I don’t know about you, but $39 for an entree or $14 for a glass of wine—price tags I might have shrugged off a couple of years ago—now seem a little inappropriate. I find myself entertaining friends at home more often these days, and I have the Great Recession to thank for that. I’m not alone. Friends are taking cooking classes. We spend hours on epicurious.com. We are going through the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 with the aim of trying each bottle by the end of 2009. (Somebody’s got to do it.) We are rediscovering home and Dallas hospitality.
And so, after a heated discussion about who sells the best lamb shanks in the city, the D Home editors decided to put together an “Entertaining Guide,” including first-rate butchers, cheese purveyors, wine shops, rentals, florists, and more. Paige Phelps did the legwork and you’ll find the results on page 115. For even more inspiration, we collected our 10 all-time favorite dining rooms and put them together in a lovely photo essay. We had an embarrassing number to choose from. Long-time readers know that dining rooms are our obsession. Turn to page 84 for some of the best we’ve ever published.
You also might have noticed the absence of At Your Service, our popular listings of the best home, garden, and design services in the city. Here’s why: we are currently collecting data for a separate publication, aptly named D Home Services Guide. Basically, this is an index of plumbers, electricians, landscapers, gutter cleaners, upholsterers—everyone you need to maintain and doll up your home. D Home subscribers will receive this free with their subscriptions; if you don’t subscribe yet, visit our website at www.dmagazine.com/dhome to sign up. If ever there was a time to tend to our homes and open wide the doors to friends and family, this is it. Enjoy this issue and let me hear from you.
