2010 Staff File photo of Jon Stevens (left) and Avner Samuel

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But Samuel has just announced that he's recreating Aurora in a private room at Bailey's Prime Plus Park Lane, where he and Stevens have recently been brought on as consulting chefs to revamp the menu.

"Fans of Chef Avner Samuel's lavish eatery Aurora," says the press release, "can now experience the same exceptional French cuisine at Bailey's Prime Plus at The Shops at Park Lane in the new Aurora Room."

Here's the rest of the release: "The original Aurora restaurant was an intimate and chic space that featured artistic etched glass panels, neutral micro-suede fabric walls with highly skilled waiters serving plates in unison under silver, porcelain or glass domes. Their highly acclaimed seasonal menu focused on only the finest and freshest ingredients including caviar, foie gras, truffles, lobster, langoustine, lamb, rabbit and duck.

"The Aurora Room, a restaurant within a restaurant located in a private dining space at Bailey's Prime Plus in The Shops at Park Lane, has been transformed to recreate the highly decorated atmosphere of the original restaurant with recognizable décor touches.

"'I continue to receive requests from my restaurant guests for the Aurora cuisine,' said Avner Samuel. 'This venue allows us the perfect format to recreate the intimate and special atmosphere that was Aurora. Guests can now have a Michelin dining experience without having to go to Paris.'

"Chef Avner Samuel and culinary partner Chef Jon Stevens will host their first Aurora Room dinner on June 8 featuring a 7-course tasting menu. Unlike the original Aurora, these tasting dinners will feature a lower price point with the first one priced at $125 per person (plus tax and gratuity).

"Multiple seatings available. Reservations are required and can by made by calling the Bailey's Prime Plus, Shops at Park Lane location at 214-750-8100."

Who says you can't relive the past?

2004 File photo of Aurora

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Interesting, I thought, considering that Lincoln changed the name from Dee Lincoln's Tasting Room and Bubble Bar to Dee Lincoln's Restaurant and Bubble Bar last July, just before I reviewed it last summer. She told me at the time that people didn't realize she had a serious chef. The restaurateur who made her name at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House hoped the new name would clarify that.

Apparently it didn't. Lincoln helped me understand the confusing vicissitudes of her establishment in a phone interview in which she confirmed that she had indeed changed the name, redesigned the dining room, beefed up the menu and brought on a new front-of-the-house man.

Yes, she had already changed the name once, she said, but somehow the new name didn't stick. "Nothing supported that change," she explained. "The website never identified that change. Everything said 'Tasting Room'....It really and truly was put out there but not handled in a way that the consumer could understand. Especially when they walked in the front door."

Now, she says, "there's a 40 seat dining room. There's private dining. There's a wine list." (There was a wine list before, too.) That makes it very different from her concept at Cowboys Stadium, Dee Lincoln's Bubble Bar, which only offers Champagne and wine.

"When I looked back on the year," Lincoln says, "I hired a good chef that had four years with Dean Fearing at the Mansion." That's Juliard Ishizuka -- he's still with Dee Lincoln's. "Then he was at Fuse and Scene for two years with Blaine Staniford. From there he went to the Omni hotels in Fort Worth. Then Ruth's Chris.

"When we got Uptown, when we opened, we had a temporary feel, and a lot of my guests didn't know the magnitude of what chef could do. There was so much confusion with the tasting room and the bubble bar -- it was like the food was an afterthought. The space was confusing. Do we go to couches and do tapas, do we do food?" So she hired a design company to redo it.

"I went to them, and I said 'I'm just in an identiy crisis.'" They redid the space, separating the lounge area from the 40-seat dining room, staying in the same chocolate brown palette. And she brought Anthony Porcaro -- most lately of Bella's -- on board as general manager; he's been there two months now.

Finally, she has a website that she hopes will clear up the confusion. And a new menu.

2011 Staff File photo

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You see, weirdly, somehow I'd never made deviled eggs before. No, not because I'm not from 'round these parts -- my mom always made them for parties when I was growing up. But when I was a kid, I didn't like them (nor did I like poached or fried eggs). It wasn't until I hit middle age that it occurred to me to taste them again. I loved them. So why did I never make them? I think I was afraid I'd eat them with abadon if I made them, scarfing egg after egg after egg.

But with my friend's pig roast, it seemed like the moment had come: I must make deviled eggs.

I definitely wanted to make the Jamisons' Devilish Eggs, but thought I'd make another version as well, since not everyone would go for the sweet relish aspect. I decided to improvise a more savory one.

Many deviled egg recipes rely on the reader to know how to properly boil an egg, but I'm particular about how done I like mine, so I relied on Besh's boiling instructions -- very simple and handy to know. You just cover the eggs with cold water, bring it to a boil, cover the pot and remove it from the heat, and let the eggs sit in the hot water for five to seven minutes, then run cold water over them till they're cool enough to handle. I kept them in the hot water for six minutes, and sort of wished I'd cooled them down after five -- they were cooked through, but with the barest hint of shiny golden still in the yolk. I prefer a wee bit more of that shiny golden. Happily, the whites were perfectly tender and yielding.

I gave half the eggs the Texas treatment, following the Jamison recipe. For the other half, I whisked the egg yolks with some finely minced red onion, celery and capers, a little parsley and celery leaf, healthy dollops of mayo and Dijon mustard, plus salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then I whisked in -- inspired by the Besh recipe -- some white wine vinegar. I garnished them with snipped chives and dill.

I liked them both -- and was kind of amazed at how different they were. Another pig roast guest brought some with a smooth, creamy filling flavored with curry powder and a healthy kick of cayenne, garnished with salmon roe -- those were really good, too. There's so much you can do with a deviled egg! Which makes me wonder: How do you like to do yours?

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TJ's Fresh Seafood Market has been on the forefront of supporting the trend locally and periodically sells by-catch. Today, owner Jon Alexis writes, he's got barrelfish.

Here's how he describes it:

"Barrelfish is nearly identical to its close cousin, the Bluenose, also called (incorrectly) a 'Bluenose Sea Bass' or Blue Sea Bass.' We pay a ridiculous premium to import Blue Nose from Australia, and we are throwing away essentially the same fish when we catch it in the gulf!"

He says it makes "juicy, steaky, big flake, nearly identical to grouper. Lower price, too." He's got 12 pounds waiting.