2012 April Oak Cliff

When Kathleen and her husband became pregnant later in life, serious complications developed. e couple instinctively reached out to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, where specialists in high-risk pregnancy expertly addressed her condition and helped her deliver a healthy, beautiful baby girl. She valued the extraordinary care of her doctors and nurses, the assurance of a level III NICU and other technological capabilities close at hand, and the familycentered amenities in a room with a view. e couple remained con dent that Methodist had thought of everything so she and her husband could expect the very best.

When her pregnancy took an unexpected turn, Kathleen turned to us.

THE COVER: Photo of archery at Elm Fork Shooting Sports by Danny Fulgencio.

Whose fault is it?

Because

If you read this column and don’t like it, which one of us is at fault: Me or You?

It could be me, since I came up with the idea, committed my thoughts to written form and then helped put this magazine in front of you.

But it could be you, because you decided to invest your time reading it — I didn’t force it upon you.

Or maybe the fault lies with the editor here at the Advocate who read the column after I turned it in; she must have thought it was OK, because if it wasn’t, she would have prevented it from being published. That way you wouldn’t have had to waste your time reading it.

I received my degree in journalism from Northwestern University; maybe it’s the fault of someone at the school. I took out a student loan to take the writing classes, but if I didn’t learn enough, it’s probably the professors’ fault rather than mine, because I worked pretty hard when I was there. If the professors weren’t good teachers, how could I be expected to learn?

Of course, taking out that loan put a lot of pressure on me; it was hard to concentrate sometimes. Maybe the government and politicians should have made it easier to afford college; it’s not my fault I didn’t have a lot of money.

Speaking of money, my mom and dad could have something to do with this problem, too. When I was growing up, they didn’t encourage me to become a journalist, probably because they didn’t know anyone who made a living writing.

And since they didn’t enthusiastically encourage me to follow my dream, my feelings were hurt, and that put a damper on

my motivation to work hard to be a writer, and if I’m not motivated to do something, it’s hard to do it right.

I mean, I don’t see too many people taking responsibility for their actions anywhere — corporate, government or private individuals. All I see in the media is fingerpointing and shoulder-shrugging and excuse-making, and if everyone else can do things that way, I should be able to do the same thing, too.

But you’re diverting my attention here. Let’s reconsider your involvement again: I worked hard on this column, and although I admit this is a departure from what I usually write, shouldn’t I be allowed to try something new from time to time? And shouldn’t you encourage me to do that by giving me positive feedback, even if you don’t really like what I’ve done?

All i see in the media is finger-pointing and shoulder-shrugging and excuse-making, and if everyone else can do things that way, i should be able to do the same thing, too.

So if it’s not my fault that you don’t like this column, whose responsibility is it to make it better next month?

It could be mine, since I’m the writer, and it’s my job to come up with ideas, but it could be your responsibility to give me another chance even if this column wasn’t what you thought it would be.

Look, all of this has to be someone else’s fault or responsibility, so maybe you should take a good look in the mirror because I can tell you right now, after talking my way through this, I really don’t think any of this is my fault, or my responsibility, and I resent the fact that you’re blaming me

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Two years ago, the Dallas Housing Authority opened 100 apartments at Cliff Manor on Fort Worth Avenue to house the longtime homeless. A few months later, the community pitched in to plant the first gardens there.

“Countless seeds and plants were donated from all sorts of people,” says Mildred Lane, a Cliff Manor resident and the former garden manager.

L.P., a Cliff Manor resident and the current garden manager, coordinates workdays, harvest days and food-distribution days. L.P. and two other residents work in the gardens daily. Of 180 residents, about 40 receive produce from the garden.

“It gives me something to do besides sitting around all day,” L.P. says of his gardening duties. “It also cuts down on meal costs.”

Cliff Manor residents also distribute produce from the garden to their neighbors.

“At first homeowners had issues with Cliff Manor, but the garden has brought them together,” Lane says. “They discovered it wasn’t that bad after all.”

What’s next for the Cliff Manor gardens? If Lane has her way, a vegetable stand selling fresh organic produce.

This is an excerpt from Andrea Bithell’s oakcliff.advocatemag.com post, “Gardens make Cliff Manor home for some residents.”

“Yes, Crown Buffet lacks mixologists, re-purposed wooden pallets or ‘local’ anything, and its posted prices are shown as ‘$8.49’ instead of a simple ‘9,’ and, on our visit, Nancy Grace was yelling from wall-mounted flatscreens; but the variety of flavorful offerings makes up for a lack of cool, and this could be the go-to place for hipsters with hangovers or when your Aunt Marge visits from Mesquite. We enjoyed it, and while we would have rather seen an Eatzi’s, say, in the space, it’s better than an empty Luby’s. Oh, and there is plenty of bicycle parking.”

Eighty-nine-year-old Harvey Herbst of Austin, who grew up at 301 S. Rosemont, shared his memories of Kidd Springs Park in the ‘30s with Advocate editor Rachel Stone. Read the full post at oakcliff.advocatemag.com.

—J Stolly, commenting on Scott Chase’s oakcliff.advocatemag.com post, “Crown Buffet: New kid (restaurant) on the block” Talk

“The sky slide was tall and scary! One climbed up and up and then squatted on a wooden sled-like vehicle and then sped down the slide like a roller coaster ride — very thrilling! There were concession stands of various types. My uncle had a shooting gallery as an after-work project. A carousel, all kinds of eating places, cotton candy, popcorn and peanuts. My favorite was the ‘dodge‘ems’ rubber bumper cars, which one ran head on into the others. What fun!”

—Harvey Herbst

EMAIL

rstone@advocatemag.com

Cliff manor garden

Kidd SpringS parK

Crown buffet

Cliff Manor garden manager L.P. sorts the weekly harvest.

City of Dallas Municipal Archives

Live urban, eat rural

Jim Shade might have been the only one of his university friends whose mother sent him organic tomatoes in care packages. As an interior design student in Chicago, Shade was far from his family’s nearly 200-year-old farm and rural home in Missouri, and he couldn’t find produce in the city that compared in taste. It seems now, however, that here in Oak Cliff he is back to his roots. Shade’s upbringing made him exceedingly interested in food and cooking, so it comes as no surprise that when he discovered Slow Food five years ago, it was a perfect fit. Slow Food U.S.A. is a movement that aims to bring attention to local farm-

ers so community members will begin to support growing in their own area. The organization has 225 chapters across the country, and Shade serves as co-leader of the Dallas chapter. Almost 50 local farmers, cheese-makers, bakers and ranchers contribute to the movement in Dallas, and Oak Cliff restaurants Bolsa, Smoke, Lucia and Oddfellows have received the Slow Food Dallas’ “red snail,” which declares they are a bona fide Slow Food restaurant. With the high cost of organic food and the spontaneity that comes with relying on local goods, the upkeep of a slow food restaurant is often hard to maintain.

Chefs and owners have to be flexible because their menu will change frequently. “Food changes with the calendar,” Shade says. ”But to me, that is part of the fun of Slow Food.” Shade says he believes the movement is important because organic farming is beneficial to the soil, plants, animals and the climate. Plus, consuming organically grown produce is good for health. “Do you want to spend your money on food or medical care?” Shade asks. “I haven’t had to use my health insurance in 10 years.” —Tally

McCormack

FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit slowfooddallas.com

as distinct

Danny Fulgencio

808 N. Hampton | $900,000 Mid-Century Modern 3/3.1/2 LA, Pool-4,018 SF

The Better Block goes to Italy

The original Better Block, which took place more than two years ago on Tyler at Seventh, was planned the same weekend as Oak Cliff Art Crawl, among other neighborhood festivities. “We were just trying to see how many cool things we could have going on in one weekend,” says Jason Roberts, the Better Block mastermind. Since then, creating and consulting on Better Block projects in other cities has become a full-time job for Roberts and business partner Andrew Howard. Their idea to create temporary improvements to an underused street, such as bike lanes, traffic-calming elements, café seating, plants and lighting, has sparked 31 copycats in the United States and Canada. And now the Better Block is going intercontinental. Roberts and Howard this month are headed to the Venice Bienniale of Architecture, which is held every two years and is sort of like the Olympics or World’s Fair of architecture. They will have a booth inside the American pavilion at the exhibition, and they are self-effacing about the whole thing. Big architecture firms around the world vie to get into the Bienniale, and Oak Cliff’s own Better Block guys got in by sending an email they didn’t even apply. Curator Cathy Ho told them she had intended to invite them before they inquired about it. “We’re just these guys from Texas, like, ‘Hey can we get into the Bienniale,’ ” Roberts says, affecting a hillbilly accent. “So we get to go to Venice and talk about Oak Cliff, which is crazy.” They filmed a video introducing themselves for the exhibition, in which they play up the Texas angle. In the video, Howard looks like a hipster Custer in cowboy hat and horn-rimmed glasses, perched

before an American flag. But the Better Block fits perfectly with this year’s Bienniale theme, Common Ground, which Bienniale president Paolo Baratta has described as a look at “the meanings of the spaces made by buildings: the political, social and public realms of which architecture is a part … to develop the understanding of the distinct contribution that architecture can make in defining the common ground of the city.” Roberts and Howard are not architects. But they seem to have stumbled upon a better way to suggest changes in a city’s design, just by showing it. Most such changes call for public meetings, which usually are poorly attended, and where fear often dominates discussions, Howard says. Everyone comes up with the worst-case scenario, instead of focusing on positive change. He offers the Fort Worth Avenue charrette as an example. That was a community-driven study on how to improve the West Dallas artery. More than three years later, none of the ideas it generated have become reality. “People fear permanency,” Howard says. “With Better Block, we are able to completely innovate on a temporary level, so people can see firsthand what works and what doesn’t.” No public meetings. No talking. Just showing. And in most cases, it has worked pretty well. Later this year, Roberts and Howard will begin working with the city to implement certain aspects of the original Better Block project on Tyler Street. —Rachel Stone VISIT ADVOCATEMAG.COM and SEARCH keywords “Better Block” to learn how Roberts andHoward found $500,000 in the city budget to make some aspects of the original Better Block project a reality.

Out & About

August 2012

Aug. 3

Art rock

The Dirty Projectors released their much-anticipated album, “Swing Lo Magellan” in July. Frontman Dave Longstreth wrote an album of carefully crafted songs that have no central theme but still fit together, “to feel whole as a work of art in itself,” according to a glowing review in Paste The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based rock band plays the Kessler this month, with Baltimore-based Wye Oak opening. The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis, thekessler.org, $20-$30

AUG. 2

Dive In Movie: ‘Some Like It Hot’

Come enjoy this film poolside at the Belmont Hotel. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon give a hilarious performance alongside blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the movie begins at dusk.

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

AUG. 8

Art With a View: David Harman

An opening reception for the David Harman exhibit will be held from 7–8 p.m. Belmont Hotel, 901 Fort Worth, 214.393.2300, belmontdallas.com, free

AUG. 8

Loudon Wainwright III

The Kessler welcomes Grammy awardwinning songwriter, humorist and actor Loudon Wainwright III. With 25 albums and a sound that ranges from folk to funk, this is Wainwright’s Kessler debut. The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis, 214.272.8346, thekessler.org, $25–$37.50

AUG. 11

Photo safari workshop

The Dallas Zoo is offering a daylong photo safari alongside staff photographer Cathy Burkey and Tom Maddrey of Eclipse Photography Institute. Participants will learn various aspects of nature and animal photography. Dallas Zoo, 650 S. R.L. Thornton, 469.554.7423, dallaszoo.com, $125–$150

AUG. 23

Lions, and tigers and bears

The Texas Theatre screens a 35-mm print of the 1939 family-favorite “The Wizard of Oz.” Call for showtimes. The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson, 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, $8 for children and $9.25 for adults

AUG. 29

Sewing class

From 6:30–8:30 p.m., learn how to make a laptop sleeve for your computer. Make and Made classes are geared toward experienced crafters and beginners.

Make and Made, 409 N. Zang, 214.941.0075, $58

Aug. 11

Intro to fused glass

Instructor Larry Pile will show glass novices how to assemble decorative tile from 1–2 p.m. All glass, tools and materials will be provided, and final works will be fired in Pile’s glass kiln and available for pickup at Oil and Cotton.

Oil and Cotton, 837 W. 7th, 214.988.9189, oilandcotton.com, $50

Delicious

Seafood

DriftwooD

642 W. Davis

214.942.2530

driftwood-dallas.com

AmbiAncE: upscAlE

pricE rAngE: $20-$30

Hours: TuEsdAy-sATurdAy, 5-10 p.m.

—Emily Toman

Oak Cliff has become a dining destination, but until last April, our neighborhood was lacking a key cuisine — upscale seafood. Jonn Baudoin opened Driftwood in the old Con Fusion space off West Davis with executive chef Omar Flores at the helm. “I love Oak Cliff, and I didn’t want to compete with other restaurants,” Baudoin says. “I wanted to be an addition to what was already here.” The menu at Driftwood changes from week to week, based on the freshest fish available. It’s sourced from all over the world and arrives within 24 hours of being caught. A few dishes always stay on the menu and have become customer favorites, including the grilled gulf shrimp, served with speckled butter beans, white corn polenta, Spanish chorizo and lobster froth. The more adventurous may go for the char-grilled octopus. The restaurant, with its blue-and-silver color scheme, carries an elegant yet breezy vibe that still fits our neighborhood’s laid-back attitude. “It’s The Hamptons meets Oak Cliff.”

Tip: rEsErvATions ArE rEquirEd, buT THE bAr And pATio HAvE opEn sEATing.

mark davis.

| MORE DINING SPOTS |

1 Zen Sushi

This is Oak Cliff’s go-to sushi spot, putting a southwestern twist on the Japanese staple. The signature xalapa roll combines tuna, cilantro, lime, avocado and jalapeno — a great dish for the summer months.

380 W. Seventh 214.946.9699

zensushidallas.com

2 Mariscos La Reyna

This dive-y spot with mostly a Spanishspeaking staff offers excellent shrimp tacos and ceviche that rivals some of the nicer Mexican seafood restaurants in town.

517 W. Jefferson 214.941.6661

3 Tillman’s Roadhouse

The menu at this rustic restaurant has several great seafood options. Try the crab cakes to start and fill up on the coriander and cumin-roasted tuna or the Texas redfish fava bean and cauliflower succotash, tex-mati rice, cauliflower puree and pickled fennel.

324 W. Seventh 214.942.0988

tillmansroadhouse.com

FOOD AND WINE ONLINE

Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/dining

Don’t let another day go by without taking this important step in restoring your confidence and your smile.

Opposite page: Seared sea scallops with roasted corn, fava-bean succotash, cornbread puree and grilled okra Above: Driftwood has a beachy vibe Photos by Mark Davis.

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it’s so misunderstood

Bogle Riesling 2007 ($10) California

Riesling is, perhaps, the most misunderstood of all the wine varietals. People who don’t like sweet wine dismiss it because it can be sweet, while people who drink sweet wine are often confused by the various ways that riesling is made. Both of which are too bad, because riesling is a refreshing alternative to the white wine that we usually drink — and it’s especially welcome this time of year, a wonderful hot-weather wine that is low in alcohol and pairs with a surprising number of foods (smoked pork loin, anyone?).

Most rieslings, even those that are dry, have some sweetness. But since it occurs naturally, and not as added sugar (or even highfructose corn syrup), it’s not overwhelming. In fact, in the best rieslings, the sweetness — even in the most sweet — are balanced by the fruitiness and acidity of the wine. One of the biggest and best changes in rieslings over the past several years is new labeling, which identifies the wine by sweetness. This is a far cry from the old days, when consumers had to navigate German wine terms to try and make sense of sweetness.

In this, fine rieslings are made all over the world, including New York and Michigan. These rieslings will get you started:

This New York producer makes top-notch riesling, and it’s not even the best in New York state. Look for candied lemon fruit and a long finish; this is an excellent example of dry riesling.

Bogle is probably California’s best grocery store wine producer, and this wine shows why. It’s varietally correct, with some lime fruit and just enough sweetness to be riesling. Not as crisp as the Dr. Frank, but it doesn’t need to be.

This Alsa-

tian wine is quite different from most, and should appeal to anyone who likes riesling, feels adventurous and wants to splurge. It features an almost olive-oil aroma and herbal taste.

—Jeff Siegel

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

Ask the wine guy

What are riesling’s sweetness levels?

Tra d itiona lly, t h e y ’re German — Ka b inett , w h ic h is dr y ; Sp ätlese, more sweet or off-dr y ; and Aus l ese, or sweet. Th e y sti ll a pp ear on German rieslin g s, but new labels pioneered by the Internat iona l Ries l ing Foun d ation l ist t h e wine’s sweetness on a scale and are much easier to fi g ure out.

Jeff Siegel

with your wine

Hummus

This is the ultimate summer food — cheap, nutritious, easy to make, doesn’t heat up the kitchen, and lends itself to infinite variation. Add cilantro, for example, or red pepper or coriander to the mix. Serve as a side dish with roasted peppers and pitas, or as a dip, and it’s perfect with a dry riesling.

GROCERY LIST

2 c drained, canned chickpeas (reserve the liquid)

1/2 c tahini paste

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil, plus oil for garnish

2 cloves garlic, peeled, or to taste

Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp ground cumin or paprika, or to taste, plus a sprinkling for garnish

Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Put the chickpeas, tahini, oil, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor (or a blender for even smoother hummus), sprinkle with salt and pepper, and begin to process; add chickpea-cooking liquid or water as needed to produce a smooth purée.

2. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, pepper or lemon juice as needed. Serve, drizzled with some olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of cumin or paprika and some parsley.

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything”

Serves four as a side dish, about 15 minutes

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HooPinG

Good sport

Alternative sports all within a few miles of Oak Cliff ... and a few in our own backyard

Did you know that tug-of-war, hand tennis and live-pigeon shooting have been Olympic sports? Well, the bird-shooting thing was held just once, in 1900. But doesn’t it go to show that what is considered a sport is subjective? And sports — even ones with funny names like cornhole or mushball — can be life–enhancing. Whether you’re looking for improved physical fitness, healthy competition, camaraderie or pure silliness, there’s a sport for you. You just might not know it exists.

Jennifer Barclay hosts a group of women on her front yard most weekends for what she calls “hoop and gab.” Barclay is part of Oak Cliff Hooplah, an informal group of hula-hooping enthusiasts. “When you’re hooping, you’re really just standing there, so you can visit all you want,” she says. Hooping is fun, easier than it looks and a pretty good workout, she says.

GEt YOuR hOOp On // Search Facebook for Oak Cliff Hooplah to stay in the loop (lah).

RolleR deRBy

Skate counterclockwise around a circuit track in two teams of five players. Each team’s designated “jammer” scores points by lapping the opposing team while “blockers” use phys-

ical force to stop them. This is the quintessential contact sport for women, so you have to be willing to take an elbow to the jaw every now and then. Besides, in roller derby, bruises are badges of honor. Plus, you get to adopt a clever, tough-sounding name such as Babe Ruthless. ROll // Assassination City Roller Derby league plays at Fair Park Coliseum. For details about fall leagues, visit acderby.com or derbydevils.com.

Badminton

Hit the birdie with your racket to your opponent’s side of the court in such a way that he or she cannot return it. The game looks a little like tennis, but the rackets are nimbler and the balls aren’t balls but tiny nets with rubber tips called shuttlecocks or

“birdies.” It is an Olympic sport. The Dallas Badminton Club, active year-round, is based at Reverchon Recreation Center at 3505 Maple. Founded in 1988, the club regularly hosts tournaments for local and out-of-state players. The badminton Dallas Open is held annually on Labor Day, and a familyoriented tournament benefitting Scottish Rite Hospital and Reverchon’s after school programs is held each December.

plAY BiRDiE // Open play is 7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at Reverchon. Training and coaching is offered there Saturdays at 10 a.m. Players must have a City of Dallas recreation center membership, which can be acquired at the front desk. The cost of an annual individual DBC membership is $60. Family memberships are $100, and juniors, without accompanying parents, are $35.

Story by Emily toman & chriStina hughES babb

PhotoS by Danny FulgEncio & can türkyilmaz

BIKE POLO

Ah, the sport of kings. Fancy hats, refreshing cocktails, royals. Well, this ain’t that. Bike polo, a sport whose popularity is growing in Texas, is played on tennis courts. And it’s more like a bunch of punk-rock-looking guys and gals in cutoffs, wielding mallets alongside their mountain bikes. Dylan Holt of Oak Cliff organizes the Dallas Bike Polo League, which meets weekly at Norbuck Park. About 10 bike polo loyalists show up every week to compete, joke around and, occasionally, have a minor wreck. Most experienced cyclists catch onto bike polo quickly, Holt says. “It’s mostly just for fun, but we do take it seriously,” he says.

PLAY POLO // The Dallas Bike Polo League meets at Norbuck Park on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.

DODGEBALL

Getting smacked in the face with a speeding foam ball doesn’t hurt that bad, says Tom Wakefield, commissioner of Dallas Dodgeball.

“We had a lady get hit right in the face, and she just laughed,” he says. “It’s a sport that anyone can play. It’s the most natural sport there is.”

The group hosts co-ed, open-play games every other week — including soccer moms and 6-year-old girls — with plans to launch a league later this year.

Wakefield and his son formed the group eight years ago, inspired by the 2004 comedy “Dodgeball.” After watching the movie, they searched the internet for local leagues. They didn’t find any, so they started their own.

“Other people must have been looking for leagues, too, because we had 40 or 50 people sign up in the first week.”

The rules of dodgeball are lengthy, but the objective is simple: Grab a ball, and hurl it at an opposing team member to try and eliminate him or her from the game. Repeat. The last team standing wins.

Most people play recreationally, but there a few serious athletes. Wakefield took his best players to the Toronto Dodgeball Tournament in February 2011 where they placed fifth out of 20 teams from the United States and Canada.

PLAY DODGEBALL // Dallas Dodgeball hosts recreational games 4:30-6:30 p.m. Saturdays at alternating venues: Sole Roll Indoor Soccer, 4435 McEwen by the Dallas Galleria, and the Dunford Recreation Center in Mesquite. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under. The Dallas Dodgeball Shootout is an open tournament for ages 17 and up, set for 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 13 at Sole Roll. Registration is $200 per team with a cash prize. For details, visit dallasdodgeball.com.

MUSHBALL

Mushball is almost softball, but the ball is even softer, so you don’t need a glove. Don’t expect to hit it out of the park. Because of the mushiness, it takes a herculean swing to make the ball go very far. Dallas YMCA’s fall adult, co-ed mushball season starts next month.

PLAY MUSHBALL // It costs $450 to register a team. Teams play seven regular season games followed by a post-season elimination playoff tournament. The games will be played at a City of Dallas park field, to be determined. To register your team or find one to join, call Dallas YMCA at 214.954.0500.

CORNHOLE

Get the bag in or near the hole. Players, two per team, take turns throwing beanbags at a hole located at one end of an elevated platform. Though it is one of the few sports that allows you to hold a beer in one hand as you compete, it can get serious.

PLAY CORNHOLE // You can find a cornhole league any season of the year. Dallas Sport and Social offers a league that plays weekly at Draft Picks, 703 McKinney. The cost is $68.50 for a team and $38.50 for an individual player. For details, visit dallassportsleagues.com/leagues/cornhole.

POLEDANCING

Hold on to a pole, and wrap your body around it, forming different acrobatic positions. It’s not just for exotic dancers. Pole dancing is considered performance art and requires a great deal of strength, flexibility and stamina. In fact, the U.S. Pole Dance Federation hosts a national championship in September. But most people pole dance for exercise.

START POLE DANCING // Fihankra Dance and Fitness Studio in Deep Ellum, in addition to poling, offers burlesque, zumba, hip-hop and belly dance classes among others. Classes cost $10 each, and memberships cost $80 per month. Visit fihankrafitness.com.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE

When you think Frisbee, do you imagine a couple college-age dudes, all smiles, tossing colorful disks on a windswept beach? Sure, that’s Frisbee. But it is not Ultimate Frisbee. The formations look a little like football and the objective is to move the disk into the end zone. There’s a lot of running, passing and jumping and falling, but it is non-contact, at least that’s what the rules dictate. Ultimater Mike Ahern has been playing since 1993 and says he likes not only the athleticism involved, but also the “camaraderie of the Ultimate community.” It’s different from many other team sports in that, in general, individuals sign up for the league and then are drafted onto a team as opposed to a bunch of people forming a team and then joining a league.

“The Ultimate way makes for more of a sense of community because you get to know more people and you’re less likely to develop deep grudges,” Ahern says. “That guy you’re mad at one season may be your teammate in the next.”

The ultimate Frisbee demographics skew younger, Ahern says, but there is a significant subset of older people playing these days, and that stereotypical Frisbee guy — “the protohippie, let’s say” — is an endangered species. And it’s not just the guys. Maybe one-third of the players are female, Ahern says.

play ultimate // Beginners can find pick-up games Mondays at The Village Apartments on Southwestern or Wednesdays alternating among Norbuck Park, Glencoe Park and Lake Highlands Park. Winter league is popular among Dallas players, though the games are held in Oak Point near Denton County. The leagues are divided into recreational and competitive. Winter league costs about $70 and runs December through March. Ahern is involved in the Irving league. Cost is in the neighborhood of $30 for a season of league play. Learn more at dallasultimate.org.

LAND PADDLING OR PADDLEBOARDING

Zack Fickey frequently is spotted paddling down White Rock Lake or the Katy Trail.

Paddling down the Katy Trail, you incredulously wonder? Yes, Fickey is an avid advocate of land paddling — which involves a flexible, bouncy type of skateboard called a longboard and a wide-blade paddle called a Kahuna Big Stick — though it admittedly garners some strange looks. “It’s a free-spirited kind of sport, he says, “an innovation for surfer-types in this landlocked city.”

Stand-up water paddling is an option for those in close proximity to White Rock Lake. Both land and water forms offer intense, low impact core and overall muscle workouts, says Fickey, whose day job entails event planning for Deep Ellum Brewing Company. “Plus, I am barefoot a lot,” he says. “You can do these sports shoeless, and it’s less expensive than cycling.” Longboards can be purchased at any sporting goods store for about $130. You can get the stick online (kahunacreations.com) for about $100 or at Quicksilver (NorthPark Center) or Sun and Ski Sports (Central Expressway at Royal), to name a couple. As for the water paddle boarding equipment, it is easy to rent at the White Rock Paddle Company, located at the Mockingbird-Buckner corner of White Rock Lake, where you can also purchase lessons. how to // Visit whiterockpaddle.com for information.

KIcKBALL

Kick the big red ball. Run the bases without getting tagged. Think baseball, but the bat is your foot. Seriousness ranges from just-outhere-to-meet-people to no-mercy-in-it-to-win-it. Dallas Sport and Social offers mostly year-round kickball leagues. A season is typically seven regular-season games plus playoffs, if you’re good enough. play kickball // Games are held at Glencoe Park near SMU or Norbuck Park at Northwest Highway and Buckner. The cost is about $75 per person or $630 for a team. To sign up, visit dallassportsleagues.com.

ARCHERY

Southern Methodist University alumnus Clint Montgomery has been practicing archery since his mom said “no” to the BB gun, he says. He has played other sports — tennis, football, basketball — but he always liked the bow and arrow, despite the fact that it wasn’t exactly mainstream. As the director of the Dallas Archery Club, he hopes to make it more accessible.

Many years ago, you could find people practicing archery at public parks and bowling alleys all around Dallas, Montgomery says, but times have changed. Now, we’re in an era where we must be protected from ourselves. The Dallas Archery Club, which started long ago as a benefit for Texas Instruments employees and recently opened facilities in Plano and North Dallas, aims to change all that and make archery available to everyone. To that end, they offer opportunities to try the sport at little or no cost.

The sport has enjoyed a surge in popularity, thanks in part to the teen drama “ The Hunger Games,” Montgomery says.

“Since we’ve made [archery] accessible, every race, creed, size and age and ability — a kid in a wheelchair, even — can be seen side by side here at the range. Everyone is the same on the [shooting] line.”

The club is working with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department to create mobile ranges at public parks around the city. Montgomery says he hopes the club will have 50 or so ranges throughout the region in the near future. Once you take up the sport seriously, the equipment — a bow and arrows — runs around $200. But it’s sort of like golf in that you can spend what you want to spend — the fancy stuff is upward of $2,000.

Start Shooting // An intro to archery class is held 11 a.m.-noon Saturdays and 6-7 p.m. Wednesdays at the Texas Archery Academy In-

door Range, 600 B Accent Drive in Plano. It’s $10 per person, and all equipment is included. You can try archery for free 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays at the Elm Fork Shooting Range, 10751 Luna. It’s $5 to practice longer. Visit dallasarchery.com to learn more.

ORIENTEERING

Were you the kid who loved getting lost in the woods? It didn’t scare you because you could handle any terrain and always found your way out? If so, orienteering is the quintessential sport for grown-up you. Using maps and compasses, participants navigate their way along a cross-country course and compete to finish fastest. It isn’t necessarily kids’ play. It is known to draw some seriously competitive athletes. Take, for example, Peter Snell, once one of the fastest middle-distance runners in the world. Snell and his wife Miki live in the White Rock area and have been heavily involved in the North Texas Orienteering Association for years. “When the athletic career is over, the desire to be good and achieve things doesn’t just go away,” says Peter, who won three Olympic gold medals for his home, New Zealand, in the 1960s. He and Miki, who also was a competitive runner, found that orienteering is one of few sports in which performance doesn’t drastically deteriorate with age.

“It’s a fascinating sport because you have to be very fit, but you have to use your brain,” Miki says.

Find your way // The NTOA sponsors many events September through May. Every event features a beginners’ clinic that starts at the same time as event registration. Generally, local events cost $7-$10. You’ll spot people of all ages at orienteering events, and there are special programs for juniors and Scouts. National Orienteering Day is September 29 at Harry Moss Nature Preserve on Greenville at Royal in northeast Dallas. Learn more at ntoa.com.

UNICYCLING

Jonah Hill is training for the Lonestar Ride Fighting AIDS, a 150-mile charity bike ride, and he meets with a group of cyclists every Saturday morning for training rides. The difference here is that Hill intends to do the whole 150 with only one wheel. Hill learned how to ride a unicycle about six years ago, after he saw a friend of his dad’s riding one. He bought a unicycle for $20 on eBay and taught himself to ride. Later, he bought a unicycle with a 26-inch wheel for long-distance rides at Richardson Bike Mart. Anyone who tries to unicycle will fall down. But it wasn’t as hard as he thought. “It’s a great workout for your core muscles,” he says. Instead of doing juggling tricks and joining the circus, Hill is more interested in endurance riding. He and a few other unicyclists meet most Saturday mornings at White Rock Lake. But there are several other unicycle meet-ups as well.

RIDE A UNICYCLE // Search facebook for DFW Unicycle Club to keep up with the onewheel scene.

INDOOR ROCKCLIMBING

Climb to the top of an artificial rock wall, using the climbing holds that jut out from the wall. Try not to look down. We may not have any mountains around Dallas, but you can still experience what it’s like to climb one. Indoor rock climbing engages all your muscle groups and promotes balance. It can get competitive, though. Exposure Rock Climbing in Carrollton oversees Team Texas, a youth climbing team that has won four USA Climbing national championships.

CLIMB // The nearest facility is Dallas Rocks, on Forest and Greenville, which offers 14,000 square feet of climbing area. Day passes start at about $12 plus equipment rental. Memberships are about $50-$60 per month with special discounts for police, firemen and EMS. Visit dallasclimbing.com.

Which of these guys knows what’s best for Oak Cliff?

Sylvan Thirty will be the first major real estate development near the Trinity River since the city reinstated the river as the object of Dallas’ affections. Its fans see it as a sign of things to come. Its critics hope it isn’t.

Two neighbors whose connection to Oak Cliff go beyond the millions they’ve invested in local real estate.

Two visionaries who shared a dream for a new, hip project that would transform our neighborhood.

Two “spiritual” businessmen who once worked side-by-side, but now find themselves in separate corners after a heated public fight.

It sounds like the plot of a TV reality show. But instead, it’s the true story of an important couple of blocks in our neighborhood’s ongoing real estate revival. How did a not-so-long-ago forgotten part of our neighborhood become ground zero in a battle over what the future of Oak Cliff should look like?

Perhaps it all comes down to spirituality.

The spiritual side of real estate

Sitting in his small conference room, where a reclaimed table and aluminum chairs substitute for the typical corporate furniture, Brent

Jackson talks about one of Oak Cliff’s signature projects — Sylvan Thirty and its “guiding principles,” things like sustainability and multi-modality.

He wears a shirt, tie, slacks and tennis shoes, a subtle indication he walked or biked to his office from his Kessler home a few blocks away. Behind him hangs an oil portrait of a lion, a tribute to the mascot at St. Mark’s, the elite North Dallas institution where Jackson spent his high school years, but also a reference to his principles — the painting was rescued from a now demolished office building on the Sylvan Thirty property at Fort Worth Avenue and Sylvan.

Those guiding principles, Jackson says, are “woven throughout every decision that’s made, consciously.”

At some point in the conversation, he even uses the word “spiritual” in reference to Sylvan Thirty — not the norm for a developer embarking on a multi-million dollar real estate project.

When prodded about the reference, Jackson hesitates: “I think it’s

Kessler Park resident Brent Jackson, who is developing Sylvan Thirty, says it will be a “world-class project.”

critical for me to keep a spiritual lens when looking at anything in life, whether it’s business or relationships with people or real estate or personal matters.”

Monte Anderson is equally “spiritual” when talking about his business, which just happens to be the same business as Jackson’s — real estate.

hard worker. But God is shaking his head looking at me, and I’m saying, ‘What’s the deal?’

“He says, ‘You know, I had this really great job for you, but I don’t know if I can trust you because when I needed you on earth to stay in southern Dallas County, you left. You abandoned me.’ ”

Anderson doesn’t consider himself much of a religious person, but he does believe that everyone has a purpose. After the dream, he knew that he had been given his. He reversed direction and made a conscious decision to stay in South Dallas, where he had grown up, to make the communities better for his children and grandchildren.

“From that day forward, if you came to me from North Dallas, I just said no,” Anderson says.

Just across the street from Sylvan Thirty is Anderson’s creation — the Belmont Hotel, a 60-year-old architectural monument to famed Dallas architect Charles Dilbeck that Anderson says he bet the farm on reclaiming from the scrap heap.

Like Jackson, Anderson believes in Oak Cliff and believes in himself.

“I wanted to be a billionaire by now. I didn’t want to be stuck in South Dallas. I wanted to be in a high-rise Downtown or have real estate all over the world,” Anderson says.

In the early ’90s, Anderson says he was “sick of trashy neighborhoods, sick of torn-down buildings.” He decided to move to Coppell, where “all the yards are green, all the signs are uniform, and all the people are white and upper-middle income.”

What stopped him, Anderson says, was “a kind of spiritual experience.”

“One night I had a dream,” Anderson says, “and the dream went like this: I moved off to Coppell, lived a good life and sold a lot of real estate. And then one day I died and went to heaven.

“God is behind this big desk, and I’m standing in line waiting to get my job, and I know I’m going to get a good job, because I’m a really

And he says a strange thing happened to him: “When I changed my attitude, I started building wealth.”

The development of their dreams

It wasn’t that long ago when property south of the Trinity River was viewed as forsaken territory. In recent years, however, the city’s focus on the Trinity River and plans to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into improving it for public use has meant that whether Dallasites want to or not — and whether Cliffites want them to or not — people throughout the city are zeroed in on adjacent Oak Cliff.

Longtime neighbors aren’t surprised. In fact, some of them prepared for this day by preemptively lobbying the city for “planned development” or “PD” zoning, telling developers exactly what they can and cannot build on certain properties.

One such PD is 714, which overlays the land along Forth Worth Avenue from Westmoreland all the way to the river. It was created by the Fort Worth Avenue Development Group, an organization founded in the late ’90s to try to curb the piecemeal approach to development along the avenue that had yielded used car dealerships, chop shops, dollar stores and the like.

“God is shaking his head looking at me, and I’m saying, ‘What’s the deal?’ ”

Belmont Hotel owner Monte Anderson believes that Sylvan Thirty, which is catty-corner to his property, will be too suburban for Oak Cliff.

People who lived near Fort Worth Avenue wanted more. Any longtime group member can still quote the mantra of Randall White, one of its founders: “All I want is a cup of coffee and a New York Times.”

Anderson wasn’t one of Fort Worth Avenue Development Group’s founders, but he, like the others, believed change was around the corner for this section of Oak Cliff. He had grown up eating with his father and uncle at the Belmont’s erstwhile Hungry Bear restaurant, and he decided to take on the hotel as a rehab project. He reopened it in 2005, the same year the city approved PD 714.

and New Mexico, decided he would be the one to meet the demand. But Anderson, whose Options Real Estate company brokers hundreds of properties south of the Trinity, remembers telling Jackson that morning at the Cliff Café that his project wouldn’t be possible on Davis. Even though the two-lane street lays claim to Oak Cliff’s most popular shopping center, the Bishop Arts District, it still doesn’t see enough traffic to convince a grocer to set up shop.

“The only place you can do that in north Oak Cliff is Sylvan and I-30,” Anderson told Jackson. “Come and do your development over here.”

The two men haven’t spoken since. The last time they intentionally were in the same room together was a city council meeting last December, when Jackson convinced the council to change PD 714 while Anderson begged them not to.

The fallout created an inevitable rift, not only between Anderson and Jackson, but also between advocates of change along Fort Worth Avenue, who began to choose sides.

‘We bet on people’

Jackson doesn’t like to talk about the turmoil. He doesn’t like to talk about himself, period. He is the face of Sylvan Thirty, but he shies away from that spotlight. The way he tells it, Sylvan Thirty is the community’s project, not his.

A couple of years later, the avenue began to garner interest from developers. One of them was Jackson, who moved from North Dallas to Kessler Park in 2007. He hoped to turn the southeast corner of Fort Worth Avenue and Sylvan into a grocery store-anchored shopping center with restaurants, boutiques and residences.

This was exactly the type of project that the Fort Worth Avenue Development Group had dreamed of, and one that had been almost unfathomable a few years prior. The group’s members rallied around Jackson.

Until he rejected their PD.

Joining forces, then falling out

As Anderson remembers it, he met Jackson on the back patio of the Belmont restaurant’s current incarnation, Smoke, when it was still the Cliff Café. It was a Sunday morning, and Jackson was there with friends for brunch. He told Anderson that he wanted to put a retail and residential development with an organic grocery store on West Davis.

Jackson says that after he bought his home on Kessler and got to know his neighbors, he kept hearing rumblings about the lack of grocery store options.

“Quite frankly, I was also bothered in how far I had to go to get groceries and healthy alternatives such as Whole Foods and the like,” Jackson says. “There was just a demand that wasn’t being met.”

Jackson, who at the time was asset managing 73 Albertson’s grocery stores in Texas

The numbers made sense to Jackson, and he set his sights on the land catty-corner to the Belmont.

“It didn’t hurt that I was within walking distance of the site, and had driven by, jogged by, bicycled by many times,” Jackson says.

He named it Sylvan Thirty for two of the three major roads bordering the property, and hired Anderson to broker deals piecing together nine tracts of land, including the old Alamo Plaza Courts hotel.

It seemed an ideal business partnership. Jackson profited from a seasoned Oak Cliff broker who had history in the neighborhood. Anderson, in turn, wanted a good neighbor for the Belmont, and the sharp young developer appeared to fit the bill.

While they worked together, Anderson says he shared his dreams with Jackson — bicycles and strollers mixing with cars on the streets, greenbelts along the medians, storefronts opening to the avenue and wide sidewalks with space for trees and patios.

After the land deals wrapped up, Anderson says he saw Jackson only in passing. They never talked business again, until a few months later when Jackson invited Anderson to his office to show him the latest plans.

Anderson couldn’t believe his eyes.

“I saw buildings with their backs to the road, 4-foot sidewalks and a horrible tall apartment building that’s in the parking lot and doesn’t face any street,” Anderson says. “He and I just about had a knock-down dragout fight in his office.”

“I’m simply a processor or a conduit gathering information and formulating it and turning it loose,” Jackson says, then stresses his sincerity: “It’s not me trying to be humble pie Joe.”

Jackson continually changes the subject from himself to his investors (“progressivelyminded visionaries,” he calls them), and to the city staffers who helped him secure the zoning changes, as well as to the “Sylvan Thirty brand.” It’s tempting to listen to him and think that the charming 37-year-old is a master in the art of marketing.

No doubt it’s true. Almost as soon as Jackson laid claim to the land, he began hosting events that beckoned neighbors to it. Perhaps the most successful was “48 Nights,” when popular Dallas chefs used a now-demolished building on the property to serve prix-fixe dinners at $75 a pop, which raised money for charity and, for the most part, sold out. Those dinners took place in summer 2010, nearly a year before last spring’s announcement that Duncanville-based Cox Farms Market would open its second grocery store to anchor the Sylvan Thirty project.

Since the announcement, Jackson has held a series of “Taste of What’s to Come” farmers markets, introducing the curious to Cox Farms and to other confirmed Sylvan Thirty retailers — Matador Meat & Wine, a Plano-based “artisan butcher”; popular Henderson Avenue coffee shop Pearl Cup; and a “culinary incubator” headed by renowned local chef Sharon Hage, whom Jackson met during 48 Nights.

These events, and many others, mean that hundreds — perhaps thousands — of people

He takes pride in the fact that their deal was “consummated on a peach run” to a nearby grove during the wee hours of a weekday morning.

have visited Sylvan Thirty despite the fact that no actual construction dirt has flown. (Reports at press time indicated that groundbreaking would likely take place later this summer or fall.)

Jackson isn’t holding these events just for the fun of it. He’s building a following.

And yet, to reduce him to a slick salesman would be a mischaracterization. He is a selfdescribed wallflower who never seems quite at home in front of a microphone. He’s in his element, not in front of a crowd but one-onone.

And that is how Jackson has built Sylvan Thirty — one relationship at a time. He says he spent years getting to know his investors before they became his business partners and that his relationship approach is what has generated interest from potential and confirmed tenants.

Jackson tells the story of how he and Mark Cox, the owner of Cox Farms Market, spent six months chatting about their backgrounds and their interests “in other things besides groceries and real estate and produce” before getting down to business. He takes pride in the fact that their deal was “consummated on a peach run” to a nearby grove during the wee hours of a weekday morning.

Relationships are “the most important litmus test for selecting tenants,” Jackson says. “A brilliant developer once told me, ‘You don’t just lease to somebody to fill a lease. You consciously decide who your tenants are going to be.’ That’s kind of our mantra here at Sylvan Thirty — we don’t bet on concepts; we bet on people.”

‘My mission is clear’

While Jackson likes to remain mum about his personal life, Anderson is an open book. He freely admits that he acquired the Belmont because he purchased land at the top of the hill behind the hotel in 1999 with intentions to build a high-rise condo where he would live. He figured the Belmont, which came on the market soon afterward, would be a nice place to knock back drinks and smoke cigars on the patio.

“I didn’t know anything about the restaurant and bar business,” he says. “I had to sell properties and liquidate assets to keep the Belmont alive.”

It wasn’t until Anderson recruited the owners of Bolsa to reopen the Cliff Café as

Smoke that the hotel “quit taking my money,” he says.

After the spiritual experience that redefined his life, his new mission to invest in South Dallas propelled everything he did — purchasing defunct landmarks such as the Belmont, the Texas Theatre and the former Bishop Street firehouse (now Gloria’s); rehabbing properties like the Thorn Tree Country Club in DeSoto; and joining the board of the North Texas chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, a group that promotes walkable, neighborhoodbased development.

“You can’t be around me and not know how I feel about things,” Anderson says. “I am what I am, and my mission is clear.”

He says he was transparent with Jackson as they worked together and now says he feels

these rules and laws.’ Then all of a sudden a big developer comes along.

“If you’ve got enough money in Dallas, Texas, you can pretty much do whatever you want to do, no matter what the rules say. In Dallas, it’s economic development at all costs. That’s the way we’ve always been.”

Anderson was criticized during the zoning fight for purporting to stand up for what was right while actually looking out for his own interests. One of his issues with Sylvan Thirty is its height, which would obstruct views of Downtown from his own Bar Belmont.

He argues, however, that it wasn’t a personal vendetta. Zoning is complicated, and “when fighting a zoning change like this, you have to grab hold of something people can understand,” Anderson says. “I could tell you

“totally betrayed.” The worst betrayal, he says, was the city council’s, which refused to let Anderson finish his five-minute speech last December before voting unanimously to approve Jackson’s rezoning request.

“[PD 714] was written by community activists who thought about view corridors to Downtown and sidewalks and buildings facing the street. It was done with a lot of love and care at a time when we had nothing,” Anderson says. “As a developer or a homeowner, when I invest or buy, you think, ‘OK, well, I’m protected. The city’s going to protect me with

in one minute, ‘Do you realize he’s blocking the views from Bar Belmont?’ Because to some, that’s sacred ground.

“But it’s not about the Belmont. It’s about everything around it. Bar Belmont is no more important than the bank building across the street or the people who live around the corner. It was the thing that appealed to people emotionally the easiest. I don’t know if I’ll have damages — we’ll see when it’s built — but Bar Belmont does not make or break us. I’m not that shallow. I may be hardheaded and obsessive, but I’m not shallow.”

Looking into Sylvan Thirty from the intersection of Sylvan and Fort Worth Avenue. Rendering from iheartsylvanthirty.com.

“If you’ve got enough money in Dallas, Texas, you can pretty much do whatever you want to do, no matter what the rules say.”

What Anderson wants, he says, is for Jackson, for Dallas, for all of us to build projects that will last.

“Great cities are built over hundreds of years. They’re not built overnight. My granddaughter’s great-granddaughter — that’s who I’m thinking about right now,” Anderson says. “When we change the earth, it's kind of a higher calling. We should be held accountable.”

A shift in Dallas’ design

Brent Brown, head of Dallas’ new City Design Studio, concedes that Sylvan Thirty was a compromise. The project launched a couple of years before the city, via the studio, decided to take a leadership role in Dallas’ design, says assistant director David Whitley.

“That’s a shift,” he says.

Whitley should know. He joined the studio after working in Dallas’ planning and zoning department and, more recently, with the Trinity River Corridor Project. Brown, on the other hand, is from the private sector, an architect known for his Building Community Workshops, which focused on urban planning and design. He was tapped by

any direct development since it was established.”

The studio spent its first couple of years focusing on West Dallas. After more than 40 community meetings, held everywhere from living rooms to McDonald’s, it created a West

outward. For example, the project needed to be “walkable” — even according to Sylvan Thirty’s own guiding principles — and “when you’ve got a 3-foot sidewalk and an 8-foot wall, that’s not really conducive, and it’s hard to make an argument that it is,” Brown says.

Preserving PD 714 wasn’t the studio’s goal. Whitley says that the West Dallas guidebook and PD 714 are, “from an intent perspective, very much in sync, and after that there’s 1,000 ways to skin the cat.”

city manager Mary Suhm to take the design studio post nearly three years ago after the Trinity Trust Foundation donated $2 million to the city toward the effort.

For a century, Brown says, the river has been a “a symbol for separation,” but the Trinity project became a way for us “to realize its potential as a unifier.” The goal of the studio, therefore, is “to think about those communities adjacent to it, to see how they’re connected to one another and to the river,” he says.

That’s why Brown doesn’t think much of Dallas’ traditional “plan by PD” approach, which addresses tracts of land individually rather than collectively. The city has more than 800 PDs, and the problem is that “they get so complicated," he says. “It’s a one-sizefits-all, and then you turn around and no shoe fits for real development.” This is true for PD 714, he says, which “has not spurred

Dallas “guidebook.” Brown argues that zoning should not be so difficult for developers, “unless you come in and it’s not in keeping with what people want — not what the city wants, the studio wants, but what people in that area desire,” Brown says. So the purpose of the guidebook is that any developer should be able to pick it up and know immediately whether a project fits a piece of property, he says.

To reward developers who come to the city with projects in tune with the guidebook, the design studio attempts to expedite those projects. It may be telling, then, that the studio did not fast track Jackson’s Sylvan Thirty development.

What it did instead was work with Jackson to create a new PD. The main problem with the project, Brown says, was how it “interfaced” with Fort Worth Avenue and Sylvan. The design focused inward rather than

“We shouldn’t entitle a 50-years project that may not happen until we’re dead,” Brown argues.

Whitley agrees: “Because then we’re sitting around waiting for the 50-year project and not what can happen today.”

Suburban or world-class?

When Anderson talked to Brown soon after the Sylvan Thirty zoning change, he says he told Brown: “You took the cornerstone and put bad cement in it.”

Anderson realizes he holds an unpopular opinion. He can recite the criticism: “Why are you guys fighting this? You haven’t had anything in 30, 40 years. Something’s better than nothing.”

Anderson disagrees. Years have been spent laying the groundwork for Oak Cliff to become a truly urban neighborhood, he says, with city blocks that are just as friendly to cyclists, joggers and parents pushing strollers as they are to cars. Sylvan Thirty’s

The plans for Sylvan Thirty include more than 200 lofts and studios on the east edge of the project, as well as an 11,000-square-foot grocery store — Cox Farms Market — on Fort Worth Avenue, and nearly 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space fronting Sylvan and the I-30 feeder road. Other announced retailers include Matador Meat & Wine, The Pearl Cup coffee shop, and a culinary incubator led by renowned chef Sharon Hage. Construction is expected to start at the end of this summer, with the project opening in 2013. Site plan from iheartsylvanthirty.com.

“We shouldn’t entitle a project that may not happen until we’re dead.”

design is, in his view, suburban — more Firewheel than Bishop Arts, the kind of project with an interior public square rather than one that emanates a public square.

Jackson calls Sylvan Thirty a “worldclass project,” and he says great care was taken to be sensitive to the land and the people around it. He believes that “if you truly want to build something that is sustainable and lasts, it must adhere and adapt to the needs of the consumers, and the only way to do that is to have an open forum.”

That’s why he maintained an open-door policy throughout the planning process, gathering input from both Cliffites and West Dallasites, from curious folks who wandered into his office, and also from his critics.

“I met with the folks who disagreed on numerous occasions,” he says. “The sign of any good discussion is to avoid drawing lines in the sand and to be willing to truly listen to the other side, not to just what they’re saying they want, but to also ask them why they want that. Understanding the why is much more helpful to be able to meet them in the middle.”

People will believe in Sylvan Thirty once they see it, Jackson says. He points to Lake Flato, the award-winning San Antonio-based architectural firm that designed the project: “They build projects to have a 100-year life cycle, if not longer,” he says.

At the end of the day, Jackson says, “the greater good has been kept in mind and is overlaid in the future of Sylvan Thirty.”

Ultimately, the Sylvan Thirty zoning battle wasn’t between good and bad or right and wrong, but between passionate people who love their corner of Dallas, want it to be the best it can be, and have differing ideas of what that looks like.

In the closing of Anderson’s speech to city council, which he wasn’t able to finish, he asked: “Why do we even have zoning and plans? Why do you waste our time and money?

“What is the point?”

The conversation is the point, Brown says.

“You can change a PD. You can change zoning. There’s nothing that ultimately protects anyone — expect being involved in the process,” Brown says. “Strong neighborhoods and organized groups that are informed are the best ways to structure the city.”

BUSINESS BUZZ

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Crown Chinese Buffet opens in former Luby’s space

CrownChinese Buffet has opened in the former Luby’s on Fort Worth Avenue at Hampton. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like a place for us Oak Cliff hipsters, e.g., lots of fried food, processed sauces and all-you-can-eat. But give it a chance, particularly if you have hungry teenagers in the family. It does have grilled veggies (you will have to pick them from the fried meat dishes), sushi, steamed rice, shrimp and other items that can form the basis of a healthy meal. There is a large variety of chicken, pork and beef dishes, all with tasty sauces, and the egg drop and sweet and sour soups are good.

Pour House to open in former Luckie’s location

A new sports bar is planned for the former Luckie’s Smokehouse location at Davis and Clinton come early September. East Kessler resident Eric Tschetter, owner of Pour House Fort Worth, came up with the idea for a Pour House in Dallas (or PhD, as it will be called) when he was driving around Oak Cliff looking for a spot to watch the Cowboys game. “It was either go to the Pour House in Fort Worth or go Uptown,” Tschetter says. “I decided Oak Cliff needed something like that.” Tschetter says PhD will be on a much smaller scale than the Fort Worth location and will have more of a neighborhood hangout feel. Expect a patio, live entertainment and traditional sports bar fare.

Boulevardier opens in Bishop Arts

Our neighborhood’s new French bistro, Boulevardier, opened last month. The restaurant is from the brothers who own Veritas Wine Room, Brooks and Bradley Anderson, and their business partners, Randall Copeland and Nathan Tate, co-executive chefs of Ava in Rockwall. It is a French-inspired bistro offering French charcuterie, cassoulet, French onion soup and modern takes on classic French dishes. The restaurant is in the space that once housed Café Madrid and, more recently, Decanter.

More business bits

1 The Shop in Oak Cliff has moved to Overground skate park in the Cedars neighborhood.

2 Deep Ellum’s Taboo Tattoo has already covered The Shop mural with its own and plans to open its second location in The Shop’s former space at Bishop and Davis soon. 3 Café Brazil recently celebrated its four-year anniversary in Bishop Arts.

Crown

CRIME RUINED THEIR VACATION.

Norma Alejandro and her family loaded up the car and finished their drive down Interstate 35 for a nice few days of vaca-

The Victim: Norma Alejandro

The Crime: Burglary

Date: Friday June 15

Time: 9:20 p.m.

Location: 2600 block of Wilbur

tion in San Antonio. Maybe they would cruise the Riverwalk, eat some Tex-Mex at the famous Mi Tierra, or visit the Alamo. Their stay would be a nice relaxing getaway.

Then the phone rang.

“An hour after arriving, our neighbor called and said someone broke into our house,” says Alejandro. “We didn’t even get to enjoy our vacation. We had to come home the next day.”

The burglar pried open a window in the dining room and then made off with

items ranging from jewelry and cologne to a child’s piggy bank and electronics. Apparently, the crook also had a taste for tobacco and alcohol and made off with 20 cigars and some wine. The break-in was not only a large monetary loss for the family, but also quite a downer on what should have been a fun weekend.

Sgt. Kay Hughbanks of the Southwest Patrol Division says burglars definitely watch homes for behavioral patterns of residents before committing crimes, including the times residents leave for work and come home.

“They make note of what cars belong at a house and when all cars are gone and how long,” she says. “They watch mailboxes and whether or not the newspapers pile up in the front yard.”

When residents leave for vacation it is always a good idea to have their mail held while they are gone, stop their newspaper delivery, use timers on lighting, and have someone check in on their house.

Value of the items stolen during a burglary at Ramon’s Barber Shop in the 300 block of West Jefferson, including a shaver, clippers and an LCD TV

Date when a home in the 400 block of South Brighton was burglarized while a juvenile resident was her bedroom watching TV, unaware of the crime

Block of Illinois where a suspect opened fire on members of a car club who were gathered around, showing off their cars; one member was shot in the shoulder blade and taken to the hospital.

SOURCE: Dallas Police Department

Sean Chaffin 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.

Graffiti camp

Ethan Sublett sketches a cartoon during the Taking It to the Streets summer camp with Oak Cliff graffiti artists, Sour Grapes ; Autumn Hill of Dallas Contemporary; and Shannon Driscoll and Jessica Trevizo of Oil and Cotton.

SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO. Email a jpeg to editor@advocatemag.com.

Film fest success

Jason Reimer, Eric Steele , City Council member Delia Jasso, Adam Donoghey and Barak Epstein speak at the first-ever Oak Cliff Film Festival in June, which featured local and out-of-state indie filmmakers. Photo by Tim Valis

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

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concrete/

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CONCRETE REPAIRS/REPOURS

Demo existing. Driveways/Patio/Walks

Pattern/Color available

972-672-5359 (32 yrs.)

electrical services

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Phones Answered 24/7

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Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

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20% off with “Advocate Magazine”

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.

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& Remodel

The Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts is halfway to its goal of $100,000 to fund a renovation of Turner House in celebration of its 100th anniversary. The “Council of 100” was formed along with the campaign to recognize members who make generous donations to the restoration and preservation of the historic building Winnetka Heights. It’s My Park Day is a one-day event for residents, families and community groups to pitch in and clean neighborhood parks. On September 8, from 8 a.m.–noon, help beautify city parks by removing graffiti, picking up litter, weeding and other activities. To volunteer, call Dallas Park and Recreations at 214.670.8400. Sign up by August 31 at itsmyparkdaydallas.eventbrite.com.

The Hunger Center of North Texas is a new research initiative from the Oak Cliff-based North Texas Food Bank that emerged from its ReThink Hunger campaign as a solution to understand and combat hunger in the 13 North Texas counties. An advisory council comprised of community members initiated the center. The aim is to bring together researchers to investigate the extent of food insecurity in North Texas and its impact on health, education and household economics.

people

Raeline Nobles, long-time executive director of AIDS Arms Inc., is leaving the agency at the end of the year. AIDS Arms is the largest nonprofit provider of AIDS/HIV services to North Texas residents. Nobles has been with the agency for 14 years. A committee has formed to search for a new leader.

Ken Holmes, a 1971 Kimball High School graduate and much-sourced expert on Bonnie and Clyde, died in July. He was 60. Advocate columnist Gayla Kokel reported that Holmes had been awaiting a liver transplant. Holmes was a go-to source for media outlets worldwide working stories about West Dallas’ most notorious couple. He owned the Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum in Gibsland, La., and he ran a tour guide company, offering tours related to Bonnie and Clyde, the JFK assassination and the Branch Davidian compound in Waco.

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.

IconIc oak clIff, the fInale

The neighborhood landmark tour makes its final stop

The bus is pulling out of the depot for the final leg of the Oak Cliff Icon Tour, so settle back, everyone, and get comfortable.

Our first stop is Clarendon and South Hampton, at the former Skillern’s Drug Store, for what is now (and for many years has been) Midway Auto Supply. Longtime Cliffites and current residents easily recognize this particular franchise’s original hallmark: the little car atop the corner entrance. According to the family, the owner placed the child’s pedal car there many years ago — and there it has remained for decades, greeting customers and driversby alike. It’s nice that some things never change.

Next, we move to the spot that used to anchor what was probably the most allinclusive entertainment destination in Oak Cliff’s history: the Bronco Bowl!

Opened in 1962, the “bowl” occupied the acreage now anchoring the Home Depot on Fort Worth Avenue — arguably, a one-of-a-kind place. Bronco Bowl offered patrons archery, pinball, pool, slot cars, batting cages, air hockey, food, a “club,” dancing in “The Pit” and, oh, yeah, I almost forgot, bowling! The cavernous pin area featured 36 lanes on either side for a grand total of 72. Certainly impressive.

The bowl’s rear section was overhauled several times, changing from a dancefloor-and-stage space to a theater — one that later became the Sunday morning home of the then-swelling-in-membership Beverly Hills Baptist Church. After the church moved on, ownership again promoted the concert hall for strings of top-name musicians. Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars was one. Once chosen by many high schools for senior all-night parties and the like, the center eventually began to show its wear and attract too many lessthan-stellar clients. Efforts were made to overhaul the place around 2000, but, for the owners, things didn’t work out and it was leveled in the fall 2003 — gone, but not forgotten.

Before moving on, a few other icons need to be mentioned.

1 The Kip’s Big Boy figure at “our” Kips, at 2600 S. Zang. Can anyone guess how many “Silver Goblet” hot fudge sundaes were consumed there over the years by Oak Cliff high schoolers and others? And, oh, yes, don’t forget the “Big Boy” hamburgers! My mouth is watering.

The Baskin-Robbins at Kiest and Hampton was the only one on “our side of the river,” and a popular spot for those everlovin’ ice cream cakes. 2 The Penguin drive-ins on both West Davis and Lancaster quenched our root beer appetites, while

3 the Hampton drive-in theater attracted the most dating couples and families. And then there was Sivils Drive-in Restaurant an “experience” for sure.

4 The Dallas VA Hospital on South

Lancaster has been around since 1940, while Oak Farms Dairy on the south end of the Houston Street Viaduct has been cranking out dairy products for decades.

Remember when A. Harris & Co. decided to move to the suburbs? The owners chose an Oak Cliff location, just off I-35 E and Kiest, the first major retailer to open a store outside of the downtown corridor. More recently, DISD transformed the property into its Nolan Estes Educational Plaza.

5 W. E. Greiner and 6 Boude Storey middle schools are certainly icons, especially Storey with its Romanesque Revival architecture, designed by the noted Mark Lemmon. Regarding Greiner, the sad news is that the beautiful old 1936 structure is gone. The good news? Students at the now arts-magnet middle school have a beautiful new building in which to create.

Photos by Amber Plumley and Randy Carlisle

Before we leave the neighborhood, we need to recognize what are probably the newest Oak Cliff icons: the 7 Dallas Zoo’s giraffe and the new 8 Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.

The “giraffe” figure is highly recognizable to drivers-by and local residents alike. Designed with its tongue extended upward (to boast the title of “the tallest statue in Texas”) the bronze and Plexiglas figure dominates this section of the I-35 E landscape. The lion may be the king of the jungle, but the Dallas giraffe is the ruler of the Dallas Zoo!

Spectacular in every respect is the 2012-opened, Calatrava-designed bridge. It’s magnificent — especially at night. If you haven’t taken time to transverse this cabled beauty, make it a point. Soon.

The Sears store on Jefferson, Methodist Hospital,Oak Cliff Bank & Trust, Goff’s Chaco-burgers in Wynnewood, the Heights and Cedar Crest shopping centers, Red Bryan’s Smokehouse. The list could go on. But the bus is pulling into the depot.

Thanks for tagging along on the Oak Cliff Icon Tours. I hope you’ve all enjoyed the ride. I know I have.

YOUR STORIES

Longtime Cliffites recount memories and reconnect on oakcliff.advocatemag. com/backstory Last month, Kokel sparked conversation with her sequel tour of iconic Oak Cliff.

“Todd Kent’s folks lived in El Sibil for awhile in 1960-61, and I spent a few nights there with some other Bowie Bobcats.It was still a quite a place then, and a long historical existence.Sure hope it can be preserved for future students to study that era in Oak Cliff.

—Lon Oakley, Adamson ’65

“I guess you’re never too old to learn something new.Didn’t know about the cemetery at Sunset. Or, if I did know, I’ve forgotten. Thanks for keeping us informed about Oak Cliff. It is such a huge part of our lives, and I love these trips down memory lane.”

—Peggy Samford

Gayla Brooks Kokel 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. Kokel is one of three co-authors of the recently published book, “Images of America: Oak Cliff,” and writes a monthly history column for the Oak Cliff Advocate Send her feedback and ideas to gkokel@advocatemag.com.

“I sat here as I read through the article and recounted the wonderful memories associated with Davis Street. As a teenager and young adult, I spent countless hours in and around Davis. Many historic places, some bygone and a couple still active, keep the memories alive. I can remember numerous times while driving through Oak Cliff from one destination to another and daydreaming while thinking these words: ‘You better enjoy these days and remember what a great place you had to grow up in.’ That old ‘Oak Cliff mystic’ has a way of making a person yearn for days gone by.”

—Charles “Benny” Kirtley

Animals Suffer in Summer Heat.

You Can Help.

Shay was chained without shelter or water as the sun beat down on a rural property near Dallas. SPCA of Texas Humane Investigators discovered her barely alive, and our veterinarians used all their skills to save her. After months of kindness and care, Shay was ready for her new home – thanks to your help.

The SPCA of Texas is the leading animal welfare agency in North Texas, serving animals and their people in 8 counties. We don’t receive taxpayer funding and we’re

Your donation is critical to help us save lives this summer. Please help today.

Read Shay’s amazing story and donate: www.spca.org. Make