EATS

At least, so we surmise from our first visit to Alberto Lombardi's newest offspring. The place was packed on a Tuesday night, with guests including Abacus chef-owner Kent Rathbun and his wife, Shinsei co-owner Tracy Rathbun.

Located in West Village, Pescabar has a contemporary feel (hip white Lucite chandeliers, a big mood-video screen above the semi-open kitchen) combined with more traditional Italian touches (huge Venetian mirrors on the walls) and a warm color scheme in citrus, crimson and cinnamon shades. Near the entrance, there are two tanks for live seafood: one for lobsters, one for crabs.

A special section on the menu is called "ceviche and crudo without borders." Crudo, we were told by our waiter, is basically the Italian version of sashimi. We tried several of these and I liked them all, but I especially dug the simplest one, a branzino carpaccio with EVOO, rosemary salt and lemon.

The beef tenderloin tataki was a tasty tartare served with a very hot Japanese mustard, the barest touch of which kicked like a bronco. I also liked the Thai snapper ceviche, made with watermelon, tomato, avocado and a whisper of jalapeno.

That frightening close-up to the left (forgive my appalling digital photo skills, they'll improve) is of a coveted Doughmonkey treat back for a guest run this week after repeated pleas to pastry chef Rhonda Ruckman: the PB&J cookie.

Yes, it looks like a muffin. But it has the texture of a cookie - a tall, soft-in-the-center-slightly-crisp-on-the-outside peanut butter cookie filled with a layer of jam. Of course, as with most Ruckman creations, it isn't overly sweet, and it has crunch from halved peanuts scattered through the dough. They're so good. I ate two yesterday before I'd even walked out of the store. (And if you just want plain old peanut butter cookies, she's brought those back by popular demand as well ... for now.)

Today's jam was raspberry. Tomorrow's will be homemade strawberry. And next week, Ruckman will stretch the concept by making cashew cookies filled with homemade cherry jelly. I will fight you for those.

If you're a fan of Next Food Network Star finalist Lisa Garza, here's your chance to cook with her in the kitchen at Suze.

Well, to be more exact, actually it's a chance for your kids to cook with Lisa. But you'll be paying for the experience, and you'll get to eat any extra goodies the kids may bring home.

Go to the jump for the PR release...

Pop music guy Thor Christensen shares this nugget from Lower G'ville:

Baristas at the M Streets/Lower Greenville Ave. Starbucks (Greenville Ave. @ Matalee) are telling customers their store is among those slated to be closed in the coming months, and they've posted a sign asking everyone to email CEO Howard Shultz at www.starbucks.com to demand the store be saved.

Tell us: Are you hearing rumors about any other locations?

The team that brought you Zanata on the square in Rockwall has just opened Square Market down the street which blogrockwall reports is in a refurbished old bank building, where the vault has been turned into the walk-in refrigerator.

About half of the store's salumi (half of Zanata's, too) is cured in-house by Zanata chef Ted Grieb, adding to the local housemade salumi roster. Also at the shop, says the Zanata Web site: wine, artisanal cheeses, hoagies, cheese steaks, bread, produce, sausages, sauces, oils, vinegars, dinners and more.

And don't forget wine tastings: The first one is tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., and Italian wines are on the program; it's free. Square Market is at 101 N. Goliad St., at the corner of Goliad and State Highway 66; phone is 972-722-9110.

"The latest food scare headlines are a dagger into the heart of Tex-Mex cuisine," writes Jeffrey Weiss. "Bad enough when the recent salmonella outbreak was blamed on tomatoes, but now federal authorities are worried about all the ingredients in fresh salsa and pico de gallo."

In the story here, Jeffrey talks to Tex-Mex restaurant owners and patrons to see what they're doing about the salmonella scare as well as thumbnailing the state of the crisis.

Me, I'm not letting it slow down my chip-to-dip-to-mouth sweep. I'll play the very long odds and enjoy my Tex-Mex. Chipotle pico di gallo just doesn't cut it.

In a move to draw attention to local sourcing, a Greenz press release proudly trumpeted its new Grilled Texas Peach Salad "with grilled Texas peaches and Vidalia onions fresh from Dallas' own Farmer's Market."

Do you see the problem here?

It's etiquette rules for the office kitchen. It won't do any good but it will make you feel better. Smug, even.
I count myself guilty -- but only on the rare occasion -- of leaving a near-empty coffeepot for the next person to deal with.
And I'm totally in favor of a ban on stinky microwave popcorn, having cooled my heels in the parking lot once when someone else's popcorn-gone-wrong set off the fire alarm. They make nice bagged popcorn now. Buy some of that and refuse to share.

Kim Pierce reports that the Frisco farmers market, now in its second year, is attracting some interesting vendors.
There's a good selection of pastured meats and the usual North Texas crops -- black-eyed peas, peaches, blueberries, etc. (The peaches shown are from Keith Copp of Ponder, and I wish I had one right now.)
It's worth checking out if you live in the great north. If not, check our guide to other area farmers markets.

Photo by Mike Stone/Special Contributor