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It's the last day of 2017!! Hope your year was as sweet as mine. Here's my "Top 10 Sweet Bites" for the year. It was pretty hard to narrow it down. Y'all know I lurrrv my desserts.
These are not ranked btw... I love them all. But I've definitely have some more than others. And SERIOUSLY craving some right now...
- Starbucks Reserve (Legacy West).
This place has made me like coffee. Even if the coffee is topped with a scoop of ice cream. haha. :P The House Affogato from Starbucks Reserve is delicious. And I'm obsessed with this place. I love sitting at the bar so I can watch the baristas demo the siphon coffee. One of these days I'll have to go to one of their workshops! Also fantastic... the Cold Brew Malt... basically a coffee milkshake - Cold Brew, 2 scoops of ice cream, Starbucks' malt powder.
- Bisous Bisous Patisserie (West Village).
I've definitely spent a lot of time in West Village this year. Between Pok and the Summer Sammie pop ups from Bisous Bisous, it's like I lived there. I went almost every weekend they were available. Warm and flaky croissant waffles made to order with seasonal ice cream flavors sandwiched in the middle. So yummy!
- Val's Cheesecakes (Maple Ave, Lower Greenville).
Best cheesecakes ever. I definitely ate A LOT of his cheesecakes this year, include TWO whole ones. They make a great addition to any special occasion and he can do anything you want in his custom creations. My all time favorite... the Classic Blueberry. I still have a few jars in my fridge, better go get those now!
- Everett & Elaine (Legacy Food Hall & Dallas Farmers Market)
I first stumbled upon E&E earlier this year at the Dallas Farmers Market. They makes some of the most delicious looking desserts and pastries. But since they've opened their stall inside the Legacy Food Hall, I've discovered my favorite thing there. The Tiramisu Cotton Cheesecake. It's an Asian style (super fluffy) cheesecake with a decadent tiramisu topping. It's on a whole different level. You cannot compare it with anything else. Every single person that I've recommended it to has loved it.
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| Photo by @_rachelann_ |
- Commissary (Downtown).
Again, one of my favorite places this year. They have a gorgeous dessert display and so far everything I've tried is good. However, the first thing I had there, the Triple Chocolate Eclair, remains one of my favorites. It's like a Ferrero Rocher, which is one of my favorite candies. Plus it's fancy.
- North Italia (Legacy West).
Again, one of my favorite spots this year. Make sure you make room for dessert after all those amazing pastas. Their Tiramisu is probably one of the best I've had to date. Rich espresso flavor and cream, lots of chocolates, and the crunchy chocolate balls totally makes it.
- Tommy Bahama (Legacy West).
I didn't even know TB had restaurants until I went to the Legacy West grand opening. The decor is so festive and the food is quite fantastic. But... their desserts are definitely the star. One of the prettiest desserts I've had this year... and definitely the BEST creme brulee ever, imo. Their Pineapple Creme Brulee is baked inside an actual pineapple!! So bright and fun and fresh.
- District Food & Wine (Design District).
This is definitely a hidden gem. They're only open for lunch during the week so I don't think most people know it's there. But the BEST Lemon Cake of my life! I don't even really like lemon desserts very much and I chose this over the chocolate cake. What?? Not too tart or too sweet, the cake is fluffy and perfect. I still think about it from time to time.
- Emporium Pies (Bishop Arts District, Deep Ellum, Downtown McKinney).
This is my favorite pie place in Dallas so it's really hard to pick a single one that I love. But I found my absolute favorite pie this year... and that's a pretty bold statement coming from me. The Nutty Honey from the Fall Menu... peanut butter and honey. Please bring it back!!
- We the Birds Macarons.
So... these are not limited to 2017, but I've got to give a shout out to my friends at We the Birds for having the most beautiful and delicious macarons ever. I prefer theirs over Ladurée. Yes, you can quote me on that. I gifted several of their custom flavors to friends this year so I think it's relevant. :P Love y'all!
Sweet Dreams everyone! And have the most amazing 2018!
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Sixty Vines... quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Plano. It's just such a beautiful space, and of course the food is fantastic. I was invited to come check them out for lunch and I was ecstatic! Luckily I had a doctor's appointment in Plano in the morning so I took half a day off work and had a long lunch with a friend.
Sixty Vines
3701 Dallas Pkwy.
Plano, TX 75093
(469) 620-8463
https://sixtyvines.com
Price (for lunch): $$
Did I mention I love the decor and space? We were initially seated by the kitchen which was an open space so you can see them work. While I love that, it was a little dim. So we moved to their covered patio seating. The weather was cool and kind of overcast, perfect for taking photos!
Our waitress was Kirsten. She had only been working there for a few months but was extremely knowlegeable of the menu and their VERY extensive wine menu. The name IS Sixty Vines... meaning they have 60 wines on tap. Yes. ON TAP. And tons more by the bottle. So naturally they feature a lot of drink specials. :)
Bubble Monday - Half Off all bubbly
Rose All Day Tuesday - Half off all sparkling and still Rose
Wino Wednesday - Half off all premium and super premium wines
They also have an ipad for all the wine options which is really helpful if you want more information on certain wines, which dishes on their menu pairs best with which wine, and flights for those who want to try multiple types. You can probably spend a whole day going through and reading their selections.
Kirsten told us they also have a Frose (frozen rose with a splash of Rosa Regale). I don't really drink, but I do love sweet wines like moscato... and Rosa Regale is one of my favs. So I got the frose to try, plus it's really pretty.
My friend ordered the Rosa Regale per Kirsten's recommendations (and mine. hehe). She loved it. Had a 2nd one! :P
We started with the Garden Vegetables (fresh chilled vegetables, pears, lettuces, green goddess dressing) $11~
The veggies change depending on the season. I knew we were going to order a bunch of carbs for the main dishes so this is my attempt to be a little healthier. ha! It IS super healthy. The bowl was so colorful and pretty. You can just FEEL the freshness by looking at it. Other than the celery, I loved all the different veggie selections. My favorites if I had to choose... the tomatoes and asparagus. But they were all good. And that green goddess dressing was absolutely necessary!
For the entrees we got several different things to share. And I wanted to get things that I haven't tried before.
Tonnarelli (coconut and cilantro infused noodle, jumbo gulf shrimp, spinach, basil, cracked black pepper, pecorino romano) Full Order $15~ You can also get half order for $8.
I freaking love pasta... I will always choose pasta over pizza. The coconut and cilantro infused noodle sounds so interesting. However, neither of us could taste those flavors. The shrimp, while super plump, overpowered the entire dish imo. I did like the hints of basil throughout. Their pastas are made fresh daily, so our pasta was literally made like 2 hours before we got there. So fresh!
Weekly Pizza: Autumn Flatbread (acorn squash and sage infused white sauce, provolone, halloumi cheese, butternut squash, herb roasted turkey, cranberry, arugula, freshly grated Pecorino Romano)
When Kirsten started describing this to us... we kept nodding our heads cuz we knew we had to get this. I love anything with butternut squash. This is fall in pizza form. The acorn squash and butternut squash made it sweet and savory. The dough had a nice chewy texture. I loved the arugula on top to add a little peppery-ness. Our only complaint was it was a little dry. A drizzle or dipping of sauce of some kind would be perfect.
Short Rib Sourdough Melt (red wine braised short rib, basil pesto aioli, tomato, fresh mozzarella, balsamic, sourdough, duck fat lemon potatoes) $15~
Y'all. This dish stole the show! Not only did it look and smell amazing. It tasted even better. I'm not even a sourdough fan. But the bread was nice and crispy. The short rib was tender. The aioli and cheese and balsamic added so much flavor. And my friend extra loved it cuz it was saucy. Definitely an extra napkin sandwich if you are going to pick it up. hehe. Huge portion too. We each ate half and it filled us up! The duck fat potatoes were great too.. but we had too much food to pay that much attention. haha. Highly recommend this!!
Deviled Affogato (devil's food cake, salted caramel ice cream, coffee caramel, nitro cold brew coffee shot) $7~
We got a dessert to share. I haven't had their desserts yet and this sounded so good. I recently started loving affogato. I don't really like coffee so it wasn't something I normally order, but since Starbucks Reserve in Legacy West, I've discovered that I LOVE affogatos. Mixing ice cream sure makes the coffee better! haha. This also is on a chocolate cake. It was wonderful. The coffee, caramel and ice cream gets soaked up into the cake. YUM!

It was a fabulous lunch. I got to catch up with my friend, have delicious food, and enjoy the nice fall weather. The food was great, just as I expected. And Kirsten was a fantastic waitress. We were given plenty of attention, she was extremely knowlegeable, and super nice. Also, at some point during the meal, everyone came to greet us, the manager, the chef, etc. We definitely felt very special. So get over there if you haven't yet. And keep in mind that Monday - Wednesday are great for drink specials! Ohhhh... and they told us that they are getting ready to roll out some new lunch menu items too. So keep an eye out for that!
Thank you so much, Sixty Vines, for having us. We will definitely be back soon! :)
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~