Asador: Chef's Harvest Dinner Series - November Edition

Last week, my husband and friends and I went to the Asador Chef's Harvest Dinner Series: November Edition. They do these dinners seasonally and is available once a month. We decided to do the one in November thinking it'll get us in the mood for the holidays. Boy were we in for a treat!

Asador
Renaissance Dallas Hotel
2222 Stemmons Fwy.
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 267-4815
www.asadorrestaurant.com

I had gone to a preview of the upcoming fall harvest dinners at the beginning of September. There we got to taste some of the dishes featured in the September dinner. The food was amazing! I have to say... I've always heard of Asador, but it's never been on my radar. The location is never really in an area where I frequent. But it truly is a hidden gem. I had an amazing time at the preview. (At some point I will finally write up the post for that one. hehe.) They told us that each dinner will feature 3 courses family style. Start off with a welcome drink and some snacks, then move into the actual dinner. Each dinner will have some sort of beverage accompaniment, whether wine, cocktails, or beers. And the whole dinner PLUS drinks PLUS tax PLUS gratuity is only $90! Whoa... That's a game changer. Most dinners like these typically run $80-120 and THEN you have to add on another $30-50 on the drink pairings. And they never include gratuity! This is a steal people... stay tuned for their dinners next season!

We arrived a little late due to terrible traffic. The dinner was on a Wednesday night and we were driving from Rockwall. The group had already started with charcuterie boards and a welcome beer. The dinner this night featured pairings from Real Ale Brewing. One of my friends was super excited because he's a real beer connoisseur. He had a hell of a time talking to Brad, the owner of the brewery, the entire night.

Asador has one of the best charcuterie boards I've ever had. Their smoked duck is my favorite. :) It was a little sparse by the time I got there. haha.

After some introductions and background info from Real Ale, they moved us to the long wood table for our feast. It was a communal style table since the dinner is family style. Looking through the menu, there's gonna be so much food. I'm so excited! The theme was Thanksgiving, since it was so close to the holiday.

First Harvest:
The featured beer is Lost Gold, IPA.

Carrot Cumin Soup (chive cream). The soup was poured tableside by the Chef, Brad Phillips. He's super nice and you can tell he's just so passionate about the food. Ever course he comes out to explain the dishes and ingredients. 

 

 

OMG... I normally hate carrots, y'all. But this soup was something else. One of my favorite dishes of the night. It was smooth, creamy, and luxurious. Slight sweetness from the carrots and just the most beautiful color. It had none of the flavors that I normally dislike of carrots. It was just magnificent. I'd be happy if we were only served this dish in the entire dinner!

Crispy Pork Tibia (wild boar, jalapeno orange, baby kale). 

 

I love me some pork. This was no exception. That jalapeno orange glaze was a great pairing with the boar meat. Just a hint of citrus sweetness and heat. I really tried hard not to over eat. There was just so much food!

Frisee, BBQ Apple, and Red Plum Salad (chestnut puree, black pepper honey vinaigrette). 

Loved pairing this with the Crispy Pork, the flavors all complimented each other so well. This was dressed lightly, which I liked. I did think the apples were cut a little too large but the flavor was great. It was so interesting with the BBQ rub on it. Loved it all!

Oh man... the first course blew our minds already and we've already been stuffing our faces. There's so much more coming!

Second Harvest:
The featured beer for the main course was Brewhouse, Brown Ale.

Turducken Roulade (cranberry tartar). 

 

OMG. My first ever Turducken! It was beautiful. The cranberry tartar was so vibrantly red. It was great but I think the turkey overwhelmed everything else because I couldn't discern the chicken or the duck. haha. But oh well. Yummy!

Roasted Wild Trout (mashed rutabega, artichoke). 

I think the fish stole the show for me for the entrees though. It was so freaking fresh and tender. The whole thing just melted in your mouth. And that rutabega mash... oh my. Just gimme a bucket of it. It's not often that I get to try rutabega either. Loved all the interesting ingredients we were tasting that night. Each plate of food they put on the table were just over flowing with food. The fish dish is the only one where we finished every piece of fish. We just can't let that go to waste!

Sides:
The side dishes were a show of their own!
Green Bean Casserole (crispy onions). Fresh green beans, not that mushy stuff from a can. Delish!

Crispy Squash Blossom (ricotta, goat cheese). I love squash blossoms. These were so perfectly fried and the filling was fluffy. 

Sourdough Stuffing. We had so much stuffing we didn't know what to do with ourselves! We barely made a dent in this. I hope they let the staff take the leftovers, cuz I hate to think all this food was wasted. Or they should've just given me like 10 to go boxes. hahaha. 

Carrot Souffle (pecans). My favorite side dish. Again, CARROTS! Wow... they're really making me rethink my preferences. haha. This tasted more like a sweet potato souffle. It was cinnamon-y, nutmeg-y, and fluffy. The crushed pecans on top were a great additional texture. 

Potato Puree (garlic confit, truffle). Silky and smooth. Really great mashed potatoes.(And apparently I didn't get a picture of this...)

Third Harvest:
For dessert, our pairing was Coffee Porter, Brewed with Katz Coffee. Really quite interesting, to have beer paired with coffee. I managed to take a couple sips since usually I don't drink any beer.

Vanilla Panna Cotta (persimmon chutney). 

 

Persimmons seem to be the fruit of this year. I've been seeing it everywhere! And it's not that popular of a fruit! The panna cotta was creamy, yet light. The persimmon chutney on top was the perfect flavor pairing with the vanilla panna cotta.

Dark Rum Sticky Buns (apples, caramel). 

 

 

This was a show stopper dessert. I mean, serious mike drop. They placed about 3 of these mega sticky buns on the long table. Topped with that shiny pool of caramel sauce. Ahhhhh. If only I can just stick my whole face on it! Use it as a pillow. haha. They did give us some small to go boxes for these cuz there was no way we could've finished any of that.

What a phenomenal dinner. Chef Brad and the team at Asador outdid themselves. It was literally a Thanksgiving feast! I'm so glad we were able to be a part of this dinner and I will definitely be on the lookout for their future special dinners. Asador is worthy of a visit, add it to the top of your list, you won't be disappointed! The food was fantastic, and so was the company. We sat by Brad, the owner of Real Ale Brewing, and learned a lot of things on his business and beers in general. If you are ever in Blanco, TX, they do tours of their facilities.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

NYC: Jacob's Pickles

This was another place that came HIGHLY recommended. I can't believe it wasn't even on my radar. Amazing comfort food. In New York! Who knew?!? 

Jacob's Pickles 
509 Amsterdam Ave. 
New York, NY 10024 
(212) 470-5566 
http://jacobspickles.com/ 
Price: $$-$$$ 

The name automatically grabbed my fiance because he loves pickles. And we both love Southern comfort food so we made a point of going there. It would be our "first dinner". 

The 3 of us (us plus his sister), got to the place around 5:30 or so on a Friday afternoon? It was so packed but we were seated immediately. The seating in the back is communal so we shared one long table with several other parties. It's a pretty cramped space but the decor of the restaurant is cool. Totally not what I expected at all. We got a bunch of things to share. 

Since we had another dinner at 9:30... we didn't want to overeat too much. 

Root Beer on Tap: Saranac Root Beer, New York (vanilla rich, creamy flavor, thick-bodied, caffeine free) $5~ Sounded good, but was a bit flat. And tasted like it came out of a soda machine... and it was. Meh. 

Pickles 4 for $11~ (Big Dill Kosher Cukes, Dilly Green Beans, Candy Red Beets, Sweet & Spicy Carrots). 

We picked 4 different types of veggies. They both love pickles, I can be with or without them. I guess they were all pretty good? The actual pickle was our least favorite. The carrots were their fav. And surprisingly mine too! I usually hate carrots, but whatever flavors went into the pickling, was really yummy. 

Grit Crusted Fried Green Tomatoes (sour green tomato brine, house picnic sauce) $9~ 

I think we could've done without this dish. It was good, but we weren't that hungry to begin with. The grit crust was fried nicely. And the sour green tomato brine was a nice accompaniment to the dish.  
 
Biscuits & Gravy (Sausage gravy) $9~ 

 

We were told we HAVE to get this. And it was a valid suggestion. The sausage gravy is DIVINE! Please just gimme a tub of it. I don't even need the biscuit (which was also good tho). One of the best sausage gravies I've ever had. Wow.. 

Mushroom Gravy Smothered Chicken (buttermilk fried chicken, 2 year aged Vermont cheddar; served with Grain Miller Organic Cheese Grits) $14~ 

We wanted to try the mushroom gravy, which is also fantastic (sausage still better). But it reminded me of the mushroom sauce on La Madeleine's Chicken Friand. I freaking love that stuff! The chicken was fried well. I just dipped everything into the sausage gravy. haha. 

 It was a great recommendation. I almost wished we didn't have a later dinner and can try more things. They totally give the South a run for its money! :P 

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Valentines @ Craft :-}

Craft
2440 Victory Park Lane, Ste 100
Dallas, TX 75219
(214) 397-4111
www.craftrestaurant.com
Price: $$$-$$$$

I went to Craft for a belated Valentine's Day dinner this past Sunday. Since the 14th was also Chinese New Year, there were many dinners and family stuff to do. We decided to postpone V-day to the 21st. Which was a good thing anyways because Craft was only offering special set menus the weekend of the 14th.

I've been wanting to try Craft for a really long time. I'm a huge fan of Top Chef so when I found out Tom Colicchio is the owner/chef of Craft, I knew I had to try it. Finally I got the chance to, also because I had a $25 off gift certificate. :P You know me...and savings... hehe. Always looking for a good deal.

Making the reservation at Craft took A LOT of effort... TOO much almost. I think I must've called 6-7 times before finally making the reservation. I called many times during lunch time and the phone would either keep ringing or go to automated system. I was only able to speak to an actual person about 3 out of the 7 calls. I wasn't too happy about that experience. Also, they don't take reservations more than 20 days in advance, so make sure you count out the days before calling them. And when I finally did make a reservation, they never entered it into the system. Good thing I had to call to reschedule (they did not find my original reservation in the system at all), so I was able to make a new one and have them email me a confirmation. How sucky would it have been if I never called back to change it?? Showing up and have them tell me there's no record... Whew...

I had pretty high hopes for Craft and this ordeal was quickly changing my mind.

So finally Sunday rolls around. The weather was dreary and rainy... bleh. Arrived at Craft and it was really empty...only 2 other tables. They seated us in a really big round booth. The decor was really nice. Not overly fancy, had a nice dim lighting, but not too dark. There were these lighted tubes that went up to the ceiling surrounding the booth so it made it seem more private.

Our waiter was really friendly. He gave us the menu and took our drink orders. The menu at Craft is very minimalistic. No descriptions, just the dish name and price. I usually prefer to see descriptions so I know what all is in the dish. But the entrees there did not come with sides. You had to order the sides separately...meant for sharing. Prices were pretty expensive. Average $30 per entree...and another $8-10 per side dish.


They brought us some bread and we made our order. While waiting for the food, they served us an Amuse Bouche. I can't remembered the name they said when it was presented to us...but it tasted like crispy pork skin in a slightly sweet and tangy sauce. I love crispy pork skin but this was fried a little too much...TOO crispy, and not enough of the sauce.


Right before dinner was served, they brought out a plate of Mixed Baby Lettuces & Sherry Vinaigrette $10~ They told us it was on the house! :) WOOT! I love free food! haha. We had forgo the salad to order a 2nd side so this was perfect! The salad was more than enough for 2 to share. The greens were very fresh and crisp. I also liked the vinaigrette but I think they could've put just a smidge less because it was a little tart for me. After all that food...Dinner is served!

Entrees:
Roasted Gulf Red Snapper (with carrot puree) $29~ The fish was about 5-6 ounces...I think? It wasn't very big. It was really good though. I hate carrots, but I really liked the carrot puree. It added a sweet creaminess to the fish. I would've preferred the skin of the fish to be crispier, but I guess if it's roasted, the skin doesn't crisp up that much. My bf enjoyed the fish a lot, he said it was cooked perfectly. I got the thinner half so it was just a tad dry, but still very good. I don't think it was worth $29 though...

Roasted Rack of Pork $32~ I really liked this dish. It had an Asian flavor to it. My mom makes this Chinese dish with basil and chicken, and the flavor of the pork reminded me of that. They also had a couple fried basil leaves in the dish. The pork was cooked nicely, very tender and juicy. It also had just enough fat around the sides to keep the meat moist but not greasy. There were also little chunks of thick cut bacon or something in there...added a little smokey flavor. I love pork...and they did a good job with this.

Sides:
Sauteed Swiss Chard $8~ I always see contestants use Swiss Chard on Top Chef, so I was curiou to try it. I've heard that it's similar to spinach, which I like. It was really good. I like it better than spinach, I think it has a better texture. I could really taste the vegetable, it wasn't overly seasoned or greasy. It felt clean and healthy.

Ricotta Cavatelli & Butternut Squash $10~ When I ordered this, the waiter was very excited. He said it was one of his favorites on the menu. It looked delicious. Cheesy pasta...who doesn't love that! hehe. I've never had Cavatelli before...to me it seemed like a miniture gnocchi. It has the same consistency and texture. I'm a huge fan of gnocchi so it was REALLY good! I wish the chunks of butternut squash were bigger though. I loved this dish...I can probably eat it as my main entree.

We were quite full after all the food, but of course we have to get dessert!!!

After we ordered the dessert, they gave us more free food! A pre-dessert dessert...Citrus Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Jelly. It was really cute in the little shot glasses. The panna cotta was silky and creamy and the jelly added a nice contrast with it's slight tartness. It was yummy! :)

Then our dessert came. Scharffenberger Chocolate Tart, Roasted Marshmallows, Almond Honey Ice Cream $10~ (It normally comes with coconut sorbet, but I'm not a fan of coconut so I asked if we could substitute it.) This dessert was recommended by the waiter. He described it as S'mores on steroids. haha. And it SURE was! The chocolate tart was rich and thick, almost like a thick layer of dark dark chocolate ganache. It was a slightly more bitter dark chocolate, but paired with the sweet marshmallows it was perfect. It balanced out the flavors so it wasn't overly sweet. The marshmallows had a nice crust on the outside from being roasted. And they were sooo cute on top of the tart. The almond honey ice cream paired really well with the tart as well. Not too overpowering, just added that cold, creaminess to everything. Also, the crust on the tart and the cereal-y crispies under the ice cream added 2 different types of crunch. It was a great dessert! So many combinations of flavors and different textures...all worked well together.

Now we were officially stuffed! But that's not all...more food! They gave us some after dinner snacks along with the check. It was nicely presented on a little plate. The arrangement was really dainty and cute. Caramel Popcorn & Cashews, Mini Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and House-made chocolate truffles in a cute little box. We ate a little bit, but took the chocolate and cookies to go. It was all very good. (I ate the chocolates later...both filled with chocolate ganache...YUM!)

With the $25 discount and all the free stuff they gave us, we felt like the price was somewhat justified. Plus we received really great service. The waiter was super nice, not at all snooty like what I was expecting. I think it was also good that they weren't too busy so we got some extra attention. :)

After we paid the bill, the waiter came back with more goodies. He was like, "We're not done with the presents yet!" hehe. He gave us each a chocolate banana espresso muffin, nicely packaged in a plastic bag with a Craft Restaurant sticker. Wow...I've never been to a restaurant that gives so many free little surprises throughout the meal. I ate the muffin later in the week as a snack. It was awesome. I could taste the banana and the hint of espresso. There were large chunks of chocolate throughout...soooo very tasty!

Overall it was a great night. The booth made us feel like we had our own private dining area. The lighting was very romantic. Great service throughout the meal and the food was delicious. Plus little gifts throughout the night! :D I'd say postponing V-Day dinner was a great idea! hehe.

Personally I think the prices are a little high still, so I probably won't be going back for dinner any time soon. But I've heard great things about their brunch, which is less expensive. And it IS a great place for a special occasion. So once in a while is definitely ok!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~