Kai Lambert's quest to bring upscale comfort food to LaCucaracha appears to have run its course.  In the past year, the mysterious owner of Fatty's BBQ has repeatedly raised prices, using every possible gimmick to justify each increase.  But after one final gospel brunch ($25) this Sunday, the mercurial eatery will yield to local tastes and return to the same mediocre food and acceptable prices that had been just fine with everybody since 1948.

Lambert had managed similar transitions in Austin and Dallas, most recently at "Mama's Cupboard" in Richardson where he paired all-organic chicken fried chicken ($32) with a champagne toast, served in an authentic chicken's nest.  But he surprised the restaurant community by leaving big city pretensions behind for the culinary simplicity of a small town.  “I was tired of re-imagining down home food for hipsters,” Lambert said in a 2007 interview. “I knew when I tried to serve meat loaf with a vegan Thai theme, that it was time to get back to basics.”