Did you know that Tommy Bahama has restaurants?? All I've ever known of the Tommy Bahama brand are those really festive, colorful, tropical shirts. Well... they DO have restaurants, and we got one this year at Legacy West in Plano. And you know what? The food is good!!
Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar - Legacy West
7501 Windrose Ave.
Plano, TX 75024
(214) 501-3600
www.tommybahama.com/restaurants/plano
Price: $$$+
I was invited to go check it out. Excited! I went on a Saturday for lunch with a friend. The last time I had seen the space, it was still under construction. Now it's got the retail store, with the restaurant, with a HUGE covered patio next to it. And it was a beautiful day. We opted to sit inside because there were less people. The inside decor was very tropical. It felt like you were at a resort, on vacation, and I liked that very much.
Our waiter was pretty awesome and took great care of us from the beginning. He went over the cocktail menu with us. Neither of us really drink much alcohol so he was giving us recommendations.
I really liked that they had a mocktail section called "Zero Proof" for people like me who want pretty drinks but none of the alcohol. :P I chose Blue My Mind (muddled blueberries, passion fruit, scratch lemonade) $6~
It was very pretty. The yellow of the passion fruit was super bright and fun. It was a bit more tart than I would've liked, but then again, I can't take a whole lot of sour. I wished the blueberries were more muddled like in the description. They were mainly whole. But were very pretty in the drink, and were nice and plump.
My friend got the Handcrafted Pina Colada (bacardi, muddled pineapple, coconut, gosling's black seal float) $10.50~ She wanted something pretty sweet, and pretty. And this fit the bill. It was very good. It made you feel like you were sitting on the beach.
Our waiter also explained the whole menu to us. While he said everything is delicious, he pointed out some of their most popular items.
World Famous Coconut Shrimp (papaya-mango chutney) 4 pieces $11.50~
There's a bigger size to this.. I don't remember if it was 6 or 8 pieces, but that's $16.50~ I did notice that that prices for dishes here are a bit high, at least in my opinion, but they also have the same menu for lunch and dinner so it's gonna seem a bit more steep for lunch. The shrimp was fantastically fried. The fried coconut was very crispy and the shrimp was tender. I would totally eat it again. But the dish was a bit expensive for the amount.
Bread (cinnamon butter). I always love it when restaurants give bread. Their bread was a funny shape. Hehe. Yes, I'm being immature. But it was yummy. Warm and fluffy on the inside, it paired really well with the whipped cinnamon butter.
For our entrees we decided to get a sampling of different things. Land and sea... and sandwich. haha.
Cuban Sandwich (house roasted pork, ham, gruyere, pickles, sriracha mustard, jerk yucca fries) $13.50~
I love Cubans. At first glance, this looked a little sad.. the half on top kind of drooped over the bottom half. However, it is delicious! The bread was also pressed nicely. I think the bread was just a bit thin that's why it draped over the other half. Loved the pickles in there. The meats were tender. The yucca fries were fried nicely. They were dense though, so I couldn't eat too many. Yucca is a very dense and starchy root vegetable. The slaw was good. Not overly dressed and nice and crunchy. But I feel like they use this as a default side to everything. Would've been nice to have had different dishes along with different sides. The slaw was on every dish, including the appetizer...
Kona Longboard Fish & Chips (fresh catch, island tartar, jerk yucca fries) $22~
I love fish and chips. In their case, the chips were actually yucca fries. I wish we had subbed one of the yucca fries for something else. It was definitely too much! The fish was SO fluffy on the inside and the tempura batter was nice and airy and thin. It was a good fried fish. And I love tartar sauce. Gimme a jug and I'm happy. :P
Grilled Baby Back Pork Ribs (sweet & spicy blackberry brandy BBQ, island slaw, cauliflower-potato mash) Half Rack $19.50~
I'm so glad we got this. I was debating between the fish and chips and this. Smart that we got both. haha. The blackberry brandy BBQ sauce was oh so good. The meat on the ribs was super tender. I actually think this was my favorite out of the entrees!
We made sure to save a little room for dessert this time. Since they had the dessert display front and center when I first walked into the dining room. Their desserts were huge!! But our waiter told us that we can actually get half portions for everything, except the pineapple creme brulee. I really appreciate them giving that option!
Malted Chocolate Pie (chocolate cookie crust, mocha mousse, english toffee crumble) Half Portion $6.50~
The whole portion is basically the complete pie. I liked the half portion presentation better actually. It's so cute, being cut into little wedges. And man... 1 little wedge is enough! It was so decadent. Freaking delicious, down to the chocolate sauce they decorated the plate with. I made sure to eat a bit of the sauce with each bite and it made a difference. The crust had a great texture and paired with the smooth mousse perfectly. This will satisfy ANY chocolate lover.
Pineapple Creme Brulee (tahitian vanilla bean, caramelized pineapple) $9.50~
As soon as we saw this, we knew we were getting it. Even though it was the full size and we were getting full. It was just so pretty! And I typically don't choose creme brulee if there's a cake or something as another option, but I'm so glad we did. Not only is is beautiful, it is THE BEST creme brulee I've ever had in my life. Hands down! Nothing comes to mind from any previous experiences that can beat this. I mean, I love pineapple, but I always prefer more chocolate in desserts. This was light, you can see and taste the vanilla bean, and it has small chunks of pineapple under the custard. Lots of texture, with the fruit chunks and sugar crust. The pineapple was incredibly fresh too. And the base of that pineapple "bowl" is actually a whole slice of pineapple. I used my spoon and dug into that as well. LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEED IT! I will go back just to get this.
We had a great time. The food was good, but the price point was a little high for me to go back frequently. But the desserts? Another story. Seriously, TAKE ALL MY MONEY when it comes to the desserts. I cannot wait to go back for the creme brulee and try something else. Their drinks are also on point, presentation especially. If you want to feel like it's still summer or pretend you are at the beach, this is the place to be.
Thank you so much, Tommy Bahama, for having us. And introducing me to the dessert that CHANGED MY LIFE! :P You know you'll see me again.
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own. Plus, always tip your wait staff even if you get a free meal!*
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I love afternoon tea, high tea, any kind of tea + dessert type events where you can relax, eat, and hang out with your friends. :) I went to a few tea places while I was in Vietnam in August, so it was fresh on my mind. So me and another blogger friend of mine decided to take action and actually plan one. We were searching for some options of places to go when I came across someone's Instagram post on the tea at Bangkok on Beltline. Now this was already on my radar, but I had for some reason forgotten about it. They only have high tea on Saturdays from 2-4PM and it's by reservation only because they have to prep all the goodies. The date we had planned was a Saturday so this worked out perfectly. And to our luck, the PR company for Bangkok saw my comment to that post and reached out. Yay!
Bangkok on Beltline - Thai High Tea
100 S Central Expy #108
Richardson, TX 75080
(469) 930-9755
http://www.bangkokatbeltline.com/
Price: $35 per person
Most of the group were already food bloggers so now we are being hosted! Woohoo!! All of us got half off the regular price. It was great, since we were initially planning this as just a casual outing with friends. Yay. Thank you so much for hosting us, Bangkok on Beltline and Red iD Agency!!
I had seen pictures, but it was even prettier in person. We arrived on Saturday and the table was decked out with three 3 tiered tea trays FILLED with beautiful and colorful creations. I think it took us a full 30 minutes to get all of our photos taken... haha. Food bloggers, amiright? :P
We then met the owner of the restaurant and he proceeded to explain all the different items and the progression of the tea service.
We started with the Bottom Tier and work our way up. It has all the savory items. It is also paired with a Chinese Green Tea. With unlimited refills. I think I had 4 cups of this. I drink a lot of tea.. haha. Especially when I'm eating sweets too. The tea is light and unsweetened. There are sugar cubes for those who wanted sweetness.
Pad Thai Croissant. What a creative combination! East meets West. I wished the pad thai was warm, but I think that's kind of hard to do since the tea trays have to be prepared before the party arrives. Also... we took forever taking pictures. haha. The pad thai had a sweetness to it which I wouldn't have liked if I was eating it for dinner, but since this is mainly pastries and desserts, it worked well with the buttery croissant.
Chicken Satay Sandwich. This was my favorite. It had really great flavor. Almost a curry flavor in there.
Yellow Curry Puffs (filled with potato). This was also really good. The crust was flaky, not dry. The potato had good flavor. I'm assuming this is a vegetarian friendly item.
Middle Tier:
This one is paired with Chrysanthemums Tea, one of my favorite teas of all time. When I go to dim sum, I ALWAYS have to order this. It's a flower, and you can definitely get the florally fragrance when you sip it. I lost count on how many cups I had of this one. haha.
This tier had most of the Asian influenced desserts.
Black Rice Pudding (with coconut milk, palm seed jelly on top). Reminded me of all those Asian desserts I grew up eating. I enjoyed the rice pudding texture and I love coconut milk. Can't say I've had palm seed jelly before though. Yay for trying new things!
Rice Crackers with Caramel Coconut Sauce. The rice crackers were Asian style... so there's basically no sweetness to it. Just the slight nuttiness from the rice. If you are expecting a rice crispies treat, this ain't it. You can spread some of the caramel sauce over the rice crackers. The sauce itself was quite interesting. It was almost more savory than sweet... reminded me a bit like peanut sauce in Vietnamese/Thai cuisine.
Sticky Rice (with Thai Coconut Custard). I still don't fully know what all is in this. But the sticky rice was inside a layer of pastry or something. I liked this a lot, especially the coconut custard.
Top Tier:
Unsweet Thai Tea was served with this tier. I was curious to try it because I've never had Thai tea without the condensed milk or sugar... I really liked it. It almost tasted sweet on its own without adding sugar. It went really well with this tier. Actually all of the teas were paired really well with their respective tiers. I was quite impressed!
Pistachio and Raspberry Macarons. Beautifully made macarons. The colors were so pretty with the Matcha Tiramisu. The textures of both macarons were both really good. I especially loved the pistachio's flavor.
Green Tea Tiramisu (with red bean). This was the favorite of the group. Not only was it beautiful, it was delicious. The matcha cream had a rich matcha taste. I was surprised to find a layer of red bean in there, which added an interesting texture. Again, this is where the Asian influences play into a typical dessert. Definitely one of the best desserts in the display. I wished I could've taken some home... but it was in a glass so I couldn't.
We also got some of their signature Flower Sesame Cookies. These are light and crispy and really cool looking!
We were all stuffed! Some people couldn't even finish all of the different items. A few of the girls came in and scoffed at the amount of food saying they were still gonna be hungry after. They ate their words. It was a lot. I would recommend eating a very light lunch or none at all before you go to high tea in general. You'd be surprised how much little sandwiches and cakes can fill you up! Plus you're drinking a ton of tea. Well, at least I was. I had to go to the bathroom twice!! haha. I think I drank well over 10 cups total.
We had SO MUCH FUN! It was a super unique experience with the Thai inspired flavors. I've definitely never had a tea experience like this before. For the price point, this is a great value in Dallas for high tea. Most other places I know are at least $50+ a person. I highly recommend you try this. Great for a girls' day out, or a bridal shower. I'd even do this for a birthday party! :)
Thanks again for hosting us!! :)
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I was super psyched about my visit to City Hall Bistro. Like counting down the days excited! I had seen pictures from other bloggers of the interior as well as the food and both looked amazing. I didn't even realize The Adolphus Hotel had done such an extensive renovation recently. I can't say I remember what it used to look like since the last time I was there was at least 8 years ago to dine at The French Room (which JUST reopened on 10/4, btw.) But the newly updated hotel is beautiful! Lots of deep, bold colors, and velvet. According to my friend velvet is back in? This is why I'm a food blogger, not fashion or design. haha. Anyways... I'm rambling. We arrived for dinner on a Monday night at 6PM. The restaurant was still quite empty. But oh it's so pretty! This way I was able to get interior pictures without a lot of people in it.
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| hotel interior |
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| restaurant interior |
City Hall Bistro - The Adolphus Hotel
1321 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 651-3686
http://www.cityhallbistro.com/
Price: $$$
We were seated in a big booth right across from the kitchen. I cannot get over how pretty this place is! Our waiter was Jared and he was great. Super nice and was so accommodating. He took our drink orders. My friend got the Juice of the Day (pineapple, lemon, watermelon) $6~ She really liked it. Watermelon is not my thing but it was very fresh. I stuck with water since all of the cocktails sounded too strong for me to handle. hehe.
Jared came to the table and explained the concept and menu for us. The cuisine is Southern European-Mediterranean. Yum. Seriously everything looked delicious on the menu. He also asked if there were any specific dishes we wanted to try. He said the chef will also send out anything else they thought we should try. We told him 4 dishes... and he said they were all great choices. We only got 1 dish that was not on our list. So I guess we're good at picking the best stuff, eh? :P
We started with the Atayef (savory lebanese pancake, duck confit, pear, black garlic aioli) $15~
Can't go wrong with duck confit... plus the savory Lebanese pancake sounded so interesting. This was my favorite dish of the night. I tried a bite of the pancake on its own. It's not often that I have a savory pancake! The flavor by itself was delicious. I could've just had a short stack of this on its own. I still think on a daily basis to drive back there, and just order this dish. haha. The duck had great flavor and the aioli added a richness and moisture to the whole bite. I need more of this!!!
Spanish Octopus (bell pepper, pine nut, harissa vinaigrette) $10~
I love octopus and they cooked theirs really well. No chewiness. It was tender and flavorful. You have to get a bit of every element into each bite. The frisee provides a freshness, the nuttiness and crunch from the pine nuts, and the vinaigrette was just enough, not overly dressed. I feel like the edges of the octopus could've been a little crispier, but I'm just nitpicking.
Snapper Crudo (baby heirloom tomato, pickled shishito pepper, citron salt) $11~
This was the one dish we didn't select. It was very pretty. Upon first bite, it was quite tart for me. But as I ate more, all the flavors came together. The snapper was super tender. I loved the different tomato slices and the pickled shishito pepper added a pow! to each bite.
Much Like Provence (genever, lemon, lavender sugar, club soda) $12~
My friend decided to get a cocktail half way through. It was very pretty... a subtle and simple kind of pretty just like their decor. I don't think my pictures captured it very well. It definitely tasted of lavender, but it wasn't sweet enough for her. (She likes super sweet though.) And I was right, it was quite strong.
Squid Ink Pasta (marinated squid, cilantro, garlic aioli) $17~
This was the dish we were both most excited about. I love anything squid ink. And wow oh wow... this packed so much squid ink flavor that it PUNCHES you in the face. In a good way, of course. But damn! The boldest and most potent squid ink dish I've ever had. A little goes a long way. Eating it straight was almost too much at one point, so I started mixing it with the paella... and you know what? winning combo! :D
Chef's Paella (oyster, octopus flavor, escalivada, babaganush, allepo pepper, grilled kale, dehydrated apples, shallot and mustard seed marmalade, micro cilantro and flowers) $26~
They also have a more traditional paella. This one changes daily. Jared said we should order this one. So we took his rec. And it was awwwwesome! Btw... Escalivada = onions, bell pepper, eggplant "salsa". This was a huge portion size. I think it will easily feed 4 people. I loved the crispy crust on the top of the rice. The flavors were amazing. But the most genius element was the shallot and mustard seed marmalade. You MUST mix a little of the marmalade in each bite. It makes a big difference. It was freaking fantastic. Needless to say, we could not finish this... we took more than half to-go.
We were so full. But I was told I must get the churros. So we did. Spanish Churros (saffron gelato, olive oil caramel ) $8~
It was a pretty big dessert since you get 5 churros... FIVE!! But they're light and fluffy so it didn't weigh you down. The churros were fried nicely and lightly drizzled with the caramel and some more on the side for dipping. The caramel was great, but I wish it was dipped in more cinnamon sugar.. that's how I normally like my churros. The saffron gelato was interesting. You can really taste the saffron. I wished there was another flavor mixed in though... maybe pistachio? The saffron was overpowering for me. However, we also asked for some of the Sweet Basil Ice Cream and it was delicious. So unique with the herbiness of the basil. Very refreshing and fragrant.
My friend got some Coffee (featuring Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters) $3~ For $3 that's a whole lot of coffee. Nice!
I found the price point here to be extremely reasonable for the quality of food you are getting. And I've had several things and flavor combinations that I haven't experienced before, so this place is a total gem. I highly recommend it. I actually already have a brunch reservation to go back in two weeks. Counting down!! Thank you so much, City Hall Bistro, for having us. It was a wonderful meal. Service was top notch and we enjoyed it tremendously. I cannot wait for brunch! :)
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own. Plus, always tip your wait staff even if you get a free meal!*
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