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