Oak Cliff

We have bar-b-que, sushi, specialty sodas, craft beers, in the Bishop Arts District, and as of last week we can now officially include a traditional Chinese foot spa. Nicole Isenberg, wife of longtime Oak Cliff resident and businessman Ralph Isenberg, was born and raised in North China in an area where residents would make foot spa treatments a part of their daily routine. While raising their two small children in Steven’s Park, Nicole began dreaming of setting up her own reflexology shop in the neighborhood and after researching and finding a team of specialists, set to work in transforming a small space beside Lockhart’s into her ideal spa. With cozy black loungers, relaxing music, and beautiful artwork, YaYa Foot Spa is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

For more info on YaYa Foot Spa, visit their website at www.yayafootspa.com. They’re open seven days a week from 10AM to 11PM and take walk-ins as well as reservations. Head down today and give your feet a vacation!

Fifteen BBQ teams spent the night in Lake Cliff Park this past weekend as part of the 2nd Annual Blues, Bandits & BBQ, and there were reports that you could smell the sweet wood smoke as far away as the Bishop Arts District. A smokey haze framed a sunrise as the teams prepared to serve over 750 pounds of BBQ to the crowd that would gather later in the day.

There were 53 submissions from 5 categories that were judged by an illustrious panel of judges, including Daniel Vaughn of Full Custom Gospel BBQ, Tim McLaughlin from Lockhart Smokehouse, Jeff Whitington of KERA, Greg Jacob of Edible Dallas, Chris Zielke from Bolsa & Smoke Restaurants, and Dallas City Councilperson Scott Griggs. These brave judges consumed a ton of meat in 90 minutes.

And the winners are: (more…)

What: Go Oak Cliff Presents the 2nd Annual Blues, Bandits & BBQ

When: Saturday, October 22, 12pm-6pm

Where: Lake Cliff Park

Here’s everything you need to know about Blues, Bandits & BBQ! This event includes 6 hours of live music, over 15 BBQ teams smoking over 750 pounds of meat, fun and games for the entire family, a bicycle festival, a neighborhood kickball tournament, lots of tasty treats to eat, cold beer, and with any luck some amazing weather.

The fun will actually start Friday night as the BBQ teams arrive in Lake Cliff Park to begin smoking the brisket, chicken, ribs, pulled pork and sausage. But the event doesn’t actually open to the general public until Saturday at 12 noon. The first band starts at noon and we’ll have live music playing for 6 hours, including Tallon Latz, Kirby Kelly, Hunter Hendrickson, Andrew Tinker, Lance Lopez and the amazing Bobby Patterson.

Admission to the event on Saturday will be $10 per person (if purchased in advance), and kids under 12 are free. Tickets can be purchased here right now! And if you want to sample the BBQ from the teams that are competing, and cast your vote for the People’s Choice Best BBQ award, then you’ll also want to purchase a $15 BBQ tasting wrist band – also available for you to buy right now. The BBQ tasting wrist bands will sell out quickly, so don’t wait until the day of the event on this. The tasting will be open from 2pm-4pm, but we HIGHLY recommend that you arrive early for the tasting so you don’t miss out.

If you don’t think you’re ready to sample BBQ from all of the teams, you can just buy a BBQ sandwich from Lockhart Smokehouse, or a tasty vegetarian treat from Spiral Diner. Both restaurants will be on-site selling food for cash, and there will also be a beer garden to help quench your thirst.

It’s going to be a fabulous day of live music, great food, and lots of fun. Don’t miss out on the 2nd Annual Blues, Bandits & BBQ!

The Texas Theatre is hosting a very unique event to get you into the Halloween spirit. They’ll be showing two great silent horror films, “The Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari” (1919) and “Nosferatu” (1922). The films will be accompanied on the piano by Oak Cliff resident Robert Edwards. We spoke with Edwards about the
event:

GOC: So you’re playing for both films in one evening?

RE: Yes, we thought it would be a fantastic double feature to show two of the greatest cinematic examples of German Expressionism, which affected not only cinema but music, architecture, painting,  etc. in Europe at during the first quarter of the 20th century. It’s a style characterized by strange, geometrically absurd sets and symbolic characterization. Odd camera angles and moody lighting effects  are often used. Many times the theme of insanity is present. It’s a perfect genre for horror films, and this style influenced American cinema for the entire 20th century, from Dracula and Frankenstein through “Film Noir” to modern movies like Blade Runner and Edward Scissorhands. I’ll be accompanying both films at the piano, which will be very exciting for me. (more…)