We visited Rise Number 1 this evening with some of our very good friends. They'd been wanting to try it for a while and we'd been dying to go since our neighbors suggested it. We LOVED it!
The restaurant is impeccably decorated, especially considering it used to be a take out chinese place. It's best described as French antique, with some patio seating and a cozy interior. It's also got an impressive wine list, a small but functional bar, and wait staff that is attentive at the least and very personable and helpful at best. In fact, the waitstaff was incredibly courteous and went above and beyond.
For example, prior to being seated they even came over and asked if we'd like to order something to drink while we waited. Our waitress apparently got sick half-way through our meal, so Theresa took over. She was great! She even remembered to bring our friend his coffee with dessert when we ordered it an hour before (you order all of your courses at once as the souffles take about twenty minutes to cook). The patio wind cover was hitting the girls, so the manager came out and personally rolled it up for us.
The whole menu is built off the souffle. They have both savory and sweet souffles and some great appetizers and french entrees as well. Apparently everything that isn't nailed down is for sale as well. A memphis-based antiques dealer decorated the place and all furnishings, silverware, bread baskets, etc. are for sell if you so desire. It kind of reminded me of dining in a tree house. We sat on the patio and it was beautiful, so there's another dallas patio you can check out. It has a prettier view than Cafe Italia, so that was nice.
I got the Rhone wine flight...it was only 11 bucks! There were four different rhone wines (one white and three red) and generous pours. The first white reminded me of blue cheese, would have been great with the cheese plate. The last was a very tasty chateauneuf-du-pape that was perfect with our dessert.
Oh, side note, they are very into being 'green'. For example, their glasses are recycled wine bottles, cut off half way up. If you care to know more, your waitress will go on and on about it.
When I was reading reviews about Rise, all of them talked about their marshmellow soup; so when we got there and it wasn't on the menu I was bummed. When our waitress mentioned the specials, however, it was one of them! I was super excited because the reviews said chefs came from all over to try this soup. It's a tomato and carrot bisque with 'marshmellows' of chevre (goat cheese) on top. The soup was a little more carrot-y than I was expecting, but overall it was great. The cheese puffs were very sublime and added a great tartness to the soup. The presentation was also pretty cool...the bowl had a lid with pesto in a little cup that the waitress poured into my soup after setting at my place.
My salad, the No.1 Rise Salad, was amazing! The mixed greens, pecans, bleu cheese, and pecan vinagarette are an amazing mix together. It was a great size, not too big not too small, and was really well put together. Guys, this is even a good guy salad, as it had some good taste and substance to it. I highly recommend it!
J and I then split the jambon and Gruyere cheese savory souffle. We were pretty glad we split it after both eating the sourdough bread and my soup/his salad. The souffle was a bit more eggy ( i need a new way of writing made-up adjectives) than I've experienced in the past, but then again, I've never had a savory souffle, just sweet. Our friends had the crab and cheese (can't remember which kind of cheese, it started with B) and the Southwestern Chicken souffle. S really enjoyed her chicken one, it had a little bit of spice and a green tomato banana pepper relish on top.
We split the Lava Cake for dessert. I felt kind of odd about dining at a souffle place and not getting a dessert souffle, but the waitress insisted. It was fantastic. You dipped your spoon into it and warm, gooey chocolate came oozing out. And of course it came with vanilla ice cream to cut some of the richness. Yum!
A and R ordered coffee with dessert and it came out in individually sized french presses. She was pretty excited about how cute they were. Only downside was they had to share the cream, but I think they got over that pretty quickly! Moral of the story, this is a must-go at some point in your dallas dining career!
We rate Rise No. 1 a 4.0 out of 5 for food and a 5 out of 5 for twenty somethings.
Highlights:
- Cheese Plate
- Wine Flights
- Chocolate Lava Cake
- Souffle Specials
- Great date or special occasion place!
www.risesouffle.com
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Cafe Italia
JUST FYI, Cafe Italia will be closing its doors soon! So check it out while you can!
I'll be the lone poster for this one again since J has been living and breathing only school and work for a while now. Since I've been getting rather bored and lonely at night time since he is too busy to hang out with me (I know, you can go ahead and feel sorry for me now hehe ), I made plans with my amazing high-school friends who have moved here recently. It was so fun catching up on the A-town gossip and reminiscing. Anyway, our experience at Cafe Italia was memorable enough to post quickly.
We wanted to have a glass of wine on a patio somewhere and in Dallas that was actually surprising slim pickings. Of course any patio you do find will be looking out over a parking lot, but what can you do? We decided to go to Cafe Italia (on Lover's a little ways down from Celebration) because it was super close, had a patio and when we called to check, no wait. We were sat immediately upon arriving. One side note here...park next door at the paint shop because their parking lot is about 20 feet by 20 feet but they still require you to valet park. That is one thing I will never get about Dallas. What are we too lazy to walk the fifteen feet from our car to the door? Anyway, back on track!
We sat down and were greeted by a very friendly waiter. Let me put emphasis on friendly. I think he may have called me honey at one point. Anyway, I told them they had to try the white bean dip. It comes with these great "pasta chips", which are basically pieces of lasagna pasta that have been baked to a crisp. The dip is very mellow and they add a great cheese and some chunky tomatoes on top to finish it off.
B ordered the gemelli pomodoro with chicken. Her comment was, "It had a great flavor, but the chicken was kind of dry." N got the Risotto con Pollo, a "creamy risotto tossed with grilled chicken breast, asparagus tips, toasted pecans and smoked Gouda." He said he'd give it a 7 out of 10. It looked pretty yummy to me.
I got the Pasta San Miguel, "fresh fish of the day (in my case the waiter said it would be mahi mahi but it was definitely salmon) with shrimp, poblanos, garlic and fettucine and tossed with a light tomato cream sauce." It was good, but it was not a LIGHT cream sauce. That sucker was heavy and rich. I wish the I could have tasted the poblano peppers; they were hidden in the cream sauce.
The oddest thing about the meal was how long it took to get our food. We were one of the first people there and our salads came out after three different tables who arrived after us got their food. I don't know if our waiter forgot to put in the salads and entrees or if we just looked like we wanted to hang out for a while. He was a slightly odd duck: at one point, I needed a new fork and he flew my fork down to the table. Confused? Let me try to explain....you know when you are feeding a two-year old that doesn't want to eat his veggies and so you 'fly' the fork with the broccoli on it into their mouth. Well that's what he did with my fork, only onto the table. I think he tried being extra nice to try to make up for the 35 minute wait on our salads.
End of the story for this visit is we were slightly underwhelmed, but all of my visits in the past have been fantastic! I want to go back soon and see if they were just having an off night. Actually, now that I think of it, I think I've only ever been at lunch before. Maybe it's the evening staff? Anyway, if you do go you have to try the Cafe Lasagna, their house specialty... it is a Deep-fried smoked chicken lasagna with lemon marinara and cilantro pesto and tell me how it is. I've always wanted to try it and never have! Another good one is Gemelli Otto Formaggio, A "rich & creamy sauce with eight Italian cheeses topped with Gemelli pasta. It's so good it'll make you want to slap your Mama Mia." It's basically mac and cheese on steriods. It's incredibly rich and filling, so expect left overs!
We rate Cafe Italia a 4 out of 5 for food and a 4 out of 5 for twenty somethings.
Highlights:
- Patio when it's nice outside
- Tuscan White Bean Dip with lasagna chips
- Gemelli Otto Formaggio
- Good wine by the glass selection
http://www.cafeitaliadallas.com/
I'll be the lone poster for this one again since J has been living and breathing only school and work for a while now. Since I've been getting rather bored and lonely at night time since he is too busy to hang out with me (I know, you can go ahead and feel sorry for me now hehe ), I made plans with my amazing high-school friends who have moved here recently. It was so fun catching up on the A-town gossip and reminiscing. Anyway, our experience at Cafe Italia was memorable enough to post quickly.
We wanted to have a glass of wine on a patio somewhere and in Dallas that was actually surprising slim pickings. Of course any patio you do find will be looking out over a parking lot, but what can you do? We decided to go to Cafe Italia (on Lover's a little ways down from Celebration) because it was super close, had a patio and when we called to check, no wait. We were sat immediately upon arriving. One side note here...park next door at the paint shop because their parking lot is about 20 feet by 20 feet but they still require you to valet park. That is one thing I will never get about Dallas. What are we too lazy to walk the fifteen feet from our car to the door? Anyway, back on track!
We sat down and were greeted by a very friendly waiter. Let me put emphasis on friendly. I think he may have called me honey at one point. Anyway, I told them they had to try the white bean dip. It comes with these great "pasta chips", which are basically pieces of lasagna pasta that have been baked to a crisp. The dip is very mellow and they add a great cheese and some chunky tomatoes on top to finish it off.
B ordered the gemelli pomodoro with chicken. Her comment was, "It had a great flavor, but the chicken was kind of dry." N got the Risotto con Pollo, a "creamy risotto tossed with grilled chicken breast, asparagus tips, toasted pecans and smoked Gouda." He said he'd give it a 7 out of 10. It looked pretty yummy to me.
I got the Pasta San Miguel, "fresh fish of the day (in my case the waiter said it would be mahi mahi but it was definitely salmon) with shrimp, poblanos, garlic and fettucine and tossed with a light tomato cream sauce." It was good, but it was not a LIGHT cream sauce. That sucker was heavy and rich. I wish the I could have tasted the poblano peppers; they were hidden in the cream sauce.
The oddest thing about the meal was how long it took to get our food. We were one of the first people there and our salads came out after three different tables who arrived after us got their food. I don't know if our waiter forgot to put in the salads and entrees or if we just looked like we wanted to hang out for a while. He was a slightly odd duck: at one point, I needed a new fork and he flew my fork down to the table. Confused? Let me try to explain....you know when you are feeding a two-year old that doesn't want to eat his veggies and so you 'fly' the fork with the broccoli on it into their mouth. Well that's what he did with my fork, only onto the table. I think he tried being extra nice to try to make up for the 35 minute wait on our salads.
End of the story for this visit is we were slightly underwhelmed, but all of my visits in the past have been fantastic! I want to go back soon and see if they were just having an off night. Actually, now that I think of it, I think I've only ever been at lunch before. Maybe it's the evening staff? Anyway, if you do go you have to try the Cafe Lasagna, their house specialty... it is a Deep-fried smoked chicken lasagna with lemon marinara and cilantro pesto and tell me how it is. I've always wanted to try it and never have! Another good one is Gemelli Otto Formaggio, A "rich & creamy sauce with eight Italian cheeses topped with Gemelli pasta. It's so good it'll make you want to slap your Mama Mia." It's basically mac and cheese on steriods. It's incredibly rich and filling, so expect left overs!
We rate Cafe Italia a 4 out of 5 for food and a 4 out of 5 for twenty somethings.
Highlights:
- Patio when it's nice outside
- Tuscan White Bean Dip with lasagna chips
- Gemelli Otto Formaggio
- Good wine by the glass selection
http://www.cafeitaliadallas.com/
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
JD's Chippery
Just wanted to do a quick post since we have been seriously slacking the past few weeks! J's school schedule has been a little crazy, so we apologize! I wanted to give a shout out to JD's Chippery in case any of you have never tried them (oh the horror!). If you haven't been to JD's for a yummy, gooey disk of cookie goodness, get in your car now and go there.
We recently took a half dozen bag of cookies to our friends who just became parents. They had never tried JD's and couldn't believe we were willing to drive all the way over to Snider Plaza just for some cookies...that is until they tried them. They later told us they ate the whole bag in one sitting!
We like to describe their cookies as warm, fresh and gooey. They use oatmeal in their cookies (don't worry, it cooks down so you don't get that oatmeally texture) to make them extra thick. They are not hard and crumbly...in fact they almost melt in your mouth. They have a great semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie, and J loves their m&m cookie. The snicker doodle and sugar are a great option as well.
We also like to get their fresh squeezed lemonade and/or cherry lemonade as well. They squeeze the lemons right in front of you; no minute maid crap here! They also have some pretty good looking muffins, but we've never tried them. I can only imagine the weight gain I would have experienced if I had gone to SMU as this is literally right across the street. Moral of the story...you gotta try this place!
JD's Chippery
6601 Hillcrest Ave # A
Dallas, TX 75205
BTW, Don't expect to go after work as M-F they are only open 7 am until 5:30 pm and only until 5 pm on Saturday. They are closed on Sunday.
We recently took a half dozen bag of cookies to our friends who just became parents. They had never tried JD's and couldn't believe we were willing to drive all the way over to Snider Plaza just for some cookies...that is until they tried them. They later told us they ate the whole bag in one sitting!
We like to describe their cookies as warm, fresh and gooey. They use oatmeal in their cookies (don't worry, it cooks down so you don't get that oatmeally texture) to make them extra thick. They are not hard and crumbly...in fact they almost melt in your mouth. They have a great semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie, and J loves their m&m cookie. The snicker doodle and sugar are a great option as well.
We also like to get their fresh squeezed lemonade and/or cherry lemonade as well. They squeeze the lemons right in front of you; no minute maid crap here! They also have some pretty good looking muffins, but we've never tried them. I can only imagine the weight gain I would have experienced if I had gone to SMU as this is literally right across the street. Moral of the story...you gotta try this place!
JD's Chippery
6601 Hillcrest Ave # A
Dallas, TX 75205
BTW, Don't expect to go after work as M-F they are only open 7 am until 5:30 pm and only until 5 pm on Saturday. They are closed on Sunday.
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