Whiskey Cake

This past weekend was busy busy! My fiance's parents came to visit and we did a lot of wedding planning stuff. On Friday, they wanted to see the wedding venue and check out some nearby hotels. My parents joined us as well since they haven't seen the venue either. We were very productive and even finished everything ahead of schedule. So we planned on having dinner together at Whiskey Cake. His parents have never been, and since we were in Plano, we wanted to take them there.

Whiskey Cake
3601 Dallas Pkwy.
Plano, TX 75093
(972) 993-2253
www.whiskey-cake.com
Price: $$-$$$

This is one of our go-to places. We especially love the brunch at Whiskey Cake. And of course... the whiskey cake. hehe. No other dessert there has ever been better. I called as soon as our last hotel visit was over to get our names on the list... It was only 5:15PM at this point, and we were 5 minutes away. They actually told me the wait for 6 people was an hour! What?!? Wow... business is good! So we decided to go anyways, normally the wait is faster than what they quote you. As we pulled up, the parking lot is pretty packed and there were people waiting outside the restaurant. Uh-oh... not a good sign. We walked in and I checked in with the hostess. I also looked around to see if there's room at the bar to hang out. Nope! But then she said "if your entire party is here, we can go ahead and seat you." Wait... what? Apparently a table was no-show so we get it! Woohoo! How lucky are we?

We were seated in the side room. There were several tables still open, so I wondered if they were reserved... Our waiter, Kedus, was super friendly, and brought us some waters. Then he asked if we wanted to order drinks. My fiance is pretty picky about cocktails so he was asking a bunch of questions and whether Kedus had recommendations. Nothing too citrusy, or spicy, or strong... Kedus took it as a challenge and begin recommending stuff. Most of it got shot down.. haha. Then my fiance decided on the Hot For Teacher $11~ which is a bourbon based drink. My fiance took one sip and was like "nope". Luckily his dad really liked it so took it from him. My fiance couldn't decide on another one so told him to come back later.

Moments later, Chris, the other waiter who was helping Kedus, brought over a cool looking drink. He said he saw a challenge and decided to have their bartender (who are actually trained mixologists) come up with this concoction. Apple Cinnamon Julep. 

My fiance loved it! Chris explained it's a play on their normal mint julep. Well yay, we have a winner! My fiance felt extra special that they took their time to find something he would like. And turns out, Chris was the manager in training! Future boss man... also super friendly.

My dad decided to get a cocktail as well. He went with As You Wish (aylesbury duck vodka, jalapeno, mango, orange, cranberry, lime, agave) $9~ per Kedus' recommendation. 

My dad is a light-weight, like me, so I was a little nervous when he ordered a drink. haha. But he seemed to enjoy it. Said it had a kick to it from the jalapeno. Neither me or my mom could try it though, since we're both allergic to mango. Yea... see where I got it from?

We were off to a great start. We were given the specials of the day... which Kedus really recommended since the staff just got to try some earlier. hehe. And we finally got around to ordering.

We got Fried Green Tomatoes (remoulade, lemon zest, parsley) $6~ Usually it comes with 5 pieces, but they gave us another since we had 6 people. The tomatoes were fried nicely. I liked the remoulade, had a good tang to it.

I got the Crispy Atlantic Cod (watercress and napa cabbage slaw, tomato, zesty tartar sauce, french hoagie; served with house kettle chips) $11~ 

This thing was huge! Kind of looks like a po-boy mixed with a banh-mi. It was yummy too. Hard to eat since it was so loaded with slaw on top. Definitely messy. hehe. The fish was fried well, and still really tender on the inside. They definitely didn't skimp on the fish either. The tartar sauce was basically the remoulade from the fried green tomatoes but I like it on both dishes. I always have a fear that this type of bread is too hard... I've cut my mouth on extra toasted French bread before. This wasn't the case. The bread was soft and paired well with the fish. Although, it was so full, things kept falling out. My dad really liked my dish. He was going to order it but changed his mind... and I think he regretted that. So I gave him a few bites. :P

I also got a side of the Country Ham & Parmesan Brussels Sprouts. Of course. hehe. It was nicely charred and yummy.

Special of the Day: Arctic Char (with blue corn grits, fresno chiles, corn) $18~ Both my fiance and his dad went with the special. Arctic char looks kind of like salmon, but is generally less oily and fatty. It's a good fish, I've always liked it. His dad got it the original way. 

The blue corn grits were yummy. He really enjoyed it. My fiance wanted the same sides as the Salmon dish because he was worried that the fresno chiles would be too spicy. 

Turned out, the tumeric roasted cauliflower was spicier than the fresno chiles (which weren't spicy at all). haha. So I ate most of the cauliflower.. they were yum!

His mom went with the Live Wood Grilled Salmon (tumeric roasted cauliflower, broccoli greens, sweet corn puree, cilantro lime emulsion) $19~ She said it was really good, and finished it all.

My parent shared the Grilled Texas Striped Bass (summer vegetable stone fruit slaw, watermelon relish, sweet pea crema) $19~ 

The kitchen actually split the dish for them, so what you see here is only half portion. That was nice of them. It didn't seem as good as the other 2 fish dishes. My dad said it was just ok.

They also shared the Farm Salad (greens, cucumber, carrots, grape tomatoes, white balsamic vinaigrette) $5~ 

For a $5 salad, the portion size is really good. Everything looked fresh too. No complaints there.

And of course we can't come all this way to Whiskey Cake and not get dessert! We just got one Whiskey Cake (toffee torte, bourbon anglaise, spiced pecans, whipped cream) $8~ 

Everyone was pretty full by then, so we started with 1. Glad we did that... it was just enough. Still one of my favorite cakes in Dallas. If you haven't had it yet... what are you waiting for?

It was a great meal. All the food was good, his parents loved everything they tried. Kedus and Chris came by periodically to check on us and chat with us. It was a very nice experience. They made us feel special, especially my fiance who got a drink made just for him! :P This is probably the best service we've gotten there to date. I hope Chris sticks around, cuz he's going to make a great manager! :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Hickory

Last Friday, I got to go check out the new Kent Rathbun restaurant, Hickory. It's located on 121 and Tollway where the old Zea Woodfire Grill used to be. (I miss Zea.. that was a good place...) I was pretty excited about it since I like all of Chef Rathbun's restaurants. My favorite being Blue Plate Kitchen before it closed. :( Still makes me sad when I think about it. I was hoping Hickory would be a good replacement. Plus it's so close to my house!

Hickory
8100 Dallas Pkwy. #115
Plano, TX 75024
(972) 712-7077
www.hickoryplano.com
Price: $$-$$$

I had looked it up on Yelp before going, mainly to check out all the food pictures. hehe. But I noticed the reviews were all hit or miss. The misses mainly being service was slow or the waiters didn't know what they were doing. Hmm... I've always had spot on service at Blue Plate, let's see what happens here.

We arrived at 6PM. Since they don't currently take reservations we decided to go earlier. The parking lot was already super packed... wow. I was a little nervous. I circled the lot like 6 times! But walking in, the place was only about 25% full. I guess all the people from the parking lot were going to Blue Mesa next door? My friends got there a few minutes before me and they were already seated and gotten their drinks.

After I sat down, our waitress came to bring my friend her cocktail, and asked what I wanted to drink. I just asked for a water. Then we were chatting as we waited for another friend to show up. Haven't gotten my water yet... My friend arrived. The waitress came to take his drink order...he got a beer. I reminded her of my water. She said "of course". She brought him his beer. Still no water for me. I'm thinking she forgot my water. :( So when she came back again to go over the menu... I asked her for a water again. At first she responded like this was the first time I ordered one. And then a few seconds later, it's like a switch came on and she realized she never brought me one. "I'll go get your water right now," she said. Weird... I finally got the water.

She kind of went over the menu. Told us what the tacos were for the day, etc. And left, to give us more time to decide. We decided to get a few BBQ meats and sides and do family style. All the sides sounded delicious. I think I can make a meal just out of the side dishes. haha.

When the waitress returned, I took charge and ordered for the group. For the BBQ meats, they were measured by the half pound. I casually asked her how big the portion size was for the brisket since I wanted to be sure we're getting enough food. I also gestured with my hands to her to see if she can give us a general amount. At first she points to the menu and says "It's $11". Huh?? Yes, I know it's $11, it says so on the menu. So I gestured again... What is the portion size? Waitress: "oh, it's half a pound". *FACE PALM* Yes, duh, I know it's half a pound. It says that on the menu too. So I'm still trying to gesture with my hands... like this [   ] much meat? Or THIS [            ] much? Waitress: "um, it's half a pound". Ok... I give up. I stopped asking and just ordered. Apparently she didn't know how much meat came in each half pound order. Which we later found out is about 4-5 slices of brisket.

The food all came fairly quickly and they all looked yummy.

Smoked Pepper Crusted Wagyu Brisket (chef's choice) 1/2lb. $11~ 

Not the moistest brisket I've had, but it was still very good. The chef's choice is a good cut. I wish parts of it had a little more fat but it's not a big deal. It also had good flavor. We all liked it a lot. We decided to order another half pound. Careful with the jalapenos though. The ones we got that day were on FIRE! I can handle spice... but whoa!

Thinly Shaved Roti Pork Shoulder (mustard-brown sugar glaze) 1/2lb. $9~ 

This was yummy as well. The meat was super tender and I loved the flavor of the glaze. It kinda reminded me of a Chinese dish for some reason... thinly sliced pork belly with a garlic sauce. I think it's probably the way the meat was sliced. If you are looking for pulled pork or something of the sort, this ain't it. I think it's better. :P The BBQ sauce on the side is the same as the brisket. At first I thought it was a bit too sour, but the more I ate the more I liked it. I thought it paired with the brisket and pork well. A little goes a long way though.

So the main dishes were good... but the side dishes were the stars.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts $5~ Gotta have the Brussels sprouts.. duh! Nicely charred and full of thick cut bacon. Noms.

Jalapeno Jack-Blue Corn Grits (roasted tomato butter) $6~ 

I liked everything but I'd have to say this was my favorite of the night. (Just by a little.) It was so interesting. I guess I've never had blue corn grits before. The texture is different than regular grits. It was creamy and a richness from the tomato butter.

Texas Cheddar Mac & Cheese (parmesan cornbread crumble) $7~ 

I love it when restaurants use Cavatappi pasta for mac and cheeses. It has a lot of texture and the shape is fun! The pasta was al dente which was great. I loved the crumble. It's also really cute in the mini skillet.

Our waitress came by to check on us regularly. We didn't really need anything most of the time, but she filled our waters and stuff. But, when we were almost done eating, she brought over this little carrier with condiments and pickles. 

We all thought it was really strange. There was maybe enough pickles in these tiny containers for like one person. But why give it to us this late in the game? I wonder if it was just an off day for her. But I'm thinking she just needs more training in general... It was a bit surprising to be at a Kent Rathbun establishment and not get good service. But it is fairly new, so I'll let it slide.

We decided to share a dessert. My friend chose the Skillet Cobbler $7~ 

The seasonal fruit was nectarines and that sounded really good. The waitress said the ice cream was vanilla bean from Henry's. It was pretty good. I really liked the crumble. And the cobbler was nice and hot. The ice cream however, was a little weird... I love Henry's Ice Cream. It's always super rich...but this once seemed icy. The consistency was just a bit off. Still tasted good though. The dessert didn't compare to the rest of the food though, in my opinion. It was just good.

So... the food was yummy. The prices are pretty comparable to other BBQ restaurants I guess, but it didn't feel like going to a BBQ restaurant. I'm not sure how I feel about that. haha. Something weird about eating BBQ without the butcher paper and roll of paper towel for the mess. :P The service was along the lines of what the bad Yelp reviews mentioned. I think our waitress just needed more training. She couldn't answer our questions and seemed confused half the time. She also messed up our split checks. She gave one of my friends a crumpled up pieces of receipt that looked like it was supposed to be in the trash and then picked back out, and the amount was wrong. We were scratching our heads with that one as well. Lots of head scratching during this dinner. hahaha. At least she was nice. I might give it another chance. There are some burgers there I'd like to try. But I'll wait a few months and let the wait staff get their bearings.

Oh... and I still miss Blue Plate Kitchen. :(

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~