MARCH: La La Land Kind Cafe

So... I was actually a little worried on my pick for March. I have had some good food but nothing came to mind on what to feature. But then my friend told me about this coffee shop called La La Land Kind Cafe that was having their soft opening around the end of March. I was like "huh?" I've never heard of this place, but the day after, I saw an article out on it. Turns out this is the new business venture by Francois Reihani, one of the minds behind Pok the Raw Bar, my FAVORITE poke place. He also went on to open Bar Stellar. This guy just has the talent for business ideas. I DEF gotta check this place out!

Soft opening was on March 23rd. As I drove up this neighborhood road behind Lower Greenville, I see this bright white house. Incredibly cute and cheerful. With a white picket fence and everything! When you walk in, OMG, the cutest. The white and bright yellow accents, it just cheers you up. I remember it was kind of an overcast, meh day, but the colors at La La Land will make you smile. :) Oh.. and they have a doggy friendly area on the side of the house. D'awwww!

La La Land Kind Cafe
5626 Bell Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 579-9550
https://lalalandkindcafe.com/
Price: $-$$

As soon as you enter, several people greet you. You order at the counter, they give you a number, and they bring the food and drinks out to you. Guess what, they have an entire menu section for MATCHA! Pok gets the best matcha, so they must have high grade matcha powder here as well. They have some very interesting combinations of flavors too. The other half of the menu are different coffee offerings. They also have a really interesting loose leaf tea section (which I discovered 3 visits later. haha.) Plus they have most of the available Alternative Milks (almond, oat, coconut, soy) +$0.75~

On our first visit, it was so hard to pick what to order. We went with what was prettiest. :P
Campfire Latte (toasted marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker, hot) $5.20~ The melted marshmallow over the edge of the cup is such a cute idea. My friend ordered this and I got to try it. It's really good!

French Toast Latte (cinnamon, maple syrup, hot or iced) $5.20~ This is the cutest!! They've really got the presentation down. Flavor wise, you can definitely taste the cinnamon but I'm not sure if I think french toast when I drink it... still tasty tho!

La La Avocado Toast (mashed avocado, lemon, red pepper flakes, cilantro garnish) $6.20~ I think the price has increased on this btw... but I forgot to snap a pic of the menu last time I was there. The bread they use for the toasts is really great with the avocado. I love the crispy edges, and it's a hearty toast. It's one of the only savory options on the menu right now. I'm hoping they'll add more food options soon!

Banana Brulee Toast (hazelnut spread, caramelized bananas) $5.50~ OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. I mean, just look at the picture. It tastes just as decadent as it looks. So simple... nutella and bruleed bananas, but just perfect.

Chocolate Chip Cookie $4~ And then I fell in love even more. This cookie, y'all. It's the best (and worst*) thing to happen to me in the past month. It is my dream cookie. HUGE, for one. Perfectly crispy on the outside with so many nooks and crannies. I have no idea how they make it that perfect on the outside. Inside is still soft, but NOT under baked. It's my idea of a perfectly textured cookie. And of course chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite. When it comes to you warm... ERMUHGUH! I can't contain my drool right now. *The reason I say it's the worst thing to happen to me is because, within 1 week of their opening... ONE... I had about 5 cookies. XD Bye bye, beach bod! Haha.

Thanks for the hat!! :D

At the end of our first visit, we each got a matcha drink to go.

Matcha Latte (iced) $3.50~ I felt like there wasn't enough matcha. But I have been informed that since the soft opening, they have increased the amount of matcha in the lattes. Gotta give it another try!

Strawberry Fields Matcha (matcha latte, strawberry, beetroot, hot or iced) $5.20~ Pretty! And really delicious. I'm kind of a matcha purist so I don't like to mix things with it, but this was a really good combo.

Here are some other menu items I've tried throughout my many visits. I think in the first 2 weeks I was there almost every other or every 2 days. :P

Flat Green $3.50~ This is matcha with milk, but the ratio is less than a latte so you get a stronger matcha flavor. Loved it.

Mighty Mocha (cold brew, espresso, cacao, iced) $5.20~ I wanted to try this since I love mochas. But WHEW! Too much coffee for me. This is definitely not for weak hearted! There's a lotta coffee and caffeine in there, folks. For those of you that get 3+ shots of espresso in your drinks, this may be for you! They were nice and gave me a regular mocha instead.

Breakfast Empanada (baked egg, bacon, potato) $4~ I liked this. It went well with the salsa they gave me on the side. I just wanted more! It's definitely not enough to fill you up if you want it as a meal. Better order like 4+. haha.

Ice Blended Drink (espresso base, thin mint flavor) $5~ It was a warm day, so I wanted something cold. This was yummy! Wished it was a bit creamier though. Definitely tasted the chocolate mint flavors.

So... do you love it as much as I do yet? If not, this will get ya. La La Land Kind Cafe serves a much bigger purpose than just serving us great drinks and foods. It supports Reihani's nonprofit, We Are One Project, which "provides the right tools for businesses to come together and employ foster youth". "La La Land is a training ground for aging out foster youth. At La La Land they will learn the basic the fundamentals of job skills. Timeliness, cleanliness, customer relations, productivity, and teamwork." (from We Are One Project website). SO. FREAKING. GREAT. This is definitely a mission and business I can stand behind. And as long as they keep making those cookies... just TAKE ALL MY MONIES! :P

This place has been packed every single day since it's opened, so I'm sure a lot of you already know about it. But what great concept, purpose, and quality. The menu is 100% organic, btw. No big. Haha. Plus they're open early, and they close late. Perf.

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Snug on the Square

Last month, I had a car appointment in McKinney so I took the opportunity to get some lunch in downtown McKinney beforehand. I called up a friend that works in the area and we met up at Snug on the Square. This place used to be just a small cafe, but it's now taken over the space next door and is now also a restaurant. I'm not so sure when the expansion happened but I love it!

Snug on the Square
109 N. Kentucky St.
McKinney, TX 75069
(972) 548-7684
http://snugonthesquare.com
Price: $

The food pictures I saw online were all pretty amazing looking. The restaurant itself was homey and cozy. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table.

I went with the Any Breakfast Sandwich + Coffee $6.95~ (Build Your Own Egg Sandwich: mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, baby spinach, cheddar cheese, jalapeno, and sausage; green salsa on the side) The lady at the register said I could sub with hot tea.

I got this thing loaded! It was quite tall. And super yummy. The bread was fluffy and held everything together. Layers and layers of egg, sausage and veggies. I'd totally get this again. The hot tea took some effort. Their hot water machine was broken apparently, but the lady at the register didn't know when she said I could sub for hot tea. I waited around for awhile, since the drinks were all self-serve, for someone to help me. Finally, one guy had to go next door to the cafe to get me some hot water. Yeeesh.


My friend got the Pick Any Sandwich + 1 Side $7.95~ Club Melt (roasted turkey, honey ham, bacon, melted swiss, honey dijon, lettuce, tomato; served on butter brioche) $6.50~ With Soup of the Day: Broccoli Cheese (I think?). 

She said the soup was really good. And her sandwich was pretty loaded too. We swapped halfsies and I got to try hers. Yum!

It was a fun lunch. I totally enjoyed the food. I'd like to go again soon!

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And since I'm there, I gotta stop by Emporium Pies! :)

Emporium Pies
107 S. Tennessee St.
McKinney, TX 75069
(214) 491-1577
http://emporiumpies.com
Price: $

Got the Buttercream Gang (buttermilk pie) $5~ I love me some buttermilk pie and theirs is great.

It was a good day. (Despite paying $$$$ for a set of new tires.) hehe.

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Cafe Brown Sugar

The celebration for my last day of school continues. After a yummy dinner at LA Burger, we decided to get some dessert at Cafe Brown Sugar. I've known about this place ever since it opened, just never got a chance to go. However, I didn't have high expectations for it since I've heard hit/miss reviews on the food and prices. Still, the pictures always look amazing and I wanted to check it out for myself!

Cafe Brown Sugar
2625 Old Denton Rd. Ste 406
Carrollton, TX 75007
(972) 446-6633 
Price: $-$$

This place is pretty cute the inside looks like the outside of some Italian little town or something. It's a really big space too. 2 stories, so lots of seating. They open fairly late (11pm) so it's a cool place to hang out with your friends after dinner. You order at the counter, they give you a buzzer, then you go pick up your order.

They had way more stuff on the menu than I expected. This puts in a difficult place because I now want to try EVERYTHING. I was initially thinking of their epic waffles but then I saw they had Macaron Ice Cream sandwiches?!? OMG. The only time I've ever seen that was in LA (at Umami and MILK). And it was amazing. I had to try this.

Cookies n Cream Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich $4.50~

You pick the ice cream flavor and the color of the macaron. The different colors of the macarons didn't have different flavors. I was like "uh.. ok..?" But I picked blue. They ended up giving me purple. So I still don't fully understand the colors if they don't taste differently. The ice cream sandwich is very pretty. But I think they need to rethink the shape of it. It's too tall... VERY hard to bite from top to bottom. I had to eat it in sections. If only they can make wider macarons, and squish the ice cream down flatter. Kind of like a whoopie pie or something. Then it would be perfect. I love using macarons on the outside of ice cream sandwiches. I think it works way better than cookies, which usually crumble or smoosh the ice cream. The macaron holds up better, surprisingly. I enjoyed it. Not as great as the ones from LA, but it's the first I've seen in Dallas so I'll take it!

Green Tea Waffle $3.99~ 

I was greedy. I wasn't even hungry but I still wanted that waffle. I noticed that you can just get a waffle (comes with butter and maple syrup) for $4. Which is way better than the other ones for over $11! Geez! It certainly looks like a green tea waffle... but I couldn't taste much of it. I liked the crisp outside, but the inside was also kinda crisp. Not enough fluffy/soft center. It was ok. I wouldn't get it again..

Honey Butter Toast. 

 

I forget how much this was.. it wasn't cheap though. I think also close to $10. My fiance was set on this from the get go. We've had honey toast in Japan before so he was excited to have it again. It definitely looked pretty epic! Almost as big as my head! Definitely a knife and fork dessert and SHARE! Actually, most of the desserts here are made for sharing. Unless you are just a super beast or your goal is to be in a sugar coma. I wish the scoop on top of the bread is ice cream, but it's a scoop of butter. TOO MUCH! Bleh... we took it off. The toast is already semi buttered on the inside. The outside was nice and crispy, the inside was fluffy. It was pretty good. A little dry... needed more honey. Luckily the maple syrup from my waffle was there to the rescue. Not as good as Asia, but then again, nothing in Dallas really is... It's worth trying. Maybe ask for a few scoops of ice cream on the side though.

My friends got some of the epic waffles...

Cookies n Cream Waffle (chocolate waffle with oreo ice cream, banana, honeydew, pineapple, strawberry, crushed oreo, chocolate sauce) $11ish~ 

Coffee Lovers Waffle (coffee? waffle with coffee ice cream, banana, honeydew, pineapple, strawberry, crushed oreo, and I think caramel sauce?) $11ish~

Both looked very impressive. I had too much myself to try theirs. They said it was pretty good. So maybe I'll try it next time. Or I'll use my waffle maker and make it myself at home for a fraction of the price. hahaha.

I'd go back again. Next time I'll try something new.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Brunch at Brewed

Wow.. January has been super busy! It's kicking me in the butt... so I've been behind on my posts. And haven't really had much time to try anything new lately.

As you know, last last weekend I was in Ft. Worth for a wedding. So on Sunday, we stayed in Ft. Worth for brunch! I chose to check out Brewed. The menu sounded yummy and the place seems pretty cool. They serve brunch on Saturday & Sunday from 9:30AM - 2:30PM.

Brewed
801 W Magnolia Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76104
(817) 945-1545
http://brewedfw.com/
Price (for brunch): $-$$

The place is super cute! Very eclectic decor, reminds me of places in Austin. There are 2 different dining areas and also a small area with a bench and tables where you can chill or do some work. We were seated in the main room. It was cool how they had a bar area in the middle, one side was for coffee, the other was beer. Hence their name, Brewed!

They had some neat contraptions for making coffee. It made me wish I actually drank coffee so I could order one. haha. But they also had other interesting drinks so we tried a few.

Kombucha on Tap (blood orange flavor; 12 oz.) $4~ 

Kombucha is a "fermented tea filled with probiotics, antioxidants, enzymes and amino acids that will help "jump start" your digestive and immune system." Their taps change from time to time, so make sure to check for latest flavors. I've always heard of Kombucha but never tried it. I asked the waitress for some samples and she said sure! Not really my thing since I don't like fruity flavored teas. I like my teas simple... green or black, no fruit or spices or sugar. But my bf liked it so he got one. It's got a slight effervescence to it which was interesting. It's not overly sweet which was good. Hard to really describe it, so you're just going to have to try it for yourself! :P

He also got The Texas Honey (steamed local milk served with local honey; 12 oz.) $3.75~

 He was coming out of a cold so wanted something to soothe his throat and it definitely did the trick. "Brewed is committed to providing local and sustainable Texas products, including local non-homogenized low-pasteurized, fresh milk from Mill King Dairy."

I got a Chai Tea Latte (a rich and spicy blend of tea and steamed milk; 12 oz.) $4.50~ Different than chai teas I've had before. It was quite spicy! Very interesting!

On to the food!

Cinnamon, Apple, and Cranberry Waffle (Belgium style waffle serves with Nueske's bacon) $8.25~ 

My bf got this. He knew he wanted this as soon as I showed him the menu online a week prior. haha. This was ok. The fruit on top of the waffle made it soggy pretty quickly. I'm picky about waffles, I like the crispy edges. But the flavors were good, you didn't really need any maple syrup. But I added some anyways cuz that's always yummy right? haha.

Scotch Egg (two soft-boiled farm eggs wrapped in house sausage, breaded and fried; served with arugula salad) $8~ 

 

This was my choice. I know what a scotch egg is but have never tried it before. The waitress says it's one of her favorite things on the menu. They were pretty big. And I loved it. The egg had runny yolk on the inside, the sausage had great flavor and the best part was the crispy breaded shell! The combo with the arugula was nice since arugula is kind of peppery and slightly bitter, it cuts the richness of the egg and sausage. It was also topped with some sort of lemon aioli. The acidity in the aioli rounded out the whole dish really well.

Side of Veggies (tri-colored cauliflower and Brussels sprouts) $3.50~ 

I didn't know the scotch egg came with an arugula salad so I ordered this as a side. Always gotta have my veggies! And I love everything in here. I was sad that I only got like 3 pieces of Brussels sprouts but oh well. It was a good side to my scotch egg.

Donut Dippers with Fresh Fruit Compote (apple and cranberry compote) $5.50~ 

 

We also wanted to try this. We ordered it at the beginning with everything else and they said they would bring it out first. But the food came out really slowly. I was noticing other tables not really getting anything either and the table next to us complained a little about not getting their drinks. Before this came out, our waitress came and apologized for the wait and said they went ahead and took it off the bill. That's nice of them. We were taking a slow leisurely day anyways so we weren't too upset about the wait. I WAS getting hungry tho! :P These were like cake donut holes covered with cinnamon sugar. They were piping hot. Yum! The compote was nice too. It tasted like the topping on the waffles.

Despite the wait on the food and drinks coming out, it was a good brunch. We loved the atmosphere and setting. The food overall was tasty. I loved my choice. hehe. And if I lived closer I'd probably go there all the time to work/study.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~