Denton Live - Food/Shopping

Restaurants

Denton-Deemed Edibility

By Earin Lipinsky
Denton Live July-Dec 2012

What makes a great city? Argue all you want about amenities, but great food makes a great city. Whether it’s a Mediterranean dive, a taste of Italy, hanging out for local music, or sneaking in to taste a sushi master at work, we found four hidden gems of the local food scene that bring the taste of Denton to life. At Green Zatar, the authentic lamb kebabs, garlic-laced hummus and Persian tea put us in the mood for a spontaneous getaway to the Mediterranean. Pizza more your style? The Mellow Mushroom challenged our assumptions about crust and cheese by adding steak and three kinds of the gooey stuff on top. To hang out, eat local, drink beer and hear great music played by the jazz fanatics at the University of North Texas, we chose The Greenhouse. And finally, we got tired of hearing everybody rave about Chef K at Keiichi. Now we know what all the buzz is about.

Get Your Beast On

Wild Beast Feast Serves Up a Different Taste of Denton

by Paul Bottoni
Denton Live July-Dec 2012

Grills are sizzling and the smell of meat – venison and elk sausage, alligator and wild boar – is in the air. The Wild Beast Feast competition is on, and Dan Proctor is cooking up his venison chili recipe, making a third try at the celebrated Best of Beast title, this time with his 16-year-old son at his side. The venison, leaner and less marbled than beef, is from a deer he shot himself with his Remington 270 hunting rifle. “Venison has a twang to it,” he says. The chili is a secret recipe: Not four-alarm; that’s not his style. “I’ve never been a fan of really hot or spicy foods,” Dan says. “My chili is not spicy, just flavorful.”

Le Beaujolais

“Le Beaujolais est arrivé!”

alt It’s 9 a.m., the start of another busy day at Roy Metzler’s catering business. Roy sits in a booth in the far corner of his restaurant, twiddling his thumbs. His periwinkle shirt matches the blue of his eyes: eyes that are restless and anxious. Catering to 300 people is no easy task.

Vintage Resale

Vintage resale goes green

alt Balancing on 2-inch 1920s style pumps, college student Amy Leigh models a bright orange sundress with built-in buckle. “I was a vintage clothing virgin until I shopped at Circa 77 and Time Bandits,” she says. She stocked up on a weekend’s worth of one-of-a-kind clothing, plus a stack of records for her parents.

Farm to Market Going Local

Local Farmers Showcase Their Produce to Denton Residents.
By: Julia Tsai
Denton Live Jan-June 2013

As night falls and raindrops nourish his gardens, Ryan Crocker’s guests take shelter in a tent and sit atop bales of hay, munching on rosemary focaccia bread topped with cream cheese, onion and arugula plucked from the garden nearby. The host eyes some of his radishes in water-filled jars on the tables. He picks up one by its leaves, dries off the water and bites into the spicy orb, savoring his first night of pulling off the Dinner in the Gardens series. In the garden shed, cook and co-host Alyssa Jarrell and volunteers plate the main course – sweet potato gnocchi in brown butter sage cream sauce – and finally, honey cheesecakes with spicy candied pecans. Even the brews are local: Clawfoot Ginger Cream Ale from Armadillo Ale Works and Bookish Coffee. Everyone has forgotten the rain as they feast on local ingredients and sample the taste of sustainability.

Old Fashioned Ice Cream

Make it a Double

Beth Marie’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream on the Square in downtown Denton churns out homemade ice cream day in and day out the same way it has since opening its doors in November 1998. Thousands of faithful followers and scores of unique recipes later, Beth Marie’s is doubling more than ice cream scoops: They are doubling shops

Wild Beast Feast 2009

Wild beast anyone?

alt As the Boy Scouts of Troop 140 prepare roasted rabbit on a Coleman stove, a smog of barbecue pit smoke covers the North Texas State Fairgrounds. This is no survival campout. It’s the annual Wild Beast Feast, where cooks russle up rabbit, duck, buffalo, elk, prairie chicken and, yes, alligator for those with adventurous appetites each September.

Denton Water Works

alt When I top the hill and see the yellow, orange and blue slides, it takes me back to my childhood. Kids are laughing and splashing. When the Texas sun is blazing down, Water Works Park with its 17 acres of liquid fun is the escape.

Denton Farmer’s Market

Taking Root

DENTON FARMER’S MARKET KEEPING IT LOCAL KEEPING IT FRESH

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Sitting on the tailgate of his tan ’87 Toyota, farmer and former Navy man Perman Smith enjoys the morning weather while waiting for customers to arrive. The sweet musky smell of cantaloupe fills the air.