OCTOBER

Sept. 28-Oct.2

SHAKESPEAREAN NIGHT

Travel to the early 1600s for this rendition of the Shakespearean tale “Twelfth Night.” Performances are at 8 p.m. WednesdaySaturday and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. SMU, 6101 Bishop Blvd., 214.768.2787, smu.edu, $8-$14

Oct. 1

GARDEN TOUR

See some of the most well-tended yards in our neighborhood during the 2016 Garden Tour, hosted by the Dallas County Master Gardeners. Master Gardeners around Preston Hollow and beyond will showcase their work at home, with proceeds benefitting the group to tend school and community gardens across the city.

Various locations, 214.904.3053, dallascountymastergardeners. org, $15-$20

Oct. 1

MODERN MILE DALLAS

Explore the best of Preston Hollow’s architecture at this home tour, which features mid-century homes within 1 square mile. Food trucks will be available at Walnut Hill Elementary School. Walnut Hill and Midway, 972.584.7688, modernmiledallas.com, $20

Oct. 19

PLATINUM PANTHER CELEBRATION

Hillcrest High School alumni will celebrate its recent graduates and honor past classes. The event begins with a reception at 6 p.m. before dinner and a presentation later in the evening. Prestonwood Country Club, 15909 Preston Road, HHSAA@ hillcrestalums.org, $65

Oct. 29

STAR WARS HALLOWEEN

May the force be with you at Trick or Treat “Star Wars” Day. There will be a Red Carpet Costume Contest, appearances from sci-fi figures and more.

Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemmon Ave., 214.350.1651, flightmuseum.com, free for children under 12

Oct. 29-30

AIA DALLAS TOUR OF HOMES

Four Preston Hollow homes will be featured on this two-day tour of some of the most architecturally interesting houses of Dallas. Various locations, 214.742.3242, hometourdallas.com, $10-$100

DID YOU KNOW: The black and white bowpattern in the hallway was hand-drawn with Sharpie, lots and lots of Sharpies.

Roasted oysters with bacon, breadcrumbs and red pepper butter.

The Theodore

It’s hard to say what namesake Teddy Roosevelt would think of The Theodore, but it certainly looks like somewhere he’d hang out. With its dark-paneled bar, over-stuffed blue velvet arm chairs and hunting-inspired décor, it’s a bit like stepping back in time.

“It’s all about creating an atmosphere, an energy,” says chef/owner Tim Byres. “We set up the story of the place and then fill in the details of the menu.”

Byres is one of Dallas’ wunderkind chefs who has cooked at the White House and seems to have the Midas touch with his Smoke barbecue brand in Oak Cliff and Plano. But it wasn’t always that way. Before Smoke, he was divorced and had just shuttered his restaurants Standard and Standard 2706. He was disenchanted.

“I decided I was either going to be a food stylist, or I’d make soap and sell it at the farmers market,” he laughs. But then he felt the spark of his childhood passion for what he calls “the spirit of hospitality,” the reason he became a chef.

“I wanted to make a place where people could just hang out,” he says. And so he and some partners built his rustic and wellreviewed Smoke, where meat is cooked over an open flame.

His success there had the folks at NorthPark Center calling. They were looking for a new restaurateur to bring some culinary flair to the chain-based mall’s eatery options. It was a different community from laid-back Oak Cliff, a chance for Byres to explore a new side of his eclectic personality.

You’ll find dishes that Byres describes as “the classic American food story,” including pot pies, beef tenderloin and a plethora of pizzas. Cocktails are crafted from fresh fruit and herbs, each named for different national park in honor of Roosevelt’s work.

The restaurant opens like Pandora’s box to expose space after space, from a private dining room tucked into a hidden bookshelf to the gold-dusted celestial room. Nearly everything you see on the walls was handpainted with painstaking attention to detail.

“I really like the idea of smells when you first walk in, so that’s where the bakery comes in,” Byres says of the attached fullproduction bakery.

St Caf Rock Cake

When Hans and Clare Van Loenen blew into the White Rock Lake area from Europe in 1991, they brought with them many culinary sensations that delighted our palettes during their nearly 20 years in business.

It began with Sweet Temptations bakery, which became known for its sumptuous cakes and savory kolaches. It proved so popular, they added on ST Café, serving comfort food with European flair like pecan-crusted chicken and pork loin with sun-dried apricot sauce.

In 2010, the couple lost their lease at 9090 Skillman, and the bakery and restaurant quietly closed. But the flavors live on in this forgotten recipe, first published in the Advocate in 1998.

CHOCOLATE SPONGE:

½ cup flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

4 large eggs

½ cup sugar

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease 9-inch round cake tin. Sift together the flour and cocoa, and set aside. Using wire whisk, mix eggs and sugar in a bowl set over a pan of hot water. Continue whisking until the mixture is light and creamy. Remove from heat and whisk until cold. Gently fold the flour-cocoa mixture into egg mixture, then fold in melted butter. Pour batter into prepared cake tin. Bake 30 minutes or until middle springs back when touched.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE:

4 egg whites

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 ½ cup sugar (divided use)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. By hand or mixer, beat egg whites until foamy, add 1 cup of sugar gradually and continue beating until egg whites are very stiff. Sift remaining one-third cup sugar and cocoa together. Fold into the meringue mixture by hand.

Spread onto cookie sheet. Bake until puffy, turn off oven and leave overnight.

RUM SYRUP:

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon rum or to taste

In saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil. Let boil 3 minutes. Leave until cold, and add rum.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE:

¾ cup butter

6 ounce semisweet chocolate

6 tablespoons cocoa, sifted

4 egg yolks

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 pint cream

In the top of a double boiler or over a hot water bath, melt butter and chocolate. Whisk to blend, then whisk in the cocoa powder. In a bowl, whisk yolks and powdered sugar until smooth. Pour the butter-chocolate mixture into the bowl and mix well, then gently fold in the whipping cream.

ASSEMBLY:

Use plastic wrap to line a 9-inch sponge tin with sides 2-inches high. Cut sponge horizontally into two pieces. Put one in the bottom of the tin, and soak with rum syrup. Pour half of chocolate mousse over sponge, and then top with another layer of sponge and remaining rum syrup. Top with remaining mousse, cover and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, break the meringue chunks and place them on sides and top of cake. Dust with powdered sugar.