They say never trust a skinny chef.

I say never trust a cliché.

Andrew Powers, the svelte executive chef at Trece, seems to enjoy turning stereotypes upside down. For example, you might assume a Mexican (not Tex Mex, mind you) restaurant wouldn’t serve a salmon amuse bouche appetizer. Or that if they did, it wouldn’t be any good.

My taste buds beg to differ.

As the sous chef at the famed Mansion Restaurant for two years, Powers worked under Chef Dean Ferring before jetting off to the Virgin Isles in 2005. In addition to enjoying island life, Powers served as a combination banquet and sous chef in Caneel Bay for two years, where he handled dinner parties for up to 900 people. In 2008, Powers came to Robert Colombo’s Trece as executive sous chef under Ruben Peck. In February of 2010, Powers made the leap to executive chef.

Powers chose a distinctly non-south-of-the-border menu to showcase the extraordinary items in his menu (and quite a few off of it). Laced with chipotle sauce, habanero peppers, jalapeno grits, and plenty of tequila, Powers’ creations pack a punch worthy of a Mexican restaurant. But the dishes themselves, (chipotle shrimp bisque, coriander crusted duck, poblano wrapped scallop, and coffee crusted beef), were a veritable United Nations of nourishment.

After serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine, I thought I never wanted to see a potato on my plate again, but Powers managed to change my mind. The scallop, served with smoked tomato buerve blanc, goat cheese, and jalapeno grits, was my favorite dish of the night.

A chef after my own stomach, Powers used my staple comfort food as the basis for dessert. The roasted peanut flan with  caramelized bahns and a blueberry puree brought me back to, oh a couple of nights ago, when nothing looked good except a classic PB&J sandwich.

As I waddled out to my car, no doggie bag necessary, I couldn’t help but think that breakfast was going to be a supreme disappointment.

Preston Royal Village will be a little less fashionable after Talula closes its stylish doors at 6 p.m. Saturday. Owner Victoria Jackson said she and her husband were moving to Mexico after doing business for five years in Preston Hollow. Customers will have one last chance to shop at Talula, with the final clearance sale slashing prices by 75 to 80 percent today and tomorrow.

The move is bittersweet for Candace Williams, owner of the neighboring Toy Maven, which will absorb the 1,200 square foot space vacated by Talula.

“We’re sorry to see them go, but we’re excited about expanding our store,” Williams said.

Williams has a host of ideas for what to do with the extra real estate, including hosting more special events, increasing the overall organization of the store, improving the book selection, and adding more interactive displays and games.

“We really want our store to be a destination place for kids and families,” she said.

Williams hopes to have the expansion complete by early September.

In an effort to maximize coach and player participation, Town North YMCA extended the deadline for Kramer Elementary sports teams from (today) Aug. 20 to Thursday, Aug. 26. Fall sports for boys and girls include soccer, flag football, and volleyball.

John Zimmermann, Kramer’s athletic director, said he hopes more volunteer coaches will be added in the coming week. Zimmermann described the program as “robust with a high level of student participation,” but said they are short on coaches. Don’t worry, ‘rents, there’s no experience required. Go here for information on how to get involved.

Dallas will make history on Sunday when American Airlines hosts the largest, outdoor, public, pro-Israel rally in North Texas. From 12 to 5 p.m., Party on the Plaza: A Celebration of Israel will highlight Israel’s contributions to medicine, science, art, and technology. The event, sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Dallas, will also have activities for the kiddos and kosher Israeli and American food.

If that’s not enough reason to attend, keynote speakers include Mayor Tom Leppert, Rabbi Adam Raskin, the president of the Rabbinic Association of Greater Dallas, and Pastor Terri Pearsons, representing Christians United for Israel and Eagle Mountain International Church. One of Israel’s most popular young musicians, Itamar Meiri, will play hits from his recent album as well as classic tunes. To get psyched for the concert, check out his MySpace page.

Best of all: It’s free. Well, everything except the food. You can’t win ‘em all.

Today through Sunday, school-related items with a price tag of less than $100 are all tax-free. Yipee. Ken’s Man Shop is mixing things up with its own promotion and not charging taxes on Friday and Saturday purchases of more than $100. Go figure.

For the official list of non-taxed items, go to the state comptroller’s website here. Some of the more puzzling items that didn’t make the list include belt buckles sold separately from belts, loose buttons and zippers, and elastic ponytail holders. Apparently, proper fastening is not necessary for the school year. Noted.

A story in today’s edition of Preston Hollow People covers the charitable efforts of five St. Monica’s students to raise money for their classmate, 7th grader Mabeth Diaz, who was injured in an ATV accident on July 4.

St. Monica’s has upped the philanthropy ante and is holding a 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Aug. 28-29 in support of Mabeth. “Shoot ‘em up for Mabeth” is open to boys and girls from 5th to 8th grade. Early registration is $100 per team and runs through Aug. 22. After that, it’s $120. But with all proceeds going to Mabeth’s family for medical and rehabilitation expenses, late registration is the generous thing to do.  St. Monica’s is also accepting donations on behalf of Mabeth, and raffling off a trip to Hawaii. You can register here.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Dougherty’s Pharmacy in Preston Royal Village recently launched a mobile website that will allow customers to fill prescriptions online. And they still deliver. It’s the best of both centuries.

DALLAS, August 17, 2010 –  Dougherty’s Pharmacy makes it even easier than ever to refill prescriptions and receive health information by offering new mobile web access. With the touch of a finger, customers are immediately connected to Dougherty’s new interactive website.

“For the past 80 years our top priority  has always been to offer the highest level of personalized customer service,” said Jim Potter, general manager of Dougherty’s Pharmacy. “When our customers need healthcare information or assistance, we want to make it easy for them to reach out to Dougherty’s – whether in person, by phone or online. Now, we’ve placed refill technology in their hands through our website and new mobile  website.”

Dougherty’s customers can now save time by refilling their prescriptions using the website’s online prescription refill tool. Customers simply enter their existing prescription  number, the first three letters of their last name, their phone number, and  their preference for either pick-up or
delivery. Then click submit to complete the  process.  It’s fast, simple and accurate.

“The new website was designed from  the ground up with an eye for serving customers,” Potter said. “Online prescription refills and the new mobile website are a tremendous resource for everyone, including doctors and veterinarians within our community. By creating these tools, we have opened  yet another channel of communication with our customers. This is just the first
phase in our plan to continuously improve the customer experience. We plan to make even more information, resources and functionality available via our website in the coming months.”

I was about to enter the tollway off of Lovers when the ultra-modern architecture of this building caught my eye. Was it a home decor shop? A jewelry store? Nope. It’s a dentist office.

Before it was a hit song by rapper Mike Jones, flossing wasn’t exactly cool. But between Jones and the recent development of a chain of hip dentist offices called Floss, the reputation is quickly evolving. I mean really, how many dentists have a blog (updated daily), a “flossophy,” or a building that looks like something out of an IKEA catalog? If that’s not trendy enough for you, owner Dr. Clint Herzog sports a fro hawk.

Herzog rebranded his previous practice, “Herzog Dentistry” (snore), into Floss in April 2009, and the business has been growing ever since. The initial Quadrangle location has expanded to include Dallas offices on Lemmon and Lovers, plus ones in Houston and Rockwall. The most recent additions, Rockwall and Lovers, were added in the beginning of 2010. Are you flossin’ yet?

In the past few months, I’ve become keenly aware of my own shortcomings in shorthand. When I’m interviewing someone, I use a recorder and jot down key concepts and time stamps so I can quickly go back to the meatier parts of the conversation. But a digital recorder is no help whatsoever in addressing wedding invitations or writing thank-you notes.

It is some comfort, though, to know I am not alone in my penmanship plight. Good Shepherd Episcopal School is implementing, “Handwriting Without Tears,” this year to address the declining standards in handwriting. Mary Beth Jones, director of early childhood at Good Shepherd believes improved handwriting leads to improved grades and classroom performance, plus, it just looks pretty.

“It’s really an art form that still needs to be taught and learned,” Jones said.

Handwriting Without Tears founder Jan Olsen offered to help me improve my scrawl, and she even sang a song about the benefits of good handwriting to the tune of Mary Had A Little Lamb. I’m sold.

Pick up the Aug. 20 edition of Preston Hollow People for the full story on Good Shepherd’s handwriting curriculum.

Are you in the mood for some tasty Italian food? You will be hard pressed to find a better Italian food outside of Italy than Café Italiano, right here in the heart of Dallas. Cafe Italiano is proud to offer a true neighborhood Fine Dining experience. With outstanding entrees, tempting appetizers and inventive specials, not to mention home style portions, our aim is to provide our valued customers with a delightful night out that feels like a relaxing evening at home.

From our relaxing patio, to our courteous and friendly servers, we will strive tirelessly to live up to your fond memories of our incarnations past, as well as to create new ones for you to reminisce upon in our bright future here at Cafe Italiano!

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