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Happy New Year Everyone!
Initially I wanted to do a "CHOMP! 2017 Top 5 Best Eats" until I started going through all my pictures and realized there's NO way I can narrow it down to just 5! I mean, c'mon! I've had wayyyy too much good food this year! So now I've split up between Sweet vs Savory, and it's going to be CHOMP! “Top 10” Best Eats. Hehe. :P (And letting y'all in on a secret... I chose "10" because that's the max number of photos I can include on a single post on Instagram. hahaha. All for the gram, amiright?)
First up! The Savory! I chose these places, some for really obvious reason likes "I go there, literally, once a week", and others because it was just very memorable. And tbh I often don't remember what I ate 2 days ago because it's almost always something new and different. haha.
I don't really want to rank these because they are all fantastic in my book, so I will list them by how often I visit them.
1. Pōk (West Village).
I mean... are you even surprised?! I basically went 1-2 times a week for a good 6 months straight. I literally have 20+ folders on my computer of photos from every visit. I freaking love this place and I actually crave it. They have the BEST poke bowls imo, plus the best matcha drinks… My favorite being the Matcha x Coco. I always build my own bowl.
Here's my go-to combination:
- Base: Bamboo Rice + Kelp Zucchini Slaw
- Protein: Salmon
- Sauce: Spicy Ponzu
- Toppings: Edamame, Kale (no longer on the menu, so I switched to Napa Cabbage), Pickled Ginger, Crispy Onions
- Premium Toppings (+$1): Avocado and/or Seaweed Salad
I rarely deviate from this. It's just TOO good! And guess what? I just had it for lunch today!
2. Pōk the Raw Bar (West Village).
I only had the chance to sit in front of Chef Jimmy Park twice at the 5 seater raw bar. I'm sad he's not at Pok anymore... it was definitely the best sushi experience I've ever had other than when I was in Japan. The Omakase/"chef tasting" was freaking amazing. I got to try many things I've never had before. I anxiously await what he's working on next.
3 & 4. Commissary (Downtown).
This place only opened back in November but is already one of my favorite spots. I started going there weekly as well and each visit would cost me around $50 because I just wanted to buy everything! XD Also, most of the time I’m there by myself so I get a lot of stares from other people. It's just me... and a whole table of food. haha. This takes spot 3 and 4 because I love their Rigatoni (pork sugo, parmesan) and their Pulled Pork Sandwich (slaw, pickles, chipotle BBQ) is the BEST I've ever had, no joke.
5. Oni Ramen (Deep Ellum).
I've only been to this location, which is his second. This location only opened back in Sept but I've been there at least 5+ times already. Each time I go, I take new people because it's so good I have to tell everyone! BEST ramen in Dallas, hands down. All the different broths are super flavorful without being super salty. And most of the bowls come standard with a ton of toppings, you rarely have to add anything else, so it's more affordable than a lot of other ramen spots. My current favorite? The Rich Tonkotsu, plus a soft boiled egg. Yum! If you want even MORE flavor? Get the Kyushu Tonkotsu (with black garlic oil).
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| That pork belly tho.... |
6. North Italia (Legacy West).
I freaking love the entire Legacy West center. All the eateries there are fantastic. But I have a weakness for pasta and North Italia has got that down! Every single pasta dish I've had there has been on point. One of my favorites being the Short Rib Radiatori (parmesan cream, fresh horseradish, wilted arugula, herbed breadcrumb). The name for the pasta is just like it's shape! Like an old style radiator! haha. But seriously, can't go wrong with ANY of their pastas.
7. Haywire (Legacy West).
I told y'all I loved this area. Haywire is one of the newest additions, only opened at the end of November. The newest member under Front Burner Restaurants who also own winners such as Sixty Vines, Whiskey Cake, The Ranch in Las Colinas, and more! I was immediately impressed walking in. 3 stories high, each floor is decked out in unique Texas decor, and they have a killer patio (and an Airstream) on the 3rd floor. Not to mention the people here are so nice, I felt so welcomed. And the food? Amazing! My favorite dish right now is the TX Whiskey BBQ Baby Back Ribs... it's off the bone tender and comes with the 2 best sides they have... the mac n cheese and the cornbread. OH the cornbread! It's amazing. I will always order one for myself. They're only a buck each! It's absolutely my favorite thing there. In the span of 3 weeks, I went 3 times. Did I mention that it's about an hour drive for me from home to Legacy West? Worth it!
8. City Hall Bistro (The Adolphus Hotel).
Probably one of the most gorgeous spaces I've seen this year. It's hidden inside the newly renovated, and so beautiful, Adolphus hotel. The food is killer and unique. They change up their menu though so my favorite item is no longer on there... Atayef (savory Lebanese pancake, duck confit, pear, black garlic aioli). But that's ok, because everything else on the menu is also amazing. Pasta game is strong!
9. Mudhen Meat & Greens (Dallas Farmers Market).
I was obsessed with this place for a while. Their food is healthy yet tasty and filling. I don't go as often as I'd like because their weekend brunch gets pretty packed so I have to plan ahead and make reservations. My favorite brunch dish here is the New English Breakfast (two eggs, applewood bacon, chicken sausage, sweet potato mash, roasted heirloom tomato, toast, and dressed arugula). So many colors, flavors, and textures on this plate. And it's pretty healthy too. I never feel heavy or overly full after leaving here.
10. Edith's French Bistro (Mockingbird Station)
This is a hidden gem. I never used to go to Mockingbird Station much because there wasn't a whole lot, but I'm loving this new addition. First of all, one of the CUTEST places, decor wise. And secondly, the food is bomb! I've only been there 3 times but I haven't had anything bad. I especially love their sandwiches. I've gotten a different one on each visit. My favorite being The Pastrami (apple fennel sauerkraut, avocado, white american cheese). I always get the Caesar salad as the side. So freaking good!! Also make sure you save room for dessert. They have a crepe station as well as several cases of cakes and pastries on display.
So many other great restaurants and dishes in 2017... I wish I could include them all. It took me several hours today to finally get it down to 10! And here's to so much more deliciousness in 2018!!!
I'll be posting the Sweets tomorrow! Stay tuned! :)
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
I've been waiting for this day to come. The raw bar at Pok is open! I saw that some friends of mine had gone opening night and they said I HAVE to go. I was leaving for my Iceland trip that Friday and my schedule was quite hectic. But I thought, "I must make this happen!!!!" :P So I contacted the chef, Chef Jimmy Park, the next day and asked if the raw bar is open daily. He told me it's open for lunch and dinner, 7 days a week! Then he said to let him know when I wanted to come in and he'll order some special fish. Um, YES PLEASE!!! I was getting REALLY excited. So we scheduled for a Wednesday night at 6PM. I invited a friend to go with me. I knew she would totally appreciate this experience. Plus it's always more fun to dine with a friend. :)
Pok the Raw Bar
3699 McKinney Ave #306
Dallas, TX 75204
(214) 484-1139
www.poktherawbar.com
Price (for the raw bar): Varies
We arrived at 6PM and the place was quieter than I'm used to. I generally go during the lunch rush. It was nice... we had 2 seats open for us at the raw bar. It is only a 6 seater, y'all, so you gotta go early! There was already another couple there and a few minutes later, 2 more guys showed up. One turned out to be a blogger as well! @eatstyledallas writes about food, fashion, and lifestyle. I've definitely seen many of his posts on Instagram. The 4 of us hit it off and that made the dinner all the more merrier!
Chef Jimmy personally made every piece of food for us that evening. It was wonderful to see him work, the passion, and to be able to talk to him throughout the meal. He's a really fun guy and his love for his craft really shines through. We were all doing the omakase (or "chef's choice") so our fate was in his hands. Honestly, I think all of us would happily eat anything he put in front of us, no questions asked. :P
We started with some Edamame. This was served cold, sprinkled with a little salt. A lot of places normally serve it warm, but the cold temp actually was quite refreshing. The edamame were big and plump. It was a good snack in between the different courses.
Let's jump right in shall we? I have to apologize in advance if I misspell anything or mis-wrote my notes. I tried to take everything down as he was introducing them.
Hiramasa with Serrano (baby yellowtail). Gorgeous dish. It was fun watching Chef Jimmy assemble it. He has a very delicate hand. He advised us to either the berry before or after the dish. It is sweet and will cleanse the palate. I opted for after. The fish was so fresh and tender. I loved the heat from the serranos. And the berry was definitely a refreshing finish.
Yellowfin Tuna from Kauai?, Hawaii. Chef Jimmy aged this tuna for 8 days. Apparently fish can be too "young", I had no idea! But the aging process creates more depth in both the color and flavor. It was fantastic as well. We had several tuna preparations and it only got better from here.
Snapper with Asian Pear and Ume Salsa. Ume is Japanese Plum. I can't say I've ever had it in salsa form. hehe. This was a cute little bite. The nugget of pear wrapped in the middle was a nice surprise. The crunch and sweetness paired with the tender fish and ume worked together so well. I've definitely never had anything like this before.
Salmon Belly (with 3 year aged soy sauce; topped with sesame seeds). I love me some salmon. That's probably why this was one of my favorite bites. It was so buttery and melted in your mouth. And the sesame seeds brought this nuttiness that hits you at the end of your bite. The progression of flavors in that one bite was pretty spectacular.
Japanese Snapper ("Matsuhisa style"; yuzu, shiso, arashio salt). No idea what Masuhisa style is but it was delicious. haha. I have to admit, I didn't understand a lot of the terms and names the chef was throwing out. But I just wrote them down. hehe.
Akami Tuna. Check out the knife skills. The chef scored the fish so more sauce can soak into it. It looks cool too!
Hirame (cured in kombu). I believe this is a Japanese flounder. I actually saw a video on Pok's IG of the chef washing it while it was still moving. This is as fresh as you get, folks! We also got to try it plain, without the rice and soy sauce.
And I gotta mention the sushi rice... it was the perfect texture. Plump grains mixed with red vinegar and sea salt. And it was the perfect temperature. Sushi rice should not be super cold. Room temp is best. It was also not packed super tight. The chef was telling us a sign of good technique is if the nigiri "moves" as the chef sets it on the plate. The rice is slightly loose so you can see it settle. And the looseness of the rice helps you experience the bite, when it "explodes" in your mouth. I definitely felt this as he was explaining it. It's quite magical.
Hokkaido Scallop. I think I've only had a scallop nigiri once in my life, and I don't remember much of it. This particular scallop had a sweetness to it. You can definitely taste it. And the scallop was as tender as can be. It was a great bite.
Homemade Shrimp. This is not frozen. The chef cleaned, prepped, butterflied the shrimp and boils it with a secret ingredient. I never order shrimp when I go to sushi restaurants because it's just not great. This was different. The texture was plumper, firmer, and definitely very fresh. The color was also vibrantly red.
Aged Tuna (marinated in soy sauce for 72 hours). Melt in your mouth tender. You can really taste the soy sauce.
Snow Crab. It's real crab, y'all! Not that imitation stuff. Expertly removed from the shell. And like the shrimp, you can tell the freshness just from the texture of the meat.
Fatty Tuna from Spain. We had this 2 ways. The first was sashimi with a little bit of sauce and I think some sort of garlic topping on top?
I can't remember anymore... I was kind of in a glorious stupor at this point. And I started taking less notes... haha. :P But I do remember that this was also one of my favorite pieces of fish. The 2nd preparation was in nigiri form. One of my favorite bites of the night.
Uni. Yaasssssssssss! I love me some uni! I just never order it in Dallas because they're usually super expensive and just quite disappointing. But you guessed it, this one did NOT disappoint. Uni has a specific texture and is an acquired taste. It's very creamy which I love! But sometimes it can get quite fishy tasting. This was fantastic. Everyone was oooh-ing and quite literally moaning. hahaha.
At this point, Chef Jimmy says "are you guys ready for round 2?" And went off to the kitchen. We all looked around at each other, really hoping he wasn't joking. We've already had so many spectacular bites... is it really only half way? OMG. I think we all became really giddy. :P
So he started us off with the more traditional sashimi and nigiri. And now he's getting more modern and fusion.
Spicy Tuna Taco (fried gyoza skin shell). When we all saw the taco shells we got super excited. This was so much fun. And just delicious. The shell was perfectly crisp, the tuna was seasoned and sauced perfectly, and the chilies on top added a little more kick.
Tuna on Lotus Chip (ponzu truffle mayo?). I'm not sure what all he put on there. But the truffle was very evident which was great. The lotus chip is not only pretty but added that crispy element. Such a cute bite.
Torched Crab Handroll (in sesame rice paper). When he first started prepping this, we had no idea what to expect. He put the shredded crab in piles on 2 plates and topped them with a spicy mayo. We were like "how do we eat that? Scoop it with our hands maybe?" haha.
But then we saw the blow torch. YAAASSSSSSSSS!!! Fire! We're gonna torch some food! It was a great show too. Big flames and we smelled the crab bake and char. Drooling!
Then he started prepping the paper. It was white and studded with sesame seeds. I have never seen this kind of rice paper before. He layered rice, some green onions, the torched crab/mayo, and eel sauce. ooOOOOoooooo! The rice paper was surprisingly soft but held everything in so well. If I had to choose, this was my favorite of the night. But only if I HAD to choose. haha.
Tuna Hand Roll. We all thought this was the last thing. But just you wait!
He ended the meal with this green berry looking thing for everyone. I still don't know what it is, but it was sweet and very tasty.
It was so amazing. We were all on cloud 9 and just chatting with the chef and chilling. Then he goes "do you want one more thing? Dessert?" Sure! But then we saw the blowtorch again and he began to prep eel?
Japanese Sea Eel (the eel was used to make the eel sauce too). Eel for dessert? I can dig it.. the sauce is usually a littel sweet anyways. hahaha. :P The sauce glistened on the torched eel. It was sooooo good. A wonderful finale.
But then... as we sat around and chatted some more. The waitress brought over actual desserts for all of us. It's kind of like an Asian Ice Cream Sandwich.
The outside shell is similar to a cake cone texture. I've had many of these when I go overseas. Different shapes, filled with different flavors and fillings. This had vanilla ice cream inside and was served on a pool of honey. As I held it up to me, I saw there was a layer of something dark on the ice cream. I thought it was going to be red bean paste but it turns out to be a thin layer of hardshell chocolate. Even better!!
We were all moaning and oooh-ing again. hahaha. It had been a very foodgasmic experience for sure! And finally, we ended on a spectacular bite. I kept secretly hoping if we linger around some more we would get even more food though. hahaha.
The whole dinner took almost 2.5 hours. A fantastic 2.5 hours! It was nice to just sit there and enjoy every aspect of the meal... Chef Jimmy's love and talent for what he does, the exquisite quality of all the ingredients, and the journey he took us on from beginning to end. My friend said he has truly ruined all other sushi experiences for her. haha. I'd have to agree. I can't think of a single place in Dallas that does what Chef Jimmy is doing with the raw bar. To have a dedicated chef making you course by course... it really brought me back to my trips to Japan.
And the price point? It's killer. If you get "The Pok", it's $35 and you get some amazing things. The "Trust Me" omakase will be varied by market price and number of pieces, but it will still be a great deal and totally worth it.
Thank you, Chef Jimmy, for taking us on this gastronomical journey. I CANNOT wait to see what else you bring for us in the future!! And thanks to our waitress, Tina, who kept us hydrated the entire night, constantly replenishing our water glasses, and clearing our dirty dishes. :)
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value (we got a killer discount!):
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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