Bishop Arts District: Stock & Barrel

Christmas in July, y'all!! Well, it WAS anyways. hehe. Bishop Arts District had their Christmas in July event last weekend. I've never been so I wanted to check it out this time. Plus Emporium Pies was selling some of their seasonal flavors! The best pies ever!!

We arrived at Bishop Arts around 7:30PM. The place was booming with people. There were lots of activities, events, and live music around. And it was snowing! Well, more like bubbles but still, makes it more festive. hehe. We hit up a few shops, got some ice cream, my friend brought his growler and got that filled up at the Bishop Cider Company. Then we got in line for Emporium Pies. The line was freaking long! (We waited almost an hour...) Their Buttermilk Chai is awesome. Worth the wait! 

While waiting, we decided to check a few restaurants in the area to see if we can get in for a late dinner. I called around several places and they all had a long wait or was already closed. So we decided to order food to go.

Stock & Barrel
316 W Davis St.
Dallas, TX 75208
(214) 888-0150
http://stockandbarreldallas.com
Price: $$$-$$$$

We decided on Stock & Barrel. I've heard their brunch is really good. And also their Brussels Sprouts. Sold! haha. Turns out they have a few Brussels sprouts items on the menu. That's pretty awesome. So I made the order, and they said it would take like 45 minutes... wow.. really? At this point we were inside the pie shop. I guess we can just go around the area and kill some time before picking up the order.

After we got our pies. We stopped by La Original Michoacana to get some ice cream to go. We love this place, and that was their last weekend in business. :( However, for some weird reason, they decided to close an hour early that night. So we were 5 minutes too late. (This was 9pm.) Boooo... we were sad. Not only did we not get any ice cream, the guy inside the shop waved us away very rudely. It made me a little angry. He waved us off like annoying flies or something, didn't have a very nice expression on his face. WTF! I guess I don't care if I support your last weekend in business. My friend saw it too and he wasn't too happy either.:(

Anyhoo, we made our way to Stock & Barrel. We actually saw some seats open in there so we asked if we could take our to-go order and eat it inside. The waiter was super nice and went to go check with the kitchen. He came back and said they had already packed it up. But then he talked to the bar and kitchen again and they said we can sit at the bar. They were going to unbox all the food and plate it nicely for us. Wow, we really appreciated that! And I got to take pictures of the food with actual presentation. Yay! :)

My friend got the Shaved Brussels (currants, bacon, goat cheese, pine nut vinaigrette) $10~ 

I think he didn't read carefully when we were making the order because he was expecting roasted brussels sprouts. haha. But it was still good. For me, I don't like goat cheese, but if I eat it without the cheese, it was light and refreshing.

He also got the Wagyu Brisket Burger (smoked bacon, cheddars and tomato jam) $14~ 

It. Looked. Awesome. And he said it was delicious. He also said he was glad we got to eat at the restaurant because after the 40 min drive home, the burger would've been mushy. The fries were pretty good too. I'll have to try this next time.

My fiance and I shared since it was pretty late and I didn't want to eat too much. He wanted the Wagyu Meatloaf (smoked bacon and melted onion hash) $19~ 

It's definitely not your momma's meatloaf. He was expecting a traditional, homey meatloaf and this is definitely not traditional. haha. It threw him off a little. Me, on the other hand, had no expectations, so I loved it. The meatloaf could be a tad more moist but it had sooo much flavor. It also had a spicy kick to it. I liked, he doesn't, cuz he doesn't eat spicy. That sauce on top was great, and the hash underneath was also super flavorful. I loved the combination of the textures between the hash and the meatloaf. I'd recommend it, just don't expect it to be like your mom's or grandmother's. :P

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts (cilantro, scallions, sweet chili) $9~ 

And of course we got the brussels sprouts. It was nicely charred. But I thought it was a little too sweet. And it had a kick to it too, especially on the bottom where the sweet chili sauce had collected. Again, too spicy for my fiance... poor guy. But it wasn't too spicy for me. I feel like more and more places are making their food with a little spicy, but no one is indicating it on the menus. It's tough for someone who doesn't eat spicy...

My friend and I enjoyed the food. And the waiters and bartenders were super nice. The bartender was explaining the food to a lady next to us and you can tell he's really passionate about their dishes. I like that. The employees need to like what the restaurant is serving. :) I'm glad we ate there too. I like the ambiance of eating in a restaurant, and the food was fresher. I will be back here for brunch in the future.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Kate Weiser Chocolate - Trinity Groves

We were saving some stomach space because we wanted to get dessert at Kate Weiser Chocolate. Not only does she make amazing looking chocolate, I found out she also has ice cream in the new store!

Other than Cake Bar, this was the other place I really wanted to check out at Trinity Groves.

Kate Weiser Chocolate
3011 Gulden Ln, Suite 115
Dallas, TX 75212
(469) 619-4929
http://kateweiserchocolate.com/
Price: $-$$$$+

Loved the decor. It was bright and open and lots of colors from the picture on the wall to the chocolates on display. Her chocolates are definitely works of art, All have lots of color, almost too pretty to eat!

We were there for the ice cream though, first and foremost. Each one is $5, which I thought was reasonable. The chocolates were half that price EACH! Dang...

The ice creams were pre-packaged in these little containers. They were VERY frozen so we sat outside and let them thaw out a bit before digging in.

(From left to right)
Ascension Coffee Ice Cream (crushed biscotti, chocolate espresso bean) $5~ This was pretty good. I particularly liked the biscotti to add texture. I've heard Ascension coffee is really good, but since I'm not a coffee drinker, I haven't checked out the cafe yet. Very bold coffee flavors. It's probably the best one of the three.
Chai Tea Ice Cream (black tea, cardamom, ginger streusel) $5~ I chose this one. It was very interesting. Kind of a deconstructed ice cream. The bottom was the black tea ice cream, the top was cardamom ice cream (we think) and when you eat it together, it creates the chai! I loved the ginger streusel.
Pecan Butterscotch Ice Cream (mandarin orange, candied pecans) $5~ We liked this one the least. The top was a mandarin orange sorbet. I guess the bottom ice cream was the pecan butterscotch. I found the combination of orange and butterscotch a little weird. The butterscotch flavor was actually overwhelmed by the orange a bit. The candied pecan pieces were too big. I think they should've crushed it up a little. Meh...

French Macarons (per piece) $2.50~ I forget what the flavor was that my friend got. I think something maple? I'm not a macaron connoisseur at all. I thought it was ok? But I find them generally unsatisfying and seriously overpriced since most of them are semi-hollow. This one was hollow in the cookie part too.

We walked around the area a bit after dessert. Before leaving I went back and bought some chocolates to try later. Since I'm here and all... :P

Bonbons and Truffles (per piece) $2.50~ I got 2 pieces. They had lots of flavors I wanted to try, but they were too expensive... I got the Truffle Honey (milk chocolate, truffle honey) and the Yuzu (dark chocolate with Japanese lime). 

They were so pretty! The lady at the register was super nice. She told me that each of them was packed with the listed flavors. She also recommended that I eat the Yuzu first since the Truffle was heavier in flavor. 

I was super excited about the Yuzu (on the right). It's a Japanese citrus and I love it. However, I took a bite of the chocolate and didn't even get a hint of citrus... What?? She told me it had lots of yuzu flavor... I took another bite, still nothing. Needless to say I was very disappointed. And here's where my dilemma comes in. As a piece of chocolate, it's pretty awesome. The quality and craftsmanship of the dark chocolate is great and I absolutely enjoyed it. But since you tell me it's yuzu, I expect to get the citrus flavor. Which I didn't, AT ALL. That was a big let down. Next, I still had high hopes for the Truffle Honey. 

Now this isn't the chocolate "truffle", it's straight up black truffles infused honey. The lady at the store told me, again, that the truffle flavor packs a punch. I love truffle. I took a bite. The truffle flavor was so slight that if I didn't know what was in the chocolate, I wouldn't have guessed it was truffle. Upon the 2nd bite, I got a little bit more but still not "a punch". Double disappointment. Again, really great craftsmanship on the chocolate and the filling was silky and luscious. But only as a regular piece of chocolate. I have to say I'm disappointed, especially after the reputation I've heard and expected from her chocolates. Has anyone had these flavors and had a different experience? Part of me is hoping that for some reason these batches were just flukes and they forgot to add the flavorings or something. XP

Well, I'm not sure if I'll have these again. Sigh...
At least all the people there, including Kate Weiser herself, were very friendly.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Brunch at Brewed

Wow.. January has been super busy! It's kicking me in the butt... so I've been behind on my posts. And haven't really had much time to try anything new lately.

As you know, last last weekend I was in Ft. Worth for a wedding. So on Sunday, we stayed in Ft. Worth for brunch! I chose to check out Brewed. The menu sounded yummy and the place seems pretty cool. They serve brunch on Saturday & Sunday from 9:30AM - 2:30PM.

Brewed
801 W Magnolia Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76104
(817) 945-1545
http://brewedfw.com/
Price (for brunch): $-$$

The place is super cute! Very eclectic decor, reminds me of places in Austin. There are 2 different dining areas and also a small area with a bench and tables where you can chill or do some work. We were seated in the main room. It was cool how they had a bar area in the middle, one side was for coffee, the other was beer. Hence their name, Brewed!

They had some neat contraptions for making coffee. It made me wish I actually drank coffee so I could order one. haha. But they also had other interesting drinks so we tried a few.

Kombucha on Tap (blood orange flavor; 12 oz.) $4~ 

Kombucha is a "fermented tea filled with probiotics, antioxidants, enzymes and amino acids that will help "jump start" your digestive and immune system." Their taps change from time to time, so make sure to check for latest flavors. I've always heard of Kombucha but never tried it. I asked the waitress for some samples and she said sure! Not really my thing since I don't like fruity flavored teas. I like my teas simple... green or black, no fruit or spices or sugar. But my bf liked it so he got one. It's got a slight effervescence to it which was interesting. It's not overly sweet which was good. Hard to really describe it, so you're just going to have to try it for yourself! :P

He also got The Texas Honey (steamed local milk served with local honey; 12 oz.) $3.75~

 He was coming out of a cold so wanted something to soothe his throat and it definitely did the trick. "Brewed is committed to providing local and sustainable Texas products, including local non-homogenized low-pasteurized, fresh milk from Mill King Dairy."

I got a Chai Tea Latte (a rich and spicy blend of tea and steamed milk; 12 oz.) $4.50~ Different than chai teas I've had before. It was quite spicy! Very interesting!

On to the food!

Cinnamon, Apple, and Cranberry Waffle (Belgium style waffle serves with Nueske's bacon) $8.25~ 

My bf got this. He knew he wanted this as soon as I showed him the menu online a week prior. haha. This was ok. The fruit on top of the waffle made it soggy pretty quickly. I'm picky about waffles, I like the crispy edges. But the flavors were good, you didn't really need any maple syrup. But I added some anyways cuz that's always yummy right? haha.

Scotch Egg (two soft-boiled farm eggs wrapped in house sausage, breaded and fried; served with arugula salad) $8~ 

 

This was my choice. I know what a scotch egg is but have never tried it before. The waitress says it's one of her favorite things on the menu. They were pretty big. And I loved it. The egg had runny yolk on the inside, the sausage had great flavor and the best part was the crispy breaded shell! The combo with the arugula was nice since arugula is kind of peppery and slightly bitter, it cuts the richness of the egg and sausage. It was also topped with some sort of lemon aioli. The acidity in the aioli rounded out the whole dish really well.

Side of Veggies (tri-colored cauliflower and Brussels sprouts) $3.50~ 

I didn't know the scotch egg came with an arugula salad so I ordered this as a side. Always gotta have my veggies! And I love everything in here. I was sad that I only got like 3 pieces of Brussels sprouts but oh well. It was a good side to my scotch egg.

Donut Dippers with Fresh Fruit Compote (apple and cranberry compote) $5.50~ 

 

We also wanted to try this. We ordered it at the beginning with everything else and they said they would bring it out first. But the food came out really slowly. I was noticing other tables not really getting anything either and the table next to us complained a little about not getting their drinks. Before this came out, our waitress came and apologized for the wait and said they went ahead and took it off the bill. That's nice of them. We were taking a slow leisurely day anyways so we weren't too upset about the wait. I WAS getting hungry tho! :P These were like cake donut holes covered with cinnamon sugar. They were piping hot. Yum! The compote was nice too. It tasted like the topping on the waffles.

Despite the wait on the food and drinks coming out, it was a good brunch. We loved the atmosphere and setting. The food overall was tasty. I loved my choice. hehe. And if I lived closer I'd probably go there all the time to work/study.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~