skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Hi All. Sorry for the hiatus... life has been busy, and well, I just haven't felt like writing! XP But trying to get back into it. I'm gonna start with one of my birthday month celebrations back in April.
I love afternoon tea, high tea, tea and pastries, whatever you want to call it. But I mostly love the ones where the mini foods are served on tiered stands. A friend of mine found this place on Instagram and so I booked it for one of my many birthday celebrations. :)
Potpourri of Silk
317 N Zang Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75208
(214) 941-9941
www.potpourriofsilk.com
Price: $40 a person plus tax
A few things to note about this place...
- Tea time is available from 10AM-3:30PM.
- 24 Hour Advance Reservations is required.
- It is BYOB - $10 corking fee per bottle.
- A 15% gratuity will be applied.
- And no children under 13.
- When we went, they had a maximum party size of 6 people, looks like they've upped it to 8 now! Yay.
We went at the beginning of April. For some reason we had a freak cold front that weekend and it was freezing! Luckily it was nice and warm inside. The place is in an old-style house, the decor inside is more traditional, white linens, doilies, etc. Very cute. They had the classic looking tea pots and tea sets too... and the tiered stands! This is what I wanted!
We got to choose our own teas... the tea pots were huge, and I drank a whole one myself. haha. I liked that. I don't like having to ask for refills all the time.
Teas:
Apricot Rose Hips on Black. The other girls loved this one.
Earl Grey Lavendar on Red Rooibos
Japanese Sencha - this one was basically all me. haha. I'm a tea purist... and quite picky. I like the simple green or black teas. The other girls shared the other 2 teas.
These tiered displays are so cute, y'all. Yay. Happy Birthday to me! :P
Tea Sandwiches:
Chicken (diced roasted chicken, shallots, fine herbs, grapes, toasted almonds, aioli, and spinach)
Beef (roasted rosemary beef, cherry tomato, confit, swiss cheese). One of my friends was still hungry so she ordered a whole beef sandwich. They also do lunch here. So you can order sandwiches, and pastries a la carte.
Cucumber (picked cucumber, cream cheese, aioli, lemon, dill, spinach)
All these sandwiches were super tasty. After our last, disappointing tea outing (surprisingly at the famous French Room), our expectations were a bit low. My favorite was the cucumber!! It looks so simple and plain but it had really good flavor!
Short Breads (served with Strawberry Jam and French Buttercream):
Brioche. (the round breads among the sandwiches) Was a tad dry on its own, but cute, and worked well with the jam and buttercream.
Classic Banana Nut Muffin. Yum, we asked for more of this.
Cranberry and Chocolate Scone. I loved the scones. I think it was my favorite sweet item.
Patisserie:
Earl Grey Chocolate Ganache Tart. A little hard to bite into, but good flavor. Let the chocolate melt in your mouth.
Cream Puffs. It was filled to the brim with the sweet buttercream. Too much, too sweet. So I scooped some cream out and it was all good.
We had a really great time. The service was wonderful... very attentive and courteous. The food surprised us all, especially the savory ones for me. So far this has been one of my favorites in Dallas. It's good and still affordable in terms of High Tea. We will be back!!
And thanks to all the lovely ladies that shared this experience with me! Love y'all! :D
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value:
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Lots of good food this past week, you guys! No wonder I haven't been to the pool at all this summer.. need to diet first! hahaha XP
My fiance and I finally got to go check out Bin 303's $10 Burger Tuesdays. We've known about it for a long time now but never made it on a Tuesday night. AND we've never tried any of their burgers! So we specifically set aside a Tuesday night to go check it out. All the burgers are $10 on Tuesdays.
Bin 303
105 Olive Street
Rockwall, TX 75087
(972) 771-5303
http://bin303.com
Price: $$-$$$$
First of all, Bin 303 is a neighborhood gem in Rockwall. It's a converted old house so it's very homey. The food is always pretty fantastic. I had made a reservation thinking we didn't need one since it's a week night but just in case. I'm sooo glad I did because apparently their Tuesday nights are equivalent of a Friday night. The place was packed! My fiance dropped me off and had to go circle around to find parking. They had our table ready for us. As I was waiting for my fiance to park, 2 ladies walked in without a reservation, and the wait was like 45 minutes or something. Damn! I'm so glad I was being cautious. They had recently renovated so the bar area now is really big. Looks like a great place to chill with some friends.
After we were seated, the waiter brought us some waters. My fiance decided to get the Cucumber Sipper (Hendrick's Gin, St. Germain Elderflower liquor, fresh mint, cucumber water, simple syrup, fresh cucumber) $10~
Refreshing, but a little heavy on the elderflower liquor for my taste. A bit strong for me. But as you all know... I'm a super light-weight. hehe.
It's $10 Burger Tuesday so we're gonna order burgers!
I got the Texican Burger (aged cheddar, chipotle mayo, nueske bacon, pico and avocado spread; on brioche bun; served with barley salad) $14~ I also added grilled jalapeno relish (on the side) +$1~
I got my meat cooked medium, which I think they did a good job. It was a damn good burger. I absolutely loved the buttery, fluffy brioche bun. The meat was flavorful and super juicy. Avocado is always a good addition.
I did notice that I didn't get much bacon, but honestly, I didn't miss it. The jalapeno relish was WHOA! So spicy on it's own. But I spread it on my burger and it was just the right amount of heat. Guess the jalapenos were extra spicy that night. I wouldn't recommend it unless you can take some serious heat. The barley salad was a nice and light side. I liked that there was arugula and tomatoes mixed in. I would so totally have this burger again. Any time. Delicious!!
My fiance got the Cheese Burger (aged cheddar, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles; on brioche bun; served with sweet potato fries) $14~
He got his medium-rare. The waiter didn't object when he ordered it med-rare either, which means their meat is good quality. I've had restaurants say they're uncomfortable cooking their meats less than medium for burgers. The meat was cooked perfectly.
He loved it. Another winner! Oh, and the sweet potato fries were fantastic! We both love sweet potato fries, and they did them right.
Creme Brulee (with fresh strawberry) $9~
Usually we don't eat like this on a week night.. But this is like a special occasion. Mid-week date night. Awww. :P So we got dessert. Great consistency, crunchy burnt sugar on top. It wasn't too heavy to round out this great dinner.
Needless to say, we'll be back soon. They do offer their burgers every night, but normally it's $14 each. If you ever find yourself in Rockwall, definitely check out Bin 303. It's one of our favorite spots. :)
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value:
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Sunday was my last day in NYC. My flight was at 2pm so I didn't have time to do much before I had to head to the airport. But there was one more stop I needed to make. I was debating on sleeping in or waking up early and making the trip out... But my friend I was staying with told me I HAD to go!!!
So I woke up early Sunday, got all ready and packed and took my luggage with me to my final stop. Levain Bakery in the Upper West Side. I was staying in Queens, which was pretty close to the airport, so the bakery would be going into the city in the opposite direction.
Levain Bakery - Upper West Side
167 West 74th St
New York, NY, 10023
(212) 874-6080
http://www.levainbakery.com/
Price: $
The commute actually wasn't so bad. Plus I got to meet up with a friend of mine one more time before I left. I got to the bakery and realized it was tiny. I guess living in Dallas makes me think of a bakery like a cafe where you can sit and chill and stuff. This place was smallll. It had a few stools inside but for the most part I saw people sitting on the steps and curbs outside.
We got lucky when we arrived because the rush of people had dispersed. So we actually got to sit inside! The place smelled amazing and it made me drool just seeing their baked goods on display.
My friend had never been there. She got a Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie (semi sweet chocolate chips and chunks of walnuts) $4~ (and a cup of milk!)
This was their signature cookie. They don't make one without walnuts... I wonder why? But each of their cookies are like 6 ounces. Freaking massive!! And SO INCREDIBLE! One of the best cookies I've ever had in my life. The cookie must've been almost 2 inches thick. The inside was warm and soft with melty chocolate chips. But the outside was the perfect crust. That slight crunch without being too hard or burnt. I really wonder how they get that thickness without either burning the outside or underbaking the inside...
I was getting a bunch of stuff to take back to Dallas with me.
Plus I got the Oatmeal Raisin Scone $3~ to eat there.
My friend that I stayed with said I must try their scones. It was yummy. I love scones. This wasn't like your typical dense scones. It had the nice crunchy outside but fluffy on the inside... almost like a biscuit? It wasn't too sweet and paired great with my hot tea. I totally loved it.
I also got one of each cookie:
Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie (semi sweet chocolate chips and chunks of walnuts) $4~
Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie (dark chocolate cocoa and semi sweet chips) $4~ Super chocolatey. Sooo rich and decadent. I ate 1/5th of it on the plane and it was plenty! Can you imagine eating a whole cookie in one sitting? Heaven! And then sugar coma! haha
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie $4~ Love love loved this as well. So many plump raisins inside!
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies $4~ Amazing! So much pb chips throughout.
Like I said, each cookie is like 6 oz. and massive!! But all of them had the perfect crisp exterior and soft centers. I'd really like to know how they achieve that. And the cookies last for quite a while. Even days after, I'd warm up a piece in the microwave and it would taste like it just came freshly out of the oven. Loves it! I've decided that these are the BEST cookies I've ever had in my life. No joke!! And totally worth every penny.
Cinnamon Brioche $3.50~ The brioche was soft and delicious. I wished they put more cinnamon spread inside tho. The ratio of cinnamon to bread was a little bit lacking.
Blueberry Muffin (with fresh blueberries) $3~ This was chock full of plump blueberries. Yummmmmmm!
I'm so glad my friend INSISTED for me to go to Levain Bakery. It was definitely worth waking up early and commuting across town for!! haha. But I'm also glad that it's not anywhere close to me on a daily basis because I'd just be like 400 lbs! XP
Great way to end my awesome trip to NYC. The best weather I've every experienced there, all the awesome people I got to hang out with, plus all the fantastic food!!!
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value:
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
I finally went to Europe for the first time this year. Paris then London for the Olympics! Hellz yea!!
Paris was beautiful... all the amazing architecture was breathtaking. I would definitely go back. However, the service there... (what people say is true)... they are just not very nice. Doesn't help that we don't speak any French at all. :( But at least we didn't act like ignorant tourists either. I think that helped...
Anyhoo... had some great food there. Check out the next few posts for some yummy pictures! :D
Eiffel Tower (right below it)
- Barquette de Frites (French fries) 3,75€
My co-worker told me I had to go get fries at the Eiffel tower because they are the best. So we did... My first reaction was "these taste just like McDonald's fries!" hahaha. And they were...BUT.. minus all the grease! Plus I love Micky D fries. I guess this just proves that McDonald's DO make the best fries. haha. I was very impressed that after we ate the fries, there was not a single grease stain in the paper container. For that reason alone, I'd say go get some fries at the bottom of Eiffel Tower. haha.
Le Cafe du Parvis (outside Musee d'Orsay)
- Crepe Banane + Nutella (banana and nutella crepe) 2,70€
This was a great find. Everyone told us to stay away from stands close to big tourist spots. But this was the cheapest crepe we saw BY FAR! Cheaper by at least 40%! And it was delicious. Paris definite is not short of nutella. They are everywhere... in jars bigger than my head! YUMS!
Le Louis IX Cafe Brasserie (by Notre Dame)
25, Rue Des Deux-Ponts
75004 Paris, France
09 61 07 27 00
Glaces & Sorbets de la Maison Berthillon
- Chocolate Noir and Caramel Beurre Sale - 2 boules ("balls") 6,60€
Berthillon is a huge chain for ice cream in Paris. We saw about 6-7 stores in one street that all carried it. And there were lines at every single place! Wow. The scoops were small and expensive. But texture was super rich. However, I'm happy with Paciugo here at home. hehe.
Glaces Antolin (across from Notre Dame)
- Pistachio
- Mint Chocolate Chip
Again, small scoops. But pistachio was nice and nutty. The mint was quite strong and refreshing.
Amorino - Gelato di Qualita e Tradizione (along Rue de Tournon; close to Jardins du Luxembourg)
http://www.amorino.com/fr/
- Focaccina (gelato in tender Brioche) 4,80€
We filled it with Tiramisu and L'Inimitabile (chocolate & hazelnuts) gelato. It was pretty cool. They seal the edges of the brioche after filling it with the gelato. So it's like a giant cream puff. Very fun!
Gelati d'Alberto (Latin Quarter)
- Cherry and Panna Cotta gelato
Saw the flower design and HAD to get it. The portion is pretty small but something different. :)
Random bakery (close to Moulin Rouge)
- Mini Macaron (pistachio, coffee, chocolate) 0,90€ each.
Cheapest macarons we saw... The next cheapest was around 1,80€ a piece. Got a few to try. Not bad. But I don't get the craze over these things...
Breakfast!
- Flan
I like how they make flan in a tart/pie form. And they are in such huge wedges!! Niiice.
Random bakery (in Versailles)
- Eclair Chocolat 2,20€
- Nougate & Fraise (Nougat and strawberry cake) 3,90€
So you can see all the snacking in Paris are sweets. haha. But the bakeries just look so amazing. And of course we had to have eclairs at least once during our trip!
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Posts
