Sweeping up the Foreclosure Mess

It was immediately apparent what this work of art was all about- cleaning up the foreclosure mess. This work is currently on view at R2ART in Uptown at 3699 McKinney. The artist is John Frost and the title is Wake.  A new exhibit open Thursday, September 8.

Dunhill Homes Expands Footprint With Two New Communities in Dallas/Fort Worth

Dunhill Homes has successfully launched 7 new subdivisions in the Dallas and Houston markets in the last five months. In an economic environment marred by disappointing news, Dunhill Homes' expansion is refreshingly optimistic. The homebuilder has been on an expansionary spree in Texas after successfully launching two master-planned communities in Las Vegas. In July 2011 Dunhill added two new communities to its portfolio – The Retreat at Craig Ranch in McKinney and Ridgeview Farms in Northwest Fort Worth.

The Retreat at Craig Ranch is located within the master-planned community Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas. This exclusive enclave allows residents a luxurious lifestyle with access to world class amenities and low maintenance homes. Residents of The Retreat have exclusive access to their own pool and a 9,000 sq. ft., 2-story clubhouse. Residents also enjoy the benefits of living within the Craig Ranch masterplan; social membership to the famous Craig Ranch TPC Golf Club and access to the Cooper Fitness Center & Spa. The Retreat, located at the intersection of Custer and Stacy Road, offers a wide range of plans starting in the low $200s.

Dunhill Homes' second community, Ridgeview Farms, is located in Northwest Fort Worth, adjacent to the booming Alliance Corridor and minutes from four major highways. Homeowners enjoy the luxury of a private amenity center with a playground, swimming pool and cabana. Dunhill Homes is offering several one and two story floor plans that range from 1,400 to over 3,000 square feet and start in the $140s.

All Dunhill homes are designed to surpass the industry standard on energy efficiency with features such as continuous air barrier and sealing, optimal HVAC with programmable thermostat, internal moisture management, soffit and static roof venting, and air pressure balancing. Each home is then inspected by an independent consultant or organization and assigned a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating.

Dunhill Homes is owned by Winchester Carlisle Companies which also launched another new home brand, Nathan Carlisle Homes, in July. Nathan Carlisle focuses on building exclusively for active adult homebuyers.

Is Fugi a Place in Washington State?

Not to be confused with Fuji apples, these delicious Fugi apples are found only at Albertson's on McKinney Avenue. Or maybe they are confused with Fuji apples. 

New Trolley Turnabout Coming to West Village

PCC Car in San Francisco

A new turnabout in West Village will allow the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority to begin running PCC cars from Toronto. Currently only double-ended cars run on the line connecting the Art Museum with the West Village. The turntable also is being constructed adjacent to m DART’s Cityplace West subway entrance. It's expected to be a tourist attraction, as well as a practical tool to re-orient the streetcars. A recent article in the Dallas Morning News compared it to Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. Efforts are also under way to loop the streetcars through the Dallas Arts District.

The PCC name comes from the design committee formed in 1929 representing the Presidents of various electric street railways. The Electric Railway Presidents’ Conference Committee, or ERPCC, was tasked with producing a new type of streetcar that would help fend off competition from buses and automobiles. It hasn't quite lived up to that task, but is currently helping provide alternatives to automobile use. 

Studies have shown a positive impact on real estate values from streetcar systems.

Suburban Philadelphia Trolleys (PA) (Images of Rail)
Pittsburgh Streamlined Trolleys (PA) (Images of Rail)
San Francisco's Market Street Railway (CA) (Images of Rail)

Don't Talk to Me, I'm Eating (really good pizza)

Margherita Pizza at Cavalli in Irving

At this stage in my life I tend to judge every pizza by Brooklyn standards. It was an article in the Dallas Morning News today that had Cavalli Pizza in Irving living up to Italian standards that was cause for me to head to this nearby suburb this evening. Cavalli Pizza did not disappoint, at least by Brooklyn standards.

These Italian standards come from something called the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) and determine things like the purity of the ingredients and the temperature of the ovens. Kind of reminds me of the German purity laws for beer. Whatever the guidelines, if this is the result, I'm sold.

All the pizza's on the menu at Cavalli are personal-sized. Pizza's in Napoli are huge, however. But there was a large pie at another table, so I asked. Turns out if they're not busy, they can make a large pie. The cost $14.95 for Margherita. A personal-sized Margherita is $6.95 or $9.95 depending on what type of mozzarella you want.

Margherita is a favorite, and the gold standard, but we also tried the Contadina, which has sauce, mozzarella  sausage, basil and olive oil.

Cavalli is my new standrad for pizza in Dallas.

3601 Regent Boulevard, Irving

There is Over Here

Building More There's in Grapevine

According to a recent editorial in the Dallas Morning News, a stunning 58.5 percent of Americans surveyed after the Super Bowl this year had no impression of Dallas whatsoever. One reason is the Super Bowl was in Arlington. If there's a place Gertrude Stein's comment that "there's no there there" applies to, it's Arlington. We also do a poor job of spelling out just where our "There's" are. West End in Dallas, Bishop Arts District, Southlake Town Center, McKinney Avenue and parts of downtown Dallas. Main Street in Grapevine is another one. Grapevine gets a lot of tourists from elsewhere, but I'm amazed at the number of folks I find in DFW who don't know Grapevine has a downtown with a lively Main Street and historic, albeit some recreated, structures and even a stream train. When many locals think of Grapevine, they think of a: outlet mall or b: Gaylord Hotel. But guess what- there is a there here. That's the problem- there are there's here and there around dallas, but no cluster of there's, and no apparent resource to spell out exactly where the there's are.

P.S. Wouldn't it be great to have a "THERE" flag waving atop this new tower?

Get it at Grimaldi's Before You Go

You could spend two hours or more of your New York City vacation waiting for a slice of Grimaldi's pizza, or you could stop by the West Village location in Dallas before you go. The slice you see here is a Brooklyn favorite known as Margherita pizza. This is pure pizza without blinding flavors and a recipe that allows you to taste the purity of the sauce, cheese and crust. When I used to order it in Brooklyn at Amorina Pizza on Vanderbilt, it would come with sauce, basil and round pads of mozzarella. Grimaldi's came close, though I think I would prefer it without the tomatoes. Anyway, the atmosphere is great, it's located on the McKinney streetcar line and you'll find it hard to argue with a more than 90 percent favorable rating on Urban Spoon.