REVIEW BY CHRISTOPHER

This one is for any and all beer lovers out there. I am currently working through my first year brewing beers at home – Megan’s parents’ home to be exact. Luckily for all of us, you won’t need to be in Dallas to get this treat going. You will, however, need patience, perseverance, and a few key ingredients. I won’t be going into tedious detail here, so learn the basics here with me today and investigate at your leisure!

Beer is comprised of water, starch, sugars, yeast, and hops. On top of that, brewers infuse their beers with all kinds of ingredients such as fruits, cacao nibs, wood, and herbs. When you really home-brew from start to finish, you enact the very same procedure used by breweries around the world in your own kitchen. Typical home brews range from 1 gallon to 5 gallons, and all of the ingredients can be found in home-brew stores and online. To date, I have brewed a double chocolate stout, a toasted coconut porter, and most recently, an apricot German wheat.

We took a bit of a shortcut on this most recent brew. If brewing from scratch to finish, brewers must combine all starchy ingredients – the grain mixture – into a mash to be rinsed a few times over to get all of the sugary goodness out so that the yeast can convert it into alcohol. The shortcut we took was to purchase prepared malt syrup by Thomas Cooper, an Australian brewing company that dates back to 1862. After boiling up about 3 gallons of water to the desired temperature, we poured in 3 pounds of dry malt extract, added in our sweet syrup shortly after, and brewed away!

During boiling, the brewer really has the control over the direction the recipe goes. We were going for a dark and flavorful mash, and really tried to concentrate our ingredients. All-in, about 25% extra malt was used, and about 50% more hops. Hops come in many types, classified by region of origin, or more generally as aromatic and bittering hops. With all ingredients combined, we added one more to top it all off: BrewVint Alcohol Boost. After adding alcohol boost, depending on how much beer you’ve got brewing, you may add one to a few percent alcohol content to your final product. I call it turbo beer.

Following the brewing process, you add yeast, seal your sanitary fermenter up, and the waiting begins. This is where the real magic happens. Within 48 hours, the yeast cells should be processing sugars and turning them into the alcohol you will enjoy 1 to 2 months in the future. If all goes well, the beer will be well worth the wait. Perhaps I will check in with everyone by hosting a few friends to drink my latest concoction, and tell you all about it!

PHOTOS BY MEGAN ELIZABETH MARTINEZ
REVIEW BY CHRISTOPHER

With this post, we break into the Top 5 or Dallas’s Top 100 Restaurants. Oak, situated in the ever-intriguing Design District, is ranked number 3 on the list; after having eaten there, I think it should be moved to 1 ^st place. Admittedly, I have not tried the top 2 yet, so we will see what happens. Oak is another restaurant describing its fare with the increasingly popular title, “New American.” For this reason, I am proud to be an American. The meal, aside from being served by a wonderfully kind and well-mannered waiter, was one of the most delicious I’ve ever had. We were so satisfied, we did not even bother to enjoy the neighborhood after leaving; it was more than enough to just go home…and sleep.

Megan and I sat for a while and simply took in the atmosphere. The interior of Oak features décor that may be expected in a lavish mansion, and some that may appear in a warehouse. There is no attempt to distract anyone with ornate wallpaper or intricately-patterned table cloths. The ceilings are an open concept, and the floor plan leaves every seat, and smiling face (save for the reserved private dining areas), in sight. To follow up our initial impression, we placed an order for an appetizer, and grabbed a few drinks to ease in. My beverage was called Mighty Oak, and that it was. Whiskey is nearly always a winner for me. I may as well have been drinking it in the woods. The beverage had a generous helping of George Dickel Rye Whiskey, followed by a strong ginger bite, a tangy lemon twist, and mint…just to confuse your taste buds. Just as we had taken our first sips, our appetizer arrived.

You should probably avoid the gnocchi when you visit Oak; I only recommend this because you may not ever be satisfied with a gnocchi dish ever again, unless you find yourself back at Oak. Lets start with the ingredients: gnocchi, jumbo lump crab, squash blossom, and smoked trout roe. The gnocchi itself was soft enough that chewing was entirely unnecessary. The trout roe added to each bite numerous bursts of flavor that added not only flavor and texture, but also personality and variety to each bite; they broke apart with nothing more than the press of a tongue. To balance this intense flavor, I ordered a more gently-flavored Arctic Char – the delicate and light-flavored cousin of salmon. The char sat on a bed of maitake mushrooms and english peas, to which I am certainly never opposed; gotta love greens and earthy flavors. Surrounded by the light greens, the rosy-orange hues of the char stood out beautifully on the plate. Remember, when you visit a restaurant like Oak, you’re paying for more than just the food itself.

Anyone looking for a sweeter dish would do well with what Megan ordered for the evening: the Slow Cooked Berkshire Short Rib. These pork ribs are coated in their own caramelized jus, black garlic, and smooth cooked Texas peach. We couldn’t do without veggies entirely, so tossed about the ribs were fresh and brightly-colored waxbeans. She didn’t finish, so I got to enjoy a bit of both meals at Oak (this was not the first and certainly won’t be the last time).

We were so fully satisfied with our meal that we just could not have dessert, for fear of becoming uncomfortably full. The next time you’re in the Dallas Design District, set a good block of time aside to enjoy yourself, and head inside. Oak is a great restaurant to visit in celebration of a special occasion; it certainly isn’t a place you will visit every weekend…unless you can afford that, in which case, give me a call so I can join you! I look forward to spending another special occasion someday at Oak.

PHOTOS BY MEGAN ELIZABETH MARTINEZ
REVIEW BY CHRISTOPHER

Dallas is taking strongly to Neopolitan pizza of late, with numerous restaurants offering the tasty treat in many forms. Il Cane Rosso and Fireside Pies are heavy competitors on the scene that have been home-grown. Recently, Pizzeria Testa made itself a home within the growing Frisco Square to join the club of pizza makers inviting high expectations of its visitors. Situated in one of the fastest growing areas of one of the fastest growing cities in the country, Pizzeria Testa is sure to see business, happy faces, and full stomachs flowing through the doors in no time. I stopped in for lunch with my buddy, Luke, one recent afternoon, and suggest you grab a friend with whom you can do the same!

Off the bat, Pizzeria Testa looked a bit familiar to these other pizza restaurants popping up in the area, such as Cane Rosso, which I’ve written about last month. Industrial style lighting offers a warm glow to pair with the warm feeling provided by the large wood-burning ovens behind the counter. No secrets here: anyone can sit up at the bar and watch these chefs engage in their craft. Don’t blink when they toss the pizza in the oven though; you’ll miss the whole thing!

To achieve the wonderfully complex consistency seen here in the dough, the pizza is cooked very near the fire for just shy of a couple of minutes. Aside from being excited for not having to wait long for my food, the dough begs for support as it Wiltshire beneath the weight of four cheeses on my Quattro Formaggi personal pizza. I am happy to oblige. Conveniently spaced burnt bubbles of dough offer occasional smokey flavors only obtained from true wood fire. Of course, I had to grab a bite…or many…before taking a photo, so you will have to visit to see a whole pizza. The salad was a nice touch to start out a pleasant lunch as well. For me, it feels more authentic of a restaurant to complete the lunch combo with the green selections.

I may have skipped dessert, but I just started a vacation, so that option was off the table. This was similar to, though lighter than, the dessert pizza ordered at Cane Rosso. Simple and sweet, these dough puffs were coated within, then drizzled with nutella, and paired with sliced strawberries to provide cool, sweet, juice to offset the warmth of the pastry. Well done, I say.

Be sure to head in before Frisco Square fills up! Apartments are going up left and right, so you just may be looking at a long wait if you don’t try it now. Check another tasty neopolitan pizza off the list. Having come from New York style pizza (which I so greatly enjoy), I am in danger of becoming a convert if Dallas keeps offering me pizza this good. You can all decide for yourselves!

REVIEW BY CHRISTOPHER
PHOTOS BY MEGAN ELIZABETH MARTINEZ

Going strong into another weekend, I crossed another D Magazine Top 100 restaurant off the list. Maple & Motor, one of the most famous burger joints in town, lay victim to my, and Megan’s, hunger. The restaurant sits just outside the heart of the Dallas Medical District, with competition nowhere in sight.

Unfortunately, the competition is nowhere in sight only because Hopdoddy, Square Burger, and Twisted Root are a few miles away. I’ll give it to the owners of Maple & Motor, though; they created a diner with no frills, no pretentious attitude, no fancy burger nicknames, and it’s not half bad.

I asked the woman behind the register what her favorite item on the menu was. True to form for this no-nonsense burger joint, she said it was the cheeseburger. This was the most inspiring moment of the visit. Maple and Motor needs nothing more than the food itself to win you over. I made one change to the burger; I had to have it with bacon. Megan made the same addition to her grilled cheese sandwich. To add to our main dishes, we requested fries, and house-fried, thick-cut, potato chips. That little bucket of sweet goodness in the photo is called a Gob. It’s essentially a super-thick buttery, flaky, cookie with a buttercream filling. Heart attack inducing? Maybe. Delicious? Mmmmmhmm.

Soon enough, out came some seriously generous portions soon to be devoured. This really was a true rendition of an evening meal in a diner. The cheeseburger was juicy, cooked medium rare, and the bacon crisp. Keeping big in Texas style, the grilled cheese arrived between two massive slices of Texas Toast. My favorite part of this meal was probably the house chips. Most people can make a batch of fries, but few can find that thickness in a chip that creates a true chomp and keeps one from stuffing ten into one bite. Honest props for that.

Overall, Maple & Motor coasted through our taste buds in comfortable style. Like I mentioned, I have tried some burgers elsewhere that I enjoyed more for their creativity. For $25, I suggest visiting one of the aforementioned restaurants and asking for a burger that may have a fancy name, but will definitely provide something new. This time, though, thanks to the good food, colorful decor, and very kind treatment from the Maple & Motor Staff, they have solidified a special place in my stomach.