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Monday, June 14, 2010

Asia trip!!

Going to Asia (Shanghai, HK, Taiwan) tomorrow! Stayed tuned for an insane amount of food pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

BIG. FAT. (DELICIOUS). DONUTS.

I went to Austin this past weekend for my friend's bachelorette weekend. We went to Gourdough's for some late night snack.

Gourdough's
1219 South Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 607-6568
www.gourdoughs.com
Price: $

I had already looked at their website and I was excited and scared at the same time...haha. They looked absolutely SINFUL! Gourdough's works out of a trailer. It's in a lot with a few other trailers that sell other kinds of foods. The donuts are quite expensive but are pretty huge and decadent....there are sweet AND savory! They fry and make the donuts to order, so be prepared to wait at least 10-15 minutes or even more if they are busy.

We had 10 girls, but we only decided to get 3 since we were already so full and they are pretty big.

From left to right...we got: Flying Pig (bacon with maple syrup icing) $5.25~Black Out (brownie batter, fudge icing, chocolate covered brownie bites) $4.25~ Sailor Jerry (think rum cake covered with walnuts) $4.25~ Each donut is $4.25 and you have to add $1 if you get the meat ones. Pretty damn pricey....

The Flying Pig was pretty awesome. Lots of bacon, nice and crispy, the donut had a nice crispy shell as well. The sweet from the donut and maple icing with the salty bacon was such an amazing combination. OMG TASTY!!!! :D
Black Out was my favorite. It was AMAZING!!! I couldn't stop making my yummy noise as I ate it...haha. The brownie with the icing and the freshly fried donut.....I was in heaven....CHOCOLATE FRIED GOODNESS heaven!!! It had to be one of the best desserts I've EVER had!

Sailor Jerry was pretty good, but compared with the other two...it was just ok. I wish it had more rum flavor in it. Still very tasty, but its not as special and different as the other two.

I told all my friends that it was amazing, but I CANNOT ever go back....it's too dangerous for me to go back because I will want to eat EVERYTHING. hahaha. But definitely urge everyone to try it at least once and definitely get a savory AND a sweet one. But bring people to share it with! :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Best Cupcake in Dallas? :D

I think I've discovered the best cupcakes in Dallas...(so far...) :D

My bf and I stumbled upon this little cafe because we wanted to get some brunch but our original choice had an 1+ hour wait. I just googled for places to eat around Frisco and this came up. It sounded pretty cool.

5th Street Patio Cafe
8621 5th St # 100
Frisco, TX 75034
(972) 377-3483
http://www.5thstreetcafe.com/

Price: $

5th Street Patio Cafe is off of Main Street around downtown Frisco. It looks like a cute little renovated house. The place is pretty small but cute and quaint. It's a restaurant and bakery in one.

As soon as we walked in I saw cupcakes on display...I guess I'm gonna have to try it! The search for the best cupcake in Dallas must go on!

I ordered the Cajun Crawfish Scramble (eggs, sausage, crawfish, potatoes, with side of toast) $7.49~
This was really good. The portion size was pretty huge. (the picture shows only about 2/3 of it) There were lots of sausage and crawfish in the eggs. The potatoes were awesome! Nice crispy crust on the outside. :) The only thing I would suggest to them is to have a little bit more veggies or greens in there. Maybe some diced tomatoes or some spinach would make it even better!

My bf got the 5th Street Burger (with choice of side: slaw) $6.95~ The burger was really tall! My bf really liked it. The side of slaw definitely lighted the dish up and balanced out the giant burger.

Finally, the Red Velvet Cupcake $1.99~ I didn't know the price when we ordered it, so I went to ask the cashier and was shocked when she told me. $1.99 for a cupcake? in Dallas?? Wow...I didn't expect that at all. Most places charge at least $3...and they are usually dry and too sweet. The cupcake was nice and moist and the cream cheese icing was really good too. Plus the awesome price! This is my #1!! Hey Cupcake in Austin still my favorite...but in Dallas...this is the best one so far!!

What a great find! I will definitely be going back in the future! :D

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Birthday @ Zea Woodfire Grill

I'm such a big fan of all of Chef Kent Rathbun's restaurants: Abacus, Jaspers, Blue Plate Kitchen... When I found out earlier this year that he had bought out Zea Woodfire Grill, I knew I HAD to go! It's located on 121 and Tollway in Plano....sooo close to me! :)

Zea Woodfire Grill
8100 Dallas Pkwy # 115
Plano, TX 75024-4010
(972) 712-7077
www.kentrathbun.com/zea/plano/

Price: $$-$$$

I suggested it for my friend's birthday dinner. The place is pretty nice. I would say its along the level as far as decor and price range as Blue Plate Kitchen (my favorite restaurant in Dallas!!). The hostess and waitress were all really friendly.

Some people started off with appetizers (since the party was so big...I didn't get pics of everything :( oh well...)
Zea's Classic Spinach Dip (Crispy Tortillas, Homemade Salsa) $7.95~
It was pretty good, pretty generic as far as spinach dips go. Other people got the Crispy Duck Empanadas (Spicy Zydeco Dipping Sauce) $9.95~ and Thai Style Slow Cooked Ribs (Soy-sweet chile glaze, cilantro) $13.95~ The ribs were pretty awesome. Super moist and tender and great flavor! Sweet with a slight spicy kick. :) The appetizer portion comes with 6 ribs.

On to the entrees... Each entree comes with 1 choice of side. The sides are big enough to share. I wasn't too hungry so I decided to share with my sister. We ordered Zea's Signature Ribs (Memphis Dry Rub Style - half rack (6)) $16.95~ OMG...amazing ribs...soooo freaking juicy and tender. The rub on it was very flavorful. Although I would have to choose the thai style ribs over this one.

The birthday boy ordered the Hickory Grilled 12oz. Ribeye (Mushroom au Jus, Crispy Tobacco Onion Rings) $26.95~ The steak was cooked a perfect medium rare with great flavor. He was very pleased! :)

Another friend of mine ordered the Rotisserie Roasted Prime Rib (12oz., French Onion Jus, Horseradish Sour Cream) $19.95~ That was my other choice. My favorite cut of steak is the prime rib. Zea did not disappoint! The steak was cooked perfectly....sooo tender. And the size was really good for the price! Usually at nicer restaurants, steak is sooo expensive! Next time I want prime rib...I'm going to Zea's!

I also got to try a friend's Red Beans and Rice Platter (Crispy Fried Chicken Breast, Grilled Andouille Sausage) $13.95~ Their fried chicken is amazing! The chicken is all white meat and super juicy. The crust on the chicken was nice and crispy with great flavor. I would say this is the best value for the quantity in the entire menu. There was sooo much food and everything was yummy.

Some other entrees:
Hickory Grilled Atlantic Salmon (Balsamic glaze, grilled scallions) $19.95~

Zea Rotisserie Half Chicken (Country style, Garlic and Herbs) $13.95~



These are the sides we got. We put it all in the middle and everyone sampled! :)
Hand Cut Fries (Garlic Herb style, Tzatziki sauce - add $0.99) $3.95~
The fries were nice and crispy. The garlic herb seasoning was great! The tzatziki sauce was kind of weird though.

Collard Greens $2.95~ The collards were cooked with a bit of bacon flavor...it was pretty good, but I wish there were more bits of bacon in there. Roasted Corn Grits $2.95~ Awesomeness! Sweet from the corn and creamy and cheesy. Not as good as the cheesy grits from Blue Plate but good in its own way. I would definitely recommend this if you like corn and/or grits! Buttered Sweet Potatoes $2.95~ I love sweet potato....this was nice and sweet. A good side pairing for all the entrees we had.
Time for the desserts! The birthday boy chose the Devils Chocolate Cake (with a glass of milk) $5~ on the house! The presentation was really cute. It comes with a glass of milk! What a great idea! However, the cake was a little dry. The frosting was pretty good though. The milk definitely helped wash everything down, just wish the glass of milk was bigger! haha. On the whole I was disappointed since it LOOKED so good.

I got the Sweet Potato Bread Pudding $5~ It was pretty massive. Cut out like a piece of cake. The bread pudding was very good. It was dense...just how I like it! :)

Another friend ordered the Banana Pudding Parfait $5~ It looked so pretty in the martini glass. The pudding was really good with slices of bananas and crumbled wafers in there. Tasty!!

When the time came to pay, the waitress impressed me. We had a large group and I told her that we'll need separate checks. She was like "No problem! How do you wanna do it?" I said whatever's most convenient for her. She said "whatever you want me to do I can do it." Hellz Yea!! That's how all restaurants SHOULD be! We had people ordering cocktails, people sharing, and people paying for other people...it was kinda confusing. She split all the checks correctly and with no fussing. MAD points for her!! All restaurants should take notes!! (and get updated
systems to actually split checks!)

It was a great dinner! Good food, good friends, great service. I'm soo happy it's so close to my house! :) I will definitely be going back in the future! The prices are affordable and the food is great, I definitely recommend everyone to check it out!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Sunday, June 6, 2010

H/G Weekend: Day 3: Dessert

**Update 1.1.11**
I think King's Noodle in Dallas has this now. I have yet to try it. I'll be sure to blog about it whenever I go...

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Last day in Houston....we went for some dessert after dim sum. My friend highly recommended Juice Box on Bellaire Blvd. It was packed! The ice cream place next door didn't have much business...

Juice Box
9889 Bellaire Boulevard
Houston, TX 77036
(360) 490-3875
Price: $

We got 2 to share between 3 people...MORE than enough to go around! Chocolate Strawberry Banana (with Chocolate ice cream) $5.50~

and Mixed Fruit (Pineapple, Strawberry, Watermelon, minus the Mango...cuz i'm allergic :( , with Strawberry ice cream) $5.50~ It's basically shaved ice with condensed milk, fresh fruit, and a scoop of ice cream. I don't think we have anything like this in Dallas...if we do, I have not heard of it. I'm usually not a fan of shaved ice just because of all the "asian" toppings but I do love condensed milk and ice cream! The combination is really good! The cold flaky ice with creamy milk and ice cream and really fresh fruit...kinda makes me think its healthier because there's so much fruit! haha. So simple...what a great concept!

If you are in the area, definitely go check it out. Everyone goes there....it's always packed!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

H/G Weekend: Day 2: Lunch 2

We had to go to Galveston for a wedding. A friend of mine HIGHLY recommended we hit up Mosquito Cafe when we were down there. She said she HAS to go there whenever she goes to Galveston. So we went after lunch in Houston, for a second lunch. haha.

Mosquito Cafe
628 14th Street
Galveston, TX 77550
(409) 763-1010
http://www.mosquitocafe.com/
Price: $-$$ (for lunch)

The cafe was quite interesting, the exterior was not what we were expecting. Inside, you order at the counter and they call you to pick up your order.

We weren't too hungry so we shared the Salmon Club Sandwich (Grilled fresh filet on toasted honey wheat bread with Hickory smoked peppered bacon, balsamic onions, Chipotle Mayonnaise and House Greens with choice of side: Potato Salad) $10.55~
We thought the price was kinda high for a sandwich, but after seeing it I understood why. It was a very impressive sandwich. I would say the salmon was at least 7-8 ounces, which most other restaurants don't even give you that much fish when you order salmon. The salmon was an inch thick, covered with multiple slices of thick cut bacon. It looked SOOO good. The taste matched the look...it exceeded my expectations. Great flavor, lots of different textures, the fish was cooked nicely, and all the flavors worked perfectly together. I would have this all the time if I could.... And the potato salad was a great choice. It was pretty awesome. One of the best potato salads I've had. It also worked deliciously with the sandwich. Now I know why it came sooo highly recommended!! :)

I read reviews raving about their Zucchini Spice Cake (3 layered spice cake with cream cheese frosting) $4.50~ So of course I had to get it.
The portion was HUGE! Just like the sandwich. Triple layer cake with cream cheese icing. Super moist, you can see the zucchini, and awesome icing. Really great cake! :)
I will completely agree with all the reviews I read. I would totally go back if I went back to Galveston and I highly recommend everyone to check it out!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

H/G Weekend: Day 2: Lunch 1

Day 2 in Houston...

Field of Greens
2320 West Alabama Street
Houston, TX 77098
(713) 533-0029
http://www.fieldofgreenshouston.com/

Price: $

I found Field of Greens on Yelp.
It got pretty good reviews and they offered a wide selection of healthy dishes. I'm always interested in trying new "healthier" options. Plus I already knew this was going to be a weekend of EATING, so I wanted to be healthier wherever I could.

The place didn't look that great walking in...I think it made us have second thoughts. But still decided to give it a shot. You order at the counter, and pick up later at the counter...pretty much nonexistent service.

This was lunch #1. haha... So my bf and I decided to share an order. We got the Falafel Burger (Crispy falafel patty topped with miso dressing on lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, mayo and sprouts) (low fat) $8.50~ It normally comes with fries and I asked if we could substitute sweet potato fries... She charged us an additional $1.50~ GEEZUS! That made it pretty overpriced for a vegetarian burger with side...but oh well, I really wanted sweet potato fries.

The burger was a pretty good size, nice and thick. I liked it but have to agree with my bf that it was a little bland and a little dry. I think if they had put more seasoning on the patty and added more dressing or mayo then it would've been a really good burger. I added some ketchup and sriracha on it and made it better! :P Not really worth the price I say... However, I did not regret paying the additional money for the fries...they were pretty awesome! My favorite sweet potato fries are from Village Burger Bar and I think this gives it a run for its money!

Overall, I liked the concept and selections on their menu, just needed a few tweaks here and there. I wish we had something like this in Dallas that offered healthy food options. If you are a health nut in Houston, I'd give this place a shot!

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