EATS

When Kim Pierce and I went to Allgood Cafe a few weeks ago to sample their CFS, we also ordered the King Ranch chicken. Well, well, well: Here was another iconic Texas dish, this layered casserole of corn tortillas, roast chicken, green chiles, mushrooms and jack and cheddar cheeses. The ingredients had been baked into a creamy amalgam that was also crispy around the edges (it’s presented in a mini skillet). The chile (and a dollop of pico) added pep.

I got revved up, thinking I’d determined my next local creation to research and savor. But when I asked colleagues for suggestions for King Ranch chicken beyond Allgood, they all sort of shrugged. “It’s always bland,” they complained, echoing the sentiments of this article from Texas Monthly (scroll down the page to read the story).

Is this true, gang? Is there no other zesty, respect-worthy version of King Ranch chicken anywhere in the Metroplex? Help!

Chicago chef and Mexican food expert Rick Bayless has a new line of Mexican-themed cookware available at Sur La Table. It includes 14 colorful cast-iron and ceramic pieces for cooking, serving and dining.

Most expensive: a cast-iron covered cazuela in blue, red or yellow, for $99.95. Least pricey items: a stainless-steel avocado scoop with a silicone handle ($14.95) and an avocado masher ($12.95), also in silicone. Both silicone pieces are, what else, avocado green in color.

The masher in particular fascinates us; it looks like a big green asterisk with a handle on it. It's also supposed to be "great for making egg salad." We'll probably stick with our old reliable kitchen fork -- three tines and a wooden handle -- which has done yeoman duty in making our guac and egg salad for 20-plus years. But we think the masher would make a great wedding present for, say, Shrek and Princess Fiona.

PHOTO: Rick Bayless avocado masher, courtesy of Sur La Table.

Weeks after the cupcake debate, I finally ventured to the Sprinkles location in Dallas. I have vividly delicious memories of my stop at the Beverly Hills location on a visit to Southern California. I remember taking a bite of out of the vanilla flavored cupcake and savoring every last morsel.

It was the best cupcake ever.

Hoping to recreate my memories, I ordered up four cupcakes – two vanilla and two milk chocolate – on Sunday.

I have to admit, it just wasn’t the same as eating a Sprinkles cupcake in California. It didn’t seem right. Maybe I’m harkening for home, but I think there’s something to be said about taste being relative to location.

Clam chowder doesn’t taste nearly as good at home as it does on Pier 39 at Boudin Bakery in San Francisco. Asparagus isn't as delicious at home as it is at the Asparagus Festival in my hometown of Stockton, California. I haven’t tried yet, but I bet Rocky Mountain oysters – a delicacy I sampled when I spent last summer in Colorado Springs – aren’t the same outside Colorado either. Then again, I'd probably avoid those if I saw them on a menu here.

Texas Caribbean Foods, an eatery in the South Side on Lamar complex, is offering box lunches. Options include Jamaican patty and jerk chicken wrap lunches. Each order comes with plantain chips and dessert. Prices start at $7.50. Call 214-485-7040.

We’re on the cusp of August. If you’ve got kids in school, it’s time to begin getting into ‘school’ mode. For starters, you could sign up for “Free Healthy Cooking School: Healthy Lunches for Kids.” (If you’re a parent who often wonders about what to put in the lunch sack, this class might make that back-to-school transition easier.) The Texas Cooperative Extension in Dallas County in collaboration with Eat the Truth, a nutrition education company, is presenting the free class (limited to 50 participants), which will highlight quick, easy and healthful lunch recipes. You’ll also get to taste samples and receive tips on meal planning. The class will be Saturday, Aug. 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Dallas Farmers Market’s Market Resource Center, 1010 S. Pearl. Pre-register by Wednesday, Aug. 1. Call 214-904-3063.

Times Ten Cellars in Lakewood will mark its second birthday this Wednesday and plans to celebrate the old fashioned way: with hors d'oeuvres, desserts and wine specials.

Stop by from 5 to 9 p.m. and get half-price wine by the glass as well as select wines by the bottle at just $8 (take-home only).

Really love the vino lifestyle? The grape boutique is looking for volunteers to join them at their vineyard in Alpine, TX to help harvest during the first two weeks of September. How you spend your off hours there is up to you.

'Nuff said.

Photo by Courtney Perry: Times Ten owners (L to R) ...Rob Wilson , Chris Lawler, and Kert Platner.

...please don't apply to be on "Hell's Kitchen," the FOX reality-TV series starring volatile New York chef Gordon Ramsay.

But if you're a professional chef who thinks you've got what it takes to survive the show's many ego bruisings and culinary intrigues, here's your chance.

Casting for the next round is underway now. To apply, send an email to hellskitchen@theconlincompany.com -- put your name and city in the subject line. In the body of the email, write your full name, your city and state, your contact numbers, and why you would be the best contestant for "Hell's Kitchen."

Update: "Hell's Kitchen" also will hold a Texas open-call casting session in Austin on Aug. 7, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Culinary Academy of Austin, 6020-B Dillard Circle. For more information, contact Vanessa Ranko and Joanna Collins at RealityShowCasting@gmail.com.

Photo of Gordon Ramsay courtesy of FOX

You'll be reading much more about this in the next week or two, but we got an advance peek at chef Dean Fearing's new digs last Thursday.

Fearing's Restaurant at the new Ritz-Carlton is still in the finish-out stage, both indoors and out -- but the kitchen got its "green card" last week. That meant that chef de cuisine Joel Harrington and crew could begin cooking in Fearing's sleek, stainless-steel kitchen, some 2,000 square feet of space. That adjoins the even larger kitchens of the Dallas Ritz's food and beverage services, which are overseen by the hotel's executive chef, John Coleman.

The very first dish to emerge from the new Fearing's kitchen? A gigantic stockpot that simmered for six hours to produce a true culinary essential: 40-plus gallons of chicken stock. It'll doubtless be used this week when Fearing's presents a series of chef's preview tastings.

By the way, Dean's got yet another pot on the boil. He has a music CD coming out on Sept. 1st: Bliss and Blisters (Sony), with his band, the Barb Wires. Bandmates include his frequent partner in thyme, chef Robert Del Grande of Houston; Fort Worth rocker Johnny Reno; Richie Furay, formerly of Buffalo Springfield and Poco; and Mickey Raphael, who gained fame as Willie Nelson's harmonica player.

DMN file photo of Dean Fearing and Johnny Reno:
Special Contributor Nan Coulter

...with SmartShopper, a spiffy new gadget being marketed at Sur La Table.

SmartShopper is a hand-held, voice-activated device that records, organizes and prints your grocery lists (the printer is built-in and inkless). And all for only $149.95, imagine!

Sure, for that amount you could buy 150 magnetized memo pads at the 99-cent store. But come on: Would memo pads be as much fun to show off to your techno-geek friends?

On the other hand, if your family is like ours, this would be one more pricey gadget that, like a cell phone, would probably just end up getting lost. Sigh. Never mind.

I finally made it to Ham's Orchard in Terrell on Sunday. Don't dawdle -- they close for the season on Aug. 15.

I wish I could report on the peaches, but they're still on the firm side, so they're sitting on my kitchen counter. I did manage to snag a fried peach pie, still warm and oozing peach. The crust is on the doughy side for my taste; I like a flakier crust. Next time I'll go with the ice cream.

Anybody have a lead on good fried pies?

Spiceman tells me there's a slight change in his hours at FM 1410: He opens at 11 a.m., not 10 a.m., on Sundays.

Made a salad the other night from his baby greens, clearly hand-picked (still had dirt on 'em), juicy and flavorful, vivid like fresh herbs. Mesclun mix, get thee behind me. Added some of his fresh, delicately flavored hearts of palm and some Lemleys' tomatoes from next door at Jimmy's Food Store. Mixed the tomatoes and hop in a simple vinaigrette, then added the greens and some grilled salmon. Plus a good, dry Italian rose. You think that wasn't slurpilicious?

Mike DiCarlo, co-owner of Jimmy's, makes his way to the Dallas Farmers Market most mornings and brings back good things like Lemleys' tomatoes for his neighborhood shoppers. (Cox Farms does the same thing in Duncanville, as does Fairview Farms in Plano.) Jimmy's, and Spiceman's landing pad, are at Fitzhugh and Bryan. FM 1410 is a few doors toward Central, and half the storefront is covered in vines.

OK. Got the okra. Got the cornmeal (not Lamb's). Cut the okra. Mixed cornmeal, salt, black pepper and the equivalent of Italian cayenne in a zip-top plastic bag. Added the okra. Shook to coat. Meanwhile, heated about 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon locally produced butter (well, it was on hand) to the point where the butter sizzled. I sort of scooped the okra out of the bag and into the skillet.That was a mistake, but not a big one. I should have seriously dusted off the okra pieces. When I dropped them in the hot skillet, they immediately soaked up the oil-butter. The challenge was to keep the skillet hot and keep the okra moving so it browned but didn't burn. Shook the pan for 3 to 4 minutes, till okra crust turned golden. The result was crunchy and good, a huge improvement over deep frying. It wasn't as good as Sharon's, BUT the significant other snarfed it right up without complaint.

We asked readers to name their favorite restaurants to chow on fish and chips, and they answered. Half of them said the Old Monk on Henderson Avenue at Central Expressway. One fan said, "Better than what I've had in London and Edinburgh. Yum." Guess I'll have to step away from the Monk's Stilton burger and try something new. Do you agree with these readers' picks? Disagree? Someplace missing from our poll?

Tell us: What's your favorite place to eat fish and chips?

It's the Summer of the Chefs. Television screens have been flickering with three cooking competitions, and the theaters are showing a trifecta of foodie flicks. Ratatouille and Waitress have been open a while, and No Reservations opened Friday. We'll know by Monday's box office returns if movie fans gave the chef flick four stars or sent it back to the kitchen.

With perfect timing, Premiere.com has released a slideshow of the Top 20 Most Mouthwatering Movie Moments. The list includes my fave Big Night, some others you'll expect (Babette's Feast, Like Water for Chocolate) and a few unexpected ones as well.

Watch Premiere's picks, then let us know: What are your favorite food-related movie moments?

Now Dove has gotten in on the single-origin chocolate game. Dove Origins is a line of 61 percent cocoa bars, each from a different country.

The packaging is sufficiently educational that we hardly felt like we were goofing off at all when we staged a Friday-afternoon chocolate tasting. Inside the wrapper are maps (for those unclear on where Ghana is) and slightly geeky tasting instructions ("Nibble thoughtfully").

We approached our task solemnly and seriously -- even thoughtfully, yes -- and can report that the Ghana bar, with its "intense, robust, full-bodied chocolate flavor," trounced Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

Try it yourself. Dove is widely available.

At long last, produce negociant Tom Spicer's F-M 1410 storefront is open daily to anyone who wants to walk in and check out (that is, buy) his eclectic wares, which often disappear into restaurateurs' hands before you and I are even out of bed. Today at noon, I spied fresh hearts of palm, a box of zucchini blossoms and mixed California heirloom tomatoes (for $4 a pound). He's also got wild arugula (the spicy green's cousin), organic shiitakes, exotic greens, micro-greens, baby zukes etc. Spicer, a k a Spiceman, is something of a modern-day forager, a madman with a mission, who carroms from the night Dallas Farmers Market to deep Canton, Texas, to the shipping dock at Southwest Air Cargo, getting and shipping the best seasonal stuff. If you can get on his e-mail ist, he sends out stream-of-consciousness chronicles of where he's been, what he's doing and what's in stock. The store is a few shuffles toward Central on Fitzhugh from Jimmy's Food Store at Fitzhugh and Bryan. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More about the new Uptown lounge here.

A $3.99 children’s menu at the Central Expressway location of Razzoo’s Cajun Cafe could complement an outing (Tuesday, July 31, or Wednesday, Aug. 1) for the kids to nearby Keystone Park Stadium 16, which is one of several Texas theatres participating in Regal Entertainment Group’s Free Family Film Festival. The kids menu features fries and a drink with a choice of selections such as cheese burgers and popcorn shrimp.

If you're trekking to the Dallas Farmers Market today or this weekend, look for the farmers and farm dealers in the yellow farm shed, who will have these items from area farms: field tomatoes, okra, yellow and zucchini squash, peaches, several pepper varieties, onions, plums, eggplant, Asian pears and lots o' peas, including black-eyes, crowder, speckled butter beans, limas and zipper creams. Also local watermelon and cantaloupe are finally in the picture.

Remember when you buy fresh peas that they are highly perishable. Plan on cooking them or freezing them the day of purchase so that they don't go sour.

And don't forget the artisanal merchants in Shed No. 2, which is undergoing renovation: Philomena with her stuffed Italian breads, the pastured meats and chickens (and eggs, etc.) of Texas Meats, Mawker Coffee, Wagon Creek Creamery fresh dairy products and more. C U there.

If summer travels take you to Puerto Rico next week, check out the Puerto Rico Wine & Food Fest. The inaugural event will be Aug. 3 through 5 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, the capital. In addition to highlighting Puerto Rican cuisine (with samplings of fare from the area's top restaurants), the fest will include tastings of international wines and local spirits, seminars and chef demos. Founded in the 1500s, San Juan is one of the oldest cities in the Americas. So if you're a history buff, you should find plenty of fodder for the mind, too. Click here for points of interest in San Juan.

No Reservations opens today, and foodie film fans should check out these stories from Friday's GuideLive.

• Review: The movie gets a B minus

• Interview: Zooming in on Catherine Zeta-Jones

Fans of Stephan Pyles, the chef and the restaurant, might be interested to know that off-site catering is available in the area. Options include seated meals (for 20 to 200 guests), cocktail parties (passed hors d'oeuvres and bar service for up to 500 guests) and wine dinners.

One of my in-a-pinch meals starts with Safeway Select Eating Right Chicken Lettuce Wrap Filling. (Aside: In the spirit of "hot coffee will burn you" warnings, the frozen food package notes "lettuce not included." Well, duh.) All that wrapping in lettuce that you're supposed to do is fun for about five seconds (unless you're under the age of 12). So here's what you do instead to make two adult-size entrees:

Tear about 4 cups' worth of romaine. Divide among two salad bowls. Heat the filling per instructions and divide it on top of the lettuce in each bowl. Finish with the Chinese rice sticks included in the package. You won't have a pretty salad - all brown and mulchy looking - but the hoisin-simmered chicken, water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms and onions, coupled with the lettuce, make a light summer entree that comes in somewhere around 300 calories. Find Safeway Select at Tom Thumb.

For those planning to see the new Catherine Zeta-Jones culinary flick -- "No Reservations"-- you might also check out 2001's "Mostly Martha" -- the German language film it's based on.

It'll inspire a night of cooking.

We grabbed a bite at Alo the other night- which boasts Mexican and Peruvian street food.

It's only open for dinner right now, and several menu items aren't yet available.

Flavors were interesting, though it will be good to have the full complement of offerings. Desserts include a fruity cuatros leches -- a link to its sister La Duni.

Cocktails were particularly interesting -- including a "bombay fire on ice"--gin, flamed ginger, lime and cool cucumber as an end note.

Service was prompt and the vibe was very hip. There was a pretty good crowd for a Tuesday night.

There were some rough edges, but nothing insurmountable.

One complaint: They plan to charge $1.25 for linen napkins! Our server explained that its because the cost of laundering isn't baked into the price.

Hmmmm when prices for cocktails are $9.75, I'm not sure how well that's going to play for the long run......

No, Anthony Bourdain's show hasn't jumped ship from the Travel Channel. The Catherine Zeta-Jones/Aaron Eckhart chef movie of the same name is getting a night of television specials in honor of its opening Friday.

• From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., Emeril Live features guests Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin. Some of the dishes featured in the movie will be prepared.

• From 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Unwrapped goes behind the scenes of the movie and lets Catherine Zeta-Jones talk about her in-the-kitchen training.

Reunion shows can be mixed bags, but last night's Top Chef, with several contestants from the first two seasons and castoffs from the ongoing third, was worth watching (and you can catch it in numerous reruns on Bravo).

The high point came at the end, with previously unseen footage of a second-season spoof of the judges. Also, an answer to the Padma scar question!

Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Victory Tavern, which he calls "Victory Park's splashy reimagining of the humble pub." The other restaurants reviewed this week are Mirabelle, Fish Express and I Love Sushi.


Always Online: Check out our features Top 100 restaurants, Hot and new restaurants and Too new to review restaurants.


Because of the fish and chips at left (which Bill Addison spends a few paragraphs of his Victory Tavern review discussing), I've been thinking about other restaurants that serve this dish. My go-to place is Tipperary Inn. Tell us: What's your favorite place to eat fish and chips?