Community – JAXX ARTZ

Goodbye Hollywood, Hello Dallas

July 29, 2019 | Jaxx Artz

Charles “Charlie” Solomon Jr. loves the weather in Los Angeles.

“It’s always 68,” he told me during a phone interview–him in Hollywood and me sweating on an 80 degree day, or what is considered Texas’ milder weather.

A man with many hats, the Park Cities native told me how California was originally great for his acting and production career and that the seemingly-endless list of things to do would ensure he was always entertained. However, Tinsel Town isn’t where he calls home. After 24 years of living in Los Angeles, Solomon returned to his roots in 2011, a move inspired by the birth of his son, Harrison, and wanting him to grow up in the same thoughtful community he did.

While it’s not every day you have a working actor and producer nestled in the Park Cities, Solomon continues his career with a slew of acting titles: most recently, the role of a detective in “Attack of the Unknown,” a science-fiction movie starring Tara Reid, Robert LaSardo, and Richard Grieco.

However, bouncing between Hollywood and the Lone Star State isn’t Solomon’s ideal. Instead, he is working hard to bring entertainment work to the Big D, pursuing several different paths to do so. For one, Solomon wants to turn his story idea, tentatively titled The Nine Lives of Herbert Noble, into a TV series filmed in Dallas. He is also talking to directors about filming his family movie “Get Gomez!” in Texas.

“I love Texas. The area is great, the people are great–Texas has a lot of talented people that we can make great use of,” he said.

Solomon said his passion for theater developed early in life as he would write and perform short plays for his family. He joined the Dallas Theatre Center before moving to Waxahachie for high school. Between class and working at a cotton gin, he enrolled in a theater program.

After graduating from SMU with a bachelor’s in English literature, Solomon moved to Los Angeles to learn from acting teacher Vincent Chase, after whom the lead character in Entourage is named. Wanting more instruction, he then went to New York to study theatre under Herbert Berghof, Uta Hagen, and Sanford Meisner.

“I did a few off-Broadway plays, working next to actors like James Gandolfini, but it’s a hard career,” he said. Taking a step back from performing, Solomon started racing cars and liked the adrenaline rush. He thought maybe this could be his new passion until a bad crash in 2001 nearly took his life.

Solomon said he didn’t know what his next step would be until a friend convinced him to move back to Hollywood. He added more behind-the-scenes work to his skill set, producing and directing several videos and movies, such as “Who Shot Mamba?” (2009) and “Killer View” (2009).

Nowadays, Solomon travels to California less often, mainly to catch up with friends. With projects set in Texas, he hopes there will be no need to go there for work. “I want Dallas to be the next city for film, and I’m starting with my own projects.”

This article originally appeared in the August 2019 print edition of Park Cities People. A shorter version of it can be found on the website for People Newspapers here: Goodbye Hollywood, Hello Dallas

MIXT Offers Customizable Options for Everyone

June 28, 2019 | Jaxx Artz

The recently-opened MIXT in Uptown Dallas provides fresh and fast healthy food for guests, allowing them to choose from pre-set, seasonal menus or customize their own plate using the ingredients as a guide. We at People Newspapers couldn’t pass up an opportunity to stop by for a taste.

After perusing their salad, seasonal plates, and grain bowl options, I decided to try the Pacifica Grain Bowl, featuring quinoa, black beans, grilled chicken, and freshly-sliced mango with a cilantro jalapeño vinaigrette on top. After mixing my grain bowl together, it was beautifully presented to me with long strips of mango on top, highlighting the array of colors that made up my meal.

I also tasted items from their Seasonal Plates section, where guests can select options from three categories: Farm + Sea, Homemade Sauce, and Market Sides. I tasted the braised Tuscan chicken with a homemade spicy Korean barbecue sauce. Paired with my choice of roasted rainbow carrots and grilled broccoli, the warm meal served as a comforting dish for the rainy day outside.

Thirsty? MIXT also provides beer, wine, and kombucha on tap, along with a refreshing hibiscus and strawberry lemonade.

The Dallas location, located at McKinney & Olive in Uptown, offers an easy online ordering and pick-up system using their website, making it even faster to grab lunch on the go.

Mixt also partners with Bonton Farms—a local nonprofit dedicated to bringing fresh produce, nutrition classes and employment opportunities to a former food desert in South Dallas; and collaborates with Fusion to aid in the city’s efforts of reducing and recycling food waste.

This article originally appeared on the website for People Newspapers.

New Menus, Restaurants Offer A Taste of Summer

June 21, 2019 | Jaxx Artz

Its summertime in Dallas, which means the patio chairs are here to stay and so are the city’s freshly-inspired dishes. Check out our food roundup of what’s hot, what’s new, and what’s only here for a limited time. From a birthday celebration featuring one of New York City’s menus to the reopening of a Dallas favorite, this summer is sure to be one your taste buds will never forget.

Uchibā
2817 Maple Avenue (above Uchi)

Spend your Monday night experiencing the June installment of Uchibā’s Uncommon Ramen Series, which features innovative collaborations between Uchibā’s own Chef de Cuisine Alex Astranti and notable chefs from around the country. From 5 to 10 p.m. June 24, the featured guest will be Chef Alex Seidel of Fruition Restaurant, Mercantile Dining & Provision, Füdmill, and Chook. Seidel is the recipient of many accolades, including Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chef in 2010, and was named the 2018 James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef: Southwest.” Limited reservations will be accepted for this special night, but Uchibā will continue its 2019 series with Chef BJ Smith on July 29.

Al Biernat’s
4217 Oak Lawn Avenue

To celebrate its 21 years in business, Dallas steakhouse Al Biernat’s is partnering with Manhattan’s 21 Club for a cross-country collaboration to celebrate both of their birthdays in July. “We wanted to do something special to celebrate these past 21 years,” shared Al Biernat’s director of operations Brad Fuller. The two eateries will showcase each other’s menus for the month to honor and surprise their clientele. The legendary Manhattan speakeasy will feature a four-course set menu from Al Biernat’s team for $102, while in Dallas a special menu will make its own mark. At Al Biernat’s Oak Lawn location only, the 21 Club specialty menu will feature the restaurant’s most famous items for their 90th birthday, such as the 21 Caesar Salad, 21 Burger, and Pistachio New York Cheesecake. The specialty menu will be available for $95, but all of the items will also be available a la carte. Join the fun as these two institutions toast each other from afar, but hurry as the menu will only be available this July. Reservations are available online or by calling 214-219-2201.

Del Frisco’s Grille
3232 McKinney Avenue, Suite 175

Don’t miss your chance to enjoy the famed American bar and grill’s specially-curated menu, Burgers & Bordeaux, nationwide through July 2. It pairs three French wines from the Bordeaux region with three new handcrafted burgers, served with hand-cut fries, for a total of $25 when ordered together. The wines serve as the perfect complement to the burgers they are paired with, enhancing the flavors of each dish. The first dish, The Blanc, is a Turkey burger with Pear mostarda and Brie on a toasted Brioche bun, paired with the Chateau Peyrat from the White Region. Representing the Right Bank, Del Frisco’s Grille is pairing the Chateau Tour Bayard from Montagne-Saint-Émilion with a burger comprised of a 6-oz. house-ground Filet Mignon, Goat cheese, Tomato jam, carmelized Onions, and a roasted garlic aioli Spring Mix to form The Château. Finishing the menu is The Légende, which pairs Légende by Domaines Baron de Rothschild from Médoc with a 6-oz. house-ground Filet Mignon, Wild Mushrooms, Raclette, black garlic Aioli, and Truffle Vinaigrette on a Kaiser roll. Guests may order the new burger and wine offerings available at Del Frisco’s Grille for both lunch and dinner service.

Truluck’s
2401 McKinney Avenue

Truluck’s is honoring the season with its all-new Summer Escape menu, featuring three courses with five entrée options and dessert for $55. With a rich, velvety Lobster Bisque or Sonoma Greens Salad with Spicy Pecans, Goat cheese, Apples, Kalamata olives, and Honey Vinaigrette to start, guests can choose their entrée from the Viking Village Sea Scallops, Icelandic Arctic Charr, Princess Clams Pasta, Ultimate Steakhouse Tenderloin Medallions, and Hawaiian Ahi Tuna before finishing their meal with the Strawberry Shortcake or Truluck’s Tasting Trio; with a sampling of Carrot Cake, Vanilla Créme Brûlée, and the Chocolate Malt Cake, every taste bud will have something to enjoy. This special menu will be available until August 31.

Cooper’s Meat Market & Kitchen
778 Ft. Worth Ave, Suite G150 (Next to Cox Farms Market)

Foodies and oenophiles, rejoice, for the beloved restaurant and meat market has unveiled their new Summer Wine Dinner Series. Each month, guests will experience a four-course dinner, with each course paired with a different and unique wine. The chef will give a talk about the meal while the winemaker will provide insight on each of the wines, teaching guests about their choices for the special night that will take place every second Tuesday from 6:30 to 9 p.m during the summer.

Nosh Bistro
8611 Hillcrest Road

Almost like a blast from the past, renowned Dallas chef Avner Samuel has announced his evolved restaurant concept Nosh Bistro will open in Dallas in late summer 2019. He will step back into the Dallas dining scene after spending two and a half years in Israel to feature a widespread menu with rotating specials that are a fusion of globally-inspired cuisine, heavily influenced by the Mediterranean, American, and Asian cuisine. “Going back to Israel and immersing myself in the environment where I was first introduced to the art of cooking brought an edge back into the way I look at food and the guest experience I aim to create at Nosh Bistro,” said chef Avner Samuel. A few items from the new cuisine at Nosh Bistro include a Wagyu Kobe Burger and Seared Divers Scallops, with a special Sunday brunch menu that puts a twist on popular favorites such as the Eggs Benedict with Beef Tenderloin, French Thin Crepes, and Steak and Eggs.

HERO
3090 Olive St.

To add even more options to your weekend brunch plans, the recently-opened, open-air restaurant in Downtown Dallas is now serving brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. “We wanted to put together a brunch menu that was both indulgent and healthy at the same time to give a broader array of options to our guests,” said culinary director, Danyele McPherson. The menu is divided into nine sections: Appetizers, Salads & Soup, Meat & Bread, Brunch Specialties, Fruit & Grain, Steak & Eggs, Classic Breakfasts, Sides, and Cocktails. Standout items include the Drunken Grapefruit, which features a halved Texas grapefruit infused with housemade Vodka; Deviled Egg Salad & Ham Toast made with grilled Sourdough and light herbed Egg Salad topped with Prosciutto; HG Breakfast of Champions with scrambled Pachi Pachi Farm Eggs, Bacon, sliced Organic Rainwater Farms Texas Tomatoes and Avocado with Olive Oil and Sea Salt; and the Corn-fried Bread with griddled Cornmeal Cakes, two Sunny Side Texas Pachi Pachi Farms Eggs, Blueberry Maple Sausage, Salted Butter and Vermont Maple Syrup. With over 50 options for guests to choose from, the menu offers even more with an extensive cocktail menu created by bar master Matt Ragan, featuring the Elderberry Spritz with St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur, Sparkling Wine, House Strawberry Cordial, and Club Soda; and Cold Brew Irish Coffee, G & W Private Stock Whiskey, Grady’s Cold Brew, Vanilla Syrup, and Cream Top.

Blatt Beer & Table
7859 Walnut Hill Lane

Need a new brunch place? Blatt Beer & Table is welcoming a new brunch menu at their Dallas location every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at their Preston Hollow Village location. The menu will fall into formation with Blatt’s lunch and dinner fare, featuring American Gastropub favorites with an elevated twist, along with a variety of vegan and vegetarian items. Highlights include the Down South Sunrise, smoked Pulled Pork, over-easy Eggs, homemade Barbecue sauce, and Black Pepper Gravy on top of Jalapeño Cornbread Waffles; Donut Holes topped with Powdered Sugar, Lemon Icing, and Mint; and the Sticky Biscuits, where two Buttermilk Biscuits are topped with Walnut Toffee, Applewood Smoked Bacon, barrel-aged Maple Syrup, and Fresh Berries. And since no brunch would be complete without a cocktail, Blatt will offer Mimosas; Spiked Coffee; The Beermosa with Revolver Blood & Honey, Triple Sec, and fresh-squeezed Orange Juice; the Red Beer with Dogfish SeaQuench Ale, house-made Blood Mary juice, charred Jalapeño, and a Tajin lime wedge.

Partenope Ristorante
1901 Main St, Suite 102

Say Benvenuto to Dallas’ new family-owned Southern Italian eatery, Partenope Ristorante. Created by husband and wife Dino and Megan Santonicola, the restaurant will open this fall inside the historic downtown Titche-Goettinger building. Dino found his first love (cooking) in Naples, Italy where he was born and raised. After working at a neighborhood restaurant at just 13 years old, Dino began an impressive career that provided him with opportunities to work in a number of respected kitchens in Italy and the U.S. Upon meeting his wife Megan while working at the same restaurant in Dallas, the two married in Naples before embarking on their dream to open an authentic South Italian restaurant named after the siren Partenope, who watches over their favorite city.

With respect for cooking traditions and fresh ingredients, the menu will offer street food such as the Pizza Fritta and Mozzarella in Carrozza; traditional pastas including the Timbaletto Di Melanzane, an Eggplant filled with Bucatini, Tomato sauce, Mozzarella Beef, Sausage, and a Boiled Egg, and the Ragú Napoletano, a slow-cooked Tomato Ragu with Pork and Beef; and traditional Italian desserts like the house-made Torte Caprese, a flourless Chocolate and Almond cake, Gelato, and Panna Cotta Limoncello, a traditional Panna Cotta with Crema di Limoncello. With a custom-designed pizza oven with hand-painted Italian tiles created by Stefano Ferrara in Naples, Italy, Partenope Ristorante will offer several styles of pizza, including the famed Neapolitan. A handpicked wine list will focus on Italian varietals with an emphasis on the Southern Italy region. The nearly 4,000 square feet will hold 100 guests in the dining room with 12 seats at the full-service bar. “We hope that guests can feel like they’ve been transported to Naples when dining with us,” explains Megan.

Five Sixty
Reunion Tower

Executive Chef Jacob Williamson has incorporated some of the most iconic ingredients of the season to his contemporary Asian dishes, including peaches, green tomatoes, oysters, and squash blossoms, to name a few. Williamson has longstanding relationships with many local farmers and purveyors, as is seen on his a la carte and tasting menus over the years. His summer additions to the menu are no different, with ingredients from Larken Farms (Waxahachie, TX), Dallas Mozzarella Company (Dallas, TX), Profound Microfarms (Lucas, TX), Vertigrow (Waxahachie, TX), Wagyu Exelente (Midlothian, TX), and A Bar N Ranch (Celina, TX). Some new summer menu additions include Cumin Braised Spring Lamb Shank, a play on traditional Xinjiang Cumin Lamb, with Szechuan Peppercorn, Toasted Chili’s, Morels, Spring Onion, and Cumin Infused Natural Jus; Tempura Soft Shell Crab served with Profound Microfarms pea tendrils, spring peas, and Szechuan chili aioli; and Crispy Fried Green Tomatoes with Thai basil, and Bincho-grilled tomato aioli.

This article originally appeared on the People Newspapers website.

CiboDivino Expands With All-Day Concept in Downtown Dallas

July 19, 2019 | Jaxx Artz

After enjoying much success supplying specialty foods and a large selection of hand-picked wines and imported products, CiboDivino Marketplace has decided to expand its brand to include another concept: A restaurant.

Following the footsteps of other popular all-day concepts, such as the Chicago-based market and café Foxtrot, which opened in Uptown earlier this summer, CiboDivino Centro will open in Downtown Dallas’ Bryan Tower later this summer, supplying on-the-go Dallasites with an authentic Italian culinary experience.

“Centro is an exciting, new version of the CiboDivino brand,” said Daniele Puleo, chef and owner of CiboDivino Marketplace. “I wanted to be in the center of the action—the trains, the trolley, the buzz of people weaving through the buildings downtown.”

Founded by Daniele and Christina Puleo, CiboDivino, which means “Divine Foods,” draws inspiration from Daniele’s time growing up in Italy. As a chef and restaurant industry vet, Daniele centered CiboDivino’s first location around the concept of an Italian marketplace but wants Centro to include a better-rounded view of Italian culture.

“Italians start their day with coffee, break for a healthy lunch, and end with an aperitivo with friends. I hope a bit of my culture will become part of the local routine,” Daniele said.

While Centro will follow Marketplace’s goal of providing an authentic, Italian dining experience with fresh, house-made bread, pastries, and Italian fare, the new concept has many features specific to this location, including:

scratch-made and customizable salads
paninis and chef-crafted dishes
authentic Italian pasta and Pizza Al Taglio (pizza by the slice) served by the pound
120+ retail wines available and Italian wines served by the glass, selected by Dallas’ top Wine Curator, Daniele Puleo
a full-service café and coffee bar featuring Lavazza coffee and unique, authentic Italian coffee drinks
grab and go snacks ready to eat

The new restaurant will also be home to the only Roman-style pizza in Dallas, serving scissor-cut slices. For those who want to linger for a glass of wine with friends, an outdoor patio and green space for al fresco dining is also part of the new concept.

Centro will bring Italian comfort to cure the weekday blues, offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

This article originally appeared on the People Newspapers website.

Columbian Writer Juan Gabriel Vasquez Talks New Novel

September 26, 2016 | Jaxx Artz

At the center of the Strand’s Rare Book Room stood Juan Gabriel Vasquez, comfortable in a crisp navy button-down and jeans. He moved confidently towards the podium and began to explain the motivation behind his latest book Reputations, which has recently been released in English. “Reputations,” he said, “is the study of one man’s doom.”

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Vasquez’s writing focuses on the conflicts that have plagued his home country, both as a way to explore the complexity of the conflicts and to provide depth to his characters. Reputations follows Javier Mallarino, a famous political cartoonist, who was at the center of documenting political treachery with his drawings in the 1980s. The action takes place in the present-day, 30 years after Mallarino’s heyday, when he becomes reacquainted with someone from the past and is forced to remember what happened all those years before, as well as figure out the implication it could have in the present.

Though this new novel rings similar to his other works in the way that it recounts Colombia’s darker history, Vasquez insisted that Reputations is new and different. For one, it is noticeably shorter.

“Short novels,” he said, “novels around 50,000 words or less, do things in a special way.” According to Vasquez, this included going deeper into the protagonist to examine who they really are and why they do what they do.

During a short reading from the novel, it becomes clear that Reputations is about many things — among them the unreliability of memory, the dangers of journalism, and the fear involved with challenging the system, though the plot takes place within the span of 72 hours. When asked by the audience where the idea for this story came from, Vasquez named a Colombian political cartoonist from the 1930s, Ricardo Rendón.

“I grew up with his books,” Vasquez explained, sharing that the ability to shape a political world through drawings still matters in today’s world. Vasquez also drew from the mystery surrounding Kafka’s “The Trial” and the ambiguity in Henry James’ work, adding that “there is treasure in the not knowing [what will happen next].” Though the novel’s protagonist is a political cartoonist, Vasquez clarified that the work attempted to answer the question of why journalists as a whole do what they do, despite the death threats and fear that inevitably accompany a successful career.

Almost as an echo of this statement, Vasquez read from the novel, “’Congratulations. You are nobody in this country unless somebody wants to hurt you.’”

At the end of the reading, Vasquez looked into the crowd and smiled, as if flattered to be the object of the wide-open eyes that dotted the room. Judging by both the audience’s reaction and the several awards he has garnered for his previous works, including the Alfaguara Prize and International Dublin Literary Award, Vasquez is clearly somebody, forcing one to wonder if his life is as in danger as his protagonist’s.

This article originally appeared in the Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 print edition of Washington Square News. A version of it is available online here: Columbian Writer Juan Gabriel Vasquez Talks New Novel

Preston Hollow Resident Biking to Alaska for Cancer Research

July 25, 2019 | Jaxx Artz

Scroll Julie DeLaRosa’s Facebook page and notice her farmer’s tan darkening with each photo, becoming one of her defining features when she meets people on the road. She doesn’t mind it so much anymore, only noticing the stark difference in her skin tones when she peels off her sweaty uniform to jump into one of the many swimming holes she’s discovered on the road.

“I’m actually excited to see how dark it can get,” DeLaRosa says, calling me from a park in San Francisco. Currently, she is only thirty days into her summer-long bike ride from Austin to Alaska and expects her tan will only get stronger. That’s right, Julie is biking to Alaska.

A senior at the University of Texas at Austin, Julie DeLaRosa is part of Texas 4000 (T4K), an organization whose mission is to engage communities in the fight against cancer through organizing the longest annual charity bike ride in the world. While other University of Texas cyclists are spread between three possible routes to Anchorage, Julie is taking the Sierra Route, riding through New Mexico and Arizona before making her way to San Francisco.

During the 18-month program, UT students are required to raise money, volunteer in their community, and train for their 4,000+ mile bike ride. For the 83 students who make up this summer’s ride, it’s about much more than the burn in their thighs and the unique adventure through the country’s western states.

“One of the biggest reasons I get on the bike every morning and continue to pedal even when the hills seem like they will never end is to spread hope that there will be a cure for cancer,” DeLaRosa says.

Throughout the 70-day ride, DeLaRosa will put on programs in the communities she bikes through to talk about cancer research. Her team’s fundraising efforts go towards research grants and donations to facilities.

“One of the biggest reasons we get on the bike every morning and continue to pedal even when the hills seem like they will never end is to spread hope that there will be a cure for cancer.” -Julie DeLaRosa

The main pillars of T4K – hope, knowledge, and charity – are the reasons why Julie joined the organization. And while many of her peers are no strangers to long bike rides and marathons, she’s definitely not doing it for the workout.

“Getting on the bike every morning, even when my legs feel like they can’t go another mile, has been one of the most difficult parts,” she says. “I joined because I connect with the mission, not because I enjoy biking.”

Another difficult part of her ride is being away from her family and community for over three months, something she has never done before. A Preston Hollow resident, DeLaRosa attended St. Monica Catholic School and Ursuline Academy before moving to Austin.

“I have been fortunate to live in great neighborhoods and attend great schools where my neighbors and friends are like family. I would love to move back to Dallas eventually,” she says.

In the meantime, Julie has found a temporary family in her teammates and the people she’s met on the road. Communities have hosted movie nights for the riders and provided food and shelter as the students make their way to Anchorage.

After the ride, Julie will head back to Austin to complete her degree in social work. She plans on applying to law school with the hope of influencing social policy.

“I think the world is a beautiful place, but there are also times when it can be incredibly cruel,” she says. “We need to do better in acknowledging the injustices that take place.”

Though she probably won’t bike for a while after she completes her trek, Julie will take with her the lessons she’s learned and the beautiful things she’s seen on the road.

“My body is capable of so much more than I ever thought it was. And seeing the world from the seat of a bike is just incredible.”

This article originally appeared in the August 2019 print edition of Preston Hollow People. A shorter version of it can be found on the website for People Newspapers here: Preston Hollow Resident Biking to Alaska for Cancer Research