Eat This: Rover Nuts at Irish Rover Pub

How appropriate that our beloved colleague Alice Laussade was nominated for a James Beard award for her story on State Fair fried foods. We Texans love to fry things, especially potatoes. And since it's quite difficult to get good French fries in our fair city, why not try frying mashed potatoes instead? Why not indeed. Irish Rover Pub, part of the burgeoning Celtic migration to our Northern suburbs, has concocted a beer-friendly appetizer of mashed potatoes, cheese, onions, bacon bits, and jalapenos rolled in bread crumbs and fried to a tasty golden brown. These munchworthy morsels pair wonderfully with a hearty brew such as the M & M (Murphy's Red blended with Murphy's Stout), served in a true ale-lovers 20-ounce size. (At Rover, the pint is the smaller of the two draft sizes served, a most welcome trend.) Giving new meaning to the term "beer nuts," these delectibles are best enjoyed with an evening of trivia, conversation, or a great band such as the Rumble Kings. Trust me, you'll go nuts for them.



IRISH ROVER PUB

8250 Gaylord Parkway

Frisco, Texas

214 618-6222

Eat This: Cedars Signature Griller at Cedars Woodfire Grill

Grilling brings out something primal in our Texan nature, best exemplified by the playful title of Bobby Flays book, Boy Meets Grill. (Yes, I know The Redheaded One is from The Big Apple, however he earned Honorary Texan status by marrying a Lone Star gal. From Big D, no less.) Speaking of which, it seems that Woodfire Grill establishments of one sort or another are springing up like ground hogs after a rainstorm hereabouts. But while Kennys and Zea Woodfire Grills are full-fledged restaurants, it would be nice if there were a fast casual place that did the same sort of thing, i.e. healthy grilling over a wood fire. Well, Cedars Woodfire Grill has just opened at the burgeoning intersection of Midway and Park and features woodfire grilling, but in a fast casual setting. Cedars offers bowls and salads featuring grilled meats, but also sandwiches such as the Signature Griller. Merely choose your protein from chicken, salad, steak, or baby Portobello and Cedars will grill it on rustica bread and add tomato, lettuce, grilled red onion, applewood smoked bacon, Cheddar cheese, and their own tangy, slightly sweet BBQ sauce. The steak is super tender and juicy because its grilled medium unless you request otherwise. Sided with good pita chips, Cedars Signature Griller is good enough to make even Bobby Flay forsake his gal for his grill, if only to make one for her as well. Such a gentleman!

CEDARS WOODFIRE GRILL

6509 W. Park Blvd.

Plano, TX

972 378-1222

Eat This: The Italian Sandwich at Lone Star Coffee Bar

Today’s coffee bars serve more than java and jive. Now, breakfast, lunch, and even beer and wine service are offered in the hopes that customers will linger on into the afternoon and evening. One such place is Lone Star Coffee Bar, which in addition to serving genuine French Press coffee, adds breakfast tacos, baked goods, and sandwiches to the menu. Featured wiches include Club Panini, Turkey & Swiss, and the Italian, a mélange of meats and cheeses that would make Mussolini or Marlon Brando proud. All in a slender, storefront setting which includes plenty of comfy couches, chairs, and even a fireplace should you wish to linger. Currently, Lone Star is BYOB, yet they soon plan to offer Texas beers and wines so that you can get there for breakfast, spend the day surfing with free WIFI, and have enough libations to make sure you jump, jive, and wail your way well into the evening.

LONE STAR COFFEE BAR

6800 Windhaven Pkwy, #105

The Colony, TX

972 306-4555

Eat This: Orecchietta Pasta at Fino's Italian Bistro

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” So begins the famous Marc Antony speech memorized by many a high school speech, drama, or English student back in the day, and immortalized by Marlon Brando in the infamous 1953 movie Julius Caesar. In modern Italian cooking terms, orecchietta is a home-made pasta from the Apulia region which is shaped to resemble a small ear. At Fino’s Italian Bistro, one of chef Alfredo’s favorite dishes to prepare is Orecchietta with spicy Italian sausage, broccoli, zucchini, and parmesan cheese in tomato sauce. If you cock your ear close to the plate, you just might catch a few strands of Shakespeare’s immortal verse. In any case, grab every friend and countryman and all the Romans you can find and head to this neighborhood gem for a pasta feast.

WINES THAT ROCK: SYNCHRONICITY IN A GLASS

Most people associate rock and rock with beer chugging or whiskey drinking, but it’s no secret that a lot of rockers are turning to wine as their tipple of choice. Inevitably, a winemaker would pick up on this relationship and start his own line of wines featuring classic rock themes. Well, winemaker Mark Beaman has done just that by partnering with Mendocino Wine Company and producing Wines That Rock. Each wine in the series is based on a classic rock theme or band, such as Woodstock Chardonnay, Rolling Stones Forty Licks Merlot, and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon Cabernet Sauvignon. Recently, The Police’s Synchronicity was debuted in New York at the Food Network’s Wine and Food Festival. Besides winning competition awards, Wines That Rock has received Governor’s Environmental Awards from the State of California for their eco-friendly practices. Also, a portion of the proceeds from each sale goes to benefit Cancer, AIDS, and Leukemia Research.

Bottle art connoisseurs will surely want to collect Wines That Rock, for the company spares no expense with the label. Each bottle of Synchronicity is adorned with the album’s artwork, and collectors will want to get a couple of bottles, one to sample and one to save.

Synchronicity, naturally, is a blend, and the combination of Carignane, Zinfandel, Syrah, Petit Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier makes for a deep burgundy color. The nose is slightly floral, with currants and vanilla, and a whiff of strawberries. Plum hits your palate first, then berries, then some citrus notes, and the wine finally finishes with full-on raspberries. This wine would pair with all manner of light red meat dishes, some hearty pastas and salads, and (perfect for a rockin’ wine) pizza. Needless to say, listening to the album Synchronicity while quaffing is recommended, since that way you can best experience the “shimmering surfaces and glacial shadows” of the music that Beaman tried to incorporate into every bottle.

BOTTLE BATTLE: CHILEAN SAUVIGNON BLANCS

When most novice tipplers first hear the term sauvignon blanc, which means “wild white” in French, they often believe that it must be similar to white zinfandel, which is a rose wine made from red grapes. In fact , this varietal is one of the proud parents of cabernet sauvignon, having been crossed with cabernet franc back in the 18^th century. It is the premier white grape of Bordeaux, where its bone-dry finish has proved to be a perfect match for seafood for many years. Since this varietal needs warmth without oppressive heat to truly flourish, it does well in maritime climates such as California and New Zealand.

Valparaiso, located on Chile’s Central Coast, has a similar climate and thus has established itself as ground zero for sauvignon blanc in South America. Chilean sauvignon blancs tend to be more similar to those of Bordeaux than, say, those of New Zealand, where the blancs are known for higher levels of acidity and the famous “grassy” or asparagus taste noticed by many drinkers.

Two of the leading wine producers in Chile are Santa Rita and Concha y Toro. Therefore, I thought that a tasteoff between sauvignon blancs of these two behemoths might be in order.

First up was the Santa Rita 120, so named to honor 120 freedom fighters who took refuge in the cellars after an exhausting battle for Chilean independence. Santa Rita’s sauvignon sports a light greenish-gold color, and an abundance of nectarine and tropical fruits and flowers on the nose. The finish Is long and bright, and there are plenty of grapefruit flavors on the palate. A delightful, summery picnic wine and wonderfully easy on the pocketbook as well.

Next was the Concha y Toro blanc, marketed under the Casillero del Diablo name and priced just a few dollars more. (Chilean wines, like their Argentine counterparts, represent wonderful value.) The color was much paler, but the nose and taste were more delightfully complex, not only plenty of grapefruit and citrus, but also lime, with a nice finish of minerals, Bordeaux style. This blanc was meant to be paired with food, and I enjoyed the rest of my tasting with a small bowl of tomato chicken curry. Both blancs, I suspect, would do justice to all manner of seafood and most spicy eats as well.

In sum, while I enjoyed Santa Rita 120 Sauvignon Blanc as an inexpensive summer quaff, I give the nod to Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo for its mineral complexity and better pairing possibilities.

FOOD CZAR REVIEW #63: MAMA PITA'S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL

Once limited to burgers, tacos, and chicken, the diner-on-the-go has more choices available these days than just going through the nearest drive-thru. Fast casual is still one of the hottest new segments of the restaurant game, with sub sandwich shops, delis, and build-your-own burrito places racking up impressive business. Even Asian food has entered the fray with places such as Pei-Wei and Roti Grill. Now, Mama Pita Mediterranean Grill has joined the battle as well, promising fresh ingredients assembled into a tasty feast right before your very eyes.

The Shops at Legacy can sometimes be daunting to navigate, yet Mama Pita is easy to find, clearly marked and located on Legacy Drive itself just East of the Tollway. The décor of this box features dark woods, bricks, and photos depicting everyday life in the Mediterranean. Merely make your way to the back, where your smiling hostess stands at the Chipotle-style assembly counter ready to tell you how Mama Pita works.

Basically, there are four different styles of meals at various price points, and each meal contains two or more categories of eats: salads, dips, mains and sides. Prices start at $6.95 for a simple Pita Wrap, progressing all the way up to $9.90 for the Combo Platter with shrimp. At these prices, I decided that I could easily afford to try a little bit of everything, so I splurged for the Combo Platter. My sprawling salad was Fattouch, which combined lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers with a deft touch of pomegranate molasses, and a sumptuous olive and lemon dressing crowned with toasted pita chips. A little heavy on the dressing, but this salad sported good, fresh produce and was a sign of things to come. My dip was Mama’s Homemade Garlic Paste, which was intensely flavored garlic overload and was a great accompaniment to the other dishes when used sparingly. I chose Kafta and Falafel for my mains, and these were a bit disappointing: The Kafta, grilled minced lamb and beef, was slightly underdone and definitely underseasoned (my garlic dip came in handy here), but the Falafel was better, two crispy pucks of garbanzo and minced fava beans, nicely spiced indeed. Both mains were on the smallish side, but I sure couldn’t quibble about the price. Mama’s Patatas proved to be the star of my platter, wonderfully crisp potato bits seasoned with parsley and spices, and better than three-fourths of the French Fries you can get around town. Finally, I had asked for a pita to wrap my ingredients, and these proved to be quite tasty and large, the size and shape of your basic manhole cover.

The serving ladies at the counter were quite cheerful and eager to explain the process, and they did a wonderful job of speeding me through the line without feeling rushed. In short, Mama Pita is no Café Istanbul, but with low prices, quick service, and fresh food, they present quite an intriguing alternative to the burgers, tacos, and chicken joints that make up the usual fast options.