EATS

If you live or drive anywhere close to the intersection of Old Denton Road and the George Bush Turnpike in Carrollton, check out the Super "H" Mart on the northwest corner, anchoring a Korean shopping center.

My son (who did a tour of duty in Korea and once upon a time spoke Korean) called to tell me that the produce prices were the lowest he'd ever seen. And I have to agree, with a half pint of Chilean blueberries going for $1.29, quarts of California strawberries for 99 cents, fennel bulbs for 99 cents and Mexican avocados three for a dollar. Bloggers at Dallasfood.org have also discovered it if you want to read their take here.

But that's not all I spied at this new-millineum Asian grocery, the next-generation in ethnic specialty stores that are identical in marketing approach and design to mainstream grocery stores everywhere (like, say, the Wal-Mart Supercenter across the street).

If you're in the market for a gift for a favorite foodie, check out the autographed cookbook sale at Sur La Table. Some of the books are on sale -- and a few are going for as little as $9.99.

It might not seem like a big thing - certain big wine producers in Tuscany are accused of growing grapes other than the required sangiovese grosso - but it comes on the heels of the dioxin-mozzarella scare, giving Italy two gustatory headaches at once.

In particular, VinoWire notes, quoting La Republica and La Nazione, that Antinori, Argiano and Frescobaldi have been accused of growing the offending grapes, with 14 Montalcino vineyards cited by investigators from Siena. Antinori and Argiano vigorously deny the accusations.

The story plays out on a backdrop of whispers that for years Tuscan winemakers have been importing grapes from the south of Italy to make their wines fruitier.

Let's face it, these are not huge sins in the universe of winemaking, not comparable, say, to adding antifreeze to wines, Austria's little 1985 scandal. But the buffalo mozzarella thing is more complicated, conjuring up the Mafia, bad trash collections, illegal waste dumping and buffalo feed. You can read MSNBC's report here. Other kinds of fresh mozzarella are not affected.

There are big doings at the City of Dallas Farmers Market, as completion nears on the revamped Shed No. 2. This is the big, barnlike structure at the north end of the market; it has been completely enclosed ('about time), with AC and heat installed and insulation visible on the ceiling.

I stopped by on Sunday, and we've now got an empty concrete shell with a handful of businesses still hanging in bravely. But in the not-too-distant future we should see a new landscape of vendors.

As for true local farmers and farm dealers, there are a handful showing up in Shed No. 1, but it's still too early for most local fruits and veggies. Instead, you'll see a lot of starter plants, a handful of onions and potatoes, and some hothouse tomatoes. The rest of the produce is the same imported stuff you see at the supermarket. But it's fun to get out and walk the stalls as the weather warms up.

You can learn a little more about the market here. (Pssst. Hey, guys: It's time to update the class schedule for spring.)

This disquieting op-ed piece by Bridget Stutchbury, author of Silence of the Songbirds, tells why the Latin American melons or strawberries you buy may be killing the songbirds of North America:

Since the 1980s, pesticide use has increased fivefold in Latin America as countries have expanded their production of nontraditional crops to fuel the demand for fresh produce during winter in North America and Europe.

She goes on to show how this may be linked to dramatic declines in North American songbird populations, how birds may be affected and, if this bothers you, what you can do as a shopper.

In particular, she suggests that you buy American or organic when you can. Produce grown in this country is subject to much stricter regulations of pesticide use. Bananas, which we get largely from Central America, are egregious offenders, she says; buy organic when you can. And she recommends buying organic coffee and tells you why. Read the full op-ed piece here.

Sex and the City the movie hits theaters May 30, so Skyy Vodka has created cocktails to help you celebrate your inner Carrie, Miranda, Samantha or Charlotte and dish about the "Big" in your life.

One such cocktail is called Carrie a.k.a. The New Cosmo (at right), which is garnished with a slice of dried mango.

Houlihan's restaurant at 5225 Belt Line Road in Dallas will be serving these cocktails, and you can enter to win free tickets to the Sex and the City premiere. See the trailer and read the official blog.

As promised in print, here are the notes on the restaurants from my fried chicken search not prominently mentioned in either the article or my list of favorites. (I'm leaving out Ajisen, Massey's, Nate's Seafood, Plus One Chicken and Zyka, since I said pretty much everything I had to offer about them in the story.)

One thing I'd love to hear from y'all about is places you think I missed on my hunt. Fried chicken is an enduring obsession to mine, and an online follow-up report of visits to places I missed this round seems probable if I get some good suggestions. Rudy's Chicken and Hall's Chicken Shack have already been brought to my attention ...

On Monday, I'll dish a bit about some exceptional sides I ate alongside the many plates of browned bird, and also offer some thoughts on fried chicken from a more national perspective - including some quotes from John T. Edge, author of Fried Chicken: An American Story - that got cut due to space constraints.

Pictured above: Chicharron de pollo at La Cubanita

The Great American Meatout encourages people to say no - at least once in a while - to meat, with celebrations taking place across the country this weekend. In Dallas, the Great American Meatout 2008 is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center.

There will be speakers, demonstrations, food sampling, information tables and entertainment. Even if you're just thinking about going meatless, it's a great place to find out more and chat with people who have made meatless a way of life. Learn more about the Meatout movement here.

It's all free; the MLKing Center is at 2922 Martin Luther King Blvd. The local shindig is sponsored by the Black Vegetarian Society of Texas and VegetarianDallas.

Being a responsible foodie gets harder all the time. Consumer Reports ShopSmart tells us we must now look for coffee that is certified Bird Friendly. This means the coffee is grown in "conditions that support healthy bird habitats." It's also organic, so that's good. The Smithsonian's Migratory Bird Center administers the program, and their website doesn't show any local distributors. Austin's got it, and so do Houston and Watauga (huh?).
Let us know if you find Bird Friendly around town.

What are y'all thinking about Top Chef thus far? I'm kinda tepid myself.

Project Runway is so much more satisfying a reality show to me, maybe for obvious reasons: Fashion is about the visual, and food, while also being visual, primarily involves other senses . So the intensity of the competition and the judge's scrutiny never translates as well in cooking as it does in fashion.

(Warning: spoilers start after the jump)

That's right: Bill ate fried chicken almost every day for a month. He explains: "Over the last month, I visited nearly 30 Dallas-Fort Worth area restaurants that serve fried chicken. The range of styles and settings in many ways reflects national trends and attitudes toward the browned bird. Chicken-fried steak will always be the king of battered proteins in Texas, but the diversity of local fried chicken reveals an enduring love for this dish, past and present. It also offers a taste of its multicultural future." From Seoul food to soul food, chicharron de pollo to "Grandma Minnie's fried chicken," he ate it all. Here it is: Bill's fried chicken roundup.

In the coming days, he'll be here at Eats offering additional tasting notes, a roundup of favorite side dishes and other features. In the meantime, share your favorite fried chicken place. Whether it's traditional Southern or South American, we want to know where you go.

This week, Kim Harwell reviews Kathleen's Sky Diner, which is a retooling of Kathleen's Art Cafe with a quasi-aviation theme and more global menu items. Also, Kim's new dining news column, Table Talk, makes its debut this week. Check it out here.

Get the lowdown on spring cocktails at the Mansion here.

Every year, chapters of American Institute of Wine and Food holds Days of Taste, a program designed to teach kids more about their food and where it comes from. Youngsters get to hear farmers talk about their crops, learn how to make healthy choices, and shop for and prepare their own salads. It all takes place at the Dallas Farmers Market resource center. Many hands are needed to make this an unforgettable experience for the kids involved.

AIWF is looking for volunteers who can:

Dates are May 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15. Time is 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Go here for information or to sign up, or call 214-725-3947.

Make plans now to attend the Buffalo Gap Wine & Food Summit April 18-20. Tom Perini hosts the extravaganza each year at his ranch, with many events taking place outside under the West Texas sky. (Buffalo Gap is southwest of Abilene.) It's a unique setting where you can rub elbows (or scoot boots) with some of Texas' most acclaimed chefs and winemakers and enjoy great food, wine and company.

Viu Manent, Colchagua, Reserva Carménère 2006, $8.49-$14.99

The Colchagua Valley in Chile is nestled between the majestic Andes mountains and the more modest Coastal range, with the Pacific Ocean just beyond. This is a very congenial environment for carménère, Chile's signature grape variety.

The Viu family has cajoled engaging blackberry, cassis aromas and flavors with shades of chocolate to create a full-bodied, easy-to-drink wine perfect for tonight's burger or pizza. Widely available.

Rebecca Murphy

On FOX 4 News this morning, local Zagat's editor Kate Winzenried dished about some of the top area restaurants listed in the 2008 Texas edition of the dining guide -- ranging from the Adolphus Hotel's always top-rated French Room to down-home standbys such as Mia's Tex-Mex and Babe's Chicken Dinner House.

Reader Jed emailed to say, "Had to let you guys know that we saw a sign go up this week. Plano is finally getting an i Fratelli pizza delivery store. It is at the Polo Towne Crossing at Park and Dallas North Tollway between Omaha Steaks and Tin Star. Being a huge fan but dreading the long drive to Irving, this is great news for Plano and Far North Dallas."

I Fratetelli's Brian Murr says this location should be open "the first part of May." The address is 2208 Dallas Parkway, Plano, and the phone number is 972-608-8833. This will make the eighth pizza delivery location for the local chain.

A reader informed critic Lawson Taitte that Parlour Cafe and Wine Bar, which he reviewed in January, has closed. It's true. The phone number has been disconnected, and the web site has been replaced with the simple message: "We regret to inform you that Parlour Cafe and Wine Bar is closed for business."

Alfredo Trattoria, the homestyle Italian restaurant on Lemmon Avenue at Dorothy, appears to have closed as of last week, according to a source living in the Oak Lawn neighborhood.

The telephone is disconnected, so we were unable to contact owner Mario Perez. Alfredo Trattoria had been there for more than 20 years and was considered something of an institution on Lemmon, with lots of regulars coming over from the Park Cities. We'll post more updates as we hear them...

UPDATE: T.G. over at PegasusNews.com says:

The space is being taken over by one of the members of the Mia's Tex-Mex clan (according to a reliable member of the clan who asked not to be named), who will re-open it as a Tex-Mex place, probably called Casablanca.

I was at Nate's Seafood the other night doing some culinary research of the non-crustacean variety, but then I noticed almost every table in the place had a shallow tub of boiled crawfish in front of them. Don't ignore the context clues ...

Man, were they good. Big suckers, with more substantial tail meat than I encountered at the couple places (not Nate's) where I ate crawfish last year. And they were heavily encrusted with great, zingy, salty, reminded-me-of-Maryland-crab seasoning.

Mondays and Tuesdays, the mudbugs at Nate's are on special for $4.99 per pound. The rest of the week they run for $5.99 per pound.

Anyone else encountered good crawfish this season? I'm still new to the whole crawfish culture, so I'm wondering if this is turning out to be a particularly good year for them, or if I just lucked out.

Check out the menu at the new Lambert's in Fort Worth, which opened late last week. This is the most recent venture from Louis Lambert and Grady Spears, who have a long professional history but most recently teamed on Dutch's Hamburgers last year.

This is the second location of Lambert's, the first is in Austin, though Spears wasn't involved with the Austin branch.

Lotsa good-lookin' meat dishes on this menu (brown sugar crusted rib eye ... hmm). The "achotie" seared chickpeas look novel, though, unless this is esoterica of which I'm unaware, I think that should be spelled "achiote," right? And I'm hoping the whiskey in the subtitle next to steak and seafood means the restaurant will have a robust bourbon selection.

For more on the restaurant, read Amy Culbertson's well-written piece from the Star-Telegram last week.

Get a taste of Dallas next fall --- in Fort Worth.

Some familiar local names are going into the new West 7th urban village development nestled between downtown and University Drive.

The roster includes 817-area code versions of Tillman's Roadhouse, Brut champagne bar, Fireside Pies, Iron Cactus and Patrizio's. Expect a neighborhood gourmet market also from the creators of Dallas City Market.

The development will be anchored by the Texas debut of West Coast bowling phenom Lucy Strike Lanes.

Two words: Road trip.

Photo by Courtney Perry: Tillman's Roadhouse

Louis Fabrice Latour, the 7th-generation winemaker of Maison Louis Latour in Burgundy, will be the special guest at a wine dinner hosted by Hotel St Germain on Monday, April 7.

Mr. Latour will work with executive chef Chad Martin to create a five-course meal paired with the wines of Maison Louis Latour:

Latour Simonet Ferre, Latour Chablis 2005, Latour Chassagne Montrachet 2005, Latour Santenay Rouge 2004, Latour Gevrey Chambertin 2005 and Chateau Corton Grancey Grand Cru 1996

The Latour wine dinner is $125 per person. Call Hotel St. Germain at 214-871-2516 for reservations.

The Texas Department of Agriculture and the Wine & Food Foundation of
Texas are presenting "Set A Course For Texas Wines," spotlighting the best of Texas wines, foods and chefs, on Monday, March 31 at The Contemporary, 2801 Swiss Ave.

From 2 to 5 p.m. it's a private tasting event that's open only to the trade. However, the public may attend from 6 to 9 p.m. Chef Richard Chamberlain, owner of Chamberlain's Steak and Chop House, and Jermaine Brown, executive sous chef at Abacus, will demonstrate cooking with Texas meats and seafood.

Tickets are $40, and proceeds benefit the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas. Call 512-327-7555 or see the Wine & Food Foundation's website for reservations.