EATS

Pegasus News' Teresa Gubbins wrote a great article that addresses the above question. The short answer: It's both. Read her story to hear what positives and negatives restaurant owners and staff find in the promotion.

What do diners think? Read some of their reviews here. So far, there are a lot more "fabulous," "awesome," "excellent" and "thoroughly impressed" comments, but there have been some disappointments.

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So check this out: The Guardian UK has a story about what swimmer Michael Phelps eats daily. To begin with, a light breakfast:

"Phelps kick starts his day and his metabolism with three fried-egg sandwiches, but with a few customised additions: cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and, of course, mayonnaise.

Amuse-bouche out of the way, he throws back two cups of coffee and sits down to an omelette - containing five eggs - and a bowl of grits, a porridge of coarsely ground corn. He's not finished yet. Bring on the three slices of French toast, with powdered sugar on top to make sure there's no skimping on the calories. And to finish: three chocolate chip pancakes."

Apparently Phelps said, "Eat, sleep and swim, that's all I can do."

I'm a Phelps too and I also can eat and sleep! So let this be a lesson to you all: we're all winners.

Photo: AP

Okay, I've had two different people randomly email me about how much they loved Eno's, the new pizza pub that has opened in the former Cosmo Rouge space in the Bishop Arts District.

What is owner Matt Spillers (right) doing to win folks over? Apparently, serving up some freakishly good thin-crust pizza. I'm guessing the 20 American microbrews on tap don't hurt either.

Spillers is a 27-year-old Dallas native and CIA grad. He's worked in New York and even opened a restaurant previously in Little Rock. Now he owns a restaurant design company dubbed the Spillers Group and this is their first venture.

Have you been yet? Let us know what you think.

Eno's Pizza Tavern, 407 N. Bishop Avenue, 214-943-9200; enospizza.com

Photo by AMY CONN-GUTIERREZ/Special Contributor

You know that tax-free weekend is upon us, right? (Find which items are exempt and non-exempt here.) Well ATexasStyle.com says they will offer free shipping on tax-free weekend, and on top of that, a portion of the all the sales proceeds supports arts and music education in Texas public schools.

So why am I writing this on the Eats blog? Because the website offers edible goodies like Beth Ramsey's Award Winning Chili and Rubs; Grapevine author Chef Debbie Meyer-Gore's book Good Friends, Great Tastes; Chuckwagon Sisters Jean Cates and Sue Cunningham's award-winning recipes and cookbooks; D. L.; Jardine's Foods; Texas Choice; Texas Traditions and Killer Pecans.

So even if these items don't make the tax-free cut, you can still get them shipped for free.

Can I get a yee-haw?

Yes, that's a bit of a stretch for most of us - unless you happen to be traveling to the Hill Country anyway. Love Creek Orchards' Texas apples are for sale right now at the Apple Store in Medina proper. I don't have the exact address, but Medina's a little town, so it won't be hard to spot. None of the apples made it up to Dallas because the crop was too small. Medina is south of Kerrville and west of Boerne or northwest of San Antonio, if you like.

This is a pretty big deal for a young chef with a tiny restaurant that's only been open a year.

Bon Appetit's September issue has a big spread on the Italian-American cooking renaissance, "Molto Americano," and they've put together a menu of their favorite dishes from selected places around the country. Dallas' own Julian Barsotti made the primi list with Nonna's "Taglierini with Bay Scallops and Meyer Lemon," about which Bon Appetit says:

"At Nonna in Dallas, two appealing American ingredients -- Meyer lemons and bay scallops -- give new life to a classic pasta. Chef Julian Barsotti, who named the place after his nonna (grandmother), makes the taglierini by hand."

Sigel's is adding another batch of wines that will be available for sale today starting at noon. For Yellowtail fans, the shiraz-grenache blend will be $2.99. Cono Sur Cabernet Vision is on the list at $5.99; Rebecca Murphy has praised the wines from this estate, located at the southern tip of Chile. Ravenswood Zin lovers will find their favorite wine for $3.99. And at the higher end, there's a '99 Matanza Creek Sonoma Merlot Reserve for $14.99. (The winery is sold out.) Jump to check out the whole list. The wines will be at the Addison Sigel's, Inwood at Belt Line.