HairBoutique Blog

First let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Chef Blythe Beck, her show, The Naughty Chef on Oxygen, and her bold and beautiful personality.  She is fierce and ignores the critics.

(Image of the gorgeous Chef Blythe Beck and her favorite serve Calvin - The Naughty Chef - Oxygen - All rights reserved).

I’m not a food critic.  Yes it’s true I have eaten at some of the very best 5 star restaurants in the United States, including many dinners at The Mansion on Turtle Creek (where Chef Beck studied under Chef Dean Fearing).  I know great food even if I don’t personally create it myself.

With all that said, I decided to pop into Chef Beck’s Central 214 for lunch today.  No, I didn’t spot the fiery Chef Beck, but I did eyeball the entire restaurant, which is gorgeous.

One of the show’s episodes involved Chef Beck getting just 2 stars from a reviewer at The Dallas Morning News.  The reviewer didn’t get the “naughtiness” factor of the Central 214’s menu which is based on the richness of the various ingredients.  I have to confess that I wanted to love the food to prove the DMN food critic wrong. (more…)

Although I had originally read the summary for Oxygen’s Naughty Kitchen reality show with Chef Blythe Beck of Dallas’ Central 214 I had not had a chance to watch any of the episodes until today (Sunday, October 25, 2009).  Now that I’ve watched the show, I’m now totally addicted.

(Image of Chef Blythe Beck - Oxygen’s Naughty Kitchen - All Rights Reserved).

I’ve never had the opportunity to eat at Central 214, but have been to Hotel Palomar.  Even though Naughty Kitchen - Episode #101 shows Blythe receiving a scathing two Star review from The Dallas Morning News (DMN), I’m still going to make it a point to go eat there.

I love Blythe’s fire and zest.  Yes, I know it’s a reality TV show, but Blythe comes across as very real.  I wanted to climb inside my TV set and put my arms around Blythe to give her a hug as she cried over the nasty DMN review.

If anything, I’m going to take the DMN restaurant reviews less seriously.  Yes, of course the reviewer is entitled to their opinions, but it’s still heart wrenching because obviously Blythe is hard working with tremendous energy and presence. (more…)

Dallas, Texas based acclaimed chef Blythe Beck is known for both her passion for food and passion for life. The executive chef of Central 214 restaurant and star of the Oxygen reality show, “The Naughty Kitchen with Chef Blythe Beck,” which premiered in September of 2009, creates rich, inviting “sexy new American cuisine” that she describes as “the food you grew up on, only I make it naughty.”

(Image of Chef Blythe Beck — Pictured: Blythe Beck — Oxygen Photo: Scott Shafer - All Rights Reserved)

With her engaging wit, earthy zest, and cayenne-red hair, Beck’s recognizable dishes not only please the eye and the palate, but also warm the heart.

For Beck, every meal is a life-sharing event and she takes care to ensure diners feel both welcomed and “loved on,” with her food celebrating the good times and bringing comfort when times are sad. (more…)

Yes this blog is mainly about hair, beauty, fashion, accessories and related topics ranging from fragrance to nails with a little bit of “going green”, health and diet thrown in.  I even talk about celebs, TV, films and music.

(Image of Award Winning Chef Kent Rathbun from KenRathbun.com - All Rights Reserved)

Of course I love living in Dallas, Texas.  I wasn’t born here but have been here since 1984 so to me it’s more home than St. Louis where I grew up.  In fact, when people ask me where I’m from I always say Dallas, never St. Louis unless they specifically ask where I was born.

Which brings me to Abacus.  One of the ways my now departed husband Michael and I discovered Dallas was by exploring a wide range of restaurants.  Dallas has some of the most amazing restaurants to experience.  While we don’t have as many as New York or LA (two of favorite cities to visit), Dallas does hold their own with some amazing offerings.

Abacus is owned by chef Kent Rathbun who my husband and I first discovered when he was still a sous chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek.  He used to come out of the kitchen and say hello which was always a treat.  From there he bounced around a little bit landing at The Melrose Hotel where we faithfully dined until Kent left.  He then opened his own restaurant, Abacus, which we visited whenever possible.  It is truly a splendid dining experience. (more…)

The Green Garmento^TM - The Ultimate 3-in-1 Reusable Dry Cleaning Bag

The Green Garmento^TM is an eco-friendly 3-in-1 reusable garment bag that will help consumers “green” their dry cleaning routine. At home it functions as a space-saving hamper; on the trip to the dry cleaner, it becomes a stylish duffel bag; and at pick-up, it transforms into a hanging garment bag to protect cleaned clothes - without a single-use plastic bag in sight.

(Image courtesy of The Green Garmento - All Rights Reserved).

The simple step of switching to The Green Garmento^TM will help to reduce the estimated 300 million pounds of single-use plastic dry cleaning bags a year that continue to clog our landfills and kill our marine and wildlife.

The Green Garmento^TM is like a reusable grocery tote for your clothes that is eco-practical, stylish, and affordable.

Be fantastic and use less plastic with The Green Garmento^TM! (more…)