NOVEMBER: Ebb & Flow

One of the most fun event I went to this year would only be fitting for my last post for 2019! My November pick is the newly opened Ebb & Flow in Deep Ellum. First of all, I loved the decor of this place. The gorgeous front covered patio has flowers all draping down the ceiling. Definite wow factor. The interior is just as pretty!

Ebb & Flow
2561 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(972) 913-2322
ebb-flow-restaurant.business.site

This was a media event. The whole restaurant was closed for this private event. So fancy! I arrived a little late because traffic and parking were horrible, but I got there right when they were serving the appetizers.

My friends had already started with various cocktails. This was one aspect that impressed me a lot. Y'all know I don't drink much at all. I'm pretty sure I'm allergic, so I'm very picky when it comes to alcohol. It's only worth it if it tastes good to me. I freaking loved their drinks. I had 3 different ones (didn't finish them all cuz I'm lightweight, but still!!) Their cocktails are unique, beautiful, and the flavors are very well thought out.

Cocktails:
Velvet Butterfly (Deep Ellum vodka, Velvet Falernum, Butterfly Pea Flower, lemon, bubbles). The purple color is so gorgeous... these pictures definitely don't do it justice. Depending on the lighting they came out bluish but the 2nd picture is closer to the actual color.

Influx (Ford's gin, ginger liqueur, blood orange, lemon, Paychaud's, Aquafaba). It's SO pretty!

Undertow (vanilla vodka, Kahlua, Nobel Coyote cold brew coffee, lavender, Baileys, Almande foam). I think this is the best coffee cocktail I've ever had. Usually it's either too bitter from coffee or too much alcohol. This was perfectly blended, rich and frothy. I can probably drink the whole thing.

ElderFlow (frosecco, pear vodka, elderflower liqueur, lemon; served frozen). One of my favorites of the night. First of all, it's frozen which makes it fun. And so bright and refreshing!

Cocoloma (coconut tequila, cream of coconut, sparkling grapefruit, tajin). This wasn't my thing cuz I don't like tequila or tajin. My friend was obsessed with it though. I have to agree it's a very creative concoction. Lots of complex combinations of flavors.

Appetizers:
I think the appetizers were the best course of the night. All the dishes we had were solid and I'd happily eat any of them again.

Toasted Ravioli (beef ravioli with spicy marinara and parmesan). Each order comes with 4 pieces. The raviolis are fried and seasoned well. The sauce was a great pairing. 

Stuffed Jalapenos (jalapenos stuffed with brisket, pimento cheese, wrapped in bacon). Also four to an order. What can go wrong with bacon, jalapeno, and pimento?? Yum!

Cubano Egg Rolls (pork, ham, swiss cheese wrapped in rice paper and fried; spicy mustard, chipotle bbq sauce, pickles). My absolute favorite food of the night. It was perfection. I've had "cuban egg rolls" before and it wasn't good. The flavors were muddled and the wrapper was greasy. This was definitely WAY better than that. Perfect crispy outside, layers of flavors inside. I can taste all the elements of a Cuban sandwich in every bite. Highly recommend!!

Salads:
Sal's Salad (romaine, hard boiled eggs, crispy salami, blue cheese, cucumber, tomato, pickled red onion, avocado, chicken, house ranch). The crispy salami made this dish. A hearty salad. Lots of great ingredients and flavors.

Southwest Salad (beyond meat tossed with jicama, pico, black beans, roasted corn, avocado, salsa). Ebb & Flow serves Beyond Meat, y'all! If you haven't tried beyond meat yet, it's pretty good. Before this, I've had it in burgers and tacos and even noodle bowls. This was a nice topping to the salad. It definitely added more substance to the salad.

Handhelds:
The Burger (two 3oz akaushi beef patties with smoked cheddar, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, brioche bun). I have to be honest and say that the highlights for me were the cocktails, appetizers, and salads. Everything after was just ok... for various reasons. For example, the burger patty was lacking in seasoning. So the burger is fine but not the best. Maybe because we got smaller sample sizes of all the entrees... Hmmm. 

Mahi Mahi Wrap (blackened mahi mahi with mango pico, avocado and slaw, garlic tarragon spread). I was told this was really good but since I'm allergic to mango, I did not taste it.

Sides:
Garlic Parmesan Fries. Loved the fries but I think they were over fried, which was great for me cuz I love crispy fries. Haha. 

Tater Kegs. Basically giant tater tots. Very tasty. 

Mac & Cheese. Was more like pasta with some cheese on top. Was quite dry but pasta was cooked well.

Plates:
Stuffed Chicken Breast (whole chicken breast stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, parmesan, alfredo sauce; broccolini). My favorite element on this dish... the broccolini! So much flavor. The chicken was again, fine, but not spectacular. 

Salmon Piccata (8oz pan crusted salmon, angel hair pasta tossed in light lemon vinaigrette with caper cream sauce). This was pretty good. The salmon was cooked well and the cream sauce was tasty. I, personally, am not a huge fan of angel hair pasta.

Dessert:
Trio of Gelato (vanilla, mint chocolate chip, salted caramel). The mint chocolate chip was my favorite. They were nice colors on the side of the carrot cake.
Carrot Cake (homemade). Apparently this is an old family recipe. If you like carrot cake, you'd most likely love this one. I've heard several people say it's amazing. I don't like carrot cake though, so it was fine. :P

Despite the height of the food peaking half way through the meal, I had a blast at this event. The vibe was great, the cocktails were flowing, and to be honest, I was already full after the salads anyways. Lol. And I loved seeing all my blogger peeps! I would definitely go back and I would give them another chance on their entrees. Thanks so much for having me, Ebb & Flow!

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Chelsea Corner - Media Dinner

Two weeks ago I got invited to a media dinner at Chelsea Corner. It was my first time there. This place has so much history and it was pretty interesting learning about it all. The original Chelsea Corner opened in 1974. Since then, the space has changed hands and renamed several times. But earlier this year, the space was restored, renovated and re-opened with the original Chelsea Corner name. The owners want this place to be the neighborhood spot, where people of all kinds and ages can come hang out. The restaurant/bar's decor is very eclectic. They have different rooms where you can hold private parties and events. I especially loved the back corner where it looks like outdoor patio seating, but it's inside! 

They also recently opened up an actual outdoor patio in the back. This is also a sports lovers dream, as the entire place is equipped with 16 large HD screens.

Chelsea Corner
4830 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, TX 75205
(469) 726-2211
www.chelseacornerdallas.com
Price: $$-$$$

As soon as I arrived, the bartender presented me with a Margarita. What service! 

I don't really drink but the other bloggers told me it was good. Before dinner, we got a tour of the whole space and hear the owners' ideas and inspirations behind the business. They told us everything is made from scratch in house. I love that! You definitely wouldn't expect that in a bar setting... We were seated in the front of their open patio area. It was a beautiful day too, wasn't too hot or cold.

While we waited for everyone to be seated, they had a large platter of cheeses and meats. There was one cheese, the Red Dragon (whole grain mustard, sharp cheddar), so good. I love whole grain mustard. The other was a Havarti with dill.

We started with Deviled Eggs (Southern style with crispy pancetta and house pickled red onions) $3~ per piece. 

The chef explained this was like grandma's recipe. It was absolutely delicious. I love deviled eggs and the filling in this one had a nice velvety texture. Loved the crisp texture of the bacon. After everyone had photographed the plate, I casually asked if we can eat those too. Score! :P I can probably eat a dozen of these.

Fish Tacos (blackened Mahi Mahi with Asian slaw) Normally comes with 3 to an order. $15~ You can also choose fried fish as well. 

This was served on corn tortillas which I've never been a fan so it was just ok for me. The overall taco was a little dry. However, we all loved the sauces that came with the tacos. The green one was my personal favorite. I just slathered that taco with it.

The Barnyard (pepperoni, canadian bacon, ricotta, mozzarella, spicy italian sausage). $15~ The crust is made with yeast dough with honey and from scratch. It had a really good texture and added a hint of sweetness to all the pizzas. I thought all the meats made it a little too salty, but I also try to eat less sodium these days so my standard is probably different than most. Everyone loved the pizzas.

Big Daddy White with Chicken (fresh ricotta, oven dried roman tomatoes) $14~ +$2 for chicken. This was my favorite out of the two. I generally like white sauce vs the tomato based sauces. It was lighter in flavor but you can appreciate all the ingredients more, I think. Really yum!

Steak Sandwich (grilled beef tenderloin, brandy butter, caramelized onion, manchego cheese) $22~ 

You get 2 sandwiches with fries per order. This was literally a tender steak between 2 pieces of super soft bread. It was amazing. I'm glad you get TWO because one surely isn't enough!!

Image provided by Chelsea Corner

3 type of Fries: Original, Parmesan Truffle, Texas Ranch Dusted. Sorry no picture because it was really dark by then. But all the fries were well fried. I loved all the different flavors. I basically just mixed them all together.

House Made Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies. $4~ 3 to an order and you can add a glass of Ice Cold Milk for +$1~. 

I was so full but these cookies are BOMB!!! Warm and thick and full of melty chocolate chips. A really really solid cookie... Dang, I want some right now! :P They also brought me a glass of milk. It's perfect, makes me feel like a kid again! I was able to get a 2nd cookie to go, so I totally scarfed down the rest of my first cookie. :P

It was a good dinner. I can see every one of these dishes pair well with a beer, cocktail, or wine. It's great hang out and drinking food. If I lived closer, I'd be there all the time for those cookies. haha. I have to give a shout out to the wait staff that served us. They were great with our large party. I mentioned to one of the waiters of my mango allergy and he specifically went to the kitchen to reconfirm that mango wasn't in any of the dishes. Our water glasses were consistently refilled. And they had a positive attitude the entire night. Thank you, Chelsea Corner, for having me!

Here are some info of the space and weekly events from their press releases:

"The 4,500 square foot space can host 180 people for seated dinners, with plenty more room at the bar. There’s a game room, just like at the original, and large garage doors that open to the climate-controlled patio. Wednesday through Saturday nights, rotating DJs will take over at 10PM with a sound system that rivals New York City night clubs. And if there’s a game on, just look toward one of the 16 HDTVs that pepper the interior.
The large venue includes multiple spaces that can be reserved for private events, making Chelsea Corner an ideal spot for Super Bowl parties, showers, corporate functions, birthdays and dinner parties. And the TVs and sound system are at guests’ disposal to ensure their audio/visual needs are covered."

"Chelsea Corner has live Jazz every Tuesday from 8PM - 11PM, live music every Thursday 8PM - 11PM, Live Video DJ’s every Friday and Saturday 10PM - 2AM"

"Brunch will be served Saturdays and Sundays from 10AM to 4PM"

*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*

Quality of Food: 

Service: 

Ambiance: 

Value: (comped)

Overall Experience: 

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Max's Wine Dive

After dinner downtown, we went to go check out this new place in West Village. It just opened last week!

Max's Wine Dive
3600 McKinney Avenue, Suite 100
Dallas, TX 75204
(214) 559-3483
http://www.maxswinedive.com/dallas/index.php
Price: $$-$$$

It's located where the old Borders used to be. At 9:45PM on a Saturday night, the place was hoppin'. It was packed and very energetic. I liked the decor a lot, kinda urban, with walls of wine bottles. The host was really nice and immediately tried to find a table for us. We didn't wait long despite the crowd. It was a bit loud, but that's pretty typical for these types of places.

Our waitress, Stephanie, was awesome. She was super nice and accommodating. She also let us try a bunch of samples of wine to find something we liked. Unfortunately they were out of moscato so I didn't want anything. Still, she tried to suggest something and brought me a sample ofit. How nice! I ended up not liking it still though. haha.

Even though we just had dinner... of course we ordered food. haha. That's why we are all friends! We love foooood! :P

Chicken Fried Brussels Sprouts (served with lemon confit and port glazed onions all tossed in ham vinegar) $8~

HAD to try these. Love brussels sprouts. AND they are chicken fried. EPIC. Everyone loved it! We just wished there was more! I really liked the port glazed onions with the brussels sprouts. The onions had a slight sweetness that contrasted the saltiness of the brussels sprouts. And the lemony dipping sauce, everyone liked it. It was quite sour but contrasted the fried veggies really well. Brought some brightness to the dish. We almost ordered a 2nd one. haha.

We decided to get dessert instead. Half & Half (half of our brownie with half of our bread pudding) $10~

We got the half and half so we can try 2 different desserts. Both good but the brownie was amazing. It was crispy on the outside and gooey and rich on the inside. They had perfected that crispy brownie shell thing. NOMS.

It was sooo good that my friend ordered a second Devil's Food Brownie (topped with vanilla malt ice cream and smoked chocolate caramel) $10~ just by itself. The portion size was pretty good! YUM YUM YUMMM!!! The ganache on top is heavenly!

If ordered on it's own... Cinnamon Toast Bread Pudding (served with apple ice cream and candied pecans) $8~ It was good but couldn't compete against the brownie. haha.

So the food is amazing. And everything else on the menu sounded delicious as well. Great service. And guess what?? They serve brunch 3 times a week.. Friday, Saturday AND Sunday! And... they have red velvet pancakes!!! I am SOOO there!! Actually planning on going this Sunday. :D

I think if the service and food is consistent, this will definitely become a go-to place when I'm in the area.

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:


~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

LA!! Onyx Lounge

I found a place on yelp that was only 3 blocks from The Edison. Reviews seemed pretty positive so we decided to walk there and check it out.

Onyx Lounge
118 West 5th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 891-1144
http://onyxloungela.com/
Price: $$

This was a great find! It was a pretty small restaurant/bar and it was packed when we got there so we had to just stand around and wait for a table. The hostess was really nice and said she would let us know whenever a table opens up.

We headed for the bar in the mean time. The bartender greeted us immediately. Wow! You don't usually get that type of service from bartenders...especially when they are that busy. It was a refreshing surprise.

I got a cocktail to share with a friend. Spring St. Smash (Bourbon, blackberry, basil, lemon, sambuca) $11~

This was their signature cocktail. I thought it was so cute in the jar. And it was a pretty large drink! It was yummy too! Similar to the blackberry mojito I had at the Library Bar (not AS good) but still quite fantastic. The sambuca really added another layer of flavor to it. Plus it's so pretty! :)

Trojan (watermelon, gin, allagash white, chili) $11~

Allagash White is actually a beer. I didn't really like this drink...kinda tasted soapy to me.. haha.

We waited quite a while. Seemed like a really happening place so only new people came in but none of the existing customers wanted to leave! haha. The hostess was nice enough to come by and check on us every once in a while. She told us that one table seemed like they were going to leave (but they ended up sticking around until super late...) Eh. BUT...while standing around, I noticed some guy walk in and he looked quite familiar. I asked my friend if he recognizes him. It took us a while to pinpoint where we'd seen him before and finally we did. It was the actor, Lee Thompson Young, who was Cyborg in Smallville, and also had roles in other TV shows such as Friday Night Lights and Flash Forward!! Our first real celebrity sighting!! haha. We approached him and he was super nice. And we got our photos!! Woot! That definitely made the night even better!

Finally we got a table! And we ordered a few snacks for everyone.

Spicy Garlic Fries (herb buttermilk dressing) $6~

OMG! Amazing! Fantastic! These fries were like crack! So freaking addictive. They were fried perfectly, seasoned perfectly with just a dust of chili powder on top to add some spiciness. I can eat these forever!!!

Warm Ricotta Mixed Berry Pancakes $9~

Very delicate, pillowy pancakes. Not your typical dessert but it was very good.

Chocolate Bread Pudding $11~

This dessert was a bit pricey, but it was fantastic! Sorry for the blurry picture. :( The bread pudding was rich in chocolate flavor and the texture was almost like a thick mousse. Super moist and decadent. I wanted to lick it off the plate!

This was a really cool, chill place. I'm so glad we gave it a chance! The decor is nice, the food and drinks were good and the service was really great. Also, they had a live DJ there but the music level wasn't too loud. We were still able to carry on a conversation with our friends. I can see myself chilling there more often if I lived in LA. I wouldn't mind going back to try more of the menu items either!!

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:



~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~