Back Talk Oak Cliff

This weekend: Blues, JFK and vegan holiday cooking

For two nights in a row this weekend, neighborhood band Bona Fide Blues will be performing at neighborhood restaurants. Catch the boys at Eno's on Friday night at 9:30 p.m., and at Jack's Backyard and Chill Grill Saturday at 9 p.m.

On Saturday night at 7 p.m., commemorate the 45th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination by heading to the Texas Theater to watch Oliver Stone's "JFK". (Same guy who did the recent "W" movie, but totally different presidents.) Your $5 admission benefits the Oak Cliff Foundation's efforts to restore the theater.

"So you bought your Tofurky, now what?" That's the line Spiral Diner is using to market its "How to Prepare a Holiday Meal" cooking class on Monday, Nov. 24, 7-9 p.m. The 2-hour class costs $40 per person, and includes step-by-step instructions on how to make vegan holiday dishes, plus you get to sample all of them. Sign up at the restaurant or by calling 214.948.4747.

Belmont Hotel partners with Bunkhouse Management for facelift

Watching the sunset at Bar Belmont is about to get even better.

So says Bunkhouse Management, an Austin-based hotel management and ownership company that recently partnered with the Belmont Hotel. Other Bunkhouse properties are boutique hotels in Austin —  Hotel San Jose and Hotel Saint Cecilia.

Kevin Osterhaus, Bunkhouse vice president of operations, says his company approached the Belmont asking to work with its team to enhance their offerings and grow their business, and Bunkhouse employees have been in Dallas since July putting together a conceptual plan to evaluate the hotel's services and amenities. "Obviously, the Belmont is a wonderful staple of that  community," says Osterhaus, a former Dallas resident. "We love what Belmont owners have done to make it part of the Oak Cliff community."

The goal, he says, is to improve on what is already there, starting with the bar.

Council subcommittee considers a smoking ban in bars, billiard halls

A city council subcommittee is considering expanding the city's current smoking ban from restaurants and workplaces to bars, billiard halls and within 15 feet of entrances to publicly accessible villages, according to the DMN. A majority of the six councilmen on the subcommittee seem to be leaning in favor of the proposal, according to the News story and more comments on its blog.

I have to admit that when the city council first decided to restrict smoking in restaurants and other public places a few years ago, I had my doubts: It seemed like a draconian measure, and it seemed likely to drive business out of Dallas. Today, though, I haven't seen a single study indicating that significant business was lost to the more smoking-friendly suburbs, and the air in most places I go these days is cleaner and clearer.

This weekend: Art shows, homebrewing contest and retracing Lee Harvey Oswald's steps

There's a little something for everyone in Oak Cliff this weekend.

On Saturday night The Soda Gallery opens its new "50/50 II" art exhibition, back by popular demand. The show, which asks 50 artists to each create a work and sell it for $50, was such a hit in February that the shop decided to give it another go. Soda Gallery arts director Jonathon Kimbrell says that, "one, it shows people all the great work being created around the country and two, illustrates the idea that buying original art doesn't have to break the bank, so to speak." You can preview the art before Saturday night, but nothing will be sold until 7 p.m. — and "work will go fast, I assure you," Kimbrell says. Some of Kimbrell's own work will be on display as well.

The Oak Cliff Artisans sixth annual fall sale offers handmade works ranging from stained glass and clay to metal sculpture, jewelry and photography. The sale takes place Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. at Kidd Springs Recreation Center.

Restaurant review: Cretia's

The Cretia's/Dicho's combo that neighborhood blogger Rob Shearer announced on Back Talk Oak Cliff in mid-September is up and running in Bishop Arts District's former Nodding Dog spot.

I stopped by yesterday to check it out, and had a piece of strawberry cake with butter cream frosting (yum) and a cup of coffee. The two bakery cases hold several different cookie, pie and cake flavors, the latter sold by the slice for $5. Carlos, the operating director, told me that on Fridays and Saturdays, people congregate in the shop and hang out almost as they would in a bar.

Dicho's makes book shopping easy, with everything divided into sections like cooking, humor, gift books and bestsellers. The children's section was one of the largest, yet not so large to be overwhelming. That was the great thing about the entire store — the sections featured some of the more interesting books available in each category, and there weren't so many that it was overwhelming. I guess I've shopped at Barnes and Noble so long that I have forgotten that this is exactly why small, neighborhood bookstores are charming and appealing.

Dicho's also had plenty of copies of President-elect Barack Obama's books, "The Audacity of Hope" and "Dreams from My Father", at a display right in front of the register. I asked if they were selling well these days, and was given an emphatic "yes," but also told that they've been selling well for quite some time.

Democracy is so very sweet

Here's another election-day freebie. Ben & Jerry's is giving out free scoops of ice cream from 5-8 p.m. Unfortunately, the nearest participating Ben & Jerry's is located in Plano at 1501 Preston Road. That's quite a haul for free sugar.

Bolsa: New website

Since we're in the process of redesigning our website, I'm always interested in other businesses doing the same. I noticed today, actually, that Davis Avenue restaurant Bolsa has donned a new online look. It's very hip, just like the aura the restaurant exudes.

This next one isn't local by any means, but while I'm on the topic, I'm assuming that some of you may be my fellow Slate.com readers, and I knew I was a nerd when, listening to last Friday's political gabfest, I let out an excited gasp as editor David Plotz mentioned the site would be launching a redesign Monday. And they even took the time to give us a tour. How nice.

State Fair wrapup: Just off a record coupon-sales pace

Amid all of the bad economic news, here's something positive: After getting off to what the DMN reported was a horrible economic start, it turns out the State Fair of Texas was selling coupons at a near-record pace ($28.6 million vs. $29 million during the 2007 Fair's record pace). For whatever reason, people found enough money (or enough credit) to down plenty of corny dogs and fried bacon at the Fair; let's hope the rest of the economy follows suit shortly. Click here (download season_wrap.pdf) to read the summary press release yourself.

Victory after 10 years: Iconic but not helping downtown

Not long ago, the DMN published a series of stories titled "Partial Victory", which was a rather ingenious way of highlighting the big, new "Times Square for Dallas" surrounding the American Airlines Center downtown. The good news, according to the story: Ross Perot Jr. says that Victory is farther along, development-wise, than he thought it would be at this time. The bad news: Apparently, if you don't live there (and not many people do), you don't know what's happening at Victory and you aren't participating in terms of spending money.

As it stands now, about 10 years into what Hillwood describes as a 25-year process, there are about 13 restaurants, a dozen retailers, more than 750 residential units and quite a bit of office space, including WFAA-TV's Times Square-like station on a corner near the AAC. But the place has become more upscale, to the exclusion of everything else, than the developers apparently planned, so while it's easy to find a $1,500 hotel room and a $400 dress, you can't find an inexpensive lunch, a drugstore or a grocery store, according to the News.

Interestingly enough, that's the same complaint that the people living and working downtown — and I mean the original downtown — have, too. And it's interesting to remember that one of the sales pitches we were given when the developers floated the $230 million arena bond in 1998 was that Victory was an important step in downtown's revitalization. As we can see now, that hasn't been the case — the distance between Main Street and Victory is too far for the average person to make the walk, and whatever good is happening at Victory isn't trickling over to downtown.

This weekend: Bonafide Blues at Eno's, Kessler School Pumpkin Patch, Fall Home Tour and Urban Bazaar

Start your weekend with a neighborhood band tearin' it up at a neighborhood restaurant — Bonafide Blues takes the stage at Eno's Friday night at 9:30 p.m. (Lead singer Bill Ford's alma mater, Southern Methodist University, published a story today about the advertising lecturer's hobby.)

Then on Saturday, it's home tour time. Start your day at 9 a.m. with some coffee and breakfast tacos at the Kessler School Pumpkin Patch, then head to the Turner House for the 10 a.m. Centennial Ceremony, marking the 100th year of the Winnetka Heights neighborhood. The home tour's 11 homes will be open for public viewing between noon and 6 p.m. If you still don't have your tickets, buy them on tour day at the Stevens Park Pavilion on Colorado.

Somewhere in the midst of the festivities, drop by the Bishop Arts District to shop at Make's Urban Street Bazaar, where designers and craftsmen will be hawking their wares, and Bishop Arts retailers will offer specials.