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About 2 weeks ago, I met up with a couple of friends for brunch. We're all huge foodies... but just too busy to meet up all the time. :( I suggested Proof + Pantry because I recently reposted an amazing picture of their French Toast on @bestfooddallas. I really wanted to try it. haha. Luckily, they haven't been either so it's going to be a new experience for all of us!
Proof + Pantry
1722 Routh St.
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 880-9940
http://www.proofandpantry.com/
Price (for brunch): $$-$$$
It's located in One Arts Plaza. This is a cool little area by the Winspear but it doesn't seem to hold on to it's businesses. :( The last time I was here, it was the Commissary. Then it turned into a Greek restaurant or something before Proof + Pantry.
It's a cute place. Shelves full of stuff, which I guess is the "pantry" part, a full bar, and that day there was a live DJ playing music. My friends were already there when I arrived. They were lucky and found free street parking. I parked in the lot behind the plaza for $5, I didn't want to mess with parallel parking in the street. I'd be there all day! XP I was quickly greeted by our waiter and he brought me a water.
The brunch menu is fairly small, which is not a bad thing. This gives us less temptations to order more stuff. haha. We decided to do family style.
Benedict (pork belly, spinach, English muffin) $15~
This was really good. The pork belly was thick cut and seared well. The poached eggs were nice and runny. And those potatoes were so crisp, it really added a nice texture to compliment the benedict. I'd have to say this was my favorite. I ate one by myself. :P haha.
Dutch Cakes (Jarlsburg cheese, maple syrup) $14~
I saw a couple other tables with this and it was massive (see fork for size reference). The addition of the Jarlsburg cheese was quite interesting, although it seems like it was concentrated in the middle of the cakes... they should spread it out more. But the cakes were only slightly sweet, and the cheese added a savory factor. I really liked it. The maple syrup added more sweetness which worked well with everything. It was so big, we had half left over. I took it home to my fiance. He...did not like it. :( Because it was less sweet and more savory. You really need to like that combo to order this. Needless to say, I ate all the leftovers myself. OH well! :P
Stuffed French Toast (candied apples, mascarpone, maple syrup) $14~
The French toast wasn't what the menu described. The cream in the middle also had a savoriness to it and it wasn't apple. It was like strawberry cream cheese or something... I liked it, but it was my least favorite dish of the meal. I wish they had more cream in the middle or something. The savoriness was nice... but it would've been good to just have a normal sweet French toast too.
We all enjoyed the meal. I ate the most... what else is new. haha. Our waiter was super nice and quite fun too. Every time he came around to check on us, he told us a joke. Some were quite good actually! It was an interesting twist to the normal "coming by to see what you need" thing. The jokes made us laugh and made the experience better. I'd recommend this place. But only if you are ready for some interesting flavors in your sweet dishes. hehe.
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I wanted to let you all know that I've recently been selected by MyFab5 as one of their 3 Community Leaders to represent their Instagram @bestfooddallas. Eeeeks! I'm so excited. The 3 of us basically take control of their Instagram account every week and share with the Dallas community what awesome places are in town to eat! So if you have Instagram, follow @bestfooddallas! And @chompdallas if you haven't already. :P You'll get to see my daily food (and other life... but mostly food) adventures. :)
Once the 3 Community Leaders were chosen and introduced to each other, we decided to meet up in person for fooding and meet-and-greet. Now, who doesn't like brunch?! We decided to meet at Lark on the Park for Saturday brunch. 2 of us had never been but was on our list to try.
Lark on the Park
2015 Woodall Rodgers Fwy.
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 855-5275
http://larkonthepark.com/
Price (for brunch): $$
I had made a reservation online for noon. We were seated immediately once we arrived. Parking is pretty sparse over by Klyde Warren Park, so I suggest you do the complimentary valet at the garage right next to the restaurant.
I liked the space inside, it was bigger than I expected. High ceilings allowed the place to look brighter. It's also go big windows facing the park so you can enjoy the view.
We all kinda thought it was going to be awkward since none of us knew each other. But it wasn't at all. Food brings everyone together so we had a good base set already. It was just like having lunch with friends. We got to know each other, shared our favorite places to eat, etc. It was a lot of fun!
I chose the Asparagus Tart (fromage blanc, gruyere, prosciutto di parma, fried egg) $14~ It was a good portion size. I really enjoyed it. The tart was nice and flaky. It had a lot of flavor and I loved the prosciutto and fried egg on top. It was definitely filling without pushing me over the edge.
Smoked Salmon & Pumpernickel (salmon roe, cream cheese, cucumber, capers, tomato, red onion) $13~ (top right)
Fried Egg Sandwich (bacon, gruyere, toasted sourdough, arugula, fried potatoes) $12~ (bottom left) This was a huge sandwich! I got to try some of the potatoes. They were fried really well and yummy!
We had a great time. Hopefully we'll have another outing soon! :)
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We were running around town one day and decided to swing by Shiawase in Allen. We rarely make it to that part of town since it's quite far. But I've heard nothing but good things about this place.
Shiawase
2540 N. Watters Rd. #100
Allen, TX 75013
(214) 383-4462
http://shiawaserestaurant.com/
Price: $$-$$$
Apparently the original owners of Densetsu in Plano, which is one of our favorite sushi spots, so we had high hopes. We got there pretty late (after 1pm) and the place was pretty empty. It's way bigger than Densetsu.
We were seated immediately but took a while for someone to come and take our drink orders... Keeping in mind that they have gigantic sushi rolls like Densetsu, we tried to keep the order small. hehe.
Hiyayako (organic Japanese tofu served with green onion, seaweed, fish flake, and ponzu sauce) $6.25~ Pretty good. The tofu was silky and soft. Nothing super amazing though. I do still prefer the fried Agedashi tofu in general. hehe.
House Green Salad (spring mix salad with tomato, cucumber, carrot; served with house dressing) $4.50~ I always like to have some veggies with every meal. I liked their dressing a lot.
Shooting Star (ahi tuna, salmon, yellowtail, crab meat, avocado inside; topped with smelt egg; served with Japanese mustard sauce) $14.95~
These rolls were ginormous!! Definitely a 3-4 biter. Wow... and LOADED with sashimi. Everything was fresh, they definitely didn't skimp on the seafood. Deeelicious. I liked the added flavor of the mustard sauce as well.
Fashion Show (California roll topped with ahi tuna, salmon, yellowtail, albacore, shrimp, smelt egg, spicy tuna, spicy scallop; served with yuzu and sweet eel sauce) $15.95~
This is probably one of the prettiest rolls I've ever seen in my life. Each of the rolls is topped with a different kind of fish (or seafood). It's just so beautiful! And it's about 2 whole pieces of sashimi on top of EACH roll. OMG! Soooo worth the money. Goodbye Rainbow Roll, this is now my favorite. haha.
It was a great lunch. Shiawase definitely delivered on the food. And I don't believe Densetsu has some of these rolls so we'll definitely have to come back. And we were stuffed! NOMS!
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Aside from our EPIC feasting at the Austin Food + Wine Festival at the end of April. We also had regular meals and snacks! Duh! :P
My fiance really wanted to try Gourdough's. Last time in Austin we went to their restaurant and it was awesome. But the original is still their trailer with made-to-order donuts.
Gourdough's
1503 S 1st St.
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 707-1050
http://gourdoughs.com/
Price: $
Like I said, it's sold out of a trailer, so all the seating is outdoors. So on a day like we went... 90+ degrees, it got hot quick! We ate a few bites and took the rest to go.
Naughty and Nice (rolled in cinnamon and sugar; served with honey butter) $4.75~ I tried to go a little "lighter" with this one since all their other ones are usually piled high with stuff. NOt sure if I succeeded since we poured honey butter on top. haha. They still have the best donuts. First of all, gigantic! And always warm and fluffy and fresh. And the dough is just the perfect texture.
Black Out (chocolate icing, brownie batter filling, brownie bites, with chocolate chips) $4.75~ My fiance wanted one with chocolate so I recommended this one. I had it over 10 years ago and I still dream about it. It is insane!! Talk about getting chocolate wasted!! It's phenomenal. Be sure you get a large glass of milk or something. It's over the top and glorious.
Needless to say, we did not finish these. haha. Gourdough's - 1, Us - 0. It lasted us a good 2 more days. Serious noms! If you haven't been there in Austin, I dunno where you've been. Definitely my favorite donuts ever!
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On the drive back towards Dallas, I realized that Baked by Amy's was a short detour from our route. Remember at the Austin Food + Wine Festival, they had given me a pair of coupons for free baked goods? Well... they ain't going to waste! :P
Baked by Amy's
13265 N Hwy 183
Austin, TX 78750
(512) 918-2253
http://www.bakedbyamys.com/
Price: $
The coupons were for a cupcake or bar from Amy's. We each chose a cupcake. Mexican Vanilla (left), Oreo (right)
They were pretty huge. Everything in there looked amazing. Too bad they were still baking the macarons when we were there otherwise we would've gotten some of those too. But yay to free food! Thanks Baked by Amy's!!! They made it all the way back to Dallas with us. We cracked them open that night. Nommy!!
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My friends had a baby shower at DaLat mid last month. (She just gave birth last week! Congrats to them!) The owner of DaLat is one of their relatives so he hosted/catered. Which is awesome because I finally get to try some ZaLat pizza!
ZaLat
2519 N. Fitzhugh Avenue
Dallas, TX 75204
(469) 573-2007 (Text for orders)
https://www.zalatpizza.com/
Price: $$-$$$
So... same owner, obviously. ZaLat is his latest venture, just next door to DaLat. It's a take-out or delivery only pizza joint. But if you want to take it over to DaLat and enjoy it with some drinks, you can do that too. It is open daily from 4PM to 4AM. You text your orders to them along with the payment and then get ready for some amazing pizzas!!
Check out their website before you order. They have a template on how you should structure your text order for maximum efficiency!
I liked the food at the baby shower so much I decided to order a pizza of my own and take it home to my fiance. (He had to work that weekend. booo.)
Reuben (corned beef, salami, sauerkraut, mozzarella, swiss cheese, chives, thousand island sauce) 18" $18.99~
I've heard this is a very popular choice. I was able to get the last slice at the baby shower. It was already cold by then but still really good. It didn't take long at all before they texted me back to say the order is ready. OMG... the pizza smelled FREAKING amazing! I had to take a bite before I drove home. haha. Sooooooo good. And so different than any other pizza I've had. The crust had great texture. The toppings were well distributed on the pie. And my fiance loved it. I only ate a slice and he ate the rest. hahaha.
I need to go back and try some other ones. They have an "Elotes" pizza that's not on the menu! Doesn't that sound fantastic?!?!? GO GET YOU SOME!
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