Matchbox DC

Hello all! So sorry we've been so absent. I'm sure you've been on the edge of the seat waiting for our next post...or not. Anyway, we are back!

So far our favorite restaurant in DC has been Matchbox. We've been to both locations in Chinatown and Barrack's Row on 8th. The Barracks Row location is way closer (walking distance) to us so we've been there more. I'm slightly obsessed. J makes fun of me.

We had a married couple come visit us (separately though, but within a week of each other) and they both wanted to go there...which was fine by me! BF was so excited to get to eat hamburgers and pizza in the same meal.

Matchbox is known for their drinks. They have a very large drink menu and some great wines by the glass and reasonable (read: below 10 dollars) prices. They also have a fun section called Fancy-schmancy spirits with all kinds of liquors if that is your kind of thing.

We have ordered the "mini burgers" a couple of times. They are sliders that you can choose 3, 6 or 9 of. The mini burgers are hand-pattied certified angus beef on a toasted brioche with a giant pile of onion straws in the middle. I can't describe how good these burgers are. The bread is buttered, toasted and light. The beef is extremely juicy and incredibly flavorful considering its size. I want to know what they marinate the beef in to get that much flavor in each bite! The onion straws are amazing! J doesn't eat onions but he grabs these by the handful. The batter is great, salty and light.

Now comes the difficult part. J likes meatballs and pepperoni and sometimes sausage. I like prosciutto, olives, anchovies, arugula, capers, etc., but I enjoy pepperoni too! So we always have an issue when we order pizza. I want to branch out, but he doesn't. Last time we just ordered two small pizzas (which is not the best value, the large pizza is between $15 and $20 and the small is between $12 and $15, the large is much bigger and I think a better bang for your buck) so that we could get what we wanted. J likes the Matchbox, which is pepperoni / spicy italian sausage / crispy bacon / zesty tomato sauce / mozzarella. It definitely has a spicy kick to it. I couldn't handle the Spicy Meatball pizza because it's all spicy meatball and nothing else (spicy meatball house-made spicy meatballs / crispy bacon / crushed red pepper / fresh garlic puree / zesty tomato sauce / mozzarella) where the Matchbox at least has some nonspice elements.

I ordered the Coppa Italian Ham and Arugla last time. It is coppa italian ham & arugulapesto / ricotta / roma tomato / mozzarella. Coppa italian ham seemed to be a thicker cut of proscuitto. I love pizza with fresh spinach or arugla on top and this fits the bill. They cook the pizza (like all of their pizza) in a big pizza oven. Last time we ordered take out I hung out by the pizza guys and watch the guys work their magic. It looks like a highly specialized skill to cook in a pizza oven. He was constantly moving the pizza around the oven, bringing it out to check the crust, rotating them, etc. When you pizza comes out it is literally sizziling. I love my crust almost burnt and Matchbox cooks it to crusty deliciousness. Then they pile the arugla on top and it is this great combination of rich pesto and ham with fresh, lite lettuce on top.

I would love to try the serrano spanish ham & pecorino romano with roasted garlic / ricotta / buffalo mozzarella / oven-dried tomato or the white anchovy & capers with roasted garlic / red onions / buffalo mozzarella / arugula. Wish me luck trying to talk J into that!

With the other half the married couple, EF and I downed a whole pizza and then we wanted to try dessert. Their dessert menu is pretty tasty looking!

I want to try the fresh fruit pizza, the molten chocolate cake and the chocolate chip bread pudding with banana. EF and I had the coffee & doughnuts. The donuts are actually beignets and the coffee is a little espresso cup with Kahlua and espresso sauce. They are delicious! The beignets come in orange and cinnamon flavors in a cute paper cone. It is surprising how many beignets fit in there. This is definitely a dessert to split! All the desserts are below 10 bucks or you can get a trio for 12. Seems pretty reasonable to me!

Talk about a meal, burgers, pizza AND donuts!

A quick note about the service; the takeout guy Mike is awesome. (is it sad I know his name?) He is super friendly and helpful. We've had a couple of service road bumps but they've always made up for it. One time our sliders took about a hundred years to come out so they gave us free dessert. We don't mind restaurants making a mistake as long as they realize it and say sorry. We realize that the waiters/waitress/kitchen staff are human, but good service is extremely important to us. Please don't treat us like we should feel privileged to eat in your restaurant (this is definitely not toward Matchbox, just a lot of other DC joints we have patronized recently)!

www.matchboxdc.com

Valentine's in DC

Well, the Babb's have moved...but we are going to go ahead and keep posting! I wanted to combine two restaurants in this one post as we only had apps and drinks at one for our pre-valentine's dinner.

We were super bored from sitting around the apartment during the aftermath of snowmaggedon, so we wanted to leave early for our reservation. We were wayyyy early, so we stopped at La Tasca for drinks and appetizers (more specifically, tapas) and sat at the bar. The specials were awesome! $3.50 glasses of draft beer, house wine ($15 bottles), Sangria ($15 pitchers) and $3.50 select tapas. J and I ordered the Calamares Andaluza, fried calamari with garlic mayonnaise. The first order (yes we ended up ordering two of them) was great, not too chewy and the garlic mayonnaise (which was red, which threw me off a little) was yummy! We also ordered the house-made potatoe chips with a cheese dipping sauce, which was delicioso but in tiny amounts, and more of the garlic mayonnaise. Some chips were thick and crunchy, others were kind of chewy. We wanted to try the Patatas Bravas Deep fried potatoes with a spicy sauce, but haven't yet. The next order of the calamari was rather chewy. It also took forever, so I think it probably sat out for a while under the heat lamp and sent it south. We asked the bartender if we could only have the round piece and no giant leggy pieces, but that was a no go.

They have a really great wine list and some fun sangrias. The bartender suggested I tried Cava Sangria, a bubbly sangria made with sparkling wine, triple sec, and brandy blended with grape juice and blueberries. It tasted way too much like welchs grape juice to me, so J drank it. I had the house red (for $3.50!) and I liked it. I'd love to try the Agua de Valencia, a twist to the traditional Mimosa.

After La Tasca, we headed to our reservations at Clyde's. Zagat rated it a 19 out of 30 for food, so not great but not bad either, so we were hoping it would be good. From the moment we walked in it was downhill. The ambiance felt like an upscale luby's with the padded seats and horrible, old school patterns on every surface. The size was overwhelming. People and tables were everywhere. We had reservations and were seated a little early. It took about 10 minutes to even see a waiter. By that time we obviously knew what we wanted. I got the Butternut Squash Ravioli with roasted mushrooms, Swiss chard, roasted red peppers, smoked ham, crumbled goat cheese and sage butter sauce. It was okay. The flavor was kind of a lacking...would have done well with some salt. I was disappointed in the lack of butternut squash taste. Probably better than what I could make, so I guess that is saying something...

Shockingly, J ordered a salad. Fried Chicken Salad with candied pecans, eggs, crumbled bleu cheese, dried cranberries, bacon and honey mustard dressing. It had a great spice to it that we couldn't ever nail down. The candied pecans were delish and the giant pieces of fried chicken were great. Almost made it not worthy of being called a salad.

At this point, we were going to order some of the seriously yum looking cocktails for dessert (oatmeal cookie!), but never saw our waiter again. They bring you a water pitcher at the beginning of the meal, so we didn't even see a water guy either. Right before we left, we noticed other tables were getting bread too that we also never received.

As soon as we could flag down our waiter we got our check, paid and got out of there. We were trying to make a movie and had no idea how long it would take to get the credit card back. Needless to say, we saved some money on a good tip. We were sad to miss out on the cool cocktails though.

We would definitely not recommend Clyde's for a date or group event. It is amazing to me this place is owned by the same folks as 1789 and Old Ebbitt Grill, considering how great both of those are. We will be visiting La Tasca again soon however and definitely during happy hour!

Villa-O

I've heard about the free dinner's Villa-O does, but hadn't ever gone until last week because I couldn't remember what day it was! They started following me on twitter, so I decided to follow them. When they posted that their free dinner was going to be on Monday night, I promptly called and made reservations because who is going to pass up free, organic Italian? Not me I tell you. (FYI, I believe they do this every Monday, you just have to make reservations!) J was going to be out of town so I called up one of my adventurous friends, B, and got her to meet me there.

They had two drink specials that night, one champagne and berry liqueur drink and a Martini di Ananas (an organic vodka infused with fresh pineapple for no less than seven days and then strained). Since our dinners were free, we thought we had to get drinks! I happened to have both (shhh) and they were great! I loved the Champagne cocktail, just the perfect amount of sweet and berry. Very refreshing.

The free menu was actually quite comprehensive. They offered salads as a first course and quite a few second courses from Eggplant parm to Wagyu Beef Lasagna to Chicken Piccata. The best thing (well besides the fact it is free) is that it is all organic and homemade pastas.

We were served some great bread with dipping oil as a starter when we ordered our drinks. We were also offered purified in-house Natura still or sparkling water for a dollar. Because we are ridiculously cheap, we declined and went for what the waiter called "Dallas Tap".

I ordered the Cesar with anchovies (normally they don't put anchovies on their Cesar on Monday's, but my waiter was nice) and B got it without. I enjoyed my salad; they definitely didn't hold back on the dressing! The polenta croutons were great.

B got the Lasagna Bolognese with handcrafted pasta, ricotta cheese and rustic Wagyu beef sauce. It was delicious! Very meaty and not too sweet. I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan. There was supposed to be thin handmade pasta layers in between the eggplant, but I honestly couldn't tell the difference in consistency between the pasta and eggplant if it was in there. The sauce was SPICY! Cleared out my sinuses, that's for sure! I wouldn't really recommend ordering it.

I'd love to try their brunch and their Sunday 3-course, all-you-can-eat dinner for $15.95 per person sometime soon! They have a pretty extensive drink menu, borrowing some offerings from Trece, their sister restaurant across the street. They also have quite a few bottles of wine less than $40, so great for sharing! The pizzas also looked promising!

Happy Free Eating!
http://www.villaorestaurant.com
214.780.1880

Addendum to previous post...
J and I went back recently, so I wanted to update this post! I ordered the risotto and would definitely not recommend. It was very bland and heavy and lacked a lot of salt. J got the lasagna and it was, yet again, amazing. One thing I forgot to mention previously was the bread. It is a delicious focaccia with a great balsamic vinegar dipping sauce. We ate at least two or three baskets worth! Happy eating!

New Breakfast Tacos!

So this is another quick one. I have one waiting in "drafts" for J to make his addition but with his class, work, blah blah blah he is taking FOREVER to add to it, so I thought I'd go ahead and do a quick one for you.

As we were heading to the motherland, A&M, last weekend for the game (Thanks Mitch for the free tickets!), we realized we were starving. He wanted to stop at Grandy's (ew, gross), but I thought we'd see something more fun on the way down. As we were about to exit onto 35E south, I remembered Fuel City. We rapidly changed over 4 or so lanes and exited Industrial. We'd had dinner tacos there and liked them but thought they were too spicy, but I was willing to give their breakfast tacos a try. We pulled up next to a suv full of Dallas A&M Club aggies we'd played flag football with, so I knew it had potential! I ordered a bacon and egg and an egg and chorizo on flour. I think they are a little over a buck each. FYI, they only take cash, so come prepared or be ready to get money out of the ATM right next to the window and pay a three buck charge.

They were delicious! The bacon was actually crispy, was a pleasant surprise and the chorizo had a good amount of spice. It was, however, very very greasy, so not as good as Taco Joint. I want to try mine on corn tortillas next time. The pico and hot sauce were also very tasty.

Try it next time you are on the south side of Downtown! I know we will next time we head to College Station!

(FYI...they won the #1 must eat before you die in Texas Monthly)

Fuel City
801 S Industrial BlvdDallas, TX 75207
(214) 426-0011

Babe's Chicken Dinner House

Okay, for a lot of you, you've probably already been to Babe's. You are probably thinking, seriously? Been there, done that! Well, this post is for the rest of you guys that haven't made your way out to the burbs for some delicious fried comfort food!

There are three Babe's, what I'm told is the original is in Roanoke, then there are Carrolton and Garland versions. The locations in Carrolton and Garland offer your choice of one of seven meats - chicken-fried steak, chicken fingers, fried chicken, pot roast, fried catfish, hickory-smoked chicken or spare rib. The one in Roanoke just has the fried chicken and chicken-fried steak (or so I'm told as I've never actually been to Roanoke). The best part is the unlimited sides and biscuits.

We weren't even given a menu when we walked in...I guess we looked like regulars? Which scares me as an an all-you-can-eat place, maybe we need to go to the gym a little more often? Anyway, our very nice/young waitress explained our options to us first-timers. Basically you choose one of the aforementioned meats and then you get unlimited corn, green beans, mashed potatoes and biscuits.

We didn't have to wait long for our double order of chicken-fried steak to come out, but were given salad and biscuits as a first course anyway. The salad dressing was surprisingly very yummy. It was light with just the right amount of tang and acid. I think there might have been some honey mixed in the dressing? Even Josh commented on how good it was. The salad was literally just lettuce and dressing, nothing too fancy here!

I'll let J expound on the biscuits as he did eat at least FIVE....one mention I have is the honey was delicious. I don't believe in eating biscuits without honey, so I was happy they had tubs full at every table! The honey got us debating the difference between honeys. J doesn't believe there is any flavor difference between different types of honey and I told him that was like saying all wines tasted the same. Eerily that night, as we were watching the Food Network, Alton Brown's Good Eats was all about honey and totally proved me right! I win again! :)

Touching on the biscuits, as A so clearly outlined that I looooooved! They were amazing...I mean, life changingly, ridiculously awesome flakiness and goodness. The biscuits were really really good, and if you go to Babe's for nothing else, go there for the biscuits, seriously!

I thoroughly enjoyed the green beans and corn. The green beans were sitting in a delicious broth (beef I believe) and had been nicely roasted in some sort of heating element other than a microwave. The corn was super sweet and kind of creamy, perfect combo with the rest of the dinner. The mashed potatoes, however, were NOT good! They tasted like boxed potatoes. J will disagree, but I am very picky about how my potatoes taste. I knew they were going to be disappointing when they came out perfectly white with like black flakes of pepper. Tell tale signs of fake spuds. Yucky.

Ok, while I seriously love A...her mashed potatoe snobbiness has clouded her judgement here. The mashed potatoes with gravy combo were good. I mean, I won't hang my hat on them and claim their world famousness, but these were good. Combine them with the corn, the green beans and the chicken fried steak...the combo is very hard to beat. Don't listen to A, as I'm sure none of you are as hard on mashed potatoes as she is!

As I was eating my yummo chicken-fried, die of a heart attack or at least obesity, steak with mounds of savory gravy, I had the thought: I should be drinking a beer. This is beer-food. I didn't know if they served alcohol being it was in Carrolton and didn't know if the burbs allowed that kind of thing...but as we were leaving I saw a waitress walk away with some empty bottles, so I know they must. Another side note, apparently some of the staff performs. We had a waitress walking up and down the middle aisle singing and she was actually pretty good. I was nervous it would become the awkward, let me come sing to you, kind of performance, but luckily she stayed in the middle.

Taco Joint

If you know me at all, you know that one of my absolute favorite foods is the breakfast taco. I love the combination of tortilla, egg, cheese, potato and my favorite, chorizo. If I could eat a breakfast taco every morning and not gain a hundred pounds, I absolutely would!

I am always searching for the best breakfast taco and I believe I may have found it! The Taco Joint (by Big Baylor) is it! J and I decided to road trip it for some breakfast one morning after reading a review in D Magazine. It was started by two austin guys (and my second favorite breakfast taco is from Austin, so I knew it had to be good!). DMagazine says, "One thing we do not lack is taquerias. But breakfast tacos form their own special category, and they’re not so easy to find. Taco Joint in Old East Dallas has become our favorite. It comes from a couple of Austinites—breakfast tacos are a thing down there—who’ve brought the A-town specialty to Big D. Here’s where to get tacos filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, chorizo, and beans. They do a top-notch fajita and egg, as well as a hearty migas taco with eggs, cheese, tomatoes, chiles, onions, and tortilla strips for only $2.69. They also do a fine brisket taco, but they’re open for breakfast and lunch only, closing at 2 pm. It’s our biggest motivation to get out of bed in the morning."

J got the Great Gordo for $5.69, which is an enormous 12” flour tortilla stuffed with your choice
of bacon or sausage, eggs, potatoes, and loads of cheese. It was huge! I just got a chorizo, egg and potato taco as they looked pretty big as well. The main reason why I love this place is their chorizo. Most restaurants' chorizo is so greasy it drips out the bottom and you feel really guilty and slightly gross eating it (but you still do, because that wonderful hint of spiciness with your eggs and carbs of the tortilla and potatoes is just so good); Taco Joint's chorizo was spicy, light and absolutely no grease exited the bottom of my taco!

They also have a great salsa bar with a bunch of different kinds of salsa and a yummy jalapeno ranch. Just writing this makes me seriously hungry and I think I'll be making J get up at a reasonable hour tomorrow to drive with me to get some Taco Joint! Let me know if you want to join us :)

http://thetacojoint.com/
(214)826-TACO
911 N. Peak St.
Dallas, TX 75204

Fearing's

Well, we made it through Restaurant Week 2009! Our wallets are a little (okay, a lot) lighter and our tummies might be a little bigger, but it was so delicious we can't wait till next year!

Our first restaurant was Fearing's at the Ritz-Carlton. Making reservations was interesting. The day the list of restaurants came out, I figured out our schedules, and started calling. Fearing's didn't even answer their phone the day the list came out, so I left a message. The next day, when I still hadn't heard back (and was still dealing with The French Room, that story coming later) I stuck J on them. He called and told them we wanted to make reservations, but they said they were completely full with all the voicemails from the day before and didn't have any room. He informed them I'd left a message. They didn't believe him at first, but eventually they came around and gave us a 5:30 pm spot. He can be rather persuasive at times, hehe. Anyway, they ended up calling back later that evening and asked if we could do 6:00 pm as they didn't actually open until then. I have no idea who he talked to the first time who thought they could give us a reservation before they open, but that's neither here nor there I guess.

We went with our foodie friends, C & L. C is a big time chef who has even been to culinary school! They both love eating out and trying new places, so we knew it'd be fun to go and hear their opinions.

We were seated immediately after our free valet parking. The room was very bright and airy. It kind of felt like we were sitting on a patio. The seats were couches with kind of low seating, so L and I both sat on the cushions like we were 12.

The restaurant and bar have an amazing feel, with each room being different than the other and really each providing it's own experience. The room we were in was very bright, almost like eating outside, but complete with huge chandeliers, elegant table cloths, and a very well dressed staff. Everything about this place lets you know you are eating in a very nice restaurant, but nothing uncomfortably. You can eat here and feel at home...just a very nice home!

I was super excited when I saw there wine special with the Restaurant Week menu. It was 8 dollars a glass for Anna Belle (could be misspelling that one) Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon or $30 for a bottle. We decided to split the Cabernet between the four of us. It was delicious and really refreshing to have a choice at that price point!

That last point by A was a great one, so pay attention here! I don't care much for red wine, A says I just haven't "matured" my pallet enough...in other words, my strong love for sweet tea and koolaid are killing my ability to enjoy a good wine! However, if you go, ask for this wine as I loved it, and again I am NOT a huge red wine fan.

Time for a quick segue....we started this blog because of a horrible experience during restaurant week. The whole point is to support two local charities AND provide an opportunity for local residents to try and support our local restaurants at a price that is more affordable for the average Dallas resident. So, when a restaurant signs it self up to participate and then treat you like you are beneath them because you are a Restaurant Weeker, it really makes us mad. So we were very cognizant of our treatment by this year's restaurants and were very pleasantly surprised with all three.

Anyway, back on track! They also had options to order in addition or instead of their menu for supplemental cost. For starters they had a Southwestern Cesar or Dean’s Tortilla Soup. Fearing's is famous for their Tomato Bisque, in fact he even sells it in the jar. L and J both ordered that, C ordered the Crispy Barbecued Bluepoint Oysters (was a little bit more with the supplemental) and I got the Southwestern Cesar. I was hoping it'd be a spicy Cesar, but it was more of a BBQ ranch. Before we got our salads, the waiter brought out an amuse bouche...a Sweet Corn Vichyssoise.

As for the Dean’s Tortilla Soup...it was OK, but not amazing. It all depends on your taste buds, but for me it was just a tad too citrus flavored. It ended with more of a tortilla soup flavor, but it was missing some crunch from the chips and was a little on the light side for me. That being said, the flavor was good, it just depends on what you are after here.

For entree choices, they had a Chili Braised Short Ribs with Queso Fresco Corn Whipped Potatoes and Crispy Tobacco Onions, a Mesquite Grilled Wild Salmon Glazed with Peach Barbecue Sauce-Black-Eyed Peas and Living Watercress Salad, and lastly a "Mopped” Chicken Breast with Anson Mills Polenta, Deviled Egg and Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon/Blue Cheese Dressing.

L, J and I ordered the Short Ribs and Casey got the Salmon. I would have loved to try some of the supplemental options like Maple-Black Peppercorn Soaked Buffalo Tenderloin but it was already going to be an expensive evening! J always orders Short Ribs and then I always wish I had ordered them, so tonight I went ahead and ordered them too. I was kind of disappointed. They weren't as tender as I was hoping, but I still liked them to eat the whole thing. I definitely liked the mashed potatoes underneath.

While I love A to death...I believe she misunderstood the awesomeness of the short ribs, as I looooved them. I similarly loved the mashed potatoes as well, you cannot go wrong with these!

We did order a side of mac and cheese as well. (We told ourselves it was for you guys reading this!) It was delicous! It was a six-year aged cheddar with mushrooms. Even J liked the mushrooms and that is saying a lot! Definitely order this one if you go.

I totally agree with A on the mach and cheese, it's a great add on and well worth the $8.

We rate Fearings a 5.0 out of 5 for the food and a 5.0 out of 5 for twenty somethings. This is a restaurant that is totally oblivious of age. The waiters and host staff were very attentive and treated our table without regard to age and did not treat us any differently than their normal guests, even though we were eating off a lower priced restaurant week menu.

Highlights:
- Mac & Cheese
- C recommends the Chicken Fried Maine Lobster

- Website has a bunch of his biggest dishes' recipes (but sadly not the mac and cheese)

- Rattlesnake Bar, we'd like to go back and check out their bar menu
- Great red wine, ask for Anna Belle Cabernet Sauvignon

www.fearingsrestaurant.com
2121 Mckinney Ave
Dallas, TX 75201-1873
(214) 922-4848

Victor Tango's

We finally got to have a date night the other day and decided to do one of our favorite Dallas things...check out DMagazine's recommendations and try out something new. J had a seriously random craving for Chicken and Waffles (especially random as he'd never had that before) so we logged onto DMagazine and searched "Chicken and Waffles". Amazingly, they had a recommendation in their newest article The Best of Big D 2009. It's actually the cover of their article, so we felt like we had to go, so we headed to Knox-Henderson to Victor Tango's.

We were delighted to discover that we'd made it in time for their happy hour (5 to 7), which is basically 2 bucks off all their specialty drinks and wine. Their drink list is awesome! I tried the Victor Tango, which was basically a mix of a mojito and a spa-cucumber drink. J had the Lightning Bug, which tasted like an adult version of my mom's summertime tea. It was like sweet tea but with lemonade added. Yum!

When A describes the lightning bug, she does a good job but be aware of it's punch. It's got a great flavor and does indeed taste like iced tea, but this is tea with a twang and some kick. I loved it and could have gone for two, but decided as it was an early dinner I would stop at one.

The waitress informed us the plates were made to share, so we decided to get an appetizer, main dish and a side. She acted like that wasn't a lot to order and even left a menu with us in case we wanted to get more. We have no idea why she thought that as we couldn't even touch our side because we were so full!

We ordered the Stadium Pretzels with Beer Cheese Fondue for our starter and loved it. It came with two, full-sized pretzels covered in a light dusting of garlic powder and Parmesan and a ton of salt. We both had to wipe off a lot of the salt as it was kind of overwhelming. The cheese fondue was excellent. It was, according to J, "cheesy, gooey, goodness." It was 300 times better than any cheese dip you'd get with your normal pretzel and definitely appeased our cheesy craving. I want to go back to try the Crock of Warm Goat Cheese Dip (anything with the word Crock sounds great to me) and the Tempura Green Beans sometime in the near future.

The cheese in the dip was amazing, seriously! This is not your ordinary ballpark cheese, rather it was creamy and thick, with a hint of spice to it. I loved it and wish we had more bread or chips to dip it in!

Next up was the Chicken and Waffles. It was definitely big enough to share with six waffles and a piece of fried chicken on each. It was Delicious! The dish came with an extra side of maple syrup so you could add some more sweet goodness if you'd like. The best part to me was the gravy. It was a pancetta gravy that wasn't too heavy or too thick, but had a wonderful hint of bacon. The fried chicken was juicy and had a very light layer of fried batter on it. I didn't notice that the fried chicken batter was spicy until I tried it by itself. The spicy, gravy and syrup was an awesome combo. The waffles were good too. They were crispy and held up to the large amounts of gravy and syrup that we ladled upon them.

I have no idea why I had a craving for them, but luckily A obliged...they were well worth it! It was definitely a rich flavor and something that needed to be shared between us...but people, it was like fried chicken and gravy, combined with AMAZING waffles and syrup...something we wanted as kids, coming true as adults! Don't ask questions, just go with this!

I'd like to try the bacon wrapped shrimp with the white cheddar grits and the lollypop lamp chops next time too!

As a side we ordered the Crab, Mac & Jack Gratin with Pancetta (notice a bacon and cheese theme with us?). Anytime we see mac and cheese on a menu we almost always order it. We like our carbs and cheese! As I previously stated, by the time the side came out (it didn't come out with our main dish for some reason), we couldn't even eat it. When we tried it the next day, it was the perfect blend of seafood and cheese. The crab wasn't too overwhelming and the panko bread crumbs on top made a great crispy crust. It's a pretty large portion as well, could be split between two to four people.

I saw a lot of other tables order the french fries and roasted corn salad, so those must be good too!

We rate Victor Tango's a 4.0 out of 5 for the food and a 4.5 out of 5 for twenty somethings. This is a restaurant that is totally oblivious of age. If you want to go to the bar after work and blend in with an all ages crowd, this is really the place to be. Their dinner menu is quite large and this is NOT a boring place to eat. The food is unique and the space is easy on the eyes. The valet parking is a bit annoying, but welcome to Dallas. It's free, so it makes it easier. We had GREAT service, and would say that age is NO factor at this restaurant. To top it off, their drink menu is amazing, and while the happy hour is not much of a discount the drinks are great.

Highlights:
- GREAT APPETIZERS
- Sharing Menu
- Good location
- Chicken & Waffles
- Nice Bar Area

www.victortangos.com

3001 N Henderson Ave
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 252-8595

KRLD Restaurant Week

Okay gang! Quick post, but Ijust wanted to remind you all about Dallas Restaurant Week with KRLD. This year they have 130 restaurants participating in Dallas and Fort Worth (FW hot spots Reata, Lonesome Dove and Grace are all in this year). Make your reservations now because they are already filling up. And word to the wise, if you have more than two people in your party be prepared to eat at 5:30 or 10:00 pm at the really popular places. We are going to check out The French Room and Fearing's this year (and will post promptly after we promise!) and are going to go back to Stephan Pyles again since it was SO incredible last time. We look forward to these weeks in August every year, and we are definitely excited again this year!

http://www.krld.com/pages/2561351.php

Here's how their website explains it...
Select from any of the over 120 restaurants and enjoy a fabulous three-course dinner for just $35 per person. For each prix fixe dinner purchased, participating restaurants will make a $7 donation to the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas and Lena Pope Home in Fort Worth to benefit families in need. Last year KRLD Restaurant Week raised more than $430,000 for the two charities. You can help by making your reservation and enjoying a delicious dinner out! Reservations Required. Ask your favorite participating restaurants for KRLD Restaurant Week Reservations. Limited seating. Beverages, tax, and gratuity not included.

About the Central Market Fourth CourseEach Fourth Course Certificate is good for one free Fourth Course and can be used during any of the 3 weeks that the restaurant is participating in KRLD Restaurant Week. It is available at Central Market until August 30, while supplies last, with purchase of $25 or more.

Free Sushi at Steel

Okay, I realize it looks like I've been on a bit of a sushi kick lately, but what's wrong with that?! It's supposed to be good for you, right? Anyway, I heard about the free sushi at Steel a few years ago and thought it must be too good to be true. Well it's not!

B and I went there a few weeks ago on a Wednesday (only night they do it!) for their happy hour. It runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm in both the dining room and bar. When we got there, the bar was completely over flowing with people and we were nervous we wouldn't find a seat. The hostess told us we could sit in the main area and enjoy the happy hour there. That was the first of our pleasant surprises of the night. I couldn't believe they'd let us take up a table and have a waiter spend time on us cheap happy hour folks, but apparently they don't mind!

The happy hour includes all of their martinis at 5 bucks, beer and sake, and I believe it is top shelf as well. B and I ordered the Cosmo Bianco, a very light and refreshing martini with fruit. Then the sushi started being delivered. The plate included california rolls, some kind of tempura roll, a spicy tuna and some other roll we couldn't ever identify. They were all delicious! We gobbled that plate up and then sadly watched the bus boy take it away. We thought, surely that's all we get? Right? I mean for delicious adult beverages at 5 dollars and free sushi surely they don't bring more? Right? Wrong! The waiter ended up bringing us two more plates of sushi! I have a feeling the types of rolls change weekly, but I bet its all as good as the stuff we had that night.

They are pretty strict about the 7 pm deadline, so watch the clock to get your last plate of sushi order in on time!

I ended up ordering a Berry Mojito (which was not happy hour price but still a great deal) and it was AMAZING! I tried to copy the recipe for a party I had later in the week and didn't quite get it, but it was still delicious.

I've eaten there for lunch before and got the Bento Box and I recall thinking it was good. It's been over two years since then so I won't try to review it!

All in all, this is a must-try restaurant just for the prices alone! The decor is swanky and a fun place to gather with friends. Try out Steel soon!

Steel Restaurant and Lounge
3102 Oak Lawn Ave # 100
Dallas, TX 75219
214.219.9908
(Stairstep building in uptown)

Highlights:
-Wednesday night free sushi and happy hour!
-Drink list (especially Berry Mojito)
-Bento Boxes

Oishii Sushi

J and I absolutely love this strip mall sushi place off of Wycliff and the Tollway! We were introduced to Oishii by our neighbors, the foodies, and have absolutely craved it ever since. Don't be fooled by the run down outside, it's new bar is super cute and fun lounging spot. We even drove through what felt like a hurricane one Saturday night for take out because it's that good!

Seriously guys, this place is that good. I've never liked sushi until recently, but this place makes up for any fears you may have. We've taken a few non sushi loving friends there lately, and made converts out of them! It's a bit of a dive on the outside, but make no mistake about the quality of the food or the inside of this place. It's got a very hip/urban bar, separated from the restaurant (something you may see alot of while waiting if you go on Wednesdays), and a modest dining room. Regardless of their layout, this place is to be given a close look!

The average price of their sushi rolls is about 5 bucks, but they do have some fancier rolls at about the ten dollar mark. Their rainbow roll with tuna, salmon and white fish wrapped around a california roll is about $11. We love their shrimp tempura, tuna and california rolls. We can usually walk out of Oishii for about $35 for the sushi! We consider their sushi the best in Dallas and for the price, it's even better!

It is VERY EASY to over order here. While we "can" get out for $35 like A says above, we often have much bigger eyes than stomachs and over order. I encourage you to ask the waitress how many rolls it will take to fill you and your date, group or whatever. They are good judges and will likely save you a roll or two from your order. That being, for those that like to binge on sushi, and who of us doesn't, you may be content to over order...it's good enough, you won't let it go to waste, I promise!

We've ordered their spring rolls before and weren't super impressed but we definitely enjoyed the egg rolls, edamame and chicken satay.

For dessert we love the 'Vietnamese coffee'. It's basically a three part cup of coffee. First you get a cup of ice, then about a quarter cup of condensed milk is poured over the ice then comes the coffee. The condensed milk is super sweet and combined with the smooth coffee, it makes a great combo!

Ok so let's discuss this coffee...it's not just "coffee" people, this stuff is like nectar-y goodness. Sure I like my coffee a little sweeter than a true "coffee person", but this stuff is amazing. The condensed milk is like nothing you've ever had in the States, I promise. Even if you're "too full" or "not interested" when the meals over, just DO IT. Try it once and I promise you won't regret it.

Wednesday nights at Oishii are always busy because its half-price wine and hot sake night. They also just recently introduced a $1 sushi night on Tuesdays as well, so I imagine Tuesdays are going to get pretty busy too!

We rate Oishii a 5.0 out of 5 for Sushi and a 4.5 out of 5 for twenty somethings. This is a restaurant that is totally oblivious of age. If you want to go to the bar and be 25, have one too many beers and be a little loud...you can do it. On the same accord, if you sit down at the table with no knowledge of Japanese beer or Sushi, they are happy to oblige your questions. It's a great place for dinner, has a great little bar with amazing wine specials on Wednesdays, and is worth your visit...over and over and over again!

Highlights: - SUSHI! - Wednesday Half Price Wine by the Bottle - Vietnamese Coffee - Great Staff - Nice Bar Area http://www.dallasoishii.com/

Fat Straws

I almost want to keep this one close to the vest so the word doesn't get out and completely overwhelm this small, Addison smoothie joint, but I guess I'll tell :)

Fat Straws is a new smoothie place back behind the Home Depot Expo and Galleria. The reason we even went looking for a new smoothie place was because of our absolute favorite place in CS for smoothies closed it's doors, so we started getting worried we'd never find a place as good and had tapioca balls.

Just because you know where it is, doesn't mean you need to go running up there. Currently there isn't hardly ever a line, but that has been changing recently. I assure you it's worth the trip...just don't go telling everyone about it!

Some of us don't really like the tapioca balls...they aren't exactly, uh hmmm...manly! That being said, A loves them...and she seriously has the weirdest cravings for this place!

I can't remember how we came across Fat Straws, but our world hasn't been the same since! It's seriously close to J's work, so the little booger gets it some times for lunch. Darn him!!

It's a small place, fairly modern in decoration, and most importantly...sells smoothies. There is enough seating to make it a study locale, however the machines that make the smoothies can be quite loud! I would recommend the patio for extended visits...What makes the smoothies so darn good is the ingredients and the super huge straws through which you consume them! It's fairly healthy and a great filler for lunch or even a late night snack.

The fruit is super fresh and I'm pretty sure they don't add any fillers. They also have a huge assortment of teas that you can buy by the ounce or they will make you a cup. There are some pretty fancy kinds that are up to $16 an lb!

Sorry for the quick post, but give this place a try soon!

5301 Alpha Road #38Dallas, TX 75240 -- Open Mon-Sat 11am-10pm; Sun 11am-9pm

Cadillac Ranch

J went to Cadillac Ranch because the parent company is a client of his and he had business there, needless to say he came home with rave reviews. He has being dying for me to try this new place in Irving (the same shopping center as Taco Diner and Champps), so we went for date night a few weeks ago. J described it as a Tillman's-style restaurant with a more chain-feel. Basically you'll recognize everything on the menu, but it has a slight twist.

This is a great restaurant, with the possibility for an "all in one" stop for the night. The restaurant itself is quite big and very open. There is alot of wood and lots of different levels with dining tables. The waitresses are younger and very attentive. The food they are bringing you is very very good and they like to tell their favorites...most of which are very well chosen, so do ask! There is also an attached bar, complete with patio seating, two bartops, and dance floor for live band performances on friday and saturday nights. Drink specials come and go, but this is a great place to start a happy hour out at, move to dinner across the dining room, and back to the bar for music afterwards!

The restaurant prides itself on locally-sourced foods and advertises a lot of it's local vendors on its website and menu. For example, the Dallas Mozzarella company for its cheeses and Buck Creek Farms for its salad greens.

He said the queso was great, so we ordered that again. It's a queso blanco...a delicious white cheese that is melty and smooth. The chips that came with it were a little over salted and there weren't enough for all the dip, but luckily the waitress read our minds and asked if we wanted more chips. I was worried we'd get charged a refill fee, but there wasn't anything on our bill.

After all the queso, I wasn't super hungry so I thought I'd get a salad and soup. I couldn't believe it when the $4.95 Cesar salad was absolutely huge! It was incredible; I love anchovy-based dressings and this had that and an anco chile added to it, so just a little bit of spicy. Large iceberg lettuce wedges with cornbread croutons (YUM, why didn't anyone think of this before??) finished it off.

J ordered the chicken fried steak, green beans and mashed potatoes. This is a HUGE serving of food, more than enough for dinner and lunch the next day. I was really impressed, the steak was well cooked and the gravy had a spice in it that gave it some kick. The potatoes were well whipped and had a mix of garlic, butter and some sort of other spice which made them very very tasty. The green beans were not just cooked, rather they had their own seasoning...trust me, these are GOOD grean beans!

I ordered the venison chili to go with my salad as well. I like the venison frito pie at Tillman's, so I thought this might be a good first try. The venison was sweet and the chili was pretty spicy. I liked it except it seemed a little greasy. I honestly was so full at this point so I didn't eat a ton. I probably wouldn't get it again just because it was so heavy and seemed to have a pretty high fat content.

I also got a tex-mex mojito: basically a normal mojito but with agave nectar and tequila instead of rum. It was pretty large and tasty! J got Sweet Tea...and he LOVES sweet tea! It was good enough for him to have 6, count them 6 glasses of it! If you like sweet tea, go for it here as it won't dissappoint.

If we both weren't so full, there was a very nice looking dessert menu that we would have definitely tackled...that being said, we were both taking home leftovers and there was no room! This is a great place to go if you want to take food home, because as while the prices are a tad higher than any ordinary chain restaurant, the food comes in big portions and you are almost guaranteed to have leftovers!

We rate Cadillac Ranch a 4.0 out of 5 for food and a 4.0 out of 5 for twenty somethings. The crowd in the restaurant was a little older, but the bar was certainly hopping with a younger crowd.

Highlights:
- Queso Blanco
- Sweet Tea
- Chicken Fried Steak
- Good margarita's and mojito's
- Great happy hour bar, dinner, and live music locale
www.cadillacranchrestaurant.com

Rise No.1

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

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/

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.

Tillman's Roadhouse

I think I can make a broad statement and say most people probably have that "special occasion" restaurant that they visit when its a birthday, promotion, parents are coming in town, etc. For us that restaurant is Tillman's. It's another great one in the Bishop's Arts district in south Dallas. Tillman's calls itself, a "California twist on Texas roadhouse."

It gets hopping around 7:00 pm, so if you get there before then, you usually don't have to wait at all. The restaurant decor is a fun mix of hunting lodge and tea room, with exposed wood planks on the wall and large crystal chandeliers. We like sitting on the porch when its pretty outside. They have couch-like seating on one side of the table that I like to lounge on. Perfect for purse placement :)

All of Bishop Arts District is seeing a rebirth, and Tillman's is leading the charge. It's a different type of restaurant, one in which we have found a little bit of ourselves. They take what you like about some of your favorite Texas food, and change it just a bit...The restaurant itself is different as well, decorated with raw, unstained and refined wood on the walls, huge logs, and an outdoorsy feel. The tables are small...as to ensure you and your date are never far from one another!

The first time we went, I was won over by their free table appetizer that included my favorite flavor...truffle oil. They give you little servings of warmed peanuts and popcorn drizzled with truffle oil. Scrumtulescent! We also really really like their trio of french fries. They offer a sweet potato fry, a parmesan black pepper fries and chili dusted purple peruvian fries. Their ketchup is homemade and it also comes with a horseradish/mayo sauce that is yummy!

She lies not about the fries...I mean it's fries, with cheeses and seasonings and all kinds of amazing flavors...honestly, it's the best option when it comes to an appetizer. Good bang for your buck!

As far as entrees go, you really can't go wrong! J has ordered the Venison Frito Pie a couple of times and it is always good. The venison has a sweetness to it that is a perfect combo with the salty frito chips. I've gotten the pork chops before and those things will feed you for days! They are absolutely huge! They come with a polenta that is a mix of goat cheese and coffee. Sounds weird I know, but it is so good. Instead of the crispy green beans, I got their signature macaroni and cheese. It's kind of salty, but I love it! My mother sent hers back once because of the level of salt, but I didn't have a problem with it. The waiter told Mom that they were very proud of their seasoning, hence the lack of salt and pepper on the table, and she didn't doubt it. I've also gotten the Hickory Smoked Chipotle BBQ Ribs before and loved em'. You have to be in the mood for spice, because these suckers don't go light on the chipotle! They come in a bowl on top of their mac and cheese, so that cuts the spice a little. Who wouldn't like ribs and mac and cheese?

I'll let J tell you about the chicken fried steak. They definitely do it uniquely there.

First of all the Chicken Fried Steak is different, and it's actually called Chicken Fried Hanger Steak. It's not one big piece of steak, rather small pieces of steak that are fairly thick, battered and deep fried. It's really good but you definitely see the california flair on this dish. The first time I got it I went in thinking "luby's" chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, etc....haha, needless to say I was disappointed! However, upon further review, it's really good...and it grows on you!

Now the dessert is pretty much the best part of Tillman's! They have ingeniously thought up the perfect smore. They bring out a little, mini pot o' fire and homemade graham crackers and marshmallows. Those are orange, maple and coffee. It also comes with dark chocolate bark and a bunch of little skewers. We have more fun making the smores and have almost always had leftovers that I make later on my gas stove. It keeps surprisingly well.

I am always sooooooooo full by time we get to dessert...but let's be clear here, it's dessert...and it's amazing...and you are STUPID to pass it up! I am serious, no matter how full you are, if you don't get something off of this list, you have missed the very heart of the restaurant. By the time you make it to dessert, the place has usually filled up nicely, so people watching is in full swing, and this neighborhood has really come to life. Do dessert...After all, you deserve it.

Last time we went with my parents, my mom ordered the peanut butter cookie sandwich. What the waiter didn't tell us was this was about a half pounder cookie with a few chocolate chip cookies on the side and three scoops of banana ice cream. We were so deliciously full we were in pain. That also came with a carafe of melted chocolate that you could drizzle over your portion to your heart's desire. Sadly, we were so full we couldn't go over to Eno's to get a beer. Sad day!

We rate Tillman's Roadhouse a 4.75 out of 5 for food and a 4 out of 5 for twenty somethings.

Highlights:
- Venison Frito Pie
- Chicken Fried Hanger Steak
- Trio of French Fries
- Homemade Smores at your table!
- Wines and a Prickly Pear Margarita
- Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere!
- Romantic restaurant, in an amazing area!
http://www.tillmansroadhouse.com/

Trece

So we used to love Trece. Hip, good food, awesome happy hour and really cool ladies night on Thursdays. Ladies could get free chicken quesadillas (now that I look at that word, something doesn't seem right?), blueberry mojitos and margaritas. Everything was delicious and of course even better when free! We went to Trece once when I got a raise at my last job (haven't celebrated that occurrence at my new job...hmmmm) to celebrate. It was great! I got the Tablones and J got the Enchiladas Bandera. They were both pretty good.

As A was saying here, this place used to be awesome...it was all about atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere! It still is, it's just lost some of it's luster. It used to back up an amazing atmosphere, lots of people watching and slightly high price tags with good food and great specials. Now, it's the atmosphere...minus the great food...and it's a little less than worth it considering the price tag!

Well, since we liked it so much last time, when my sister and mom came in town a few weeks ago we told them that we had to try Trece. "They would love it." Oh boy...big mistake! I don't know what has happened there. Maybe a change in management? Whatever it is, the food has completely gone downhill. I got the enchiladas this time and they were nothing special. For their price ($25) I think they should have been spectacular. My sister got the Pollo con Mole and it was bizarre. Now I'm a big fan of mole sauce, something about being surprised every time that chocolate and spice go on enchiladas, but this was bad. It was basically like chicken hot chocolate. The chocolate taste was completely overwhelming. It basically tasted like they had melted a Hersey's bar on top of the chicken. We should have thought twice when our waiter told us he makes better mole at home, but we thought, "ah, what does he know?" Our bad. My mom got the Chilean sea bass and it was definitely nothing to write home about.

We had even raved about the chicken quesadillas with a roasted poblano cream sauce so we ordered one for the table and that disappointed! No longer creamy with this delicious white cheese...it's about what I'd make with my 2% Kraft and whole-wheat sprouts brand tortillas.

She's not kidding about the quesadillas here...we used to go in when they were free on ladies night...as soon as the bar tender turned away I was shoveling them in my mouth and she was calling him over to attempt to convince him she had managed to eat them all already! What in the world happened to the quesadillas?! It used to be all about the amazing cheese...now, you're better off bringing your own!

We even had a bad experience with our water, if that's even possible. We just ordered water and he brought them out in what looked like refilled glass water bottles. No biggie, we don't mind tap. We do mind, however, being charged $3.50 a bottle for refilled tap water bottles. The weirdest thing about that was that we questioned the charge because it just said "Catering Fee" and the waiter said, "oh, um, well, that's the water." Weird!

Long story short, used to be awesome...not worth it any more! (The free food might still be worth it as it is free, but we haven't been back to the happy hour since)

The restaurant itself is still very trendy...lots and lots of pretty people in there, well maybe a few less since we're not there...but you get my drift! It's got good music, it's busy and it's pricey. If that's your thing and you aren't worried about food, then head down to Trece. We'll try it again in a few months and see if anything's changed, but as for right now...it's not worth it considering everywhere else that Knox/Henderson has to offer! The area is amazing...the parking is awful...and the restaurants around it are just alot more fun and have food alot more memorable.

We rate Trece a 2.5 out of 5 for food and a 3 out of 5 (now, used to be cooler) for twenty somethings.

Highlights:
- Cha-Cha Rita
- Blueberry Mojito
www.trecerestaurant.com

Taverna

We love Taverna, a local Italian eatery a couple of streets off of Knox-Henderson. The prices are great and so is the food! I generally love their pizzas, butternut squash gnocchi with crispy sage and their Paglia e Fieno, a Green and White pasta tossed with Chicken, Truffle Oil (YUM) & Cream Sauce. That last one can be heavy, so expect left overs!

The restaurant has a very open layout, but lends itself to romance and coziness via draping, lighting and well placed tables. It just feels right...gentlemen if you're looking for a laid back yet romantic date spot, you'll find both in this cozy locale. The outdoor seating on their patio remains open year around. In the winter, the patio is enclosed and heaters are installed which do a more than ample job. In the summer, the patio lends you to believe you're in a small town neighborhood sitting on a front porch, enjoying a slower pace of life.

We have generally had good service and always felt very welcome. They are also great with reservations...our table is always ready when we arrive, which is a refreshing change from another restaurant that we visited recently that will be blogged about soon. We went this weekend for Valentine's day with a reservation (thank goodness as the wait looked pretty horrible! I definitely felt bad for the guys that took dates their without reservations) and ate some seriously delicious food! Of course our table was ready when we arrived, but it was on the patio, which at times, could be a little chilly and busy. Maybe we should have specified inside? Our table was on the corner of the patio that you walked by to get into the restaurant...good for people watching, bad for not getting bang into by purses, etc. Our waiter seemed slightly perplexed and very slow, but honestly, that was the first time we'd had any issue.

No matter the event this restaurant always pulls through. In all seriousness, if you want a classy restaurant but don't want to drop $100, this is your place. Sure, as was pointed out by some friends the other day, you can spend $40 on a bottle of wine there...but you can do that anywhere, it doesn't mean you ACTUALLY do it, does it!? If you go in knowing you are there for good food, a glass of wine or two, and a great atmosphere...you can't go wrong. Parking is awful, however, so make note of the side street parking and places other than the small lot on site.

The Valentine's Day menu is what attracted us this weekend and it did not disappoint! We started with the lump crab cakes ($11.95) that were spectacular! It really was big chunks of crab, which I like better than the pureed/battered ones, in a yumo orange sauce with spinach. J even liked the spinach which is something, believe me! Then I had the butternut squash risotto with scallops ($23.95), and J had the heart-shaped veal and lobster ravioli ($21.50)...how romantic...i know! Now normally those prices are a little high for us, but it was valentines day after all! Their normal stuff is cheaper (e.g. pizzas are $10).

We rate Taverna a 4.5 out of 5 for food and a 4 out of 5 for twenty somethings.

Highlights:
- Polpettine Pizza $12 (Meatballs & Provolone Cheese)
- Great wine by the glass list
- Gnocchi
- Fun, albeit small, bar area
- Romantic setting...ooo lah lah!
www.tavernabylombardi.com

The Palomino

I wanted to drop a quick note to give a shout out to The Palomino restaurant in the Crescent Court in Dallas. We always have the best experience there! Last night, after a Mavs game, we decided to go to the late-night happy hour they have every night from 10 pm to Midnight. We were trying to act like we were in our twenties for once instead of old farts...hehe. Anyway, they have a 'drink of the day' that is always yummy and $4.95 all day. Last night it was some sort of apple vanilla concoction with just the right amount of sweet and sour.

Overall the restaurant is amazing...it's got a great lounge-feel in the bar, good lighting, big bar tops, and plenty of seating. During the warmer months they have tons of outside patio seating, great for people watching in one of the snootier shopping venues in Dallas. The restaurant itself is well decorated, the wait staff attentive and the kitchen visible, which adds a little visual interest to the scene.

Their appetizers are always delicious! Last night we decided to go with an old staple, calamari. While it seemed a little more chewy than normal, it was still pretty good! It has a great peppery batter that just hits the spot. I love their mayo sauce that comes with them and J loves their marinara, so it's a perfect fit for us. We never fight over the dipping sauces (ahhhhh how sweet, haha). Funny, reminds me of a How I met your mother episode. Anyway, I digress...all the appetizers are half off from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm and 10 pm to midnight, which puts them all around the 4 to 6 dollar range. The fondue is another one of our favorites along with the gorganzola french fries! The best deal of all, however, is the pizza. Normally priced from 9 to 12 dollars (and worth every penny!), during both happy hours they are only 5 bucks. 5 bucks! 5 bucks for goat cheese, roma tomatoes, proscuitto and basil?! So much better than Subway! The pizzas are big enough to feed 2; in fact I had some again for lunch today. Talk about fitting in a twenty-something budget!

The bartenders are always great there, and I'm sad I didn't get the name of ours last night. He was a hoot and incredibly good-natured with us. One note, if you park downstairs in the parking garage, don't forget to get your ticket validated!

If you are looking for a great centrally located bar, with above the bar "bar food", this is your place. The crowds are usually trendy and well dressed and the "bar food" classifies as a gourmet meal for most of us! Drinks are great deal during happy hour, and the $5 pizzas cannot be beat! Come one come all, there's plenty of room and reason to go to The Palomino.

We've been to the Palomino for my birthday, New Year's Eve and other random events and they have always been right on the money. Make reservations for big occasions, but for happy hour, the Palomino is still a slightly-hidden gem, so just show up!

We rate The Palomino a 4.5 out of 5 for food and a 5 out of 5 for twenty somethings.

Highlights:
- The three course meal for 20 bucks on nights there are Mavs or Stars games (they also have a complimentary shuttle over to the AAC for diners)
- Great Martinis and creative mojitos
- Tasty Ravioli
- Amazing Calamari and Gorganzola French Fries
- Great thin-crust pizzas for $5!
www.palomino.com