FEBRUARY: The Henry

My favorite restaurant of February is The Henry! Very new to Dallas, it only opened in February, and it's already wowed me. This is another restaurant under Fox Restaurant Concepts, the restaurant group that brought us North Italia, True Food Kitchen, and Flower Child... some of my favorite places! So I can't say I was surprised that I loved this place.😄

The Henry
2301 N Akard St., Ste 250
Dallas, TX 75201
(972) 677-9560
Price (brunch): $$-$$$$

First of all, the decor is on point. Upon walking in, I already knew I loved it. They called this a "blend of Gatsby-era elegance and modern industrial cool". The color scheme is dark blues and deep wood. It automatically makes you wanna order an Old Fashioned and hang out. They also have a separate coffee and pastry counter. So if you didn't want to have a full sit down meal, you can just order there. And lemme tell you... their pastry selection looks GOOD! One of everything please!!

I've been to The Henry twice since they opened, both times for brunch (Sat & Sun 10AM-3PM). So I am combining the foods from both visits in this post. I highly recommend you reserve because they are slammed! There goes my idea of going there everyday to hang out/read and eat. Haha.

For those who go to brunch for the drinks :P they have a Bloody Mary Cart $13~. How fun is that? They also make mimosas at the cart too. Classic Mimosa $10~ They have various flavors for the mimosas.

Short Rib Potstickers (toasted sesame, yuzu ponzu) $14~ 

This was so tasty, I had it both times. The texture of the potsticker wrapper and meat were both great. The best thing though, that sauce! They need to use that sauce on more dishes! The only complaint... I want more than just 6! Ha!

Brussels Sprout Caesar (romaine hearts, toasted torn bread) $12~ 

Another one that was so good I ordered it the 2nd time. Perfectly dressed, not too heavy, the flavors were just right. I loved the mix of brussels sprouts in there. And you know what... dip those brussels in the potsticker sauce. Yeah! Takes it to another level. They should really do a side dish of brussels sprouts in the yuzu ponzu. *Hint Hint*

Bread Pudding French Toast (caramel apple, chantilly cream, pecan) $10~ 

This dish is Vegetarian btw. And holy crap, this plate for just 10 dollars?! I think this is the best bang for the buck on their brunch menu. We got it for the table to share. There are layers in the slices of bread... almost croissant like? The use of pecans in the bread is great too. It's like it was pressed into the bread. Freaking love this dish. Highly recommend!!

Smashed Avocado Toast (crushed egg, farmhouse cheddar, poppy seed, crispy onion) $9~

This is also Vegetarian. Beautiful toast, great flavors. I especially liked the crushed egg on top.

Scottish Salmon (toasted grain risotto, roasted beet, marcona almond pesto, sherry pomegranate molasses) $27~

I believe this is also on the dinner menu. What a beautiful dish! Vibrant colors and flavors. I loved the roasted beats with the marcona almonds. The salmon was cooked perfectly. Quite filling without feeling too heavy.

Korean Prime Skirt Steak (double egg fried rice, bok choy, snow pea, pickled shiitake, spicy ginger butter) $32~ 

This dish is Gluten Free. Loved all the flavors in here, especially that spicy ginger butter. The skirt steak is a pretty lean cut of meat just FYI. This was like their most expensive dish on the brunch menu. I think that's pretty cool.

Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich (green chile slaw, dill pickle, pepper jack cheese) $14~ 

It also comes with a side, so we chose the Parmesan Truffle Fries which were so addicting! The sandwich looked incredible! I liked everything about it except that it was not spicy at all. Haha. But it was fried well and the flavors were good. And those fries! OMG... could not stop eating them.

Since I've been eyeing the coffee/pastry counter since we arrived, I had to try some stuff right?

Go North (espresso, cocoa, cream; served neat and cold) $5~ 

I got this on the first visit. Such a dainty drink. I felt really sophisticated drinking this. Haha. Also, loved it. My husband loved it too and ordered another for himself (AFTER he drank half of mine! LOL!) It's like a frothy dark chocolate/espresso milk. Yum!

The Dropout (espresso, colombian drip, chocolate, caramel, au lait) $5~ 

The second time I chose a hot drink. Surprisingly not too sweet, which is great. My coffee of choice are mochas so this is just like an elevated mocha. Stir it from time to time though, as the caramel sinks to the bottom.


Ham and Cheese Croissant, Almond Croissant, Nutella Rugelach, and Cream Cheese Danish? 

The first time we went was during their soft opening. As the brunch service was ending, the manager came by and asked us if we wanted any pastries since they were not open for dinner. Heck yea!! OMG, she gave us EACH a box of goodies. I really wanted to try the Almond Croissant and IT WAS TO DIE FOR! Best almond croissant I have ever had. You can quote me on that. Please don't EVER change the recipe!! The other pastries were good too. And apparently the almond croissant sells out fast! I was not able to get any the 2nd time I went. T_T

Sticky Caramel Roll. 

This was the last one when I went the 2nd time, so I snagged it! It definitely lives up to its name! Very sticky and caramel-y. I kinda wished it was warmed up a little... I think that would've made it better. I liked the flavor, but it really was quite sticky, making it a little hard to eat. But the inside has layers, like a fusion of a croissant and roll.

Loved it all! The service was also top notch. They had a few kinks during the soft opening, but all the servers and managers and anyone who's walking around and working were all SO nice and accommodating. It's no wonder they call this "The Greatest Neighborhood Restaurant". I really want to hang out there all day. Their rooftop area opens at 4PM btw... it seems cool but I haven't actually made it up there to scope it out. I also think the menu offers a variety of foods to appease everyone. They have many dishes that are vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free friendly. 

I love you, Fox Restaurant Concepts. My friend from Phoenix keeps saying we also need a Culinary Dropout! *HINT HINT* :D

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Post Thanksgiving in Austin - Gourdough's Public House

Over Thanksgiving break, we went down to Austin for one night to visit my fiance's family. We were doing a second Thanksgiving Friday night and had Saturday to go out and about. I already knew what places I wanted to check out. Time is limited, I had to prioritize! :P

I was excited about both eateries we were going to but I think I was slightly more excited about this one than the next. Just slightly...

I first experience Gourdough's AMAZING donut trailer back in 2009, I think? The BEST donut place ever!! Made to order, gigantic, and all sorts of excess toppings we Texans love. hehe. So when I heard they had opened a restaurant, I was stoked!! I mean... they have donut burgers. DONUT BURGERS! How freaking epic does that sound?!?

Gourdough's Public House
2700 S Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 912-9070
http://gourdoughs.com/
Price: $$

We hit it up for brunch on Saturday. They don't take reservations so we showed up fairly early... around 11:30AM. The place was only about 20% full at that point. We decided to sit outside because the weather was awesome! The decor is very casual, wood tables, chairs, picnic benches and tables outside. They also have one of their trailers in the outside area. There's also a bunch of TVs around us, great for a game day!

I was there with my fiance, his two sisters, and his little sister's husband. They started off with some brunchy drinks.

Craft Bloody Mary $5~ My fiance's bro in law asked them to put a piece of bacon in this. Why not, I say. haha. I've never liked bloody mary's but this was actually quite good! He really enjoyed it.

Michelada $5~ One of his sisters really like this drink. My fiance tried it and decided to get one too. hehe. I love how they put the beer in a mini brown paper bag.

So... are you ready for some SERIOUS food p0rn?? haha

Country Clucker (crispy fried chicken breast, potato pancake, warm cream corn, candied jalapenos; served on a piping hot donut) $11~ 

This was mine! ALL MINE! MUAHAHAHA! :P J/k I shared... I was debating on a few but the creamed corn and jalapenos won me over. I liked everything in this dish. All the food looked so amazing when they brought it out. This was like a small mountain of deliciousness. A perfectly fried (giant) donut, slightly crispy on the outside, soft and pillowy on the inside. Topped with a potato pancake, perfectly fried chicken, and SO MUCH CORN! It was so good!!! I loved the candied jalapenos, it added just a hint of heat to the dish. It was as epic as the picture looks. I sooo wanted to finish it all but I was sampling other stuff too so I took about 1/3rd of it to go.

Dirty Plucker (piping hot donut topped with hand battered fried chicken, honey butter and maple icing) $9~ 

My fiance got this. He and his sister were going to go halfsies on each of their dishes. This is their play on chicken and waffles. And this was my favorite out of everything I tried that day... although it was hard to pick a favorite. Again, perfectly fried donut, with a maple icing. Topped with fried chicken, and more maple icing. And honey butter to top everything off if you want it even sweeter. That honey butter was the bomb. I drizzled it over every bite, and some on my Country Clucker too! The general consensus was that it was too much sweet to finish the entire plate, but since we all shared, it was perfect. I would've eaten the whole thing though. The perfect sweet and savory combo.

His sister got the Count Gourdough Cristo (oven roasted turkey, ham, swiss cheese, roasted red pepper, basil, red onion, wrapped in donut dough and deep fried; served with avocado lime sauce; served with fried Yukon chips) $10~ 

So she gave half to him. They both loved this. I was expecting it to be super heavy like a normal Monte Cristo sandwich but it really wasn't. The avocado lime sauce paired with it superbly. And their Yukon chips were great. They both wanted more of it.

Public House Salad (cilantro buttermilk dressing, romaine lettuce, feta, tomato, cucumber, six-minute egg; served with a piping hot garlic donut) $7~ 

His little sister got this since she wanted to try a little of everyone's as well. They were kinda giving her a hard time for getting a salad here. haha. But I'm actually glad she got it cuz I was able to get some green veggies to go with my Country Clucker. The salad was huge! And what was even more O.O was how huge the garlic donut was. And that garlic donut could easily be one of everyone's favorite elements that day. It was just perfection. It was plain (unglazed). Fried perfectly, not greasy AT ALL, and SOOOOO FLUFFY! They really have their donut dough down to a science.

And finally, his bro in law got the El Camino Burger (angus beef, chipotle cheese blend, chipotle mayonnaise, pickled jalapenos, bacon, cilantro, sliced tomato, fried onions; served with fried Yukon chips) $11~ 

At least one of us had to get the donut burger right?? Freaking amazing. So much flavor, I loved the chipotle mayo. It tastes just as good as it looks.

Fried Brussels Sprouts $4~ I also saw this on the menu so I had to order it. Pretty dang good. :)

This meal was amazing. It exceeded my already high expectations. I loved everything I tried and so did everyone else. Just looking at these pictures again makes me want to pick up and drive to Austin right now. It's a good thing I don't live close though...I'd be there ALL THE TIME! If gluttony is your middle name, then this is the place for you. Although, surprisingly, I didn't feel like any of the dishes were super greasy or heavy. Nothing oozed with grease even though everything is fried. Impressive. I will definitely make this a required stop any time I'm in Austin.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~