EATS

The Obamas held their first state dinner last night, with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur as the guests of honor and chef Marcus Samuelson (chef/co-owner of Aquavit in New York) as guest chef.

Reportedly on the menu were potato and eggplant salad with White House-grown arugula and onion seed vinaigrette; red lentil soup with fresh cheese; roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney, chick peas and okra or green curry prawns with caramelized salsify, smoked collard greens and coconut aged basmati. (Singh is a vegetarian). Dessert was pear tatin and pumpkin pie tart with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

Aquavit is a Scandanavian restaurant, and Samuelson, who grew up in Sweden, was born in Ethiopia. Samuelson has shown in his cookbooks that he loves to mix it up on the plate, and his latest cookbook, just published this month, is a celebration of the way Americans cook today -- a touch of Thailand, a dash of Italy, a dollop of Turkey -- stirred up with a little flair from the American South. I heard Samuelsson interviewed on American Public Media's "The Splendid Table" a few days ago, and he characterized American cooking as more like a salad than a melting pot.

Fittingly, his book is called "New American Table." I haven't cooked from it yet, but it's pretty delicious-looking and would make a terrific holiday gift. Or you might want to keep it for yourself and cook up some pumpkin seed aioli, persmimmon salad with sesame seed vinaigrette, coffee-cured duck salad with cranberry vinaigrette, meatballs with grape and pearl onion ragu or, huh? pickled herring hot dogs!

Do you have it? Do you want it? Have you cooked from it?

"New American Table" by Marcus Samuelsson, Wiley, $40

That's what the headline calls it in a Metro story by Eric Aasen about how plumbers clean up, literally and figuratively, on Thanksgiving because of what people put down their garbage disposals.

The take-away message in this yucky turkey talk:

• Don't pour fats or cooking oils down drains. They solidify. Wipe grease from pans with paper towels and throw them away.


• Don't throw stringy, fibrous or starchy waste down the disposal, such as chicken skin, celery or potato skins. Your disposal can't grind them up sufficiently.


• Make sure the disposal is running when you put food in it, and run it with warm water on.

My plumber offers an additional tip if you're the occupant of a second-story condo or apartment: After the disposal has done its thing, keep the water running a few minutes to flush the waste all the way to the main line.

Karen Robinson-Jacobs had a neat story in the Business section of the Dallas Morning News about how grocers are lowering their prices even more on turkeys this year. Turkeys, it seems, are always loss leaders. But retailers have lowered prices and curtailed the restrictions on "deals" more than ever in hopes you'll buy more of the trimmings.

Her story details how stores are playing "how low can you go?" to lure shoppers in. Check it out here. Have lower turkey prices or deals prompted you to shop differently?

Last year, if memory serves, the container with the fig balls from Calabria (right) was on a s-l-o-w boat from Italy and didn't make it into port, and overland to Flavors From Afar, till after the holidays. This year, the fig balls and 50 other new Italian products arrive at the Snider Plaza store Dec. 5. Sample and shop from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Here's what co-owner Nancy Krabill writes about the figs (which I've had, which are addictive): "The figs are slow roasted in ovens, and then rolled in fig leaves, shaped like the surprise balls you had as a kid. The balls can only be made in the fall, after the fig harvest (obviously), but while the leaves are still supple so they can roll around the goodies inside. And they are indeed "hand made"; notice that they exactly fit the maker's hand. Unwrap the package, and you have individually roasted figs to eat alone as a sweet treat, to nestle against some gorgonzola, to eat with breakfast bread...it's a beautiful display and a tasty product."

The store has a 20-percent-off sale going on through Monday, so you can beat Black Friday. On Saturday between noon and 4 p.m., meet local farmers Caroline and Allen Fruth from East Texas, who raise cows, goats and chickens. You can also place an advance order for some of their eggs, goat butter and meats here.

Photo courtesy of Flavors From Afar

The next day, not bright (it was still raining) and not early, we headed east from Bryan on TX-30 to Huntsville. I've rarely been as excited as when we arrived at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church BBQ for lunch. The barbecue place is just to the left of the church, and the smoker's right out front, the oak logs smoldering away just before the front door. What a fantastic smell.

What followed was even better. We chose 3-meat plates: I got beef, ribs and sausage; my husband got beef, ribs and chicken. With sides (potato salad, pinto beans, pickles and bread), those big, incredible plates were $11.50 each -- fifty cents less than a cup of tea at the Inn at Dos Brisas!

Oh, my goodness. It's true that I'm a newcomer to the state of Texas, but this was by far the best barbecue I've had in my life. The brisket was incredibly tender but not fatty, with superb smoky flavor and fabulous texture. Outstanding. The ribs, big meaty ones, offered just the right resistance to the tooth -- outrageously good. I even loved the sausage -- a little spicy, with perfect snap. The plate came with sauce spooned around -- not too much of it, and parts of the meat were left au naturel, so you could really taste it. The sauce was excellent, too -- gently spicy, nicely tangy; not too sweet. The chicken was pretty great as well: incredibly moist, super smoky.

But that brisket....What a dream. The folks serving it up and manning the barbecue were warm and friendly. Worth a detour? Certainly. Worth a trip? I'd say so.

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 2601 Montgomery Road, Huntsville; 936-294-0884
Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Well, it didn't seem like great weather for a road trip when we hit the road heading south over the weekend, but the grey skies actually made the lovely rolling hills of Brazos Valley look vividly green and lush.

With the LaSalle Hotel in historic downtown Bryan as our base, we lit out for two dining adventures.

First was dinner at The Inn at Dos Brisas just outside Washington. We arrived after dark, so didn't get a sense of the Relais & Chateaux property (the only one in Texas; it's also the only restaurant in the state with a Mobil 5-star rating). After the GPS took us on a wild ride about 15 minutes longer than it should have been -- on pitch-black country roads, some of them unpaved -- we would have loved to slow down and have an aperitif in that gorgeous bar once we arrived. But we were whisked into the very grand-looking dining room, with its huge, crackling-warm fireplace, already decorated for Christmas. Hm -- not sure what the rush was -- save for one couple, the place was empty.

Four menus were offered -- a Chef's Fall Seasonal Menu (3 courses for $85 per person, plus an optional $15 cheese course and supplements on several dishes); the Chef's Vegetable Collection (an 8-course vegetarian tasting menu for $125 per person), a Fall Prix Fixe Menu (3 courses for $59), and the one we chose, the Chef's Grand Collection.

A national research firm is looking for wine drinkers in the Dallas area to participate in a focus group in Addison. The dates are Dec. 3-4 and the times are 11 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:45 p.m. or 7 p.m. (slightly different on the 4th). Participants will be paid $125 at the end of the sessions, which run 75 minutes.

These aren't tastings; the researchers want your input and opinions. They could be researching anything from brand-name recognition to your impressions of a particular varietal or region.

They're looking for people 21 to 65. If you'd like to participate, fill out the online survey here. If it looks like you might qualify, someone will call you within the next week. And if you have questions, you can call Eden Parker at 303-341-0886.

What makes Local's the perfect butternut ravioli? It starts with a vibrant, pureed filling, which is wrapped in the most delicate pasta, then cooked just to al dente.

Local chef-owner Tracy Miller sauced it with light butter-sage, something like a restrained hollandaise, then dropped on a handful of tiny, salty chunks of pancetta and a handful of baby spinach leaves. Butternut ravioli really doesn't get much better (unless, of course, you know of one that does). It's an appetizer, but could easily pass as a small entree.

From Local, our party made a dessert stop at Samar, which was busy, but not too, at 10:30 p.m. We enjoyed drinks and wickedly strong Turkish coffee pots de creme around the under-lit onyx bar. We could also smell the sweet, fruity smoke of the hookahs as we passed by the outside patio and fire pit. Chef-owner Stephan Pyles popped in as we were leaving. I think he stays fit running between his two Ross Avenue restaurants.

Sunday is the last day to place an order with Abacus for Thanksgiving dinner dishes. But if you'd like to see a demo of Kent Rathbun's Thanksgiving menu, he's preparing it Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Jasper's. Maybe you'll be tempted to make use of the recipes for your own turkey day.

It's $75 plus tax and 20 percent gratuity per person; reservations are required; call Jamie Carey at 972-673-0823. Here's a link to the Web site where you can find his Thanksgiving recipes under the "recipe" tab.

I met Australian winemaker Chris Ringland at Urbano Cafe last week to taste through some of his wines and get him some decent food during his whirlwind promotional tour. But a little peace and quiet? No way.

Wednesday is pretty much party night for the boisterous BYOB crowd. The tiny place was packed, every seat at every table filled. And because Urbano Cafe is so small - perhaps a dozen tables - you can't help but be on top of your neighbor. As Chris said at one point, "If you turned the lights down, you could imagine you're in New York."

While owners Mitch and Kristen Kauffman and staff were busily shuttling food and plates back and forth, every table was uncorking. Some guys even brought their own stemware. At one point, a fellow reached over to pour Chateau Mouton '82 into our glasses. Meanwhile, we were sharing Chris' Chateau Chateau wines, whose labels are designed by Istvan Orosz, one of M.C. Escher's last pupils.

One was the 2007 Skulls (pictured), a spicy, unoaked number blending mourvedre and grenache. It teases the tip of your tongue with fruit, then flips to dry and minerally. We were loving it with quail stuffed with toasted pecans, feta and pancetta. It was also good with the mushroom risotto and veal chop. (Sigel's is a good source for his wines, although other places, such as Central Market, carry them, too.)

How crazy-noisy was it? The Mozzarella Co.'s Paula Lambert and I were sitting back-to-back and not until well into our entrees did we realize each other was there. But it was a great opportunity to introduce Chris to the cheesemaker for the hoja-santa-wrapped goat cheese he'd tasted last summer. Fascinated with the native Southwest ingredient, he had written about it in his trip journal. Wonder what he wrote about his dinner at Cafe Urbano.

It's a rainy Friday morning, and I wish I were at Smoke eating breakfast instead of sitting at my desk.

But since I'm not, I thought I'd just run through a few more things I loved and didn't love about the new place at the Belmont Hotel, where Tim Byres is chef.

LOVED: The bread and butter pickles. Especially the cucumber ones. I think they're the best I've ever tasted. I could eat them all day long, even this early in the morning.

DIDN'T LOVE: The back room on a Friday night. There's a tournament-quality (according to one of the waiters) pool table back there, but the people playing pool were screaming and laughing so loud we had to shout across the table to hear each other.

LOVED: The configuration of the bar. It's kind of pointed, and arranged so there's plenty of space to sit or stand and have a drink if there's a long wait. The staff actually seems to care about people who are waiting for a table.

On Thanksgiving day, when you've had about as much turkey, stuffing and family chit chat as you can take, there's an outlet. Nearly all TGI Friday's will open up late in the afternoon on turkey day, for the first time in more than 10 years. Read more about it here.

That stands for Spiceman's Absolutely Unusual Culinary Extravaganza. And it takes place Saturday at FM 1410.

Tom "Spiceman" Spicer plans to have cooking classes and demos all day starting at 10:30 a.m. This will include wild mushroom paella cooked by the Spiceman over a bonfire. Someone will also be making duck and andouille gumbo.

Spiceman says, "Come dine, bring yo' wine and ...loose (sic) yo mind at Spiceman's Gumbo 'n da Garden."

For the uninitiated, Spicer is the city's most unusual and eclectic produce broker. He's big on local (he's harvesting greens), brings in gorgeous stuff from Louisiana (Satsumas, Meyer lemons) and helps chefs find hard-to-get produce from elsewhere (wild and cultivated 'shrooms).

FM 1410 is his storefront, where does business (anyone can buy any amount), plays his kalimbass (kalimba + bass) and farms his urban garden out back. The store is at 1410 Fitzhugh, in the block toward Central from Jimmy's Food Store at Bryan and Fitzhugh.

Australian winemaker Chris Ringland is in town, selling new releases and pouring samples. It's one of those dizzying, "if-it's-6 p.m.-we-must-be-at-Central-Market" kinds of promotional tours.

Ringland makes wine in a partnership arrangement with Dan Phillips of Grateful Palate, an importer of big-hair Australian wines so fat and juicy that Phillips handed out toothbrushes one year as a promo item.

Sigel's has enjoyed something akin to "favored nation status" with Grateful Palate, although the wines are not sold exclusively with the retailer. Ringland will be at the Old Town store (5757 Greenville) from 5 to 7 this evening, not only with some spiffy new releases (available as pre-orders, coming in December), but a handful of his most exclusive, small-production wines.

These include R Wines Anamorphosis Shiraz 2005, Evil Incarnate Shiraz 2004 and The Wine Shiraz 2004. All score in the high 90s with wine reviewers. How rare will they be in Texas? The state gets 52 bottles of the Anamorphosis, 45 three-paks of the Evil and 22 six-packs of The Wine.

Another of Ringland's finest wines, Longitude won't be open for sampling, but will be available for pre-order. (It arrives in January.) 500 bottles allocated to Texas; SRP is $1,000. The Wine Advocate gave this wine 100 points.

Do the folks at Sigel's a favor and RSVP for the free tasting event at 214-739-4012.

For this week's review, restaurant critic Leslie Brenner visited Smoke, the new restaurant at Dallas' Belmont Hotel. Do let us know what you think!

Smoke
• Read and comment on the review
• Leave your own review of Smoke

Photo of Smoke chef Tim Byres by Matt Nager/Special to DMN

It's time for an open house. Come on by and sample holiday specialty items and regular menu fare at Eat the World in its new location from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday. I wrote about the cafe/prepared foods store in a previous post.

If you're having overnight company on Thanksgiving, for example (the better to get a head start on Black Friday shopping), ETW's savory breakfast bread pudding sounds like a hearty day-starter. Owner Toby O'Brien also carries several Cajun-leaning dishes, such as boudin-stuffed chicken. This is the op to taste before you buy.

Eat the World is in the strip center at Royal and Abrams (northeast corner) behind the Starbucks. The last time I was there, O'Brien hadn't gotten his sign up. 'Hope it's there now.

Chalk it up to primal instincts, but Dallas dining has become a meat-and-greet this fall. From two glitzy new steakhouses and one hipster smokehouse, to an indie downtown barbecue joint, there's a beast for every bent.

Photos by Brandon Thibodeaux: (Top) Dr. Bell's BBQ: No appointment required and (bottom) buttery cracked-pepper prime strip from Bailey's Prime Plus.

One of the Daily Beast's top stories today is a photo gallery about the hottest restaurants around the country, and Samar by Stephan Pyles is one of them.

Go, Big D!

Photo of the bar at Samar by Kyle R. Lee/DMN

I know, I know...it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. But reader Liz Perez, who will celebrate her 40th birthday on Christmas, has her entire family coming and is looking for somewhere wonderful to take them for Christmas dinner.

The DMN's Bindu Varghese will be putting together a roundup of restaurants serving Christmas dinner -- look for a blog post with a link to it on or around Dec. 11. But in the meantime, are there restaurants or hotels where you've been wowed by the Christmas dinner? Do tell!

Like many chefs, Kent Rathbun (Abacus, Jasper's, Blue Plate) is offering Thanksgiving dinner fixin's to go, starting with hickory-roasted turkey with green chile-red-eye gravy. He's also making a leg of lamb, chunky garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with candied pecans, scallion sweet-corn pudding - you get the idea. You order at www.kentrathbun.com and pay through Paypal (no account needed).

But here's Rathbun's cool twist: You can access most of the recipes on the same Web site under the "recipe" pull-down. The sides and leg of lamb are the same; only the smoke-roasted turkey is missing. Click on the holiday recipe archive to unearth the green-chile-red-eye gravy. The cost for Rathbun's recipes? Zip. Zero. Nada. Enjoy.