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Earlier this month, my co-workers and I went to go check out Banh Shop for lunch. None of us had been but we wanted something Asian.
Banh Shop
5629 SMU Boulevard
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 890-9776
http://banhshop.com/
Price: $-$$
We got there around noon, the place was pretty empty, which was good because we didn't have a lot of time. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table.
I saw on Yelp that you get a Free Soup Shot or dessert if you check-in. They were out of desserts that day so I got the soup shot. It's a cute little cup of what looks like pho broth with a few stands of rice noodle. Way too sour for me, so I didn't finish it. Aside from the sourness, the rest of the flavors were not bad.
I also got the special for the day: Korean Fried Chicken Banh Mi (crispy hand dipped chicken breast in beer batter, a layer of house kimchee, a layer of house cured pickles with red pepper flakes; served with tangy Korean pepper sauce and sriracha aioli) $6.95~
I do love Korean fried chicken! And I always like trying new things. The rest of the menu items will always be there but daily specials can go away. It was a pretty big sandwich and piled quite high. The bread was toasted a bit too much in my opinion because it felt like it was going to cut the inside of my mouth. Also because the sandwich was so tall, I wasn't sure how it was going to fit in my mouth. haha. Aside from the slightly hard bread, the rest of the banh mi was great. The chicken was fried well. I loved the kimchi and pickles, and didn't have too much sauce. I hate it when things are over-sauced. It wasn't very spicy so I put sriracha on it. I quite enjoyed it. I would eat it again.
One co-worker got the Vietnamese-Style Chicken Soup (char-grilled chicken in a seasoned chicken broth with Asian spices, scallions, bean sprouts, cilantro, red onion, lime, bean thread noodles; served with a baguette) $7.50~
It was a large bowl of soup with thin, clear noodles in it. She said it was pretty good. I didn't try it, but I wondered if it tasted like my soup shot.
The other co-worker got the Banh Fire Bowl (stir fry of carrots, bean sprouts, red onion, scallion, cilantro, tossed in a spicy tamarind sauce and topped with peanuts, "Banh Fire" jalapeno pesto, and dollop of cooling sour cream. Served over white rice, choice of protein) $8.50~
He subbed rice noodles in place of the rice and chose chicken. The rice noodles were what you'd normally get in Pad Thai. I got the try a bite, the noodles were slightly overcooked and I felt there was too much sauce. But the flavors were good. i thought the addition of the pesto plus sour cream was an interesting touch. He enjoyed it.
It was a good lunch. We all liked what we got. I'm not sure if I would make a point of going back. But if I'm in the area, I wouldn't be opposed to going there. :)
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value:
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
This past Saturday was the Addison Food Truck Festival at Vitruvian Park. I didn't even know this part of Addison existed! It was a pretty cool area with some niiiice apartments.
Vitruvian Park
3875 Ponte Ave
Addison, TX 75001
I thought I'd give this festival a try since The Belgian Waffle truck from Austin was back in Dallas for the week. They ran out before I got to try it at the TX Food Truck Festival a few weeks back so this was my chance again.
The festival was from 3-10PM. Considering everything was sold out by the time I got to the last festival around 7:30PM, this time I was determined to go earlier. I met up with a few friends there around 4:45PM. I was happy to see that there were no lines at all! But I quickly learned that it's because it was freakishly hot... Oh well, better make the most of it!
We walked down the street to see all the trucks first. There were about 12-14 trucks during the course of the festival. Most of them I've seen before but not tried.
We stopped first at The Butcher's Son. I've seen their menu online and it all looked delicious but my friends have had some bad experiences with them. I was a little weary but the menu just looked so amazing.
Especially The Dead Elvis Slider (nutella, peanut butter and bacon on a Brioche slider roll) $2.89~ We HAD to get it...this is something you don't pass up. It was amazing. I'm still dreaming about it. So simple but so delicious. The gooey, melty, creamy peanut butter and nutell with the salty and crispy bacon inside the soft buttery brioche. Everything worked together and there was just enough elements of everything. If you don't like sweet+savory, just go ahead and skip this. But if you love it, this is for you! I would eat this over and over again. I thought their pricing was a bit odd though. Why not just round up to $3 or at least $2.90?
We also got the Southern Hospitality Slider (buttermilk fried chicken tenderloin, garlic potato spread and white country gravy on a Brioche slider roll) $2.89~
This didn't compare to the Dead Elvis but was still yummy. The chicken was fried well and really juicy. There was just the right amount of mashed potato and gravy. And I always love brioche! I think it would be awesome if they made a jalapeno gravy or had the option of adding some sliced jalapenos or something.
I think they have better sliders than Easy Slider truck. The elements and flavors were better.
Overall:
I tell everyone about the Coolhaus truck. I'm always interested in seeing what crazy new flavors they have. And it was great that there were no lines because we got to sample a bunch of the different flavors.
I ended up sharing the Hot Cake Cookies (fluffy pancake with real maple bits) with cherry cheesecake ice cream $5.50~
The cookie was fantastic. We all agreed. I especially liked the crunchy maple (toffee-like) bits in the cookie. The ice cream was nice with slight tartness from the cherry. Although I ate a piece of the cherry itself and it was a little too sour for me. I can't handle sour stuff...
My other friend got Hot Cake Cookies (fluffy pancake with real maple bits) with coffee Oreo heckman ice cream $5.50~
I loved the coffee flavor with the hot cake cookie. I didn't care for the oreo bits. For one they were too big and kinda made it too sweet. Plain coffee ice cream would've been perfect.
Overall:
Nammi (Vietnamese Food Truck)
My friend wanted the Grilled Pork Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich on 12" baguette with garlic mayonnaise, cucumbers, pickled daikons & carrots, jalapenos, cilantro) $7~
I still think Nammi has the best bang for your buck when it comes to their portions. And I like their bread a lot. But I feel like the texture of their pork is a bit off...too soft almost?
Later, another friend got the Tofu Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich on 12" baguette with garlic mayonnaise, cucumbers, pickled daikons & carrots, jalapenos, cilantro) $7~
I just tried a piece of the tofu. I actually really liked it. I thought it was better than the pork. I tasted a bit of lemongrass I think. He said it was a bit too salty though after eating the whole thing.
Overall:
I've heard great things about Ruthie's Rolling Cafe so I've wanted to try them for a while.
We got a Build Your Own Grilled Cheese (Hippie Health bread, pepper jack cheese, chicken, caramelized onions) $8+~
OMG!! So expensive for a grilled cheese! I had really high hopes for it. But once we got it, I knew I was going to be disappointed. It was NOT worth the price at all. It was so flat! And they used deli chicken... At least use a better cut of meat or something. And for a grilled cheese, it wasn't very cheesy. I expect grilled cheese to have melty cheese gooey and oozing out the sides. This one barely had cheese in there...
And the flavors were quite one dimensional. I ended up going to the Nammi truck and put some sriracha on it. Made ALL the difference in the world!! I think I would've paid MAX $3 for this. At least now I know... :(
Overall:
Finally, I was able to get my waffle from The Belgian Waffle Truck! Initially I was going to get the Cinnamon waffle but I asked about their Chocolate Waffle thinking that it was a chocolate batter. The guy was really nice and explained that they do the chocolate waffle in 2 ways. One is traditionally Belgium with the chocolate injected into the waffle. Another option is a regular waffle with nutella on top. The traditional one sounded a lot more interesting so I changed my order to that.
Chocolate Waffle de Liege (with whipped cream) $6~
This is pretty pricey for just a piece of waffle. And I noticed that they use canned whipped cream... For the price I would think it would be fresh. The service was good but the wait for the waffle was wayyy too long. I think we waited about 10-15 minutes for our order considering there wasn't a line in front of the truck. All the people in front were waiting. Finally I got my waffle. It smelled great. And was hot straight off the griddle. But then I cut into it... The outside was overcooked and slightly rubbery while the inside wasn't cooked through. I wonder if they tried to speed up the cooking process by upping the heat but then it just ended up cooking the outside too much and not enough on the inside. Blah! The chocolate sauce was nice but it was such a disappointment. :( Next time I want a great waffle dessert, I'll just go back to Sweet Mix! (If you haven't had their waffle sandwiches, you must go!) Plus you get more there for the money.
Overall:
By about 7-7:30PM or so, the crowd started picking up and it was cooling off. It was a cool area because people living in the apartments were coming over with their coolers and blankets and stuff. I think in the future the organizing party needs to put up more shaded seating areas. It was really a beating to be out in the sun from 5-7pm... But I'd say it was a much better festival experience than the one at Valley View Mall a few weeks ago. I doubt I'll be going to much more now that we're entering summer though. haha. Until the fall...
Overall Festival:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Over the weekend, I went with a large group of friends to go check out DaLat, since they started their soft opening on April 18th. Initially they were only open from 10PM - 2AM, but due to the positive responses, they have recently increased their hours. You can find their weekly hours on their facebook page.
Dalat Restaurant and Bar
2537 N. Fitzhugh Ave.
Dallas, TX 75204
(214) 827-3200
www.DALATdallas.com
Price: $
The restaurant is all finished and clean and I loved the massive Asian style dragon painted on the wall. Luckily it wasn't too busy then since we had a group of 14-15 people. Khanh, the owner, came by to greet us and chat with us throughout the meal. I'm so glad to hear that business is already doing well!
Since it's a soft opening, the food choices were somewhat limited and the final menus haven't been printed yet.
I got to take pictures of pretty much everything since we had such a big group. YAY! :)
To start... my friend ordered Tang $2~
Yes, Tang. The orange juice drink. If you know what I'm talking about, then I'm sure you're pretty excited. My friend said it brought back memories. haha. (And just a side note, I think they now serve something called a TangMosa.... Intrigued?? Go try it out for yourself!)
DaLat Rolls (egg roll inside a spring roll, served with house-made peanut sauce) $4~
Interesting concept. I haven't seen it done like this before, but it didn't work for me. The eggroll kind of got soggy inside the spring roll wrapper. But don't worry, I gave some suggestions. Hopefully they are making some tweaks and changes to make it better! The eggroll flavor was good though. And the star was the peanut sauce. Homemade peanut sauce... soooo good! Khanh makes it himself!
They have a condiments/garnish bar, where you can get your own bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, onions, etc. Everyone does their pho differently. I personally love TONS of bean sprouts and basil. This way you can have it exactly how you want!
Chicken Pho $8~
I didn't try this but my friend (who was Vietnamese) said the broth was really good. There were also large pieces of chicken breast in there. You also see some pork meatballs...it's optional.
Pork Meatballs Pho $8~
They were actually running behind and was still cooking the beef pho, so the rest of the group got the meatball pho. Homemade pork meatballs. YUM! I don't think I've ever had it in other Vietnamese restaurants before. It was so tender and full of flavor. It's their newest addition... and it's a good one.
They also have KhanhWICHES (Vietnamese Banh Mi, but different...and better) $5.50~ each.
Italian (Genoa salami and peppered turkey).
This was like a regular Banh Mi with the traditional toppings but with a little Italian flair. Packed with meat and lots of flavor, I'd say this was my favorite sandwich of the night. The bread was great. It was crusty and buttery but not overly hard like some baguettes can get. They also hollow out the middle a bit to make room for more stuff and so it's not too thick to bite into. And yes, that is Doritos on the side. Not sure if that's a permanent thing or not. haha.
Albacore Tuna.
This is kinda like tuna salad with Banh Mi toppings. I liked the flavor and texture of the tuna but there wasn't enough. I made sure to let them know that as well so they can work on the portioning of the dishes. I dipped it in sriracha...double delish!
SPAM. Yes, SPAM. Out of the can.
They slice it and put it in a sandwich for ya. My friends actually asked them to grill it so it's just not straight out of the can. Look for more potential revisions to this dish in the future.
Beef Pho $8~
Khanh came over after the meal and told me that the beef pho is ready and if I wanted to try some. "It's good today," he said. I was super full but I had half a bowl. The broth is really flavorful and noodles cooked perfectly. But man, I was stuffed!!
Keep in mind it's still their soft opening so they will be working out some kinks here and there. And they definitely appreciate constructive criticism and feedback. It's definitely a cool hang out spot and I'll be going back soon to see what changes they have made and any new additions to the menu. In the mean time, they are still BYOB until they get their liquor license. :)
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value:
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Yesterday was the first ever Downtown Frisco StrEATS festival. It was the first food truck event I've ever seen North of the George Bush Turnpike. I always think the food trucks are too far away so this was a great opportunity for me to finally try some DFW food trucks! I've been so behind on the Dallas food truck scene... I'm aware of most of the trucks out there, but this would be the first time for me to actually attend an event. Excited!! :)
The forecast was sunny and warm... It got a bit TOO hot actually, but the turnout was still tremendous. The event went from 3-7PM. I arrived with some friends around 2:45PM to find parking... there were already lines at the trucks when we got there!
I immediately joined my friend at the Coolhaus truck. This was the main reason I wanted to go. I've been to the Coolhaus truck and store in LA on multiple occasions. I'm always interested to see what new concoctions and flavors they come up with.
Coolhaus Truck (Specialty Ice Cream Sandwiches)
http://eatcoolhaus.com/
I got a Potato Chip Cookies with Fried Chicken & Maple Waffle Ice Cream $5~
Learning from my messy experience in sunny LA, I asked for my cookies separate and the ice cream in a cup. haha. I'm a bit of a neat freak so I didn't want ice cream running down my arms. You can see the potato chips in the cookie and you can taste the saltiness too. My friends and I all liked the cookie. The ice cream was interesting. At first taste, I only got maple syrup flavor. But as I continued to eat, I started getting bits of waffle and what seemed to be tiny bits of chicken skin? Not sure, but I got hints of the saltiness of the chicken. I wish there was a bit more salt though, after a while the ice cream became a little too sweet for me.
My friend got the Red Velvet Cookies with Brown Butter & Candied Bacon Ice Cream $5~
I totally recommended the candied bacon ice cream. I had it in LA and loved it. You can see and taste the bits of bacon in there. The Dallas sun was brutal and the ice cream melted faster than she could eat. haha. But she liked it overall.
Overall:
Nammi Truck (Vietnamese Fusion)
http://nammitruck.com/
I've had Nammi before and thought it was pretty good. My friend got the BBQ Pork Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich on 12" baguette served with garlic mayonnaise, cucumbers, pickled daikons & carrots, jalapenos, and cilantro) $7~
This was by far the best deal of the day. For $7 the portion was massive. For me, their bread is the star. I like the texture a lot and it's not as hard and thick as some other places. So it's easier to eat without potentially scraping up your mouth! The BBQ pork had pretty good flavor, but I thought the texture was a bit soft. That was the same issue for me when I had them the first time. But all in all, a very decent Banh Mi.
Overall:
Easy Slider Truck (Gourmet Sliders)
http://www.easyslidertruck.com/
This was another truck I really wanted to try. I've heard great things about them. They all sounded so good! Each slider is $3.50~
My bf decided to get 3 sliders:
The Roadside (angus beef, Tillamook cheddar, bacon, grilled jalapenos, fried onions, truck-made BBQ sauce). All the sliders have the same meat and bread. I liked the bread but it got heavy after a while. It definitely held up the sliders very well though. I liked all the elements of this slider but I couldn't taste them. I thought there was too much BBQ sauce and overwhelmed it all. :( The meat was juicy and cooked well though.
The 7 Layer (angus beef, guacamole, salsa, Tillamook cheddar, Fritos, truck-made black bean dip).
I guess this was my favorite out of the 3, but it definitely needed the Fritos for an added crunch...without it, the textures were all pretty similar and everything gets a bit lost together.
The French Revolution (angus beef, gruyere, prosciutto, grilled onions, dijon mustard).
I would've loved this if it wasn't for the dijon. I like dijon, but there was too much of it. That's all I could taste. But I liked the texture of the grilled onions with the meat.
Another friend of mine got 2 sliders:
The Sweet & Lowdown (angus beef, bacon, goat cheese, strawberry jam). I believe he got it sans the goat cheese since I'm not a fan and I didn't taste any. This was everyone's favorite. The strawberry and bacon together in the burger was interestingly fantastic. The sweet and salty all came together in that mini burger. Since my friend bought it, I tried hard not to take a 2nd bite. :P
The Nutty Pig (angus beef, creamy peanut butter, lettuce, tomato, onion, bacon). This was the one I really wanted to try since I love peanut butter. It sounds so weird but I liked it. Peanut butter and bacon together is a great combination. the only thing is that the pb slightly overwhelmed the rest of the slider. But since I love pb so much, it didn't really bother me.
The last 2 sliders definitely got more points for them. I wasn't really feeling the first 3...
Overall:
My friends all decide to line up for the Korean tacos next. They had probably the longest line in the whole event. I was quite impressed with the amount of business they were getting. They struggled a bit to get all the orders out in a timely manner though.
Ssahm BBQ Truck (Gourmet Korean Tacos)
http://www.ssahmbbq.com/
I found out that people in the Ssahm line were all waiting for over an hour for their food. Craziness! I met a very nice couple (who seemed to be foodies) who were waiting for their order to be filled. They said after they made their order, they didn't expect to be waiting another 20-30 minutes for the food! They also said that this was by far the longest line for Ssahm out of every other food truck event they've been to. That increased my expectations a bit!
Finally my friends made it to the front of the line. We got...
Kalbi Taco (marinated short rib, sesame soy vinaigrette salad, caramelized kimchee, cilantro and onion, Korean Salsa Roja, Spicy Mayo, served on 6" corn tortillas) $3~
Daeji Taco (spicy marinated pork, sesame soy vinaigrette salad, caramelized kimchee, cilantro and onion, Korean Salsa Roja, Spicy Mayo, served on 6" corn tortillas) $3~
I'm personally not a taco fan since I don't like corn tortillas but I still gave it a try. I have to say I wasn't impressed...not because of the corn tortilla but... one, I couldn't tell the beef and pork tacos apart. They looked and tasted the same to me. The salsa roja was a bit tart and there was too much of it. That was all I could taste. :( But some of my friends liked the salsa so they liked it a lot. Personal preference I guess. However, I really enjoyed the salad on top. It was crisp, fresh and added great texture to the taco. And for some reason, the taco wasn't hot when we ate it. They were making each taco to order, so we all expected it to be hot. Weird.
Kimchee Fries (fresh hand cut potatoes, Monterey Jack & Cheddar cheese, cilantro and onion, caramelized kimchee, spicy mayo) Small for $5~
Again, too much sauce on the fries in my opinion. I liked the fries on their own, it was fried well and had good flavor. I wish there was more meat and kimchee on top though. LA Burger's K-Town Fries are still better in my book!
Overall:
While my friends were standing in the Ssahm BBQ line, I broke away to try the vegan Zombie truck. I'm always interested to try alternative foods, healthier options, etc.
Zombie's Food Truck (Vegan)
http://www.eatatzombies.com/
I got the Seoul Survivor (Bulgogi-inspired grilled seitan with scallions, red onions, and mushrooms. served on a bolillo roll with fresh basil and sriracha-ginger mayo) $6~
Bolillo is a savory bread made in Mexico. It is a variation of baguette and the main ingredient in tortas. The bread was nothing like a baguette in my opinion, other than the shape maybe. It was soft and pillowy, not hard and crusty like a baguette. I prefer this bread better! It didn't remind me of bulgogi in any way but I actually really enjoyed the flavors. There was a spicy undertone which was quite nice. Seitan is basically wheat gluten, which is an alternative to soybean-based meat substitutes such as tofu. It is actually used in Asian cooking a lot. My mom has made it before at home. The sandwich reminded me a little of a dish my mom has made in the past in regards to the flavor. I thought it was yummy! And the price of the sandwich was definitely good for the size.
Sweet Potato & Turnip Green Mash $2~
This item is also gluten free. It was sweet from the sweet potatos, slightly tangy, and a little smokey. My friends all said it reminded them of barbeque. I didn't like the tangy element though. It was a good mix of textures with the soft mashed sweet potato vs the heartier/tougher turnip greens.
Overall:
I was sooo full after all this food. Considering the lines, I was impressed that I made it to 5 different trucks. I wish I had time to try some of the other trucks, but my stomach couldn't handle anymore. Plus it was just sooo hot! I think the sun was just beating everyone down.
The other trucks there included:
SoCal Tacos Truck (fish tacos, burritos) - http://www.eatsocaltacos.com/
The Butcher's Son Truck (brats, sausages, sliders, etc.) - http://thebutchersson.com/
Cajun Tailgators Truck - http://www.cajuntailgators.com/
Rockstar Bakeshop Truck (sweet treats, specializing in Whoopie Pies) - http://rockstarbakeshop.com/
Eat JoDawgs Truck (hot dogs, sausages, bratwursts) - http://www.eatjodawgssite.com/
I had a good time in general and I'm glad I was able to try a good amount of food. I guess I'll have to hit up the other trucks in the next food truck event. And we need a better game plan next time. It was a bad idea to all stand in the same line because we end up getting too much of the same thing so we couldn't try more variations. Next time we need to split up so we can try a bit of everything!! hehe.
The event overall seemed successful, but I hope next time they have a bigger location so the trucks can spread out a bit. The lines from the trucks were all intertwined with each other in the center of the location. It was hard to distinguish which one was which.
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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