Chefs generally welcome when food writers and influencers snap photos of their dishes. But license plates, not so much: A Dallas food writer was caught on video quickly leaving after photographing a car belonging to Dallas chef Casey La Rue, while it was parked at the Statler Dallas hotel.
La Rue, who owns La Rue Doughnuts, the popular doughnut shop at Trinity Groves with his wife, chef Amy La Rue, and who's opening a restaurant at the Statler, describes the encounter as creepy.
On August 4, while working on his new restaurant (an omakase place called Sauvage), La Rue spotted someone lurking outside the restaurant, taking photos of a construction permit affixed to the front window.
"People pass by and look at the permits all the time, but I thought it was weird when he started taking pictures, and went outside to ask who he was," he says. "But he left and went over to Main Street Park across the street."
La Rue didn't give it any more thought — until the person returned.
"I saw him coming back from across the street — he ran up and took a picture of my license plate and the back of my car and took off," La Rue says. "That alarmed me."
When La Rue went outside, he recognized that the person was Brian Reinhart, a writer for D magazine, and videotaped him making a quick exit. He posted the video on Instagram.
It could be seen as overreacting, unless you consider the history, including the fact that Reinhart has posted highly personal information in the past such as the obituary of La Rue's sister, who died in 2005 after a long battle with cancer.
The obituary was mentioned in a blog post about La Rue's resume, which came under scrutiny after two disgruntled ex-employees circulated rumors that it had been padded. (CultureMap was among the sites contacted.) La Rue subsequently provided evidence of his work history, which included unpaid "staging" stints, to Eater.
La Rue's restaurant Carte Blanche, a tasting menu restaurant on Greenville Avenue that closed in 2024, earned favorable press from D and was the only Forbes 5 star and AAA 5 diamond restaurant in Texas. D magazine critic Eve Hill-Agnus called it "a canvas for creativity, both in its tasting menus and bakery," and put it on her list of the Best Restaurants of 2021.
Is it possible that Reinhart mistook La Rue's car or its license plate for an edible object?
In an email query asking if he'd taken photos of La Rue's car and license plate, Reinhart said, "I was walking around downtown today, saw new restaurant permits, and took a picture to look them up later. … Then I observed Casey La Rue at his car, and noticed his car has multiple 'student driver' stickers. I thought that was pretty funny. … I have no plans to write about his funny bumper stickers at this time."
La Rue says it felt inappropriate.
"It's additionally creepy since I drive my children in this car," he says. "This has nothing to do with a restaurant review or anything of that nature."
