Back Talk Lake Highlands

Vote for Doughnuts!

Feeling like being a MAVERICK on your diet? Want to keep a little more CHANGE in your pocket?  On Election Day, November 4, stop

by Krispy Kreme at Lovers and Greenville.  They’re offering a free star-shaped doughnut, with white icing and red, white and blue sprinkles, to each customer wearing an "I Voted" sticker. 

Stickerless because you voted early?  Bring in your stamped voter registration card. 

It's holiday time at Krispy Kreme

I was buying donuts at a Krispy Kreme store Saturday, and while waiting for the box to be filled, what did I hear but holiday music wafting from the overhead speakers. They must have cranked up the holiday theme the second the clock struck Nov. 1; at least the sign on the door hyping the "holiday" collection of donuts indicated they wouldn't unveiled until Nov. 28. On one hand, it was pretty disconcerting to be already listening to holiday music, but on the other hand, given all of the bad news we've been absorbing for the past few months, maybe it's time to start thinking of something happier?

Restaurant review: Maggiano's Little Italy

I’ve always been confused by Maggiano’s, the Italian restaurant in North Park. Is it just a chain with a decent menu and good marketing? Or is there more to it than that?

I’m tending to the latter these days. The company has upgraded its menu, with a variety of new items that include baked ziti and sausage and beef braciole, a rolled roast that’s stuffed with ground beef, cheese, vegetables and bread crumbs and then cooked slowly on a red wine sauce. The former was so well received at the press lunch I attended that I barely got any of it, and the latter is just terrific -– beefy and earthy. In fact, they’re not just well-executed; they taste the way they’re supposed to taste.

Maggiano’s trademark is its family-style service, in which the food comes on platters and everyone shares (just like at home). Is this gimmicky? It all depends on your point of view. If you wanted more ziti and sausage, yes. But it does work, which always surprises me, especially since family-style is more expensive than single portion. It’s possible to spend less than $50 a person for dinner (including wine), but you have to work at it.

Interestingly, when I was there a couple of weeks ago at lunch, the restaurant was packed. This was despite some construction and the economy, which has hit the restaurant business pretty hard. Apparently, a lot of other people like family style.

Technorati Tags: restaurant reviews,Maggiano's,Italian food

Jason's Deli "excuses" High Fructose Corn Syrup

Really, what is so bad about High Fructose Corn Syrup? Weeks ago, I was seeing these advertisements about Popsicles and the goodness — or at least not-bad-ness— of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Then Time/CNN came out with this report, in which experts say, essentially, the sweetner gets an undeserved bad rap. No, it’s not great for you, but it’s no worse than, say, table sugar. One even calls the evils of High Fructose Corn Syrup an "urban myth". So why, then, is Jason’s Deli giving the sweet ingredient the boot completely, thereby contributing to the bad rap the High Fructose Corn Syrup industry was spending lots of advertising dollars trying to defy.

Last night I saw this sign in the Mockingbird Lane Jason’s Deli window: “We’ve excused High Fructose Corn Syrup from the Table,” it read. Huh? Then, sure enough, this morning I heard it on the news. Say the eateries’ owners, this removal of High Fructose Corn Syrup is a huge undertaking, and part of an all-new healthier menu.

Here’s what I don’t get — my studies (rudimentary at best I admit) about the so-called dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup cite its relation to obesity. OK, so high calorie foods, whether “naturally” occurring or processed, in high doses, cause obesity. (Duh.) So could this mean the all-you-can eat salad bar (rich with calorie packed croutons, dressings and breads) and the FREE after-dinner ice creams go to, so as not to encourage overindulgence which contributes, more than anything else, to obesity?

Don’t get me wrong — I love Jason’s Deli, the free ice cream, and especially the salad bar. But this “Excuse High Fructose Corn Syrup” thing, I think, is a gimmick.

By the way, they haven't removed the evil syrup from drinks, but they are considering it. Cast your vote on the matter here on the Jason's Deli site. 

Lake Highlands Town Center talk

A little more than a week ago, Keri Mitchell and I sat down with some members of the Prescott Realty Group team to get the nitty gritty on Lake Highlands Town Center goings on of late. Spoiler Alert: We didn’t unearth any mind-blowing news, but they did address concerns and offer up a few morsels about what we can expect in future months, days and years.

 The day of our interview, a Thursday morning earlier this month, was a day plagued by bad national news about the economy, so naturally, that was the first order of discussion. How are these troubled pecuniary times affecting Prescott’s pursuit of desirable Town Center tenants?

The response:
First of all, despite rising construction costs and an overall dim economic situation, the Lake Highlands Town Center project ( Download next_phases_8108.pdf) is still on schedule. That means they are now in the phase that includes grading, utility installation, street paving and additional important infrastructure work.  Horizontal construction, as announced in a recent press release (above download), also began on schedule in August, says Stephanie Colovas, Senior Managing Director Acquisitions/Development.

Meanwhile, Mark Henderson, a Lake Highlands resident and Prescott’s Retail Group director is confidently working to secure those tenants. He says Prescott has garnered several letters of intent from potential lessees and is in lease negotiations with an anchor tenant — obviously, they are not prepared to make any announcements yet. He and Colovas grant it could take longer than originally expected to seal deals because companies these days are putting more extended thought into new-store locations.That started before the country's fiscal breakdown was national news, by the way.

But, Prescott team members say, Lake Highlands Town Center has all the so-called bells and whistles that attract great tenants — DART transit; areas to 'live, work, play'; parks, trails, neighborhood-y surroundings and an intriguing "story" to boot.

“Folks are interested. They are listening. They are calling back,” says Henderson.  He also explains that the selling process is a process of educating people and businesses about Lake Highlands. 

When pressed for hints about potential anchor tenants, Henderson says, think specialty store, bookstore, dinner theater … I’d heard specialty grocer and bookstore before, but not the dinner theater thing. They hope to secure at least two anchors soon.(And we hope to bring you the announcement soon!)

Look for more about our Town Center interview in days to come right here on Back Talk.

Chik-Fil-A Dette Day Wednesday

What a wonderful conundrum - whether to indulge yourself at Eat The World today, or enjoy Chik-Fil-A. (I plan to splurge and visit both!) Lake Highlands High School Highlandettes will receive a percentage of sales all day today (Wednesday), from breakfast biscuits at 6 am to night-time snacks at 10 pm. Be sure to place your receipt in the box marked "Dettes" when you visit the LH store, located on Abrams at LBJ.

Wine review: Colonia las Liebres 2007

Argentina is best known for malbec, which it has turned into the country’s national grape. Wine drinkers associate malbec with Argentina in the same way that people associate shiraz with Australia. But that doesn’t mean the country’s winemakers don’t produce other interesting wines.

The las Liebres (about $10 at World Market) is made with an Italian variety called bonardo, and by Italians in Argentina, apparently. It’s certainly worth a taste. The wine is fruity and ripe, with lots of blackberry, very little in the way of tannins, and no oak. It’s a heftier, darker version of Beaujolais nouveau. Drink this with any tomato-based Italian dish, grilled sausages or barbecue.

One note about the vintage: The current release is 2007, but there is still some 2006 in the stores. The ‘06 is equally fine.

Wednesday open house: Eat the World

 Our local catering and food emporium, Eat the World, in the shopping center at the southeast corner of Walnut Hill Lane and Audelia, is about to celebrate their 4th annual open house. It's tomorrow, the 29th, and owner/chef Toby O'Brien is pulling out all the stops again. He'll be serving fried turkey, plus his various appetizers, dressings, dips and desserts. Hopefully he'll also have some of his luscious wasabi-smoked salmon on hand -- killer stuff! To quench your thirst there will be soft drinks, beer and sangria. 

Toby asks that you bring a toy to donate for Jesuit's Adopt-a-Family program. It all starts at 5:00 PM.

Wine review: Segura Viudas Brut Rose NV

How much did I like the Segura Viudas? I went back to Central Market and bought a second bottle the next day.

This is classic cheap wine, as well as pretty good bubbly in its own right. It’s $10 and well made, balanced, bone dry and fruity, with an almost pinot noir berry-like flavor. Which is a neat trick, since it doesn’t have any pinot in it.

Segura Viudas is best known for its more expensive sparkler, the bottle with the pewter fittings (which is even more dry than this). It’s part of the Freixenet cava empire, cava being the term for Spanish sparkling wine. I don’t know that I’ve had a Freixenet bubbly that didn’t have something to recommend it. Serve this on its own as a holiday toasting wine, or with seafood (lobster rolls would be terrific) or roast chicken.

On a personal note Mike Friend, one of the finest and most knowledgeable people in the wine business in Dallas, died last week. There is a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. I have known Mike for almost as long as I have written about wine; our running gag was my love of cheap wine vs. his appreciation of the expensive stuff. Whenever I called him for a story, he would always apologize for not having a cheap enough wine to recommend. Mike will be missed.

Technorati Tags: sparkling wine,cava,Spanish wine,Segura Viudas,rose

Frankie's 21st birthday celebration

Franki’s Lil Europe in Casa Linda is turning 21 and they are celebrating in the same way many of us celebrated this meaningful milestone — poker and booze. That's right. The Frankie's Casino Night and 21st Birthday celebration kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Sat. Oct. 25. You can ante up  $25 now and get $1,000 worth of chips, or pay $30 for the same at the door Saturday evening. Play to win dinners, wines, gift certificates and such. Call 214-320-0426 or e-mail Jake Batt at Frankie's, [email protected].

This is a great opportunity to pay homage to the long-standing neighborhood bistro — they've been good sports. All this Casa Linda construction must be a pain in the cannoli.