EATS

I just dropped in for lunch at the revamped Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art, and it was hopping. Easy to see why. This is a great spot, whether you're meeting friends or business associates.

But if you're looking for a trendy new menu from consulting chef Stephan Pyles, just back off. The celebrity chef may have had a hand in creating these dishes, but I would not call them groundbreaking. Instead, they're pretty good new American with a deep bow to the South (seared sea scallops with an uptown red-eye gravy, Bourbon-glazed pork loin with a savory bread pudding) that comingles Mediterranean, Asian and American bistro dishes. Paula Lambert's cheeses showed up in two salads, including the Caprese.

Loved the sea scallops and tempura-fried veggie appetizers. Also, the pork loin. Only the hanger steak fell short: Its shoestring fries were hot - and limp. (You've got to get these right, guys.) I liked the wine list, too. With only about two dozen selections, it includes mostly familiar California names like Montelena and Duckhorn, but also some pleasant surprises, like a Tavel rose and Cloudy Bay Chardonnay (not Sauvignon Blanc) from New Zealand.

A fresh round of hostility breaks out during Judge's Table, but the biggest news (other than, to me, the surprise cheftestant going home) was that Restaurant Wars happen this season after all - next week! These folks are really trying for some blockbuster ratings this season. (And apparently getting them: Bravo TV sent out a release after last week's show that Wedding Wars was the most highly watched non-finale episode of Top Chef since Season 2.)

Spoilers galore right after the jump.

Although I haven't made it out to the McKinney Farmers Market in its new location this year (so many markets, so few Saturdays), it is gratifying to see in a press release that Dominion Farms is selling its grass-fed meat and poultry alongside Rehoboth Ranch. Dominion is located in Denison, not far off U.S. 75 (they have an on-site store), and the family has been selling their meat since 2000 but have farmed the land much longer. On their Web site, they invite tours so you can see how they treat their livestock, and right next to the information is this pic of a piglet feeding next to its presumed mama. Awwwww.

Anyway, back to McKinney. Besides Dominion and Rehoboth, vendors include Motley Farms (organic herbs and heirloom vegetables), Oak Ridge Valley Farms (organic produce), Reeves Family Farm (produce and plants), farmers David Dooley and Cyndy Long (local produce), Rowdy Heddins (local produce including melons) plus Canine Cookie Co. and Roundrock Honey. The setting at Chestnut Square Historic Village is a perfect fit for the homespun farmers market, and Saturday entertainment will be provided by the Red River Valley Dulcimer Club. Chestnut Square is three blocks south of the main square at McDonald and Anthony (park in the lot on McDonald).

This week, Restaurant Critic Bill Addison reviews Yutaka Sushi Bistro, which does Japanese-inspired cooked dishes as well as its sushi and sashimi. Dining writer Kim Harwell reviews Woodlands Grill, the Preston-Forest restaurant inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece Fallingwater.

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

Top Chef season two hottie, er, cheftestant Sam Talbot will be the guest judge on tonight's episode. I've been all aflutter since I saw the preview for this during last week's episode. And I'm not alone: In that preview, current contestant Antonia said something like, "Tall, dark, handsome – and he can cook!"

Talbot, who's diabetic and wears an insulin pump, will help judge health conscious versions of the quick fire challenge (rumored to be about salads) and the elimination, which features the remaining contestants serving Chicago police officers.

I've really enjoyed the guest judges this season, but not just for the eye candy factor. Anthony Bourdain, Wylie Dufresne, Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Ming Tsai, Johnny Iuzzini and Gale Gand have appeared so far. I can't wait to see who Bravo has lined up for the rest of the season.

I know I must look peculiar sniffing peaches. But that's the only way to tell if you're talking real peach or baseball wannabe. I was at the Lomo Alto Whole Foods Market, dithering between the Mexican organic peaches, which were outta the park last year, and the California conventionals. Experience said pick the Mexicans; nose said give the Californians a chance.

The nose won, and the flesh was perfume incarnate. (Sorry for the purple prose. No, wait. Not sorry.) I bought two, had one for breakfast, and even now am dallying with the other. This is a good an introduction to peach season as I've had - with Texas yet to come - and why it's worth the wait. Anybody else had a drooler peach yet?

Guys, it is time to grab your shopping totes and small bills and head to a farmer's market. The farmers are out there if you know where to look -- namely, anywhere on this list of farmers markets in and around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Saturday is still the best day to shop, although a few markets have added or plan to add other days. The Dallas market is open daily, but you'll find the most interesting vendors on Saturday there too.

What will you find? Squash, berries, onion and other regional produce items are coming into season. But at various markets you'll also find extras like pastured meats, eggs, fresh baked goods, jams and jellies and more. Take the time to look around and meet the vendors -- they're happy to tell you about their products.

The Dallas market is experimenting with new signs to help shoppers identify true farmers. The one shown on this basket of potatoes is an early experiment, but the final signs will be different.

Remember, we don't grow pineapples in Texas, so anybody selling pineapples is probably not a local farmer. It's simple when you think about it.

Tell us: What cool stuff have you found at local markets?

Spotted today: Cosmic Cafe's "welcome back" sign. A DMN staffer drove by this morning and saw it. The Oak Lawn restaurant's sign used to say "closed for renovations." Bring on the dahl!

It's hard to think about on such a dreary day, but Tina Danze has been scoping out new treat shops around town.
Sorbeteria, across from NorthPark, sources as much fruit as they can from Texas growers. Thumbs up on that.

If you're thirsty, head to Cassis in Plano, where you'll find sophisticated non-alcoholic sips like the Evil Princess, a green-apple and grapefruit juice cocktail (shown).

Then there's Natsumi, dishing out gelato and frozen yogurt on the trendy Henderson strip.

Photo by Rex C. Curry/Special Contributor

This is a question of personal interest. I'm cooking dinner for a friend's birthday this weekend, and am debating between the beef brisket or the leg of lamb recipe from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques (a jones for California cooking lingers after my recent jaunt to LA, when I ate at Goin's restaurant).

Admittedly, I don't spend much time in the kitchen these days, so I need some guidance in the meat department: Are there any stand-out butcher shops in the Dallas area? Guessing that Jimmy's is one obvious option ...

Quick's Lesley Tellez chats with mixologist Michael Martensen, whose inventive cocktail creations are raising the bar at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. Read more here.

Jeani Wilkinson, aka Bistro Mama, is taking bread orders for delivery Saturday morning at Eden's Organic Garden Center Market Day. Loaves range from $7 to $10 and include Irish wheat bread, buttermilk white, Italian herb wheat, dilled wheat, artisanal wheat, four-grain wheat, sweet cranberry pecan, sweet cinnamon bread and aritsanal Italian baguettes that can be laced with roasted spring onion, sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic, or cheddar and dill. Last day to order for Saturday delivery is Wednesday (unless baking shedule is booked up before that): Send an e-mail here to order or get more information. The Market Day is from 9 a.m. to noon at the garden center, 4710 Pioneer Road, Balch Springs.

If you've been watching Last Restaurant Standing on BBC America, be sure to tune in for the finale on Tuesday (8 p.m. Central). The next-to-last episode repeats just before it at 7 p.m.

No spoilers here, but the two remaining couples face a pretty daunting challenge in France as they try to be the last of nine pairs remaining and win their dream of opening a restaurant under the tutelege of chef Raymond Blanc.

Among those judging the final efforts are Raymond's mother -- looking even sterner than Rocco DiSpirito's mama in The Restaurant.

Well, I went to see Pinkalicious at Taste Addison! Saturday -- which was great fun, by the way. And I dutifully stuck around to taste a pink cupcake from Delicious Cakes at the Pinkalicious after-show party, even though I have never been a cupcake fan. And really, I was just planning an itty bitty taste. But oh my goodness, Delicious Cakes has quite converted me. What a lovely, light, lemony confection and that pink frosting -- WOW. That confection disappeared quickly!

Theatre Arlington is offering an adults-only BYOB night this Thursday for its production of the wacky comedy The Book of Liz. You can bring your own beverage to drink in the lobby before the show from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (I.D.s will be checked). The theater's also planning similar nights for productions of The Boyfriend on June 19 and Perfect Wedding on Aug. 7.

In case you haven't read it yet here or here, Bice in the Crescent closed its doors over the weekend. Never went -- anyone going to miss it terribly?

Metro columnist Jacquielynn Floyd may feel like a pioneer in the wilderness, but those cloth bags she insists on using instead of paper or plastic are the wave of the future. Here are two more, designed with foodies in mind.

The Dallas Farmers Market has a colorful, shallow-and-wide tote with the farmers market name on it and mesh panels. Neat, for $20. I saw it at Koster-Pastabilities next to El Mercado.

Whole Foods Market is selling a dual-purpose tote. First, it's a tote for a cause: The purchase price of each Feed 100 bag provides 100 school lunches to needy children in Rwanda. What's also nifty is the way it looks like a small burlap clutch, which unzips to reveal the all-cotton tote. The outside of the clutch becomes, a la Transformer, the bottom of the tote. Way cool for $29.99. (Then again, getting it back inside is kind of like repacking a parachute.)

Hey, gang, we're launching a new dining feature to spotlight Dallas-Fort Worth's best restaurants.

Every two weeks, we'll present a list of top restaurants in one category (ranging from burgers to Thai and late-night joints to ice cream shops) selected by our squadron of dining critics. We're kicking it off with - what else in Dallas? - steakhouses.

But, as has become the tradition during the Eats blog's inaugural year, we're looking for your opinion, too. So let's hear it: What chophouse most sets your carnivorous heart atwitter?

Post your picks and feedback here. Or e-mail dining@dallasnews.com. We'll publish some of these comments in a print version, which will appear in a future issue of Guide.

Click the link below to read our picks.

Imagine consuming 66 hot dogs in Wonder Bread hot-dog buns. Well, Joey Chestnut can do it. In 12 minutes, yet.

He's the current champion in the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition. And now Nathan's is looking for challengers in a regional qualifying round, to be held June 21 at Sam's Club, 1200 E. Spring Creek Pkway. in Plano.

You must be 18 or older to compete, and you must enter in advance, online. Regional winners will compete with Joey C. for the national title on July 4th, in Coney Island. Prize: the coveted Yellow Mustard Belt. (And, we imagine, a major bout with indigestion.)

Dallasite Lisa Garza, who's a contestant on The Next Food Network Star, will appear at Williams-Sonoma in Highland Park Village on Saturday, May 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. She will do cooking demos, and there also will be food samplings.

Lisa's a designer, and also the wife of Gilbert Garza, co-owner of Suze.