Crime does not pay (especially if you're not too bright)

From Reuters:
"Hey! How'd you find me?"
Dec 30, 9:09 AM (ET)

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police Thursday captured two men suspected of stealing from 15 cars and two garden sheds by following their footprints in the snow for several miles.

Policemen were checking up on a car whose alarm had been set off just after midnight in the town of Hoentrop when they found a smashed window and two sets of footprints which they followed more than ten streets.

"At one point the tracks disappeared because someone had cleared the pavement outside their home in the middle of the night," police said in a statement.

After this minor setback, the officers picked up the trail again. The two sets of footprints led them directly to the entrance of a flat where the burglars not only stored their booty but also left their shoes and gloves to dry.

From USA Today: Top meals for 2005

From USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2005-12-22-travel-review-food_x.htm

Belly-up to the table for the finest fare around the world

By Jerry Shriver, USA TODAY

In a decade of writing about food and wine, I've never encountered as many eye-opening, belly befuddling dining experiences as I did in 2005.

		Heavenly biscuits: Nashville's Loveless Motel & Cafe won reporter Jerry Shriver's vote for top down-home dining spot of 2005.
		Sanford Myers, The Tennessean for USA TODAY

This summer, USA TODAY launched the "Down-home Dining" project, which has taken me to nearly 70 classic pizza joints, ice cream parlors, barbecue and fish shacks, cafes, buffets, hot dog and hamburger stands and pancake houses. I'm ecstatic to report that there is an abundance of dirt-cheap, high-quality humble fare out there that reflects the quirks and traditions of each region.

	25 TOP DISHES
	Listed in no particular order: Tarte flambée, The Modern, New York Porcini mushrooms with peaches and tomatoes, Dei Cacciatori, Albaretto della Torre, Italy Hamburger, Booche's, Columbia, Mo. Tom yum soup, Le Grand in the Raffles Grand Hotel D'Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia French sundae Newport-style, Crown Candy Kitchen, St. Louis Chicken and dumplings, Hoover's, Austin Fugu sashimi salad with 1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil Champagne, Masa, New York Cioppino, Duarte's Tavern, Pescadero, Calif. Herb-crusted oyster veloute with wakame seaweed crouton, Cercle Rouge, New York Barbecued shrimp, Acadiana, Washington, D.C. Fried chicken, Stroud's, Kansas City, Mo. Chicken Vesuvio, Gene & Georgetti's, Chicago Peanut soup, Southern Kitchen, New Market, Va. Mahi-mahi fish and chips, Taylor Refresher, St. Helena, Calif. Steamed cheeseburger, Ted's, Meriden, Conn. Artichoke pizza, Di Fara, Brooklyn, N.Y. Vegetable buffet, Niki's West, Birmingham, Ala. Risotto with gorgonzola and pears, San Domenico, New York Torchon de foie gras with honey gelee and cherries, Blue Stem, Kansas City, Mo. Cha ca, Cha Ca La Vong, Hanoi Italian beef sandwich, Al's #1 Italian Beef, Chicago Barbecued beef brisket, City Market, Luling, Texas Grilled artichokes, Hitching Post II, Buellton, Calif. Cyber egg, Combal.Zero, Rivoli, Italy Gloucester hash, Two Sisters Coffee Shop, Gloucester, Mass.

In the midst of that research, I also visited half a dozen fine-dining restaurants where chefs with a cerebral bent are practicing avant-garde cooking. n And along the way were trips to Italy and Asia, where both the high-end fare and street foods were nothing short of astonishing; to pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans, where the hedonistic spirit is as potent as ever; and nights on the town at home in New York.

Out of that mix emerged memorable experiences I'm happy to distill into my annual awards for the meals and dishes of the year.

Top down-home dining spot: Loveless Motel & Café, Nashville

A group of local investors saved this 1951 landmark from extinction in 2003 and has breathed new life into a menu that features Southern classics such as fried chicken, country ham, hefty breakfasts and perhaps the country's finest biscuits and fruit preserves. (Related story: Biscuits rise to Olympian heights in Tennessee)

Runner-up: Marguerite's, Westport, Mass.

Top casual lunch spot: Shake Shack, New York

Renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer re-created the take-away eatery of his childhood dreams in the heart of Manhattan two years ago, and New York foodies have proved willing to stand in lengthy lines for outstanding burgers, Chicago-style hot dogs, frozen custard and thoughtfully chosen wines by the glass.

Runner-up: Arnold's Country Kitchen, Nashville

Top breakfast spot: Otis Café, Otis Junction, Ore.

The kitchen in this super-cozy roadside diner southwest of Portland makes nearly all of the dishes from scratch, including four types of bread, softball-size cinnamon rolls, a half-dozen varieties of pie and the famous German potatoes (onion-laced hash browns that are fried, then baked, then topped with white cheddar cheese). (Related story: Big taste resides in a little corner of Oregon)

Runner-up: Pancake Pantry, Nashville

Wendy Lyn Whitehurst
Exotic eats: Vietnam's Cho Binh Tay Market gets wins the top spot for foreign meal of the year.

Meal of the year — foreign: Cho Binh Tay Market, Ho Chi Minh City

The stalls in this bustling Chinese market are bulging with hundreds of exotic foodstuffs, and many of those wind up in the vast array of dishes served at the simple lunch counters in the rear. We squatted on stools, pointed to about eight or nine dishes and ate our fill of such standouts as duck rolls, pork meatballs, pea shoots and mushroom in chicken broth, and several types of unusual fish (and fish parts).

Other notable meals: La Griglia, Argegno, Italy; Ristorante Le Torri, Castiglione Falleto, Italy; Erawan Tea Room, Bangkok; Luck Yu Tea House, Hong Kong

Meals of the year — domestic: Alinea, Chicago, and MiniBar, Washington, D.C.

Of the six restaurants I visited for coverage of experimental dining, these two stood out. The approaches of Alinea's Grant Achatz and MiniBar's Jose Andres are worlds apart, yet both chefs offered food that was challenging, whimsical, stylish and usually (but not always) exceptionally tasty. (Related items: In search of extreme cuisine | Interactive graphic)

Other notable meals: Zuni Café, San Francisco; Daniel, New York; Casa Mono, New York; Nobu 57, New York; all of the meals at a dozen restaurants in New Orleans

From GuideLive: Best new restaurants in Dallas

From GuideLive: http://www.guidelive.com/feature/328/

Unconventional wisdom
The top new restaurants of 2005 break rules or defy stereotypes

By Dotty Griffith / The Dallas Morning News

Which words best describe the area restaurant scene circa 2005?
A. Mexican renaissance
B. Italian power play
C. American homogeneity
D. Asian nonconformity
E. All of the above
F. None of the above

Answer: E or F.

If that sounds contradictory, it is because the restaurant year itself felt oxymoronic.

Start with Lanny Lancarte II's "high Mexican kitchen." Who'd ever have thought the year's best new restaurant would serve gourmet Mexican food in Fort Worth? Or that No. 2 would be in suburban Colleyville?

Practically every restaurant on the list breaks rules or defies stereotypes (including No. 10, a three-way tie).

One thing that hasn't changed: All the restaurants mentioned here were reviewed since Jan. 1.

---

Jason Janik / Special to DMN

Chef Lanny Lancarte II, of the Joe T. Garcia's restaurant family, opened his own place in 2005.

1. Lanny's Alta Cocina Mexicana
3405 W. Seventh St. (at Boland), Fort Worth; 817-850-9996

Lanny Lancarte II, of Fort Worth's famed Joe T. Garcia's Tex-Mex restaurant family, opened his "high Mexican kitchen" midyear. On his first solo venture this 30-year-old chef-entrepreneur crafted a remarkably mature restaurant. Everything is first-class but casual. The cuisine from this classically trained chef takes south-of-the-border flavors to new heights with sophisticated techniques and mastery of the elements of taste. Wines are carefully selected and well-presented. He plans to begin serving lunch early in 2006.

Chris Hamilton / Special to DMN

Wild striped bass at 62 Main

2. 62 Main Restaurant
62 Main St., Suite 200, Colleyville; 817-605-0858

David McMillan's California wine-country bistro elevates the restaurant scene in the Northeast Tarrant County suburb of Colleyville. The subtleties of his decor, menu and wine list are as refined, but considerably more casual, than the virtuoso dishes that earned the chef a following during his years at Nana in the Wyndham Anatole hotel. He uses a brick oven for roasting, burning a "wood of the day." The wine service and list are excellent.

Darnell Renee / Special to DMN

Pan-roasted fillet of sea bass at Go Fish

3. Go Fish
4950 Beltline Road, Addison; 972-980-1919

Seafood, particularly finfish of all kinds, is Chris Svalesen's forte, and he's in fine form at his newest restaurant. This chef has had his ups and downs in a tough business. A lounge and bar scene no doubt provides some cushion for his relatively small restaurant along Addison's teeming dining strip. This is a place to get good basic seafood as well as the kind of innovative dishes that made chef Svalesen famous in previous endeavors. The wine selection offers some good values.

Darnell Renee / Special to DMN

Chef Nick Badovinus at Hibiscus

4. Hibiscus
2927 N. Henderson Ave., Dallas; 214-827-2927

Part steakhouse, part chef-driven restaurant, this highly anticipated location by the dynamic duo of businessman Tristan Simon and chef Nick Badovinus has been hot since it opened. The cocktails are well-chilled and the atmosphere is sexy. Some dishes are knockouts, others are similar to what can be found on any menu featuring thick cuts of heavy beef. Still, this restaurant has made the already-sizzling North Henderson corridor in East Dallas even hotter and more congested on busy evenings.

Courtney Perry / Special to DMN

Desserts such as green tea ice cream with sticky rice are a highlight at Asian Mint.

5. Asian Mint
11617 N. Central Expressway (southwest corner of Forest and Central), Dallas; 214-363-6655

What a pleasant surprise this small fusion restaurant turned out to be, starting with nontraditional desserts such as green tea ice cream cake and coconut ice cream on sticky rice. Part dessert-coffee bar and part Asian restaurant, this North Dallas gem is a find that has caught on and keeps a steady following. The menu is heavily Thai, with lovely soup specials that make it a standout in a crowded genre. All that makes it a good choice for lunch, dinner or just dessert.

Courtney Perry / Special to DMN

Roasted chicken breast with fettuccine, walnuts and basil

6. Tutto
2719 McKinney Ave., Dallas; 214-220-0022

Luxe ingredients used in unusual ways mark the fare at chef Joseph Gutierriz's newest venture, where he cooks Italian with a Spanish accent. Dishes are complex, and the decor is dramatic. The wine list is international with selections from Italy, California, Spain and South America. The name means "everything," and the restaurant offers such dining surprises as black truffle ice cream.

Darnell Renee / Special to DMN

Tiradito Nobu Style features Japanese snapper.

7. Nobu
400 Crescent Court (in the Hotel Crescent Court, Maple at Cedar Springs), Dallas; 214-252-7000

Dallas wasn't in the first tier of cities to get a clone of the 1994 New York original. But we're glad to have it nonetheless. Famed Los Angeles-based chef Nobu Matsuhisa spearheaded much of what is called Asian fusion today with his South American-Japanese interpretations. The sushi bar provides a particularly memorable experience, as does the omakase, or chef's tasting menu. Be prepared to spend a bundle and enjoy doing it while the sushi chefs explain what's freshest on the menu.

Darnell Renee / Special to DMN

Chiles poblanos at Cafe San Miguel

8. Cafe San Miguel
1907 N. Henderson Ave. (at McMillan), Dallas; 214-370-9815

Earthy dishes reflect the regional flavors of the Mexican city for which the restaurant is named. The menu also suggests chef Fernando Marrufo's native Yucatán. Fine tastes begin with a trio of salsas and continue with authentic Mexican cocktails and beers. The menu skews toward Tex-Mex at lunch, with traditional fish, game birds and steaks at night. Decor is bright and casual, and the restaurant houses one of the city's more imaginative ladies' rooms.

Courtney Perry / Special to DMN

The upstairs bar at Fuse restaurant in the Dallas Power & Light building

9. Fuse
1512 Commerce St., Dallas; 214-742-3873

In the historic Dallas Power & Light building (now a residential-retail complex), this spare restaurant has lit up downtown since last summer's opening, when the water garden patio immediately became a Dallas landmark for the hip-and-happening set. Chef Blaine Staniford's Tex-Asian cuisine hits its target most of the time, impressive but not too contrived.

10. Three-way tie

• Daniele Osteria
3300 Oak Lawn (at Hall), Dallas; 214-443-9420

From Palermo, chef Daniele Puleo prepares a mostly Sicilian menu at his Oak Lawn restaurant, where fresh pastas and caponata are superb. Mr. Puleo's intensely personal and personality-driven restaurant offers some unusual dishes in a city where northern Italian cooking has long dominated.

Chris Hamilton / Special to DMN

Chef Abraham Salum mans the kitchen at his self-titled restaurant.

• Salum
4152 Cole Ave, No. 103, Dallas; 214-252-9604

Abraham Salum's sleek, clean and understated restaurant offers a cleverly crafted wine list and a menu with attention to detail that characterizes chef-owned and -operated locations. Mr. Salum is confident enough to color outside the lines on occasion. The result is a restaurant that is fashionable without being cloying.

• Nicola's Ristorante
5800 Legacy Drive (in the Shops at Legacy), Plano; 972-608-4455

Relocated from the Galleria Dallas to new, much larger digs and with an additional chef, Nicola's reaches out with special ingredients such as mozzarella burrata (imported leaf-wrapped buffalo mozzarella), so fresh it can be imported only during cold winter months. Ingredients like that, and the addition of Sascia Marchesi to the chef lineup alongside veteran Vincenzo Indelicato, make Nicola's worthy of notice.