EATS

What a bummer to report that 4-year-old Davis Mountains Organic Beef, which raises 100 percent organic cattle, is going out of business. The e-mail notice says they will be closing their doors at the end of February, and they're cutting prices to close out their inventory:

"In an effort to sell what we have left, we have discounted our ground beef, roasts and steaks up to 85 percent off. ... If you would like to purchase any of our beef, please place your order before the last week of February. Once an item is sold out, if will be removed from our Web site." You can order online at www.davismountainsorganicbeef.com or by phone at 1-877-366-2333.

I've got calls in to see if I can find out more about why they're shuttering the business. I'll keep you posted.

The new Campania Pizza has opened in Southlake Town Square at 291 Grand Ave. It's been in the works for a while and seems to have had the usual opening-a-restaurant delays. But here's a new one: Campania's Jay Jerrier says "Today was the first day I was happy with the pizza!!"

The Southlake location is open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. And in addition to the Campania standard of a wood-burning oven, this new one has three floors, including a rooftop patio and wine and coffee bars.

• Get more info about Campania Pizza Southlake

Three of us Eatsians got a preview peek at the new Stoneleigh Hotel and its Bolla Modern Italian restaurant today. The occasion was a media luncheon for the 2008 Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, which will happen the second weekend of April.

Bolla is supposed to open in about a month, we heard, though the hotel itself won't be welcoming guests until at least March. There's still a lot of work to be done, inside and out, but we can report that the Stoneleigh is coming along nicely. The sleek, elegant interiors and eye-catching lighting all complement the hotel's well-preserved historic architecture. Later, there will be a new luxury spa opening on the lower level, too.

Bolla is situated in what used to be the old Lion's Den, which is now light-filled, contemporary and pretty much unrecognizable after its makeover. The luncheon crowd was treated to a four-course meal, with wines provided by Fall Creek Vineyards; Winn Meat Co. and Central Market also were sponsors.

Architectural rendering of the Bolla dining room, courtesy of the Stoneleigh Hotel

The annual Mobil Travel Guide ratings came out this week and there were few surprises.

Dallas' slate of four-star restaurants stayed pretty much the same: Abacus, the French Room (at the Adolphus Hotel), Nana (at the HIlton Anatole) and Stephan Pyles.

One notable absence is the Mansion Restaurant, which was demoted from five stars to four in 2002 and had remained there for the last six years.

The restaurant will go unrated this year because the restaurant and Chef’s Room were under renovation during the rating period, said Erika Gonzalez, a Mansion spokeswoman.

She said the restaurant expected to be rated for 2009.

The big surprise was that Mobil granted five stars to the three-year-old Inn at Dos Brisas in Brenham, 40 miles from College Station.

It was the restaurant’s debut on the Mobil list and one of only 17 in the U.S. and Canada to earn that five-star rating.

The only other Lone Star State restaurants to return on the 4-star list were Quattro in Houston and La Reve in San Antonio.

The Cafe at the Four Seasons in Austin, which earned four stars last year, was not included in the 2008 list.

I just got off the phone with Jim Henry, one of the state's serious olive growers, and he confirms that Tom Spicer has persuaded him to part with some of his unfiltered 2007 Texas Olive Ranch extra-virgin olive oil.

"Basically, it's our first commerical crop," says Henry, who does high-tech olive farming near Carrizo Springs (puh-lease don't spell it Carizzo). Southwest of San Antonio and not too far from Nuevo Laredo, he's got 40,000 Arbequina trees, which he planted three years ago.

All you have to do is wait till Friday. As Spicer puts it in his e-mail, he "managed to knock a 55-gallon drum loose" from Henry's limited pressing of 2,000 gallons.

In about a month, Henry expects to have a Web site up and running (www.texasoliveranch.com), where you'll be able to buy his olive oil bottled online. He's also looking for recipes that feature olive oil for a Texas Olive Ranch Cookbook. If you'd like to contribute, email your recipe.

I don't know the price yet at Spiceman's, and you have to bring your own bottle. And if you try to get there first - I bet it goes fast - don't think you'll elbow your way in front of me. FM1410 (on Fitzhugh near Bryan) opens at 10 a.m.

I'm posting this link to an item about cheeseburger in a can for two excellent reasons:
1. It came from the boss's husband.
2. It gives me a chance to post a link to this OTHER site, which has nothing to do with food beyond having "cheezburger" in its name. But it amuses me. (Warning: kitten alert.)

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews BLT Steak, chef Laurent Tourondel's steakhouse with a bistro twist, and Aurora, Avner Samuel's French restaurant on Oak Lawn Avenue.

The other new review is of Plano favorite Jasmine Thai Cuisine.

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

For years, Parigi on Oak Lawn Avenue has been a chic spot for French- and Italian-inspired New American fare. Now you can add Spain to the restaurant’s culinary influences. Chef Mariano Fernandez, a native of Valencia, Spain, has left Café Madrid to join Parigi’s kitchen.
Chef-owner Janice Provost sees the addition as a natural complement to the restaurant leanings. “Spanish, French and Italian have a common Mediterranean thread, and Mariano will bring his Valencian flair to the restaurant."
Besides Spanish-influenced additions to the menu, look for a giant paella party on the restaurant’s chi-chi patio this March.
Tina Danze

Photo of chef Mariano Fernandez by Randy Eli Grothe

I spent most of last week kicking back in Santa Fe. The fact that it was 24 degrees one morning was not enough to keep me from ordering an espresso milkshake at foodie haunt Cafe Pasqual's.
It was amazing -- dense and almost gritty with ground coffee beans. Even with my husband's help, I had to admit defeat, just before the manager stopped by to boast that it was made with housemade ice cream -- five scoops of housemade ice cream. Surely these were tiny scoops?
We were meeting friends for lunch in three hours, so I launched into an aerobic shopping spree.
Lunch was at The Shed, another Santa Fe institution. I followed the herd and ordered the No. 5 -- two blue-corn enchiladas with red chile, pinto beans and posole. Alas, I probably needed a couple more hours of power shopping to fully appreciate the meal.
The cool thing here, of course, is that both spots have been dubbed "America's Classics" by the James Beard Foundation -- and they're about 5 minutes apart, making the Santa Fe plaza a target-rich environment for award-loving foodies.

Over on the Metro blog, DMN colleague Katie Menzer has news from the Pillsbury Bake-Off, which will be held April 14 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas:

Pillsbury has released the recipes of its 2008 Bake-Off finalists, and the company is asking people to go to its Web site to vote for their favorite recipe. The winning contestant gets $5,000.

Katie adds: "I wrote an article last year about the four North Texans who are finalists in the contest, and I’ve already voted for my favorite among them. You’ve got to root for the hometown team, after all."

Check 'em out, then go here to vote.

Love the eats at Asian Mint? Chef-owner Nikky Phinyawatana shared the recipe for the restaurant's Thai Red Curry Shrimp in a recent cooking class at Milestone Culinary Arts Center.

Central Market Dallas has all its pears lined up in the produce section, and smack in the middle is something called a Red Angelo pear. It's a cross, the produce department tells me, between a Forelle and a Red Sensation (although I think the sign said something different, a Forelle and something else). Further, when you bag and weigh, it comes up as a Red Silk pear.

Yada, yada, yada. Whatever you call it, it's a superb little piece of fruit, thin-skinned with a beautiful red exterior and sweet, intense, creamy-crisp flesh. And just $1.49 a pound.

The creative cook could turn this into a terrific Valentine's Day dessert, especially since rain in strawberry-growing areas is putting a little damper on that traditional fruit. Red Angelos are a Central Market exclusive.

I’m hankering for a lavish banquet to celebrate the Lunar (or Chinese) New Year, which is on February 7. It’s the Year o’ the Rat. Any folks know of Chinese restaurants in the Metroplex that serve particularly interesting, well-prepared banquets? Searching around, I saw that some folks on eGullet are organizing a shindig at Kirin Court on the 9th. Sounds like a smart choice. Any of you gastros had good CNY experiences at Kirin or other spots in years past?

The 2008 State Fair of Texas doesn't open until September 26. But if you need to get your freaky fried food fix early, I found that the Studio Bar and Grill in the Palladium/ Loft/ Gilley's complex has fried guacamole bites – a Big Tex Choice Awards finalist – as well as fried queso bites. The former were a fan and critic favorite. Listen to Restaurant Critic Bill Addison's post-guac bite musings in our State Fair food review audio slideshow (click on page 14 and page 15).

It's probably safe to say that nobody else has enjoyed a career arc exactly like the one Deborah Rogers (left) has had.

In her 20s, she was a world-traveling fashion model with the famed Eileen Ford agency. Then she went into corporate finance in London for four years. When she returned to Fort Worth and married, she became a stockbroker.

When she and her husband, attorney Pollard Rogers, bought her grandfather's little farm on the edge of Fort Worth, her life changed again. In 2003, Deborah became a full-time goat farmer and the producer of Deborah's Farmstead, an award-winning line of artisanal goat cheeses. (We wrote a Taste cover about her in mid-2005.)

Now, Deborah's been appointed to the Small Business and Agricultural Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank's Eleventh District. She is one of eight small-business owners and agricultural operators who are serving three-year terms on the advisory council. Their job: To provide the Fed with ear-to-the-ground information on regional economic activity and business conditions. The central bank then uses the council's reports to help construct its economic projections.

"This is a huge honor," Deborah says. "I really am excited. I think my financial background helped." After all, she notes, "This is right up my alley: farming and finance."

Our DMN colleague Leona Allen, aka "Boss Lady" to the Metro staff, brings some sad news about one of my husband's favorite downtown lunch spots:

Had my mouth all fixed for some Baby Back Shack ribs, and the place is closed. They just had a fire. Said they'd be closed for about a week. Folks keep going to the door only to be turned around looking pitiful.

Wine drinkers love BYOB. It gives them a chance to match personally selected or favorite wines to a meal - or just bring a bottle purchased at retail, which is usually less than half what wine lists charge (and why the Wine Therapist has a dog in this hunt).

In its most recent newsletter, the Wine Therapist monthly wine group members (head cases in need of serious and ongoing (wine) therapy) came up with what they think are the best.

This is one of the best lists I've seen, to which I would add S&D Oyster Co., which charges a $2.50 set-up fee. My favorites from their picks are Food From Galilee (Lebanese) in Snider Plaza and Amici Signature Italian (upscale, chef-owned) in old downtown Carrollton and Kebab-N-Kurry on North Central.

Read on for the Wine Therapist faves, and you tell me who we've missed - or if you have a fave and why.

The folks at Off the Vine...Into the Glass hold one upscale tasting every month, and tonight is it for January. They'll be tasting eight wines, including three 2004 Napa cabs (it was a very good year): Midsummer Cellars, Sage Vineyards and Sauvage. It's from 7 to 9 p.m. at Into the Glass, 322 S. Main St., in historic old Grapevine. Cost is $50 a person, but you've got to have a reservation: 817-442-1969.

Whenever we ask Eats readers (Eats-ers? Eats-ians?) what you think of our reviews, plenty of you chime in with our opinions. So I know you're hitting the new hotspots as soon as the doors open. I want to know: Where have you tried lately? Any new faves? BLT Steak, Cafe R+D, Charlie Palmer, La Cubanita, Grimaldi's, Loft 610, Medina, Nonna, Rise Number One (a.k.a. the souffle place) Scene? Where should I go now in order to beat the post-review rush?

Also, what are you looking forward to in the coming months? All those One Arts Plaza places are supposed to open next month. Then there's Bolla and Villa-O.

Just got word that Michael Costa and his Rainmaker Restaurant Group have opened a new venture in Rowlett. Maya Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar is located at 3801 Lakeview Parkway and is open daily for lunch and dinner.

Kent Lemmons is the executive chef, overseeing a menu that focuses on regional Mexican offerings. The restaurant has a guacamole and salsa bar with daily specials, and the full beverage bar boasts an array of margaritas, made to order with fresh-squeezed lime juice.

Call 469-326-1390 for reservations and information.

If you enjoyed Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, check out his new book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (Penguin, $21.95).

Of it, Publishers Weekly says:

Examining the question of what to eat from the perspective of health, this powerfully argued, thoroughly researched and elegant manifesto cuts straight to the chase with a maxim that is deceptively simple: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Kim Pierce's item about Sigel's super-sale on Burgundy (below) was the 1,000th post on the Eats blog -- and we have been publishing only since late last May.

Plus, we've had twice as many comments as posts -- 2,050 as of this morning.

Our thanks to everyone who reads and contributes to Eats. Keep it going, folks!

Sigel's is cleaning house to make room for the 2005 vintage of Burgundies, whose prices are being pushed up by a weak dollar and strong demand. So Sigel's is pricing selected bottles of older vintages, including those from 1999, at what you might call fire sale prices. Out with the old. In with the new.

There's nothing wrong with the older vintages, by the way (and because this is Burgundy, some should have only improved with age). They've been stored at Sigel's Black Hole Warehouse since they were released, sez Sigel's (and I believe 'em), so they should be in perfect condition. They've been shipped to Sigel's Elite on Fitzhugh at Cole, and I've copied a partial list of what's available. No, I haven't proofed it for errors. I've got to say, though, that I doubt they're marking down an $1800 bottle of wine to $64.99. That's probably a typo.

Terroir may not be the first thought that comes to mind with a wine company that produces millions of bottles of wine each year. Nevertheless, Kendall-Jackson Winery's book, The Art of Terroir, is a lovely valentine in pictures and prose depicting its best coastal California vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Santa Barbara and Monterey counties.

On March 6, the winery brings photos from the book to Dallas, hosting a reception and a tasting of its Highland Estates wines at the Nasher Sculpture Center.

Far from the ubiquitous wines most people associate with the K-J label, these are single-vineyard, small-production reds. I was tasting them today with George Rose, who did the book's photography, and K-J winemaster Randy Ullom over lunch at Al Biernat's.

If you're a fan of Tre Wilcox -- he of Top Chef fame -- you'll want to catch his appearance on Taste Of, KLIF's cooking show, the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Milestone Culinary Arts Center, 4531 McKinney Ave.

Tre, who's just gone out on his own as a private chef after a star-making stint as chef de cuisine at Kent Rathbun's award-winning Abacus, will demo making an intimate Valentine's Day dinner.

Tickets for the event are $40; call Milestone's Rebecca Harkinson at 214-217-2811.

And if you can't attend the live demo, you can listen to the radio show on Sunday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m. on KLIF 570-AM.

Chef Tre Wilcox (DMN file photo by Evans Caglage)

You'll remember that the other week, Taste had a story on the pastry whiz known as the Ace of Cakes (left).

Now it develops that Duff Goldman, ace Baltimore cakemaker, is taking his "Charm City" moniker very seriously: He made a cake in the magical likeness of Harry Potter's Hogwarts castle and its mysterious lake. This was a special commission for the VIP after-party, when Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premiered in Los Angeles last July. It's supposed to be the Ace's "biggest cake to date."

The Hogwarts-cake show will air tonight on the Food Network at 9:30, and will repeat several times over the next few weeks.

Photo: Vincent Lupo

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Bistro Nous, but he didn't get to try its popular "Ask James" menu option because it wasn't on the January menu (but he was assured it will return by popular demand).

The other new reviews are Biscuits Cafe and Zenna, the late-night Thai-Japanese place in the former space of Bangkok City Plano.

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

Bongo-playing chef Brandt Evans (right) is bringing the fourth outlet of his Blue Canyon restaurant to The Harbor development in Rockwall. It promises to be an upscale venue with a luxe-lodge atmosphere and views of Lake Ray Hubbard.

Chef Evans, a CIA graduate, got his start as Charlie Palmer's sous chef at Alva in Manhattan. His "Creative American Cooking" menus feature what chef Evans calls "heartwarming comfort food with a tantalizing twist," such as braised beef short ribs with smoked Gouda soft polenta, lobster nachos, crab-crusted black grouper, and yellowfin tuna tacos. The restaurant also will present a selection of private-label wines.

Blue Canyon Kitchen, Tavern & Wine Bar opens to the public for dinner next Tuesday, Jan. 29, 5 to 10 p.m. The restaurant is located at 2101 Summer Lee Drive in Rockwall, adjacent to the new Hilton Bella Harbor resort hotel. Call 214- 771-3512 for reservations.

We've been missing the glow of the historic 1938 Stoneleigh Hotel sign since it was removed last year for the building's high-style renovation.

As you can see from these dramatic photos, it's back. The sign was lifted up in six pieces and reinstalled to its former glory on the roof. Look for the lighting of the neon when the revamped Stoneleigh debuts in Feb.

Of course, what I'm really looking forward to here is the hotel's new eatery Bolla from Austin-based, James Beard Award-nominee David Bull.

Hmm, Fearing at The Ritz, Tesar at the Mansion, Palmer at the Joule, Fleming at Palomar, ... now Bull at the Stoneleigh. If only you could get a good bite and a place to stay in this town.

Photos by Jake Dean.

FINALLY, the Calabrian fig-leaf-wrapped roasted figs are in at Flavors From Afar. And finally, the Snider Plaza store will have its festa Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Besides the fig balls, Nancy and Gary Krabill will have some 50 other new items to shop and/or to taste, all from the same shipment that was delayed from leaving Italy, then held at the port of New York long after the Christmas shopping season for which it was intended. Fortunately, this stuff is wonderful any time of year. All free. 6712 Snider Plaza.

It's not too soon to start thinking about V-Day. In that regard, a question came up recently: What wine do you pair with chocolate? It's a good question, because the wrong combination turns chocolate bitter and wine sour. I wrote about this two years ago for V-Day, and the Taste wine-tasting panel came up with chocolate, cheese and wine combos a year ago. Cathy Barber wrote about the unusual combination of scotch and chocolate last year, too.

Here's yet another source to help you negoiate the sweet-and-bitter wine-chocolate shoals: Wine expert Natalie MacLean pairs wine and chocolate desserts on her Web site. Read on for her top 10 combinations.

Photo by Evans Caglage.

What in the heck are these and why should you try one?

Photo by Eric Blackman

I’m having a gastronomic lost weekend in the Nevada desert, eating at one outlandishly amazing restaurant after another. It’s common knowledge that Las Vegas has become one of the country’s most serious restaurant epicenters. But, man, as someone who hasn’t spent any time here since 2000, the next-level concentration of culinary talent and excellence is overwhelming … and scary on the credit card. Now I understand why, when asked on a panel which town she would live in if she were still reviewing restaurants, Gourmet editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl cited Vegas.

Best meal? The sixteen-course tasting menu at Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand. It was, without hesitation, the most sublime French food I’ve had in this country. Getting into the hotel took some time after the cultural zeitgeist combo of the Democratic primary candidates and the Hannah Montana concert. And as I walked out of the restaurant Saturday night, well after midnight, I felt like crawling into a meditation cave to fast and contemplate for a week on what I’d just eaten.

The night before at Guy Savoy at Caesar’s Palace was a not-distant second.

Soon I’m off to eat lunch at Lotus of Siam, an off-the-Strip cult favorite for Thai food. We’ll see if it lives up to the hype. Look for a full report on my Vegas binge in the paper’s Travel section in early March.

Photo of Joël Robuchon courtesy of The Los Angeles Times.

An Austin ex-pat called to alert me that he'd seen Kerbey Lane Cafe pancake mixes on the sheves at Central Market.

Beathlessly he described the quirky 24-hour Austin institution and how its recipe for apple-wheat pancakes had even appeared in the Austin American Statesman, "but they never came out right when you made them, no matter hard you tried."

Now, all he needs to do is open a bag and follow the directions. CM's got the apple-wheat (pictured), pumpkin pancake mix and gingerbread pancake mix. They're $5.79, a price you can't beat online.

When I picked up the newly published Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink, the first thing I did was comb the table of contents for an essay called “The Fruit Detective” by John Seabrook. There it was, tucked appropriately under the subcategory of “Fishing and Foraging.” It’s one of my favorite pieces of food writing (heck, writing in general), a literally pithy profile of an eccentric former heroin junkie, David Karp, who became one of the country's foremost experts on fruit.

You can find the Karp piece on the Internet, but that’s not true for most of the literary sparklers in this 583-page collection. So many of the great voices of food writing (and the greatest subject matters) of the last century are here, including M.F.K. Fisher, A.J. Liebling, Calvin Trillin, Bill Buford, Jim Harrison and Anthony Bourdain (with the essay that launched Kitchen Confidential). I won’t ramble: If you like food and you like good writing, just go get this book.

Starting next Sunday at 2 p.m., you can listen to The Splendid Table on KERA (90.1 FM). It's hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, whose first cookbook was also named The Splendid Table and snagged both the Julia Child/IACP and James Beard awards. Kasper gets help with this foodie-lifestyle program from vagabonds Jane and Michael Stern and David Rosengarten, among others. 'Should be delish.

The Sunday DMN's "True Romance" features someone familiar to Taste readers: Dallas chef Jamie Samford and his wife, Carol, who met while they were both working for Central Market. (He's now with Winn Meat Co., while she's at the North Texas Food Bank)

Food, of course, is an important part of their lives. And of their romance, as well. When Carol first fixed a meal for him, "Her chicken and dumplings were what won me over," Jamie says. "They were as good as my mother's."

Jamie and Carol Samford (DMN photo by Randy Eli Grothe)

Friday's blustery weather and the two quickly melting snow flakes I spotted on my windshield got me thinking about all my favorite cold weather dishes. Broccoli-rice casserole. Homemade macaroni and cheese with the almost crispy edges. Chili with cheese and onions. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. While winter's – temporarily – here, I want my comfort foods (and apparently they all contain cheese and/or cream). What about you? What did you crave when the mercury drops? Tell us some of your favorite chilly weather dishes.

I hear Sprouts Farmers Market, at Preston and Lebanon in Frisco, is open. I'm planning to head there tonight to stock up on fresh produce. Anybody else been? What do you think?

Yeah, that headline caught your eye, didn't it? Not very often that we get the chance to use "dominatrix" in the Eats blog.

But we are not making this up. Canadian-born chef Susan Winemaker has just published her first book, Concertina: An Erotic Memoir of Extravagant Tastes and Extreme Desires (St. Martin's, $25.95). It is, shall we say, not for the easily offended... so if that describes you, please stop reading here.

The winners of this year's Scovie awards, for the best and hottest in hot foods, have been announced.
Grab your credit card, because the list includes links to many of the product web sites.
Want to try a bunch of the winning foods? Make plans to hit the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show Feb. 29 through March 2 in Albuquerque.
(Tip: Habanero-stuffed olives look a LOT like pimento-stuffed olives. You have been warned.)

Over on the Texas Pages books blog, a reader is looking for a good place to hold a book club meeting -- "somewhere relatively quiet where we can get a bite to eat, and maybe a drink or two." Any suggestions?

If you like hip Italian food, and you also like Polyphonic Spree, you are in serious luck next week.

Urbano Paninoteca is hosting a Bach N Rock N Roll Wine Dinner on Tuesday, Jan. 22. Chef Kevin Ascolese is in charge of the three-course dinner, which is $35 per person including wine pairings. Reservations are required; call 214-969-6911.

Live music will feature electric chamber works from the Chameleon Chamber Group, whose members are Buffi Jacobs (Polyphonic Spree, Robert Gomez Band) on electric cello; Audrey Easley (Polyphonic Spree) on flute/EWI, aka Electronic Wind Instrument; Tamara Cauble (Polyphonic Spree, Telegraph Canyon) on violin; and Paul Slavens (Ten Hands, KERA’s “90.1 at Night”) on keyboards.

DJ CeePee will also play new releases from Black Mountain, Bodies of Water, Cat Power, Dengue Fever, and Super Furry Animals. Urbano is located at 2533 McKinney Ave. (at Routh Street) in Uptown.

We love getting reader feedback to our reviews here at Eats blog – no matter if you agree, disagree or just have something snarky to say. But we've now received several reports that many of the responses to the review of Parlour Cafe and Wine Bar likely came from people who received an email blast from Parlour asking them to come here and leave comments. So, to save our servers from being overloaded, we will no longer approve new comments about the Parlour review.

If you are a fan of black and white truffles (and it's that time of year when the hauntingly delicious and expensive little uglies arrive from Italy), you'll want to check out the special truffle menus with wine pairings Jan. 24-26 at Cafe on the Green at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Irving.

Chef de cuisine Katie Natale will prepare some of her favorite truffle dishes for a three- or five-course dinner with matching Italian wines selected by sommelier James Tidwell, representing regions from Tuscany to Sardinia. Cost is $100 for the three-course dinner, $180 with the wines, and $150 for the five-course, $250 with the wines. Plus tax and gratuity.

Since the menus aren't on any Web site, I've posted them here. Make reservations at 972-717-2420.

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Marrakesh Cafe and Nick and Sam's. Zen Sushi in the Bishop Arts District and Parlour Cafe and Wine Bar are also reviewed.

Is Nick and Sam's an old favorite? Have you tried any of these newcomers? Do you agree with our reviews? Disagree? Leave a comment below.

Those Rathbun twins are at it again. And that means Iron Chef America viewers will be seeing double in Kitchen Stadium.

Dallas chef and restaurateur Kent Rathbun and his brother, chef-restaurateur Kevin Rathbun of Atlanta, went to New York four months ago to compete on the Food Network's Iron Chef America. The Rathbuns, who were assisted by Top Chef star Tre Wilcox (who just left his post as chef de cuisine at Kent's Abacus), battled against two "Secret Chefs."

[UPDATE: The Food Network folks tell us that the Rathbuns "went against Bobby Flay and his two sous chefs."]

Now it's been announced that the Rathbun show will air Sunday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. Kent will be hosting a watch party in the bar at Abacus on McKinney Avenue, and reservations are recommended (though not required; call 1-866-953-3111). There will be another watching party in the bar at Jasper's, in the Shops at Legacy in Plano, for the Collin County crowd.

Kent Rathbun with the Bourbon Cream Corn served at Jasper's.
(DMN file photo: John Rhodes)

John Tesar and Joanne Bondy are among the chefs lined up to teach at the Dallas Farmers Market in the next few weeks. Get the whole schedule.

Be sure to check out the story in today's Taste section about Vicki Scott of Dallas, the grand prize winner in the Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust Pie Baking Championship.

Ms. Scott won $1,000 for her Pillsbury Magic Flan Berry Pie, inspired by a recipe she saw in Taste: Miracle Margarita Flan Cake.

The berry pie previously won first place for her at the 2007 State Fair of Texas, which made her eligible for the national Pillsbury contest.

We've got the recipe, too -- and after tasting Ms. Scott's berry pie, we think you'll love it.

Vicki Scott with her prize-winning pie. (DMN photo by Evans Caglage)

Yes, says Kim Pierce. Read about it here.

You'll either love it or hate it.

We just got word that the Friends of the Center for Human Nutrition at UT Southwestern Medical Center tonight will discuss an ever-popular topic: "Unveiling the Health Benefits of Chocolate."

Panelists include Margo Denke, M.D.; Rex Morgen (no, the chocolatier, not the comic-strip doctor); Noka Chocolate's Katrina Merrem; and moderator Scott Grundy, M.D., Ph.D.

A reception begins at 6 p.m., and the panel dicussion follows at 6:30 at Milestone Culinary Arts Center, 4531 McKinney Ave. in Dallas, just south of Knox Street, west of Central Expressway.

Above: Dove dark-chocolate hearts. (DMN file photo by Natalie Caudill)

Michael Cox, who opened the Plano Central Market as general manager and eventually moved to the Dallas store, is leaving the trend-setting H.E.B. specialty supermarket to return to his first love: restaurants.

"I have yearned to get back in the business," he says. Before coming to Central Market in 2002, he managed Routh Street Cafe, Stephan Pyles' groundbreaking Southwest concept, and went on to become a co-owner of Star Canyon.

In 2002, Michael Cox opened the Central Market store in Plano. (DMN file photo)

The ink is not quite dry on this deal, but X2 (Frank X. Tolbert, artist-son of the famous Bowl of Red writer and Terlingua cook-off instigator), with help from Susie Priore (most recently of Iris), is in the process of bringing an organic version of his father's famous chili to Whole Foods Market, where it will be sold in 16-ounce tubs in the freezer case.

Adds she: "It will be ready to eat and doctor up as one sees fit. Personally, I like to put shredded cheese, onions and a few jalapenos on top, and then throw it all over a bowl of rice." Priore says they hope to have it in stores by the end of the month. I'll keep you posted.

The latest venture from Alberto Lombardi, La Cubanita, is now officially open at 4444 McKinney Ave. -- a venue filled with good vibes from its previous incarnation as the beloved Chez Gerard.

We were there Monday for the cafe's first night and can report that La Cubanita's roast-pork dinner special, with its crispy exterior and juicy, fork-tender insides, quickly won the hearts of everyone at the table. (Mr. Lombardi says the recipe comes from his wife Vivian's family, which is of Cuban extraction.) The pork was so good that I almost forgot to taste the Moros y Cristianos, a black beans-and-rice mixture served with it. If the cafe's Cubano sandwich contains pulled pork that's anything like this roast, it should be a winner too.

The appetizer we liked best was the empanada de picadillo (filled with seasoned ground beef, potato, carrots, green peppers and currants), served with guacamole and salsa Cubana. The papitas rellenas -- fried balls of lightly breaded mashed potato filled with beef picadillo -- seemed a bit on the bland side, we agreed. But we munched happily on the crispy "Cuban cigars," seasoned-pork flautas served with guac, crema fresca and a bit of slaw.

La Cubanita's Alberto Lombardi (DMN file photo)

I got a press release for pickle juice popsicles recently. According to the press release, PickleSickles are made "not from just the brine left over from pickling, but from freshly squeezed pickles, much like an apple or orange is pressed." A roller rink owner in Seguin came up with the name and sells them at his rink. It also says you can buy 'em at Central Market.

The press release for this event got in too late for tomorrow's Taste section, but it's a unique and different wine dinner that pairs Napa's Long Meadow Ranch wines with its organic and sustainably-raised olive oil, produce and grass-fed beef on a menu devised by Abacus chef Kent Rathbun.

Christopher Hall, son of owners Ted and Laddie Hall, will be on hand for the Abacus dinner and has been instrumental in developing the family's organic vegetable gardens. He's also Long Meadows' national sales director. Ted and Laddie, by the way, both lived in La Porte, Texas, near Houston for a time growing up.

This promises to be in interesting evening for slow-foodies as much as wine-lovers. It takes place Jan.21 at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $95 a person plus tax plus 20 percent gratuity. Abacus is at 4511 McKinney. To make reservations, call Donna Tanner at 469-867-3681 or e-mail her at donnat@abacus-restaurant.com.

In Friday's On the Town – our weekly guide to things to do around Dallas – writer Nancy Moore lists five of her favorite places to sip a margarita. She says, "Listing all the margarita watering holes in the Dallas area could be as tricky as counting the stars in the North Texas sky. So we've rounded up a short list of a few old faithful places and profiled their house margaritas." Her picks: Enchilada's, Monica's, Mi Cocina (whose cocktail she dubs her "fav-o-rita"), Matt's Rancho Martinez and – the home of the frozen margarita machine – Mariano's Hacienda.

What's your favorite spot and why?

'Did another round at the Park Cities Bistro, aka Cafe R&D, today for lunch, with the same complete collapse of willpower when it came to the shoestring fries. Must...have...fries.

Service impressed the first time here, but I thought it might be new-restaurant good behavior. Now I'm beginning to believe it may be corporate culture. The servers were engaged and attentive, and didn't act like they were doing us a big favor to bring menus, clear dishes, bring water, etc. To wit:

When the server took our beverage order and my friend said she wanted something that wasn't cold, the server named the hot options.

When asked, the server offered a reasoned opinion about menu options.

Each time we were done with a dish, another server, trolling the room for same, whisked it off our table.

When my friend asked the food runner who brought our food for water, she apologized, saying, "I know you're not our server...." And runner said, "Oh no, let me get that for you." And did.

When we were done and had food left over, another server offer cartons.

None of this was done with chirpy, Barbie-Ken affectation, but rather with smiles, eye contact and what seemed like a genuine desire to make service a good experience for the diners. I hope I wasn't hallucinating.

• Get contact info, maps, hours and more about Cafe R + D

"Eating the Earth" is the title of a paper presented in September at the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking by John Whiting, an ex-pat American food writer who makes his home in England these days.

It's one long op-ed piece, with detailed annoation, on how "the multinational food industry has become a primary impetus towards overpopulation, obesity, pollution and and global warming."

Heady stuff, and not for the sound-bite-minded. Whether you agree or not, thank goodness intellectuals like Whiting are taking this on in ways that would make most people's brains hurt.

The issues are not as simple as organic vs. techno farming, Whiting writes, as he methodically builds his case. He does end on a hopeful note, with Cuba, of all places. Meaty reading, and a case for more meatless meals. BTW, Whiting's a friend from a circle of food writers around the world who meet online and hash out such topics.

Have not yet confirmed this through official channels, but I've heard through in-the-know folks that tonight is the last night for Felissa's in Snider Plaza. Felissa LaFlamme was the original owner of glorious York Street, which she sold to Sharon Hage in 2001. She opened Felissa's in 2005.

I dined at Felissa's this past September -- I remember enjoying venison-chipotle sausage in tomatillo sauce and a variation on New Orleans-style court-bouillion, redfish in an herby tomato sauce over white rice. Nice selections of wines by the glass, as well. The place seems a good fit for the neighborhood.

I'll report back when I hear back from Ms. LaFlamme or someone from the restaurant, but if you've been a fan of this spot, you might want to swing by tonight.

Update: Just got off the phone with Ms. LaFlamme, and it's definitely true: Tonight is the restaurant's last night. She attributes her closing to the classic restaurant curse -- "location, location, location." It's a possibility that the restaurant, or some variation, will return in a new spot, though Ms. LaFlamme says she hasn't found the right space yet.

Listen up, Pyles partisans. On Monday (Jan. 14), those of you with Sirius Satellite Radio can tune in to Channel 112 at 8:15 a.m. to hear chef Stephan Pyles interviewed live on Martha Stewart Living Radio, during Martha Stewart's Morning Living with Kim Fernandez and Betsy Karetnick.

Addison-based Pizza Hut is introducing a "value solution" that might come in handy during this NFL playoff season: the $5 pizza.

The new medium-sized Pizza Mia is geared, the company says, to "consumers feeling the pinch of rising gas prices and a slowing economy." It features "sauce made from vine-ripened California tomatoes and whole-milk mozzarella cheese."

What makes it a "value" deal: If you order three or more one-topping Pizza Mia pizzas, the price is $5 per pizza. (However, if you order fewer than three pizzas, each Pizza Mia is $6.99.)

The newcomer is supposed to be a permanent addition to Pizza Hut's menu, and it's available every day.

Paul DiCarlo at Jimmy's Food Store says that Ruffino has just dropped the price on three of their best-selling wines: Fonte a Sole Sangiovese-Merlot, Libaio Chardonnay and Lumina Pinot Grigio, which will all be open for tasting Saturday noon to 3 p.m.

DiCarlo also says to come by and register for a drawing during that time for a Francis Francis! X5 espresso machine designed by Italian architect Luca Trazzi that has a retail value of $649. The drawing will take place right after the tasting, and you don't have to be present to win.

Jimmy's is at Bryan and Fitzhugh.

If only we opened our snail mail as promptly as our pals at PegasusNews.com apparently do, we could have already told you about Woodlands. The new North Dallas grill plans its grand opening for next Thursday, Jan. 17, with a 7 p.m. event benefiting the Vogel Alcove.

However, since we have lately been moving like molasses in January, we will simply note that yes, this is indeed happening, it's for a very good cause, and if you'd like to attend, you should check out the Woodlands website and follow the links for the grand opening. Or call 972-239-2024 for more information. Woodlands Grill is located at 6073 Forest Lane, just east of Preston Road.

Set your TiVos, gang – the second season of Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie premieres tomorrow (Saturday the 12th) on KERA at 5 p.m. Diary stands out among food shows for its non-glossy, global exploration of nitty-gritty cooking. (I haven’t watched too many of Anthony Bourdain’s shows, but it’s in that vein, minus the outsized personality guiding the adventures.)

The paper received a promo copy of the season’s first episode, which focuses on the cooking of Southern India. I was struck by how un-styled everything was: The houses where the people did the cooking didn’t resemble anything close to fancy, and the food, though obviously labor-intensive, looked humble … but deliciously real, and like nothing you’d find in a restaurant. Mission accomplished, I guess: The sequence made me want to head to an Indian grocery and master these dishes. (Some of the recipes are on the magazine’s web site .)

Upcoming topics for the show include goat cheese-making in New Zealand, North Carolina barbecue, Mexico’s Baja peninsula (dubbed “the new Provence”), Parisian bread and a show focusing on bloggers that will air, I believe, on February 16.

Dallas' favorite barbecue shack, Sonny Bryan's, is tossing a party to celebrate its 50th anniversary at the original, hallowed 2202 Inwood Rd. location.

Circle the calendar for Wednesday, Feb. 13, and be sure to show up early -- the public reception starts at 11 a.m.

You're sure to spot a few celebs there, including chef Dean Fearing, who's serving as a Sonny's spokesperson for this commemorative year. Dean, a longtime master of the grill, uses Sonny Bryan's sauce with the 'cue at his Fearing's restaurant.

(Sonny Bryan's rib dinner at the original Inwood Road location.
DMN file photo by Milton Hinnant)

Restaurateur Mark Brezinski wrote to tell me that, after a few delays, his new Bengal Coast is now open for lunch and dinner. Brezinski co-founded Pei Wei Asian Diner and Tin Star but last year turned his full attention to this new concept, the first of which is in Oak Lawn’s Centrum building. It offers dishes inspired from what he calls “the other Asia:” India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Will certainly be interesting to see if his tinkering with these ancient, spice-laden cuisines catches the public’s attention. Totally groovy intro on the restaurant’s web site.

We've been hearing lots of good things about the changes at the Mansion Restaurant at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. So last night my editor, Cathy Barber, and I went to check out the new tasting menus from executive chef John Tesar.

It did not disappoint. The Chef's Room was a pretty awesome experience, with service that never faltered and a lovely, intimate setting in front of the former library's elegant fireplace. Dinner technically consisted of three courses, but there was an amuse-bouche, a cheese course, and so many pre-dinner and mid-dinner bites and extras that we literally lost track.

I didn't get quite so adventurous in my ordering as my boss did. (You can read in the post below all about Cathy's experience with a dish involving cock's comb -- a chicken part that I don't think any of us at the table had ever eaten before.)

(Photo of the Chef's Room courtesy of Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek)

A tiny part of me wanted to think that "cock's comb" on the dinner menu at the Mansion Restaurant was maybe some sort of boutique green.

Not.

It is what it is -- that spiky thing on a rooster's head. This. Chef John Tesar serves it in a broth with spinach and sweetbreads that have been lightly battered and fried.

Loved the sweetbreads. Glad to say I have tried the cock's comb. It tasted a bit like thick pasta with a hint of chickeniness. Not at all chewy. And not red, rather more of a pale fleshy color.

Our waiter kindly sliced a couple into strips and passed them around the table, and the plate did NOT come back empty.

Still, been there, done that. Don't have to do it again.

For years, I've passed them, curious, on the produce aisles at places like Central Market and Whole Foods Market, little half-pint plastic containers of brilliantly red, round currants. Finally this week, I bought some.

You can't eat them raw. Too tart. So I turned to my food-writer friends in Great Britain, who have often waxed wistfully about their love for currants (black and red). One suggested I could make the world's tiniest batch of jam. Another told of a wonderful recipe that drizzles the puree over custard in a pie shell. They also freeze well, right on the stem, one said, and I might want to save them for summer.

But from all these ideas, two things were clear: They must be cooked and sweetened, like cranberries, and they must be strained. Now what?

That's my red currant sauce over bananas.
Photo by IWG

Sandy Korem of Festive Kitchen reports that they sold nearly 3 TONS of their much-loved Cranberry Salsa over the holidays.

Up next for Valentine's Day: Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chunky Oreo Vanilla Buttercream Icing.

Even if you don't buy a thing, you can still have fun tasting a selection of Argentinean wines Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. at the new City Cafe Gourmet Food & Wine To Go, part of the City Cafe troika on Lovers Lane just west of the tollway. The point is a sale: Get a 10 percent discount on any six bottles from Argentina. And yes, you can mix and match. The tasting part is free, of course.

Looking for a special, original painting -- or a food-centric grouping -- to grace your kitchen or dining room? Check out the work of Texas artist Thaw Malin III.

Mr. Malin's still lifes of fruits and vegetables are full of robust color. He also paints beautiful florals and landscapes, as well as seascapes (he spends summers on Martha's Vineyard). Most of his paintings are small oils on canvas, 6 by 8 inches.

His work (such as Seven Peppers, seen above left) is regularly sold on eBay and on his own website.

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Ounce Prime Steakhouse, the new and buzzworthy North Dallas chophouse, and he pays a revisit to Lanny's Alta Cocina Mexicana, Lanny Lancarte II's Fort Worth spot that mixes Mexican flavors and New American cooking.

Do you agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below.

'Had to LOL when local wine rep John Bratcher sent this excerpt from a Dave Barry calendar:

"After wine is bottled, it's transported to the Pretentious Phrase Room, where professional wine snots think of ways to make fermented grape juice sound more complex than nuclear physics. At one winery I sampled a Pinot Noir (from the French words "pinot," meaning "type of," and "noir" meaning "wine"). And they handed me a sheet describing the wine as having "classical Burgundian aromas of earth, bark, and mushrooms; dried leaves, cherries; hints of spice and French oak"; and flavors of "blackberry, allspice, cloves, and vanilla, with nuances of toast." Yes! Nuances of toast! I bet they exchanged high fives in the Pretentious Phrase Room when they came up with that one!"

If you're among the radical few who won't be glued to the playoffs on Sunday, check out the Slow Food Dallas screening of The Future of Food, written, produced and directed by documentary filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia. It's been called the Fahrenheit 9/11 of the GMO controversy.

The screening is at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Nasher Sculpture Center private dining room. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets, $25 for Slow Food members, $35 for non-members. The price includes admission to the center, which is at 2001 Flora downtown.

For an upcoming class, the Sur La Table staff compiled a list of recipes that every cook should be able to make. Here's the list; how many can you do?
*Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken
*Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
*Traditional Pot Roast with Caramelized Onions, Potatoes and Baby Carrots
*Creme Brulee
The class is Jan. 17 but there's already a waiting list.
Tell us: What is your favorite go-to recipe, and where did you get it?

Jennifer LaFleur snagged an interview with Duff Goldman, madcap baker on the Food Network's Ace of Cakes.

Courtesy of Bloomberg:
A “breastaurant,” to quote the Urban Dictionary -- there is such a reference work -- is a venue “that serves both food and breasts.” Like Hooters.

Normally, we wouldn't put something up about travel pers se on this blog, but Nancy and Gary Krabill, who own Flavors From Afar, are completely nuts about Italian food and wine, so much so that it is the raison d'etre (if I may mix European metaphors) for the trips they lead.

Saturday, they're hosting three hourlong, Italian travel listen-and-learn sessions (3, 4, and 5 p.m.) both for folks planning their own trips as well as those considering joining the Krabills in April. The format, as they explain it, will be to show pics overhead, suggest places and sequences, answer questions and provide some basic info. Of course, there will be Italian-inspired food and wine to grease the proverbial skids.

It's all free. Just call to let them know you'll be attending: 214-696-2327. The shop's at 6712 Snider Plaza.

In more chefs-on-the-move news ... I chatted with former Landmark Restaurant chef Joel Harloff today and he confirms that he is no longer associated with Screen Door restaurant coming 2008 to One Arts Plaza. Harloff was previously serving as exec chef for the project from Cafe Italia founder Scott Jones.

What's next? The chef is consulting with Barry Tate, owner of The Londoner in Addison and McKinney, to open up an Uptown outpost of the popular English pub haunts two doors down from TABC (Thomas Avenue Beverage Co.).

"We're taking the menu concept that Barry has made so successful and Uptowning it," says Harloff. That translates into more upscale appetizers such as mussels, but the chef assures us that the traditional pub favorites such as shepherd's pie will remain on the menu.

Harloff also hints that a Frisco location is in the works. We'll keep you posted.

Photo by Nan Coulter

I just returned from a shopping orbit and ran across my favorite fresh spinach at Central Market: tight-packed little 10-ounce "triple-washed" bags from Oak Hill Farms in Poteet, Texas. That's south of San Antonio, where a lot of the state's spinach is grown. It's always fresh, even though the leaves are all wrinkled up. (Who cares? You're going to cook it anyway.) At my house, the 10 ounces makes about one serving with enough leftover for a spinach-and-Greek-yogurt omelet in the morning. Yum.

Visiting The Grape in November and December for an update review got me thinking about restaurants that sustain themselves long enough to earn the designation of “institution.” The Grape certainly qualifies: You can feel the progression of years as you sit in that dim, cozily squished dining room.

Before I recount a meal I had two weeks ago at a Baltimore institution I’ve loved dearly since childhood (and that manages to holds its own brilliantly), let me throw out: What Dallas institutions do you love? Which spots don’t merely serve nostalgia but also still offer food that maintains its dignity against the maelstrom of restaurant openings and closings? I’d also be curious to hear about places that are long gone that you particularly miss. I have one of those from childhood, too.

If you've always fantasized about making a souffle to impress your friends at your next dinner party, be sure to check out Wednesday's Taste cover.

We'll tell you how a souffle is made, present tips for novices and offer a couple of basic recipes to help you get started.

There are step-by-step photos of a souffle being made by Cherif Brahmi, executive chef of Rise No. 1, a souffle bistro opening soon in Inwood Village. And we give you the story behind this unusual new restaurant and the team responsible for its creation.

Also, watch our online video of French Room executive chef Jason Weaver as he whips up a Grand Marnier souffle, a dessert for which his restaurant is justly famous.

(DMN photo of chef Cherif Brahmi's Grand Marnier souffle: Evans Caglage)

The new season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations starts tonight at 9 on the Travel Channel. The globe-trotting chef and author visits Singapore, and his stops include a surgery-themed restaurant. Tune in early to catch a marathon of episodes from the previous season, including Indonesia and Malaysia.

Okay, I've been on vacation, so I'm a bit behind on my gossip, but D's Nancy Nichols reports that Pegasus News' Teresa Gubbins reports (I know, it's like high school all over again) that hot dish Nick Badovinus has left the building. Specifically, Consilient Restaurants' building, where Badovinus and company founder Tristan Simon dreamed up such foodie hits as Hibiscus, Fireside Pies and The Porch.

What's next for bad boy Badovinus? We'll keep you posted.

Photo by Courtney Perry.

It's been a fortnight of unexpected restaurant closures, beginning with Tecole Taco House, then Petit Fours and now Arc-en-Ciel.

Eats reader Rich tipped us about the latter, a beloved dim sum place in Garland at Walnut and Jupiter. He told us via e-mail, "Sad. Went by last night after trying for two days to reach them on the phone. The manager at Tasty China says they closed on January 2."

Got your own tip about a restaurant that has closed, changed menus, recently opened or maybe just doesn't live up to its review? Let me know, and I'll investigate.

Eats reader Tara passed along a tip that Petit Fours, the imaginative cake shop in the West Village's Mondrian, was closing. According to the web site, it's true. Tara, who was there the day before Christmas, wants to know why it suddenly closed, and so do we. We'll let you know when we know.

The other day when I was in Central Market, I noticed they had Postum on the shelf. But not for much longer, apparently.

If you're a fan of the venerable non-caffeinated drink, a longtime coffee substitute, you'd better stock up. Our friends on the Religion blog say that Postum is being discontinued after more than 100 years of production.

Word on the street was right: This place rocks. Zituna World Food Market has been undergoing a soft opening since Dec. 15; in fact, stock is still arriving each day, according to the manager.

In many ways, it's like any modern grocery store, with big, colorful signage on the walls to designate dairy, meats, etc., and pristine deli, dairy and frozen cases. But here the emphasis is Middle Eastern, Persian and Balkan-Russian, with more Indian specialties on the way.

Some items are totally off the wall for our world, such as bottles of Russian KBAC cola. And some make Middle Eastern food easier to prepare at home, like the zatar seasoning mix available in bulk.

Bill Kennedy, who comments regularly on this blog and is an avowed foodie, points out in the Lake Highlands Advocate that ordering the crust extra-thin at Alfonso's Italian restaurant on Buckner between Northwest Highway and Garland Road gets you a nearly perfect pie, "soooooooooo close to Fireside's that you'd swear Nick Badovinus was tossing in Alfonso's kitchen. It's chewy, just the right amount of char on the bottom, and a crust-edge you could eat as a meal unto itself." Plus, he says, they make their own sausage which is "pretty darn close" to Jimmy's Food Store. Sounds good to me.

If your green salads are experiencing the winter blahs (like mine are), Tom Spicer has a couple of cool items at his FM 1410 to perk them up. One is farmed winter arugula from Navarro County. I like the sometimes intense spiciness of locally grown arugula, especially played against milder greens like romaine and frissee (supply highly variable right now). He also has several kinds of microgreens, which add intensity to green salads. Besides an Asian mix and a rainbow mix, you might want to try chervil and cilantro.

Speaking of salads, I noticed something new at Whole Foods Market in the produce section: vacuum-packed artichoke hearts, plain or seasoned. What to do with them? Besides adding to salads, one shopper said she was going to put them on top of her salmon. Good idea.

Columnist James Ragland has the swell story of Katrina evacuee Catherine Henley, who has opened a Cajun restaurant in Oak Cliff.

OK, we know it's kind of goofy. But we can't help liking Central Market's new book, because it just makes us smile.

The First Ever Un-Edited & Un-Tested Hatch Chile Pepper Recipe Book ($14.99 at Central Market stores) contains hundreds of recipes that are printed just as they were submitted -- most were handwritten, though some are typed -- on contest-entry forms by CM's customers.

Thus they are, as the inside front cover says, "Un-Tested! Un-Edited! Probably Delicious!" That's gotta be our favorite disclaimer of this young year.

So what if that cavalier attitude makes it the anti-Cook's Illustrated? This homey little volume stands in the proud tradition of every church cookbook ever published. It goes them a step better, in fact; we're not sure we've ever seen a church cookbook that reproduced the contributors' original handwritten submissions.

I just saw on the Slow Food Dallas blog that Zituna has opened in Richardson at the corner of Coit and Arapaho (southeast corner). The new specialty grocery store covers Middle Eastern, Greek, Persian and Eastern European, and the blogger likened it to the late, lamented Worldwide Foods on Lower Greenville. If you've been by, I'd love to hear what you think. I'm going to try and get there this weekend.

Rehoboth Ranch is swtiching this year to the heritage Berkshire breed for its free-range, organic pork. This is a big deal, since Berkshire is considered the pork equivalent of Kobe beef.

Starting in the fall, you'll be able to buy it at Texas Meats at the Dallas Farmers Market, the Coppell and McKinney Farmers Markets, at the Greenville ranch and at designated drop-off locations. And you'll be seeing it on local menus, too. Area chefs are the ones who persuaded the Hutchins family to change.

Rehoboth also produces organic free-range chicken, beef and eggs, with its lamb coming from an Oklahoma producer.

Even as I post this, the seats are filling up for the "Eight Italians" wine dinner at Jimmy's Food Store on Jan. 16. Each of the eight Italian winemakers and proprietors, whose wines are imported by Vias, will be on hand to open and discuss one of their wines, from Matteo Bisol, whose family makes Bisol proseccos, to Thomas Faure Romanelli of Tuscany's Riseccoli. (He's the grandson of Florentine artist Romano Romanelli.)

The event will be longer than usual and include a five-course meal; registration is at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $99 plus tax per person; it's a pre-pay event. Call now - 214-823-6180 or e-mail paul@jimmysfoodstore.com - to get signed up.

First there was City Cafe (1985). Then there was City Cafe To Go next door. Now there's City Cafe Gourmet & Wine To Go next door to that.

Probably the owners should flop the name and call it City Cafe Wine & Gourmet, as wine takes up the greater part of the store. It's a nice, compact selection of mostly under $20 bottles from smaller producers, such as locally imported Lorca 2006 Fantasia from Argentina made from the torrontes grape. But there's more.

DMN colleague Kathy Goolsby has a brother, Mat Goolsby, who is an oil/gas geologist working a well site in Bulgaria. "I think the crew members take turns cooking meals, and Mat wanted to serve turkey on Christmas," Kathy says.

Turns out there are some pitfalls awaiting the cook who aspires to make American homestyle dishes in Bulgaria.

According to Mat's holiday email: "I requested a 12 lb turkey last week so I could cook for 11 people today. Our local connection, Svetan, brought two 6 lb tom turkeys yesterday. I guess the pickings here are so slim, even the turkeys are skinny. Scrawny little things!”

I try not to gush too much in public over items from the Martha Stewart empire. But Martha Stewart's Wedding Cakes is a flat-out stunner.
Not in the market for a wedding cake? Doesn't matter. Even a guy in our office who thinks this would be a swell wedding was hooked within 5 minutes.
The book is packed with incredible feats of fondant and precious piping. Some cakes, like the seven-layer coconut, are elegant in their simplicity. But others are show-stoppers, like an eyelet cake, each layer a different eyelet design in fondant; a damask cake, with intricate piped scrollwork; and a truffle cake covered with 300 homemade truffles, each cut in half.
Brides will be giddy and bakers scared. Check it out.

We chatted yesterday with Mark Maguire, one of the principals in rise no. 1, the new souffle-and-wine bistro that's opening soon in Inwood Village.

Mr. Maguire and his partners, creative manager Hedda Gioia Dowd and executive chef Cherif Brahmi, had hoped to get the bistro open by New Year's. But technological details (specifically, precise calibration of their special souffle-baking ovens) have pushed the date back to mid-January. Mr. Maguire now says he's expecting rise no. 1 to open sometime between Jan. 10 and Jan. 16.

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews The Grape with new owners Brian and Courtney Luscher. He's the chef; she's the general manager.

The other new reviews are a revisit to Cru, a Wine Bar in Plano's The Shops at Legacy and a revisit to Ruth's Chris Steak House, which explains just why it's called Ruth's Chris Steak House.

And in case you missed it during the holidays, check out our Year in Review: Restaurants package. Read and ogle a slideshow of Bill's top 10 new restaurants, then check out Bill's personal upscale favorites, new restaurants, and notable closings.

As always, don't forget to tell us what you think about the reviews.

The Dallas Arboretum offers "Fireside Wine Flights" at the DeGolyer Garden Cafe each weekend in January.

Starting Jan. 4, new wine selections will be offered Fridays through Sundays, 3 to 5 p.m. Price is $42.95 per person, which includes parking and admission. A special cafe menu also will be offered.

The Arboretum is located at 8525 Garland Rd. in Dallas. Call 214-515-6500 for more information, or see the Arboretum's website.

Looking for something to pick up for dinner on the way home from work? If your office is downtown, stop by Urbanmarket (1500 Jackson St., 214-741-3663) from 6 to 8 p.m. each Tuesday in January, and check out their chef-prepared dishes with complimentary wine samplings.

A couple of weeks ago, I went back to Yao Fuzi with friends visiting from San Francisco. Happy to report several positives: The food is as accomplished as it was during on my review meals (that shrimp dish with tea leaves … sigh) and, encouragingly, there were seven tables occupied on a Monday night, many more than on the October Saturday night when I first ate here.

But, personally, the most gratifying development was dessert.

Like other aspects of dining at Yao Fuzi, I had to ask for it specifically. (The restaurant now translates some of its Chinese menu for non-speakers/readers, but you still have to ask for non-regular menu specifics like the cold Shanghainese appetizers).

On the advice of a friend who's a strict raw-terian (eats raw foods only), I dropped in at Sweet Tomatoes in Addison across from the reclaimed Prestonwood space, and it's a quantum leap from the typical all-you-can-eat salad-soup-pasta-baked-potato-bread-and-dessert bar. Everything was fresh, without so much as a single wilted leaf, from the salad bar to the mac-and-cheese at the pasta bar. Greeters tell you up-front that you can assemble your own salad, or choose from one of four already made up (and changed every 20 minutes) at the end of the bar.

The soups, though, are what caught my palate on a chilly winter day - housemade, and they tasted like it. Cream of rosemary potato (which they kindly tell you is not vegetarian) and U.S. Senate bean with smoked ham were worth the price of admission (a little under $8).

But be warned: Temptation is ever present to turn an outing here into a high-calorie splurge.

Massimo Ramundi, whom many diners will recognize as the distinguished, silver-haired waiter at Adelmo's and Daniele Osteria, has just opened his own catering business. Antica Tavola is set to bring Old World Italian, which anyone who's been to Italy is doomed to crave, to your home or event.

He's got standards on his menu, like Caprese, the fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato salad. But also his own version of gnocchi with cream sauce and cheeses, lobster ravioli, and seafood soup made with San Marzano tomatoes, red snapper, swordfish and clams. You will search in vain for a steak - yes.

Ramundi grew up in a village in the Abruzzo region, which hugs the Adriatic coast and stretches inland to include central Italy. His Web site is written in Italian and English. Check it out.