Hypnotic Emporium

Our 2nd dessert stop was Hypnotic Emporium. I've been dying to go here forever! I'm finally close enough to stop by. It's a cute shop right next to their donut shop by White Rock Lake. The front of the store is a old school candy shop with all different types of treats you may not find in a typical store. I went straight to the back tho, to where the ice cream/soda shop is. They don't have much seating, just FYI.

Hypnotic Emporium
9005 Garland Rd #150
Dallas, TX 75218
(214) 354-3414
www.hypnoticemporium.com
Price: $

They use ice creams from Beth Marie's which is a shop in Denton that makes some amazing flavors. Their ice cream is classified as "premium quality" which means more butterfat (14% to be exact), which makes it more rich and creamy. They have some interesting flavors such as Jack & Coke, and Bee's Knees which is honey lavender.

 

I'm here for only one reason. Well... two. 1) to treat the birthday boy to a dessert of his choice, 2) to try their donut ice cream sandwiches. No one wanted to share, so I had to get my own. I was pretty full already but since I'm here, I gotta get it.

Dream (Donut Ice Cream Sandwich) $6~
After sampling a ton of flavors, I decided on half Lemon Drop, half Banana Cream Pie. 

 

The Banana Cream Pie was everyone's favorite flavor. One friend got 2 scoops of it in a waffle cone. And the bday boy got it too. It was so good I got a pint to go before we left to take home to my husband. The donut sandwich was yummy. Too bad I was so full, I couldn't finish. :( I can't eat like I used to. Damn you, low metabolism!! The donut is unglazed and warmed when served. I really liked it. The donut was fluffy and I liked it unglazed. Glazed would've been too sweet and just a mess to eat. This way I could pick it up with my hands and not be too sticky. I was a little confused when they gave me the sandwich tho, they never asked me if I wanted toppings. So I assumed they were extra... but when I got one for the bday boy, they asked him what he wanted. Oh well, this time around, I probably couldn't have taken any additional food anyways. haha.

The bday boy got the same thing. Dream $6~ (All Banana Cream Pie ice cream and loaded with all the toppings: whipped cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, strawberry sauce, peanuts, pecans, sprinkles, waffle cone crumble topped with a marachino cherry). 

Damns! You couldn't even tell what was under there after they put all the toppings on. You definitely can't pick that up with your hands! haha. It was a big ol' mess to eat, but he ate it all. He also ate the 2nd scoop and waffle cone from my other friend. This boy can put down the sugar for sure.

A little pricey but it is more of a novelty and they use really good quality ice cream. And I think I like donut ice cream sandwiches better than cookie ice cream sandwiches. It's a little less sweet and much easier to eat! I'll go back next time when I have someone to share with!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Cow Tipping Creamery

*EDIT*
They now have donut cones!! Whoa. I've gotta go check it out some time. If you've already tried it, I'd love to hear your feedback! :)

Photo cred: Cow Tipping Creamery

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I've been wanting to go check out Cow Tipping Creamery since they opened. I've seen a million pictures of their epic soft serve stacks on Instagram and people telling me how awesome it was. It just so happens that it was next to our dinner spot one night. (20 Feet Seafood joint was bomb btw!) It might've played a big role on the final decision on the dinner location. haha.

Cow Tipping Creamery
1146 Peavy Rd.
Dallas, TX 75218
(512) 538-4039
www.cowtippingcreamery.com
Price: $

We were going to 2 different dessert locations that night. Cow Tipping Creamery was first. It's inside the same shop as Good 2 Go Taco, so look for that. I can see how some people said the seating is limited since they share a space, but Good 2 Go Taco closes by 3PM so the seating opens up for the afternoon/night customers. I like their chalkboard menu.

They're most known for their Stackers. Which is just soft serve flavor of your choice layered with different toppings and sauces so you get something in every bite. Why other people don't understand this concept of layering is beyond me. I remember once asking a girl at Red Mango to layer my toppings with my froyo and she gave me a confused look. Who wants to only eat toppings and then run out when you hit the actual ice cream/soft serve/froyo?!?!

They feature 3 different flavors each day and it changes, I'm not sure how often. That night the flavors were Triple Vanilla Bean, Milky Chocolate, and Peanut Butter. You can pick one of their suggested Stacker combos or make your own.

I needed to pace myself since we have another location to go to. So I just ate off some of my other friends' orders. A few bites here and there.

The birthday boy chose Gimme S'more (soft serve of choice, hand-toasted marshmallows, semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips, molasses graham crumb, dark chocolate sauce) 8oz. $6~

He chose the Milk Chocolate soft serve since he absolutely loves chocolate. Their Stackers definitely are pretty epic looking. It's basically double the height of the cups they're in. They melt pretty quickly too, so eat fast or it'll be all over the table, or you! haha. This was pretty good. He doesn't really like marshmallows so I ate all of them. I felt like most of them weren't really toasted tho. There was a ton of chocolate chips. I feel like that's all we were eating towards the end. Overall it was good, but wasn't anything spectacular.

CTC Banana Split (soft serve of choice, caramelized bananas, macerated strawberries, honey dusted pecans, rummy caramel, brown sugar hot fudge) 8oz. $6~ 

They chose the Triple Vanilla Bean soft serve. A few people ordered this together. They really liked it. I thought it was good, but never got the banana in any of my bites. My favorite part was the honey dusted pecans because it added texture. This one wasn't overly sweet so that was good. I still prefer ice cream over soft serve. I think if all of these were done with ice cream, I'd love it more. haha.

A friend did the Make Your Own - You start with 1 soft serve, 1 sauce, 2 toppings and any additional is extra cost I guess.
Peanut Butter Soft Serve (with nutella sauce, caramelized bananas, toasted almonds, and triple fudge brownie chunks) 8oz. 

I liked his best. I think cuz the peanut butter soft serve was delicious. Although... I would've preferred fresh banana slices over the caramelized ones.. I think it's a texture thing. The peanut butter soft serve was my favorite flavor of the night. It wasn't super sweet and was really nutty. It actually reminded me of peanut butter flavors from Asia, where it just tastes like the actual nut (less sugar taste). His was falling over! Gotta eat fast. haha.

Everyone enjoyed it. I liked it well enough but probably won't go out of my way to get it. I rarely go to this area. I do, however, want to try their Earl Grey soft serve flavor. So whenever they have that next, I'll have to venture out there. And my favorite part about their concept is the layering. All other soft serve/ice cream shops... take note!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

20 Feet Seafood Joint

I met up with some friends one Friday for dinner and desserts. One of my friends celebrated his birthday the previous weekend but I missed it, so this was like a make up bday dinner. I offered up several suggestions but no one really made a decision so I put my foot down and chose 20 Feet Seafood Joint. It's been on my radar for a long time but I'm just never in that area. But since the dessert place(s) we were going to were nearby, I get to try it finally! Yay!

20 Feet Seafood Joint
1160 Peavy Rd.
Dallas, TX 75218
(972) 707-7442
http://20-feet.com
Price: $$-$$$

The place is super casual. You order at the counter and then look for a table. They bring the food out to you. I snagged a table as I was waiting for my friends to show up. The place was about 50% full when I got there and continued to fill up. I'm glad I grabbed a table. Once everyone arrived we lined up to order. Everyone at the restaurant is really nice, from my interaction with them before I got the table to ordering, and they came by to check on us during our meal.

I had a few choices in mind but opted for the Grilled Bay of Fundy Salmon (udon noodle salad, baby spinach, peanut sauce) $16~ 

I wanted the Shrimp & Grits... but wasn't very hungry and thought the grits would be a little too heavy. I loved this dish. I asked them to make my salmon medium and it was perfect! I have to say I don't get salmon this well cooked at some fancier seafood places! So tender and flavorful. I loved the combo with the peanut sauce and udon. It was very interesting and satisfying. Just FYI, this is a cold dish. The fish is warm but everything else is cold... basically a noodle salad. I thought it was interesting that they had lots of Asian influences at a seafood joint.

Pork Ramen Noodles $12~ 

Speaking of Asian influences... they straight up had a ramen dish. What??? Ramen? At a seafood restaurant? Why not. haha. 2 of my friends got it. They both really enjoyed it. The egg and pork belly were ON POINT. That thick cut pork belly was delicious. My friend said their noodles and broth needed a little work. I tried the noodles and they were just a tad over cooked. Didn't have that chewiness that ramen noodles needed. I didn't try the broth though.

Lobster Roll $19~ 

The bday boy wanted to try the lobster roll. It came loaded with large chunks of lobster so that was good. And the lobster was fresh and cooked well. But the entire thing was pretty small...like the length of a hot dog bun. I've never been a huge fan of lobster rolls and find them insanely expensive. But he enjoyed it, so that's all that matters. But then he also had to order another dish to fill him up..

Fried Bluepoint Oyster Po-Boy $10~ 

2 people got this, including the bday boy. I tried a bite of the fried oyster. It was really good. And I'm not an oyster fan. I liked the flavor better than the lobster roll.

Fish & Chips $14~ 

I love me some fish and chips. This was really good. The fish was tender and flaky and thick. The batter was also great. Just the right amount of fry. And the fries are amazing.

20 Feet French Fries $4~ 

Their fries... OMG, their fries. Sooooo freaking good. It was just fried perfectly. AND seasoned perfectly. I love the addition of the rosemary. I would go back just for the fries... no joke.

It was a great dinner. Everyone loved it and thanked me for the recommendation. None of us had ever been there before. Hopefully we'll go back soon. We were all full and satisfied. And now it's time to hit up some dessert spots! :P

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~