Friday, May 18, 2007

Best Bites: Dining out in DFW May 18

By Teresa Gubbins

Tawny gold and rust color scheme, swirly designs, circular logo -- it all looks so familiar. Can't place my finger on it, though.

Because Starbucks can't open enough stores fast enough to cover every square foot of the suburbs, that leaves room for start-ups like Saxbys Coffee, a fairly new chain out of Atlanta, GA with dreams of world domination. In July 2006, they announced they had over 2,400 shops under area developmental contract in 19 states, positioning them as "the fastest growing specialty coffee house franchise in the world." For now, there are a mere 22 stores listed as open on their Web site.

Meanwhile, howza coffee? Well, if you think that selling flavored beans represents a sign of mediocrity (and I do), and if you think that making your frozen frappuccino knock-off with powders rather than real coffee is a bad sign (and I do), then you might not be that impressed with Saxbys. You might also take issue with the copycat company name (even to the point of having no apostrophe) and store décor. On the other hand, the people who run the chain seem nice and they are at least willing to open branches in the hinterlands (McKinney and League City are the next two area locations planned). And while their "frolatte" may have been made with powder, it was smooooth; drank the whole damn thing.

Soupy sales

Restaurant chains devoted entirely to soup exist. Original Soupman is a comer, and there’s Zoup! out of Detroit. But who wants a chain when you can have the homegrown mom-and-pop variety instead: Spoon was opened in December '06 by Brian and Mindy Lubeskie, a couple in their 20s who met while students at Texas Tech. Brian was obsessed with soups, having spent many a night in college perfecting a potato-soup recipe he liked.

He and Mindy took that obsession and blew it out into a full concept. They have 10 soups every day, plus sandwiches and salads, and they make pretty much everything themselves: the soups, of course, but also the croutons, the bread pudding, the dressings for the salad. The only major component they don’t make is the bread, which they get from Main Street Bakery in Grapevine (good sourcing!). The place has maybe 10 seats; they may expand if demand warrants. You can sit down with a cup or bowl for $3.99-$6.99, which also gets you a hunk of French bread or Jalapeno-Cheddar corn bread (which the Lubeskies make); or get a half gallon of soup to go, for about $20.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Fantasy Café meets two needs for its Deep Ellum neighbors: both a home-cooking spot serving an early-bird breakfast special ($3.99), and a convenience mart with milk, snacks, and grocery staples. Owner "Chef Joey" McDaniel moved here from Little Rock six months ago to cook for another restaurant. Then a prime spot opened on Main, previously occupied by a mechanic who’d been there 32 years. ("There was a lot of grease on the walls," Joey says.) The house special is grilled chicken salad; there's also New York steak & eggs, Angus burgers, chicken wings done in 3 styles (regular, fancy, and Caribbean, which Joey sums up as a sweet sauce). "It's just me creating my own menus, cooking the way I love to cook," he says. Catering to the nightlife, he’s keeping long hours: 7 a.m.-3 a.m.

Vitamin B on tap

Everyone knows it's important to get your vitamins, and I say get them wherever you can: like in your aspartame-laced diet soda or, better yet, your beer. Diet Coke Plus has niacin, B6 and B12, zinc, and magnesium. Stampede Light, which Whole Foods was free-sampling last week, has B vitamins and folate, AND is a light beer. It was created by a Dallas guy and is sold at WF, Central Market, SuperTarget, Sigel’s, Centennial, and Goody Goody. It tasted pretty good -- but free samples always do.

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Comments

twisteddog Anonymous

I usually drink beer to rid my system of vitamins. I don't care what you say.

1 year, 2 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

DC Anonymous

That Stampede Light would be all right if it hadn't all ready been on the market for about 2 years, well, and it didn't taste like the Trinity.

1 year, 2 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )