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I was super psyched about my visit to City Hall Bistro. Like counting down the days excited! I had seen pictures from other bloggers of the interior as well as the food and both looked amazing. I didn't even realize The Adolphus Hotel had done such an extensive renovation recently. I can't say I remember what it used to look like since the last time I was there was at least 8 years ago to dine at The French Room (which JUST reopened on 10/4, btw.) But the newly updated hotel is beautiful! Lots of deep, bold colors, and velvet. According to my friend velvet is back in? This is why I'm a food blogger, not fashion or design. haha. Anyways... I'm rambling. We arrived for dinner on a Monday night at 6PM. The restaurant was still quite empty. But oh it's so pretty! This way I was able to get interior pictures without a lot of people in it.
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| hotel interior |
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| restaurant interior |
City Hall Bistro - The Adolphus Hotel
1321 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 651-3686
http://www.cityhallbistro.com/
Price: $$$
We were seated in a big booth right across from the kitchen. I cannot get over how pretty this place is! Our waiter was Jared and he was great. Super nice and was so accommodating. He took our drink orders. My friend got the Juice of the Day (pineapple, lemon, watermelon) $6~ She really liked it. Watermelon is not my thing but it was very fresh. I stuck with water since all of the cocktails sounded too strong for me to handle. hehe.
Jared came to the table and explained the concept and menu for us. The cuisine is Southern European-Mediterranean. Yum. Seriously everything looked delicious on the menu. He also asked if there were any specific dishes we wanted to try. He said the chef will also send out anything else they thought we should try. We told him 4 dishes... and he said they were all great choices. We only got 1 dish that was not on our list. So I guess we're good at picking the best stuff, eh? :P
We started with the Atayef (savory lebanese pancake, duck confit, pear, black garlic aioli) $15~
Can't go wrong with duck confit... plus the savory Lebanese pancake sounded so interesting. This was my favorite dish of the night. I tried a bite of the pancake on its own. It's not often that I have a savory pancake! The flavor by itself was delicious. I could've just had a short stack of this on its own. I still think on a daily basis to drive back there, and just order this dish. haha. The duck had great flavor and the aioli added a richness and moisture to the whole bite. I need more of this!!!
Spanish Octopus (bell pepper, pine nut, harissa vinaigrette) $10~
I love octopus and they cooked theirs really well. No chewiness. It was tender and flavorful. You have to get a bit of every element into each bite. The frisee provides a freshness, the nuttiness and crunch from the pine nuts, and the vinaigrette was just enough, not overly dressed. I feel like the edges of the octopus could've been a little crispier, but I'm just nitpicking.
Snapper Crudo (baby heirloom tomato, pickled shishito pepper, citron salt) $11~
This was the one dish we didn't select. It was very pretty. Upon first bite, it was quite tart for me. But as I ate more, all the flavors came together. The snapper was super tender. I loved the different tomato slices and the pickled shishito pepper added a pow! to each bite.
Much Like Provence (genever, lemon, lavender sugar, club soda) $12~
My friend decided to get a cocktail half way through. It was very pretty... a subtle and simple kind of pretty just like their decor. I don't think my pictures captured it very well. It definitely tasted of lavender, but it wasn't sweet enough for her. (She likes super sweet though.) And I was right, it was quite strong.
Squid Ink Pasta (marinated squid, cilantro, garlic aioli) $17~
This was the dish we were both most excited about. I love anything squid ink. And wow oh wow... this packed so much squid ink flavor that it PUNCHES you in the face. In a good way, of course. But damn! The boldest and most potent squid ink dish I've ever had. A little goes a long way. Eating it straight was almost too much at one point, so I started mixing it with the paella... and you know what? winning combo! :D
Chef's Paella (oyster, octopus flavor, escalivada, babaganush, allepo pepper, grilled kale, dehydrated apples, shallot and mustard seed marmalade, micro cilantro and flowers) $26~
They also have a more traditional paella. This one changes daily. Jared said we should order this one. So we took his rec. And it was awwwwesome! Btw... Escalivada = onions, bell pepper, eggplant "salsa". This was a huge portion size. I think it will easily feed 4 people. I loved the crispy crust on the top of the rice. The flavors were amazing. But the most genius element was the shallot and mustard seed marmalade. You MUST mix a little of the marmalade in each bite. It makes a big difference. It was freaking fantastic. Needless to say, we could not finish this... we took more than half to-go.
We were so full. But I was told I must get the churros. So we did. Spanish Churros (saffron gelato, olive oil caramel ) $8~
It was a pretty big dessert since you get 5 churros... FIVE!! But they're light and fluffy so it didn't weigh you down. The churros were fried nicely and lightly drizzled with the caramel and some more on the side for dipping. The caramel was great, but I wish it was dipped in more cinnamon sugar.. that's how I normally like my churros. The saffron gelato was interesting. You can really taste the saffron. I wished there was another flavor mixed in though... maybe pistachio? The saffron was overpowering for me. However, we also asked for some of the Sweet Basil Ice Cream and it was delicious. So unique with the herbiness of the basil. Very refreshing and fragrant.
My friend got some Coffee (featuring Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters) $3~ For $3 that's a whole lot of coffee. Nice!
I found the price point here to be extremely reasonable for the quality of food you are getting. And I've had several things and flavor combinations that I haven't experienced before, so this place is a total gem. I highly recommend it. I actually already have a brunch reservation to go back in two weeks. Counting down!! Thank you so much, City Hall Bistro, for having us. It was a wonderful meal. Service was top notch and we enjoyed it tremendously. I cannot wait for brunch! :)
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own. Plus, always tip your wait staff even if you get a free meal!*
Quality of Food:
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
There are some great food options in Kyoto. It's a beautiful city with wonderful culture and sights as well.
Some of the food we had in Kyoto:
Ginkakuji - the Golden Temple, was the first stop we made in Kyoto. At the end of the trail are snack and gift shops.
Green Tea Ice Milk (with mochi) 300Yen~ My first time trying this. Awesome! Super fluffy ice with the best green tea. The best matcha I've ever had in my life is definitely in Kyoto.
Green Tea Soft Serve 300Yen~ Me and my soft serves. hehe. YUMMY!
Lunch time outside Kinkakuji - the Silver Temple.
We walked by a small restaurant where you have to take your shoes off and sit on a platform. Always like those. :)
Kitsune Sansai (rice with slices of deep fried tofu and mountain vegetables) 650Yen~ I wanted something light and this was perfect. Light but still had good flavor. Felt pretty healthy eating this.
Unagi (bowl of eel and rice with Suimono - Japanese style soup) 1,200Yen~ Probably the cheapest unagi rice I've seen. They typically run 1,800+ Yen or so. The eel was super tender.
Gion Corner - a cool area where you can see geishas and old style buildings.
Sesame Chou Cream Puff (black sesame and custard) 250Yen~ Black sesame! Of course I had to try it. The cream puff was huge. And so tasty. Bad idea to eat it so close to dinner time though. haha. I was super stuffed!
Soft Serve! :)
Fried Chicken Stand
Kyoto Style (with green tea salt) 200Yen~ Never had matcha salt before. Pretty cool. It went really well with the fried chicken.
Churro Star
Churro (with matcha sugar) 190Yen~ MORE matcha!! OM NOM NOM!
Strawberry Banana Crepe (with whipped cream and chocolate sauce) 330Yen~ Crepes are always fun. Keep in mind we ate all these foods in ONE day! hahaha.
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We found this Ninja themed restaurant in Kyoto and decided to check it out. So freaking awesome! All the staff members were dressed in ninja gear. They lead you thru a dark tunnel from the entrance to the dining area. Which are little caverns per table. It's like private dining!
Ninja Kyoto Restaurant & Labryinth
http://www.ninja-kyoto.co.jp/
They offered several set menus as well as a la carte. We figured since we're here, might as well do the set menu! We chose the 10 course summer special menu for 2,800Yen~ per person.
Shuriken Star Blades Grissini (with sour cream dip). Grissini is basically a crisp breadstick or cracker. This was so cool! Crackers shaped like ninja stars. The presentation was awesome. I didn't even notice the black crackers when they first served it. I thought the twigs were something edible. haha.
Octopus Sashimi. Pretty fresh, but quite chewy. It was hard to eat.
Potato Salad (topped with crispy potato bits). They did "tricks" with the food. The egg was not a real egg! It was actually the sauce for the salad. The creamy sauce over the potatoes was fantastic. The crispy potatoes on top added texture and more flavor. This was my favorite dish of the night. :)
Soup. Pretty good. A creamy soup with edamame in it. I didn't finish it though since I knew we had a ton of courses left to go...
Steam Fish with Chinese Sauce (with tofu and veggies). Very light and healthy. Not my favorite dish... the fish was overcooked.
Ninja Style Black Fried Chicken. Very cool presentation as well. The black stuff on top is actually garlic bread crumbs. It's not burnt or anything. Added so much texture to the dish and delicious garlicky-ness. Did I mention how fun this meal is??!! :P
Black Enchantment (sweet and sour tender pork). When they served this, the waiter said it's time for dessert! I was excited because I love dessert. Duh! haha. But then he told us, "No! It's not!" It is a pork chop disguised as a ice cream bar. Can't say I wasn't disappointed. haha. But this was really good. The pork was cooked well and the sauce was very interesting.
Eggplant Sushi. I don't like eggplant. But I tried this anyways. I did not have a second piece tho. haha.
Icy Bonsai (milk, black sesame, and matcha ice cream). Now it's time for dessert for reals! :P Really cool presentation. The dirt was chocolate cookie crumbs and 3 different flavors of ice cream underneath. The black sesame was by far my favorite. Yum!!
Snowy White Frog (cheesecake on chocolate cookie). Cute! Looked better than it tasted but totally fun!!
During the meal, a ninja came in a did magic tricks for us!! It was one of the most fun dinners I've ever had. Definitely go check this out when you're in Kyoto. :)
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
First post of 2012! And it's a place I've been dying to go to forever!!
We were long overdue for a gathering of one of our quarterly eating groups. We decided to venture out to Fort Worth this time and made a reservation at Lonesome Dove. Chef Tim Love is the chef and owner of this restaurant. He's a pretty famous celebrity chef being featured on shows like Top Chef and The Great Food Truck Race and also competed on Top Chef Masters. :) I've watched him on all those shows so I was eager to try his restaurant. Also because the menu was so exotic and interesting!
Lonesome Dove Western Bistro
2406 North Main Street
Fort Worth, TX 76164
(817) 740-8810
http://www.lonesomedovebistro.com/
Price: $$$$+
I've looked at their menu online sooo many times so I knew that it was pretty pricey. But they feature a lot of exotic game meat and has won many awards. I had pretty high expectations!
The restaurant is casual, despite the prices. When you walk in, it seems to be a pretty small place. Wood plank floors and Western decor. But we were led through the front room, then another small room and then ANOTHER small room and finally down a flight of stairs to yet another room. It's deceivingly big! And it was packed with people that night.
We were seated and our drink orders were taken. Then the waiter recommended that we pick a few appetizers and they can make a sampler out of it. Basically each appetizer can be ordered in individual pieces. So we chose a few dishes and they will serve one piece of each app per person. Interesting concept... and everyone can try everything! We also got some bread to start. The jalapeno cornbread was pretty yummy! I can totally taste the flecks of spicy jalapeno with the sweet bread. Mmmm!
So for the First Course we chose 4 appetizers:
Wild Boar Ribs (house made pickles, Lonesome Dove BBQ sauce) $12~ (or $4/piece).
This was highly rated in online reviews. It looked really good and was cooked well. There was just enough fat on it to make it nice and juicy. However, I wasn't blown away. It was good ribs but not mindblowing. Also, I didn't care for the pickles that came with it. They were more sweet than tart and I felt like they didn't add anything to the dish. A side of slaw or something might've gone better with the ribs.
Rabbit-Rattlesnake Sausage (spicy Manchego rosti, creme fraiche) $15~ (or $5/piece).
This was really good. The sausage had a nice crispy sear on it and the meat itself had a hint of sweetness to it. But the main star in my opinion was the crispy potato hashbrown thing under the sausage. It was perfectly crispy and yummy. But the whole thing was tiny! It was literally one bite. I forced cut it into 3 tiny bites just to savor it. hahaha.
Kangaroo Carpaccio "Nachos" (avocado salsa, habanero-fig demi-glace) $12~ (or $4/piece).
This was one of the dishes I really wanted to try. Kangaroo?? How much more exotic can you get? But I was hesitant on the carpaccio part since that means it's mostly raw... This was even smaller than the sausage. One piece of tortilla and an even smaller piece of kangaroo on top. The meat was interesting. It's really tender and seems to be light in flavor. But there was a pretty bold seasoning rubbed over it so I don't really know what the actual meat tastes like. I liked the texture of the meat and I decided to eat it separately from the tortilla so I can fully enjoy it. The rest of the dish was basically like a chunky guacamole. Which was good but too much in ratio to the rest of the dish. It would be nice if we at least go some extra pieces of tortilla chips or something.
Elk Sausage Sliders (seared foie gras, blueberry jam) $14~ (or $7/piece).
I haven't really had elk before and one of our friends at the dinner said elk is probably one of the best meats ever. He was right. This was one of the best sliders I've had in a long time. The meat was tender, juicy and full of flavor. I know elk is way leaner than beef but it didn't taste lean! All the elements just melded together wonderfully. I can just eat this all night. But at $7 a piece...it's definitely pricey!
Some of us got a second course. I chose to have my second course as my main dish so I can save more space for dessert! :P I got the Butter Lettuce, Applewood Smoked Bacon Lardons, Spiced Pepitas, Chili Buttermilk $9~
The bacon lardons is what sold me on this. Basically crispy pork belly. NOM! The salad was good. The pork with the pepitas and little slivers of jalapeno definitely made it better. Butter lettuce is a really delicate lettuce and I'm not a huge fan of it. I think with romaine it would've been a better fit texture wise with the pork and pepitas. The dressing wasn't spicy like I hoped and wasn't anything special. I enjoyed it overall though.
Warm Hominy, Lamb Bacon, Swiss Chard, Muenster, Quail Egg $12~
Hominy refers to corn without the germ. It is served both whole or ground. Hominy is boiled until cooked and served as either a cereal or as a vegetable. Muenster cheese is a cow's milk cheese with a taste comparable to typical white American cheese or a sharp jack cheese. This looked really good. It was kind of like a stew. I got to try a bite. I loved all the different ingredients in it and the broth was really flavorful. However, there was a sheep/lamb-y flavor (I'm assuming from the lamb bacon...haha) which I didn't like. But I don't like lamb in general so if you do, you might like this!
Grilled Corn, Cucumber, Heirloom Tomato Salad (red wine vinaigrette) $9~
This was really colorful and looked really fresh. I didn't get to try but my friend cleaned her plate.
Berkshire Pork Green Chili (tortilla strips, smoked cheddar cheese) $10~
This looked pretty hearty and the portion size was good. My friend said it was good, not great.
Time for the Main Course!
Roasted Garlic Stuffed Beef Tenderloin (Western plaid hash, Syrah demi-glace) $35~
The tenderloin was about 8-9 oz. The waiter said this was their most popular entree. The tenderloin was huge! I got to try a bite of the meat and it was really tender. It had good flavor but I didn't really get much garlic. The asparagus was nice too. My friend said the flavor of the sauce was a little overwhelming though. I didn't try the sauce so I can't comment. He even had some leftovers to go!
Pan Seared Lane Snapper (smoked crawfish chowder, crispy parsnip) $28~
If I had ordered an entree this was my second choice. It was also a good portion size. The sauce was awesome...lots of flavor and great with the bits of crispy parsnip in it. The fish had good flavor as well but it was slightly overcooked. Still a good dish overall.
My bf got the Rocky Mountain Elk Loin (salsify, Hen of the Woods, swiss chard, candied grapes) $40~
This was my first choice as an entree. The slices of loin added up to about 3-4 oz in my opinion. Salsify is a white root, kind of like a parsnip but skinnier. It was a pretty small plate but pretty. The elk was super tender and seasoned lightly so you can taste the actual protein. I enjoyed all the elements together but it definitely needed more of EVERYTHING! haha. Especially the salsify. I loved the dish, I just wanted more!! It was definitely expensive for the portion we got. However, I did do some research and the price for elk seems to be around 3 times more than beef. I guess I can understand the pricing more based on the data.
I definitely saved room for Dessert! haha.
I already knew what I wanted from looking at the menu online. Warm Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream & Almond Brittle $10~
It was almost like a flourless chocolate cake...really decadent. I liked the almond brittle around the cake. It added a nice crunch and a floral accent to the chocolate. I didn't detect any chile though...that was a bummer. I liked this a lot. It just needs to be bigger as well!
Chocolate Tuaca Layered Mousse Cake $10~
This was a large piece of cake. It looked really yummy but it was just ok. I really liked the chocolate layer on top but the consistency was too thick and hard against the actual cake part. The flavors were good but I felt like it could be a bit more moist.
Fresh Mexican Doughnuts with Chocolate, Cajeta & Coffee Cream $10~
This was basically churros with dipping sauces. The churros were pillowy and delicious. I really liked it with the chocolate sauce. Cajeta is basically caramelized goat's milk. That was really good as well. The coffee sauce was very watery, I'm not sure if the consistency was meant to be like that?
Overall it was a great meal. I enjoyed pretty much everything I tasted but it was just a bit too expensive for it all. With 1 piece of each appetizer per person (for me and my bf), one salad, one main course, and one dessert, the final bill (including tax and tip) was about $135 for the 2 of us. We didn't even get any beverages or anything. And I wasn't totally full. I had another dessert elsewhere about an hour later. haha. :P
As for the service... our waiter wasn't friendly at all. We didn't feel welcomed and he almost made us feel like he didn't want us there at all. Several of my friends commented on that and one guy even said "I really don't like him!" I mean, he did everything he was supposed to, checked on us regularly and served the meal correctly but no smile or friendly chit chat or anything. Bleh... :( It definitely made us enjoy our dinner a bit less. However, after the dinner, I asked him if I could meet the chef (since I saw him walk by earlier in the night) and he said he would check for me. And later came back and told me that the chef will come by our table. Woot! That earned a bit of his points back.
So Chef Tim Love came by our table. And I was able to get a picture with him! YAY! Another check on my list of Top Chefs to visit. hehe. :)
I would still recommend checking out Lonesome Dove since the food is delicious and you can try some really exotic things. Just keep the prices in mind...and also keep the prices of the different proteins in perspective. It's definitely not a place most people can visit frequently. And you MUST try the Elk Sliders!!!!
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Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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