DFWTexEx

Javier's is a scene and you will have fun, but the food is laughably bad and is certainly the most overpriced food for what you get in Dallas, which is saying a lot. Meso Maya is definitely better, but you won't get the same scene there. Monica Green and Anastacia Quinones are cooking and running Cedars Social now. They are doing high end, modern Mexican food. I have not been yet, but friends who have been have reported that it's great. And the two of them know how to cook and run a restaurant. They left in place the cocktail program there, so it could be a good night out. It's just south of downtown in The Cedars, on Lamar. All the North Oak Cliff brunch choices mentioned above are excellent: Boulevardiere is my favorite. Bolsa and Smoke are also great. Nova is my neighborhood place and I love it most of the time, but the brunch there, especially when a band is playing and it's too hot to sit outside can get chaotic.

The way he talked about food as the basis of community was astounding and, yes, I loved seeing all the dishes and the drinks he shared with people who he genuinely respected. But, the turning point for me came in his 2014 interview of Anabel Hernandez, the Mexican journalist who writes honestly about the cartels. It was in the Parts Unknown episode about Mexico City. Yes, he talks about the food of Oaxaca and all that, but that interview was as good a piece of true journalism as I have ever seen. It characterization of the effect of drug violence on Mexican life was brutal. I had thought of him as a cocky bullshit artist, a second rate chef that found celebrity by writing about life in the kitchen with a lot of cuss words and drug references. Not, that I didn't like him. I did and I enjoyed his shows. I just didn't realize how good he was at what he was doing until that interview. It was serious business, indeed. And so well done. RIP

I checked out Macellaio on opening night. I was by myself and just stopped in for a quick bite and to congratulate the owners. So, I didn't have the complete experience. By design, it is totally different than Lucia. It is dominated by a large square bar with a cocktail scene. It is loud. As in very loud. It was just one night and so it's hard to tell, but the douche factor was up there. Group of 20-something guys next to me kept trying to one up each other with the size of deal they were closing and there were sunglasses being worn indoors. I hope it evolves into a more neighborhood friendly spot, but I don't know. The bites I ate were ok. The small plate menu is made up of words that I don't know, some Italian some Mediterranean-ish. Eggy crouquettes were good in a nice tomato sauce; a dish of bean puree was overwhelmed by way too much Gruyere; a tomato salad was fine, but it was just a tomato salad. But, I don't think you will come here for the small plates. You will come here for the house cured meats. The salumi selection is amazing. Judging by what you get at Lucia, it likely will be spectacular. Since it was just me and I was in a hurry, I didn't choose the salumi. But, I bet that will be what we do the most: enjoying wine (exclusively Italian) and meats with good bread. I'll report on that later.

I saw this thread and expected to see many of my old favorites (GM, Mad dogs, etc.) but this was a surprise and brought back great memories. You could only get chicken there, perfectly grilled with a killer Mexican citrus marinade. We have Regio now in Dallas and it's good. Every time I get it, I think of Pinch a Pollo.

Read several reviews of the tournament and Trinity Forrest. Most of the National Press had nice things to say about the course and how "different" it is. It's a nice change of pace and after the course settles down and they fix a few things, it will be a "change of pace" that the players will like. The FW Star Telegram pretty much said it was shit and they should move the tournament to Frisco. The principal designer was Ben Crenshaw (Hook 'em). I bet they make some changes for next year.

It's been Central Market for me, with the occasional stop at Rudolph's. But Cooper Meat Market just opened in Sylvan 30. The son of the family who opened Coopers in San Antonio 20 years ago lives in Oak Cliff, so he opened this one. If it works out, there will be one less reason for me to ever go north of the Trinity. I bought some choice filets there a couple of weeks ago. They were on the expensive side, but in the ballpark. They were butchered to order and all eight were nice (nothing to tie up or anything). The cooked up well and everyone was pleased. But, the prices for prime and Akauushi (whatever the hell that is) are pretty crazy. The whole operation is nicely set up. They have a chef that has worked at steakhouses to grill up the meat for you if you want to eat there (very simple, not fancy set up so it's not a real steakhouse experience). Lots of sides and pre-made food for parties available too. I hope they can generate enough traffic or get restaurant sales to they stick around. Good addition to the North Oak Cliff scene.

Laurel is very clear on my laptop with headphones. 100% Yanni is equally clear on my phone through speaker. 100%

What part of the county? Sound like you are not in Sonoma itself. Western Sonoma County will be most welcoming to rednecks. Guerneville was very NASCARy last time we were there (which was surprising because the time before that, in the early 2000's it was gay and fabulous). Just get on the river. You'll have a good time. Jealous.

A neighbor bought the cellar of a friend who became ill. The collection had, from what I understand, a remarkable library of California wines and was perfectly stored. He generously donated the ‘75s to a neighborhood silent auction. Two other neighbors bought the wine at the auction and invited the donor to dinner. They also invited me and I brought the steaks and some other food. Apparently, there is much more old wine left and he intends to share it.

Fun night with neighbors over the weekend tasting 1975 California cabs. All were in great shape and easy to drink. The fruit tasted nice and soft. The lack of tannins took away some body, but they could still stand up to the food, including the filet. The Chappellet and the Christian Brothers were certainly the best (for me).

Yes, they are still going strong. Still, in my opinion, the best home-style burger in town. Pretty sure, it's the biggest too. I haven't been in about a year, but even then the parking and traffic around it is pretty crazy. Still takeout only. The fries suck. Don't even bother. Just the greasy burger. It's all you need. It may be all that you will ever need.

It's been a long time since I did this, but the Warwick / Melrose still does the lavish champagne brunch buffet in the lobby.

The DMN just published a list "six new dining hotspots" in Las Vegas. Once and Blacksheep sound promising, but laughing at this line: Primrose at Park MGM will make you feel as if you’ve been transported to a bistro in Paris Six New Dining Hotspots in Vegas

Yeah. The restaurant is nice with terrific service. The food is exceptional, definitely a steakhouse with a twist. The apps and sides are, as you might expect for Andres, very creative and quirky. The steaks are cooked over a wood fire, which you see as you come in. This is nice, but it can take a long time to get a steak, especially if you order a big one to share. So, have some drinks with the fun starters. Also, you may leave smelling a little bit of smoke. BUT the SLS is just a sad place, or at least it was the night we went. It looks unfinished and empty. The Bazaar Meat folks are really happy to see you and they treat you really well. But, walking through that casino brings the night down. It just got sold and the new owners say they are pumping another $100 mil into it to liven it up. We'll see. I don't think it will work until that entire North area of the strip gets going. If you want the big meat experience in a more refined atmosphere (and a lot more of a traditional menu), go to CarneVino.

. Agree on both counts. Pappas is ok, but there is some seasoning on the steak that doesn't sit well with me and driving to a quasi-suburban parking lot in a part of town that did not make it, is just not fun for me. That said, the onion rings are crazy good. I am not sure what to say about Knife. I thought it was just barely good. My foodie friends all hated it. The atmosphere is weird and seems all over the place. The overhyped bacon sampling is just not good at all. But, the press really loves this place. As I have often said, no one sells himself better than Tesar. Town Hearth was also ok. We went really on in the run, maybe its second week. The steak was fine, but nothing special. The soggy french fries were unforgivable. The price did not seem right for the overall experience. Happy to see CBD there. It's not really a traditional steakhouse, but I had a steak there for my last birthday. It was perfect, as were the sides and the service. On the other hand, SER is just plain terrible. I can't imagine why it would be on this list. The steak was bad. The sides were average at best. The service was awkward and bad. I have been back for just drinks and apps and everything sucked. Even the shared signature dessert. It exists only to steal money from convention attendees. I'm still an Al Biernet's guy or maybe Bob's. I haven't been N&S in a long time, but, just like the writer said, it's a place you go for the whole experience and it's fun (or at least it was).

A film is being made of your life. You get to pick the music. Assuming you don’t just get the music of your favorite band(s), who do you get to write the score or put together the soundtrack (living, dead, old, young, etc.)? · Williams (Star Wars, Jaws, ET, Close Encounters, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter…..) · Newman (Toy Story, The Natural, Ragtime, Cars, Monsters, Inc.) · Bernstein (West Side Story, classical stuff, Broadway) · Mancini (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Pink Panther. Peter Gunn) · Barry (Dances with Wolves, Bond films) · Jarre (Doctor Zhivago, Dead Poets, Lawrence of Arabia) · Vangelis (Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner) · Zimmer (Lion King, Gladiator, Thin Red Line, Dark Knight, Inception) · Horner (Titanic, Wrath of Khan, Aliens, Braveheart) · Tarrantino · Herrman (Psycho, Taxi Driver, Citizen Kane) I’m sure y’all will think of others. For me: Morricone. Easy choice. He was great at adventure, romance, sweeping "big moments", and simple beautiful moments. I could listen to the music from Cinema Paradiso and the Mission every day. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly is still amazing.

We just got back from 6 nights down there. The weather was as perfect as could be. I can't add too much to this thread because this is our "chill" vacation, with as little planned activity as possible. But, I do recommend The Office (pretty much the perfect fun, party restaurant on the beach), Restaurant Maria Jimenez (charming, wonderfully prepared traditional Mexican food and great service) and drinks/dancing at No-name bar on the marina. Lots of pretty things to look at for you guys that are into that sorta thing. We did 3 nights at a house rented with friends up the hill in Pedregal and 3 nights at Secrets Puerto Los Cabos (AI with no kids). Pretty good combination. In Cabo we did the nightlife, heard all the music and the party scene. Secrets is absolutely secluded. Played volleyball and all that, but we didn't leave the resort. It was magnificent.

Is there any guidance on how often you can apply for bonuses? I am sure it varies by card, but are there any tips? For instance, we upgraded to the Chase Sapphire in 2016 for the rewards bonus. It worked great. I did the same for the business Ink in 2017. We also got a couple of Aadvantage Barclays cards last year. We have closed all the accounts but the Sapphires. When can we make another run?

I have Purepecha on my list and plan on taking out of town guests there in August. I am looking forward to your report. We did Frank Underground a while back. I posted about it on the old board. It was a fun night, but overpriced for the food. And I don't know how they get away with the "we are not a restaurant and, therefore, not subject to any sort of law or city code that regulates or addresses physical safety, food safety, sales tax, alcohol sales or restaurants generally". Zen Sushi in Bishop Arts is a fine, local sushi place. Our go to. The chef, Michele Carpenter (D mag profile: Sushi Chef Carpenter) does an omakase with a few days' notice. It's not actually backroom. It's a special booth section of the sushi bar. We did it once. It was extraordinary. She had a fish flown in that day from Japan for us. She used Japanese and French techniques to create a 10+ course meal that blew us away. It's not secret, but looking at the restaurant, you would not think that such a thing happens there and you have to plan in advance. It's for 4 people.

D Magazine Post On SWA Flight Magazine in Dallas. Lots of pretty pictures, society stuff and lists of best realtors. But, also the occasional well written story or op-ed piece taking local politicians to task.

The negative press will not affect Allegiant or Sun Country at all. People that fly those airlines choose only the lowest fare available without regard to anything else. In the case of Allegiant, a lot of their flights are charted casino junkets where there is no alternative to the free flight. With respect to the SW flight today, I believe the woman who was partially sucked out is critically injured at least. One guy a few rows behind her said that they tried to revive her through CPR but couldn't. There was blood everywhere. (Reported to D Magazine). The whole thing sounds really bad.

Boulevardiere Oyster and Champagne Happy Hour (half off glasses of wine and Champagne) on Wednesday. Oyster happy hour with all bottles of wine half off on Friday - smoking deal on the wine!

Doesn't seem like the meta thread from the old board made it. Here is pretty good summary of what's happening at Dallas City Hall. Schutze as usual nails it. "Progressives"(?) Question Insider Airport Deal

My experience exactly. The Pizza Hut product I am getting now is far superior to the crap they used to put out and also far better than Papa Johns, Domino's, etc. With the app, you can customize (light sauce, type of crust, etc., extra this or that). And our store is just South of Davis on Oak Cliff. Pretty sure this is not the CEO's store. To be clear, we would rather walk to Nova for pizza or get to Eno's or Cibo, but for the 1-2 x year we want cheap delivery, it's Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut talk has to go away.

LOL. I figured as much. Belongs on the thread about embarrassing things you can admit. It just does the job for something cheap. Like the taco bell bean burrito, which I also like but which I won't confuse with an El Trompo taco.