EATS

Since taking over as chef of Cock & Bull, 25-year-old Hugh Stewart has done a complete overhaul of the Lakewood restaurant and bar’s menu. In fact, he’s done it more than once — the menu changes a few times a year to reflect the season.

Chef Stewart, who grew up in Las Colinas, arrived at Cock & Bull nearly a year ago after leading the kitchen at Jeroboam. He’s finishing up this fall’s menu, which is set to debut in early September. Here’s more from Stewart:

(Hugh Stewart, executive chef at Cock & Bull by NAN COULTER/Special Contributor)

Instead of driving out to the far north Frisco location of Crossroads Winery, you can taste a selection of the wines between 4 and 7 p.m. today and tomorrow at Kegs & Barrels in Plano. Winery owner John Otis will be there pouring the wine today. Selections include the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Vintner's Blend Red and Vintner's Blend White. Ausitn wine writer Wes Marshall has praised the young winery's efforts. Kegs & Barrels is at 1905 W. 15th St. in Plano.

It was SRO Thursday afternoon at Hector's on Henderson for the invitation-only viewing of a "sizzle reel" for what might turn into a TV gig for chef Blythe Beck. "The Naughty Kitchen" would follow the outspoken redhead as she goes about her business, be it shopping, chefing or just hanging out and having a good time. Or even making sudden, unexpected left turns while driving.

Restaurant owner Hector Garcia did his Naughty best to warm up the crowd by crooning Mack the Knife.

The clip itself was 7 minutes of hilarity with, natch, a few Naughty words thrown in. Let's just say Blythe is more of a cable kind of gal.

Photo of Blythe Beck by Kye R. Lee.

GermanDeli.com in Southlake just sent over a basket of elderflower syrup. This did not excite me all that much until I read the release and determined that I could put a photo of George Clooney on the blog. So that's good.

Here's the deal. George Clooney likes the elderflower cocktail and wanted to serve it in Las Vegas at a party for the opening of Ocean's 13 during the CineVegas film festival. He wanted to serve 800 of them, to be exact. GermanDeli did the math and shipped the syrup just in time for the party.

Here's the recipe if you want to try it:

D'arbo Elderflower Cocktail: In a shaker, combine 1 cup tonic water, 1/2 cup Ciroc vodka, 1/4 cup D'arbo Elderflower Syrup, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 1 stalk of lemon grass, finely sliced, plus 3 or 4 ice cubes. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a stick of lemon grass.

The syrup is currently on sale for $15.99 for a 500-ml bottle.

Here's something to try at home (maybe on Labor Day, if you like to cook). Greenz is featuring a special appetizer that's a watermelon cup filled with feta cheese, red pepper and marinated onion with a dash of pepper and mint. When we saw one going to a nearby table (yeah, yeah, I'm a food voyeur) , we had to know what it was.

How do you make a watermelon cup? Use two sizes of mold. Don't have molds? Use a large glass and a small glass (or cans, like a beer can and a frozen OJ can). The waiter who described the two-mold method didn't explain how the chef does it, but I'm going to guess he or she starts out with a watermelon quarter, pushes the big mold down and cuts horizontally just below the mold. Once the solid round piece is out, use the smaller mold to cut out the interior flesh, leaving a ring of watermelon.

Or, you could just go by and check it out, and leave the labor to the pros.

Ferrari's Italian Villa in Addison now has a sister restaurant in Grapevine, open for lunch and dinner six days a week (closed Sunday).

Coming in a month: Flight, a new martini bar adjacent to the Grapevine restaurant, say owners Francesco and Jane Secchi.

The new Ferrari's is at 1200 William D. Tate in Grapevine. Call 817-251-2525 for more information.

Efisio Farris -- who, with his brother, Francesco, started Pomodoro, then Arcodoro, then combined the two into Arcodoro and Pomodoro on Routh -- is the subject of a profile in Food & Wine magazine this month.

It's a snapshot of a visit to the house where his grandparents lived in his native Sardinia, with wonderful, lush descriptions of both the food, the surroundings and island's heritage.

Today, Efisio lives in Houston, where he runs an Arcodoro there. He has also written a cookbook, Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey, which will be published by Rizzoli in October.

In more debut eatery news, Strong's Everyday Tavern offered a sneak peek yesterday of its new digs in the former Standard space on Fairmount St.

The concept is comfort food (think BBQ ribs) served in an upscale setting that eschews pretension. This is the latest concept from Chili's, Tia's and Red's Patio Grill founder Larry Lavine (along with biz partners Michael Share and Ben Mizell).

The team already has plans for additional Strong's locales in Grapevine and Fort Worth.

The Uptown locale opens to the public Sept. 4.

It really is the month of Hatch chiles, siblings to Anaheims grown in Hatch, N.M. Add Brookshire's to the list of stores featuring the pods. They come in mild and hot versions, and because they're so fresh, they're also quite fragrant. Go to the next page for a recipe: Cheesy Hatch Chile Rice.

At farmers markets, the summer season is winding down. Best bets are still okra, peas, beans and squash. There are a few local, late-summer-crop tomatoes. Also dwindling supplies of peaches, cucumbers, onions, watermelon, cantaloupe, red new potatoes and Asian pears.

Photo by Juan Garcia/Staff Photographer

Talk about an introduction. Here was the scene at last night's preview party for The Club inside the old Draelion space at The Centrum building.

Dallas restaurateur Robert Colombo (still riding high from his success with Trece on Travis St.) rolled out his sleek version of a "supper club" in old Hollywood style. A red carpet led to the mahogany front doors. Inside, even hair-straightening humidity from last night's storm couldn't dampen guests' spirits (not to mention the Ralph Lauren-chic decor).

More to come.

The Club opens to the public Sept. 4 at 3102 Oak Lawn Ave., 214-526-3100

So, amidst the chaos at The Club last night, I had a chance to catch up with Gene Street (III Forks, founder of Black-Eyed Pea, etc., etc.). The eats guru says he's been busy with a steakhouse in Maui and also "working a deal" on something else, but keeping it on the down-low for now.

As for his spare time, Gene admits he's still not too old for some "light sinning."

You go, Gene.

L to R: Restaurateur Gene Street, Justice Molly Francis and boutique owner Eric Kimmel at The Club.

One era ends and another begins.

The rumors are true: The Grape, a Lower Greenville Avenue institution since 1972, is being sold to Brian Luscher, who was executive chef there from 2001 to 2004.

The transaction will complete in October, also the 35th anniversary of The Grape's founding by Kathy McDaniel and Charlotte Parker. Styled after the intimate wine bistros of New York, it was Dallas' first restaurant with an eclectic blackboard menu, and its kitchen paved the way for many aspiring chefs and restaurateurs.

Patrons may see chef Luscher back at work perhaps by the end of September. His wife, Courtney (former GM of Dakota’s), will work the front of the house as The Grape's general manager.

"Courtney and I are both thrilled about coming back to The Grape,” says chef Luscher in the press release. “I have wonderful memories from the kitchen here, and it feels like we’ve come full circle.”

Expect more details to come...

One of my frequent gripes about Indian restaurants is that, out of that vast sub-continent with its galaxies of different cuisines, the kitchen cooks serve the same tired dishes that mostly hail from the North: saag (creamed spinach), tandoori chicken made phosphorescent by food coloring, overly creamy curries, yawn, yawn, yawn ...

Well, maybe the new Bukhara Grille in Richardson will offer some much-needed zest. The restaurant opened a month ago, and its menu includes a fun dish I tried once in London called Ustad Kim Dum Biryani: Saffron-infused rice and lamb, cooked slowly in a pot covered with a dome made out of naan dough. The also offer a few Desi-Chinese dishes, the Indian-Chinese fusion dishes that were all the rage in India a few years back.

Check it out and let me know what you think. I'll be headed there soon myself.

Bukhara Grille: 955 E Campbell Road, Richardson,TX,75081. 972- 437-0013.

Harlingen Shrimp Farm raises Texas white shrimp exclusively for Whole Foods Market, and September is the only month they're available fresh, not frozen. Whole Foodie Scott Simons says the flavor is amazing, and Scott's pretty good at keeping the sizzle consistent with the steak. I plant to give 'em a try for the holiday.

Here's another tip when you're in WFM (at least at the Lomo Alto location) and, to be fair, when the store's not too busy: You can ask the seafood department to cook a piece of salmon for you while you shop, then pick it up warm just before you're ready to check out. There's no extra charge.

Over on Metro's Bold Types blog, they have a picture of the trophy in the State Fair of Texas' Third Annual Big Tex Choice Awards, which we felt compelled to share with Eats bloggers.

That's the coveted prize for the winner of the top new version of fried fair food. Which will be one of seven entrants, ranging from Deep Fried Latte to Zesty Fried Guacamole Bites and Fried Lord-Knows-What-Else.

The State Fair of Texas opens at Fair Park on Sept. 28. Get those cholesterol meds refilled now, folks.

A quarterly magazine about...meat? Yep, it exists. And it's called, of course, Meatpaper. According to its founders, graphic designer Sasha Wizansky and writer Amy Standen:

Meatpaper is a print magazine of art and ideas about meat. We like metaphors more than marinating tips. We are your journal of meat culture. ...At once divisive and universal, delicious and disturbing, funny and dead-serious, meat polarizes us unlike any other food; it’s the Hillary Clinton of the freezer aisle. Us, we’re ambidextrous here at Meatpaper — no agenda except to gnaw on the ideas, artistic excursions and bone-deep emotions the subject inspires. We invite you to dig in with us.

A yearly subscription to Meatpaper, which is published (where else?) in San Francisco, is $28. The first issue ships in September.

Tuscan winery Castello di Gabbiano is teaming with Arts Fighting Cancer to present Gabbiano Nights, four Thursdays of free outdoor movies starting at 8 p.m. at Lee Park, 3333 Turtle Creek Blvd.

Bring a blanket or short lawn chairs, food and drink, and enjoy these Italian-connected classics under the stars. Sample Gabbiano wines, too, if you're over 21; free.

Here's the schedule:

Sept. 6: Roman Holiday

Sept. 13: Cinema Paradiso

Sept. 20: Moonstruck with a live cooking demonstration featuring chef Claud Mann from TBS' Dinner and a Movie

Sept. 27: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Talk about something for everybody.

This week, the critics review Rick's Chophouse in McKinney, Highland Park Cafeteria in East Dallas, Olive Oil's Pizzeria in Richardson and Little Sichuan Cuisine.

Do you agree with our reviews? Disagree? Leave us a comment.

Also this weekend is the last chance for Restaurant Week. Let us know where you went and what you thought. Read other reader reviews here.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, American Indians who hail from New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, are peddling their supersweet corn (called Ute Mountain Gold) and showing folks how to prepare it during free demonstrations on Labor Day.

• 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday. Plano Central Market, Coit Road at George Bush Turnpike; 469-241-9339.

• 2 to 6 p.m. Monday. Dallas Central Market, Lovers Lane at Greenville Avenue; 214-361-5754.

'Got a few more details on AIWF's Caesar Salad Competition, and it's nice to see women dominating the winners this year:

Parigi's winning chef Janice Provost wooed votes with a mini lobster knuckle sandwich. Did I call this, or what?

Second-place Casey Thompson of Shinsei paired her Caesar with tempura-coconut chicken tenders.

Third-place winner Daniel Nemec of Kirby's placed duck confit on a brandy crisp, described as being like a baked bagel slice with a sweet component that made nice with the duck.

Yesterday I tried to track down those rumors about Carrabba's locations closing, but it wasn't until this morning that I finally received the official word from Carrabba's HQ.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill has closed its Preston Center and Lakewood restaurants. According to Mike Herley, joint venture partner of Carrabba’s Italian Grill in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, the decision to close is based on the changing dynamics within the commercial environment surrounding the restaurant.

“These locations are no longer conducive to operating our business here,” says Herley. “With five restaurants within 20 miles, it is a prudent business decision for us.”

“On behalf of all of us at the Carrabba’s Italian Grill, we want to express our appreciation to our loyal patrons in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area for their support and patronage over the past seven years,” Herley adds.

According to Herley, the company will work with each of the employees to re-locate them to one of the other company restaurants in the area. The North Dallas Tollway, Grapevine, East Plano, Rockwall and Hurst restaurants will remain open.

The James Beard Foundation is celebrating 20 years of fabulous foodie-ness with 20 simultaneous food festivals across the country. Dallas will host one of the events Sept. 28 and 29. Patrick O'Connell of the Inn at Little Washington, in Washington, Va., is the featured guest of the dinner at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28. The fundraiser benefits the foundation and Dallas Farmers Market Friends and will feature creations by chefs Anthony Bombaci of Nana, Kent Rathbun of Abacus and Jasper's, Julia Lopez and Dunia Borga of La Duni, and Brian Olenjack of Olenjack's Grille; $225. Hilton Anatole Hotel, 2201 Stemmons Freeway.

If you can't swing the dinner, don't feel left out. Plan instead to attend the free festival at Williams-Sonoma at NorthPark Center (Central Expressway at Northwest Highway). Activities include tastings, demonstrations and a cookbook signing by Mr. O'Connell, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 29. 214-485-7300. Read more about the Dallas Beard Foundation events here.

Restaurateur Alberto Lombardi nixes the rumor that Cafe Toulouse, his popular Knox Street bistro, has closed its doors.

The current closure is a temporary one, and Toulouse will reopen tomorrow after what Mr. Lombardi terms an "end of summer cleaning," for some fresh paint and the installation of a new, non-skid floor in the kitchen. Colleen O'Hare, who ran the kitchen at the late lamented Green Room, is Toulouse's new chef and will be tweaking the fall menu.

Look for Mr. Lombardi's newest venture, La Cubanita, to open in about two months in the McKinney Avenue space that was long occupied by Chez Gerard. Mr. Lombardi just got back from Miami and a tour of its Cuban restaurants, to gather inspiration for the new eatery.

DMN file photo of Alberto Lombardi by Courtney Perry

The holiday season may not be on your radar yet, but it is on TJ’s Catering’s. The full-service catering arm of TJ’s Seafood Market (Preston and Forest) is accepting reservations for holiday parties (cocktail parties, seated dinners, etc.). Call 214-691-2369 or e-mail sales@tjsseafood.com.

Country Living magazine's line of specialty foods is produced by Grand Prairie's Heritage Family Specialty Food. Read more about the Country Living products here.

Like Cathy Barber, I just returned from a week in Minneapolis, where this year’s Association of Food Journalists conference was held.

As during most of my travels, I intended to be modest in my eating adventures but quickly spiraled into a gluttonous frenzy. I started at Cafe Brenda, a restaurant in the Warehouse District that gives natural foods a good name. I worked at Brenda Langton’s restaurant during the brief but rich time I lived in Minneapolis during the winter of 1995-96. Brenda’s signature dish is vegetarian croquettes, sumptuous morsels with crunch and spicy nuance.

Some cookbooks makes us very afraid. The Texas Judicial Cookbook (Ovation Cookbooks, $19.95) is a "culinary tribute to Texas' county courthouses" that includes "59 recipes from presiding and former judges as well as other state and county officials."

Mind you, I haven't looked at the cookbook or recipes, so what follows is hearsay. But so often compilations like this end up as a sort of headless hodgepodge of random stuff. And with descriptions like "Texas classic" Chicken Pork Jambalaya, I am not encouraged.

Still, Gov. Rick Perry contributes Chuck Wagon Chili and Aunt Gene's Coconut Pie (could be promising). And Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison gives us Cousin Susie's Perfect Fudge. But what are we to make of former first lady Barbara Bush's All-American Clam Chowder? For a Texas cookook? Gulf clams, sure. 'Guess I better clam up.