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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 ~~
Part 2 of my Barley & Board experience.
I could not stop thinking about the amazing experience we had back in Feb. Especially that burger!! Plus we had gotten there too late to partake in their Sunday brunch menu. So for my birthday this year, my only wish was to go back and have brunch. I had been on a month long diet all of March to prep for the wedding, but for my birthday (4/2), I made an exception and Barley & Board was what I wanted. I also really wanted to take my then fiance to try this place...cuz I can't stop talking about it. haha.
Barley & Board
100 W Oak St.
Denton, TX 76201
(940) 566-3900
http://barleyandboard.com
Price: $$-$$$
I connected with Narciso and he said they were happy to have us come out again. He was there at the restaurant to greet me, and I even got to meet Jason Lee (one of the investors). Yes, the Jason Lee, the actor. He was super nice and chill. Just having brunch with his family in a corner booth. How cool!
We didn't go AS crazy with the ordering this time, but still ordered enough to feed a family of 4. hahaha.
He got the Sarah Brown (vodka, kahlua, maple syrup, half & half) $8~ It was yummy. Like a White Russian, but with maple syrup. It's a great brunch drink. And it matches their plates (which I totally love)! Thought that was fun.
Truffled Portobello Fries (mustard aioli) $10~ This was amazing! Super thick cut portobello fried to perfection. Can you believe this was just ONE portobello cap?!?! Them and their giant produce! haha. We wanted to finish the whole plate but had to remind ourselves that this was the first dish. hahaha.
Kind of Blue Pancake (blueberry, lemon maple, with homemade whipped cream) $12~
Narciso highly recommended this. I can't say no to pancakes. I love them. This blew our minds. Both the presentation and the flavor. This was literally a pan "cake". It was over an inch thick, sitting in a lemon maple syrup and topped with a mound of homemade whipped cream. It was so epic we could not stop staring at it. Even tables next to us were staring at it. haha. And it was so good. Nice and fluffy, I felt like I could eat the whole thing. I didn't... but I could've. :P That syrup was bomb. When they boxed up the leftover pancake, we asked them to pack us some extra syrup.
Mi Masa (masa corncake, chorizo, sunny side up egg) $12~ Another pretty dish. I love it when restaurants stack food. I realized I'm not a fan of masa tho. I've only had it a few times but it reminds me of corn tortilla, which I don't like. But the other parts of the dish was good. And it was some serious #yolkporn!
I thought their brunch items were reasonably priced. Their menu has a good range of prices. They have a lot of options under $15 each, but also has dishes around $30 a plate or so.
Sweet Pig & Angry Bird (half rack ribs, brazen quail, slaw, b&b pickles) $28~ They had just added this to the menu. I definitely wanted the quail again and this way I get to try the ribs too. The quail was great. It's good that they are consistent with their quality. It was too spicy for my fiance so all for me! :D The ribs were great. Nice and tender. And those pickles!!!!!!!!!!
B&B Burger (sweet onion, b&b pickle, house sauce, american cheese) $12~ Can't come to Barley & Board and not get their burger. It's just like I remembered. My fiance bit into it and said I didn't exaggerate on how good it is. Don't believe me? Go try it for yourself!
Another successful visit. We were stuffed and had a lot of leftovers for the rest of the weekend. Our waiter was awesome and took care of us well. Again, the meal was comped... Happy Birthday to ME! But we gave a nice tip. Sigh, if they were closer I'd make monthly, or even weekly visits. So jealous of Denton right now! XD
I love you, Barley & Board!
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: *comped*
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
I'm so behind on my posts... I almost don't want to do them anymore. Too many other things that take priority lately... mostly wedding planning. It's coming up in 3.5 months! Eeeeks!! So much to do still.
I thought I'd post about the really important places that happened in the last few months. :)
We start with the wonderful pies from Kessler Pie Co. They make all their pies and desserts from scratch. It's never frozen. They're currently offering pick up and delivery only. But they've recently announced that they are opening a store front soon!! Congrats to them. :) It'll be in Oak Cliff. Follow their Facebook page to get updates. And check their website for pricing and delivery options.
Kessler Pie Co.
Oak Cliff
(469) 877-6800
www.kesslerpieco.com
I got my lovely delivery in December. They were so sweet to drive all the way out to Rockwall and hand deliver these. I felt so special! I got an assortment of mini pies in jars and one in a standard sized jar. They were super cute!
All the pies were great. I especially loved that flaky salty sweet pie crust on some of the flavors. Some I did close ups...
The Mellow Yellow (hand spun vanilla custard, banana, vanilla whipped topping, salty-sweet crust). Loved the crust, wished there was more banana. But this was a sample size jar so I assume the normal size will have much more fruit.
Apple Cranberry (granny smith apples, cranberries, house herb mix, salty-sweet nutmeg and cinnamon infused crust). Warmed it up in the microwave for a few seconds and it was oozing over!! Yaasss! Sweet and tangy. If you like tart, this is for you.
Banana Nut Bread. Nice and moist. Pretty standard banana bread. But that little jar was loaded with nuts!
BP214 (cubes of bread and raisins soaked in coquito cream). I always love bread pudding, but I think I also like the crispy edges when you bake them in a pan better. This was good, and the raisins were super plump, but no crispy texture.
Cherry Cream Cheese (graham cracker crust, sweet cream cheese filling, country red cherries). My fiance loves cherries and absolutely loved this one. I let him have most of it cuz I'm nice. haha. :P
The Coco Loco (hand spun vanilla custard, coconut shavings). I'm not a fan of shredded coconut so this wasn't one of my favorites. But again... awesome crust.
Blue Magic (graham cracker crust, fluffy cream cheese, blueberries) #1 Seller. This was in the regular jar size. I can see why this is their number one. It was my favorite as well. The mixture of the blueberries and cream cheese was fantastic. The cream cheese was super fluffy... like a really light cheese cake. Yum!! Not to mention the gorgeous color.
What a nice treat to kick us off into the holiday season. Thanks to Kessler Pie Co. for sharing some of their creations with me. And I'm loving this new dessert in jars trend. Much easier (and cleaner) to eat than a cupcake. hehe.
*Note: I received the pies for free. But these are my honest opinions.
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
The day after V-Day we went downtown to meet up with one of my fiance's friends from Austin. He was in Ft. Worth visiting his gf. We initially went to Smoke, but there was an hour wait...and the line never seemed to get shorter. So we made our way over to Savor. It was a nice day, so we could also walk around Klyde Warren Park!
Savor Gastropub
2000 Woodall Rodgers Freeway
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 306-5597
http://savor-relish.com/savor/
Price (for brunch): $$
Having been here for brunch once before, I knew I wanted to get the French Toast because it's awesome! We were seated immediately. Our waiter was very nice but from the time we sat down to when we got our food, we had a series of not-so-good situations, all with cleanliness and maintenance of their stuff. When he brought us our waters, he noticed 2 of the glasses were cracked. He said that they just got new glasses and they seem to crack very easily. I ordered a hot water, and when he brought it, I noticed lipstick stains around the rim. Ick. He was very apologetic and immediately brought me a new one. When we were waiting for our food, we noticed that my fiance's fork was dirty. Still had crusty food bits on it. Yuck! Again, we showed it to our waiter and he was so embarrassed and immediately replaced it. I noticed some parts of our table wasn't very clean either but I decided not to make the waiter feel worse. But they really need to step it up with their quality control!! No one wants to eat at a dirty restaurant no matter how good the food is! (well... there ARE exceptions. hahaha) Anyways, there's my rant. Everything else was great.
My fiance got the Moscow Mule (Sobieski vodka, citrus, ginger beer) $12~ I always like it when they serve it in the copper cups. It was pretty good.
For our entrees both girls ordered the Lemon Ricotta Stuffed French Toast (brioche, blueberry jam, spiced pecan brittle) $14~
My fiance and I were fighting about who got to order this. haha. I won, of course. :P It was everything I remembered it to be. So freaking light and fluffy. You don't feel heavy after eating it. Pretty damn amazing. The other girl was a vegetarian so her choices were limited, but she also loved this.
Both guys ended up getting The "Croque" (open faced, shaved ham, stout soaked Gruyere, fried egg, mornay sauce, croissant; service with choice of fries, salad, or soup) $14~
It looked amazing! And tasted great. The combination of the ham, egg, croissant, and mornay sauce was soooo good. I totally recommend this. The soup was pretty good, I've had better tomato basil before though. But the soup and sandwich combo was great.
Again, fantastic food here. I think their French Toast is in my top 3. But again... they need to clean more!! Hopefully no more dirty forks or stained cups next time we go.
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value:
Overall Experience:
After brunch we walked around the park. There were lots of food trucks there including Coolhaus! So I had to get something.
We got a scoop of the Thai Iced Tea (top) and a scoop of the Pistachio Black Truffle $7~
Pretty pricy for 2 small scoops but I know they make these funky interesting combos so it's a novelty. Their cups are so tiny, it made it a little hard to eat... I kept thinking the top scoop was going to fall off! I wasn't a fan of the Thai Tea... Old Town Creamery in Plano makes a wayyyy better one. But loved the pistachio truffle. You can actually taste both flavors! And it had black truffle mushroom shavings in it. That was a nice little addition. :)
Overall:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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