Greetings

Dallas has few diversions other than eating, drinking and shopping.....and shopping does not interest us.
So we spend our time hopping from restaurant to restaurant and to every pub that we can find in search of the perfect meal and the perfect beer.

We randomly review restaurants and bars, dishes and beers at whim and give our brutally honest opinions of our findings. And while we concentrate on Dallas, we travel far and wide to sample cuisine from all regions of the country and beyond.



Monday, April 15, 2013

Ten Bells Tavern Review

Comments by DBS regular St. Bernardus


In the past year since first opening, I’ve read many favorable reviews of Ten Bells Tavern, but I’ve only just now got around to going.  While I spend a lot of time in the Bishops Arts District (mainly dining at Hattie’s, or Odd Fellows…okay, okay, Lockhart Smokehouse, Dude Sweet Chocolate and Emporium Pies, too.  There! *sigh* it’s just now that I made my way over to the small corrugated tin building that’s home to Ten Bells Tavern.  My reason for going this weekend was to satisfy a craving for fish n’ chips, of which I’ve read many favorable reviews about Ten Bells version of this British Pub favorite. 
 
The fish and chips, which I gather is their signature dish, is made with flounder and thus gave the fish a lighter, more delicate flavor and fine texture, which is what you would expect with the use of flounder (duh!).  The batter held quite nicely to the fish (a feat rarely achieved among their fish n’ chip competition).  And while I admire they’ve broke from tradition with the use of flounder, I’m not sure it’s as successful as the Atlantic hake version I’ve tried at The Meddlesome Moth or other versions like I’ve had at Local or The Old Monk (circa 6 years ago).  My biggest complaint would have to be with the grease.  Yeah, I know, it’s fish n’ chips and it’s supposed to be greasy, but this was especially greasy and seemed to stay with me the rest of the day.  The chips?  Hand cut, but more in line with frites than the wedge-shape “chip” most commonly found with this dish.  Not bad!  Just not what I would expect.  Generally speaking, this was a creative departure from the traditional use of cod, that was mostly a success minus the grease!
 
For the beer selection, a lot of places around town that are making the effort to provide more locally brewed beers of which Ten Bells offers a number of local selections in what I would gather to be rotators.  This day I tried Scruffy’s Smoked Alt by the Cedar Creek Brewery from nearby Seven Points, Texas.  From their website (Cedar Creek Brewery) the closest thing to a description I could find reads…”Gather ‘round all ye young ‘uns, all ye boozers and freaks, let me tell you the story of one Scruffy McGee. T’was an alt-brewin’ fella, a real sun of a gun, but he whips up the finest alts under the sun. Smoked to perfection, a real powerful blend. S’what made his name a Cedar Creek legend. But drink this in scruples, ye lads and ye lasses, or, like Scruffy, you’ll fall down drunk, right on your asses.”  My take…a smokey Fat Tire, if you’re into that sort of thing.  Overall the beer selection at Ten Bells seemed a little weak for the average snob (I did see Maredsous and Hoegaarden available in bottles!) but the ambiance of this quiet, low-key joint might be enough to lure me back.  Maybe next time I’ll try the ramen, which is apparently only available at midnight on Saturdays. - St. Bernardus

Ten Bells Tavern
232 W 7th St
Dallas, TX 75208
http://www.tenbellstavern.com/


ACME F&B Beer Dinner


 If you are looking for something to do tomorrow night featuring Breckenridge:

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Deshutes Brewery Base Camp Week

Ok, this is one of the oddest, and longest, press releases that I have ever seen, much less passed on.  But it is interesting and may be worth your time.  If you are at all like me (and for your sake I hope that you are not) you will get bored before the end and quit reading, but be persistent.  - Bon

 
Deschutes Brewery Base Camp Week
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas April 6-13, 2013
SUMMARY
Deschutes Brewery brings its Base Camp for Beer Fanatics campaign to Dallas and Fort Worth for an amazing series of specialty beer tastings, beer and food pairings, and appearances by Woody, the giant beer barrel on wheels. Deschutes brewers, ambassadors and fanatics will be on hand to provide some in-the-trenches insight into our courageously crafted brews.
 
What is Base Camp you may ask? It’s a place where Deschutes Brewery offers beer fanatics a spot to “pitch a tent” of sorts – and find their footing with the cornerstone of Mirror Pond Pale Ale. Deschutes Brewery Base Camp is a celebration of Mirror Pond’s easy-drinking goodness, along with many more of the brewery’s passion-heavy, pioneering brews. The Deschutes Brewery team is traveling around to cities all over the West and Midwest, providing passionate fans with a seriously fun exploration of beer.  Make the trek to Base Camp.  It all begins here…
 
Where’s Woody?
Woody, our good-times-on-wheels mobile bar, will be meeting and greeting fans around the region throughout Base Camp week. You can find his appearance schedule at www.DBWoody.com. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter: @dbwoody.

See Woody in your area, stop and take a photo with him and get some fun Deschutes swag! He’ll be cruising around these neighborhoods during Base Camp:
·         Mon, 4/8, 2-5pm          Denton & Plano
·         Tues, 4/9, 1-3pm          Greenville & Highland Park
·         Wed, 4/10, 1-3pm         Ft. Worth
·         Thurs, 4/11, 1-3pm       Bishop Arts
·         Fri, 4/12, 1-3pm            Fort Worth
 
You can chime in and listen to the Base Camp chatter on Twitter using #BeerBaseCamp and by following @DeschutesBeer.

Event Overview:
· Sat, 4/6, 2-6:30pm                  Big Texas Beer Fest (Fair Park Automobile Building)· Mon, 4/8, 6-9pm                   Deschutes Brewery Pint Night (Oak Street Draft House)· Mon 4/8, 6-9pm                    Base Camp Kickoff & Industry Beer Olympics (Barcadia Dallas)· Tues, 4/9, 6-8                         Hats Off to Homebrewers  (Homebrew Headquarters)
· Tues, 4/9 8:30-10:30pm          Beer Cocktails & Special Samplings (Whiskey Cake)
· Weds, 4/10, 5-9:30pm            Deschutes Brewery Bike Pub Crawl (various pubs and bikes shops in Fort Worth)  
· Thurs, 4/11, 5-9pm                Art, Small Bites & Brews: A Night of Pairings (Meddlesome Moth)
·   Fri, 4/12, 3-6pm                     Deschutes Brewery Samples & Small Bites (Ryan’s Fine Grocer & Delicatessen)
· Fri, 4/12, 7-10pm                   Beer-lesque: Tastings & Tassels (Live Oak Music Hall & Lounge)· Sat, 4/13, 11am-2pm              Beer & Brunch (Total Wine & More)· Sat, 4/13, 4-7pm                     BBQ & Beer! Tap Takeover (Whole Foods – Park Lane)· Sat 4/13, 10pm                       Base Camp Flight Finale w/ Music by Fish Fry Bingo (The Common Table)
Media Contact:  Marie Melsheimer, 541-815-3951, marie@campbellconsulting.com
 
EVENT DETAILS
 
Big Texas Brew Fest
Deschutes Brewery is coming all the way from Oregon to celebrate at the one-of-a-kind Big Texas Beer Fest! Woody, Deschutes Brewery’s giant traveling beer barrel, will be there to greet craft beer fans with his 16 tasty taps.  Featured beers at the event will includeMirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, and Inversion IPA. See you all there!

When: Saturday, April 6, 2-6:30pm

Where: 
Fair Park Automobile Building, 1010 First Avenue, Dallas, TX 75226
 
 
Deschutes Brewery Base Camp Pint Night
Are you ready to try some of Oregon’s best brews and chat with the fun-loving folks from Deschutes Brewery? We’d like to invite all beer-loving fanatics to come down to the Oak Street Draft House and share some passionate conversation about beer and brewing. Deschutes favorites will be on tap including Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, and Obsidian Stout (Nitro). Buy a pint, keep the glass! (While supplies last.)  Hope to see you all there!

When: Monday, April 8, 6-9pm

Where: Oak Street Draft House & Cocktail Parlor, 308 E. Oak Street, Denton, TX 76201
 
 
Base Camp Kickoff & Industry Beer Olympics
Does anything sound better than a whole list of competitive challenges designed to bring out the beer lover in you? We didn’t think so! The Deschutes Brewery Base Camp Kickoff & Industry Beer Olympics is designed to spur a little friendly competition for the coveted Golden Growler. We’ll be playing a variety of beer-inspired challenges such as Skeeball, giant Jenga, giant Connect -Four and a few favorite video games. You will have the opportunity to win some Deschutes Brewery gear, as well, so come on down and bring out the Beer Olympian in you! Featured beers will include Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Hop Henge Experimental IPA and Obsidian Stout (Nitro).  The crew will even pull out a taste of something extra special – come to find out what it may be!

When: Monday, April 8, 6-9pm 

Where: Barcadia Dallas, 1917 N. Henderson Avenue, Dallas, TX 75206
 
 
 
Hats Off To Homebrewers
Attention homebrewers…come hone your craft at Homebrew Headquarters with the gang from Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery.  They will give away complimentary brewing supplies including clone recipe booklets and bags of whole flower hops to use in your next homebrew (limited to first 100 visitors). Take advantage of this opportunity to uncover some brewing mysteries! Try something new in your next homebrew…chat with a Deschutes brewer, take your photo with Woody, take home some Deschutes swag, plus get a chance during the evening to try some Deschutes Brewery beers like: Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Red Chair NWPA, and the never released Reserve Series Black Butte XXII.
When: Tuesday, April 9, 6-8pm 

Where: Homebrew Headquarters, 300 N Coit Road, Ste 134, Richardson, TX 75080
 
Beer Cocktails & Special Samplings Head on over to Whiskey Cake with the Deschutes Brewery crew after their homebrewer event and try a unique beer cocktail and food paired menu at Whiskey Cake.  Talk beer and food with the folks from the brewery while trying a Chainbreaker White IPA on tap or in a beer cocktail – and stick around for a special sampling of something hard to find.

When: Tuesday, April 9, 8:30-10:30pm 

Where: Whiskey Cake, 3601 Dallas Pkwy, Plano TX 75093
 
Deschutes Brewery Bike Pub Crawl
Beer, bikes, and sunshine: these are a just few of Deschutes Brewery’s favorite things. All of the beer-loving, two-wheeled enthusiasts of Fort Worth are invited to hop on the Deschutes Brewery Bike Pub Crawl. Bring your own bike or grab one from Trinity Bicycles, where the crawl begins, and ride to the Flying Saucer, then onto The Ginger Man. Don’t worry about showing up on time either; there is always the option to grab a bike at Colonel’s Bikes as well! Lastly, we will crawl on over to Zio Carlo Magnolia Brew Pub and then head back over to Trinity Bicycles again to wrap it up. Deschutes Brewery’s giant beer barrel on wheels, Woody, has traveled all the way from Oregon and will be parked at Colonel’s for some zany photo opportunities. Crawl locations will feature Deschutes beers such Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Chainbreaker White IPA with raffle prizes.

When: Wednesday, April 10, 5-9:30pm
 
Where:
5pm:                            Trinity Bicycles, 343 Throckmorton Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102; (817) 484-6825 (start & end – 9:30pm)
5:30pm:                       Flying Saucer, 111 E 3rd St., Fort Worth, TX 76102; (817) 336-7470
6:30pm:                       The Ginger Man, 3716 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107; 214.572.8026
7:30pm:                       Colonel’s Bikes, 851 Foch St., Fort Worth, TX 76107; (817) 924-1333
8:30pm:                       Zio Carlo Magnolia Brew Pub, 1001 W Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76104; (817) 923-8000
 
 
 
Art, Small Bites & Brews: A Night of Pairings
Beer lovers know that pairing beer with food is the perfect way to delight the palate – tonight we take it a step further by introducing some fine art into the mix! Local artists from W.A.A.S. Gallery have artwork on display, Deschutes Brewery is sharing beers likeMirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, and Hop Henge Experimental IPA plus the hard to find specialties like The Dissident, Black Butte XXIV and The Abyss, and the Moth is creating a tasty small plate menu. Each beer will be perfectly paired with its complementary menu item AND a piece of art. We can’t think of a better way to spend an evening. Reserve a ticket before it sells out.

When: Thursday, April 11, 5-9pm

Where: Meddlesome Moth, 1621 Oak Lawn, Dallas, TX 75207

Cost: $35 per person (includes six beers & three food pairings) Call 214.628.7900 for reservations.
 
 
Samples & Small Bites with Deschutes Brewery
Deschutes Brewery has come down from Oregon and created a great lineup of specialty beers to pair with tasty treats designed by Ryan’s Fine Grocer & Delicatessen. Join us and spend some time with our friendly staff for a fun afternoon of brews and beer-inspired culinary bits. We’ll be serving some Deschutes favorites like Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, & Red Chair NWPA.

When: Friday, April 12, 3-6pm
WHERE: Ryan’s Fine Grocer & Delicatessen, 815 W. Magnolia Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76104
 
 
Beer-lesque: Tastings and Tassels
What’s better than an evening full of craft beer from Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery? An evening full of craft beer coupled with the lovely ladies from the Ruby Revue, who will feature a Deschutes Brewery beer in each of their burlesque & variety stage acts. Emcee’d by the one and only Naughty Pierre from Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret in Denver, this is sure to be a night of excitement, laughter, and unforgettable fun.  Try beers like 
Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, Red Chair NWPA, and The Abyss. Best of all? The show is completely FREE, so we’ll plan to see you here!

When: Friday, April 12, 7-10pm
 
Where:  Live Oak Music Hall, 1311 Lipscomb Street, Fort Worth, TX 76104
 
 
Beer & Brunch with Deschutes BreweryWho said you can’t have beer for breakfast? We’re doing it – and in style – with a delicious brunch full of tasty treats from the Breadwinners Café Catering and a lineup of Deschutes Brewery’s craft beers. Yes, we’re out to prove that beer can be a breakfast treat. Join us for a tasty brunch featuring samples of Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, Red Chair NWPA, and Obsidian Stout
 
When: Saturday, April 13, 11am-2pm
 
Where: Total Wine & More, 9350 N. Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75231
 
 
BBQ & Beer! Tap Takeover
Not many things go together better than BBQ and beer – especially if you’re using tasty craft beer in the cooking process. Of course, you can’t cook with beer without drinking a few, so we’ve got you covered. Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery is totally taking over the taps, and pairing some amazing beers with some free tasty BBQ small bites. It’s all part of Base Camp Week for Beer Fanatics! Beer will be on tap and for sale to take home, along with growlers. They’ll be pouring favorites like Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Inversion IPA, and current seasonals Red Chair NWPA and Hop Henge Experimental IPA.

When: Saturday, April 13, 4-7pm
 
Where: Whole Foods, 8190 Park Lane #351, Dallas, TX 75231
 
 
The Base Camp Flight Finale
Brace yourselves beer fanatics: Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery is wrapping up a week of craft beer celebrations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in a big way! This Base Camp finale features music from the popular American music band known for their pure, raw, fun loving, hillbilly music: Fish Fry Bingo! Get ready to loosen up and dance along to their fun-loving tunes while trying these delicious brews: Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, Black Butte XXIV,  The Stoic,  and The Abyss. Be sure to also try the never-released Black Butte XXII.  There will be flights of beers available all day with limited amounts of flights featuring the reserve specialties starting at 10pm.  See you there!
 
Where: The Common Table, 2917 Fairmount St., Dallas, Texas 75201

When: Saturday, April 13, 10pm
 
 
 
www.DeschutesBrewery.com     Facebook.com/Deschutes.Brewery   @DeschutesBeer

The Meddlesome Moth Anniversary Week

 
Next week the Meddlesome Moth celebrates it's anniversary with several special events.  This would be a good week to visit is you have never been there and a good week to return if you have.