Light the candles and raise a glass. Spring 2011 marks Edible Dallas & Fort Worth magazine’s second birthday. No easy feat according to the pundits who continue to predict the demise of all things printed. Happily, in the world of slow foods, the simple things, like a sprouting carrot or a paper magazine, are to be savored and appreciated.
Not every day of the last two years has been a locally sourced picnic. Things that are worthwhile have their challenges. But thanks to savvy readers, loyal advertisers, fascinating subjects and brilliant contributors, there’s a second candle on our delicious cake. We are so grateful to have you by our side.
This issue spotlights a trio of North Texas enterprises that have pushed through their own set of unique challenges. Raise a stein of a Buffalo Butt beer to Fritz Rahr and the folks at Rahr & Sons Brewing Company. Neither sleet, nor snow, nor last year’s shroud of both could keep the brewery’s collapsed roof down for long. The Rahr family has been in the brewing business since 1847. What’s a little “snowmageddon?” Writer Steven Doyle and photographer Matthew Rainwater visited the popular Fort Worth brewery during one of its Saturday afternoon tours.
“Greatness…one step at a time” is the inspiring motto at Dallas’s Paul Quinn College. Founded in 1872 to educate freed slaves, Paul Quinn has had its recent struggles.
But the school’s dynamic president Michael Sorrell makes it clear— there’s a renewed energy at the school. Nancy Krabill and Richard Adams visited the school’s farm, an urban teaching garden, located on the former football field. On the Quinnites’ required reading list, along with the works of Homer, Shakespeare and Langston Hughes, is Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Last year Michael Farris’s family was awarded the Texas Century Farm Award, honoring farms owned by a single family for 100 years. Sadly, with the rise of agri-business, there are few that have achieved this milestone. A new generation, Michael and Sarah Farris are picking up the baton and carrying on the tradition. Sarah’s blog “Confessions of a Farm Girl” chronicles their life at Homestead Farms in Keller. Writer Penny Ruekberg and photographer Danny Fulgencio bring us that story, which includes a bevy of baby goats, like that cute kid on the cover.
Pull up a chair and sit with KERA’s Jeff Whittington and his wife Nicole. Get to know TJ’s Seafood Market’s Jon Alexis and Green Spot’s Bruce Bagelman. Listen to dietician Robin Plotkin’s advice for raising a budding foodie. Like Edible Dallas & Fort Worth, her son Ben will soon be turning two.
So Happy Birthday to us. No need for presents. The fact that you’re reading this is gift enough. We look forward to getting to know each of you at events and online. We have lots of good things planned for Year Three at Edible Dallas & Fort Worth!
—Terri Taylor
As a kid, TERRI TAYLOR refused to eat her vegetables. Her veggie-phobia was cured in 1977 when she spent eight months working on farms in Norway and France. She studied journalism at UT-Austin and received a master’s degree in liberal arts from SMU. Her short story “Virginia” can be found in Solamente en San Miguel, an anthology celebrating the magical Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende. She has written for Edible DFW since its inaugural issue in 2009. She became the magazine’s editor in 2010 and is the editor of Edible Dallas & Fort Worth: The Cookbook.
