Mr. Mesero - McKinney Ave Hot Spot

As soon as we heard that the new restaurant to hit McKinney Ave, Mr. Mesero, was a Mi Cocina spin-off (of sorts), we were intrigued. We already love Mi Cocina, Taco Diner, Manny’s and Mia’s and couldn’t wait to see what Mr. Mesero had to offer.

We decided to check it out on a Thursday evening and the restaurant was basically full by 7 PM. We could tell it had become a McKinney Ave. favorite. We got a table on the covered, heated patio and ordered some drinks. My first sip of the Micorita made me literally giggle. It reminded me so much of college spring break. It was exactly what I would have made for myself when I had not a care in the world and just wanted to party on the beach. Needless to say there was no shortage of tequila!

The presentation of the chips and salsa was a huge departure from what you would see in a typical Tex-Mex restaurant. There was a neat little row of chips with a cup of salsa on the end. The salsa was similar to the Mi Cocina salsa, but I felt like it was more tomato-y. We also ordered the Queso Mesero after hearing how good it is from friends. It has spinach, artichokes and roasted poblano in it, but doesn’t taste so much like spinach/artichoke that you lose the chips and queso feel. It had a great balance of flavors, but unfortunately it came out less than warm. That was disappointing, but not enough to keep us from shoveling it into our mouths.

For entrees, I ordered the “Quatro” which comes with a tomatillo chicken enchilada, a brisket taco and green rice. I was really surprised at how different the meal was from the M Crowd restaurants’ dishes. I was expecting it to just be a twist from the norm, but it was really different. The enchilada had some interesting flavors in the chicken – something like allspice. The brisket taco had a really earthy, interesting sauce on it and the green rice was amazing!

Haley ordered the Carnitas Tacos with roasted pork, chile sauce, slaw and red rice. The carnitas tacos were super good and the pork had amazing flavor. The red rice was exactly the same as Mi Cocina’s rice so of course that was good. Haley was really pleased with her tacos.

Overall, we had great service and yummy food. It’s good to see that there is something different out there in the way of Dallas Mexican Restaurants. We will definitely be back and of course recommend it to everyone that has a special place in their hearts for anything remotely related to Mico!

http://www.mrmesero.com/

Bowery: Kale Chip Dreamin'

During one of our recent foodie outings, we were fortunate to strike up conversation with the table next to us. These foodies were adamant about us trying Bowery in Uptown. We had heard good things about the new gourmet hot dog joint, and were more than ready to check it out.  Luckily, we headed there after a concert so we had a number of critics to weigh in (ahem, steal their food).

We arrived on a Thursday Evening, and were pleased to see the place was steady, but not overly crowded. We were excited to find out that it was “half-price champagne cocktails” night, so we indulged. Among our choices were the “Hummingbird” with prosecco and St. Germaine, the “Jalisco Flower” with agave tequila, the “Champagne Sangria”, and the “Belgium fizz” with peach. The “Jalisco Flower” was terrible. I thought tequila and champagne sounded fun and exciting, however, it was disgusting. The other cocktails were tasty and everyone enjoyed sipping on them.

The dogs on the menu are much different than your standard ballpark dog. However, there are a few classic options for those less adventurous. The dogs that we ordered ranged from the bratwurst accompanied with sauerkraut, the croque madame (with beschamel, ham and a fried egg), and a banh-mi dog with pork sausage. We also settled on side choices of gouda waffle fries, sweet potato tots, and kale chips.

The sides came out first, and in retrospect, I think we would have been just fine if they stopped there. The gouda waffle fries were tasty and different, the sweet potato tots were lackluster, but the kale chips were a different story. I had a bite and was immediately hooked. The hints of lemon and garlic made this one crispy and delicious veggie to keep eating. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the kale chips (nearly) as much as I did. A few days later, I even had a dream about the kale chips. Seriously, these bad boys are that life changing.

The dogs arrived shortly thereafter, but the peak had already been reached. The buns are big and soft, and the dogs were a good size. My brat was tasty. I really enjoyed the crispiness of the sauerkraut. Sara enjoyed her banh mi with the pork sausage, but expressed that she wished it were made with a regular hot dog link instead. Our guest star had the Croque Madame, made no complaints, and said that he enjoyed the decadent dog.

Overall, Bowery is a breath of fresh air in a trendy-burger joint dominated Dallas. The dogs are interesting, and quite unique. If you are craving something easy, different, and decadent, then we suggest the journey. We both agreed that the kale chips and champagne cocktails would justify another trip to the joint. Until then, I will see you delicious morsels in my dreams…

Bowery Dallas

Sunday Funday at Sundown at the Granada

Sundown at the Granada had been on our Foodie Adventure list for a while and when a concert yielded a great opportunity to check it out, we couldn't resist! We got a cool table in a dark part of the restaurant and were greeted by a really friendly waitress. We were ready for Sunday Funday to begin! Upon perusing the drink menu, we were very excited to see that Sundown has Ginger Beer. Moscow Mules all around! 

After ordering our drinks, we started with the Stuffed Avocados because we had all heard how great they are. It comes with 3 stuffed avocado halves - an Italian one with sun-dried tomatoes, toasted almonds, basil, and shaved Parmesan; a Southwestern one with tomato, feta, black bean, sweet corn, hemp-seed, and agave; and a Waldorf one with grilled chicken, candied pecans, and blueberries. It also comes with little baby endive leaves so you can make tiny lettuce wraps with the different avocado stuffings. It's really fun and different - not to mention delicious! We all agreed that the Italian one was our favorite, but they were all good.

For our meals, our waitress recommended the flatbreads and a few other things, so we decided to take her up on her recommendations. Haley went with the The Hammered Goat flatbread. It came with drunken mushrooms, chevre, local honey, and white truffle oil. It was awesome...and huge! These flatbreads are enormous. You could definitely use these as an appetizer for a small group. 

I went with the Hail Caesar flatbread which came with sun-dried tomatoes, kale, shaved Parmesan  and lemon zest. I also added grilled chicken and got it on a gluten free crust. It was really interesting. I loved the kale and sun-dried tomatoes. The Caesar dressing was really overpowering, though. It was one of the few times I could actually taste the anchovy in the dressing which made it kind of fishy tasting. The GF crust was ok - not one of the best I've had but it's great that they have so many options for dietary restrictions.

Haley's boyfriend ordered the Surf and Turf which came with 10 oz. grass-fed sirloin, gulf shrimp, kale, and  sweet potato fries. The steak was super tender and flavorful and the shrimp were pretty good. Michael also really enjoyed the kale. But the most important thing...the sweet potato fries were awesome! Some of the best sweet potato fries we've had. Definitely order these!

We had a great time at Sundown and can't wait to go back for the newly formed brunch menu! It's not just a great place for a pre-show bite, it's really a great Dallas foodie destination. Be sure and check it out and let us know what you think!

http://sundownatgranada.com/

Ketchup Burger Bar: A Mediocre Attempt at a Stellar Burger

One of the latest foodie trends of the past year has been trendy burger joints. We can’t complain, it makes us feel a little better about craving a burger and fries, and where can you really go wrong? We bought a groupon for Ketchup Burger Bar in the Uptown area, and were excited to give it a try. We were looking forward to the outing since Ketchup uses fresh, organic ingredients, and the vast amount of ketchups seemed exciting.

We arrived on a nice day for lunch, and opted to sit on the patio. It wasn’t crowded during the mid-day work lunch hour, which was nice. Our waiter explained to us the concept of the restaurant after we told him we were newbies, and he went over all the different types of ketchups and the most popular burgers on the menu.  There are four different types of ketchup at “Ketchup” including the house, green tomato, chipotle, spiced, and if you feel so inclined your standard Heinz.  There are a lot of burger options and fries as well.

We started with a fry trio, of buffalo fries, sweet potato fries, and white truffle parmesan fries. Sara ordered the Blue burger, with gorgonzola, grilled red onion, arugula, tomatoes and mission fig spread. I opted for the Roadhouse, with bacon, mozzarella, onion, garlic mayo, and tomato. Both of the burgers came on brioche buns.

We started out munching on the fries. All three types we ordered were really tasty. The buffalo fries were super thin and crunchy, which were nice. The sweet potato fries were pretty standard, but enjoyable as well. The white truffle parmesan were pretty delicious as well. We were excited to try our burgers after enjoying all the fries.

Sadly, when eating our burgers we were quite disappointed. The brioche buns were soggy, and did not compliment the meat and toppings at all. The meat was just “okay”, and we both agreed we had enjoyed much better burgers elsewhere. Sara was taken aback about how strong the fig spread was on her burger, even over powering the gorgonzola. Overall, using a groupon and getting a good deal it was worth the trip. The fries were enjoyable, but we both agreed that with all of the new and exciting burger places around, we will not be returning.

Max's Wine Dive - Dallas' New Down Home/High Class Hot Spot

Not to be left out from the crowd, the Taste Buds hopped on the bandwagon and headed over to the West Village to check out the one of Dallas’ newest foodie hot spots. Only open for a short amount of time and yet crowded with people wanting to see what exactly a wine dive has to offer, Max’s Wine Dive was a bustling brunch destination. We were greeted by one of the nicest, most gentlemanly waiters we’ve had who made the experience that much more fun for us. We ordered our must-have mimosas and he actually suggested that we should take advantage of the discounted champagne during brunch hours and get the bottle – fresh squeezed orange juice was on him! Of course, we took his advice.

We perused the menu trying to decide what sounded best out of all the deliciously sounding entrees and were trying to narrow down between a couple of options. Haley was between the fried chicken and the flapjacks & wings. I noticed our neighbor had the flapjacks & wings so I politely asked him what he thought of his meal. He candidly told us that the wings were good but that the flapjacks were NOT. He even heard a couple a few tables over ask for a refund for the flapjacks. Apparently they had a strange flavor as if they were being cooked on a griddle that is also used for other food items. Grateful for the tip, Haley opted for the fried chicken. Haley’s “MAX’s Famous Southern Fried Chicken” had a jalapeño-buttermilk batter and was served with mashed potatoes, collard greens and Texas toast. She said the flavor was really good on the fried chicken, but the breading wasn’t super crispy like she likes. The chicken was super juicy though which was a nice surprise. The sides were good too, especially the mashed potatoes.

I settled on the “Crab Apple” Omelet with Texas blue crab, apple and arugula with jalapeño cheddar grits. My waiter suggested I have some habanero salsa to go with it. I also ordered a side of bacon – just for grins. My omelet was really moist and fluffy – one of the best executed omelets I’ve had. The salsa was very spicy, but did pair nicely. The jalapeño cheddar grits were seriously the creamiest grits I’ve ever had and had great flavor - I basically inhaled them. The bacon was normal, BUT our waiter let us in on a little secret. In about a month, once the kitchen gets its sea legs, Max’s Wine Dive will start making their own bacon in-house!! So excited for that.

As we were eating our brunch and sipping our mimosas, we couldn’t help but overhear a couple of more people complaining to their waiters about the bad flapjacks. We heard they had a weird spicy/savory flavor on them. Hopefully, Max’s has worked out the flapjack kinks since then. We would hate for something so simple to be such a hang up for them. All in all, we enjoyed our experience. It was fun to check out the new thing in Dallas and would happily go back for a few glasses of wine or a fun meal. With locations already in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, we are sure Max’s will be a great addition to Big D.

http://www.maxswinedive.com/index.php

Going Vegan: What in the Sea Nugget?

After eating heavy over Labor Day weekend, we sought out a light and healthy place to eat for our latest adventure. We had noticed a Vegan restaurant that opened up in a random strip center in Addison a few months back, so we decided it would be the perfect healthy adventure to explore. I looked up Loving Hut online before we went and noticed that it is actually an international chain. So, even though we were a bit skeptical, we decided to go for a full out Vegan adventure.

We arrived on a Thursday evening to a pretty empty restaurant. The restaurant is spacious and clean, and we noticed a buffet station that operates during the lunch hours. Sara and I looked over the menu, a bit unsure of what to order after seeing things like “soy protein” and “sea nuggets.” We asked the waitress what she recommended for Sara since she is gluten-free; she suggested a dish with either vegetables or sea nuggets. Sara was a bit hesitant to go for the sea nuggets, so we started out with some unique drinks and browsed the menu a bit longer.

Sara decided on the Shitake Bok Choy, stir-fried mushrooms and bok choy. I ordered the Spicy Cold Noodle, with carrots, cucumber, and tofu. I must admit that the pictures on this restaurant’s menu did not help to settle our skepticism. However, when we received our dishes we were pleasantly surprised to see that they looked much better than on the menu.

My dish came out first, and was a very generous portion. The noodles were tasty and the sauce was delicious, although I should have ordered very spicy instead of medium spicy. The carrots and the cucumbers added a great crunch to the dish, to balance the softness of the noodles and tofu. Overall, I was very pleased with the flavors of my dish.

Sara’s dish came out accompanied with brown rice. Again, the dish looked much better to the eye than on the menu. She stated that it was really good, that the sauce was very flavorful. I snuck a bite, and agreed it was flavor-packed. Sara (admittedly hungry) enjoyed her entire dish.

The great thing about eating at Loving Hut is you can really tell the ingredients are fresh and you don’t feel guilty after you clear your plate. We were very pleased that our skepticism of the menu was put to rest. However, I must mention I brought home a to-go order of Saigon Rolls for my boyfriend and they had sea nuggets in them. I had to find out what they tasted like. All I can say is they look like shrimp, but taste like imitation crab. All in all, Sara and I would be happy to go back to Loving Hut for a light and fresh meal. However, I foresee no sea nuggets in our future.

Loving Hut

Shinsei - KRLD Restaurant Week

For KRLD Restaurant Week, Haley and I thought long and hard about what new and adventurous foodie experience we wanted to have. Clearly, the ones that fill up in 24 hours (such as Abacus) were off the table, but we had always wanted to try Shinsei, especially after hearing so many local chef-lebrities speak so highly of it. We secured a reservation and immediately started stalking the internet for the RW menu. We always like to coordinate our courses and love checking out menus ahead of time.

We arrived and were greeted by our funny and quirky waitress. We perused the normal menu just to see what else we might be missing and I will say some of those sushi rolls looked awesome! For our first course, I had the Elvis’ Tuna Tartare (they have a sushi chef that is totally the Japanese version of Elvis!!) and Haley ordered the Coconut Chicken Jalapeño Poppers with Yellow Curry dipping sauce. My Tuna Tartare was awesome! It came on a bed of rice, on top of crispy wontons. I ate it like nachos. Something about it felt so rich and buttery – I loved it a lot.

Haley’s Coconut Chicken Jalapeño Poppers with Yellow Curry dipping sauce was very good as well. The poppers were wrapped in a Wonton wrapper instead of normal fry batter and the curry sauce was amazing. Haley said she would just drink the dipping sauce and used it as salad dressing on her accompanying mini salad.

For our main courses, I ordered the Seared Snapper with Asian Risotto and Soy-Brown Butter. It was literally the BEST fish dish I have ever had. The sauce was seriously mind blowing. The only disappointment was that this dish is not on the regular menu. What am I going to do?! Ugh, I am still thinking about that meal…

Haley ordered the Dean's Oooey Gooey Chicken with Creamy Scallion Whipped Potatoes. This dish is on the actual menu. Haley said the chicken was good – nothing too thrilling, but the sauce and mashed potatoes were amazing. There was some kind of flavor in the sauce that we couldn’t quite put our finger on but she loved it.

In addition to our RW main courses, we had to take the opportunity to try the fried rice we’ve been hearing so much about. We ordered it as an additional side (as if we didn’t have enough food) and couldn’t wait to see what all the buzz was about. At the time, we totally enjoyed the fried rice but weren’t exactly sure why it was so special. I mean it was great and tasted like it had really fresh, quality ingredients, but it was still fried rice. The next day, however we both confessed that we just couldn’t get that fried rice out of our minds. We think it might be one of those dishes that creeps up on you and becomes something you’ll crave periodically. We get it now!

Lastly, we tried to coordinate our desserts and order two different things, even though we both had our eye on the same one. I ordered the Gingersnap Banana Parfait. I heard our waitress telling someone else that it was the best dessert on the menu so I was preemptively excited. Once I dug in, it was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. Since I try to avoid gluten, I planned to only have a little of the dessert and avoid the cookies as much as possible. Yeah, right! I basically licked the dish clean. Sometimes, you just have to give in and it was TOTALLY worth it. It has Bruleed bananas, banana pudding, crumbled gingersnaps and more soft bananas at the bottom.

Haley ordered the Lynae's Famous Oatmeal Cookies because who doesn’t love a good oatmeal cookie! She got two and commented that they were lighter and fluffier than the normal dense oatmeal cookies we are used to. Definitely good, just not the best cookies ever. Haley enjoyed them and took one cookie and the leftover fried rice to go for later snacking.

Overall, we both loved Shinsei and want to go back. It’s pretty pricey though, so we may have to wait for a special occasion or a sudden surplus of disposable income. I think Shinsei just made it into my top 3 fine dining Dallas digs. Taste Buds <3 Restaurant Week.

http://shinseirestaurant.com/index.shtml