EATS

While in France, I met with a group of food writers I had known only online, and one day's activity was to shop the Saturday market at Perigueux (pictured), then return to the tower and prepare a meal.

To reiterate, the tower is just that: a tower, with an internal diameter of 3 meters, about 10 feet, that you can rent for a back-country getaway. It probably dates from the Hundred Years War, but no one is sure whether it was a hunting tower or a guard tower. It has little openings for crossbows. Nichola Fletcher (Charlemagne's Tablecloth) and husband John have finished it out so that there's a kitchen on the first floor, bath on the second and bedroom on the third, topped by a tiny loft that holds another bed.

The group of us drove to the market at heart of old Perigueux, held on adjoining medieval squares. To reach them, we had to walk the old, original cobblestone streets. We fanned out, each with his menu assignment: Mine was salad.

You're invited to join beer-lovers around the world in raising a toast to English writer Michael Jackson , as well as raise money to fight Parkinson's disease, which contributed to his death on Aug. 30. The National Toast takes place locally at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium in Addison, honoring the memory of the critic who has probably done more to improve beer's stature in the world than anyone else. He was 65 when died of Parkinson's and diabetes. No crying in your beer, now. The Flying Saucer is at 14999 Montfort.

Nice weather for hitting the farmers market. Look for some late-summer local stuff like pinto beans, some peas, onions, red new potatoes, persimmons, cucumbers and watermelons, as well as yellow straight-neck and zucchini squash. Some of the dealers will have new-crop fall apples, pears, carrots and more from out-of-state. The fall ornamentals like pumpkins, corn and gourds aren't local either, but they're fun for invoking the spirit of fall. Downtown market: Open Saturday and Sunday, 1010 S. Pearl.

Meanwhile, here are highlights from FM1410: Tom Spicer's still got chard from Stonewall Jackson Elementary as well as loads of not-local mushrooms, including Abalone, Maitake, Blue Chanterelles, Lobster and others. He's also got fresh huckleberries. From other points southeast, he's bringing in sorrel, green tomatoes, baby okra and peas, sweet white corn, wild and baby arugula, tons of fresh herbs, and baby head lettuces. The store's at 1410 Fitzhugh near Bryan. Open till 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Better hurry up if you were planning to propose at Antares. (A lot of romance-minded people actually do that, we hear.)

Reunion Tower, that 29-year-old landmark in the southwest corner of downtown Dallas, will be closing in mid-November for a makeover. And Antares -- the revolving restaurant atop the tower -- will be closing along with it.

But only temporarily. When it comes back in a year, the restaurant space will be reconfigured and combined with the adjacent lounge space.

Read about Reunion Tower's facelift.

Many tasty Texas treats were on offer at Thursday night's preview party at the Food and Fiber Pavilion at the State Fair of Texas. Why, then, did I end the evening eating dog food?

Bark for Peace, based in Austin (where else?), offers "100% human-grade" dog treats. The idea is to take a snack break with your dog.

Ever the curious reporter, I agreed to nibble a patch of sweet potato jerky. It tasted like nicely seasoned, not-too-sweet fruit leather. Not that I like fruit leather all that much. I drew the line at the bone-shaped biscuit.

Bark For Peace treats are sold mostly in Austin, but look for them at the Texas Department of Agriculture shop in the Food & Fiber Pavilion during the fair.

Our colleagues over on the Religion blog remind us that the Greek Food Festival of Dallas is this weekend at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

A festival lunch and dinner will be served, and many foods will be available a la carte at booths. Cooking demos start tonight at 6:30 p.m. and resume at 12 noon on Saturday and Sunday.

Besides lots of Greek dishes, there will be entertainment by American Idol's dishy Greek, singer and soap star Constantine Maroulis (right). And believe it or not, according to the festival schedule, Constantine himself will be showing the crowd how to make koulouria -- Greek butter cookies -- at 9:30 p.m. tonight.

Flight delayed at D-FW? If you’re in Terminal D, the Grand Hyatt DFW can help fill empty time as well as an empty stomach with its new iTaste and Virtual Menu programs. For $25, you check out an Ipod at the Über Coffee Bar. A video podcast guides you through a cheese, wine or chocolate tasting. For hearty eaters, the nearby Grand Met lets you create you own dining experience with food and wine pairings at the touch of a screen. Both services offered on the lobby level of the hotel. Go to www.grandhyattdfw.com for more details

Stopped in last evening as chef Avner Samuel and his wife, Celeste, celebrated five years in business at Aurora.

There were champagne toasts and, for hors d'oeuvres, an assortment of tiny crostini topped with some of Avner's favorite ingredients: foie gras and fig, beef tartare, and lobster, avocado and caviar.

Guests got to take home an elegant little book filled with recipes for some of Avner's signature dishes. While we doubt we would ever get ambitious enough to try making Aurora's amuse-bouche, a brown eggshell filled with egg custard (this recipe is for the wild-mushroom ragout and maple-syrup cream version), the carmel avocado parfait is something we would actually attempt. Just as soon as we can afford some Royal Iranian Osetra Caviar.

Avner told us he is getting this year's very first shipment of white truffles to reach the U.S. He's planning to use a special new see-through humidor that'll allow guests to view the truffles before opening the box for a sniff. He will be serving the truffles (which are from Alba, Italy) next week, Wednesday through Saturday. To reserve for the special truffle menu, call 214-528-9400.

(Shay Forson photo of Celeste and Avner Samuel, courtesy of Aurora)

You might think of the State Fair as being more of a biergarten kind of place -- but lovers of the grape will also have a place to gather during October, which is Texas Wine Month.

The State Fair of Texas Wine Garden will let fairgoers explore the world of Lone Star winemakers. The state has 135 wineries and 210 commercial vineyards in operation, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture, which is presenting the wine garden with sponsorship by Kroger.

There will be scheduled tastings throughout the Fair, which starts today and goes through Oct. 21. Experts will answer questions and conduct "Wine 101" classes for those who want to learn more.

You can find the Texas Wine Garden on Nimitz Drive, across the street from the Creative Arts Building.

I was listening to KLIF-AM this morning when local PR guy and Slow Foodie Brian Cummings came on to talk about his cookbook, Get This Cookbook First: It's Full of Stuff Mom Should Have Taught You. Brian polled his kids' friends to find out what they wanted to know to set up their first kitchens, and this is the result. "I teach 'em what a knife is, how to buy a saucepan...." Brian said on the show. The book contains 100 recipes, shopping lists, shortcuts for seasoning and more. Sounds very cool for new-crop cooks.You get it at www.lulu.com/briancummings for $19.19 plus a $2.50 download fee. The Atmos Energy cooking site also uses a lot of the recipes and information, if you want a preview.

One of Napa Valley's premier wineries is Opus One, a cab-based Bordeaux-style blend that debuted in 1978 as a joint venture for Robert Mondavi and the Baron Philippe de Rothschild.

So for North Texas oenophiles, it's big news that Bijoux will be debuting the 2004 Opus One wines in Dallas.

Chef-owner Scott Gottlich and his wife, sommelier Gina Gottlich, have planned a wine dinner for Oct. 17, with a vertical tasting of the Opus One wines. Each of the four courses in this meal will be paired with an Opus One vintage from 2001, 2002, 2003 and finally the debut of 2004. Guests also will attend a pre-dinner reception at 6:30 p.m., with caviar and hors d’oeuvres accompanied by a 1995 vintage Krug Champagne.

Chef Gottlich's menu has a first course of toro (Japanese belly tuna) and foie gras, followed by squab with ravioli, then an entrée featuring Kobe beef and lobster, with bittersweet chocolate cranberry cake for dessert.

The event is $500 per person. For reservations, call 214-350-6100.

I ate foie gras so often in France that I almost had to say, "Oh no, not foie gras again."

Nah. That didn't happen. But there definitely were two peak experiences with the wonderful stuff.

One was when my host in Saussignac, Henry Stuart (right), whipped up a little foie gras at home on the last night of my visit. This is the same Henry Stuart that built Addison Airport. Moniseur Henri lives half the time in Dallas and half at Chateau Fongrenier-Stuart, his rambling, 400-year-old chateau near Bergerac.

The other peak moment was pate-stuffed, plumped figs at a gathering of some writer friends at a tiny, remodeled tower (more about in a moment) halfway between Bergerac and Perigueux.

Casey Thompson, executive chef at Dallas restaurant Shinsei, is one challenge away from potentially winning Bravo TV's third season of Top Chef.

Despite leaving her elk chops a little too rare, and serving a cauliflower side dish criticized by lead judge Tom Colicchio, Ms. Thompson made it to the final round of the competition during Wednesday night's episode.

Read the full story by Bill Addison.

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews two new burger joints in Fort Worth: Dutch's Hamburgers from chef Grady Spears and Pappas Burger, which gets its ground meat from its sibling restaurant Pappas Bros. Steakhouse. Bill also takes a first look at Fearing's in his Diner's Notebook column (Fearing's starred review will be published later in the fall).

Also reviewed this week are Arlington's Cacharel and Plano's Shandiz Mediterranean Grill and Market.

Do you agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below.

The San Diego-based buffet chain Sweet Tomatoes is set to open its first Dallas-area location Oct. 15 at 15225 Montfort Dr. in Addison, east of the Dallas North Tollway and across from Prestonwood Town Center. It will be open daily for lunch and dinner, serving a rotating menu of more than 100 dishes including salads, soups, pastas, muffins and desserts. Sweet Tomatoes also will be open on Sundays at 9 a.m. with a special breakfast menu.

If you're into interior design, you've surely heard of the immortal Dorothy Draper, who was recently the subject of an exhibit at the Women's Museum. Dorothy designed the interiors for Dallas' own Stoneleigh Hotel. But we bet she never designed her own coffee brand. Her protege, Carleton Varney (who continues to run Dorothy Draper & Co.) has done that very thing. Carleton Coffees come in nine regular and five decaf varieties, all arabica beans from coffee-growing regions such as Hawaii, Sumatra, Guatemala and Kenya. To order online: www.carletoncoffees.com.

My trip took me to Perigord, the foie gras capital of the world.

Cover your ears and shut your eyes now if you Don’t Want To Hear About It.

I’m not about to defend the French foie gras industry any more than I would defend any kind of factory farming. But foie gras is as seminal to the French food experience as steak is in Texas. Besides, in a fit of hypocrisy for which I do not apologize, foie gras is one of my favorite foods.

The best foie gras stop: an artisanal ferme auberge in Lunas between Perigueuex and Beregac. La Ferme de Biorne has a restaurant, and my food-writer colleagues with me explained that 90 percent of what it serves must be produced on the farm. Since this was a duck farm (happy ducks pictured), foie gras was on the menu. And since we were food writers, we got to see the duck-to-pate process.

I'm still mulling over the chocolate tortilla chips I posted on a coupla days ago.

Too odd for good junk food by themselves, I decided. But what about as as the base of a more elaborate tower 'o junk? Like: Top the chip with a dollop of whipped cream. Add sliced berries. Shake on some chocolate sprinkles (or grate on some good chocolate if you want to go top-shelf). Drizzle with caramel sauce.

Messy enough to be an honorable homage to the original nacho, I'd think. I wonder how it would taste?

If you are a normal American of any age, you probably love cupcakes -- something that every bakery in America has discovered in the past few years.

But as the New York Times' Sarah Kershaw wrote on Sunday:

The cupcake is at something of a crossroads. Edible icon of Americana, frosted symbol of comfort and innocence, it may not have faced such an identity crisis since first appearing in cookbooks sometime in the 18th century.As we know, cupcakes have had a whopping resurgence: they are retro-food chic, the thing to eat for people in the know. But cupcakes have also recently been marched to the front lines of the fat wars, banned from a growing number of classroom birthday parties because of their sugar, fat and “empty calories,” a poster food of the child obesity crisis. This was clear when children returned to school this month to a tightening of regulations, federal and state, on what can be served up between the bells. And it has led some to wonder whether emotional value, on occasion, might legitimately outweigh nutritional value.

On this cupcake dilemma, I come down firmly on the pro-cupcake-as-school-birthday-treat side. Of course, my kid was in elementary school 20 years ago, before cupcakes were chic, and also before childhood obesity was such a problem. But I doubt my daughter would have many fond memories of her schoolroom birthdays, if I'd turned up in her classroom with a plate of crudites and a bowl of yogurt dip.

(DMN file photo: Cupcakes from Tart Bakery)

We finally had dinner this weekend at Doug Brown's long awaited Cliff Cafe at the Belmont Hotel. (Locals have already dubbed it "the Cliff".)

It was the food equivalent of being nestled in mother's arms. A skillet of hot mac and cheese was a stringy delight with homemade cheese sauce, fresh basil and tomatoes. The chicken fried steak (top left) was piled high with grilled vegetables and a hearty homemade gravy. Other must-haves include the steaming Bourbon pecan pie topped with melting vanilla ice cream and the Belmontini cocktail.

Embrace the carbs. I did.

Next month's issue of Decanter magazine (November) looks at the carbon imprint of wineries. But even before it hits the newsstands comes this tout from Cono Sur Vineyards & Wineries, some of whose vineyards are located way, way, way down in southern Chile.

The winery is the first in the world to achieve global CarbonNeutral delivery status in accordance with the CarbonNeutral Co., which evaluates CO2 emissions from shipping and helps companies achieve a zero balance through offsets. One of those for Cono Sur is support of a wind-energy project in Turkey.

Cono Sur wines are available locally. I can't wait to see how the rest of the wineries shake out.

Hot gossip overheard: Stephan Pyles has apparently signed a letter of intent for a restaurant space not too far from his current eponymous spot. It will supposedly be a more casual concept, along the caliber of Houston’s, which will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week. Early projections estimate the place opening around March or April 2008. More details forthcoming as they emerge.

Let me set this up for you: The lamb at right was part of a smallish dinner at the home of Robert Drouhin, patriarch of Burgundy’s Maison Joseph Drouhin wine family, who lives in Beaune, the region’s winemaking nerve-center. The table included me; three other journalists; Robert; two of his children (winemaker Veronique and viticulturist Philippe); Veronique’s husband; and Drouhin’s publicist.

We had worked our way through several courses when the lamb arrived – sorry I shook the camera a bit – prepared according to an old family recipe, Robert said. Exquisitely caramelized yet astonishingly tender, the meat played against nothing more than herbs and its own bright juices, having been left to braise for seven hours. No knife needed.

Robert explained that “the idea is to extract the best of what it is.” Which of course goes for lamb or wine. Or, in this case, both. To caress the simple, elegant dish, he brought out a 1985 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru. The lamb was like a sluce that opened the floodgates to the wine's lustrous, mahogany flavors: think smoky figs, dried cherries and clean hay-straw. And the interplay went on and on. Was I on a roll, or what?

I was ecstatic to hear that my favorite barbecue joint, Hard Eight, had finally made a foray into the Metroplex, opening a restaurant in Coppell. Before I could make a visit, reviewer Kim Harwell awarded them a single star -- "generally disappointing" in the lingo of the star system.

This was not good news. For my money ($8.99 a pound, to be exact), the original location in Stephenville consistently turns out the best ribs in the state. Last weekend I needed a rib fix, and we decided not to take any chances: We would head for Stephenville. Before we left, my sister the bullriding fan called to remind me to be on the lookout for Ty Murray, whose ranch is near Stephenville.

We didn't see Ty, but the ribs were worth every one of the 253 miles we drove that day. I ordered five -- hey, the guy was slicing from the short end of the rack -- but wisely stashed one in a to-go container. The ribs, coated in coarse black pepper, were textbook: smoky, meaty and moist, not fatty. The bones slid right out as I picked each one up.

I've been to the Brady location a few times and it's never quite up to the Stephenville spot.

Tell us: Have you been to any of the Hard Eight locations, and how was the food? Where else do you go for ribs?

I don't blame Christopher Wynn for feeling suckered over the inflated plant price at Home's Depot's Landscape Supply. I'm not as miffed as he was, but I am curious what makes a head of frissee at Central Market worth twice the price of bulk frissee. Over where the heads are tucked, the price is $9.99 a pound (and no, it's not a mistake). But walk 10 feet further and the loose, bulk frissee is $4.99 a pound. So you pay an extra $5 for what? The privilege of pulling it apart yourself?

A resort in Sri Lanka is charging $14,500 for "a fruit infused confection complete with a chocolate sculpture and a gigantic gemstone," according to the AP. It's called the Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence.

Languid lunches have become a lost art. It’s the nature of our culture right now: We’re all too antsy and over-scheduled to sit at a table in the middle of the day for any length, and most restaurants have reacted by scaling back their offerings to light, simple (often overly simple) fare that doesn’t inspire lingering.

But my friend Ralphie and I had a lunch at Toulouse over the weekend that reminded me how pleasurable a slow afternoon meal can be.

This sounded so good, I couldn't resist passing along the recipe. And while I learned about it in Beaune, France, it doesn't actually come from there. Rather, it's straight out of the Malibu kitchen of Brett Anderson, senior VP for editorial at CurtCo Media, which produces the Robb Report. Brett's a rabid wine-and-foodie whose home is surrounded by lavender.

So he developed Lavender Roast Chicken: Place half a lemon, some peeled shallots and some fresh lavender into the cavity of a chicken. Salt and pepper as desired. Rub the top with oilve oil and roast at 350 F (length of time's going to depend on the size). Halfway through the roasting, lay three strips of bacon across the breast. When the bird's done, remove it to a platter to rest. Make a wine reduction (use a dry white) with the drippings in the pan, scraping up the browned bits that stick to the bottom. Throw in a little additional lavender, if you like. Serve the chicken drizzled with the reduction.

Ummmm. Let's go eat at Brett's house.

I just got back from a two-week, food-and-wine-lover’s adventure in France that took me from Burgundy in the northeast to Bergerac and Perigord in the southwest (same area where the Mozzarella Co.’s Paula Lambert conducts tours/classes at La Combe en Perigord). Did I say adventure? Try food orgy. Lobster. Foie gras. Cheeses to die for. More foie gras. Tomatoes and strawberries as red as poppies. Fresh bread. And since I couldn’t get France’s DSL to work worth a flip, I’ve saved up foodie snapshots to parcel out on the blog.

Up first: lobster and white Burgundy.

Chocolate tortilla chips.

Yup. It's a slightly salty corn chip, plus cocoa and a bit of sugar. I've heard it said that anything gets better with chocolate. Maybe this will grow on me. But it's not sweet enough to be sweet, not chocolaty enough to satisfy a serious chocolate jones, not salty enough to hit that spot solidly, either. OTOH, the combo is not bad. A nice cocoa "nose." Plenty crunchy. Hm. 3 grams of fiber per ounce. Darned near health food in the junk category.

Would I buy it again? I need to munch a few more and think about it.

The product is from a company called FoodShouldTasteGood. And who could argue with that. I found my bag at, duh, Central Market.

Tom Spicer's latest missive reports that he's got rainbow chard from the Stonewall Jackson Elementary School garden, as well as wild and baby arugula, baby turnip greens, wild watercress, local wild purslane and more from Jose Rico Farms in Navarro County. He's also touting ugly, but good-tasting Mexican Maradol papayas, ripe persimmons, Tex-Asian pears, Pecos heirloom tomatoes, lots of herbs and more. For a quick study of what's available, check the blackboard when you arrive. Then just cool your heels and expect to chat awhile with this eccentric produce broker who's manical about supporting local producers. He's at 1410-B Fitzhugh, just a sashay toward Central from Jimmy's Food Store at Bryan and Fitzhugh. He's open every day, closed Sunday morning.

If you get a chance today, drop by Flavors From Afar between 2 and 5 p.m., where Texan Carolyn Adair will be chatting informally about her Tuscan olive oil. She owns a 100-tree olive orchard in Tuscany, where she has been harvesting olives for five years. Last year, she made 400 bottles of Amici olive oil from 70 baskets of olives. It's about $34 for 500 milliliters, and she'll sign your bottle. Next month, Carolyn will be carting a crew of travelers over to pick the olives (not the most fun thing to do, if you believe Marlena De Blasi's bone-chilling account in A Thousand Days in Tuscany). This year's trip is already full, but it's never too early to plan for next year: Nov. 1-8, 2008. Flavors From Afar is at 6712 Snider Plaza.

Parents, take note: If your young daughter is already a fan of the American Girl books and dolls, you can expect a trip to the Galleria in the near future.

That's because Nov. 3 and 4 will mark the grand opening of Dallas' own American Girl shop. It's not an American Girl Place store, like the ones in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. No, it's something new: an American Girl Boutique and Bistro, like the first one that opened a month ago in Atlanta.

What's the difference between the two concepts? The company says the Boutique and Bistro store in Dallas will have "a smaller footprint" than their flagship American Girl Place stores -- 20,000 square feet, compared to 40,000. But the Boutique and Bistro will dedicate more of its space to party rooms.

The "Bistro" part caught our eye. There will be prix-fixe "Create Your Plate" lunches and dinners offered at $14.50, plus tax, per person, for an appetizer, main dish and sides. (In Atlanta, these same meals cost a dollar less, we note. What's that all about?)

Brunch on Saturdays and holidays will be $13.50, plus tax, per person. (Also a buck cheaper in Atlanta. Ahem.)

The menus aim for a healthy variety of foods, including salmon and salads, though there also are burgers and curly fries, natch. There will also be a dessert counter. And smaller portions will be available for younger children.

Party and bistro reservations for American Girl's Dallas location are already being accepted: 1-888-777-0010.

So, here's the latest on the roster of new eateries coming to chic One Arts Plaza downtown.

Austin-based Jorge's will open a Mexican food restaurant on the far east side.

Turning left and looking around the ground-floor circle drive in our minds, we'll also have Screen Door upscale comfort food, Tei An for soba noodles, Praeda nightclub and lounge and Dali Wine Cellar.

Look for late November, early December openings pending construction.

Rockin' photo by Courtney Perry

If you're a fair food fanatic, you're already counting the minutes till the gates open. No doubt you've read all about the new fried foods in stories such as "State Fair's newest deep-fried foods have taste for creativity" and ogled the pics of these fried Fair food finalists. Perhaps you've already stocked up on Handi Wipes and Rolaids. But here's another way to get ready for the big day: the BigTex.com food locator.

This tool allows users to search for food by cuisine type, restaurant name or keyword. Make your selection, click "search" and a page opens with a map plotting all your results with a list of those vendors and a chart of their menu items. You can print the map, the list or both.

"Fried" is not a cuisine type, but if you type it into keyword search, you'll get a list of nearly four dozen vendors. The "fried" menu items will even be highlighted for easy picking. Fried bread pudding? Fried guacamole? Fried strawberries? You may not understand why these things are fried, but you will know who's selling them and where their booth is located.

Leftovers:
Thinly sliced sliced roasted leg of lamb from having company over.
A bit of good blue cheese.
A couple of slices of slightly stale challah.
The last couple of slices from a pack of swiss cheese.

I made a grilled cheese sandwich. Used real butter. Put the swiss as the base, added the lamb, crumbled the blue cheese over the top, put the other bread on. Mashed it down flat with the spatula. Browned and turned.

The rosemary flavored lamb held up to the sharpness of the blue cheese. The swiss held it all together. The slightly sweet crunchy buttery bread was strong enough to handle the load.

Restaurant-worthy, I thought. And gone before I thought about grabbing the camera.

Nearly every restaurant and food shop in Deep Ellum is participating in this Saturday afternoon festival inside Sons of Hermann Hall. There will be food samples from AllGood Cafe, Baker's Ribs, Chateau de Fromage, Daddy Jack's Wood Grill, Dallas Mozzarella Company, Deep Sushi, Istanbul Grill, Monica's Aca y Ala, Murray Street Coffee Shop, Rush Pattisserie, St. Pete's Dancing Marlin, Sol's Taco Lounge, Vern's Soul Food Cafe and more – available on the historic hall's first and second floors. In addition, there will be performances by Shanghai 5, Shibboleth, Colin Boyd, Frankie 45, Zound Sounds School of Rock and more upstairs in the ballroom.

A Taste of Deep Ellum is 4 to 7:30 p.m. at Sons of Hermann Hall, 3414 Elm St. at the end of Deep Ellum. Admission is $25, which benefits Central Dallas Ministries. Tickets are available from Front Gate Tickets, Bill's Records, CD World locations and Good Records.

My colleague Scott Cantrell fired off this missive to me today. Anyone else ever had this kind of experience at the Crescent?

A friend and I went to Palomino for dinner last night. As we (separately) entered the self-park garage, the gate flipped up automatically; the ticket dispenser wouldn't give out a ticket. We assumed parking must be free.

Afterward, at the cashier booth, a decidedly unfriendly attendant said he could give us a slip that would have to be validated by the restaurant. He didn't say, "I'm sorry," or anything of the sort, but said there were signs about this posted at all the entrances to the garage. (Neither my friend nor I had seen any such sign.)

I asked if I could just pay and leave, and was told it would be $6. So we both had to back out, park our cars, go back upstairs, get the slip validated, and go back to the cashier booth. We told the hostesses at Palomino about our experience, and they said other customers had had the same experience. As I left I told the parking attendant that was the rudest experience I had ever had in a parking garage. He slammed the window in my face. My response couldn't be printed in a family newspaper.

Before we left, my friend and I walked to two of the three entrances, and we saw no signs about this.

Amazing. And infuriating.

I had a chat last night with Dallas chef royalty Stephan Pyles (left) looking tan and fit at a party for Museum Tower downtown. (Clearly, life is good these days betweens his hot namesake restaurant around the corner and a slew of high-profile consulting gigs).

Pyles told me he would not be opening a restaurant inside Museum Tower, but as its official "Culinary Ambassador" he will oversee a fresh market on site and the development of a pantry stocked with upscale prepackaged meals. (Now that's our kind of take -out).

Another Tower perk is that Pyles will help residents design their perfect kitchen.

What would this chef's own dream set-up be? "I would start by knocking-down three bedrooms to free up more space," he jokes. Or is he? And, of course, "the stove has to be gas."

Metro colleague Holly Hacker reports that the Belmont Hotel has opened its long-awaited eatery, the Cliff Cafe. Last Friday evening was the kickoff.

I'm really eager to try this one, since the Belmont's very cool bar has always served excellent bar food as well as good drinks. Stephen DeSandro is executive chef, with Douglas Brown (of Amuse) as concept chef.

The Cliff Cafe is open daily, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as weekend brunch from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. The menus offer vegetarian dishes as well as plenty of meat and fish, and prices look quite reasonable.

According to the Belmont's website:

In addition to 13 updated classic entrees, the dinner menu features a selection of salads, sandwiches, hamburgers and all-day breakfast, as well as an eclectic selection of affordable and unique New World wines.

Call the Belmont Hotel at 214-393-2300 for more information.

If watching Dancing With The Stars isn't enough for you, shake it up with an interactive class that combines dance lessons with cooking demonstrations. You'll get to sample the themed culinary results and work off the calories all in the span of two hours. Chef Dianne May takes over in the kitchen; dance instructors Tony Hernandez and Kylie Frandsen take over on the dance floor. Each class is $89. Milestone Culinary Arts Center, 4531 McKinney Ave.; 214-217-2818.

• Martini and Merengue, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 26.

• Barbecue and Texas Two-Step, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 4.

• Latin Sizzle and Tango, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 11.

And if you’ve watched previous seasons of this show, the context clues throughout this episode pretty much told you who was going home before the final pronouncement.

But this stressful challenge, the one where the final person gets cut before the Final Four head off to Aspen, starts with the merry band of five strolling the streets of Manhattan whilst the editors speed up the atmospheric film to emphasize the cliché that everything in New York moves faster, faster, faster.

Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Aló Cenaduria and Piqueos, the mostly small plates eatery from the owners of La Duni, and Billadelphia's in Bedford, which – as you might get from the name – specializes in Philly cheesesteaks. The other two new reviews are updates of old favorites: Javier's Gourmet Mexicano and Chow Thai Pacific Rim.

Do you agree? Disagree? Are you a card-carrying member of the Cult of Javier's? Leave a comment below.

I chatted with Fuse chef Blaine Staniford last week at the Mosaic building downtown where he will open Scene in Dec.

This is one busy guy. Staniford says he is working on an eatery for the new View Hotel going into the former Marriott building on South Akard. He'll call it Flight restaurant, playing off the idea of both wine and food flights, such as scallops served three ways, each with a different wine.

He's also developing an eatery with Hamilton Properties and the W Hotel peeps for a new project called Aloft Hotel downtown.

This chef's cookin' with fire.

OK, so maybe the Chick-O-Stick doesn't ring a bell for you. But your Texas-bred parents or grandparents might remember this peanut-candy snack, which has been around since 1932.

The Chick-O-Stick is still being made by the Atkinson's Candy Co. in Lufkin, and if you can't find it sold locally, just go online to www.atkinsoncandy.com.

There you will find a whole storefront of traditional Atkinson sweets, including Coconut Long Boys, Peanut Butter Bars, Peanut Brittle, Rainbow Sticks, Rainbow Coconut Bars, and Mint Twists.

Want to know more about the Chick-O-Stick?

Dallas' first champagne boutique pops the cork.

Photo: Courney Perry

Sprinkles Cupcakes in Dallas is getting in the spirit of the Red River Rivalry.

For two days only -- Friday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 6 -- you'll be able to buy a signature Longhorn Vanilla or Big Red Velvet cupcake, decorated in your team's colors.

Proceeds from the special cupcakes will be donated to Children's Medical Center in Dallas and to Children's Medical Research Institute at OU's Health Sciences Center.

Sprinkles is located at 4020 Villanova St. in the Plaza at Preston Center, the southeast quadrant of Preston Road and Northwest Highway.

Carrollton’s historic downtown square is known for its mix of old-fashioned charm and eclectic goods. (Silver Star, a store that sells American-made antiques, folk art and more, occupies a building that used to be a barbershop in the 1940s.) There’s a sweet reason to spend time in Historic Downtown Carrollton (located off Interstate 35 and bounded by Fourth, Broadway, Main and Elm streets) this Friday, Sept. 21, from 5 to 9 p.m. The retailers on the square are hosting a Chocolate Walk. Which means that as you stroll from shop to shop, you can sample chocolate treats at each stop.

Chef Tim Love is serving up a special tasting menu, created during his victorious battle against Masaharu Morimoto on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. He'll showcase it this fall as a prix-fixe dinner at his modern steakhouse, Duce, in Fort Worth.

The chile-centric Iron Chef menu will be offered Friday and Saturday nights starting this weekend and will continue through October. The five-course dinner is $85 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Call 817-377-4400 for reservations, or see www.eatdrinkliveduce.com for more information.

The Iron Chef tasting menu includes:

Jalapeno Margarita
Chile Rubbed Bone Marrow and Sweet Peppers with Camp Bread
Roasted Poblano Chilies and Lobster Ravioli
Monk Fish Osso Bucco with Posole Stew
Surf 'n Turf with Tuna and Kobe Beef Tenderloin
Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake with Sweet Red Pepper Custard

(Photo courtesy the Food Network)

Eileen Considine-Meara was 10 when her mother, Norah Considine, started working for Katharine Hepburn as her cook and housekeeper, a job she held for 30 years. The author shares her memories of life with the iconic actress in At Home With Kate: Growing Up in Katharine Hepburn’s Household. Ms. Considine-Meara will discuss her book at the next installment of Authors at the Adolphus, an ongoing luncheon series. A three-course luncheon will be served, followed by a book signing. This Friday, Sept. 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. $60. The Adolphus, 1321 Commerce St. 214-651-3520. Reservations are required.

The second Saturday-afternoon session I attended for the Bon Appétit-Ritz Carlton festivities was "Dean's Margaritas and Guacamole," presented in the Dean's Kitchen dining room at Fearing's restaurant.

Executive chef Dean Fearing played host, of course, but he was already a bit hoarse from running events all day. And he was scheduled to sing with buddy Robert Del Grande and their band, the Barbwires, that evening at the gala -- so he needed to conserve his voice.

So Dean welcomed us: "This is the advanced guacamole and margarita class. I know you've all been studying this for years," he joked.

Then he let sous chef Eric Dreyer and mixologist Justin Beam do most of the talking, while the crowd enjoyed sampling the food and drinks. Besides the basic guacamole and chips, we also got tastes of Fearing's smoked-chicken nachos and chicken quesadillas with roasted poblano, as well as charred-tomato salsa. The restaurant's quesadillas, Eric told us, are made from 14-inch flour tortillas. Luna's delivers fresh corn and flour tortillas to Fearing's every day.

Ballpark nachos? Forget 'em, folks. "There's nothing better than a handmade nacho," Dean said. "It cannot be beat."

The classic Dean's Margarita was just the first of three marg variations served. Want to try concocting it yourself?

It's made with 1 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice, 1 cup Cointreau, and 1 cup Corzo Silver Tequila. Pour over a shaker of ice, shake till the tin frosts up with beads of moisture, then strain and serve over rocks with lime and salt.

Verdict: That is one mighty fine margarita. Every rocks glass we could see was drained to the last drop.

And, we might add, it's mighty potent, too. Dean took one lingering sip and proclaimed: "It's gonna be a great afternoon!"

DMN Staff Photos by Cheryl Diaz Meyer

DMN reader/blogger Chuck Bloom of Plano has a question for Eatsians: Where do you go for a lively dining-and-nightlife crowd scene in Dallas?

Give him some insight into where the natives go for fun. (For one, the West Village is always hoppin'.)

Chuck's letter follows:

Papas Bros. Steakhouse will introduce its new wine program manager tonight. Barbara Werley is a Master Sommelier, (the only one in town, Pappas says). Among many other posts she been the wine director for Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

She's also a judge in The Dallas Morning News Wine Competition.

We made it to a couple of the afternoon sessions at the Bon Appétit-Ritz Carlton weekend. First was "Healthy Kids: Fabulous Foods for the Fussy Palate," in which celebrity chef Cat Cora demonstrated family-friendly fare.

"There's no reason why these can't be healthy snacks for all of us," Cat said.

Among her dishes: fruit kebabs with honey-yogurt dip, chicken-veggie pancakes with maple syrup, granola peanut-butter balls, and veggie-loaded whole wheat mini-pizzas (built on whole wheat English-muffin halves).

Cat also whipped up an inventive update on that old favorite, Ants on a Log. Instead of filling her celery sticks with peanut butter, she used a soy-nut butter -- and instead of using raisins, she topped the filled sticks with diced banana, dried cranberries and walnut pieces.

DMN Staff Photo by Cheryl Diaz Meyer

When Highland Park Cafeteria reopened in Casa Linda Plaza earlier this summer, the big question everyone had was: "So where are the presidents?"

Because, for as long as we could remember, the serving line had always featured a lineup of framed presidential portraits. But now there was only an empty wall. We were told the new owners were trying to locate the original portraits, or failing that, copies or replacements.

Well, the presidents have now returned to HPC. Not the original portraits, but a new set. What's more, on an adjoining wall, there's now a lineup of smaller portraits: all of the first ladies, from Martha Washington to Laura Bush.

Good move, we say. As Abigail Adams admonished her husband, John Adams, when he was helping to create the United States in 1776: "Remember the ladies."

HPC UPDATE:

Watch for this story, coming from the DMN's Metro pages....

Metro reporter Michael E. Young has some hot news that's sure to cause some gossip in cafeteria circles:

Jeff Snoyer, the owner of the resurrected Highland Park Cafeteria at Casa Linda Plaza, already has plans to shut down the space he took over from the Casa Linda Cafeteria earlier this year.

But fans shouldn’t fret. He’s only moving the Highland Park Cafeteria across the parking lot, to the old two-story Bank One building on Bucker Boulevard and Losa Drive. And the relocation is still two years off.

“We’re trying to return to the original pattern of the cafeteria, where we own the building," he said. "That way, we can control costs and provide our people with better salaries and use the best ingredients to make everything better for our customers.

“We love this place, but this opportunity came along and we had to take it.” (9/21)

Although the Ritz-Carlton Dallas and the adjoining Fearing's restaurant both began receiving guests a month ago, they saved their grand-opening splash for this weekend's culinary events, co-sponsored by Bon Appétit magazine.

It all started Friday night with a two-hour "progressive cocktails and small bites" reception at the Ritz, followed by a sold-out slate of Saturday activities. At 9 a.m. there was breakfast with Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Barbara Fairchild, chef Dean Fearing and Bon Appétit executive chef Cat Cora (the first woman to gain Iron Chef status on the hit Food Network show).

That was followed by a cooking class and luncheon with Dean, a "Decadent Desserts" class that was all about chocolate, a "Healthy Kids" class with Cat, and a "Tea and Sympathy" afternoon of spa pampering and makeup classes.

Dean was already a bit hoarse by mid-afternoon Saturday, so he had sous chef Eric Dreyer and mixologist Justin Beam do most of the talking for his session on making margaritas and guacamole (and smoked-chicken nachos and quesadillas, too). Dean was saving his voice for this evening's gala dinner. He and his friend and fellow chef Robert Del Grande will be performing with their band, the Barbwires, whose first CD, Bliss & Blisters, has just been released.

Dean also will be inducted into the Chef's Council of Chefs for Humanity, a coalition of celebrity chefs and culinary professionals working to battle hunger, provide community nutritional education and assistance, and supply humanitarian and emergency feeding relief.

Sunday brings two seatings for a champagne brunch, at 9:30 a.m. and 12 noon. Proceeds from all weekend events will benefit Chefs for Humanity.

Watch for further details on Monday, when we'll bring you photos and additional details on this weekend's events at the Ritz.

The new board game Foodie Fight (Chronicle, $18.95) sounds as if it works much the way Trivial Pursuit does, with a deck of trivia cards, six player boards to fill in till you bingo, and a die to cast (this one's color-coded).

But instead of asking questions about geography or movies, Foodie Fight is all about food -- with topics such as celebrity chefs, culinary science, food history and exotic cuisines.

We haven't seen or played it, so we can't rate it. But it sounds intriguing. And it might make the perfect holiday gift for that hard-to-please foodie on your list. As long as that person has four other friends besides you, that is.

There’s a good reason for party hoppers to check out the Cape’s late-night Afterburn Party tonight. A part of the proceeds from bar sales (from midnight to closing) will benefit Love for Children Inc., which seeks to help children with debilitating illnesses.

Check out a roundup of fall food festivals here (or pick up Guide today).

If you've only seen Gordon Ramsay in action on Fox's Hell's Kitchen, you might dismiss him as a high-decibel, foul-mouthed tyrant. He had a few nice moments this last season, showing generosity to Julia and regard for Jen, but the bleeps and bluster can be off-putting.

There's a softer side of the Brit chef in view on the addictive Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, the BBC show that airs on BBC America (digital cable and satellite). An American version debuts Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Fox. (Channel 4)

Our colleague Michael Granberry sends us this tasty bit of news:

Rich Hicks, who lives in West Plano, is one successful cat. A few years ago, he helped launch Tin Star, which is expanding. By October, it will have a new location at Alpha Road and the Tollway, and by November, it will have a downtown Dallas presence in the Bank of America building. But such addition often involves subtraction. So, some diners may be less than thrilled that the original Tin Star, at the Quadrangle, closed Aug. 31. It will soon become Mooyah, the trendy new hamburger restaurant -– Hicks is one of its founder-owners as well — that is doing terrifically well in its only existing location on W. Park Boulevard in West Plano. Mooyah will open in the Quadrangle later in the fall. For fans of In-N-Out Burger, a California cult favorite, Mooyah will remind you of what you love.

That's the question that ubiquitous Food Network personality Rachael Ray will be asking this fall, as she and her talk-show producers search for America's five best amateur cooks.

The show's website says that all videotaped submissions and entry forms must be postmarked no later than Sept. 22 and received by Oct. 3. Applicants must be 18 or older and available to attend the taping sessions Oct. 5-19. (No professional chefs need apply, please.)

So You Think You Can Cook? will take the five finalists through two weeks of taping the four challenges, then announce the winner in late November's finale.

And no, the winner doesn't get his/her own show on the Food Network -- but will co-host The Rachael Ray Show for a day. The winner also will receive five days of training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and an original recipe will be published in Rach's magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray.

This Sunday, chef Darren McGrady of Dallas will prepare a "Buckingham Palace Tea" at the James Beard House in New York -- the same sort of elegant afternoon tea he used to make when he cheffed for Princess Diana and other members of the British royal family. Darren's story and his recipes are all in his new book, Eating Royally (Thomas Nelson, $24.99).

And who will be Darren's sous chef? None other than David Tiller, the Dallasite whose homemade buttermilk biscuits (made from his late mother Sally's recipe) were a video hit on Dallasnews.com last November.

David is, needless to say, "pretty excited" about this; a Beard House gig is an honor for any professional chef, and it's an extremely rare opportunity for a talented amateur cook to participate in an event there.

He has been putting in plenty of practice, making Darren's scones and shortbreads. Last month David got some extra experience by understudying Darren in the kitchen at the sold-out "Royal Teas," presented last month at the Warwick Melrose Hotel.

(DMN file photo)

If you're a dedicated chilehead, check out the Chile Pepper Institute online at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M.

Not only does the website provide mucho interesting info related to all things Capsicum, it also has a Chile Shop, selling posters, books, T-shirts and chile pepper seeds.

The shop's big draw: Seeds from Capsicum chinense, aka Bhut Jolokia, which hails from Assam, India, and is billed as "the hottest pepper in the world," rating 1 million on the Scoville heat index (in its dried form, as seen at right). The ultra-hot pepper seeds are, if you're interested, $5 for a packet of 10.

Bhut Jolokia was recently named the world's hottest pepper by the Guinness Book of World records. Don't say we didn't warn you.

If you're the sort of person who loves to skim through YouTube looking for food-related videos, you're going to love Imcooked.com

This "web community for video recipe sharing" features a wealth of cooking vids, some featuring celebrities such as Sir Paul McCartney (left, making mashed potatoes) and actor/hoofer Christopher Walken (making roast chicken with pears, using his handy-dandy Spanek Vertical Chicken Roaster).

Besides the recipe demos, there also are vids showing cooking techniques for things such as pizza, Italian stuffed breads, and ribeye roast. Enjoy, enjoy.

The worm turns for Mr. Dallas and The Club. DJ starts there tonight.

Fun elimination challenge tonight: Make a delicious meal for first-class airline passengers.

But first, Padma tromped into the sleeping chefs’ rooms and awakened them in full-on giddy mode. The Quick Fire? Make her breakfast.

Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Abacus – yes, Top Chef fans, that is where former cheftestant Tre Wilcox is the chef de cuisine. Speaking of Tre, he'll be hosting a cooking class Monday at Central Market Dallas. Speaking of Bill, he has a new Diner's Notebook column this week, and it's about the trouble with truffle oil.

The Plano location of Scotty P's Hamburgers was reviewed this week, too.

Also new this week: Check out our fall food festival guide, and plan to fill the next couple of months with samples and festival foods.

Want to party in the wild for a good cause? Then the Wilds of Africa Plaza at the Dallas Zoo is where you'll want to be this Saturday evening. The Zoo to Do event is a fundraiser that benefits the Dallas Zoological Society. The evening will include music, dancing, cocktails, a monorail tour, silent auction, and best of all, food from more than 20 of Dallas' top restaurants (Abacus, Trece, Dallas Fish Market and Nana -- just to name a few.) The cost is $250 per person, and proceeds benefit the zoo's education and wildlife conservation programs. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Contact Ann Forsyth-Smith at annf@dalzoo.org or 214-943-2771, ext 322.

New Tree’s little boxes, each of which holds three individually wrapped miniature chocolate bars, remind me of the miniature deck of playing cards I had as a child. Both are an appealing size that fits in the palm of your hand, but the Belgian chocolate squares inside the chocolate boxes are much more satisfying than the cards. These are the mood chocolates, with names such as Pleasure, Renew, Tranquility and Rejoice. Dark chocolate Renew, with black currant and cassis, echoes the flavors of a good cabernet sauvignon. But the tiny bits of crisped rice and bitter orange in milk chocolate Rejoice made it a favorite, too. At $2.59 per box, you can afford to try several. We found them at Market Street.

Here’s a pleasant option for dining out on Thursday: Aurora is hosting a four-course wine dinner highlighting selections from California’s Vineyard 29. It’s Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. $185. Call 214-528-9400 for reservations.

The Amazing Chocolate Tree, a traveling exhibit sponsored by Dove chocolate, opens Oct. 6 and runs through Jan. 6 at the Dallas Arboretum, its only stop in the Southwest. The exhibit educates children about how chocolate is grown and made, but it's bound to enlighten chocolate-loving adults as well. The Arboretum folks describe this exhibit as "hands-on and sensory," which happily translates as "Free sample at end of show!"

In addition, the Arboretum will be holding a series of "chocolate teas" Thursdays through Sundays, Sept. 27-Nov. 18, at 2 p.m. Cost is $32.95 per person, and reservations are a must: 214-515-6512.

Champagne teas, at $41.25 per person, and private group teas, at $35.95 per person, also are available. Call 214-515-6512 for reservations or for more information on the Arboretum's other chocolate-related activities, or see their website.

SushiSamba’s Sambatini (bartender-created drink) for September is Emerald Forest, made with Bacardi Coco, mango, lime and pineapple juices, Midori and more. $11 for a 4-ounce serving.

Well-read food fiends have already heard from various media about the take-out taqueria housed in the Fuel City gas station downtown on Industrial Boulevard, but I’ll nonetheless throw out my opinions.

I went yesterday for the first time with colleague Brooks Egerton, who grabs his lunch there at least once a week (it’s five minutes from the News' offices). The taqueria’s two take-out windows – one indoor, one out – draw a great, diverse noontime crowd. They offer five meat choices: picadillo, al pastor, barbacoa, beef fajita and chicken fajita. You get the option of flour or corn tortillas and what sort of hot sauces and garnishes you want. There's no where to sit and eat but your car.

Tre Wilcox of Abacus, back from his turn on Top Chef, will create and share a dish based on the freshest seasonal ingredients available the night of class, stressing the importance of layering flavors, textures and colors. 6:30 to 9 p.m. Monday; $75. Central Market, Lovers Lane at Greenville Avenue; 214-361-5754.

Luqa? Petrus? That whole Dallas Roof Garden thing? Here's what it is now.

Pappas Pizza, at 4060 Belt Line Road in Addison, closed its doors yesterday.

“For as long as we were here, it’s been a tough spot for business,” said Judd Fruia, the restaurant’s general manager

The business started as Old Chicago pizza in 1995; The Pappas folks bought it and changed the name 5 years ago. Fruia said that all the employees, management included, are being given the option to transfer to another of the Metroplex’s many Pappas restaurants.

“The Pappas company may yet open another pizza restaurant in a family-suited neighborhood,” Fruia added.

Family-minded folks in the Fort Worth area might want to check out the newly opened Pappas Burger – look for a full review on that spot in the next few weeks …

Hotel St Germain, a longtime favorite for many Dallas gourmets, has a gastronomic survey of French cuisine in store for diners this fall.

Starting tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 11), chef Chad Martin plans to create two special menus each month, highlighting regional specialties such as Olivet bleu cheese and fruit tarts from the Loire; escargot entrecote and Cotes de Beaune wine from Burgundy; Perigord magret de canard from the Dordogne; langoustine from Provence; Camembert, mussels, Dover sole and tarte tatin from Normandy; lamb from Savoie; Breton mushrooms and Bordeaux wines.

The seven-course prix fixe dinner is $85 per person; wine pairings are additional. For more information or reservations, call 214-871-2516.

An August entry from Bluelines (the lively blog of Martha Stewart's Blueprint magazine) is only the second time I've read much about mangosteens, a Southeast Asian fruit only recently brought to the U.S., where it's still quite scarce.

(The first such story I'd seen on mangosteens was in the New York Times a year ago, and it is cited and linked in the Bluelines blog post.)

These new mangosteens are coming to the American mainland from Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth, thus eliminating the threat of foreign agricultural pests. Some mangosteens may also come to the mainland from Hawaii, if they're treated first. Mangosteens also are available in Canada, but it's illegal to import them into the U.S. from there.

Anyway, the rarity of mangosteens made me wonder: Have any of our well-traveled Eats bloggers actually tasted this elusive fruit?

If so, please share your experience with your fellow Eatsians -- just tell us where you found the mangosteen and what it tasted like.

(Photos of whole and cut mangosteens from Bluelines and mangosteen.com)

Here's a report from our movie maven Chris Vogner about a meal he had in Toronto (he's there for the film festival) at a place called Lone Star Texas Grill.

Surprise, the restaurant didn't hit close to home. Lesson learned, Christopher: No more Tex-Mex in Canada. Anyone have some better Toronto resto recommendations for Mr. Vognar?

Mosey on over here for more about the opening of Lotus and the revamped Bar Milan at Bice.

Today is the Dallas Cowboys' first regular season home game, and we're betting most of you aren't watching it at Texas Stadium. So where do you go? A loud and crazy sports bar or the perfect neighborhood joint to spend a lazy Sunday? More important: How's the game-time grub? Leave your suggestions below. Or read what other readers have said.

It's Hotel Elan -- according to job ads for the new Charlie Palmer restaurant that is opening in the downtown hotel. The Joule Urban Resort has been in the works forever, but since it recently changed management hands and got branded with a new moniker, things seem to finally be moving along. Charlie Palmer's new place is slated to open late October/early November.

Newshound Suzanne Marta spotted Palmer's Help Wanted ad on Craig's List. Among the positions they're hiring for? Butcher. I smell steak ...

I’ve been heartened by the diversity of Middle Eastern food available in the Metroplex – from the Turkish iskender (beef gyro) at Istanbul Grill and the saucy pasta dishes at the newly opened Afghan Grill to the complexly savory Lebanese pastries at Afrah in Richardson.

So where’s the good Persian food? I’d rank Persian food among my personally favorite cuisines (Southern and Japanese are the others ... today anyway). I’ll never forget the first Persian meal I ever had, at Lala Rokh in Boston in 1995: The funky dried limes that haunted the aromatic stews; the aggressive, refreshing use of raw herbs in salads; the lovely but totally foreign kookoo sabzi, a flourless cake of walnuts, barberries and herbs bound with egg.

Vern's Place, the Deep Ellum soul food haven known for its short ribs and other down-home fare, may close, or at least have to find a new location. Scott Goldstein tells more about Vern's Place here.

File this under, "Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?:" With kids off to college, you hope they'll be eating more than Ramen and chips, like intern Tara Cuslidge wrote about in Wednesday's Taste section. To do that, they'll need some kitchen basics, even in a dorm.

Instead of picking and choosing a bunch of individual items, cruise by Target, where I saw this nifty 40-piece Chefmate set in a box that includes one saucepan and lid, microwave dishes, two bowls, two glasses, two plates, knives, cooking spoons, a corkscrew, a scrubber and more. Pretty ideal for a starter set-up. Oops, I almost forgot the pizza cutter. Even that college essential is included. The set is $29.99.

Not an overly riveting episode this week, IMO. After three seasons, the arch of the show is getting predictable: Tom Colicchio starts beating the drum about how the group in generally under-achieving; Padma’s facial expressions grow evermore grave at each judge’s table gathering; and the editing increasingly intensifies the quirk’s of each contestant’s personality.

This week, our critics reviewed Afghan Grill, the restaurant inside Dallas House of Blues, the Cafe Brazil in Plano and Hard Eight BBQ in Coppell.

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

Want to get the new reviews in your email inbox? Sign up for our restaurant newsletter here. It also includes wining and dining events, feature stories and new online content.

If you haven’t yet gotten your mitts on this month’s Gourmet magazine, grab one off the newsstand. The issue is dedicated to the coming of age of Latino cuisine at every level in this country. Two Texans contributed meaty, beautifully researched and written stories. Robb Walsh, intrepid critic for the Houston Press, wandered the country sampling fare from taco trucks. And Pat Sharpe, senior editor/restaurant critic for Texas Monthly, wrote an illuminating piece on the founding and funding of San Antonio’s Center for Foods of the Americas.

Of course, all of this made me think about Dallas. I’ve been here for seven months now and, admittedly, have not yet spent copious amounts of time exploring the taqueria scene. But do we even have any taco trucks here? I know we’ve got taquerias along stretches like Maple Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard. And why not more real, regional Mexican cuisine here? I get that this is Tex-Mex land, but shouldn’t more mid-scale places serving specialties from all those culinarily rich parts of Mexico also be springing up? I’d kill for a Oaxacan tlayuda right about now. Ditto a bowl of Dominican sancocho on rainy mornings like we had today.

And how about Peruvian restaurants? I saw on the web that a second Peruvian consulate is supposed to open sometime in the Dallas area. Hopefully, that’ll bring more Peruvian restaurants to the Metroplex. In the meantime, Alo is happily raising the profile on Peru’s quirky, multifaceted cuisine.

Anyway, the Gourmet issue might make you hungry enough to travel for some of these foods that are unavailable (or inaccessibly hidden) here.

We ran into Zin Zen Wine Bistro 's Luetta Probst at Jimmy's Food Store Monday night, enjoying an Italian wine dinner put on by Tricana Imports and scoping out new wines for her McKinney wine bar. Everything was going just swimmingly till we got to the Soletta Dolce Valle, a limited-production moscato from Sardinia (only 325 cases made). One sip, and Ms. Probst exclaimed, "That's a diabetic coma in a glass! I'm ready to drive home now."

I really enjoyed it - fresh and not cloyingly sweet like some dessert wines. But I confess a complete weakness for the Savese Pichierri Terrarosa Primitivo di Manduria, a red wine from Puglia that's like Love Potion No. 9 to me. The intense, concentrated plummy, red fruit aromas and flavors are infused with a distinctly earthy quality that may be the result of the wine's spending time in earthenware amphorae before it goes into oak. Oh, lip-smacking yum.

Both wines are for sale at Jimmy's.

Seems there's some confusion surrounding a recent Starbucks that went in over at Mockingbird and 183.

Yes, this Starbucks has a drive-thru. No, it's not the one in back of the building with the vacuum tubes. That belongs to nearby Regions Bank. Hey, I agree it looks confusing.

Starbucks, 1103 Mockingbird Lane, 214-920-9530, www.starbucks.com

We first saw Hooks U Salsa at Texas Salute! during the Dallas Wine & Food Festival. It was the best one at the tasting event. The medium heat and thickness are just right, and the tangy zing makes it taste superfresh. Not at all like something out of a jar. It’s made with no sugar, vinegar or preservatives, just tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, cilantro, salt, garlic, paprika and other spices.

Salsa maker Zoubida Hooks is working on mild and hot versions of her Fiery Food Challenge-winning recipe. She says her first flavor was medium because she wanted it to be “not so hot that the flavors get lost in the heat.” Ms. Hooks started making the medium salsa in her Colleyville kitchen, and she has given it to friends and family for several years; she started selling it in 2004.

A 16-ounce jar is $2.99 to $4.24, depending upon the store. Available at Market Street in Colleyville and McKinney, Albertson’s, Tom Thumb, Wal-Mart and some Kroger stores. It should also be available in select Whole Foods Markets and Brookshire’s supermarkets this month.

Recipes using Hooks U Salsa in everything from chili to soup are available at www.hooksusalsa.com.

If you're thinking of getting a pasture-raised and/or heritage turkey for Thanksgiving, the time to reserve a bird is now. And the best way to see what's available is to go to the Slow Food Dallas Web site, where three members are offering the special gobblers: Duane Dawson, Margaret and Bob Drake and Robert Hutchins (Rehoboth Ranch). These birds will all be spoken for by the beginning of October.

Turkeys that are raised on pasture taste better than factory-farmed birds. They have a richer texture and more intense flavor, plus they are produced using sustainable methods. I'll go PETA on you for just a minute and add that I personally avoid eating factory-raised animals, particularly turkey and pigs, knowing how cruelly most are treated.

A shout out goes to Chipotle for being on the right side of that issue: Their pork comes from Niman Ranch, a collective of small, eco-conscious farmers. And guess who owns Chipotle: McDonald's. Way to go.

Got a heads up from Nana's PR czar Jeffrey Yarbrough that Mark LaRocca, the restaurant's new general manager, has filled the vacant positions on his staff. Vincent McGrath is Nana's new wine director: He worked previously at Hotel Crescent Court and Pappas Bros. Steaks. Anne Shukri, manager, has held positions at Aqua Knox, Abacus and Stephan Pyles. LaRocca has worked with both of them in the past.

The Friday wine tastings at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Irving have quite a following. This week, gain insights from sommelier James Tidwell and certified wine educator and chef de cuisine Katie Natale while you taste biodynamic wines from around the world, with an appetizer walk-around. (Biodynamics is a holistic approach to grape-growing.) It's from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday; $40 (plus tax and gratuity). Four Seasons Resort and Club, 4150 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving; 972-717-2420.

This is a nascent growing operation: one tent set up for two hours Saturday morning. But if you are looking for organic and sustainably grown produce and meats, this is a good place to start. A handful of producers gather in the front yard of Eden’s Organic Garden Center in Balch Springs. Availability varies, but it’s best to e-mail Marie at Eden’s (EOGC@airmail.net) to find out what producers are bringing. That way, you can order some items in advance and have them waiting when you arrive. P.O.P. Acres and Ranch will be there with excellent pastured beef. Other purveyors are expected to bring chicken, eggs, garden vegetables and perhaps even canned or baked goods. Be flexible and discover a gem. Or talk to a chicken on the grounds. 9 to 11 a.m., 4710 Pioneer Road; 214-348-3336.

Katie Menzer reports on the fried concoction that won the judges' hearts at the annual competition for State Fair foods:

A panel of local celebrity judges picked the Fried Cookie Dough – a chocolate chip, pecan and coconut cookie base that's battered and fried – from among seven competitors. Some entries of the contest were sweet and some were savory, but all were finished off in the fryer.

The final meals of Restaurant Week were served last night. During the three weeks of the promotion (one full week plus two weeks of extensions), we received more than a hundred comments from readers. Some were gushing ("I died and went to heaven and it was Bijoux. Everything about the RW experience at Bijoux was absolutely perfect. The wine, the food, the service... I can't wait to go back and do the full tasting menu. Heaven."); others were threatening ("So if you are going to slot crappy seating times, provide bad service with an attitude, serve small portions, offer no choices and whine about not making money, don't participate! But if you do, act like you will do anything for a repeat customer at full prices because we are all taking notes"). But most comments came back to one basic question: Would you go back and pay full price? Click "Continue reading" to see the reader reviews, or click "Comments" to add to the discussion.

An Eats blog reader emailed to ask which restaurants are the best for watching football. While I've watched my share of football, most of it was seen while I was wearing a marching band uniform and honking out awesome versions of "Crocodile Rock" and "Vehicle" on the clarinet. Beyond the obvious choices of Humperdink's and Champps, I'm not much help. So I appeal to you, Eats readers. Where do you go to watch football and get great grub? Leave your suggestions below.

When I was at Tom Spicer's storefront, F-M 1410, recently, a woman came in, looked around and left without saying a word. You're probably not going to pick up on what's really available giving it the once-over this way. There's not a lot to see, just a cold case at the back, a few items on one side of the store and a refrigerator.

She should have looked at the blackboard, which lists what's available, or chatted with the Spiceman or one of his helpers. When I was there, Tom brought out some beautiful heads of baby lettuce and described the farm where the West Texas heritage tomatoes were grown. This is a s-l-o-w shopping experience.

Did I say nothing to see? Look down: The floor's painted red like watermelon flesh, complete with black seeds. Look at the walls: They're green like watermelon skin. Tom's got a thing for watermelon. He's at 1410 Fitzhugh near Bryan.

New Age, Mendoza, San Rafael, White Wine nonvintage, $9.49

Meant for warm-weather sipping with friends, this is a nonserious wine produced by a serious winery. It is made with sauvignon blanc and malvasia grapes, so floral, herbal, spicy, peachy aromas and flavors abound. The winemaker keeps the wine slightly sweet and fizzy with less than 10 percent alcohol by stopping the fermentation. That helps it go down easily, especially in sultry weather. Try it on the rocks with a twist of lemon or a wedge of lime. Available at Central Market and Corner Wines in Plano.

Rebecca Murphy