Dining With Delia Jo

Usually pizza is just "sit down" or delivery. At Persona Pizzeria in Irving, it's your own pizza-building adventure. The limits are endless. Choose your sauce, and build to your heart's content. You do you.

The motto here (as reflected in the name) is "Pizza that fits your persona".  The concept was created by chef and CEO Glenn Cybulski, an Italian trained Pizzaiolo who has been awarded the title of World Pizza Champion on top of over 100 other culinary awards. Glenn wanted to create a concept that would be "a Chipotle of pizzas", with a serious focus on ingredients and freshness, starting with the dough. Persona begins with 00 flour, imported from Italy, which they knead in house. It's also hand stretched instead of machine pressed, and the dough is made fresh daily.

If you're not feeling inspired to dream up your own recipe, you can't go wrong choosing from one of the chef-developed creations, like the Carne or Chipotle Chicken sho…

Frisco is a happening place to be, if you're into the restaurant scene. What was once was a haven for mostly huge national chains now has exciting new openings (both mom and pop joints and nationally recognized chef-driven) announced nearly daily. Enter @nerdvana.food + spirits, which opened a few months back (read my full write-up of @nerdvana in Plano Magazine). After several months of being open for business and real life market research, they made a few adaptations that fit better with their demographic, namely, 12 new family-friendly booths with gaming consoles, the addition of kids menus, extended brunch hours, and revamped brunch and dinner menus.

The drink menu is still large and filled with a variety of alcoholic beverages, so no need to panic, your favorite cocktail is still there.

On my visit to see the new renovations and taste some new menu items, I sipped on The Eldrid, made with Dripping Springs Texas vodka, elderflower liqueur, fresh squeezed lime juice, fresh thy…

Are you so excited for Taste Addison 2017 that you simply can't wait that long? Well, I have good news for you: You don't have to wait! Taste Addison is hosting free preview Taste Tuesdays leading up to the festival's main event on May 19-21.

You're all invited to experience a little peek into this year's festival during these Taste Tuesdays events, during which several Taste Addison restaurants will hand out bites from their festival menu. Additionally, guests have a chance to win Taste Addison admission tickets and other goodies. The Taste Tuesday events are free, open to the public, and do not require a ticket to attend.

Taste Tuesday Schedule On Tuesday, April 25, from 12pm-1pm, join a few of Taste Addison's participating restaurants at Addison Circle One. At this preview event, you can sample items from Mad Batter Baker,May Dragon, Skinny Pizza, and Table 13.
On Tuesday, May 2, also from 12pm-1pm, join Cantina Laredo, i Fratelli, Little Greek, and The Mel…

Change is on the horizon at The Grill, located at Galleria Dallas. While the interior still looks the same (for now, stay tuned), the menu has had a facelift with the introduction of a number of new menu items. 
I attended a media dinner where The Grill’s Executive Chef Michael Stewart flew in from California to present to us his latest culinary creations. After a warm welcome from GM/Executive Chef Robert Hall and the rest of the team, we embarked on a delightful tasting of some of the newest menu items. 
You might typically think of The Grill as "dude food", with heavy steakhouse meals that don't leave room for lighter features. Not so at The Grill, as they still have lots of light and fresh seafood options even a pescatarian can climb on board with. 
To start, try the Ahi Poke or the Crab & Hamachi Sushi Roll if you're feeling up for something light. If you want something heavier, the Nueske's Bacon (shown above) is like meat candy that will literally mel…

Heritage Pizza and Taproom opened recently in The Colony (see my writeup in Plano Magazine), and will officially celebrate their grand opening with a full day of festivities open to the public on Friday, April 21.

The first 100 guests who arrive for lunch at 11am will receive a free t-shirt, koozie, and free pizza voucher for a future visit. Take advantage of their new Heritage lunch special: a personal sized pizza and Heritage Ranch Salad, available Monday-Friday from 11am-3pm for $9.99.

From 3-7pm on Friday, The Ticket 96.7 Sports Talk Radio's Hardline's Corby Davidson and Mike Rhyner will be broadcasting live from the restaurant. The Colony Chamber of Commerce official ribbon cutting will occur at 4pm.

To further the festivities, the first 100 people at 6pm to partake in the Martin House Pint Night by buying a pint of their featured brew will get to keep the signature glass and also receive a free Heritage Pizza growler (not including fill).

On the food side of things, whil…

You know you can count on me to tell you where to go to have someone else cook for you, but every once in awhile I like to surprise you by featuring ways you can learn cook at home.

I love a great cooking class, and Kitchenwares on the Square recently invited me in to experience one of theirs. Sascia Marchesi is the Executive Chef/Director of Restaurants over at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine. He taught a class on how to prepare salmon 3 different ways. (See photos below and a recipe he shared with us for Salmon Tartare). 
Most importantly, here's the schedule for their upcoming classes. Be sure and contact them through their Facebook or Instagram, or email Kim directly at kim@kitchenwaresonthesquare.com to reserve your spot!

(All cooking classes are hands on with 10 available seats for each class.)
Upcoming Cooking Classes at Kitchenwares on the Square: 
April 27, Thursday, 6:30 - 8:30pm:  "An Evening in Morocco. You will cook along with the che…

You can't eat pizza every day and stay skinny - right? Not true at SKINNYPIZZA, which recently opened in Addison Circle, promising all-natural ingredients and lower calorie counts for pizza fanatics and health-conscious patrons alike.

They invited me in to sample their menu, so I popped in for lunch to try a pizza, pasta, and salad. I go into every healthy situation a skeptic, so I was pleasantly surprised when I actually really liked what I tasted here.

SKINNYPIZZA spent years developing their recipe to obtain the taste that real pizza lovers can get on board with. What they've created is a NY style thin and crispy crust that has a firm crunch and pairs well with just about any topping you choose. You can feel good about choosing to eat at SKINNYPIZZA because of their dedication to avoiding preservatives and additives in their crust. Not only that, but their pizza sauce is 100% organic, cheeses are all natural, and the toppings are all antibiotic-free and hormone-free.

The …

Whisk Crêpes Café's chef and owner Julien Eelsen hasn't always been a chef. He worked for years in finance at an airline before deciding to go his own way, opening his own French crêperie, after he grew up making them with his grandmother and aunt in France. He said he always wanted to open a crêperie, and after living all over the world, he chose Dallas for his shop because he loved the people of Dallas.

Whisk opened in Sylvan | Thirty at the end of 2015, bringing fantastic crêpes and galettes to the lucky people of Dallas. (A galette is made with buckwheat flour. Buckwheat is the traditional batter for savory crepes in France. Bonus: It's also gluten-free).
There is an overwhelming number of delicious menu items to choose form, or you can also create your own. I always like go the chef-designed route in this case, opting for flavor combinations made my the expert. The ham and gruyere galette topped with sunny-side eggs and greens was a pitch-perfect flavor combination th…