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 ~~