Into the Glass

Grapevine, Texas has a seriously cute main street with lots of great restaurants, wine tasting rooms and boutiques. One of the best restaurants on Main street is Into the Glass. It has a wine list about a mile long with the best descriptions on the planet. Nothing is "Full Bodied" or "Blush", it's "Intoxicating" or "Misinterpreted", which can be kind of intimidating if you don't know much about wine, but the bartenders and servers are always will to help out! This informality and playfulness extends to their food. Everything is centered around comfort food with a twist (e.g. Mac and Cheese with truffle oil, Meatloaf Sandwich with some seriously good creole mayo and something incredibly spicy). The chef should be on Top Chef...he is pretty creative when it comes to combinations of flavors. Stuff that sounds absolutely horrible is just incredible (see below)! J and I seriously love this place because of its food, wine selection in our budget and cute, hometown music acts that perform most nights we've been.

Set in a building full of history and on a sidewalk with loads of people, Into the Glass attracts a fun filled crowd. It's always busy and I mean always. We have never walked in to an empty room, albeit the restaurant is tiny, it's always packed. I promise, however, that the food and ambiance is well worth it. If you can, sit outside on the sidewalk, take in downtown Grapevine, and relax with a great glass of wine. If you want something a little different, ask for the Brie and Chicken nachos...it's got a great mix of tasty cheese, dried cranberries, and amazing chicken!

The service leaves a little to be desired, which is kind of confusing as the restaurant is tiny and only really seats about twenty, but the food makes up for it. There isn't a lunch menu either, so expect full prices at lunch. Their main gig is wine, so if you do order an entree, expect a longer than normal wait. This is not a place to come in a hurry, but the atmosphere and ambiance make it a fun place to hang out.

This is a great date place, but be aware of the noise level if you sit inside. Since it's a small building, the noise from whatever musician they have that night can be a tad loud for good conversation. The romance of the place can easily be recaptured if you sit outside or go sit towards the back of the room!

Seriously, it's worth the drive, if for nothing else than the wine, the nachos and the amazing setting!

We score Into the Glass a 4.5 out of 5 for food and a 4.5 out of 5 for twenty-somethings.

Highlights:
- Chicken and Dumplings (more like gnocchi than anything)
- Red Zins
- The owner, Wayne Turner...he is a hoot!
- Truffle Oil Mac & Cheese
- Brie and Chicken Nachos
- Grilled Shrimp BLT
www.intotheglass.com

Dragonfly...get over yourself

If you haven't done restaurant week in Dallas, you haven't experienced all that Dallas has to offer. What's better than a restaurant that is normally completely overpriced, way over our budget and completely delicious lowering their prices for two weeks so lowlifes ;) like us can come and enjoy?? Well...nothing really... That is unless your restaurant has apparently been forced to participate.

Dragonfly at Hotel ZaZa is an ornately decorated restaurant, complete with large chandeliers scattered throughout the rooms, heavy velvet curtains, shiny glimmering objects placed strategically in and around the restaurant and an overall feel that screams expensive. On the surface, this restaurant appears to be the twinkle in the eye of Hotel ZaZa. When visiting Dragonfly dress appropriately, as the crowd here will often times be seen in the latest trendy outfit or flashy sports coat and slacks.

Hotel ZaZa has a great vibe and cool atmosphere that should completely put us at ease, but unfortunately the Dragonfly's service and attitude did not. We've been to Dragonfly for drinks before, at full price, so we considered ourselves to be up to their standards. And we weren't exactly wearing our sweats and jean cut offs, but apparently in the minds of the waiters, we weren't worthy of a full cup of water or being talked to. The food was good. I really enjoyed the Beer and Cheese soup and Josh liked his steak. Unfortunately, we never saw our waiter again after ordering our courses and could have killed someone for water refill. They also were listed as an '4th course' restaurant if you had a Gift Certificate from Central Market, which is why we went there, but then they wouldn't honor it as 'there must have been some kind of miscommunication with Central Market' (that's per their manager and hostess that night). Geez people!

While some of the food will certainly leave you wanting more, some of it simply leaves you wanting...Upon further review of the atmosphere, the price, the service and the quality of food compared to all of the above, this restaurant is deemed average at best. Go for the sights, stay for the party crowd, and have a drink or maybe even two (but not many more than that as they are as proud of their drink as we are our blog!), but if you're looking for a great (or even above average for the matter) dinner than you can most certainly do better!

We give Dragonfly a 2.25 out of 5 for food and 1 out of 5 for twenty-something friendliness at dinner. They also receive a 4 out of 5 for their bar, mixed drinks and nightlife. In fact, if you are looking for nightlife, this establishment will provide you quite the sights and a great time, just be prepared for expensive drinks and empty pockets. Of final note, they do not allow "flip flop" type shoes of ANY kind...you will be turned away!

Highlights:
- Great variety of mixed drinks
- Poolside Nightlife
- Trendy "twenty somethings" after 10pm
- www.hotelzaza.com

Eno's Pizza Tavern

Welcome to the Babb's first post! We've been meaning to talk about one of our new favorite places for a while now and are just now getting around to it. Sorry for the laziness!!

Eno's is not your typical pizza place, either in location or design, as it inspires flashbacks of a college dive with an upscale feel. Located in Bishop Arts District, it's a quaint neighborhood Tavern that comes alive on Friday and Saturday nights with live music from 8pm - Midnight. With a large bar area, bartenders that can make just about anything and make it well, over 22 micro-brew beers on tap, and a crowd as diverse as this neighborhood is old, you can't pass on Eno's. As they have alot to offer, however, I would recommend getting there before 8:30 on Friday's, as the place fills up quick and seating/standing around the bar can be tight.

The first time we went, we decided we had to try beer as it was known for all its beer selection, but that posed a problem for my husband as he only likes wine that tastes like koolaid...long story short, the bartender let him describe his tastes, try about 10 different beers and then Josh found his beer. A stout so strong and thick it was like drinking black coffee and eating a loaf of bread at the same time...who knew?!

The first item of note at Eno's is the pizza...don't get me wrong, we all love pizza, but this is just pizza on steroids! I'm not sure if it's the pizza oven they use, the truffle oil that can be put onto it or the vast array of cheeses they use but I promise you that the pizza at Eno's is worth the drive, wait and crowd! If you're not very hungry, I recommend a personal size pizza as they can be quite filling. If pizza isn't your thing or you've just come for the atmosphere, try their warm bread with truffle butter. In the words of my wonderful wife, "it will change your life!"

The MARGARITAS! You have to have their signature margarita. It's flipping fantastic! They use a guava necture, a bunch of tequila and a lime and that's it. Nothing else but pure goodness. The tequila is such high quality it doesn't need anything else to cover it up. Yum!

They claim to make the food that they serve and provide the drinks that they offer based off of their "local" ingredients and area availability. Keeping with this same "backyard" approach, Eno's caters to "twenty somethings" by providing a nonchalant atmosphere, beer tastings (for those of us that aren't quite certain what we like), great food at reasonable prices, music that makes sense, and college football on plasma's to please just about every one. Tables on the sidewalk outfront are great during the Spring and Summer months, and the Bishop Arts district is a great place to people watch.

One note that I have is the volume of music. Depending on the night Eno's music acts can be very low key and importantly, low volume, but some nights it's blast-your-ears-out loud. I wouldn't really recommend Eno's for a dressed up, romantic evening out as its possible you may not be able to hear each other very well after 10:00 pm. Don't quote me on this, but I think they also stop serving anything but pizza and appetizers (and drinks of course) after 10:00 or 10:30.

We give Eno's a 4.5 out of 5 for food and 5 out of 5 for twenty-something friendliness.
The only negative to this fine establishment is the large crowds that flock there on Friday and Saturday nights...then again, the large crowds are a testament to it's success! If you're looking for good music, great food, cold beer and creative cocktails then Eno's is for you.

Highlights:
- Live Music Friday & Saturday from 8pm to Midnight
- Pizza, like only Eno's can make it!
- Warm bread with Truffle Butter
- $5 Microbrew Beers - kept cold and on tap
- $5 Guava Nectar Margarita's - the best $5 margarita in Dallas!
- www.enospizza.com