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David Uygur likes weird sushi, of course.

When David Uygur isn't hand-crafting pasta, making desserts out of pork's blood, and generally dazzling the palates of Dallas diners, the man has to eat. The chef behind Lucia doesn't make it out much thanks to his busy restaurant, but not even a chef can survive on staff family meals and kitchen scraps.

See also: An Interview with Lucia's David Uygur, Chef-Owner of Dallas' Toughest Reservation

Fortunately, it isn't as difficult to score a reservation at the restaurants that Uygur frequents as it is to dine at Lucia. When he's not serving up food for other people to eat, he hits these six Dallas spots, only one of which is even remotely Italian.

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Nick Rallo

No, really, gorgeous. Our iPhone had an orange Slurpee that morning.

I'm not sure if it's a trend or a genuine movement, but something feels different about Dallas' newest gastropubs. It feels like reinvention. It's not just about gathering freshly-farmed Swiss chard, pigs that had names 10 hours before you ate them or local beer anymore. Now there are iconic foods like the pig head carnitas at CBD Provisions and the ranchero beans at Stampede 66. It feels more like an identity.

Over at Clark Food & Wine Co, there's a roll of butcher paper hanging high on the wall with the day's cured meat specials. Texas chicken comes smoked, half or full. Jelly jars are filled with pickled vegetables, the ginger beer is homemade, and Edison bulbs burn brightly over Texas spirits. It feels like Dallas.

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via Facebook

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Gee, these all-you-can-eat pancakes sure are tasty. But you know what would make them even better? A cash bar, art by over 50 emerging artists and live body painting demonstrations." Yeah, I didn't think so. But some weirdo genius did, and they turned that thought into reality. The Pancake & Booze Art Show is billed as "Dallas largest underground art show." We haven't checked the figures on that claim, but we're pretty sure it's the biggest underground art show that predominately features breakfast food. Event is 21 and over only - $5 cover at the door.

What it be: Pancake & Booze Art Show

When it do: Friday, Nov. 14 8:00 p.m. - Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 a.m.

Where dat is: The Quixotic World Theatre House 2824 Main St Dallas, TX 75226

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Kathy Tran

Jon Alexis and Chef Nick Harrison: Your friendly neighborhood fishmongers.

When Jon Alexis took over TJ's Seafood in 2009, the fish counter was still just a guppy of an enterprise. Sure, it had more than 20 years of fish peddling under its gills, but at that point it was still a small shop tucked into a North Dallas strip mall. Alexis' parents had run the business for 10 years, and before that the original owners worked there since opening the place in 1989. TJ's had become the go-to counter to get seafood in the Dallas area, was mobbed during crawfish season and had won awards from every local publication that handed out awards.

Still, Alexis saw potential after he took over, and in 2012, he opened a second location in Highland Park on Oak Lawn Avenue. This one had the same glass case packed with ice and a rainbow of raw fish, both whole and freshly fileted. There were shrimps, tins of crab meat and jars of luxurious caviar, and there were stacks of gnarled oysters like a shoal at low tide. But the big selling point of this newest location was the kitchen behind the seafood counter.

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Allison V. Smith

Italian food isn't exactly something Dallas is known for, yet the city's most-lauded restaurant is a tiny Italian spot in Bishop Arts. People are still clamoring, four years later, for a coveted reservation at Lucia, the brainchild of chef David Uygur and his wife, Jennifer. The reserved Uygur has eschewed much of the fame that local food writers are more than willing to shower on him, choosing instead to focus on making this tiny restaurant fit his exacting vision for Italian food.

It's not the Italian that you're used to. You won't find any gloopy bowls of fettucine alfredo or meatballs as big as your head. Still, Uygur's food is arguably some of the best Italian food in the south. I sat down to talk with the chef about how he's created such a successful and unique restaurant, pushing diners' boundaries with pork blood, and why he hopes that Lucia is the perfect neighborhood restaurant for the residents of Bishop Arts.

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Catherine Downes

The Slow Bone's Jack Perkins.

Jack Perkins may have a reputation as the occasionally confrontational curmudgeon of the Dallas food scene, but there's no disputing that the owner of The Slow Bone and Maple & Motor has a heart two sizes too big and yet-unclogged from all that red meat. Along with the many charity events that Perkins participates in, including this weekend's Meat Fight, he's also announced plans to serve a free Thanksgiving dinner to people who are in need of a place to spend the holiday.

Yesterday, Perkins announced that his much-lauded barbecue joint The Slow Bone would offer a traditional Thanksgiving meal to people who visit the restaurant on Thanksgiving Day. Though The Slow Bone notes that the idea is to provide dinner to families in financial need, all are welcome to enjoy what will likely be a delicious turkey or ham and all the usual sides and fixins.

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David Anthony Temple gets ready for the big time.

Could David Anthony Temple's long awaited Twenty Seven finally be coming to fruition? The rogue chef says he's aiming to open his first restaurant at the start of next year in Deep Ellum.

Temple gained popularity years ago as one of the first chefs to shore up Dallas' rather anemic underground dining scene. But in 2011, Temple began using the private diners he held at a catering company in Deep Ellum to fuel his dream of a fully licensed restaurant. Temple announced Twenty Seven, a fine-dining restaurant whose name gave a nod to Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and other artists who died at the same age. For a while, though, it didn't seem like his restaurant was going to survive much past conception.

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Catherine Downes

If you've been to Knife, the much-loved steakhouse from chef John Tesar, you know Tesar is really interested in serving diners his kitchen's old meat. That doesn't mean he's dragging out whatever steaks have been languishing in the walk-in. Tesar's restaurant is equipped with a state-of-the-art dry-aging room that's used to age the restaurant's grass-fed steaks, and Tesar has found a way to add one of everybody's favorite rich, French ingredients into the mix.

Dry-aged foie gras isn't something you'd find in an old-school French cookbook, but Tesar imagines that it's much like a classic torchon. A foie gras torchon is made by rubbing the fattened duck liver with sugar and salt, rolling into a charcuterie-style log, and allowing it to cure for a few days in the walk-in refrigerator. Tesar's got the technique down -- he has a similar foie gras component on the menu at Spoon -- but he's curious about how age will impact the flavor and texture of the rich and fatty foie gras.

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The front case is packed with interesting flavors.

About two weeks ago, a new storefront opened up on West Davis Street in Oak Cliff, near Spinster, Glass Optical and Davis Street Espresso. Joy Macarons, it's called, and it offers macarons, obviously. But don't expect to meet a baker named Joy when you visit.

"It's Liz, by the way," the owner said when I visited, as she handed me her card as I thanked her for her time. The name Joy painted on the shop's front window wasn't a person but an emotion: the feeling owner Liz Lanier hopes you will experience when you take a bite from a bright yellow macaron expecting only sweetness and lemony citrus and are instead greeted by the briny prick of fleur de sel, too.

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via Stars and Stripes

Hook these boys up.

Veteran's Day is one of those holidays that doesn't get as much fanfare as the ones where you get presents or chocolate. Whatever your feelings on United States foreign policy, the men and women in the United States Armed Forces give up a lot, and this holiday is meant to honor those sacrifices. For many restaurants, that means giving veterans and active duty military members free food on Veteran's Day.

Freebies are abundant on Veteran's Day. Dozens of national restaurant chains that will be feeding vets for free today. Krispy Kreme is handing out free donuts and coffee, and Cantina Laredo and Silver Fox are saying thanks by giving veterans and active duty personnel a complimentary entree. Hooters, Red Lobster, Baskin Robbins and Outback Steakhouse also have Veteran's Day offers, so long as you can provide a valid military ID.

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