Townhouse @ Galleria

On Friday I went to Townhouse at the Galleria with some friends. I had purchased a Living Social coupon a while back and it's time to cash it in!

Townhouse Kitchen + Bar
13270 Dallas Parkway
Dallas, TX 75240
(972) 300-0986
http://www.townhousedallas.com/
Price: $$-$$$

I've met friends there before but didn't actually eat there. I like the decor of the place but it's so big... I wonder if they ever fill all the tables. I've heard that it's usually pretty dead. :(

We had a party of 9 and I didn't make a reservation given the reviews that they are not that busy. The hostess was really nice and told us to wait a few minutes while they put the tables together.

We got there around 6:30PM to catch the tail end of their happy hour which ends at 7PM. Happy Hour is Mon-Fri 3-7PM. We started off with some happy hour appetizer specials. (I've included the original price and happy hour prices.)

Deviled Eggs $5~ ($3)

The eggs were topped with Sriracha which was a great move for anything. I really liked it. It was creamy and spicy. But also a tad too salty... For $3, I thought it was a great deal!

BBQ Duck Quesadilla (with blueberry-lime salsa) $12~ ($6)

This was one item I really wanted to try but was disappointing. The flavors weren't that great and the texture of the duck wasn't that appetizing either. The salsa was good though, it really helped the quesadilla. My friend actually said it reminded him of something from Taco Bell. Yikes. Definitely not worth the full price if you don't go at happy hour.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus $8~ ($5)

I quite liked the hummus on the sliced cucumber. The cucumber was crisp and refreshing and the hummus had good flavor. The pita chips seemed a bit stale though.

Crispy Calamari $9~ ($5) Pretty standard calamari. The flavor was good and the batter was crispy.

For the entrees, there were so many items I wanted, but after the appetizers I was already getting full. haha. I ended up splitting the BLT Wedge Salad (with blue cheese dressing) $8~ with a friend.

This way I can still sample everything else and not totally stuff myself! haha! They were really cool and split the salad for us. (So the picture you see is only half the salad.) The salad was fresh, lettuce was crisp. There was just a bit more dressing than I preferred but overall just what I wanted as a lighter dinner.

My bf got the Pecan Pork Chops (bourbon glaze; with side of broccolini and jalapeno bacon hash browns) $21~

Originally it came with 2 other side dishes but they let him substitute. YAY! So I got to try the 2 sides I really wanted to taste. The pork chop was just a tad overcooked and so was a little dry. But with the sauce I thought it was still good. The bourbon pecan glaze was quite sweet but I love savory and sweet together. If you don't like that combo as much, then this dish is not for you. The broccolini was cooked well and I really liked the hash. A few bites with jalapeno actually had a spicy kick. I couldn't really see the bacon in there, but I definitely got the flavor. The saltiness of the hash worked well with the sweet glaze.

A few friends got the Townhouse Burger (gouda, arugula, bacon jam; with side of hand-cut fries) $13~

The bacon jam sounded interesting...and it's exactly what it was. You get bits of bacon and it's slightly sweet. I thought the burger was pretty good. I especially liked the bun...buttery...Mmmmm!

Asian Turkey Burger (pho spices, sriracha aioli; with side of hand-cut fries) $12~

We were all interested in this burger. Pho spices? I've never seen anyone use that in a burger before and can't go wrong with sriracha aioli! hehe. It was decent. The bun was more of a wheat/grain bread and it got soggy pretty quick, I wasn't a fan. The burger flavor was good but none of us could really tell the "pho" flavor. My favorite part was actually the slaw that was on top of the patty. It was crisp and refreshing and added a nice contrast of texture.

I've read many reviews where people complained about their service. I guess we got lucky then! The hostess was really nice and our waiter was great. He checked on us a lot and answered all our questions. My friend had ordered a cocktail which they served in a chilled flute and half way through the meal, our waiter brought a new chilled glass and poured the rest of her cocktail into it. That was a nice touch. :) The only thing that threw me was that he brought the check without asking us if we wanted coffee or desserts or anything. Luckily we weren't planning on ordering those anyways so it didn't bother me as much. We lingered around and chatted for a long time after that. They didn't try to get rid of us or anything so I appreciated that. And during the course of dinner, business was actually not bad. I'd say at one point 75% of the place was filled.

I would go back. There are some more items on the menu I'd like to try. Hopefully they stick around for a while.

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How many guys does it take to make a good burger?

Apparently 5 guys! hehehe :P

Five Guys Burger and Fries
13350 Dallas Parkway
Dallas, TX 75240
(972) 239-8470
http://www.fiveguys.com/
Price: $

My boss took the team out for lunch the other day. He’d been hearing people rave about the Five Guys Burgers and Fries at the Galleria for awhile and decided we needed to check it out for ourselves.

It’s on the bottom floor of the Galleria Mall. It was packed when we got there and stayed packed until we left. The place looks just like their website… You’ll know what I’m talking about if you’ve seen both. Haha. You order at the counter and they call your number to pick up at the counter.

Basically you build your own burger. They only have 4 choices of burgers: hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon burger, and bacon cheeseburger (under 2 categories: regular and little) but you get to choose your own toppings for no extra charge. You can get as many toppings as you want.

I ordered the Little Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, jalapeno peppers and hot sauce on the side…which was a little over $4~ total.

The burger was just the right size…not too big, but packed with toppings! :) To my surprise the burger was not at all greasy. The flavor was great and the buns were soft. My only complaint was the bottom bun was a little too thin and kinda got soggy. I think also because I got so many toppings…haha. I really enjoyed it and it didn’t make me feel too heavy after lunch.

We also got a large order of fries (Cajun style) to share. It was MORE than enough for the 4 of us. The fries were seasoned generously and had a nice kick to it. I also dipped it in my hot sauce for more heat…even though it probably didn’t really need it. It was quite addicting…I couldn’t stop eating it even though I was full. :P

The prices were reasonable. You can get a good size burger for about $5 or so. I definitely recommend this place if you want a good burger with fresh ingredients without paying too much.

Here are some additional facts about Five Guys that I found to be pretty positive:

- They don’t have freezers there. They only have coolers. The beef is fresh and never frozen.
- They only use Idaho potatoes fried in peanut oil…and no trans fat.
- The hamburger and hot dog buns are specially made for them from specially selected bakeries.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~