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LBJ Express — one year later

Emily Toman — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:27:47 +0000

It has been one year since the reconstruction of LBJ Freeway began amid last February’s winter storm. The 17-mile-long, $3.2 billion project has at least four more years to go. Listen to our podcast with the developers, addressing some the concerns last year.

We’ve seen the demolition or partial demolition of several of our bridges: Joe Ratcliff, Welch, Rosser, Marsh, Montfort and Hillcrest.

We noticed the loss of some trees along the corridor.

We worried that LBJ might become Dallas’ version of carmaggedon. We probably over-reacted a bit.

What’s next? Keeping the LBJ business community strong. The LBJ Express team has launched the LBJ Express Marketplace, which allows businesses to post deals and discounts to encourage people to keeping shopping along the corridor despite the inconvenience of construction.

To learn more about the Marketplace and the status of the LBJ Express project, see a presentation 10-10:45 a.m. Wednesday at the Westin Galleria.

Neighborhood schools to host Open House

Emily Toman — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:06:13 +0000

If you ever wanted to see what our neighborhood public schools are up to, this is your chance. The Northwest Council of PTAs host Open House events this week.

Review curriculum, meet the principals, teachers and other parents. Plus, you can learn about all the extended learning opportunities and extra-curricular activities that make these schools stand out.

The Open House idea started in 2009 with Hillcrest and W.T. White high school parents. The Northwest Council of PTAs hopes to extend it district-wide.

The first event is Tuesday at Nathan Adams. Go here for a full schedule for all the DISD schools in the Preston Hollow area.

Marsh ROTC success featured on PBS

Emily Toman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:32:31 +0000

Marsh Middle School has come a long way over the past decade or so, and there’s no doubt that the ROTC program has played a major part. We’ve written about the program several times in the Advocate.

Later this month, the PBS show “Ideas in Action With Jim Glassman” will feature Marsh ROTC in an episode about what schools are doing to end the drop-out rate. Since ROTC and Coach David Bates came to Marsh in 1999, the students involved have performed better academically, and they’re staying in school. What’s more – the program receives barely any funding from the district, which pays for Bates’ salary, and that’s it. So, it’s no surprise that Marsh is a shining example of what a school can do with limited money and resources.

Most recently, the ROTC has been raising funds to establish a military museum, which we wrote about in our October 2011 issue. It’s a student-driven project that will help Marsh’s ROTC play a role in educating younger kids in the district while also honoring neighborhood veterans. They’re still collecting memorabilia. Call Bates at 214.549.1826 or stop by the school, which is at 3838 Crown Shore.

Check out this Advocate video to learn more about the museum:

Advocate Giveaway: Jean Paul Gaultier at DMA

Meghan Riney — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:06:33 +0000

Preston Hollow resident Ann Kinsfather from McCormick Armstrong dropped by the office this morning and gave us two tickets to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the DMA. (closing Feb. 12)

The 10th person to email “Bonjour Advocate” to mriney@advocatemag.com gets the tickets. On your mark, get set, GO!

This weekend: Garden happy hour, artist talk and midnight movie

Emily Toman — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:40:02 +0000

Brent Kollock's "The Age of Communication".

Garden Happy Hour is 4-6 p.m. Friday at North Haven Gardens, featuring local wine from Times Ten Cellars, beer and light appetizers. Get your gardening questions answered, and stick around for some giveaways.

Norwood Flynn Gallery presents “Painting as a Metaphor: An Artist Talk by Brent Kollock” at 7 p.m. Saturday. Kollock is a University Park resident and SMU grad. He’ll discuss his paintings and drawings, comparing literary metaphors and visual metaphors. The reception runs 6-8:30 p.m.

Stay up for Midnight Madness at the Inwood Theatre on Friday and Saturday. This week, it presents the cult classic, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” Tickets are $10.

Wine review: Chapoutier Côtes du Rhône Belleruche 2009

Jeff Siegel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

White wines from France’s Rhone region aren’t particularly well known and, at least in this country, don’t get all that much respect. You don’t see many of them on store shelves or restaurant wine lists, and you don’t see many of them reviewed, for that matter.

Which is a shame, given that white Rhones are usually different and interesting, and that’s something I’m always looking for. The Belleruche ($12, purchased, available at Spec’s), from one of the Rhone’s largest producers, has always been one of my favorite wines for just that reason. When I can find it, of course.

This is a previous vintage, and the extra year of bottle age has given the wine, a blend of grenache blanc, clairette and bourboulenc, a little more character. There is lots of white pepper, some oiliness and just a hint of a green fruit, like lime or apple. This is a not a white wine for people who need something fruit forward, like sauvignon blanc or chardonnay, but it’s not supposed to be.

And don’t worry that you haven’t heard of the grapes used to make it — almost no one who isn’t in the wine business has heard of them, either. Which is another reason why the wine is so interesting, and that’s three more grapes for your Wine Century Club effort. Chill this and drink it on its own or with something like goat cheese; roast pork with apples would be terrific, too.

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Post tags: Chapoutier, French wine, Rhone wines, white wine, wine of the week, wine reviews

NYC grocery stores inspiration for new Central Market

Keri Mitchell — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:36:51 +0000

The chain’s ninth store at Preston and Royal will be 30,000 square feet, which is roughly half of its current stores.

In a press release announcing the store’s grand opening at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, Central Market senior vice president Stephen Butt noted that squeezing Central Market’s prototype into the former Borders location took some creativity, and the most obvious place to look for inspiration was New York City, ” a place with great grocery stores built into smaller square footage,” he says. The Central Market team spent months traveling to New York “to study the most innovative delis and grocery concepts to learn how to pack the most flavor into every square foot,” Butt says.

The Preston Royal Central Market will also draw from the Big Apple with an on-site bakery featuring traditional “boiled then baked” bagels and new bialys, and artisan salumi from NYC-based Charlito’s Cocina. Even with these new features, Butt promises that the smaller store also will “have everything our customers have come to love about Central Market.”

Jewish Community Center opens new Naturscape

Emily Toman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

The kids at the Jewish Community Center just got a little closer to nature. On Sunday, the JCC celebrated the completion of the J Naturescape, a new playground that boasts gardens, climbing walls, hills, caves, rock piles and water features.

The idea was born out of the J Camp and Early Childhood directors looking for more ways to get children out from in front of the television and into nature. Julie and Jay Liberman led a committee that came up with the vision and found local donors to help fund the project.

Exchange student shares yarn bombing with home country

Emily Toman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:00:47 +0000

Sabine Schennach of Austria takes measurements for her own yarn bombing project. (courtesy photo)

You’ve probably seen the reports about the Dallas Yarn Bombers who go around town colorfully knitting streetscapes. In September, they made an even bigger splash at the Winspear Opera House, which inspired a similar project thousands of miles away.

Neighbor Judy Smith is a W.T. White High School host parent for Stephanie Schennach, an exchange student from Austria. Stephanie took pictures of the Winspear project and sent them home to her mom Sabine Schennach, who is now starting her own yarn bombing effort around her neighborhood.

She’s calling it Project Dallas, in honor of our own yarn bombers. Sabine has been going around taking measures with a photographer in tow.

So, through a connection with our neighborhood school, a little slice of Dallas creativity has made its way to Europe.

Advocate video: Sharon Zigrossi’s Blooming Hubcaps

Advocate Staff — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:03:28 +0000

Dallas County Master Gardener, Preston Hollow resident Sharon Zigrossi started decorating her garden with the vibrantly colored hubcaps. Pretty soon neighbors and friends wanted some, too, so she began selling them as Blooming Hubcaps. Today she has a garage full of wheel covers waiting to be turned into art for interested buyers. And it’s not just yard art anymore. She “rescues” abandoned hubcaps from scrap yards, and friends often recycle them for her. Read more about Sharon here in our story about her from our February 2012 issue.

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Post tags: Advocate Magazine, advocatemag.com, arts_events, local_business, preston_hollow