One of the things I love about the Bishop Arts District is that the majority of businesses are in walking distance from each other — on a evening you can easily explore the shops, have a glass of wine at one restaurant, an appetizer at another, and dinner at a third.

Dishcrawl Dallas is taking advantage of the close proximity of eight locally run restaurants for their next food crawl. For $10 you can snag a spot in the event on June 29, and dine at 303 Grill, Waldron Lodge, Whitehall Exchange, Dude, Sweet Chocolate, La Original Michioacana, Cafe Brazil, Espumosso Caffe, and Taqueria El Si Say.

The best part is that the proceeds from each ticket benefit local charities like the North Texas Food Bank, Scottish Rite, The Family Place, and Color Me Empowered. If you enter “cancersupport” at check out, five dollars of your ticket will be donated to the Cancer Support Community of North Texas.

Calories don’t count when it’s for a good cause, right? Find out more information and purchase tickets here.

(Source: Go Oak Cliff)

The folks at Go Oak Cliff have given us a little preview of the fourth annual Bastille on Bishop, set for July 14.

According to the group’s Facebook page, the image at left is a prop for a photo booth at the festival: “Plan to stop by the photo booth at Bastille on Bishop to get your picture made as ‘Napoleon & Frenchie’ by Cathey Miller Art Studio!”

Though I’ve been to Bastille in Bishop before, I showed up just for the wine-tasting and to watch some pétanque. I’d overlooked the event’s history until browsing the event’s website today.

“When Dallas was in existence for only 14 years … a group of 200 mostly French settlers lead by Victor Considerant who made their way from Houston by ox cart to setup a ‘utopian community’ … in what is now North Oak Cliff,’” reads a short history. “The community brought Dallas its first piano and beer brewery.”

Nice move on the beer. Imagine North Oak Cliff without it. Then, there’d be no Brew Riot — and fewer Golden Oaks Scholarships.

(Staff Photo: Rick Lopez)

Kidd Springs Central is hosting a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Kidd Springs Recreation Center to discuss updates on three projects in North Oak Cliff.

Bob Stimson, president of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce, will offer an update on the chamber’s plans to relocate its office to 1001 N. Bishop Ave. (seen at left).

PSW Real Estate will announce a new development planned for 901 Cedar Hill Ave. that will create 44 single-family homes priced around $300,000 each by spring 2014.

Also, CityDesign Studio will present an update on the West Davis Corridor.

Click for larger image (Staff Photo: Rick Lopez)

It seems like a sign announcing the debut of Waldron Lodge appeared overnight at 408 W. Seventh St. — just around the corner from Bishop Street Market. It wasn’t my imagination; general manager Kenneth Cross (a Bishop Arts native) confirmed today.

Over the past few weeks, workers have made quite a transformation at the 1930s-era converted residence, even restoring the porch to a rustic glory fit for summertime people-watching. No doubt, Waldron Lodge will also change the landscape of dining in the Bishop Arts District.

The menu is loaded with exotic offerings: pulled boar chilaquiles, duck tacos, rabbit sausage stew, and something that sounds like the grandaddy of entrees: a 12-ounce ribeye with blue cheese potato galette and roasted carrots in a bourbon sauce. The kitchen, led by chef Beau Johnson, plans to open for dinner service every day except Saturday, when it will also serve lunch.

A rendering of Pier 247 (Rendering: Construction Concepts, Inc.)

This Bishop Arts gas station will become a seafood restaurant. (Photo: Chris McGathey)

Restaurateur Cecilia Lopez plans to turn the boarded up gas station on the corner of Davis Street and Madison Avenue just across from 303 Bar and Grill, which Lopez also owns, into a seafood restaurant tentatively called Pier 247.

Read about all of the plans in this week’s issue.

Karis and Brandon Huddleston’s proper pooch, Rocco

This Saturday’s Pooch Patio Party at Ten Bells Tavern is described as “paw-some” on their Facebook event page — but I think this dog-friendly fundraiser will be a K-9 out of 10.

A $10 donation to Duck Team 6 – Street Dog Rescue will get you a raffle ticket, a nail trim for your pooch from Vhea’s LaundroMutt, 10% off the Ten Bells menu and $3 special on Leinenkugal and Third Shift Beers.

Sounds like a bone-afide good time. Anybody have a pup I can borrow Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.?

When I was gathering items for the Father’s Day gift guide in this week’s edition, I came across these Oak Cliff-centric T-shirts at Epiphany For Men. I was told they’re produced by a company called Free Lisa.

Oak Cliff People blogger Rick Lopez has good news for the neighborhood’s oenophiles. (Via D Magazine’s SideDish)

It’s heating up outside and that means many things — including that one of my favorite summertime events, the Bishop Arts District Wine Walk, is back! Wander the picturesque shops of the District on the first Thursday of every month while sipping on some vino. $10 will get you a glass — and all the liquid courage to try on that awesome vintage frock you’ve been eyeing at Zola’s.

The City Council’s Housing Committee is scheduled to meet at the top of the hour, and one of the items on the committee’s agenda is an expansion of the Oak Cliff-Marsalis Neighborhood Investment Program target area. Apparently, this move will lead to more beautification efforts around the Bishop Arts District.

Oak Cliff-Marsalis Neighborhood Investment Program by Dan Koller