Bishop Arts District: Stock & Barrel

Christmas in July, y'all!! Well, it WAS anyways. hehe. Bishop Arts District had their Christmas in July event last weekend. I've never been so I wanted to check it out this time. Plus Emporium Pies was selling some of their seasonal flavors! The best pies ever!!

We arrived at Bishop Arts around 7:30PM. The place was booming with people. There were lots of activities, events, and live music around. And it was snowing! Well, more like bubbles but still, makes it more festive. hehe. We hit up a few shops, got some ice cream, my friend brought his growler and got that filled up at the Bishop Cider Company. Then we got in line for Emporium Pies. The line was freaking long! (We waited almost an hour...) Their Buttermilk Chai is awesome. Worth the wait! 

While waiting, we decided to check a few restaurants in the area to see if we can get in for a late dinner. I called around several places and they all had a long wait or was already closed. So we decided to order food to go.

Stock & Barrel
316 W Davis St.
Dallas, TX 75208
(214) 888-0150
http://stockandbarreldallas.com
Price: $$$-$$$$

We decided on Stock & Barrel. I've heard their brunch is really good. And also their Brussels Sprouts. Sold! haha. Turns out they have a few Brussels sprouts items on the menu. That's pretty awesome. So I made the order, and they said it would take like 45 minutes... wow.. really? At this point we were inside the pie shop. I guess we can just go around the area and kill some time before picking up the order.

After we got our pies. We stopped by La Original Michoacana to get some ice cream to go. We love this place, and that was their last weekend in business. :( However, for some weird reason, they decided to close an hour early that night. So we were 5 minutes too late. (This was 9pm.) Boooo... we were sad. Not only did we not get any ice cream, the guy inside the shop waved us away very rudely. It made me a little angry. He waved us off like annoying flies or something, didn't have a very nice expression on his face. WTF! I guess I don't care if I support your last weekend in business. My friend saw it too and he wasn't too happy either.:(

Anyhoo, we made our way to Stock & Barrel. We actually saw some seats open in there so we asked if we could take our to-go order and eat it inside. The waiter was super nice and went to go check with the kitchen. He came back and said they had already packed it up. But then he talked to the bar and kitchen again and they said we can sit at the bar. They were going to unbox all the food and plate it nicely for us. Wow, we really appreciated that! And I got to take pictures of the food with actual presentation. Yay! :)

My friend got the Shaved Brussels (currants, bacon, goat cheese, pine nut vinaigrette) $10~ 

I think he didn't read carefully when we were making the order because he was expecting roasted brussels sprouts. haha. But it was still good. For me, I don't like goat cheese, but if I eat it without the cheese, it was light and refreshing.

He also got the Wagyu Brisket Burger (smoked bacon, cheddars and tomato jam) $14~ 

It. Looked. Awesome. And he said it was delicious. He also said he was glad we got to eat at the restaurant because after the 40 min drive home, the burger would've been mushy. The fries were pretty good too. I'll have to try this next time.

My fiance and I shared since it was pretty late and I didn't want to eat too much. He wanted the Wagyu Meatloaf (smoked bacon and melted onion hash) $19~ 

It's definitely not your momma's meatloaf. He was expecting a traditional, homey meatloaf and this is definitely not traditional. haha. It threw him off a little. Me, on the other hand, had no expectations, so I loved it. The meatloaf could be a tad more moist but it had sooo much flavor. It also had a spicy kick to it. I liked, he doesn't, cuz he doesn't eat spicy. That sauce on top was great, and the hash underneath was also super flavorful. I loved the combination of the textures between the hash and the meatloaf. I'd recommend it, just don't expect it to be like your mom's or grandmother's. :P

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts (cilantro, scallions, sweet chili) $9~ 

And of course we got the brussels sprouts. It was nicely charred. But I thought it was a little too sweet. And it had a kick to it too, especially on the bottom where the sweet chili sauce had collected. Again, too spicy for my fiance... poor guy. But it wasn't too spicy for me. I feel like more and more places are making their food with a little spicy, but no one is indicating it on the menus. It's tough for someone who doesn't eat spicy...

My friend and I enjoyed the food. And the waiters and bartenders were super nice. The bartender was explaining the food to a lady next to us and you can tell he's really passionate about their dishes. I like that. The employees need to like what the restaurant is serving. :) I'm glad we ate there too. I like the ambiance of eating in a restaurant, and the food was fresher. I will be back here for brunch in the future.

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~