A groovy new airline flying nonstop to Iceland is coming to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport in 2018. The catchy WOW air will offer non-stop access to Reykjavik, Iceland, with flights going out three times per week on a seasonal basis. WOW air will be the 16th international carrier to serve DFW International Airport.
DFW Airport CEO Sean Donohue says in a release that the airport is pleased to offer another nonstop trans-Atlantic destination, but especially Iceland. "Reykjavik is a popular tourist destination, a growing market for international business and a convenient connecting point to continental Europe," he says. WOW air, which is very challenging for those who like traditional company names with initial caps, serves 38 destinations across Europe, North America, and Asia. Their goal is to provide the cheapest flights to and from Iceland and across the Atlantic. It describes itself as a "happy low-fare, long-haul airline based in Iceland." How often do you see airlines describe themselves as "happy?" It also has the greatest signature plum-magenta color, splashed on the planes' exteriors and the flight attendants' uniforms. WOW air was founded by entrepreneur Skúli Mogensen, whose background is largely in technology and telecoms in Iceland, Europe, and North America. He sits on the board of many tech companies in North America and Europe and was selected Business Man of the Year in Iceland in 2011 and 2016. "WOW air is thrilled to bring our low-fare, transatlantic flight service to Dallas Fort Worth in May 2018," Mogensen says. "Dallas Fort Worth is a world-class region and we can't wait to give European travelers the opportunity to experience all that Texas has to offer." WOW air has grown rapidly since its inaugural flight in 2012. The airline carried over 400,000 guests in 2013 and was the most punctual airline in Iceland that year. It is estimated that WOW air's annual passenger capacity will grow from approximately 1.6 million in 2016 to over 3 million in 2017. The Icelandic low-cost airline stays true to its name by offering select flights to certain European destinations. If you live in St. Louis, Boston, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, San Francisco, or Chicago, you already know that you can visit cities such as Reykjavik, Brussels, and Warsaw for $99.99. Now Dallas-Fort Worth will be able to join that pack. The airline is no frills. That means no free food, beverages, or entertainment; you can bring your own or buy them on the flight for an additional price. For airplane buffs, WOW operates a fleet of Airbus planes, and will operate the Airbus A321, the largest member of the Airbus A320 family, for DFW flights. WOW air service will begin on May 24, 2018 between Reykjavik Keflavik International Airport (KEF) and DFW, with the schedule as follows: KDF to DFW: Departs KEF at 9:30 pm Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays Arrives DFW at 12:45am Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays DFW to KEF: Departs DFW at 4:10 pm Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays Arrives KEF at 4:45 am Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays The new route will open up more travel choices for DFW customers via the WOW air hub in Reykjavik, which serves 22 destinations in Europe and the Middle East. That includes Dublin, Ireland, which is already anticipating travel to Texas. Article courtesy of Culture Map: http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/travel/09-06-17-dfw-airport-iceland-nonstop-flights-wow/?utm_source=hot-headlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=website
4 Comments
Cookie dough has graduated from childhood pleasure to an official food group. Travel and Leisure magazine calls it "all the rage," with shops in big cities like New York and Los Angeles that are dedicated to it entirely. Of course, people stand and wait in line.
Dallas joins the trend via a new company called The Dough Dough, launched by Gina Ginsburg, a familiar name in Dallas society circles who has a long track record as an entrepreneur. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, Ginsburg's previous startups include Diamond Affairs, a luxury invitation/stationery boutique, and The Hair Bar. She's also a commercial pilot. The Dough Dough will be the city's first edible cookie dough confectionery. She'll have a dozen staple flavors available every day, including the classic chocolate chip, plain cookie dough, brownie batter with chocolate chips and Oreo pieces, cake batter dough with confetti sprinkles, oatmeal raisin, salted caramel, S'mores, and more. She'll cycle in additional seasonal flavors, as well as gluten-free and vegan options. "We'll also offer custom flavors," she says. "If someone comes in and says they want pretzel cranberry cookie dough for a party, we'll do that." You can buy it by the scoop, $4 each, or cookie dough ice cream sandwiches, with flat, cookie-sized slabs of cookie dough enclosing ice cream filling. Cookie dough ice cream pie goes for $5 per slice or $35 for the whole pie. For now, she'll concentrate on online orders, but she's also close to signing a lease on a location where she'll set up a retail shop. Cookie dough made at home is one thing; but as a commercial enterprise, recipes modifications are a must, and she worked with consultants to get it right and, importantly, make sure it was safe. "I felt that it was important to keep the consistency and texture similar to what you have at home," she says. "It has pasteurized eggs, which is key to making sure you can safely eat it raw. It can be stored at room temperature for two hours. But it does have perishable ingredients, including the eggs and butter, so it's best to store it in the refrigerator, where it keeps for 3-4 weeks, and in the freezer for 3-4 months." Ginsburg was inspired when she saw concepts such as the famed DŌ in New York, but it really all goes back to the days when she would help bake cookies with her grandmother. "If I followed the recipe, my reward was a little bite of cookie dough," she says. "That's one of my fondest memories from childhood." Article Courtesy of Culture Map: dallas.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/09-07-17-cookie-dough-gina-ginsburg/?utm_source=daily-digest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=website There's a newly opened restaurant in Richardson featuring one of the area's best Turkish chefs. Tantuni Mediterranean Grill is a family-owned spot that opened on August 14 at 925 Abrams Rd., near the intersection of US-75 and 635, with some signature items including a chicken dish no one else in town is serving.
The chef is Ahmet Kara, who owned a restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey before moving to the United States in 1998. He was executive chef at Sultan restaurant in New York before coming to Dallas in 2002, where he was executive chef of Istanbul Café on Lovers Lane and Turkish Café in Plano. At Tantuni, he's joined by family members such as his daughter Cansu, who manages the front of the house. "People who know Mediterranean food know that Turkish cuisine uses a distinctive, flavorful blend of spices and herbs," she says. "And then one thing that we do that's special is our use of organic produce. We work with a gentleman who has a garden here in Richardson. Yesterday he brought us fresh basil and peppers, all organic; a lot of our customers really like that." Their signature dish is Hatay-style chicken, named for Turkey's southernmost province, which they serve as a half chicken with two sides. "I don't think anyone else in the area is doing it," she says. "The chicken is marinated for two days and then roasted on charcoal for two hours. The tenderness is amazing. And we add a glaze of barbecue sauce we make ourselves." In addition to food from scratch, they also transformed the location itself, a former liquor store where they built a kitchen that took more than a year to complete. "It's always been a dream of my father's to open his own restaurant," Cansu says. "He's been in the industry for 30 years. He loves to cook and he's a workaholic." Other menu items include their Turkish variation on pizza, an oval flatbread called lahmacun, topped with minced lamb and beef, vegetables, and spices. It gets baked, then topped with onion salad, pickles, and lemon juice, which you roll up and eat on the go. They do a weektime lunch buffet from Monday-Friday from 11 am-2:30 pm, with an all-day menu on Saturdays and on Sundays, a Turkish-tinged brunch. "Last Sunday, we had a fresh omelet station where our chef was making omelets to order," Cansu says. "And we served our 'Tantuni wraps' — tantuni is a southern Turkey street food item; it's sort of like a street taco, with a little onion, tomato, and lettuce, and choice of chicken or beef. That's where we got our name." Article courtesy of Culture Map |
contributorsWynne McNabb Cunningham Archives
September 2017
Categories
All
|