Wedding Bells Are Ringing For Chris Ward

According to Mercury Grill's Facebook page.  Ms. Rebecca Jackson will become Mrs. Chris Ward in a ceremony tomorrow.  Great news and congratulations!

DISD's Chefology 101 Class

Get a group of kids together to cook an excellent meal, odds are good it's a recipe for a career in food service.    Here's the facebook album of the meal they produced on July 21st in conjunction with Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts.

Back In The U.S.A.

Someone's been on a 10 year vacation.  Join us at Sevy's Grill on (this!) Wednesday, July 21st, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for a tasting of Cardhu single-malt scotch which has re-entered the U.S. after a 10 year absence. Joining us will also be Jason Lizarada, Reserve Brand Manager of Glazer's to answer any questions.  And check out our new bar menu, with delectible small plates, including: Mini Kobe Corny Dogs, Venison Sausage Quesadillas, and Mini Shaved Steak Sandwiches.

Silver Fox Steakhouse at Centrum Closed

So sayeth a reader.  Phone number no longer connected.  Verified by their Frisco location.

The Crossroads Diner Coming To North Dallas

Could this be the satisfaction of Dallas' fondest food requests?  A great diner?  Run by a former Yankee?  According to Tom Fleming (Lombardi Mare, Pappas Bros., Old Hickory Steak House @ The Gaylord, Central 214), who is in final lease negotiations for a location on Walnut Hill Lane, they've set a goal to cook the "best damn breakfast in Dallas".   "Potatoes?", I ask.  "Everything is from scratch", he replies.  Save me a seat, baby.

At the Dallas Farmers Market Cooking Series class this Saturday, Tom will be treating attendees with items he's planning for his chef-driven comfort food menu.    The restaurant itself will be a family friendly and value driven spot, cooking breakfast and lunch Tuesdays through Sunday, and an early dinner on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays to start.  Partnering with Tom in the kitchen is Carl Strelecki, formerly of Standard and Central 214.  They will also have a beer and wine license.

Sevy & I drove by a week ago, and noticed someone had left the light on.  Tom says once the ink is dried on the lease, the chandelier (above) is for sale, as is a 4 burner wok and lots of indestructable green vinyl chairs.

Bing Me Again, And Again, And Again

A few months ago I was invited, as a "member of the Dallas blogging community" (giggle), to a dinner at a nice area restaurant for a discussion of how Bing.com could enhance my readers' experience when they visit this crazy little creative writing project.   I thanked the Bing Community Manager for the invitation, but having a conflict with an event that evening I had to decline, while perhaps also mentioning that, ahem, Sevy's Grill would make a fine location for any future tutorials they might be giving.   Jeez.

Whether it's Ads by Google, or Bling with Bing, I've always felt a little weird about partnering, like the more independence I keep, the less likely I am to get myself in trouble.   Yet here I go.  In hopes of getting a sparkling t-shirt sent to me like the ones I saw this week at the Fancy Food Show, I am going to say here and now, I confess to having visited the Bing booth no less than five times over two days. 

Not that Bing, Bing the cherry-flavored-sparkling-energy-drink.  So enthusiastic over their delicious, 40 calorie-per-12 oz. serving refreshing beverage, I shared it with the friends from Dallas who were also up in New York City visiting the show.  The marketing girls of Bing were not serving their product with vodka, but hey now, that's a great idea! 

So now, little ol' "accept no advertising" me is willing to wear their product name across her chest - which, I'm just saying, can be quite a statement.   And it looks like others enjoyed their bing cherry flavored effervescent refreshment at the show, it can make all the difference in getting this product into an HEB, or Safeway, or Albertson's here in Dallas.  Please.

They will also ship up to 48 cans anywhere in the continental US (where Fedex Ground Service delivers) for a flat $2.

UPDATE:  Just heard back from Petey and his Bing Team at Inspiration Beverage Co. in Lakewood Colorado:  "Right now, the Central Market - Dallas location is our only distribution point for BING."  I'm going to check it out and report back.

UPDATED UPDATE:  So far two Central Markets (Dallas and Plano) and no sign of Bing.  I am going to order some, because lately we've entertained ourselves with cocktail concoctions we could create using Bing as a mixer.  Now we have to try them out.  Bing-A-Ling, anyone?  How about a Bing Me Manhattan?

How To Score A Goal In Service (World Cup Version)

Service is kind of like a soccer match - it's full of opportunities to score, and misses.  A few months ago I took Sister for her first visit to one of my favorite restaurants, I knew she'd love it and I was right.  We had a good server, in all respects technically good.  But during the appetizer portion of our meal, as we were faux fighting over the last deep fried asparagus spear (while the waiter laughed along with us) the damn thing flipped from both our forks and landed on the floor.  Awwww.  Completely our fault, granted, but an opportunity for the restaurant to make the goal........and missed.  The waiter simply laughed at the little guy on the floor, picked him up and that was the end. 

Now imagine if he had taken that situation, and gone back into the kitchen to get one more spear, just one, to present to us to "settle" our competition over who was going to get it.  Score. 

Tonight at Torchy's Taco's I had a manager score a goal off of a foul.  Twenty minutes after placing my to-go order, after people behind me in line were almost finished eating, they discovered my ticket was lost in the kitchen - no food started.  OK - first let me say they've been open for FOUR DAYS, so this is not the situation to be angry about.  But I wanted to see what the manager would do, so after requesting her and explaining reasonably the situation, Ms. Manager Kate delivered the points. 

I'd ordered 6 tacos and Kate gave me coupons for 6 free ones for future visits.  I'd ordered their deep-fried chocolate chip cookie balls (3 to an order) for three 15 year old girls, Kate gave me 3 more.  And the dude with the awesomely tatooed arms (best elbow I've ever seen done, IJS) sent me home with all three flavors of their brownies. (We are currently buzzing on sugar here, just sayin').

So yes, not all service scores a goal.  But I'm glad I gave Torchy's a chance to kick a penalty shot, because they delivered.  Missed goal or not, I'll be back.  Welcome, Torchy's, to our neighborhood.

Memory Lane, What Red-Blooded Girl Wouldn't Want A Guy Who Cooks Like This? Chapter 4

I remember the night I met my husband-to-be, at Beer Tent (aka Red Cedar Jubilee) in Williamston, Michigan 27 years ago this month.  Blue eyes, deep tan, tennis player legs, and can cook?  Dumb I've never been (and only stupid on a few occasions), I went for it.  In the intervening years we've put each other through college, lived in Dallas, Los Angeles, Poughkeepsie/Hyde Park (NY), raised two great kids, founded a business and faced cancer together.   It's been a delicious recipe.  I love you honey.

Memory Lane, Ultimate SideDish Supper - Chapter 3

Reason number one why I love D Magazine is because they have great writers.  Reason number two is because they have fun events, like the cruises they organized in 2003 and 2004, an opportunity to enjoy vacation with a group of Dallas chefs.   The picture above is from the 2003 cruise through the Caribbean with featured chef/restaurateurs Sevy, Kent Rathbun, Gilbert Garza, Lisa Garza, Chris Ward, Monica Greene, Joanne Bondy, and me.  The cruise left Ft. Lauderdale, right after they replaced the propellor that fell off as soon as we all boarded.  But a late start cannot stop a chef on vacation - I believe our group rocked that little ship like no other before it. 

Nancy Nichols, with Girl Friday Aimee Deputy (now at Central Market), set up such a fantastic program guests of the ship who were not part of our group were asking the cruise line if they could come to the cooking demonstrations.  Each stop included activities on islands with chefs, one time it was a market tour, another it was a round of golf, I believe Kent went scuba diving with a group.  And for those who had the stamina to stay up, Monica was crowned Queen of the discoteque by the time we left. 

Rocked. The. Casbah.

Memory Lane, Who Dat? - Chapter 2

From top, clockwise:  MM (left) with Robert Del Grande (Cafe Annie, Houston) at S. Texas Deer Ranch, 1988; MM (right) wth Sevy (left) in Florida circa 1992;  1989, Aspen Food & Wine Festival (from left), MM, Richard Chamberlain, Lisa Chamberlain, Sevy.

Let's just call him Mystery Man, or MM for short.  While here he earned raves for his cuisine, but I won't say where.    If you can give him a name and the place he imprinted with his excellent cuisine, you win a jar of Sevy's Ancho Chile Relish.   If you can give me the details on where he is now living and working, I'll cough up a $25 Sevy's Grill gift certificate.  Because there's a bunch of us here who miss him. 

Memory Lane, Name the Chefs - Chapter 1

I have been shoveling cleaning out Corporate for two days now, and it looks like there's another 2 days of work left to go.  I'm not the most enthusiastic secretary when it comes to filing, let's just say I save it up for a 4-day file-a-thon.  Kind of like blog posts sometimes.

This week in the interest of (little) time, I will be posting old pictures from Dallas' kitchens.  So it's time for another contest:  whoever is first to name all twelve chefs in the picture above wins a $25 Sevy's gift certificate (hint, middle row right happens to be my boss).

UPDATE:  I'm changing the rules - whoever names the MOST chefs in the picture above wins (about 3/4 have their names on their chest, just sayin').  And this contest is open to everyone - professional or not.

June Wine and Food Dinner at Sevy's

Join us on Monday, June 28th for our special wine and food dinner,

"The Thrill of the Grill"

featuring four courses of grilled specialties for summer, each paired with a delicious wine to compliment each course. Sparkling reception begins at 6:30, dinner at 7:00, $59.95 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Seating is limited, reservations required, contact Jimmy, Stefaan or Amy M. at SevysCatering@aol.com or (214)265-7289 (no OpenTable reservations please).

Chipotle Deviled Egg

Cristalino, Sparkling

Free Range BBQ Chicken with Iron Skillet Spoon Bread and Peach Chutney

Melville, Viognier, 2009

Watermelon, Tomato & Feta Salad with Balsamic Glazed Jumbo Shrimp

Pavi, Dolcetto, 2005

Jerk Spiced Flatiron Steak, Toasted Pumpkin Seed Rice with Pineapple Salsa and Crispy Plantains

Melville Syrah, Verna’s Vineyard, 2008

Banana Split

Steele, Syrah Port

SEVY'S GRILL AND CATERING

8201 Preston Road, Dallas 75225

(214) 265-7389 * www.sevys.com * SevysCatering@aol.com

Restaurant Scam Underway In Dallas

I heard about a variation on this scam on the news (yesterday?), wherein "city inspectors" were showing up at suburban businesses saying that they were there to perform a necessary inspection and the business would have to (immediately) pay a fee to the inspector if they wanted to "pass".  It may have been a local station, or it may have been on TXCN about another Texas city, in which case the scam has now moved to restaurants in Dallas.

Yesterday at the restaurant we received a call from the "city health department" saying we were due for an inspection, referring to Case #90908, and they would be coming by to perform the inspection.  Apparently they didn't realize we'd just HAD our city inspection, so Sevy's called the City of Dallas to ask "What's what?".

The city replied that it has received three other calls today from restaurants in Dallas who have received these same calls.  So if they happen to come by, do us all a favor.  Take them in the kitchen and yell to your staff, "Estos chicos son de Arizona y que 'El Tri' lleva su ropa interior madres."  Then just leave them in the kitchen with your guys while you call the police.

Dallas Houston's To Become Hillstone

Stopped by the spot in Preston Center tonight for a bite to eat after the monthly "Syndicate" investment club meeting.  And there painted onto the front entry glass was "www.hillstone.com/".  When asked, our server informed us that they would be making the name conversion by the end of July - however the Addison location would remain a Houston's.  And Cafe R & D will remain Cafe R & D.   Houston's, Dallas wishes you adieu (but hey, we join the ranks of New York, San Francisco and Boston, IJS).

NOTE:  I was once a Houston's server at the Walnut Hill location (which is supposed to be re-opening as Glen Lakes Grill per the TABC application pasted on the front window).  I just hope they keep the Grilled Chicken Salad.

Sevy's Summer Scotch Club Is Back!

Join us for the return of our four course Scotch Club Tasting featuring the flavors of Glenmorangie on Tuesday, June 15th at 6:00 p.m.  Sevy and Buzzy have created an assortment of delicious petite bouchée to compliment each scotch.  $44.95 per person (plus tax and gratuity), seating is limited and reservations required.  Contact Jimmy, Stefaan or Amy M. at (214) 265-7389, or SevysCatering@aol.com (no OpenTable reservations, please).

FIRST PAIRING

Chunky Lobster Cappucino

Glenmorangie, Original 10 Year

SECOND PAIRING

Jumbo BBQ Shrimp Skewered on Crispy Polenta with Texas Peach Relish

Glenmorangie, La Santa, 12 Year Old

THIRD PAIRING
Smoked Gouda and Ham Croquettes with Red Pepper Ranch

Glenmorangie, Quinta Ruban, 12 Year Old

FOURTH PAIRING

Braised Beef Short Rib Sliders with Caramelized Shallot Mayo and Horseradish Pickle

Glenmorangie, Nectar D’or, 12 Year Old and Glenmorangie, 18 Year Old

SEVY'S GRILL AND CATERING * 8201 Preston Road, Suite 100 * Dallas, TX 75225

Cooking For Success in DISD

Yeah, duh, if you've been reading this blog you'd know that I'm thrilled about the news of success in DISD.  Not that news, the news that Chef Brad Trudeau, Director of Production and Procurement is heading to the White House to help Michelle Obama figure out a better diet for school kids.  He, along with hundreds of chefs, school nutritionists and others are promoting "Chefs Move To Schools", which by its description sounds very much like the Days of Taste program held every year at the Dallas Farmers' Market. 

By bringing in chefs (and food producers) to talk to kids, and helping them find a way to make that food taste good, they are changing the impression kids have of fresh vegetables, and any mom knows that's half the battle.  One interesting addition to the First Lady's program is teaching the parents how to prepare fresh vegetables that the kids will like via cooking classes up at school.  I cannot tell you how many children participate in Days of Taste who have either, 1) never tasted most of the vegetables found in the market, or 2) a negative impression of how they taste.  Let's change that, shall we?

Brad Trudeau participates in Days of Taste, the picture above is from two years ago when he talked to the kids of Kramer Elementary (rated Academically Exemplary this year, applause) about the food they eat.  I remember him as a patient, quiet man who enjoyed answering the wacky questions 4th graders can sometimes come up with. 

Congratulations Brad - and remember, don't stop until every school has a salad bar!

Quote of the Night

"Where is your salmon from?"

"It's Atlantic salmon, Pacific-ly raised."

Oh really?

Special B. R. Cohn Wine Dinner, Thursday, June 10th

With Winemaker Tom Montgomery

Join us on Thursday June 10, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. for a very special Sevy's Wine and Food Dinner featuring five courses of specially created dishes paired with excellent wines from B. R. Cohn Winery. Seating for this dinner is limited, reservations are required, $69.95 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Contact Jimmy, Stefaan or Amy M. at (214) 265-7389 or SevysCatering@aol.com (no OpenTable reservations please).

Crab Gratin on Sourdough Toast Point

B.R. Cohn, Rhone Style Rose, 2009

Chilled Asparagus Soup with Shrimp SkewerB.R. Cohn, Sonoma County Chardonnay, 2008

Duck Confit Salad with Roasted Corncake and Blackberry Vinaigrette

B.R. Cohn, Silver Label Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007

 

Black Angus Strip Loin on Buttermilk Blue Cheese Whipped Potatoes with Summer Squash Hash and Caramelized Shallot Sauce

B.R. Cohn, Sonoma Valley Zinfandel, 2007

Dark Chocolate-Walnut Brownie with White Chocolate Ice Cream

B.R. Cohn, Sonoma Valley Merlot, 2007

SEVY'S GRILL AND CATERING

8201 Preston Road, Dallas, TX 75225

(214) 265-7389 * SevysCatering@aol.com * http://www.sevys.com/

Monday Leftovers - Continued

And what to do with half a sheet tray of short ribs when the chef is at work the next day?  Well I found the perfect blog to answer that question, Last Night's Dinner.  As we speak the meat is simmering with tomatoes for a nice ragu, and I may even try my hand at homemade pappardelle.  Or I'll just boil some spaghetti.  Wait, did someone comment about risotto?  Yum.

Monday Leftovers - Short Ribs

By Chef Jim Severson (aka Honey).  Topped with Sevy's Bitchin' BBQ Sauce, available bottled at the restaurant ($6.95) or make it yourself from the recipe in my favorite cook book:  Sevy's Grill, A Collection of Our Favorite Recipes.

SEVY'S BITCHIN' BBQ SAUCE
1/2 c. onions, small dice
1/4 c. poblano pepper, small dice
2 TBL. garlic, minced
2 TBL. olive oil
1 TBL. salt
1 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 TBL. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cayonne pepper
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
1 qt. ketchup
1 1/2 c. water
In sauce pot, heat oil and saute onion, poblano and garlic until soft.  Add chili powder, salt, and cayenne to "bloom" the flavors.  Add sugar, vinegar, worcestershire and water.  Mix well then add ketchup.  Bring to boil, then lower to simmer for 45 minutes.