By John Leake
Courageous Discourse
January 12, 2026
A few nights ago, I had dinner with a local Dallas restaurateur named Javier Gutierrez, the owner of Javier's, which has been a legendary local institution since I was a boy. Javier has long struck me as embodying the virtues described in Baldassare Castiglione's Book of the Courtier, published in 1528.
Polite but not too formal; always elegantly dressed in a jacket and tie but never flashy; calm, soft spoken and restrained but always open and friendly, he has a natural authority that instantly commands the respect of employees and customers alike.