About a year ago we bought tickets to see Paul McCartney on his Out There tour that was planned to roll through Dallas in June 2014. Unfortunately, Sir Paul came down with flu and had to post pone many of his summer tour dates; Dallas was rescheduled for October 2014. I had been waiting my entire life to see one of my rock n’ roll idols; a few months did not make a difference to me as long as Mr. McCartney was well. As the date neared we planned to stop at one of our favorite pre-concert venues for an awesome pre-concert dinner on our way to the American Airlines Center. This restaurant is Dough Pizzeria Napoletana. The original location of Dough is located in San Antonio, TX and was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri as well as named one of the final four top pizzerias in the South/Southwest by Rachel Ray Magazine. The Dallas location of Dough was voted by Dallasites as the BEST Pizzeria in Dallas/Ft. Worth. If you live anywhere near Dallas or San Antonio you MUST visit Dough. If you do not live in either area you MUST visit Dough next time you are in town or passing through. Dough proudly features many ingredients from local growers too.

We were happy to be seated in our favorite server Rudy’s area of the restaurant. He always remembers us and takes good care of us! Although he makes us feel special I am sure he treats all of his customers as well as he treats us.

Dough only serves Italian wines and updates their wine list frequently. As a result we have enjoyed an array of delicious Italian wines at Dough.

Casalone Barbera del Monferrato 2010 DOC: This opaque wine poured a deep garnet with purple highlights into the glass. It met the nose with lively aromas of ripe red fruit, spice and earthiness. On the palate this velvety Barbera delivered flavors of ripe red cherries, raspberries and strawberries with notes of spice and chocolate with hints of underbrush and vanilla that linger on the back of the palate. Though the wine offered a full mouth feel the tannins were tame and the acidity was round and pleasing. This wine was fermented in stainless steel and aged in concrete so its full body and flavors were a result of the beauty of the grapes with no oak influence. This Barbera was delicious and a wonderful pairing with our meal.

We began our meal with Dough’s amazing housemade Burrata! Truffle and Mascarpone Burata: House pulled truffle Burrata, Lemley Farms tomatoes, and rosemary balsamic reduction, served with flat bread. The best way to describe this appetizer is edible heroine! It is amazing and paired beautifully with the full body Barbera. Our second course was the Tuscan salad: Young’s Greenhouse mixed greens, olives, fresh mozzarella, roasted garlic, semi-dried cherry tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette. It was a refreshingly light salad with great flavor. The vinaigrette brought the salad and the wine together in harmony. Our final course was my favorite pizza at Dough: Sausage and Pistachio. This was a simple pizza but the way the flavors came together created an undeniable delight! The pizza is crafted of fresh panna, house made sausage, onion ribbons, pistachios and parmesano reggiano. The spiciness of the sausage with the salty sweetness of the pistachios and onion made an excellent pairing with the Barbera. Overall it was an amazing meal at one of the BEST pizzerias in Dallas!

The second part of our evening was a treat beyond my expectation! I had not given much thought to seeing Sir Paul since we had the tickets for so long. However, late in the afternoon of the concert I went online to see if I could find a song list and reviews. After reading a dozen or so reviews of how amazing the concert was, how he played for three hours without stopping and how it was a top five concert experience for many of the reviewers I began to get excited. I can honestly say the reviews were right. The song list was epic: 70% Beatles, 20% Wings; 10% new material. It took me about halfway through the concert before I stopped crying at every Beatles song he played! I was pulling on my poor husbands arm saying “we are hearing live Beatles songs by a Beatle!!!” It unexpectedly overwhelmed me to hear live the music I had grown up listening to, being sung by my all-time favorite Beatle. When I was a young child I would invite my neighborhood friends over and we would dance for hours to my mom’s original Beatles albums. I still have those albums! As the concert came to a close Paul blessed the audience with these  last three songs: first, an acoustic version of him alone with a guitar singing yesterday (que more tears); then a full out rockin version of Helter Skelter as if it was the first song of the night 3 hours earlier; finally, he concluded with the iconic “The End” on Abbey Road, singing, “And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make (yep, more tears).” I truly do not know how he has as much energy as he demonstrated at the concert. Three hours, song after song, amazing vocals, amazing harmony, his band was amazing….it was worth a lifetime of waiting!

My Song Selection: The song I have chosen to pair with the great night is my all-time favorite Beatles song AND my favorite of all songs of all time: Let It Be performed by Paul McCartney on his Out There tour and recorded by me. I tried to keep my hands steady as tears streamed down my face. Please watch and take in the greatness that is the legendary Sir Paul McCartney!

Go to your favorite local pizzeria before you attend the Paul McCartney Out There tour and let me know what song you would pair with it. Cheers!