Dallas, Texas
Bijoux is a gem of an eatery packing ’em in at Inwood Village
Since opening last year, Bijoux is one jewel of a restaurant that has been packing in both patrons and praises. As one of the few chef-owned restaurants in Dallas with a pretty darned fearless menu, chef Scott Gottlich has done himself proud. Earlier this year, Bon Appetit magazine called Bijoux one of the nation’s top 10 new restaurants. Boyishly charming, Gottlich made his bones at such tony stops as Aubergine in California and Le Bernardin in New York before landing mid-country, first as executive chef at Lola — an instant hit in Dallas — and then Bijoux, a charming space gently lighted and smartly laid with crystal and fine china. Occupying a prime corner space in the fashionable Inwood Village shopping center, Bijoux’s fall/winter menu features such innovations as seared foie gras in peanut butter brioche with a Concord grape jus; sweetbreads on black tagliolini with Meyer lemon and chives; and a caramel fleur de sel cheesecake with candied walnuts, cranberries and pumpkin pie ice cream. Order from the chef’s tasting menu or a three- or five-course prix fixe menu. Just be sure to make reservations, especially if you plan to have dinner with friends on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve. Bijoux, 5450 W. Lovers Lane, 214-350-6100,
Lincoln, Nebraska
International Quilt Study Center set to open; promises world-class quilts
The world’s largest quilt museum will open March 30 at the East Campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the $12 million facility is a work of art in its own right: made of glass and brick, it features a bowed facade of glass panels “stitched” together to create a large-scale pattern. The center will house more than 2,300 quilts and an international study program dedicated to researching, preserving and displaying quilts from around the globe. Exhibitions include antique and contemporary pieces from such distinguished collections as the Cargo Collection of African American Quilts, the Jonathan Holstein Collection and a large holding of Pennsylvania Amish quilts. The opening activities on March 30, 1:30-4:30 p.m., will include a lecture by famed quilter Nancy Crow. International Quilt Study Center, 234 Home Economics Building (33rd and Holdredge streets), 402-472-6549,
Boston, Massachusetts
Castle Island Park is a popular stop for running, biking along the beach
When visiting Boston, you can make that fender-to-fender drive along Cape Cod — or you can just go to south Boston, where the sandy beach along Pleasure Bay stretches for miles and so does the running/walking/biking path that follows the land crescent. Parking is free all along the area, though the place is packed on weekends. At one tip is Castle Island, home of a British outpost before it was rebuilt and renamed Fort Independence Freedom in 1776 following the colonists’ quest for liberty. The shaded benches and grassy areas attract painters, Frisbee players, and children and adults fascinated by those 757s taking off from Logan International Airport across the bay. Castle Island, William J Day Blvd., 617-268-5744
