The Media Chariot
Addison – a city near Dallas that is home to 180 restaurants and an entertainment district with comedy clubs, movie theaters, wine bars (shout out to Mercy Wine Bar) and breweries. The city boosts more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the United States. And, for ten years, my daughter attended a nearby private school and I had no idea of the breadth and depth of what the city had to offer.
And then shiroma | southwest invited me to visit Addison and I got a glimpse of the many entertainment opportunities in this city.
We began our tour on a rainy Dallas day at Public School Restaurant & Bar where we were served a variety of appetizers including Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower, Choroni Pizzas and a Crushed Velvet cocktail.
Matt Ehinger, Brewmaster, Bitter Sisters Brewery
We were joined on the bus by Matt Ehinger, Bitter Sisters Brewery Brewmaster who has been brewing craft beer for over 20 years, who served us Busy Body Blonde Lager and Hissy Fit Marzen Lager beers. Bitter Sisters is a family-run craft brewery specializing in ales & lagers.
We then stopped at Porcino’s Southern Kitchen, which was one of my favorite stops, but unfortunately has since shuttered.
Magic Time Machine characters joined us briefly on the bus to talk about the venue and entertainment. You have to admire folks who never break character!
Our next stop was at Zolis Pizza. Zoli’s was started by Cane Rosso founder/owner, Jay Jerrier. When Zoli’s left Bishop Arts, it relocated to Addison and evolved from a by-the-slice joint to a full-service restaurant. And oh, the deliciousness. We sampled pizzas, burgers, fries, frozé and sangria.
We were joined by Sean Traynor, the manager of the Improv Addison, who talked about the great comedians who play there. Insider tip: unless you sign up on the mailing list, you are probably missing national acts.
My most favorite stop (and my most favorite food) was Mr Sushi Dallas where we had Omakase, which was a chef’s choice of sushi, sashimi and a few rolls as well as frozen sake. This is a Japanese owned business, which has been a long-standing and award-winning sushi staple in Addison.
As if we hadn’t had enough to eat already, we still had one stop to go at La Comida where we were served Arrachera Steak, Brisket Tacos, Nachos Blancos and Pechuga de Pollo con Hongos. And what Mexican food isn’t complete with a great cocktail? We were served Sunset Margarita, Mexican Old Fashioned, Pica Pica Rita and Signature Flamingo.
We even had goody bags filled with coffee from Addison Coffee Roasters, a business that’s been going strong since 1984, and champagne cake balls and cookies from Mad Batter Baker, who also ceased operations since the tour.
This was a lesson to me about exploring your own backyard and one that I’m going to take to heart in 2019. There’s a whole food world out there beyond your zip code comfort zone and I pledge to explore it.
