Day: December 18, 2020

Taco Cabana announces new home for beloved ‘Tango Frogs’

The ‘Tango Frogs’ have a new home at the Truck Yard. Photo: google

For six years, the late Texas artist Bob “Daddy-O” Wade’s beloved “Tango Frogs” — a collection of three 10-foot-tall frog sculptures perched atop Taco Cabana’s former Dallas Greenville location — brought joy to Taco Cabana guests and passersby. Following the location’s closure earlier this year, several members of the Dallas community have begged the question, “what will happen to the frogs?” Today, Taco Cabana has officially announced their new home. (Taco Cabana, 2020)

Taco Cabana will donate the “Tango Frogs” to the Truck Yard at 5624 Sears St. off Lowest Greenville Avenue in Dallas where they will take up permanent residence. The “Tango Frogs” will be prominently positioned atop the popular beer garden’s roof facing Sears St., welcoming visitors to the venue. 

The former Taco Cabana location was originally a nightclub called Tango, where the “Tango Frogs” first claimed their home in 1983 and reclaimed the rooftop in 2014 when recovered and reinstalled by Taco Cabana.

“I couldn’t be more hoppy. Truck Yard has always desired and worked toward being an iconic Dallas location that our city can be proud of. We will position the ‘Tango Frogs’ so they can be an Instagram-worthy staple in our city and to continue to show the appreciation of this ‘unfrogettable’ artwork.” – Jason Boso, owner of Truck Yard

Taco Cabana, a subsidiary of Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRGI), was founded in 1978. The brand specializes in Tex-Mex-inspired food including enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, flautas, burritos, tacos, flour tortillas and a selection of made-from-scratch salsas and sauces. Restaurants feature open-display cooking, a selection of beer and tequila margaritas, patio dining, drive-thru windows, curbside pick-up, and delivery. As of Nov. 1, 2020, Taco Cabana operates 144 company-owned restaurants in Texas.

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., owns, operates and franchises Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana® restaurant brands. The brands specialize in the operation of fast casual/quick service restaurants that offer distinct and unique flavors with broad appeal at a compelling value. The brands feature fresh-made cooking, drive-thru service, and catering.

 

Emmer & Rye pasta boxes now available at Whole Foods Market

Emmer & Rye pasta boxes. Photo: Emmer & Rye, used with permission.

The team behind the highly acclaimed Emmer & Rye is excited to announce that beginning Tuesday, December 15, Emmer & Rye pasta will be sold by the package exclusively at Whole Foods Market in Austin, San Antonio, and select Dallas locations. This is the first time the beloved pasta will be available for purchase in a national grocery store. (Emmer & Rye, 2020)

Since its inception in 2015, Emmer & Rye has focused on highlighting the depth and complexity of flavor in freshly milled heritage grains. Each specialty pasta features heirloom grains which are grown and milled by Hayden Flour Mills in Arizona and Barton Spring Mill in Dripping Springs. The pasta will be sold in 12oz. packages (about 2 – 3 servings) and the options are Blue Beard Durum Spaghetti, Egyptian Emmer Rigatoni, and Rouge de Bordeaux Strozzapreti. Each individual package will be $7.99. The pasta will be available in all Austin and San Antonio Whole Foods Market locations and will be available in select Whole Foods Market Dallas locations, including Highland Park, Lakewood, and Plano.

Emmer & Rye has been recognized as one of the most prominent restaurants in Austin. In 2016, Executive Chef Fink was named Food & Wine’s “Best New Chef.” He was also named a 2018 James Beard semifinalist and 2019 finalist for “Best Chef Southwest.” Emmer & Rye was named one of America’s best new restaurants in Bon Appétit.

Directed by owner and Executive Chef Kevin Fink and partner Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Emmer & Rye brings cuisine that is rustic and seasonally inspired to Rainey Street. Emmer & Rye is a restaurant designed around the farmer’s haul, featuring a menu that changes daily with a focus on seasonal and local cuisine. Heirloom grains are milled fresh for house-made pasta, bread, and desserts, and an extensive in-house fermentation program captures flavors at their peak and preserves them for the offseason.

“Pasta is a staple in our house. It is such a simple product—flour and water. When you use heirloom grains for your flour it adds a richness to the pasta that you can’t help but fall in love with. These flavors are something we have played with at Emmer & Rye for five years now. I am really excited to get to bring something that we treasure in the restaurant to your home kitchen.” – Kevin Fink, Executive Chef