{ ART }
GRAND GIFT
When the Dallas Museum of Art announced in mid-February that a group of collectors had donated more than 800 works, the first person I thought of was my high school art history teacher. In class one day, Ms. Barrett remarked: “The poor DMA. It’s not there yet, but it’s trying.” Backed by the generosity of the Hoffmans, Rachofskys, and Roses, the museum, it seems, has finally made it. But those gifts might not have happened without the vision of director JOHN R. LANE, whose leadership has put the once-shaky institution on solid ground. The 61-year-old, who came to Dallas in 1999, has presided over an endowment campaign that passed the $100 million mark in February. As if that weren’t enough, Margaret McDermott donated a Monet worth $25 million. So how do these gifts affect the DMA, particularly its holdings from 1954 to the present? “We now become one of the five greatest in the country,” Lane says, almost giddy. “And we’re not even, like, No. 5. We’re in the middle.” Ms. Barrett would be proud. —BRIAN D. SWEANY
Photo: Lane: Dan Sellers
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{ DINING }
Burger King of the ’Burbs
Scott Pontikes and family are building a burger empire that’s worth the drive.
by Jennifer Chininis
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| ROYAL TREATMENT: Pontikes makes his customers feel like family. |
Scott Pontikes is a friendly, happy fellow, and he has reason to smile. In February, he and his partners—brother Chris and dad Michael—opened a new Scotty P’s in McKinney. The Pontikes trio has quickly become restaurant royalty in the northern suburbs, opening four successful burger joints in five short years.
The original Scotty P’s in Frisco—which Scott affectionately calls “the little engine that could,” because it’s the smallest at 94 seats—remains the top producer in the mini-chain, which also has locations in Allen and Plano. When the store opened in December 1999, there was nary a good place to eat in town. But today you can’t chuck a pickle spear without hitting a restaurant in Frisco.
And that’s why Scotty P’s success is so remarkable. Frisco has become a restaurant graveyard, losing nine restaurants in 2004. Last year, however, sales at Scotty P’s were up 183 percent over the first year. So what’s the trick? “In part, we grew up with the city,” Scott says, “so I think Friscoans think of Scotty P’s as their restaurant.”
Of course, making burgers isn’t rocket science, but this food stands out. The Pontikeses are sticklers for quality ingredients—100 percent ground chuck; fresh, never frozen, chicken; and soups, salads, chili, dressings, marinades, and onion rings made fresh every day. Frankly, you’d be hard pressed to find a better chicken sandwich than Papou’s Secret Recipe.
But great food is only part of the equation. There is plenty of Pontikes personality in the space. Old family photos line the walls, and, more often than not, Scott’s there to greet you or his dad’s behind the line. Menu items like the C.J.E. Kellner (Plano), the Borchardt (Frisco), and the Reddic C. White (McKinney) are named after someone famous around town, which is why the same burger has a different name in each location. It’s all about family at Scotty P’s, and after just one trip, the Pontikeses will be a part of yours.
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MENU STICKER SHOCK
Dallas is one finicky town. We crave see-and-be seen restaurants, but the moment one opens, we whine about outrageous prices. Next up is Nobu, the chichi Japanese hot spot that will open in the Hotel Crescent Court in late spring or early summer. And spring you will—$16 for tuna tempura roll for starters. So get ready to pay the piper. Here’s a quiz for what you’re already dishing out too much for.
MATCH THE ITEM WITH THE CORRECT PRICE
| 1. One white grapefruit at Whole Foods 2. A side order of pickled jalapeños at Mi Cocina 3. Ravioli at Il Mulino 4. Flour tortilla with three bites of lobster at The Mansion 5. An iced Easter cookie at Celebrity Bakery 6. One loaf of walnut bread at Empire Bakery 7. Two thimble-size scoops of truffle ice cream at Tutto 8. One hamburger (with a little foie gras!) at Paris | A. $1.25 B. $12.00 C. $23.00 D. $2.49 E. $15.95 F. $3.50 G. $45.00 H. $8.00 |
(Answers: 1. D; 2. A; 3. G; 4. C; 5. F; 6. H; 7. B; 8. E)
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{ TELEVISION }
Dye Job
A new “reality’ series on TLC has a hair salon totally frazzled.
by Tim Rogers
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| WIGGED OUT: DiPizio with stylists Lance (left) and Billy, who participated in a gay rodeo. |
This month, The Learning Channel will premiere a reality series called Sheer Dallas. Narrated by Larry Hagman, the show will, according to TLC, “weave together a whirlwind tale of drama and emotion as the cream of the Dallas crop spend, flirt, and sell their way through the city’s social season.” In an early episode, society real estate agent Carolyn Shamis gets a tattoo on the small of her back. In another, saleswoman Dee Simmons, inventor of Green Miracle Powder, officiates at her daughter’s wedding. Their lives all intersect at Salon Pompeo, sort of the Cheers of hairstyling.
But Deanna DiPizio, who owns the salon, isn’t entirely pleased with the direction the network took with Sheer Dallas. She says the network chose people who fit a stereotype of Dallas and who will only feed people’s misconceptions about the city.
DiPizio is a petite brunette with full lips, a frank demeanor, and a King Charles spaniel named Pollyanna that has heart trouble and can eat only home-cooked meals. As the Sheer Dallas TV crew scurries about DiPizio’s Uptown salon, she sees to Pollyanna’s dinner.
“Well, honey, why don’t you fry some eggs and put some rice in it?” she tells her boyfriend over the salon’s telephone. “Work it out. Figure it out. I don’t know where the flank steak is.”
She hands the phone back to her receptionist and picks up where she left off: “At the end of the day, do I want to watch some other salon on TV? No. I’m not stupid. But what they’re going to show isn’t reality.”
She summons a stylist named Lance and says he’s going to a gay rodeo for the show. While it is true that Lance is gay, he wouldn’t otherwise go to a gay rodeo.
Lance says he’s sick and tired of Dallas stereotypes. “I spent time in Milan over Thanksgiving,” he says. “I thought I was going to be blown away. But I realized everything I want to buy is right here in Dallas. I’m very thankful for that.”
Sheer Dallas airs April 14. We’ll see whether the salon—and the city—will survive.
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REAL CHARACTERS
Dallas loves reality shows. Why won’t someone stop us?
by Ruth Ihde
<< Kelly Clarkson
BURLESON
Claim to Fame: First-ever American Idol winner, in 2001.
Claim to Shame: Box-office dud From Justin to Kelly.
What Happened Next: Her new album Breakaway is at the top of the charts.
Celebrity Outlook: She’s the real deal; look out, LeAnn.
Colby Donaldson >>
DALLAS
Claim to Fame: Played nice in Survivor: Australian Outback, in 2001 and ruined his shot at $1 million.
Claim to Shame: Cops found him drunk and in a “puddle of his own vomit.”
What Happened Next: Reba and those annoying Gillette commercials.
Celebrity Outlook: When Gillette rolls out the Mach 100, he’ll be there.
Kristin Holt >>
PLANO
Claim to Fame: Contestant on American Idol’s first season and a “correspondent” for the second.
Claim to Shame: Fell down during the finals.
What Happened Next: Local media hog. Someone should stop her. Now.
Celebrity Outlook: As David Spade once said, “It’s a short ride. Save some money.”
Shannon Hughes >>
MESQUITE
Claim to Fame: Wore next to nothing in the first Sports Illustrated Model Search, in 2004.
Claim to Shame: Portrayed as a snobby rich girl, but we think she’s a sweetheart.
What Happened Next: Nada, zip, zilch.
Celebrity Outlook: Give her time. Or at least a swimsuit.
Rob Campos >>
DALLAS
Claim to Fame: Ladies’ man in the first For Love or Money, in 2002.
Claim to Shame: Accused of groping a Navy officer while in the military. Then was dumped for the money.
What Happened Next: Private law practice—but that could be hearsay.
Celebrity Outlook: We’d have no objection if he goes away.
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Cover to Cover
What to read and what to avoid in bookstores this month.
PICK! The outlook for the casual fan of baseball is bleak, with a steroid scandal clouding the pastoral pastime as a new season starts. But as John Grisham writes in his forward to 1939: Baseball’s Tipping Point (Bright Sky Press, $24.95), by Dallas lawyer Talmage Boston, “The game has always had its problems. It always will, and it will always survive because of its greatness.”
Boston, a shareholder in the litigation section of Winstead Sechrest & Minick, borrows the term and theory popularized by Malcolm Gladwell and argues that 1939 was the year that changed baseball forever. After all, that’s when Red Barber and Larry MacPhail decided to televise a major league game. Carl Stotz formed Little League. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum opened. The Yankees, regarded by some as the best team ever, won a fourth consecutive World Series, which had never been done before. Ted Williams began his rookie season. Lou Gehrig delivered his “Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth” speech. And the list goes on. But even then the sport celebrated achievements as it endured setbacks. Let’s hope the sport can learn from its past.
PAN! Let’s face it: the problem with Lance Armstrong’s having won the Tour de France six consecutive times is that we’ve run out of things to say about him. We know about his talent. We know about his cancer. We know about Sheryl Crow. So what’s left? Ask his mother Linda, a retired telecommunications exec who still lives in Plano. (Yes, we know—Lance despises Plano.) No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me (Broadway Books, $24.95) details her life, which began in the Dallas projects and only got worse until—well, you know. Lance is kind enough to pen the intro, and his first sentence strikes a natural balance between appreciation and self-satisfaction: “How does a supermarket checkout girl produce a son who becomes a Tour de France champion?” You can bet that the next 288 pages are going to explain just that. And we thought the Tour took endurance.
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SNARKY T-SHIRT OF THE MONTH
Some people sit around and drink beer and come up with funny ideas for t-shirts. Other people sit around and drink beer and come up with funny ideas for t-shirts—and then actually print and sell those shirts. Graphic designer Patrick Reeves and his radio-producing buddy Danny Balis belong to that second camp. Balis works at The Ticket 1310 AM, where he mentioned the shirts on-air. That led to a ditty in the Dallas Observer. You can see where this is headed. Get ’em before they’re gone at www.patrickreeves.com.
Photo: T-shirt: Chris Mulder
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Mayoral Proclamations
Dallas’ former mayors sound off on the Blackwood amendment.
You know that Mayor Laura Miller is for the current strong-mayor proposal. You know that her predecessor, Ron Kirk, is against it. But what do the other past mayors of Dallas think? They’re glad we asked.*
Wes Wise (1971-1976): >>
“I don’t think anyone who lived during the Erik Jonsson era could possibly think he was a weak mayor. And the same thing was true of Ron Kirk, and I think the same thing was true of me. It is my belief that under the current so-called weak-mayor system, the mayor is given more of an opportunity to lead and get out into the community and be a leading force for certain projects.”
Adlene Harrison (1976):
“I’m certainly not opposed to looking at how we can do things better, but I am opposed to what’s on the ballot. It flies in the face of the current charter, but it’s not the system that’s broken; it’s the people. I think there’s a big lack of communication between the mayor and her council. That has nothing to do with our form of government.”
Starke Taylor (1983-1987): >>
“I haven’t been following the issue too closely because I don’t get the paper out here in California. When I left, I figured Dallas didn’t need old guys like me; it needed new blood. In fact, you may be the only person who remembers that I was the mayor of Dallas.”
<< Steve Bartlett (1991-1995):
“I think it’s a matter of accountability. Dallas is a big city now, and it’s important that the citizens can hold the mayor accountable for actions and results. And it’s important that the mayor can hold the bureaucracy of City Hall accountable.”
*ROBERT FOLSOM, WHO SERVED AS MAYOR FROM 1977-1981, COULDN’T COMMENT BECAUSE HE WAS RECOVERING FROM SUCCESSFUL HEART SURGERY.
Credits
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