Best Bites: Dining out in Dallas-Fort Worth June 27

by Teresa Gubbins

Lots of people fantasize about opening their own independent coffeehouse. Kristyn Smith and Sarah Momary actually did it. Three weeks ago, they opened Crooked Tree Coffeehouse in Uptown in a stately old house on fashionable Routh Street.

Crooked Tree is an indie dream: It has couches from estate sales, free wi-fi, late-night hours, music on the weekends, art by local artists on the walls, Fair Trade coffee (from Buy Well in Colorado Springs), smoothies, and baked treats from the Covert Vegan, including cinnamon rolls, muffins, and cookies. They also serve Blue Bell ice cream and sandwiches that they make themselves.

Kristyn and Sarah met while attending Texas A&M, where they were roommates. After graduating in 2002, they went through the usual drudgery jobs -- Sarah was an ER nurse and Kristyn worked in a bank.

"We weren’t happy in our jobs, and we'd always talked about open a coffeehouse," Kristyn says. "Sarah had always worked at independent coffeeshops all through college, and when it was time to do full-time nursing, she was sad to leave that atmosphere. Eventually all the 'if's turned into, 'Let’s just try this.' "

They just opened, so they're keeping long hours, opening at 6 a.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. on Saturdays, and 8 a.m. on sundays, and staying open until 11 p.m. and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

"In Dallas, everything’s a chain," Kristyn says. "We didn’t want to have to move to Austin to get that independent coffeeshop feel. Hopefully other people want it, too."

Kobe what?

The Second Floor, the restaurant at the Westin Galleria Dallas from Bijoux owners Scott and Gina Gottlich, will celebrate 4th of July with a special lunch and dinner entrée: Kobe beef hot dogs. Huzzah.

Grilled and served on a fresh baked brioche bun with sweet horseradish pickle relish, yellow creamer baked beans, crème fraiche cole slaw, and pomme frites, the exclusive menu item will be available for lunch and dinner during the first week of July.

Sir George

The monthly "Come-As-You-Are" wine dinner at The Grape this Sunday (June 29) is going to be very very special because the special host will be George Howald, noted beverage industry expert with more than 20-years experience at several of Dallas' top restaurants. Inspired from a recent trip to Italy and the Amalfi Coast, George has chosen some personal faves for the dinner: Carpene Malvolti Prosecco di Conegliano, NV, Veneto; Marisa Cuomo Furore Bianco, 2006, Campania; Petroni Syrah, 2005, Sonoma; and Ricossa Moscato D'Asti, 2007, Piedmont.

Reservations are recommended; cost is $75 per person. For reservations and more information, visit the Web site or call 214-828-1981.

Crackers and snacks

Alberto Lombardi's seafood place, Pescabar, is opening July 2. ... Joe Czaus is the new manager at Popolos. He's a Gene Street crony, having most previously worked for six years at the Mansion in Salado (owned by Gene Street) and before that, at Good Eats. ... Park Cities Prime has a new manager in Garry Wilhite, who has done wine sales for the past 20 years, and before that was with the Pyramid Room, Arthur's, and Il Sorrento.

Orange Cup, the frozen yogurt place at NorthPark Center, is in expansion mode, with leases signed at the following four DFW locations: 1. Stonebriar Centre, 2. Galleria Dallas, 3. Berkshire Court in Preston Center, and 4. The Shops at Legacy, North Phase II B145, Plano. They're also opening a branch in San Antonio in October at the Shops of La Cantera, and intend to open more than 35 stores in three states during the next 18 months.

Awesome tip provided by WhitneyTM.

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