EATS

Jeanette Prasifka is one tall stalk among local rabbit-foodies, thanks to her vegetarian Crosby Catering. Now she's started a blog about things veggie in and around Dallas, from how the French Room accommodated her dietary needs (well, she says, very well) to a romp through master gardener Peter Scharr's fab Southwestern garden with many edible plants. Even if you're not a vegetarian, Jeanette gives insight into how to eat lower on the food chain without giving up any gustatory pleasure. I'm jealous that Peter also cooked for her, by the way, because he's a master cook, too.

It's a matter of survival as customers become more frugal and food gets more expensive. Check out details on how restaurants are getting menu makeovers.

Then tell us, have you seen it happen at restaurants you love?

Does that sound like heresy? Going to K.C. for three days and indulging in no steaks and no barbecue... what sacrilege!

But that's what my husband and I just did. Fact is, we couldn't look at prime beef or BBQ because we'd just spent the previous weekend chowing down on same in the Hill Country, on a Roadfood.com "eating tour" with food writers Jane and Michael Stern. [More on this in a future issue of Taste.]

We were pretty well BBQ'ed out, even a week later. So in K.C., we skipped the usual stops and didn't try out classic 'cue at Gates or strip steaks at the venerable Golden Ox. We'd already been to Arthur Bryant's and Jess & Jim's on a previous K.C. visit, so we tried a few places that were new to us.

It was first a blip on Chowhound.com, Addis Abeba, a new Ethiopian restaurant at the southwest corner of Central Expressway and Belt Line in Richardson (crammed behind the Subway). I met our intrepid critic, Bill Addison, there to see what was up, since he's planning an Ethiopian roundup at some point in the future.

He knows his way around the cuisine better than I, but I know this: Addis Abeba, with its clear and distinct flavors, was unlike any Ethiopian I'd had before in Dallas, going back to the original Queen of Sheba on McKinney, when troglodytes roamed the land. I won't tell all, but I could have given myself a butter facial with the kitfo - Ethiopian steak tartare, or cooked, as you like.

Not to slobber all over the Rosewood Mansion Restaurant, but these days when I get to attend a special dinner there, I anticipiate that it will in some way push the envelope.

I wasn't disppointed over the weekend when exec chef John Tesar and wine director Michael Flynn devised their wine dinner for Spring Mountain Winery in the Napa Valley. "This is the first time we're doing a wine retrospective of this magnitude," said winemaker Jac Cole, there for commentary. To wit: an 11-year vertical tasting. (Great slide show of the estate here.)

What's a vertical tasting? You taste one wine through several vintages, in this case the Spring Mountain Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, later renamed Elivette, from 1993 through 2003. Read on to see what the Mansion duo did with these wonderful wines.

Evidently, there are restaurateurs experimenting with the concept of Pay What You Can restaurants . They've popped up in Seattle and Salt Lake City as well as Melbourne, Australia and Vienna, Austria. Some people eat for free, others pay more -- it's all about trust and people taking care of each other. So, can Dallas be far behind? Yes, well, probably...Seriously, if you've heard about anything like this here, we'd love to know...

Writer Tina Danze gives a big thumbs-up to Dunkluv Biscotti, made by Sara and Matthew McLain of Grapevine. Read more about Dunkluv here, and order online.

Nancy Silverton stands behind the right front side of the counter in the middle of Osteria Mozza, at the place dubbed the "mozzarella bar." This is where Silverton - with her trademark shock of dark red, curly hair pulled tight behind her face - plants herself six nights a week, making antipasti.

She strikes a diminutive but unmistakably authoritative presence: This is a woman who's made a fortune on previous ventures but who still obviously wants genuinely to work with food. As she prepares one plate at a time, mostly combining one of several grades of mozzarella or other fresh cheeses with seasonally rotating accompaniments, she may look up and smile and chat briefly if someone addresses her. But her focus remains on the orders in front of her.

Nancy Silverton at Osteria Mozza's mozzarella bar. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times/Alex Gallardo.

No news -- I just loved this snap of chef John Tesar of the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, preparing to do battle with a king crab claw. David Woo shot it Saturday at the Dallas Wine and Food Festival.

As America's universal love for pizza fuses with the ever-growing local-seasonal-authentic-minded food movement, a lot of lip service and print space (including from yours truly) has been devoted to cooks who seek to replicate the Neapolitan pizza ideal or its close New York equivalent.

But, then, there's Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles. Eating there last week reminded me that fantastic pizza is ultimately about the drive and expertise of those making it, regardless of its inspiration or origins.

And Pizzeria Mozza makes some of the finest I've ever eaten. If you require a label, call it Rome-meets-California ... and hear me out before you balk.

Photo of Nancy Silverton courtesy of The New York Times/Stephanie Diani

Scott Farwell reports that rice prices are up because of export restrictions in India and Vietnam. Costco Wholesale and Sam's Club in Dallas have limited the amount of rice you can buy at one time, but customers are circumventing the rules by buying the limit, taking it to the car and going back inside for more.
Read more about the rising price of rice here.

Photo: Sadek Chowdhury, manager of the International Market in Plano sits on small pile of rice that is usually much higher. Photo by Rex C. Curry.

The latest issue of Saveur includes an homage to the "Southern pea" by writer John Grossman. The magazine notes they're also called field peas or cowpeas. The category includes black-eyed peas, purple-hulls and creamers, and they're one of the best things about summer in East Texas.
In researching the article, Mr. Grossman visited the East Texas burg of Edom with Randy Evans, chef at Brennan's Houston. They shopped at Edom Marketplace, a combination produce stand and restaurant.
Edom's about an hour and a half east of Dallas, so it's a nice day trip. It's also in the blueberry belt, with several pick-your-owns operating nearby. It's still a bit early for blueberries; check the Texas Department of Agriculture Pick Texas site to find farms and check opening dates.
Edom has a handful of artist shops, including local favorites Potters Brown. And of course there's The Shed for lunch.
A few minutes past Edom is Blue Moon Gardens, a lovely, rambling garden center loaded with temptation and a friendly staff.
There you have it -- a day in the country. Don't forget the cooler.

A gold-medal wine for $10.99? Good deal. What about 3 liters of gold-medal wine for that price? Way better.
The wine in question is Corbett Canyon California Chardonnay NV. Here's what wine writer Rebecca Murphy has to say about it:

If you have resisted buying wine in a box, get over it. Boxed wines have been winning medals for several years, which means the quality is there. And, packaged in a box, the quality lasts longer than it will in a bottle, because the wine is protected from oxygen. This wine is light-bodied with chardonnay's crisp apple, citrus and pear flavors. Enjoy it with light pasta dishes. You can always serve it from a carafe so your guests will never know it came from a box. Available at Beverage City and Sigel's.

To see other winning wines in The Dallas Morning News Wine Competition, check our database.

The annual festival kicks off tonight with Gourmet Cinema -- the gourmet part being a dinner by chef Richard Chamberlain, and the cinema being Sideways. But let's talk about that dinner for a minute. The chef promises goose-fat fries with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Other food too, but it's those fries that tempt.

On Friday, Texas Salute will serve up local and regional foods and wines. Austin-based Treaty Oak Platinum Rum will pour samples of their rum as well as mojitos. You can also sample the latest from Fall Creek Vineyards, McPherson Cellars, Inwood Estates Vineyards and Saint Arnold Brewery, among others. Make a meal out of nibbles from Aurelia's Chorizo, shrimp cocktail from Big Shucks, brisket tacos from Blue Goose, tamales from Texas Tamale, guacamole from Two Chihuahuas, plus hot sauces, desserts and more. Wiseman House from Hico, Texas, will serve truffles, toffee and its decadent sipping chocolate. And yes, I'm "hosting" this one, which merely means I will get up and say HI at some point during the evening.

Saturday is given over to Entertaining With Style, a series of seminars spread out along McKinney just south of Knox. Milestone Culinary Arts Center is ground zero; stop in at 12:30 to taste along with the Taste wine panel. We'll be pairing wines with a killer mac-and-cheese. Also look for a demo by chef John Tesar of the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, along with other chefs from around town.

Sunday is reserved for Taste of the World, with samples from Dallas restaurants paired with award-winning wines. Check the menu here.

Full disclosure: The Dallas Morning News is, once again, a sponsor of the festival.

Every year, Conde Nast Traveler puts out its "Hot List" of the coolest places to go in North America -- and two very different eateries in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have made the list of "Hot List Tables 2008."

Fort Worth's unpretentious Love Shack made the list. The magazine says that chef-owner "Tim Love's tri-level perfectly situated burger joint...comes pretty close to having the perfect burger."

On the luxe end of the dining scale, the other Texas restaurant on the Hot List is Fearing's, which has already mopped up all kinds of foodie awards and media distinctions in its first year of operation. Executive chef-partner Dean Fearing is described as "the chef who dared to put tacos on the menu at the prim Mansion on Turtle Creek."

In addition, the Ritz-Carlton Dallas (which is where Fearing's is located) made the list of 2008's hot hotels, and the Ritz's spa made the list in its category as well. Check out the May issue of Conde Nast Traveler for more.

The detonation of pizza restaurant openings recently has jostled awake my dormant obsession. I'm gearing up for a pizza quest. So fill us in, gang. Newly opened, old favorite, wood-fired, coal oven-baked, thin crust, Chicago-style (are there even any good examples here?) and everywhere in between: What's your favorite spot for a slice or a whole pie in these parts?

I'm headed west for pizza tomorrow. I haven't been to LA in a decade, so I'm taking a quick vacation to gorge on dim sum, ramen, tacos and Suzanne Goin's cooking. But the very first stop on my trip? Pizzeria Mozza, the joint effort between baking guru Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali. Frank Bruni wrote a fun article about this place last year. Can't wait.

Running out of ideas for Passover meals as the eight days stretch on and on and on? Relief is in sight for Thursday, at least. The Jewish Community Center of Dallas is offering a Passover Restaurant Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. with a complete meal and activities for the kids for $15 per adult and $10 per kid ages 2-12 at the Aaron Family JCC's Zale Auditorium at 7900 Northaven Road. But you'll have to act fast. The deadline to reserve a spot for Thursday is TODAY at 5 p.m. Contact Laura Seymour at lseymour@jccdallas.org or call 214-239-7110.

"Soy foods beat out fresh fish and meat for 'best new products tried by consumers,' while demand and profits continue to grow." That cumbersome statement tops a press relaese from Packaged Facts, which does tons of consumer research.

The release says soy is crossing over from the health-food aisles to mainstream foods. "Consumer awareness of soy as a healthy food has dramtically increased during the past decade, and companies like Solae and Silk have done a great job of educating (read: marketing to) consumers about the lowered risk of heart disease and possible cancers through high-in-protein soy products," says Packaged Facts publisher Tatjana Meerman.

So which one of you is it who's eating more tofu? Soy drinks? Soy-filled snack bars? Soy nuts? Soy-protein burgers? Personally I love tofu, especially in Asian cooking.

Next time you eat at Jason's Deli, check out their crackers. Doctor Kracker, the Dallas-based line of whole-grain artisan crackers, is making a private-label cracker for Jason's with spelt flour, pumpkin seeds and poppy seeds. Doctor Kracker also makes Snack Flats with their own label for food service, so you never know where the good Doctor will turn up.

I wrote an article on salumi (artisan cured meats) for the latest edition of the DMN's Salut! (Love that exclamation point - very British mag.) Here's the story's link. It most prominently mentions salumi plates at Lola, Charlie Palmer and Nonna. Let me know if there any other chefs that I missed who cure meats locally. Lola's David Ugyur is particularly brilliant at it ... that and the restaurant's wine list equal happiness.

Know what trend I'd be thrilled to see take off here next? Bartenders who make extreme cocktails like this guy.

Apparently books entirely devoted to butter and bacon were too specific. Later this year, look for a new one entitled simple Fat, and subtitled "An Appreciation of A Misunderstood Ingredient, With Recipes."
Author Jennifer McLagan promises recipes using specific types of fat, from ghee to leaf lard to schmaltz and duck fat. And still more.
It's all about "high-quality fats," according to the Ten Speed Press catalog.
Ms. McLagan must have the smarts to pull it off; her book Bones won a Beard award in 2006.
Look for Fat in August.

One of the most familar faces at the Fairmont Dallas is retiring in July. Catering director Tomas de la Mata has been at the hotel for almost 34 years (with one job interval elsewhere), arriving just a year after the Fairmont opened in Dallas. He previously served as manager of the Pyramid Room, and he has been catering manager since 1983.

For the official press release on his departure, go to the jump.

Pope Benedict XVI's visiting New York City, and he's getting menus from restaurateur, author and Food Network star Lidia Bastianich (who is coming to Dallas May 2 for appearances at Central Market and at Pappas Bros.).

Lidia's wine-expert son, Joe (who's coming to Dallas with her) will act as sommelier for the papal meals, which will be served in the Manhattan residence of Bishop Celestino Migliore. Not many details were out, but NY1 says Atlantic striped bass and apple strudel are on the menus.

And gossipiste Cindy Adams says that Lidia is going the extra mile for il Papa:

Now, about the pope's private dinner with Lydia Bastianich, the author, TV chef, and well-connected-in-Vatican City owner of East 58th's Italian restaurant Felidia. The whole thing has to be white. Everything for The Pontiff, pure white. Even the flowers. For accent, a smidge of yellow will be allowed on a hydrangea. Should she even throw in some homemade gnocchi, it may also be white.

Here's some news that will make Debbie Downer's day: Fresh salmon prices are headed up, with no relief in the foreseeable future.

First, the price of diesel is topping $4, which hurts all wild-fished seafood. But two additional problems are plaguing salmon. For reasons that are unclear, California and Oregon stocks have simply dried up. The other issue is a virus that's hit the Chilean Atlantic salmon farms. It's so bad that Safeway (Tom Thumb locally) announced earlier this week that it has stopped buying from its Chilean supplier.

"Consumers are going to feel it," says Ricardo Martinez, salmon buyer and general manager of Ocean Beauty Seafood's Dallas operation. "White-tablecloth restaurants are going to feel it." King salmon will be especially hard hit.

If you're looking for alternatives, check out farmed steelhead trout, which is really a salmon, and farmed Coho salmon, which Mr. Martinez says will be coming out of British Columbia when the season starts at the first of May. The other alternative? "Eat smaller portions," he says, "and enjoy it."