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Haywire opened at Legacy West in Plano just 2 weeks ago. Being part of the restaurant group that brought us Whiskey Cake, Sixty Vines, Ida Claire, and more... this place was definitely on my radar. My husband and I happened to be in Plano on the 2nd night of opening so I quickly snagged a reservation.
*Now open for Lunch and Dinner. Brunch will start Christmas weekend!*
Haywire - Legacy West
5901 Winthrop St. Suite 110
Plano, TX 75024
(972) 781-9473
http://haywirerestaurant.com/
Price (dinner): $$$+
Y'all... this place is amazing!! My husband was caught in traffic so I explored the place while waiting for him. THREE floors completely decked out in awesome decor. Definitely a very western/Texas theme, but each floor had its own vibe. Also, a bar on every floor! The rooftop is extra awesome, complete with a cabin-esque nook area to enjoy a game, and a full size Airstream! It's a fancy Airstream too, I would like to dine in there some time.
This place is huge! It's definitely going to be a popular spot when the weather is nice. So I was walking around just looking and taking pictures when I was greeted by the GM and the Director of Operations from Front Burner Restaurants. They just walked up and said hi! How nice! They informed me that they were having a complimentary wine tasting event and asked if I wanted some wine. I don't drink, but they guided me over there for some appetizers and cheese boards. Yay, free food! I sampled the Cornmeal Fried Texas Gulf Oyster and Fried Green Tomato (with Green Goddess dressing).
So good. I'm not a huge oyster fan but it was so good! And loved the fried green tomatoes. You must have the dressing! Btw... since I don't drink wine, the GM brought me a glass of water, himself! I felt so special!! :)
I was getting a little worried and feeling bad that we were so late for our reservation, however, they were so laid back and easy going. When my husband arrived, we even went and got him some free wine first before being seated. The main dining area is super cool. Dimly lit, and really nice decor. They have a sitting area with really cool chairs and a fireplace.
Our waiter, Oscar, came over to greet us. He was super nice! We noticed that it was Happy Hour and he helped to recommend some drinks. My husband got the Frozen Texas Tea (4 types of liquor; with sangria swirl) $5~ during HH.
This was a bigger glass than I expected. It was really yummy... did NOT feel like you were drinking that many different kinds of alcohol. But that's deadly right? My husband liked it so much he ordered a 2nd one, and that was one too many! He got quite tipsy towards the end of the meal. haha.
Happy Hour is M-F from 4-7PM. They have $5 apps and drinks. I highly recommend the Frozen Texas Tea. But have a DD! And... half priced wines every Sunday!
Mini Elk Tacos (spicy elk picadillo, caciotta cheese, grilled corn pico, cilantro crema, micro greens) $9.95~
We were also intrigued by the elk tacos from the HH menu, but they hadn't started food specials when we went. We got them anyways. So the meat is a elk and wagyu beef blend so it's not gamey at all. I was a little surprised it was a crispy taco... these days most people do soft corn tortillas (which I don't like). I liked the crispy taco shell. It was filled to the brim with meat. The toppings kept falling out. haha. A good problem to have. It was really good. I would've like some hot sauce but I just like spicy foods. hehe.
I asked Oscar about their cornbreads cuz a friend of mine had gone the day before and raved about them. I asked him because it's not on the menu... But yes, you can order them, and it's super cheap.
Buttery Cornbread. I think they're like $1~ each?
Can I get a dozen to go please! :P These were my favorite things of the night. They were perfection! Warm, fluffy, with slightly crispy edges. It was sweet yet had a slight heat to it. I wonder what kind of spice they used but it was very slight... you just get a hint of heat. Enough to make you wonder. Loved it. I can have this with my meal, or as dessert.
For the entrees, there were so many things we wanted. I ended up with the Mesquite Grilled Bone-in Pork Chop (warm farro and rainbow chard salad, smoked chili honey butter) $24.95~
Mainly because of the farro and chard salad... sounded yummy! Plus this was healthier than getting the mac and cheese. (Next time!) Really thick cut pork chop, perfectly tender. I ordered it medium and it was a little under. Since it's bone-in, it takes a little longer to cook through. I would suggest med-well for next time. Loved the flavors too. The farro salad was amazing and had this peppery-ness to it. I liked the bit of heat.
My husband went with the Double Cut Texas Wild Boar Chops (local oyster and shiitake mushrooms, butternut squash, cipollini onions, pan jus) $31.95~
The most tender boar everrr! We did notice that the veggies underneath did not include any of the mushrooms or onions so we brought it to Oscar's attention. He was able to get us a side dish of that. Ours just had brussels sprouts and butternut squash which also paired really well with the boar. I did wish the chops were bigger though. My husband inhaled his plate quickly.
We were pretty full. But I made sure to stop eating and take the rest of my entree to go because I wanted dessert. My husband regretted getting the 2nd drink because now he's way too full. haha. To our surprise, Oscar asked us if we wanted a slice of cake and it was going to be on the house. Well duh!! Bring it on! :P We chose the Chocolate Cake (with vanilla ice cream). Not sure how much the cake is since it was on the house! :)
It was a big slice of chocolate decadence. That ganache is amazing. We ended up taking more than half of the cake to go, but killed the ice cream. Tip: If you let the cake warm up a bit... it's even better!!
It was a fabulous dinner. Brian, the GM, came by and talked to us for a while. Another manager came by to greet us towards the end of the meal too. And Oscar was just a joy. We absolutely loved our experience and cannot wait to go back. We're already planning to visit again next week.. and bringing LOTS of friends. :D
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I had a car appointment in McKinney early last week. So I took the opportunity to go back to Harvest! This time for their lunch service which only started a little over a week ago. I met up with my ex-boss (who was the one that told me about this place from the beginning), and he hasn't been there yet.
I had made a reservation, but the place was only about 30% full when we arrived at 12:30PM. Might've been the terrible rainy weather that slowed business? But I'm not sure if a lunch reservation on the weekdays is necessary.
Harvest Seasonal Kitchen
112 E. Louisiana St.
McKinney, TX 75069
(214) 726-0251
http://harvesttx.com/
Price (for lunch): $$
I still love the decor so much. It was extra smokey inside that day though. The kitchen was in a cloud of smoke... I wonder if something burned?
We started with the Deviled Eggs (Texas pecans, pickled mustard seed, pickled red onions) $5~ I loved it the first time and it's just as good the second. My boss really liked it too. Just hits all the flavors and textures. :)
We both decided on the Fall Duo (choice of two: half sandwich, half salad, cup of soup) $9~
I got the Turkey Sandwich (house smoked turkey breast, jalapeno jelly, avocado, smoked cheddar, whole grain wheat bread). $9~ if you get the full sandwich and it comes potato chips.
I laughed a little when our half sandwiches came. They looks so small! But this was so delicious!! I really wished there was more, but with the soup and the appetizer/dessert we got, I was plenty stuffed. The jalapeno jelly is what sealed the deal for me to order this. The waitress said it was pretty amazing and I took her advice. YUM! The jalapeno jelly was the cherry on top. It was sweet for the most part then I started getting a little bit of that jalapeno kick. It was perfect with the flavors of the smoked cheddar. The avocado added a richness to make the sandwich more substantial. I'd totally get this again. And I need to get my hands on a jar of that jalapeno jelly!
BLT (bacon, watercress, fried green tomatoes, sun-dried tomato aioli, Texas toast). My boss says he loves fried green tomatoes. It looked really good with that thick Texas toast. He said it was really good.
Butternut Squash Soup (cream, pumpkin seeds, paprika).
We both got a cup of the soup. One of my favorite fall vegetable.. or just in general. haha. Doesn't have to be the fall. The soup was silky and luxurious. Creamy soups are my fav! I love the pumpkin seeds in there to add texture. I could've drank a bucket of this.
Grandma's 'Tomato Soup' Spice Cake (pecans, raisins, butter cream icing) $6~
We got this to share. It sounded super interesting. The waitress was explaining to us that the chef got this recipe from the 1930's, when dairy wasn't all that available so they used tomato soup as the wet ingredient in baking. Much like the concept of using apple sauce when baking. It was yummy. And a HUGE slice! Filled with dried fruits and nuts and just enough cream cheese frosting. You can't taste the tomato soup at all. We couldn't finish it between the 2 of us. I took 1/3rd of it home!
Delicious meal once again. And our waitress was fantastic. Still love this place! Can't wait to go back again. :)
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I think I have found my favorite new restaurant of this year. Harvest in downtown McKinney just opened in late September 2014. I was first told by my old boss, who is also a big foodie, of this up and coming place. I checked out the website immediately and was excited to try it. McKinney is pretty damn far... but we were headed there for a group event this past weekend so I knew I wanted to stop in for dinner.
Harvest Seasonal Kitchen
112 E. Louisiana St.
McKinney, TX 75069
(214) 726-0251
http://harvesttx.com/
Price: $$$
My friends and I were scheduled to do a BYOB painting class at Wild Brush Studios at 7PM last Saturday. So I wanted to go get an early dinner before the class. My boss said he's been trying to go for awhile but they are always booked. Luckily it was an earlier dinner for us so we were able to get 4 people in at 5:30PM.
It's located right in downtown McKinney, which is such a cute place btw. You should take an afternoon and go check it out sometime. The place is super cute, large doors at the entrance were all open which leads into a covered "patio" area with chair swings, etc. Then you walk into another door to the main dining area. I loved the decor. Rustic, homey, but sophisticated. Brick walls, wood planks, wood tables, and wild flowers on the tables. The water glasses are like the recycled wine bottles. They had just opened up one of their new rooms the day we went so we got to sit in there. It was nice because it was smaller and less noisy.
While we were waiting on our friends, the waitress came by, brought us some waters. And introduced their cocktail menu. They offer these infused cocktails with flavors like blueberry and basil infused vodka, or charred peach infused bourbon which sounds interesting.
My fiance ordered the Harvest Cocktail (cinnamon and vanilla bean infused vodka, pineapple, lime juice) $11~
I thought the combination of flavors was quite unique. I wouldn't really think of putting pineapple and vanilla together. It was too strong for me and not sweet enough but I'm a super lightweight. He liked it. You can actually taste all the elements though, I thought that was cool.
Since we had a limited time to eat, we decided to order the Catfish & Hush Puppies (bacon, cabbage, brussels sprouts, chow chow tartar sauce) $10~ before our friends arrived.
They were running late. I loved the presentation of this on the wood board. It was fantastic. The catfish was fried perfectly, crunchy on the outside and melt in your mouth tender on the inside. My favorite was the hush puppies though, not sure what the used to season it but it had a lot of flavor. And paired really well with the cabbage/brussels sprouts slaw and tartar sauce. Deeeeelicious!
Bread Basket (multigrain, sweet bread, corn bread madeleines).
The waitress brought us some bread, all baked in house I believe. They were all good but the sweet bread was best. Slightly sweet, took me by surprise since I thought it was just regular white bread at first. They also had a corn bread madeleine. I enjoyed it, but it's not as good as the ones they used to have at Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen... (just thinking about them closing make me wanna cry!) :(
Deviled Eggs (Texas pecans, pickled mustard seed, pickled red onions) $5~
Our friends ordered this. The presentation was super cute as well. Using the egg cartons as the vessels for the eggs. Good way to reuse materials! I know it's a big bite, but I recommend eating the whole thing in one bite. It was fantastic. So many different flavors and textures. The candied pecan was such an interesting twist! It added sweetness and a crunch factor. The pickled elements had a slight tartness, the egg was savory and the yolk was creamy. I think it hit every flavor profile. I'd eat this again in a heartbeat!
They also shared a Kale Salad (goat cheese, candied pecans, cranberry, oat groats, lemon vinaigrette). The kitchen went ahead and split the plates for them. (Picture shows half size.)
For the entree I got the Farm Egg & Griddled Wheat (fried egg, griddled wheat cake, roasted butternut squash, mushroom) $15~
Everything looked good on the menu but the griddled wheat and butternut squash won me over on this. I was curious to see what griddled wheat cake was. The waitress kind of compared it to a polenta cake where it's shaped then cooked on the griddle. But the texture was definitely not like polenta. It was almost a more dense and compact form of savory bread pudding? Cutting into the egg and letting the yolk drip down was awesome. And whatever that gravy/sauce is on the plate with the butternut and mushrooms paired it beautifully. It was bigger than I expected and totally filling. Something I've never had before and I'm glad I got to try something new! Will order again!
Braised Beef Belly (red wine and tomato braise, mashed red skin potatoes, herbs) $25~
My fiance ordered this. It was also in my list of options. Anything "braised" or with "belly" is usually a winner in my books. He subbed the mashed potatoes for the Sweet Potato Hash. It was so good. The meat was super tender. A little too fatty for him, but I loved it. The red wine/tomato sauce on top had so much flavor. And I have to say... the sweet potato hash gave the main protein a run for it's money. It was cooked perfectly, had lots of flavor, and there were chunks of beef in there. Really really tasty.
One friend ordered the Flat Iron (broccolini, horseradish and parsnip cream, balsamic) $25~
When the dish came, the food was lukewarm. She mentioned it to the waitress and she immediately apologized and brought her a new one. She ordered it medium well which is too overcooked for me, but the meat was still really tender!
The other friend got the Chicken Fried Buffalo (squash gratin, mashed sweet potato, sage sausage gravy) $18~
I was curious about this too. I liked the batter/crust on the buffalo. I ate my bite with some of the mashed sweet potato and actually thought it was too sweet! I felt the sweet potato overpowered the other flavors a little. But I can probably eat the sweet potato on its own and love it. However, the squash gratin, which was served separately on the side in a little mini cast iron pot was the winner of the night. It was so velvety and luxurious. I think the waitress said it was a mix of 2 different types of squash... I forget which. I think I'll just take a bowl of this next time. :P
Since our class was at 7... we were already running late. That means no time for dessert. But I had already planned on picking up Emporium Pies to take into the class with us anyways. So it was dine and dash! Next time I will certainly set aside more time to enjoy the food and ambiance.
I thoroughly enjoyed this dinner even though it was rushed. I loved the decor and mood of the place. I also liked that you saw the open kitchen as you walk through the restaurant to the restrooms in the back. The service was fantastic. Smiles and welcomes as soon as we walked in. The food is wonderfully presented and all tasted great. Their concept is creating relationships with the community and environment. The menu is seasonal and feature organic, local and regional ingredients. They listed all the artisans, farmers, ranchers, growers, and fishermen that provided the goods in the back of the menu. I thought that was totally cool. I've heard their style of food being called "modern Texas cuisine"... I'm not sure if this is a fairly new term, but it's new to me. :P
I also wanted to mention The Seed Project. They gave us these little cards with our check. The waitress came by and explained it to us a little bit and told us that if we plant this card, flowers will grow! How cool!
The Seed Project is an initiative aimed at highlighting the importance of sustainability. The soon-to-be foundation funds education and agriculture initiatives that support sustainable farming. The project raises funds through the ‘Harvest Collection’ – a series of art celebrating farms, ranches and artisans in the area, the sale of seasonal ‘Harvest’ candles, the sale of our ‘One Heart Texas’ wine and seasonal harvest dinners, the first seasonal dinner will be December 22, 2014.
Harvest dinner dates:
Spring harvest: March 19th
Summer harvest: June 25th
Fall harvest: September 23rd
Winter harvest: December 22nd
I'm definitely going to try and attend some of these dinners! :)
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