2012 December Oak Cliff

A guide to goodies made by our talented neighbors

Blinker ethics

During the holidays, it’s every man for himself

There must be hundreds of thousands of parking spaces in Dallas. They’re literally everywhere, covered and uncovered, wide and narrow, brightly striped and barely visible.

There are so many parking spaces that, for the most part, I take them for granted.

But for some reason, that changes during the holiday season, doesn’t it?

The spaces don’t change, of course. They’re still doing what they do best: collecting oil droppings and cigarette butts.

But the perceived value of a parking space in December, as compared with the value of that same space in January, rises exponentially and sometimes catastrophically.

I’ve never understood exactly why that is, even as I confess to participating in the value-inflating process.

The rest of the year, I’m pretty indifferent about one parking space versus another, maybe because they seem so plentiful and welcoming in February and March. But for those few weeks in November and December, the value of a close-in parking space becomes almost unaffordable in terms of the mental anguish required to snag one.

Maybe it’s the endless spooling around and around that helps develop the nasty attitude so prevalent among parking-space scouts during the holidays. To find a space close to a store’s door, you have to be more than lucky and living right: You have to be aggressive and opportunistic and maybe even a little unreasonable.

People who might wave someone else into a space the rest of the year aren’t likely to do that if the next-best alternative is hundreds of feet or several stories away. Fac-

ing that choice, the kill-or-be-killed instincts encouraged in video games too often seem to kick in.

I’ve been involved in more than a few parking space stare-downs over the years, my hands fidgeting on the wheel as I lock eyes with another driver eyeing the same spot as we both wait for the current occupant to back out, generally at a snail’s pace. Whether I’m the first to have my blinker on or not, there are those people who will try to beat me into the space, even if they morally (in as much as there is morality in hunting for a parking space) have no right to do so.

And if beaten to the spot by a more aggressive competitor, what can you do?

if beaten to the parking spot by a more aggressive competitor, what can you do?

Keying a door or leaning on the horn are possibilities.

Keying a door or leaning on the horn are possibilities, although I suppose those actions don’t really reflect the holiday spirit.

The temptation is always there to hop out of the car and offer the other guy some friendly advice about life, but that type of confrontation generally isn’t going to change the fact that he or she now has a parking space and I don’t.

I’ve even heard of people, particularly selfish people I might add, who send a person to stand in an empty spot and hold it until the car arrives — another idea guaranteed to raise tempers and blood pressures.

There really is no answer to the holiday parking space battle other than common courtesy, but that doesn’t make a parking space thief any easier to forgive or forget.

After all, during a season known for peace and good will, what could be more important than getting into a store five minutes faster?

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reflect the publisher’s viewpoint. More than 200,000 people read Advocate publications each month. Advertising rates and guidelines are available upon request. Advocate Publications are available free of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one copy per reader.

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ONLY IN OAK CLIFF: Familiar faces

Life-size statues of St. Jude Thaddeus and Black Hawk, positioned outside Chango Botanica, face traffic on West Davis.

Photo by Can Türkyilmaz

oakcli .advocatemag.com

Mesa has new considersmenu,move

Evidently Mesa’s woes aren’t quite over as the Veracruz-style restaurant on Jefferson is considering a move to a trendier part of our neighborhood. The restaurant always receives great reviews, but they don’t get as many diners, the owners say, as restaurants less than a mile away in Bishop Arts.

Mesa moving to Bishop Arts would be sad for Jefferson Boulevard, especially considering that the Reyes family, which owns the restaurant, has done so much to the space, giving an old storefront an eye-catching makeover and adding a lovely patio.

—Rachel Stone

Mesa should’ve chosen a location closer to the Texas Theatre so the two businesses could feed off each other. Unfortunately, Jefferson is not there yet as a thriving entertainment strip, but eventually Bishop Arts will be too crowded with too little parking.

—lakewoodhobo

But it’s only one block from the Texas Theatre!

—Rachel Stone

In the beginning of redevelopment, that one block can be the difference.

—Monte

Anderson

Read the full story, including Mesa’s menu changes, at oakcliff.advocatemag.com.

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EMAIL EDITOR RACHEL

rstone@advocatemag.com

1323 W. Canterbury| $675,000 Kessler Spanish Eclectic 3/3/3 LA-3,132 SF Ged Dipprey |NorthOakCliff.com

Kessler Pkwy | $519,000

2423 Marvin Ave. | $184,000 Charming Kessler Plaza 2/1/2 Car Cottage Ged Dipprey |NorthOakCliff.com

Launch

Tamale pushers

A good tamale can be hard to find. The tradition of making them isn’t being handed down through the generations as much as it used to be, says Elizabeth Plimmer, co-owner of The Tamale Co. “A lot of women in their 30s don’t know how to make tamales,” Plimmer says. When her dad Richard Plimmer’s catering business slowed in 2007, he wanted to start another venture making just one thing very well. One of his cooks gave him the idea. “He said, ‘Grandma is dying,’ ” Richard says. People want tamales, but they don’t want to make them. So Richard “made a lot of bad ones” before he found a recipe that worked. At first, he tried feta-and-

arugula and other creative recipes. They tasted good, but traditional pork is what the people wanted. Now The Tamale Co. has five staples: ancho-chile pork, beef tenderloin, chicken tomatillo, cheese and jalapeño, and Southwest vegan. They’re packed in bags that serve as boiling pouches and are available in the freezers at Bolsa Mercado and about 30 other groceries in the Dallas area. The Plimmers also serve them with locally made Cita Salsa from their tamale cart at events from Oak Cliff Bastille Day to baby showers and birthdays. Elizabeth, 25, was raised in Oak Cliff and went to culinary school at El Centro. Her parents, who are from Chicago, had

Vienna Beef hot dog carts in downtown Dallas in the ’80s. Later, Richard owned a couple of restaurants in Cleburne. “I wanted to learn everything about food and the restaurant business,” Elizabeth says. She interned at The Tamale Co. as part of her degree, and she never left. She came up with the branding and marketing plan, and father and daughter have a good creative relationship, they say. “Tamale TV” on their website offers recipe how-tos they produce themselves. They’re always coming up with new ways to market themselves, including T-shirts with slogans such as “tamale pusher.” Richard, with his thick mustache and straw hat, resembles the

guy in their logo. People call him “the tamale guy,” Elizabeth says. But what really sells their product is the taste. Tamale Co. tamales are made with vegetable oil instead of lard, and the masa is fluffy, not greasy. They’re all gluten-free. The recipes are simple, Elizabeth says. “But we don’t skimp on the ingredients.” Along with the five staple tamales, the company also makes seasonal ones, such as pumpkin and apple-cinnamon. They’re also available from online delivery services Greenling and Artizone. “If you have a tamale emergency, you’re having a party and you need tamales, they can deliver it in 20 minutes,” Richard says.

—Rachel Stone

Danny Fulgencio

Sing

Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra & The Booker T. Washington Vocal Jazz Ensemble

Branding history

It started with a T-shirt that simply stated “Oak Cliff.” Now, six years and about 6,000 “Oak Cliff” T-shirt sales later, Sherry Andrus of Epiphany Boutique is tapping into more neighborhood pride. The two newest designs feature familiar icons: Aunt Stelle’s Sno Cones and Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts. Andrus commissioned neighborhood artist Lisa Walter of Freelisa Designs to recreate the iconic signs, and hopes to ultimately sell six Oak Cliff T-shirt designs. She has picked out the signage she wants on the next four shirts but is working on securing permission from the locations. The only hint she offers is that the signs are all within a five-mile radius of her Bishop Arts shop.

“People love the economic diversity and revitalization” in Oak Cliff, Andrus says. She expects an inevitable boom as the Bishop Arts District connects to the Trinity River Project redevelopment. “The way it’s going to transform in the next few years is going to be unusual in these economic times.” As she looks toward this future, Andrus also is fixing her gaze on Oak Cliff’s roots and the businesses and images that have been neighborhood landmarks for decades. She hopes to have a couple more shirts finalized and printed before the end of the year. Below the icons, each of the first™ two printed shirts says “Oak Cliff: This can’t be replicated” — a sentiment Andrus, an Oak Cliff resident, mirrors. “It’s a great place to live. People that live here, love to live here and would not want to live anywhere else,” she says.

—Lauri Valerio

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Disc golf dreams

Zac Lytle thinks Oak Cliff could use a little more disc golf. He likes the sport, in which players toss discs — or Frisbees — into baskets. And though he doesn’t think he’s very good at it, he is spearheading an effort to build a disc golf course in our neighborhood. It started in September when Lytle founded the Oak Cliff Disc Golf Club. In order to play, members often trek to a course in Grand Prairie. “It’s a small group of younger people with varied backgrounds who like outdoor activities,” Lytle says. “All the members have different levels of ability.” Among them is Nate Derr, a former professional disc golfer. Like many sports, disc golf can be played for kicks or for competition. It closely mirrors golf: You choose from a putting disc, driving disc, mid-range disc and others depend

ing on your proximity to the “hole,” or basket. You stand on a tee pad, which is typically a concrete square from where you toss. The fewer throws you make on a 9- or 18-hole course, the better your score. Courses are often built in existing parks, and Lytle hopes an Oak Cliff course would be completed by June. Right now he is focused on securing space in a park and gaining support. Dallas Park Board District 3 representative Michael Reagan, who lives near Lytle, and District 3 Councilman Scott Griggs have both expressed support for the course, according to Lytle. Two potential locations are Founder’s Park and a green space in Elmwood. “A lot of people are afraid it will change the park, but really there’s no significant change,” Lytle says. “I think it’s important for parks to

Andrew Howard, Zac Lytle, Michael Dilger, Gary Buckner and Nate Derr are members of the Oak Cliff Disc Golf Club.

I’m too tiny to be mobbed at the mall! This year, I’m finding gifts for everyone on my list at NHG. Garden Coach appointments, terrariums, Fairy gardens, raised bed kits, forced bulbs & more! Gift ideas at NHG.com or when you “like” them on Facebook.

NEW! Pick

be used, and parks that aren’t used have problems.” Early next year, Lytle plans to hold a fundraising event. He expects the cost of building a course would be $5,000$10,000 to install the tee pads, signs, maps and baskets. He also hopes to start a petition to convince the city of neighborhood support. “It’s an opportunity to be outside and be active. It’s a free social activity,” Lytle says of disc golf. “It’s something that pretty much anyone can enjoy.” He has a background in city planning and is one of the founders and now president of Bike Friendly Oak Cliff. Though he has lived in Oak Cliff only about five years, he is invested in the neighborhood. “That’s sort of what I enjoy about Dallas, is making it a better city,” Lytle says.

We believe each tree has its own personality that fits your family! Who will you choose this year?

Christmas trees are available the day after Thanksgiving. Fresh greens are in-store this weekend. Nov.

—Lauri Valerio

Photo by Can Türkyilmaz

Out & About

December 2012

Dec. 8

THROUGH DEC. 20

Sculpture exhibit

Works on display from members of the Texas Sculpture Association include cast bronze, ceramic, metal and ceilingsuspended sculptures. One highlighted artist is Oak Cliff’s own Julie Pitman. Oak Cliff Cultural Center, 223 W. Jefferson, 214.670.3777, dallasculture.org/ oakcliffculturalcenter, free

DEC. 1

‘Holiday Eve’ performance

Start your month with some holiday tunes at Bob Schneider and the Moonlight Orchestra’s 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. concerts. Schneider, an awardwinning singer-songwriter, will perform alongside a horn and string section, jazz drums and a stand-up bass. Tickets are available online.

The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis, 214.272.8346, thekessler.org, $25-$37.50

DEC. 1

The Dallas Flea

Winnetka

Heights Holiday Home Tour

The Winnetka Heights Neighborhood Association’s 26th annual holiday tour begins at the Turner House and runs noon-6 p.m. Six historic district homes, built in Prairie School and Craftsman styles, will open their doors to visitors. Listen to carolers, taste Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters and Kessler Cookies samples, chat with dog rescue representatives and bid in a silent auction at the Turner House. You can buy tickets online or at the door. Proceeds benefit the Winnetka Heights Neighborhood Association. Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont, whhometour.org, $15 at the door, $12 in advance

More than 75 artisans will showcase art, furniture, home décor, jewelry, handmade items and vintage goods alongside food trucks from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The indoor market began a couple years ago to highlight grassroots artists and businesses. Oak Cliff vendors include Kitchen Beautician and f. is for frank Parking is free.

South Side on Lamar, 1409 S. Lamar, thedallasflea.com $5 entry, children under 12 free

DEC. 8

Garden workday

Pitch in at 10 a.m. to help make Oak Cliff a bit greener at the Twelve Hills monthly workday. Bring weeding tools to help clean up the center’s butterfly garden. If it’s raining, the event will be cancelled. Twelve Hills Nature Center, 817 Mary Cliff, twelvehills.org, free

Nov. 30-Dec. 1

Jingle Bells

on Bishop

Carolers and stores join in the annual festivities. An urban bazaar market will be stationed in the middle of the street. Bishop Arts District, free

Elliott Muñoz

30 word on

to Graffiti’

Oak Cliff artist Chris Bingham’s exhibit “Art in Motion: An Ode to Graffiti” opens with a 6-8 p.m. artist’s reception Dec. 8 and runs through Jan. 5. The exhibit focuses on the influence of graffiti in art and society in general, “removing the dismal backgrounds that house these beautiful works of art.” While there, you can also view the gallery’s holiday show featuring the on-sale works of more than a dozen artists.

Norwood Flynn Gallery, 3318 Shorecrest, 214.351.3318, norwoodflynngallery.com, free

brumley Gardens

to Grandmother’s house we go! charming retro music box, one of many styles available at our christmas store. these will go fast! shop local! brumley Gardens- lake highlands: 10540 church rd. 214.343.4900 & bishop arts: 700 w. davis 214.942.0794 www.brumleygardens.com.

DEC. 9

Christmas bazaar

Activities abound with an old-school Christmas karaoke, a chili cook-off, a cupcake walk, a family photo booth and much more. The event runs from 12:303:30 p.m. Proceeds go toward Christmas baskets for Oak Cliff families in need. Tyler Street United Methodist Church, 927 W. Tenth, 214.946.8106, tsumc.org, free entry

DEC. 11

Book club

DEC. 12-16

‘Black Nativity’

Langston Hughes’ play retells the story of the Nativity with gospel music, spoken word, praise dance and drums. The TeCo Theatrical Productions performances begin at 3 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Discounted tickets are available preview night Dec. 11. Bishop Arts Theatre Center, 215 S. Tyler, 214.948.0716, tecotheater.org, $15 in advance, $20 at the door

1/3 V 3 items

Discuss this month’s book, “A Discovery of Witches,” at 6 p.m. The novel, by Deborah Harkness, revolves around a witch, a vampire and a mysterious manuscript.

North Oak Cliff Library, 302 W. 10th, 214.670.7555, dallaslibrary2.org, free

DEC. 13

Holiday cabaret

The Turner House commemorates its 100th anniversary with a cabaret featuring vocalists Karen Fry and Marlene Bigley, who will sing “standards” inspired by ideas of time and memory. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 7:30-9 p.m. performance. Refreshments will be served. Buy tickets online.

Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont, 214.946.1670, turnerhouse.org, $15-$20

wackym’s kitchen

wackym’s kitchen bakes delicious cookies from original recipes using fresh, natural ingredients like real butter and cane sugar. Visit our website to order or find a retail location. wackymskitchen.com

adVocate ornament

the advocate Foundation’s limited-edition, numbered, gift for the new home owner or dallas transplant. sales benefit neighborhood organizations. 214.292.0486 foundation.advocatemag.com

‘Ode

body text is absolute limit on text. we will not count address, etc.

Dallas Heritage Village is aglow with Candlelight!

Candlelight remembers holiday homecomings with cooking demonstrations, historic recipes, and holiday exhibits. Celebrate the season with carriage rides, carolers, and entertainment. The Dallas Guild Bake Sale and some of Dallas’ best food trucks will be on hand to provide affordable tasty treats! Join us for this holiday tradition!

For online ticket purchases, DallasHeritageVillage.org/Candlelight

Through Dec. 11

‘Art With a View’

The exhibit displays artist Mark S. Nelson’s paintings, which explore ideas of selfperception, time, mortality, spirituality and more.

The Belmont Hotel, 901 Fort Worth, 214.393.2300, belmontdallas.com, free

DEC.

15

Artists’ reception

Artists Jennifer and Matthew Guest kick off their exhibit with a 6-9 p.m. reception. The Guests’ pieces will be on display through Jan. 20 when the gallery is open, Saturdays and Sundays noon-5 p.m., or by appointment.

mighty fine arts, 419 N. Tyler, 214.942.5241, mfagallery.com, free

DEC. 20

‘A Christmas Story’

The 1983 holiday classic features 9-yearold Ralphie, who is determined to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The movie will be shown in old school 35-millimeter film for a few days. Call or check the website for times and more screening dates.

The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson, 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, $8-$9.50

Image by Priscilla Derr Killion

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to LIVELOCAL@ADVOCATEMAG.COM

Good Space announces 39 new apartments on Bishop

Good Space and Magnolia Property Company announced two new apartment buildings planned for North Bishop Avenue A 24-unit building is planned for 801 N. Bishop at Canty and a 15-unit building would be at 908 N. Bishop, between Fifth and Sixth streets. The apartments will include xeriscaping, cycling amenities and front patios that connect with the street, he says. Along with Spence and Randy Primrose of Magnolia, architect Don Wilder, who is designing the buildings, also will be a partner in the project. The developers are seeking variances for the project, which is tentatively called Magnolia on Bishop, to allow for alley-entry parking and a “green wall” of chain-link fence with vines to separate the parking lot from the alley, rather than a solid fence.

Golf boutique opens in Bishop Arts

Pebble and Pine, the new golf store in the Bishop Arts District, opened in October in the space formerly occupied by Onli, next door to Oak Cliff Bicycle Company Pebble and Pine specializes in made-in-the-U.S.A. items, including shirts from Austin-based Criquet, pants from New York City-based Grown & Sewn, balls from Titleist, Scotty Cameron putters and toiletries from Baxter of California “There are a lot of good golf courses down here, but no golf stores,” says golf pro Nick Griffin. Griffin and his wife, Jennifer, live near Preston and Royal, but they chose to open their shop in Bishop Arts

3 When Garcia took office, she pledged to donate a portion of her salary to neighborhood groups — almost 12.5 percent of her pay.

More business bits

because it’s a place they like to spend their leisure time, they say. The store will have a putting green and TVs, and Griffin says he hopes Pebble and Pine becomes a social space where golf fans can watch tournaments on TV and hang out. The shop will have free beer for customers every day.

New boutique in Bishop Arts District

A couple months ago, Cody Ellison opened Home on Bishop, which carries furniture, home accessories, clothing, jewelry and gifts. Ellison, who lives in Turtle Creek, opened the boutique after years in the corporate world. He was in sales for a textile design and manufacturing company. “I want the store to feel like you’re coming into my home,” he says. Ellison says he buys carefully, and he doesn’t replenish the same merchandise. “The concept is, I buy things I love, paying very close attention to price,” Ellison says. “That’s why the store looks more expensive than it is.” Most of the jewelry costs around $18. An upholstered side chair costs about $185. There are contemporary pieces, such as plexiglass dining chairs ($149), as well as more traditional pieces.

GET IN CONTACT

Good Space 408 W. EIGHTH, SUITE 103 214.942.0690

GOODSPACE.COM

Pebble and Pine 408 N. BISHOP 214.942.4653

PEBBLEANDPINE.COM

Oak Cliff Bicycle Company 408 N. BISHOP, SUITE 103 214.941.0010

OCBICYCLECO.COM

Home on Bishop 502 N. Bishop 214.434.1421

HOMEONBISHOP.COM

Mesa 118 W. JEFFERSON 214.941.4246

MESADALLAS.COM

Brumley Gardens 700 W. DAVIS 214.942.0794

BRUMLEYGARDENS.COM

Friends of Oak Cliff Parks 214.670.1925

FRIENDSOFOAKCLIFFPARKS.ORG

Casa Trevino Apartments 1901 W. DAVIS 214.946.6410

CASATREVINO.ORG

Old Oak Cliff Conservation League

OOCCL.ORG

1 Mesa recently released a new menu. Chef Raul Reyes’ new dishes include mole chicken enchiladas and seasonal cocktails. Mesa is also considering a move to a trendier part of the neighborhood. 2 Brumley Gardens opened its new Bishop Arts store in Oak Cliff in October. The Lake Highlands-based garden shop’s second store celebrated its opening with the Dallas Family Band, gardening workshops, pumpkin decorating and door-prize raffles. 3 County Commissioner Elba Garcia donated $15,800 to 25 local nonprofits including Friends of Oak Cliff Parks, Casa Trevino and the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League, as well as Dallas Police Department Explorers Program, Dallas Animal Advocates, Cathedral of Hope Food Pantry and other charities. When Garcia took office, she pledged to donate a portion of her salary to neighborhood groups — almost 12.5 percent of her pay.

.

Guiso del rey is new on the menu at Mesa.

Delicious

The wine list

Stroll down to Boulevardier for French-inspired fare. The Bishop Arts bistro’s walls are lined in wood, brick and wine while its tables showcase food ranging from French onion soup to burgers. “We all loved that kind of simple rustic approach to French food, not the overdone pretentious types of French food you can find sometimes,” chef Nathan Tate says. “We wanted a really relaxed environment.” Tate owns the restaurant along with Brooks Anderson, Bradley Anderson and Randall Copeland, with whom he runs a Rockwall restaurant, Ava. Before opening at the end of July, Tate and Brooks researched food in New York, Montreal and New Orleans, whose seafood influences are reflected on the menu. Boulevardier also o ers French wines not common in Dallas and beef from the family farm where Tate grew up. “We like to have a rustic sensibility and a soulfulness to our menu and our food,” Tate says.

—Lauri Valerio

BOULEVARDIER

408 N. Bishop, suite 108 214.942.1828

dallasboulevardier.com

AMBIANCE: RUSTIC

PRICE RANGE: $8-$28

DID YOU KNOW?

BOULEVARDIER ALSO SERVES SUNDAY BRUNCH FROM 11 A.M.-3 P.M.

Left: Redfish “on the half shell” comes with tomato-olive couscous, butter-roasted cauliflower, espelette pepper and meyer lemon confit.

Above: Boulevardier’s wine selection is extensive and features specialty French wines. Opposite page: Escargots come in a coconut red curry sauce with trumpet mushrooms, scallions, pickled carrots and daikon. Photos by Mark Davis

| MORE WINE SPOTS | 1 Whitehall Exchange

This wine bar has a wide range of selection and prices. Tasty bites include sliders, an artisan cheese board, flatbreads, a spiced nut mix and a white-chocolate bread pudding.

500 N. Bishop

214.946.3900

2 The Kessler Kitchen

The historic theater isn’t just a spot for great music; it also serves food and drinks. The wine list fills half the menu with more than 15 names and brief descriptions of each. For food, try the roasted jalepeño hummus or black bean and chicken nachos.

1230 W. Davis

214.272.8346 thekessler.org

3 Nova

The dinner menu includes pizza, burgers and pho. Under each big plate listing, find suggested wine pairings ranging from Riesling to sauvignon.

1417 W. Davis 214.484.7123 novadallas.com

FOOD AND WINE ONLINE

Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/dining

HAS CLOSED

After 8 years at this location and a total of 14 years in the Bishop Arts area we are sorry to say that due to City of Dallas Zoning Restrictions on N. Bishop Ave., from Davis to Colorado, Massage Therapy and Acupuncture cannot be done at this location. Laura and Tyra have set up separate offices. We appreciate you and look forward to continuing to provide services for you. Please call us for information, appointments, locations and directions:

Laura Yoo, Licensed Acupuncturist 972-935-4169 | laura@activeacu.com

Manning Wellness 2702 McKinney Ave., Suite 202, Dallas 75204

Tyra Quesenberry, Licensed Massage Therapist 214-395-7195 | TEQ450@aol.com (and Professional Bowenwork Practitioner)

Tyra’s office remains in the North Oak Cliff area call or email for directions

Champagne explained

Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut ($15) California

Never has one kind of wine been so confusing to so many people. Once, all sparkling was called champagne, even if it didn’t come from the Champagne region of France. Today, for a variety of reasons, only bubbly that comes from Champagne can be called Champagne — which, as it turns out, is perfectly fine with producers in Spain, where it’s called cava; in Italy, where it’s called Prosecco; and in the rest of the France, where it’s called cremant.

Those wines, which cost a fraction of the price of Champagne, are markedly improved in quality and deliver value far above their price. Yes, there is nothing like Champagne, but if you want to spend $20 or less, there are literally hundreds of great wines to choose from.

These wines are just a glimpse of what’s available:

• Miguel Pons Cava Brut Nature ($16): This cava is soft and generous, with sweet lemon fruit and bubbles that won’t quit. It doesn’t have the edge that many other cavas have, but that’s not a problem.

• Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut ($15): A California sparkler that never disappoints. Look for a bit of spice, minerals, apple fruit and even a certain yeastiness, which is usually found only in more expensive wines.

• Francois Labet Cremant Brut ($15): Outstanding chardonnay-based e ort from Burgundy region of France that has some apple, wonderful bubbles and even a bit of caramel in the back. Not as fruity as cava, but more austere than real Champagne.

JEFF SIEGEL’S WEEKLY WINE REVIEWS appear every Wednesday on oakcliff.advocatemag.com

—Jeff Siegel

with your wine

Texas pecan cake

Pecans, though popular in Texas and the South, aren’t as well-known in the rest of the world. This knockoff of a Spanish-style almond cake shows just how versatile pecans can be.

GROCERY LIST

2 eggs

1 c sugar

1/3 c oil

1/2 c milk

3/4 c flour

DIRECTIONS

1/4 c ground pecans

3/4 tsp baking powder

3 Tbsp pecan pieces

powdered sugar for garnishing

Ask the wine guy

Why does sparkling wine have bubbles?

1. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in sugar and oil, and then add milk, flour, ground pecans, and baking powder. Mix well.

2. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle pecan pieces on top. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Garnish with powdered sugar. Makes one 9-inch cake; takes 45 minutes to an hour.

It’s from carbonation, just like soft drinks — though the process is much more complicated with champagne-style wines and involves two rounds of fermentation, as opposed to one for still wine. The second round produces the bubbles.

—Jeff Siegel

ASK THE WINE GUY taste@advocatemag.com

2012 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

STORY BY RACHEL STONE | PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO & CAN TÜRKYILMAZ

THE HOLIDAYS ARE A TIME of mass-manufactured items and stores galore. In Oak Cliff, we have more than enough places to shop, but is it worth the traffic and trudging through checkout lines at the mall? Gifts for friends and loved ones might be even closer — and better yet, made locally. We found a few crafty neighbors who are hard at work this holiday season.

That’s what you’ll hear when you give one of these unique made-right-here-in-the-neighborhood gifts

2012 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Erik Tosten, Erik Tosten Woodworking

Gift idea: wooden spoons

Price range: $20-$50

Where to find it: Oil & Cotton, Ro2 Gallery, etsy.com/eriktosten

Oak Cliff artist Erik tOstEn has two fine arts degrees in ceramics, but about three years ago, woodworking became his focus.

There’s no kiln in the shop behind Tosten’s house, but there are five or six antique hand lathes and a shave horse he made himself, among other tools for his craft.

Tosten, who teaches digital design full-time at University of Texas at Arlington, says Japanese and Scandinavian carving inspires him. He makes bowls, chopsticks and some furniture, but his favorite objects are spoons.

He likes to work in cherry, mesquite, hard maple, mahogany and, especially, black walnut. Some of his black walnut spoons have an almost iridescent tiger-eye pattern in the smoothed grain.

Tosten says he would like to use more local wood, but pecan is too hard and oak too porous for a good spoon. Sometimes he can find a big enough

piece of malus, the wood from a crabapple tree, to make a spoon with mossy green and gold coloring.

Tosten says he learned woodworking from his dad.

“I was out in the garage making pinewood derby cars when I was 9,” he says.

Tosten has been making fine art for years, and when he started making spoons, some of his friends though it was a little strange. Some people don’t get why you would pay $35 for a hand-carved spoon when you can get one at Walmart for $1.

“It’s hard to compete with mass production,” Tosten says.

But the spoons Tosten makes touch people in a way that his previous artwork never had, he says.

“With my spoons, people will come find me to tell me how much they like them,” he says. “That doesn’t really happen with my other art.”

d“i was out in the garage making pinewood derby cars when i was 9.”

Ariel Saldivar, Olivia K

Gift idea: Edwardian-inspired memory locket

Price range: $125-$195

where to find it: Factory

Girl, St. Michael’s Woman’s Exchange, Nasher Museum Store

Late Victorian/ e dwardian jewe L ry is one of Ariel Saldivar’s passions. The 30-year-old Oak Cliff native is a musician and art curator. But she also designs for her own jewelry line, Olivia K.

Her newest design is based on late-19th century memory lockets. She bought one at flea market in New York City in 2004, and she recently copied elements of that design to produce one of her own.

The glass lockets unscrew at the top, and you can put a lock of hair or a picture inside. She orders the bezel glass from Los Angeles, but she produces the rest of the necklaces, all made of sterling silver, in her home studio. Saldivar usually works on her jewelry from 6-11 a.m.

“People ask me, ‘How can you do all this?,’ and it’s because I sleep five hours a night,” she says.

Saldivar also curates art for a wealthy family in North Dallas, and she’s a musician who tours with Canadian rock band Broken Social Scene.

Saldivar had an opera scholarship to New York University, but she graduated with a degree in art history.

“I had a bunch of hippie friends in college,” she says, explaining how she learned to make jewelry and other artistic tasks.

Part of her skill could be genetic, though: Saldivar recounts the time she came home from school to find her mother had created a mural in their kitchen using only electrical tape on the white wall.

“It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen,” she says. “I remember being amazed that you could create something so beautiful from something so simple as black electrical tape.”

Saldivar has been making jewelry for years, but in January 2011 she became serious about it and launched Olivia K, named after her dog. She also is working on a line of three leather handbags embossed with gold and silver, plus a line of soaps, which she’ll be selling at the Wigwam pop-up shop at Oil & Cotton Dec. 6.

nicheLLe ritter says she “was a chemistry nerd in high school,” which is part of what led her to teach herself to make soap.

“I was afraid of the lye at first, but I got over that because it’s easy as long as you’re careful,” she says.

About 11 years ago, she made a big batch of soaps to give as Christmas presents, and she had a lot left over. Friends encouraged her to start selling them, so she entered her first craft show. Ritter gained loyal customers almost immediately.

She has since expanded her line of grooming products, Kitchen Beautician, to include lotions, bath bombs, salt scrubs, lip balms and hand-poured candles. She literally works out all of the recipes in her kitchen, and she offers scents including lavender, eucalyptus and peppermint, lemongrass and mint, and goat milk and honey.

Nichelle Ritter, Kitchen Beautician

Gift idea: Soap, lotion, bath stuff and candles

Price range: $5-$18 where to find it: kitchenbeautician.net, Bishop Arts District Saturday market

Ritter moved to Oak Cliff about 13 years ago after her job as beverage director for a restaurant company relocated her from Memphis, Tenn.

“I love the Cliff,” she says. “I’ll never leave here.”

Ritter says running a side business is fun because she gets to “see the power of marketing.” She loves hearing clients say they saw her Facebook post or email blast, she says.

But her best selling point is that she uses the products herself.

“When I started Kitchen Beautician, I stopped buying soap and lotion, so I only use my own products,” she says.

2012 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

dspringer says creating things out of wood every day brings him happiness because it is both artistic and laborious.

Sean Springer, Springer Design Studio

Gift idea: wooden toys and accessories

Price range: $30-$95

Where to find it: Oil & Cotton, We Are 1976, Neighborhood

When a nasty Windstorm finally toppled a 100-year-old pecan tree in Oak Cliff this past summer, artist Sean Springer dismantled it with a chainsaw. He’s curing the wood in long sheets about 2 inches thick, separated by blocks and covered with tarps in the backyard of his home and studio just south of Interstate 30.

When the wood is cured, two or three years from now, he will use part of that tree to make signage and other amenities for the King’s Highway Neighborhood Association.

Springer is a Rhode Island School of Design graduate and New York native who moved to Dallas in 2009 after working for furniture makers in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. He likes the climate here, and he doesn’t have allergies, he says, like he does at home in New York. So he thinks he’ll stay awhile.

Springer’s minimalist handmade furniture, cabinetry and other designs are in some of our city’s chicest homes and businesses.

For a fee, Springer will take away a dead or felled tree from your yard. In return, he gives you credit toward a piece of furniture plus a token from the tree, called a molar. That’s a geometrical carved piece that could be used as a pedestal or footstool.

He also makes chopsticks, cutting boards, bowls and spoons, plus wooden jewelry and toys. Those all can be had for under $100 and make lovely gifts. His tetrahedron toy, designed especially for Oil & Cotton, teaches people of all ages about angles and design.

Springer works out of a huge prefab garage on his quarter-acre property, and he rents space to other woodworkers, including artist Erik Glissman.

Springer says creating things out of wood every day brings him happiness because it is both artistic and laborious.

“I need that physical activity,” he says. “It’s cathartic, and it gives me a lot of satisfaction.”

LiLy Smith-KirKLey SitS at a computer all day in her job as a graphic designer. But on nights and weekends, she is in her letterpress shop, making hand-carved linoleum prints and turning analog designs out of her letterpress machine.

She produces posters, stationery, post cards, gift tags and more as Lilco, a “little letterpress co.,” as her tagline goes.

Lily Smith-Kirkley, Lilco

Gift idea: notebooks, gift tags, prints

Price range: $4-$60 Where to find it: lilcoletterpress.com, Bishop Arts District Saturday market

Smith-Kirkley shares a studio inside a former West Dallas machine shop with her partner, artist Kim Cadmus Owens. Smith-Kirkley hand letters designs such as the 3-by-5 postcard, “Hola,” inside a carved papel picado banner. She usually draws her designs on transfer paper first and then carves them into linoleum.

It can be a mind-bender to carve everything backward into the blocks, she says.

Sometimes she and Cadmus Owens collaborate on projects. During a recent studio visit, they were working on a cactus print. Cadmus Owens, who teaches painting at the University of Dallas, had worked out the shadowing on paper, and SmithKirkley was making the carvings.

Lilco’s sets of five gift tags cost $4. A set of four notebooks featuring letterpress prints of office supplies and phones costs $18. The large prints cost $60.

The Live LocaL cornucopia

All of these products are the work of neighborhood-based entrepreneurs. Give them as hostess gifts, stocking stuffers or prezzies for the office. Better yet, buy one of each and make a Live Local gift basket for your favorite neighbor.

Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters

Oak Cliff Coffee is roasted and packaged right here in the ’hood. Plus, the company has a commitment to fair trade and a quality cup of coffee. One-pound bags of single-origin or direct-trade coffee cost $16-$17. Custom blends cost about $15. Monthly subscriptions also are available starting at $16 a month. oakcliffcoffee.com, 214.929.6752

Oak Cliff Cellars

OK, so Oak Cliff Cellars wines are not made in Oak Cliff. They’re produced in Napa Valley, but owner J.R. Richardson lives in Oak Cliff, and he named his label after our neighborhood. Oak Cliff Cellars offers several varietals and is available at Bolsa Mercado, where bottles sell for $20-$44.

oakcliffcellars.com, 877.821.5304

Cocoandré Cocolatier

Chocolatier Andrea Pedraza makes hand-rolled truffles in flavors including strawberry passion fruit, raspberry lavender, café con leche and spicy chile. They cost $14 for a box of eight and $27 for a half-pound box. Cocoandré’s molded chocolates and chocolate-covered marshmallows on a stick make excellent stocking stuffers for under $5. cocoandre.com, 831 W. Davis, 214.941.3030

Kessler Cookie Co.

This neighborhood-based bakery offers made-to-order cookies and brownies. Cookies include chocolate chip, oatmeal cranberry walnut, honey roasted peanut butter and vanilla sugar. Eighteen cookies cost $27, and 36 cookies cost $50. The Kessler Club cookie-of-the-month club offers four months of cookies and an apron for $100.

kesslercookies.com, 214.948.7412

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Norma’s Café hosts its annual toy drive through Dec. 20. Bring a new, unwrapped toy by the restaurant, located at 1123 W. Davis, during business hours. For more information, call 214.946.4711 or visit normascafe.com.

The inauguralLatino Arts Festival took place in the Bishop Arts District in November. Oak Cliffbased attorney and former City Councilman Domingo Garcia and his wife, County Commissioner Elba Garcia, sponsored the festival. The event featured music from Denton-based Mariachi Quetzaland Dallas-basedFelix Flores Band. There were also salsa dancers, poets, art projects for kids and a visual art competition. The Garcias wanted to put on the festival to showcase our city’s Latino art and culture, says event spokeswoman Esmeralda Orozco “I don’t think in Dallas we have a lot of cultural events that bring people together,” Orozco says. “We want to celebrate the Latino art and culture that makes Dallas a vibrant community.”

The 47th annual Westapher Golf Tournament took place in October at Oak Cliff’s renovatedStevens Park Golf Coursewhere sports reporter Gina Miller emceed. The event benefited theNexus Recovery Center, which provides substance abuse support for women, teens 13-17 years old and their children. It is the only treatment center in Texas that works with women in the final stages of their pregnancy and “newly parenting adolescents.” An auction in Preston Hollow resident Faye Briggs’s home was held in conjunction with the tournament.

Neighborhood nonprofit AIDS Arms selected John Carlo as its new CEO. Former executive director Raeline Nobles leaves the post after 15 years. Carlo’s experience includes the University of Minnesota’s BioWatch Program and Dallas County Health and Human Services, where he helped create a temporary clinic to treat more than 10,000 evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.

HAVE AN ITEM TO BE FEATURED?

Please submit news items and/or photos concerning neighborhood residents, activities, honors and volunteer opportunities to editor@advocatemag.com. Our deadline is the first of the month prior to the month of publication.

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“THEY DESTROYED EVERYTHING.”

Those were the words of Lynton Musik after he came home to find a burglar had ransacked his house one mid-morning in October. With some errands to run, Lynton left home about 10 that morning. He re-

The Victim: Lynton Musik

The Crime: Burglary

Date: Saturday, Oct. 20

Time: Between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Location: 1300 block of Lansford

turned within the hour to find devastation in his home.

Someone had forced open the front door to get inside. Musik says the thief made off with an old .22 caliber pistol, some pocketknives and a couple file cabinets. Sadly, in the burglar’s haste to find anything of value, the urn holding the ashes of Musik’s wife’s was broken.

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ADVOCATE PUBLISHING does not pre-screen, recommend or investigate the advertisements and/ or Advertisers published in our magazines. As a result, Advocate Publishing is not responsible for your dealings with any Advertiser. Please ask each Advertiser that you contact to show you the necessary licenses and/or permits required to perform the work you are requesting. Advocate Publishing takes comments and/ or complaints about Advertisers seriously, and we do not publish advertisements that we know are inaccurate, misleading and/or do not live up to the standards set by our publications. If you have a legitimate complaint or positive comment about an Advertiser, please contact us at 214-560-4203. Advocate Publishing recommends that you ask for and check references from each Advertiser that you contact, and we recommend that you obtain a written statement of work to be completed, and the price to be charged, prior to approving any work or providing an Advertiser with any deposit for work to be completed.

Another bad part of the break-in was that the file cabinets contained important paperwork that he needed.

“That’s all I cared about; the rest they

could have,” he says.

Luckily, the thief must have thrown out the paperwork because a neighbor found it around the corner. The neighbor’s home also had been broken into.

Thinking about what little was taken and the mess that was made, Musik says it just couldn’t have been worth the risk for someone to break into his home.

Dallas Police Major Edwin Ruiz-Diaz of the Southwest Patrol Division says it’s uncommon for burglars to target a household strictly to steal documents with personal information. However, the loss of these types of documents could lead to identity theft.

“It would be prudent for someone who is the victim of a similar offense to place safeguards on their credit cards (alerts of some sort) and to periodically check their credit rating. Also, the victim of this type of crime should closely monitor any bank account or credit card account that might be vulnerable due to the theft of documents.”

CRIME NUMBERS |

11.05 3400 3

Date when a thief stole a car battery from a purple Dodge at Jay 2 Auto Sales on the 900 block of Jefferson

Block of Kiesthill where someone rummaged through a Honda parked in the owner’s driveway sometime after 10 p.m. Oct. 18, but took nothing

SOURCE: Dallas Police Department crime statistics

Number of past offenses that sent a man to jail after he was stopped at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 on the 2600 block of Zang for not using his turn signal

Sean Cha n is a freelance writer and author of “Raising the Stakes”, obtainable at raisingthestakesbook.com. If you have been a recent crime victim, email crime@advocatemag.com.

Air time

This Oak Cliff pilot was supersonic Comment. Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/backstory to tell us what you think.

Fourteen-year-old “pilot” John William Konrad Sr. flew his and his friends’ homemade single-wing glider (created in their high school woodshop) through the San Diego night air for a glorious 20 seconds before careening into a beach sand dune and reducing the plane to a pile of rubbish. All present joined in a huge laugh, and, like most juvenile Depression-era aeronautic engineers would do in those days, they created something usable out of the rubble: They built a bonfire!

To pay for flying lessons, Konrad washed and fueled airplanes during his teenage years, before joining the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943. With B-17 bomber crews in short supply during that segment of World

War II, he was assigned to the 305th bomber group in Germany, followed by flying C-46s and C-54s during the Berlin Airlift, as a commander. After that, Konrad was assigned to serve as a special staff pilot out of Beirut, Lebanon, a part of the United Nations Mediation and Conciliation Commission.

Upon his return from Europe, Captain Konrad was selected for the U.S. Air Force’s first test pilot school, before beginning a four-year stint as a military experimental test pilot. During these years he amassed more than 2,000 jet aircraft hours and 1,000 hours in multi-engine planes and became a fellow and charter member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

When Konrad retired from the service in

1953, Chance Vought Aircraft immediately scooped up the now experienced pilot, which initiated Konrad’s 38-year career with the company — a move that brought the aviator and his family to Oak Cliff and made Vought’s new recruit the youngest test pilot in the country. Within three months, he was promoted to “chief experimental test pilot,” a position he held for the majority of his years with the company. Konrad went on to fly more than 100 aircraft types, but his favorite was the Navy’s F-8U1 Crusader. During the fighter’s maiden flight at Edwards AFB on March 25, 1955, with Konrad at the

controls, the aircraft went to Mach-1 supersonic flight, the first time for any maiden flight and a record that still stands. Konrad’s ongoing career with the F-8 earned him the unofficial title of “Mr. Crusader” in Navy circles.

“The F-8 remained in the U.S. Naval inventory until 1986,” relates the pilot’s son, John William “Bill” Konrad Jr., “and its last operational flight was off the French carrier Faunch at the stroke of midnight in 2000 — with a flight of four Crusaders breaking the sound barrier into the new century!”

Following Vought’s F-8 program, “Flight

Captain John Konrad spent most of his career as a test pilot, flying aircraft such as this Vought XC-142A.

Every December, the two pilots promoted their “Christmas Light Flight,” taking neighborhood children on air tours to view the city’s holiday illuminations.

Konrad and his sons, Bill and Bobby, with dog Susie

Willie” (Konrad’s control tower “handle”) became the first to fly the A-7 Corsair II. He was the company’s demo pilot for the F-8 and A-7 at both Paris and Farnborough air shows for several years and, in 1964, was instrumental in the initial flight of the armed services’ first vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the XC-142A. He later became Vought’s director of test flight operations.

Konrad not only flew the friendly skies but also flew around Oak Cliff!

According to Bill, after his father’s nationwide recognition for the spectacular F-8 maiden test flight, Konrad gifted himself with a new 1955 turquoise Thunderbird hard-top convertible, which he frequently cruised around Oak Cliff. Soon after, Konrad’s family moved to the Druid Hills housing addition, where Bill and his brother Bobby attended Kimball High School. In the mid-’60s, if a girl was lucky enough to snatch a date with Bill, he often arrived in his dad’s T-Bird — a car to see and a car in which to be seen.

After he retired in 1991, Captain Konrad and his next-door neighbor, Dr. Lloyd Woody, owned and operated Konrad/ Woody Aircraft out of Love Field, flying private assignments for large local banks. And every December, the two pilots promoted their “Christmas Light Flight,” taking neighborhood children on air tours to

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view the city’s holiday illuminations where, Bill states, “There was no charge and no waivers.”

The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame inducted Konrad in 2000, with his original F-8 Crusader and A-7 Corsair on display in the front of the Frontiers of Flight Museum. (The F-8 originally was awarded to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.)

In 2002, Konrad moved out of his Oak Cliff home on Holiday Road and passed away in 2006. Now resting with his wife of 55 years, Marilyn, at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, the interment service was highlighted by a Scottish bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace,” and a fly-by of the Confederate Air Force.

“When[ever] I hear a single-engine fighter in the sky,” Bill reminisces, “I look up and think of ‘The Old Test Pilot.’ He had an aviation career that most aviators would envy. He was my best friend and my hero.”

But the Konrad legacy doesn’t end here.

Bill, a recently retired Continental Airlines pilot, says, “Between Dad and myself, we have a total of 106 years and over 45,000 hours of aviation experience. I think Orville and Wilbur would be proud!”

I think they would, too.

Gayla Brooks can date her neighborhood heritage back to 1918, when her father was born in what was then called Eagle Ford. She was born at Methodist Hospital and graduated from Kimball High School. Brooks is one of three co-authors of the recently published book, “Images of America: Oak Cli ”, and writes a monthly history column for the Oak Cli Advocate Send her feedback and ideas to gbrooks@advocatemag.com.

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