LightCatcher Winery
6925 Confederate Park Rd.
www.lightcatcher.com
East Hampton Sandwich Co.
2211 E. Southlake Blvd. #500
www.ehsandwich.com
Le Cep Restaurant
3324 West 7th St.
www.leceprestaurant.com
44Bootlegger Wine Bar
1411 West Magnolia Ave.
www.44bootlegger.com
LightCatcher Winery has won many awards over the years for their stellar wine blends. When I called to see when this year’s Crush Day was scheduled, (the annual I Love Lucy re-enactment and stomping of the grapes), I was sorry to hear it was cancelled. “Our business is changing here at the winery. While we will remain a winery for the foreseeable future, there are other major changes occurring. Our property is for sale, but we have no idea when that sale might happen,” says owner Caris Turpen.
“Beginning in early June we began to shift our business more towards wine tastings and sales,” she said. Originally they had planned to scale back the dining substantially, but have now changed course. “We are continuing with our food service and Light Bites dining with no shutdown. We continue to offer our full menu, plus weekly chalkboard specials,” she says.
LightCatcher will still host the popular monthly Jazz Sunday brunches and create a four course wine pairing dinner at the monthly Winemaker Dinners for the foreseeable future. “We will continue to release wines as I get them out of the barrels, finished and bottled, and we are counting on the continued interest of our public as we introduce folks to new, amazing wines,” says Turpen.
Le Cep now offering a la carte menu weeknights
Chef Sandra Avila rotates her enchanting contemporary Parisian menu at Le Cep every six weeks − introducing new seasonal delights. Now, in addition to the popular four-course or eight-course Discovery Menu, guests will be able to order any of the eight courses on the existing menu individually on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. The four-course menu will remain available Tuesday through Friday, and the eight-course Discovery Menu is available every night and remains the only option on Saturday.
“The new weeknight a la carte option provides a lighter and faster dining option for our busy guests on weeknights when they may not want to linger over a four- or eight-course dinner. They can now experience Parisian contemporary fine dining and select those courses that suit both their tastes and their time limitations,” said Avila. “Our guests have requested this option in the past, and I’m thrilled to be able to launch the a la carte option to meet their needs.”
44Bootlegger switches gears
Tommy and Tammy Brown first opened 44Bootlegger as a hip, niche retail spot last year on Magnolia. After trying to cultivate the retail business, they realized the space was just begging to become a wine bar instead. So they converted the space into a stylish wine bar.
44 Bootlegger now offers boutique wines and craft beer at reasonable prices. Guests can sit in the newly renovated lounge and bar area and enjoy any of the selected 44 wines and 44 beers available on the ever-evolving menu. The interior is charming and comfortable, strew with salvaged garden gates, doors and windows.
East Hampton Sandwich Co. expands
East Hampton Sandwich Co., adds two more locations to its local line-up. With four Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants since 2012 (one in Fort Worth’s West Bend), the company is adding a Southlake store in early August followed by another on Inwood Road, in Dallas, by the end of August.
Founder Hunter Pond was recently named a Forbes “30 under 30” recipient and Zagat “30 under 30”. “I wanted to create a concept where elevated sandwiches would be made using the finest ingredients available and served in a smart and stylish interior. Our chefs brine, roast and carve nitrate free meats, skipping out on serving deli meat.”