EATS

Metro reporter Dave Flick has a story with some hopeful news on the uncertain fate of the old Luna tortilla factory. The building, which is 70 years old, stands on McKinney Avenue at Woodall Rodgers.

To see Metro blog's alert on this, you can go to the jump.

Based on the sexy crowd showing up lately to Fuse's rooftop patio downtown, heat clearly rises.

Credit the TexAsian eatery's new summer happy hour. Sushi and cocktails are now served poolside. Order half-price appetizers such as sushi rolls, braised brisket potstickers (disclaimer: skip these if you're wearing a swimsuit and want to feel skinny) and drinks such as $5 apple-ginger martinis.

Happy hour is Tuesday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Come early for the best views.

Fuse, 1512 Commerce St., 214-742-FUSE

Photo by Jason Janik

Shiner Bock fan Mariella Krause chronicles her visit to Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas, between Houston and San Antonio.

Luckily, they named the beer after the town, not the brewery itself.

Photo by Mariella Krause

This report comes from Marilyn Horton at Coppell Farmers Market, but the produce items are a good indicator for all markets: Look for tomatoes, potatoes, onions, peaches, blackberries, maybe a few strawberries, green plums, peppers, cucumbers, green beans, and squashes, including pattypan at left, courtesy of Wikipedia. Also, the first of the Texas sweet corn.

Coppell also has artisanal breads, baking mixes, Gulf seafood and Alaskan salmon, handmade soaps, coffee, tea, and pasta. It's at Bethel and Coppell roads in Old town Coppell.

Rehoboth Ranch and Dominion Farms will have pastured meats and related products at Coppell and McKinney.

Many of the markets have honey and pastured eggs as well as plants. Some also have dog biscuits.

It's already getting hot and muggy outside, so Quick writer Lesley Téllez found some new places to chill out. She recently sampled a variety of frozen treats from the flurry of fro-yo shops popping up around town, including OrangeCup, Natsumi, BerryBerry and Sorbeteria. Most offer natural, healthy fixins, too, so you can cool off sans guilt. Go to QuickDFW.com for the full article.

On May 9, we listed our critics' picks for the eight best steakhouses in DFW and asked readers to share their favorites. Now it's time to reveal the results.

Visit the Best in DFW page to read the extended critics' picks and find out more about Best in DFW, including upcoming topics.

Read the full list of readers' comments about steakhouses here.

Additional steakhouse stories:
• Dry-aged steaks are uncommon in these parts but still mouthwatering to some
• A robust wine or even a Bloody Mary can be a good match for a steak

Photo: Bob's Steak and Chop House's bone-in rib eye by Evans Caglage / DMN

Well, y'all, I've been riddled with deadlines and just this minute finished watching last night's TiVo'd TC episode. This was the final round in Chicago before the cheftestants regrouped for the finale in Puerto Rico, as announced by a spliced-in Padma voice-over with a bad sound quality match-up. I'm so happy about who went home. More on that after the jump.

The beloved Caribbean restaurant has reopened with a new name - The Scarlet Ibis - and a new address - 14833 Midway Road at Beltway. The menu remains the same. Hours are likely to change once the restaurant has been open longer. For now, it's open Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. A grand opening celebration is planned for the July 4th weekend.

TJ Maxx, Marshalls and similar stores can always be counted on for interesting food finds, but I'd hazard to say the slow economy is making them even better. (You know, more stores going belly-up, although that's not the only way stuff ends up here.)

On a recent trip to TJ Maxx, besides the usual complement of designer jams, jellies, salts, vinegar, olive oil, cookies, coffees and chocolate, I saw D.L. Jardine's Texas Red Snapper among the Bloody Mary mixes, also some bottles of Stirrings beverage mixes. There were Dave's Gourmet pasta sauces, including mushroom flavor and heirloom tomato. Lots of other sauces, too.

Anyone looking for Bundt brand Tunnel of Fudge cake mix? How about largish tins of Spanish smoked paprika? I finally landed on the Virginia peanuts. From among the three brands, I chose a 12-ounce tin from The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg. Never had Virginia peanuts? Like good kettle chips, they are hand-fried in small batches and lightly salted, yielding a crisper peanut. These were $3.99; They're $6 a tin plus shipping if you buy the same item from the Peanut Shop's online store.

With parking such a hassle at Snider Plaza and gas prices giving everyone sticker shock, Nancy and Gary Krabill at Flavors From Afar are taking action.

They've started a weekly drop-off service in McKinney: Advance orders can be picked up each Wednesday at a drop-off location to be specified when the order is placed.

They'll extend the free delivery service to any neighborhood or office pool in Dallas and Collin counties for any order totaling $100 or more. If it's a group effort, the person coordinating the order gets a $25 gift card toward his or her next purchase.

Is this thinking out of the boxed-in store or what? Call 214-696-2327 to learn more or send an email here.

When Texans talk tea, they generally mean iced.

Kick off National Iced Tea Month at an iced tea contest hosted by the Plaza at Preston Center. After you buy a ballot, you can sample jazzed-up teas from Dallas restaurants (such as Craft, Tillman's Roadhouse, Greenz, Bolla and Sterling Tea) and vote for the best. Proceeds benefit North Texas Food Bank. 1 to 4 p.m. June 8; $5 for children, $10-$20 for adults (includes raffle tickets); 972-931-7576.

Find out more on the Cultured Cup site.

Especially on weekends, you can find more than fresh produce at the Dallas Farmers Market. Case in point: Ed Greer (left) and Mike Koster share a tiny shop tucked away in an old warehouse at the north end of the market. Ed sells pasta, sauces and related items. Mike sells Angus beef that he raises around the state. They're there every weekend, so check them out. Then try this recipe, which conveniently uses pasta and beef.

Photo by Cheryl Diaz Meyer

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Spiral Diner, the Oak Cliff outpost of the Fort Worth-based vegan restaurant. Kim Harwell reviews Social House, the gastropub in the West Village.

Share your own review of these restaurants. Leave a comment below.

Third-generation Edouard Moueix (moo-ay) is heir apparent to the Chateau Petrus wine group, which includes a dozen top properties in Pomerol and St. Emilion. His family also owns Napa Valley's historic Napanook vineyards and Dominus and continues a thriving negociant business, founded by Edouard's grandfather in 1937.

The family makes wonderful wines, and Edouard's English is flawless. If you're a fan and have the dime, don't miss the Four Seasons Resort and Club dinner with Edouard on June 5. It's limited to 12 (includes the 1999 Petrus) and starts at 7 p.m. with a reception, where 2000 Roederer Cristal will be poured. Cost is $250 each plus tax and gratuity. Make reservations at 972-717-2420. Read on for the menu and wines. Even if you can't go, you can look at the lineup and dream.

Over on the Metro blog, they take note of an interesting development at one local restaurant chain, La Madeleine.

Apparently, if you've been giving out free bread for 20 years, you shouldn't take it away from the people, or the people will revolt. La Mad's new policy of charging for sides of bread lasted exactly three days in Dallas, says DMN business writer Karen Robinson-Jacobs.

What do you think? Is this a harbinger of things to come? Will we soon be paying for the bread, chips and salsa, and dishes of peppered olive oil that have heretofore been freebies at restaurants?

Check out the back page of today's Taste section for this story on OrangeCup, a budding frozen-yogurt chain that just opened its first outpost on the second floor of NorthPark Center, next to the Neiman Marcus entrance.

Apparently we're not the only ones who have discovered OrangeCup since its April opening. Local foodies are blogging about it, too. We hear some fans are comparing it to the trendy yogurt places in L.A. such as Pinkberry -- but to its credit, OrangeCup is a certified probiotic product as well as a tasty one.

If you already like BerryBerry or Natsumi, two other recent additions to the Dallas scene, OrangeCup is one to add to your list.

Movie night doesn't get much better than this: Real popcorn (none of that microwave stuff) dressed with sea salt, black pepper and Parmigiano-Reggiano, paired with just the right wine. Check out the best popcorn wines here, and don't miss the Cristalino Cava Rose, a real find at around $7.

The Food Network is giving home cooks a chance to ask questions of nine favorite TV chefs. Those whose questions are selected will get them answered in an episode of the new series, Dear Food Network.

No, they do not want questions like, "Giada, how do you get your hair to look so good?" The network's looking for queries on "all kinds of cooking challenges -- from Thanksgiving disasters, to holiday cooking blow-outs, to summer grilling gaffes. ...Don't know why your turkey always comes out dry? Want a simple and delicious champagne cocktail for a sparkling New Year's Eve? Are you having an army of family and friends over for a holiday dinner and need some fresh ideas? Need help perfecting your grilled ribs?"

It doesn't get much more local than this: Produce broker Tom Spicer is putting the finishing touches on a garden for chef John Tesar on the grounds of the Rosewood Mansion Hotel. They're planting herbs, lettuces, olive trees and more. Details to follow.

"Buttery" and "nutty" are two of the most common adjectives bandied about in the discussion of cheese. Zamorano, a D.O.P. (protected designation of origin) Spanish ewe's milk cheese, meets exactly at the intersection of those two qualities.

The semi-firm cheese is aged three to ten months and, to my taste, is more desirable in its younger stages, when it dissolves in the mouth into a pleasant graininess.

Wait, before you taste it, smell it. Mmm, scents of sheep's milk butter and pecans.

I like Zamorano as part of a composed cheese plate: It stands on its own merits and its texture is very characteristic of sheep's milk products (making for a nice contrast against goat and cow cheeses). It does Spain proud as an alternative to Manchego.

I found Zamorano at the Central Market on Lover's Lane. Pick up some membrillo (quince paste) as an ideal accompaniment to the cheese while you're there.

Photo of Zamorano by Jon Sullivan.

Cruising the newly remodeled aisles at the Dallas Central Market, I can safely report that summer fruits are coming into their own. The West Coast cherries are still the less-sweet, early-season variety, but the Cooper Farms peaches from Central Texas ($2 a pound) pass my sniff test. (If they don't have a peachy fragrance, they won't have any flavor.) I think we're in for a good peach year.

Also spotted: several apricot-plum hybrids, including the Red Velvet, which is red-purple like a plum but with the opaque surface of an apricot. Another cross was like a neon-bright apricot, described as a blending of apricots and "premium plums." CM's also got Saturn white-flesh peaches, which we sometimes call donut peaches because of their flat, donut-like appearance.

It's also last-gasp time for tangerines: CM has the nubbly-skinned Gold Nugget variety.

Also spotted: cassava chips among the potato chips. I wasn't so impressed with the plain ones. (All of them have 1 more gram of fiber than potato chips and 40 percent less fat.) But the Arico Ginger on Fire cassava chips are addictive: They're just a little hot with a hint of ginger. It's hard to eat just one. CM had them on sale: two (5-ounce) bags for $5.

Want proof that Waxahachie's famed Catfish Plantation restaurant is haunted? You may have it in this new photo (original left, detail right) sent in by co-owner Ryan Rodriguez.

The image was snapped by members of the Texas Spirit Seekers paranormal research group and seems to show a disembodied face through a window in one of the dining rooms. View a larger version here.

"We tried to disprove it by saying that it may have been a reflection of one of the team members, but it looks absolutely nothing like any of them. And all you see is the face, no body or shoulders. They were pretty freaked out by it!" says Rodriguez.

What do you think? Is this a ghostly phenom or does it have an earthly explanation?

Bonus round: See video of the TSS investigation.

The Haunted Catfish Plantation, 814 Water St., Waxahachie, 972-937-9468.

Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill in Plano (aka Home of the Real New England Lobster Roll) is planning its annual LobsterFest for next Tuesday, June 3, from 5 to 9 p.m.

This is a reservation-only event, and reservations must be made no later than this Saturday, May 3. Cost will run about $50 per person, depending on market prices.

Sea Breeze's Mark Alterman says the feast resembles a clambake, with mussels and clams as well as fresh lobster (although, this being West Plano and all, the seafood probably won't steam in a beach-dug fire pit filled with rocks and seaweed).

For reservations or more information, call 972-473-CRAB (473-2722).

The Significant Other made an orbit by Tom Spicer's FM 1410, this time picking up something that looked like thick green stalks of wheat. I'd never seen it before: wild asparagus. He asked Tom how to prepare it, and we dutifully did it differently, but not too much so.

All you have to do is trim the stalk ends a bit, then cover and simmer the asparagus in a skillet with about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water for two to three minutes. We drained it, then returned it to the pan. Tom said to add garlic and butter. We added that, plus some caramelized spring onion and salt.

Blind-tasting, you'd never ID this as asparagus. It cooks into limp al dente strands, and the flavor is much more subtle, green and nutty. If you're stalking new adventures in veggie dining, this hits the sweet spot.
Photo by the Italian Wine Guy

Fans of Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte: You probably won't let anything stop you from rushing to catch the May 30 release of Sex and the City, so don't let the good times end when the credits roll. Grab your friends and head to a couple of after-parties toasting the winsome foursome. Martini Park's serving select cosmos and margaritas from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on opening night and the next day (May 30, May 31). Save your movie stub for Steel's SATC special, available May 30 through June 8. Present the stub to receive a complimentary Cosmo Bianco (a blend of vodka, cranberry juice and Triple Sec).