you for your patience.

Now you can go online here and print Kroger coupons. I did a little test run, and it works like a charm. You do have to download the coupon-printing software to get the right bar codes, but that's easy to do. Add these to double- and triple-coupon days, and you're into some significant savings.

You can also have Procter & Gamble coupons downloaded directly to your Kroger Plus Card here. When your card is scanned at the checkout, the coupons are automatically redeemed. But this one has a catch: You do have to sign up for the program, which means P&G sends you emails.

I don't need any more in-box action, so I passed. Now, if we could just get this for Tom's of Maine or somesuch, you could sign me up.

We're not so much about events at the Eats blog, but this one is all about supporting Texas culinary students. Proceeds from the Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Dinner go to fund one of the largest culinary scholarships in the country. After applications are reviewed by Pyles and others, the finalists are invited to compete, Iron Chef style using Texas foods, to earn the $15,000 scholarship.

The dinner, meanwhile, is at 6 p.m. Nov. 9 and, in addition to last year's winning student Amol Thanky (now a graduate of Texas Culinary Academy, Austin), includes a celebrity lineup: Pyles, Jonathan Eismann (chef-owner Pacific Time, Miami), Jason Ferraro (executive chef, Dallas Museum of Art), jW Foster (Pyramid Restaurant & Bar) and Pedreaux Cuellar (chef, Coco Chocolate Lounge & Bistro, San Antonio).

Matching wines are poured with all the courses, and there's a short wine auction. I've been to these before, and it's always exciting to see what the chefs come up with as they compete among themselves. (I'm betting on something molecular from Ferraro.)

Go to the Wine and Food Foundation Web site here to learn more and to register, or call 512-327-7555. Cost is $175 (including tax and gratuity). It's at Stephan Pyles' restaurant downtown.

It's sounding like it. A reader swung by today and said he saw an odd sign on the door directed toward the restaurant's suppliers. Also, no one is answering the phone, and there's no voicemail. I'll update with confirmation if I can reach an owner or manager.

I'm sad to say that our wonderful restaurant critic and dining editor, Bill Addison, will be leaving The Dallas Morning News at year's end for a great opportunity.

He'll return to his one-time home of Atlanta to be the dining editor and restaurant critic at Atlanta magazine.

A national search is under way for a critic to continue the great work Bill has done in critiquing the North Texas dining scene. Bill will assist in this search and still be here to lead the Best in DFW package on the year's new restaurants.

Read on for the official announcement:

Without apology, I have claimed the Illuminati Riparosso as my favorite all-around Italian red for years. It has such a wonderful balance of fruit and structure, in wine terms. In not-so-winey terms, it just tastes good. The 2007 gives off a noseful of berries - boysenberries, blueberries, black raspberries - and sloshes around between your cheeks with darker, mocha-cigar box tones, all held together by lush, seductive tannins.

When I was at the Abruzzo, Italy, winery last month, I discovered why it's so good.

Stefano Illuminati (yes, their name really is Illuminati) wanted to show me his best vineyard. So we drove to a nearby hilltop overlooking the Adriatic Sea, where he had 16 hectares (40 acres) of montepulciano percolating on the vines. In good years, the best grapes are hand-picked for the Illuminati Pieluni Riserva. The second pass, machine-harvested, goes into the Riparosso. But get this:

Coast Global Seafood, the splashy Shops at Legacy restaurant set to open in November, has hired Joshua Perkins to head to the kitchen. (I wrote about Coast here.) Chef Perkins most recently has been plying his skills at The Globe in Atlanta and Le Brasserie Coze before that.

"We're really excited about bringing him on board," says Michael Cox the Stephan Pyles-Central Market alum who's overseeing the new restaurant for the RG2 restaurant group.

Chef Perkins' trained at a one-star Michelin restaurant in Northern Italy, and Atlanta press clips suggest that he brings an Italian sensibility to his cooking that emphasizes fresh ingredients simply prepared. 'Can't wait to see what he does at Coast.

Twisted Root and Cowboy Chow founder Jason Boso was finally released from the hospital around 7:30 a.m. today.

For those of you who didn't know, Boso was riding his Vespa scooter when he was struck by a Hummer H2. The Dallas restaurateur was critically injured and hospitalized for more than a month, refusing visitors most of that time.

While Boso still has a long recovery ahead, we're thrilled that he has at least returned home. Instead of sending a get-well card or flowers, his teams at Twisted Root and Cowboy Chow ask well-wishers to come down for a burger or some brisket instead to show their support.

Twisted Root, 2615 Commerce St. 214-741-7668
Cowboy Chow, 2801 Commerce St., 214-742-2469

Photo by Brandon Thibodeaux/Special Contr

Flavors From Afar, which held its first miracle fruit tasting in June (see my account here), has another one scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. There are still a handful of places left, and owner Nancy Krabill says they'll schedule a Sunday tasting, too, if they get enough interest.

Miracle fruit is the little berry that alters sweet perception. It makes even lemons taste sweet, one of the most dramatic demonstrations of its effect. I found the experience fascinating. Every foodie should do this at least once. To register, you can go online here or call the store at 214-696-2327. It's $15.

On October 3, we listed our critics' picks for the 10 best pizzerias in DFW and asked readers to share their favorites. Now it's time to reveal the results.

Visit the Best in DFW page to read the extended critics' picks and find out more about Best in DFW.

Read the full list of readers' comments about pizza here.

Photo of Eno's Pizza Tavern's Northside Pie by Louis DeLuca / DMN

Julie Palmer of Keller has been grinding her own wheat and baking bread "for a long time," she says. "My family and friends have always said that it's the best bread they ever tasted."

So this year, Julie decided to take her bread (seen at right) to the State Fair of Texas. She entered the "Bake for the Cure" competition, sponsored by Fleischmann's Yeast, and she took the top prize for "Blue Ribbon Bread" among 199 contestants. (Regina L. Farris won the State Fair's other Fleischmann's baking category, for "batter bread" that requires no kneading or multiple rise times.)

Now her yeast-bread recipe goes to the national competition, where she is up against the other top winners from the 50 states. The grand prize winner will receive $1,000 -- but the best news is that for every baking recipe submitted nationwide, Fleischmann's donates $10 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure (up to $300,000 in 2008).

To see Julie's winning bread recipe, go to the jump...

This Friday's Guide section covers the best of Fort Worth, and Restaurant Critic Bill Addison tackles Cowtown's dining destinations. Here are a few of his picks in his own words: "A sophisticated burger joint, an award-winning vegan eatery, a tiny paean to true Italian cooking, a fine-dining pillar serving a unique blend of Mexican and American cooking that reflects place and family: Some work with long-held conventions and mold them to a chef's fresh culinary inclinations, some break from the pack altogether." Read all of his picks here.

Now tell us: What are your Fort Worth faves? Where should Bill eat his next meal in Tarrant County?

Photo of Love Shack's Double Dirty Love burger with with onion rings and a strawberry shake by Tom Fox / DMN

Mike Friend, most recently the wine director at Sigel's Elite on Fitzhugh, died unexpectedly on Friday in Kansas City, where he was helping his brother open a bistro. Mike's wife Debra said he died from internal bleeding related to an old surgery.

Mike, who was 56, touched many lives through his work, from the people to whom he introduced the joys of wine to the winemakers and distributors with whom he did business. He was just a good guy who loved wine.

Adam Lee of Texas-sired Siduri Wines wrote this on Mark Squire's bulletin board at RobertParker.com: "If you've ever spent any time drinking wine in Dallas you have probably come across Mike Friend. He's been a legendary figure in the business for many years at numerous restaurants and retail stores. He's the person that stopped me from getting out of the business back in the early 1990s when I was very frustrated with the whole thing. He's the person that got Dianna into the business, and he was one of the first people to find out that we were dating (it was a big secret at the time)...." BTW, Robert Parker calls Adam and Dianna Lee's Siduri one of California's top pinot noir producers. 'Glad Mike was there to encourage.

Read more remembrances and get the details on a celebration of Mike Friend's life Friday night and a memorial service Saturday.

In some ways, Cibus Ristorante & Caffe at NorthPark Center might be the most ambitious restaurant that Alberto Lombardi has ever created.

Cibus (pronounced chee-boos) is really two restaurants in one. Up front is a casual caffe now open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with a serving line similar to the ones you would see in an Italian eatery, offering sandwiches, salads, pastas, pastries and drinks. Dishes in the caffe range from $2.95 to $9.95.

Right by the mall entrance, there's also a gelateria with two elegant Italian-made, stainless-steel cases containing gelati and sorbetti.

Italian gelato chef Massimo Pino is the creator of these frozen treats. The gelati include unusual flavors such as gorgonzola or olive oil, as well as popular ones like chocolate or stracciatella, all made wonderfully creamy and delectable.

Mr. Pino's sorbetti in particular were astounding in a tasting held on Tuesday night. He uses no dairy and no artificial flavorings -- just real fruit with tastebud-popping flavor. I'd never tasted any sorbetto with the intensity of Cibus' passionfruit, but the raspberry and lemon flavors were wonderful, too, and everyone loved the banana.

In addition to simple scoops, Mr. Pino also has created more elaborate, grown-up desserts such as affogato, a sort of sundae made with liqueurs such as Grand Marnier or Kahlua.

The drop in temp today is just one sign that we're deep into fall. Whilst cruising through my local Whole Foods Markets (yes, plural), I noticed two seasonal items of note.

At the Preston-Forest location, they're packaging fresh pomegranate seeds in the produce section. What a terrific convenience item for the holidays.

At the Lomo Alto outpost, I was stunned to see new-crop organic Rio Star grapefruit. This seems very early for Rio Grande Valley citrus, but an earnest produce employee assured me it was this season's and waxed rhapsodic (yeah, I can say that) on how good they were. I bought one and can't wait for a taste test.

I'd have tried it this morning at breakfast, but I was too busy savoring another vibrantly sweet piece of watermelon. Ummmm.

Sea Breeze Fish Market co-owner Mark Alterman messaged to tell us that he has 50 pounds of fresh crab clusters "direct from Dutch Harbor, Alaska." Here's the back story:

Fishing season opened on Oct. 15, and most of the ships are still out fishing. One ship, however, the Bering Star, had to return to port Monday, he says, to pick up more traps. While picking up the traps, the ship off-loaded some 14,000 pounds of crab, and Sea Breeze's supplier bought a large portion. Sea Breeze snatched up what it could yesterday.

Unlike frozen legs, this crab has no salty, briny taste, says Alterman. You get the pure sweetness of the crabmeat.

Seafood freaks, check it out: Sea Breeze is up Plano way, at 4017 Preston just south of Legacy.

OK, you Tarrant County freebie seekers, this one's for you.

The new Dunkin' Donuts at 1661 Precinct Line Rd. in Hurst just opened for business on Monday -- but Wednesday, Oct. 22, is their official grand opening day, with good giveaways for early birds. The first 200 people in the store will get free DD coffee cups and 2-ounce samples of DD's popular coffee.

In addition, 20 percent of the day's sales at the Hurst store (and also at the first Tarrant DD store, at 9629 White Settlement Rd.) will be donated to to the Tarrant affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

A quick shout-out to Dallas Morning News restaurant critic Bill Addison, who won 2nd place in the Association of Food Journalists' 2008 awards competition for restaurant criticism.

The finalists (including Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post, who took third place, and Lee Klein of the Miami New Times, who snagged top honors) were announced in May.

Here's a link to all the AFJ award winners.

Congrats, Bill!

Afternoon, y'all: I'm just back from the annual Association of Food Journalist's conference in Houston, where I was also researching a story on that city's restaurants, scheduled to run in the travel section on Thanksgiving weekend. That plate o' plenty to the left was my second helping yesterday from the brunch buffet at Hugo's, an upscale Mexican restaurant that, to my mind, succeeds in the genre better than any similar effort in Dallas.

The brunch actually ruined my plans for the day. I had a whole list of ethnic spots I was going to hit after Hugo's, but the food was so dang plentiful and well-executed (on the plate, roughly counterclockwise from the top: guacamole; a mostly hidden lamb chop; corn boudin; moist, ropy chunks of carnitas; brisket in red chile sauce; avocado-tomatillo salsa; a couple low-key soft tacos; and tortilla casserole) that I ate myself into a stupor. (The first round included ceviches, squash stuffed with huitlacoche and a dried ancho chile stuffed with sausage that incited a happy riot at our table). Ended up making it to only one other place, a Vietnamese restaurant called Que Huong recommended by a couple of Houston's food writers.

In the week I was there, I found Houston's dining scene compelling with specialties or sorts of restaurants (like upscale Indian at Indika, for example) that Dallas doesn't have. It isn't a better scene, by my reckoning - just different. More to come ...