EATS

While you ponder Bill Addison's question about dining down, there are two ops tomorrow for free tastings at Sigel's Elite, 3209 N. Fitzhugh at Cole:

Sixth-generation distiller George Grant leads a tasting and bottle-signing of Glenfarclas Single Malt Scotch Whisky 17, 21 and 25. In-house wine expert Jasper Russo leads a tasting of pinot noirs that demonstrates the range of New World styles, including top California producers Loring, Patz & Hall and Talley.

Both are Wednesday; both are free. Now here's the pain: Both are 5 to 7 p.m. RSVP to Dimitrios Economu here for the single-malt tasting, or to Russo here for the pinot noir tasting.

At least half a dozen restaurants have closed in our area in the last two weeks alone. Headlines of late steadily report on worrisome unemployment rates, companies downsizing, stock values plummeting, the continuing weakness of the dollar.

So, with these challenges we seem to once again find our nation facing, let me ask you all directly: Are you eating out less in restaurants?

And if you are still dining out frequently, are you eating in less expensive restaurants than, say, a year ago?

I ask earnestly. I live in an obsessed culinary bubble: Not only do I eat for a living, but I spend the vast amount of my own expendable income on food in sacrifice of other luxuries or necessities (you should see how sparsely my apartment is decorated). It's been that way since I've been earning any sort of income.

Dallas is certainly a restaurant town, and I see some places thriving like we're all living in a bullish economy. So I'm curious: Are you pulling back on restaurants or still rocking it out at Fearing's, et al? Are you starting to bargain-hunt, or narrowing your budget for places you know you'll love?

Let me hear from you.

My husband and I just got back from our silver-anniversary trip to the Caribbean, our very first venture to the islands. We stuck to the U.S. territories, specifically Old San Juan (PR) and St. Croix (USVI), and we enjoyed some dandy food in both places.

We'll remember things like the gigantic Caribbean lobsters (above left) that we consumed by a seaside St. Croix sunset, and the sweet rolls called "mallorca" at the century-old bakery La Bombonera in Old San Juan (above right).

Probably our best all-around meals were a lunch at Cafe Puerto Rico (in Old San Juan) and our anniversary dinner at Bacchus (in Christiansted on St. Croix). The Creole-style shrimp-and-rice dish I had at Cafe Puerto Rico was perfect, simple and delicious. At Bacchus, I was blown away by the roast pork tenderloin with Cruzan rum-and-maple sauce, not to mention the perfectly sauced house-made ravioli (filled with mushrooms, sun-dried tomato and goat cheese).

...so we consider it our duty, as Texas citizens, to inform you of the "rotational" flavors of Blue Bell you should be finding in your supermarket's freezer case this month.

One of them is Key Lime Pie, which we are dying to try -- because in our distant youth, we had a severe crush on an ice cream called Key Lime Twist (key lime swirled with vanilla). Key Lime Pie is described as "sweet and tangy key lime ice cream blended with crunchy graham cracker crust and a creamy whipped topping swirl."

(Of course, as luck would have it, Key Lime Pie is the one July flavor of Blue Bell that was not at our neighborhood supermarket when we checked last night. Casa Linda Albertson's, are you listening?)

The other July flavors are Birthday Cake, Caramel Sundae Crunch, Caramel Turtle Fudge, Centennial Cupcake (4-H), Chocolate Almond Marshmallow, Chocolate Covered Cherries, Chocolate Extreme, Mooo Tracks, Southern Blackberry Cobbler, Southern Hospitality, and that summertime perennial: Peaches and Homemade Vanilla.

Also: Blue Bell has a new flavor, Candy Jar, described as "your favorite candies -- peanut butter cups, chocolate chunks, peanut brittle, chunks of caramel and chocolate crisp pieces" in a "rich caramel ice cream."

A few weeks ago we told you that Plano resident Lisa Williams was the Southwest's finalist in the Redwood Creek Wines Campfire Classic Grand Finals. And we told you where you could vote for her in the People's Choice division of the contest.

Well, upon returning from vacation recently, we were happy to discover that Lisa indeed won the People's Choice prize. According to the press release, she's donating her $1,000 in prize money to her local PTA chapter.

People! Wash your hands before you eat.
A new survey reveals that only about a third of restaurant patrons wash up before digging in.
I know, you washed your hands before you left home. Before you thumbed through the same copy of People everybody else read in the checkout line, before you dropped your change on the floor and picked it up, before you touched any number of things. And let's not even think about where your kids' hands have been. Eeuw!
The survey also showed that people would like it if hand wipes were included with every order at the drive-through. That would work.

Disclaimer: The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of a company that makes, what else, antibacterial wipes. But still.

Associated Press photo

On the Fitness blog, Nancy Churnin rounds up 10 foods you probably should be eating, but aren't, courtesy of Men's Health. I"m down with the cinnamon, but working turmeric into your diet takes a bit more planning. I have beets and pomegranate juice in the fridge right now, so I guess I'm doing something right.

Guide staffer Nancy Moore reports the following:

In response to the phenomenon described in this article from last year, Popolos Cafe at Preston Royal Shopping Center has a new drink this summer called the Purple Martin-i.

I stopped by to try one last Wednesday night. The purple, chilled drink is served in a martini glass. And it really does taste "purple" (one person at the bar described it as tasting like alcoholic Kool-Aid, "...that could get you in trouble - easy to drink"). The purple martin birds, for which the drink was named, have been seen circling the area just before sunset. Popolos happy hour is Mondays through Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunset is at about 8:30 p.m. Get one for $4 at happy hour; $7 at other times. Twenty percent of the proceeds from sales will be contributed to the new Audubon Center on the Trinity. The ingredients are vodka, Curacao liqueur and raspberry pucker.

Phoenix-based Sunflower Farmers Market has plans for at least two stores in the area -- one in Plano, one in East Dallas. Their formula is to move in near a Whole Foods Market and sell similar stuff, cheaper. Not a bad plan. Maria Halkias has details about Sunflower.

A friend tells me that Frida's Mexican Bistro at Cedar Springs and Throckmorton has closed. I called to confirm and, yep, the phone is disconnected.

Chalk up another one to tough economic times.

'Made a snarf stop at Freebirds World Burrito on Sunday and was reminded how you can save (A) money at places like this and (b) superfluous calories, too.

Save dinero and wasted sugar calories by ordering water instead of a soft drink. Save some calories by forgoing the wrap itself, mostly made of refined flour (more empty calories) and water, the same ingredients in old-fashioned wallpaper paste. You can fill the dish up with beans, veggie-type good-for-you things (tomatoes, salsa, corn. etc.), or cheese (good calcium source), if you're really hungry, or guacamole (good for you in small doses, but costs extra).

If you just gotta have a soda, order water at Freebirds and go around the corner to a grocery store to buy your soft drinks for a fraction of the restaurant drink price.

These are small, common-sense decisions you can make daily that add up to real savings over time and less waist. Of course, if you're a growing adolescent, you probably want that flour tortilla wrapper and everything you can possibly stuff into it. In that case, you're allowed. But still blow off the soft drink, dude.

It's officially summertime, so when better than now to pose the question: Who makes the best frozen treats in the Dallas-Fort Worth area? And by frozen treats, we're talking ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt, sorbet and frozen custard (and any of its ilk we've neglected to mention).

Post a comment in the area below, or email us at dining@dallasnews.com. We'll publish some of these comments in a print version, which will appear in a future issue of Guide.

To settle on our critics' picks, Kim Harwell, Shannon Sutlief and I spent the last couple weeks battling brain freeze as we scoured the area, focusing mainly on independent and small chain frozen treat operations. We each finally chose three, presented below alphabetically. Look forward to reading your favorites.

English wine merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd undertook to make some predictions about the state of wine 50 years hence in the Berrys' Future of Wine Report that you can link here or here.

It's especially fascinating given that, 50 years ago in 1958, the top-sellers in the world were German, fortified (like port) and sweet wines, which barely merit a ripple today. The report also takes climate change into account, whose effects we are possibly already seeing in Australia, which is suffering from extreme drought conditions, and in England, where Champagne growers are eying the chalky soil of the South Downs.

The report also predicts the rise of China as a major wine-growing nation, the development of big brand wines and New New World wines (think multiple-country blends), floating vines and sommelier bees. It's a fun and provocative read for wine geeks and the rest of us, too. Shanghai Shiraz, anyone?

It was the best of nights. It was the worst of nights. Thursday evening, the Sig-O and I went to check out a new restaurant, which shall remain nameless. I suppose the misspelling of "carpacio" should have been a clue that this might be another mediocre Italian.

But the deal-breaker was the wine list, with mark-ups of four times wholesale. This means the restaurant pays $20 for a bottle and sticks you for $90. Three times is more the rule in Texas, which is still scandalously high. Disgusted, we did something we rarely do: We walked.

The Saturday farmers won't be there, but for the farm merchants and farm families with all-week stalls (like J.T. Lemley, the Heddins and others), it will be business as usual at the Dallas Farmers Market, in case you forgot watermelon or tomatoes or onions or peaches or black-eyed peas or cantaloupe or new potatoes for potato salad, etc., for your Fourth of July feast.

I just finished off the last of my Jacksonville Best tomatoes, and while I wouldn't turn them out of my salad, I'm still hooked on Lemleys'. At this time of year, you can eat them plain or with a little salt and cracked pepper, and all is right with the world.

The Sig-O and I stopped in last night to see how Paul Pinnell's new venture is going at One Arts Plaza and got a chance to sample executive chef Joel Harloff's menu. The restaurant crew is still recovering from the grand opening earlier in the week, which Cathy Barber blogged here. Pinnell says they had 600 people.

Without getting into review territory, let's just say that the chardonnay-steamed scallops with sunchokes and heart of palm in a puddle of orange butter was a stunner. Too, I like the way Harloff gives fruits and vegetables a more prominent role in his dishes.

I like the wine list's variety. It also gives you lots of by-the-glass options so you can match courses. The Pavie-McQuin Bordeaux Rose was a good match to a warm summer night: clean, fresh, with bright fruit and a quick bye-bye. I'll be back.

Those researchers at Texas A&M just don't have enough to do. They've discovered a substance in watermelon called citrulline that can trigger the production of arginine, which is similar to what happens with Viagra.

As they point out here, you'd have to eat six cups of watermelon to get an enough citrulline, and yellow-flesh watermelon is the best source. But once you eat six cups of watermelon, you're going to have another problem. Watermelon is a diuretic.

Alberto Garza and John Spanogle are a couple of softies when it comes to their little herd of 40+ goats. That's what I learned at a chef-producer-Friends of the Farmers Market gathering recently. All the goats at La Cuesta Farm have names, and Alberto and John make small-batch goat cheese (left) with their own Grade A milk.

Saturday morning, the cheese debuts at the Dallas Farmers Market in Shed No. 1. They'll have their basic chevre, which is $10 per 8-ounce container. Also their Flame-Roasted Green Chile and Garlic with home-grown New Mexico chiles sauteed in olive oil with garlic; $12 for 8 ounces. And Suave Supreme, a tangy, soft crumbled goat cheese that resembles feta; $14 for 8 ounces.

The men passed around samples, and the cheeses were velvety and fresh-tasting, puddling into pure flavor in our mouths. You know their work is a labor of love - La Cuesta translates roughly as "in one's care" - when their greatest anxiety was taking time away from their goats. They wanted to get back to the farmstead south of Dallas near Laguna Park and Lake Whitney as quickly as possible. Check 'em out Saturday at the market.

It was billed on the press release as an organic farmers market, so it got my attention. But the produce isn't organic, and there won't be any farmers there. Instead, Urban Market brings selected shorts from its produce section to One Arts Plaza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

You could see some locally grown produce, if UM has it on hand and it's not too fragile to travel. But more than anything, this is Urban Market's way of making its fruits and veggies more accessible to the folks. UM will be back the first Saturday and Sunday of every month through at least September. One Arts Plaza is at 1722 Routh on the east end of the Arts District at Flora and Routh.

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Lambert's, the new Fort Worth spot from Lou Lambert and Grady Spears. Kim Harwell reviews Cafe Pacific, a Highland Park favorite for 25 years.

Share your own review of these restaurants. Leave a comment below.

Photo of Lambert's blackberry cobbler by Michael Ainsworth / DMN