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Over Thanksgiving break, we went down to Austin for one night to visit my fiance's family. We were doing a second Thanksgiving Friday night and had Saturday to go out and about. I already knew what places I wanted to check out. Time is limited, I had to prioritize! :P
I was excited about both eateries we were going to but I think I was slightly more excited about this one than the next. Just slightly...
I first experience Gourdough's AMAZING donut trailer back in 2009, I think? The BEST donut place ever!! Made to order, gigantic, and all sorts of excess toppings we Texans love. hehe. So when I heard they had opened a restaurant, I was stoked!! I mean... they have donut burgers. DONUT BURGERS! How freaking epic does that sound?!?
Gourdough's Public House
2700 S Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 912-9070
http://gourdoughs.com/
Price: $$
We hit it up for brunch on Saturday. They don't take reservations so we showed up fairly early... around 11:30AM. The place was only about 20% full at that point. We decided to sit outside because the weather was awesome! The decor is very casual, wood tables, chairs, picnic benches and tables outside. They also have one of their trailers in the outside area. There's also a bunch of TVs around us, great for a game day!
I was there with my fiance, his two sisters, and his little sister's husband. They started off with some brunchy drinks.
Craft Bloody Mary $5~ My fiance's bro in law asked them to put a piece of bacon in this. Why not, I say. haha. I've never liked bloody mary's but this was actually quite good! He really enjoyed it.
Michelada $5~ One of his sisters really like this drink. My fiance tried it and decided to get one too. hehe. I love how they put the beer in a mini brown paper bag.
So... are you ready for some SERIOUS food p0rn?? haha
Country Clucker (crispy fried chicken breast, potato pancake, warm cream corn, candied jalapenos; served on a piping hot donut) $11~
This was mine! ALL MINE! MUAHAHAHA! :P J/k I shared... I was debating on a few but the creamed corn and jalapenos won me over. I liked everything in this dish. All the food looked so amazing when they brought it out. This was like a small mountain of deliciousness. A perfectly fried (giant) donut, slightly crispy on the outside, soft and pillowy on the inside. Topped with a potato pancake, perfectly fried chicken, and SO MUCH CORN! It was so good!!! I loved the candied jalapenos, it added just a hint of heat to the dish. It was as epic as the picture looks. I sooo wanted to finish it all but I was sampling other stuff too so I took about 1/3rd of it to go.
Dirty Plucker (piping hot donut topped with hand battered fried chicken, honey butter and maple icing) $9~
My fiance got this. He and his sister were going to go halfsies on each of their dishes. This is their play on chicken and waffles. And this was my favorite out of everything I tried that day... although it was hard to pick a favorite. Again, perfectly fried donut, with a maple icing. Topped with fried chicken, and more maple icing. And honey butter to top everything off if you want it even sweeter. That honey butter was the bomb. I drizzled it over every bite, and some on my Country Clucker too! The general consensus was that it was too much sweet to finish the entire plate, but since we all shared, it was perfect. I would've eaten the whole thing though. The perfect sweet and savory combo.
His sister got the Count Gourdough Cristo (oven roasted turkey, ham, swiss cheese, roasted red pepper, basil, red onion, wrapped in donut dough and deep fried; served with avocado lime sauce; served with fried Yukon chips) $10~
So she gave half to him. They both loved this. I was expecting it to be super heavy like a normal Monte Cristo sandwich but it really wasn't. The avocado lime sauce paired with it superbly. And their Yukon chips were great. They both wanted more of it.
Public House Salad (cilantro buttermilk dressing, romaine lettuce, feta, tomato, cucumber, six-minute egg; served with a piping hot garlic donut) $7~
His little sister got this since she wanted to try a little of everyone's as well. They were kinda giving her a hard time for getting a salad here. haha. But I'm actually glad she got it cuz I was able to get some green veggies to go with my Country Clucker. The salad was huge! And what was even more O.O was how huge the garlic donut was. And that garlic donut could easily be one of everyone's favorite elements that day. It was just perfection. It was plain (unglazed). Fried perfectly, not greasy AT ALL, and SOOOOO FLUFFY! They really have their donut dough down to a science.
And finally, his bro in law got the El Camino Burger (angus beef, chipotle cheese blend, chipotle mayonnaise, pickled jalapenos, bacon, cilantro, sliced tomato, fried onions; served with fried Yukon chips) $11~
At least one of us had to get the donut burger right?? Freaking amazing. So much flavor, I loved the chipotle mayo. It tastes just as good as it looks.
Fried Brussels Sprouts $4~ I also saw this on the menu so I had to order it. Pretty dang good. :)
This meal was amazing. It exceeded my already high expectations. I loved everything I tried and so did everyone else. Just looking at these pictures again makes me want to pick up and drive to Austin right now. It's a good thing I don't live close though...I'd be there ALL THE TIME! If gluttony is your middle name, then this is the place for you. Although, surprisingly, I didn't feel like any of the dishes were super greasy or heavy. Nothing oozed with grease even though everything is fried. Impressive. I will definitely make this a required stop any time I'm in Austin.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
RW #2 this year was Hibiscus. I've been wanting to go here since I started doing RW many years ago. But they only participate the first week and so scheduling has never worked out. But finally... I made it there!
Hibiscus
2927 North Henderson Avenue
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 827-2927
http://www.hibiscusdallas.com/
Price: $$$$
It was raining that night and parking on Henderson is almost nonexistent. Good thing they have complimentary valet. We arrived right on time but half of our party was running late due to the weather and traffic.
It looks like a quaint, unassuming restaurant from the front, but this place was huge! The room just kept on going! The lighting was very dim, but had a warm glow that was nice. They have several different rooms. My favorite one was the middle main dining area with the open kitchen. But we were seated in the back room. It was quieter back there though, which is good. And the entire restaurant was packed the entire night we were there. Very impressive!
I told them we had people running late and they were very nice and said it wasn't an issue. We were seated immediately once the majority of our group showed up.
Our waiter was very nice and energetic. He explained that they do a "family style" menu for RW. And we lucked out with 9 people because they round up! Basically, the appetizer, sides and desserts are all shared. 1 dish for every 2 persons. So since we had 9 people, we'd get 5 of everything. Awesome! This is the best deal for a large group because we get to try everything on the menu!
Openers -- (Choice of one per two guests, Served family style.)
- Baked Jonah Crab Dip (wood oven fired crackers). We got 2 of these for the table. It was quite good. I liked the browned breadcrumbs on top. And it was really creamy and rich. Initially it looked like just a bunch of cream, but there was actually quite a bit of crab in there. I just wish it was hotter.. like the cream should be bubbling when it's served or something.
- Tempura Green Beans (Meyer lemon aioli). We got 2 of these as well. I thought these were the best out of the appetizers. The batter was light and crispy and the beans were cooked well and had nice texture. You can taste the green beans without being overwhelmed by the batter.
- The Baby Wedge (house cured bacon, cherry tomatoes, crispy onions, Pt. Reyes Blue). We got 1 of this. It was a little less impressive than the other dishes. There were 3 small wedges on the plate, topped with a mountain of crispy onions. The flavors were pretty standard. My favorite surprise was the thick cut bacon on the bottom of the plate. Just a big slab of it.
Features -- (Choice of one per guest.)
- Roasted Chicken (braised spinach & potato). I think this was the biggest portion. And the flavors were fine, but not really that interesting.
- Horseradish Rubbed Scottish Salmon (jalapeno creamed corn, heirloom tomato vinaigrette). I opted for the salmon. According to some reviews online, people said the salmon and filet were really good. Since I don't really like the filet cut of meat, I went with salmon. Also because I wanted the jalapeno creamed corn. hehe. The salmon was really good. Cooked perfectly med rare and so tender. By far the best entree of the night.
- Petite Filet (butter poached shrimp and grilled asparagus). This sounded really good but was a disappointment. The meat was cooked really well even though it looked dry on the outside. But the entire plate just looked sad and bland. And it was very bland. The steak wasn't really seasoned. Neither was the shrimp and the potatoes weren't anything special. :( Everyone who go it just said it was "fine".
Sides -- (Choice of one per two guests, Served family style.) Now this is one of the highlights of the meal. I think the sides totally outshined the main course.
- Wood Roasted Cauliflower. This was the fav among the group. It had a nice spicy kick to it and lots of flavor. One of my friends thought it was too salty though.
- Wild Spinach. Pretty standard.
- Dish Deep Mac Casserole. I liked this one as well but it was super rich. I liked that the pasta was still somewhat al dente and not mushy like other mac and cheeses. One of my friends also liked the fact that they used more of a cheddar/yellow cheese and the flavor was bolder. I agree. The browned breadcrumbs on top was nice.
- Creamless Creamed Corn with Jalapeno & Bacon $8?~ A friend of mine ordered this as an extra side. It was delicious. The bacon came in large chunks! It could've used more jalapeno though. It wasn't very spicy. But I thought it was great, nonetheless.
It was a ton of food! Initially I thought we'd have no problem since everyone had to share but everyone was stuffed!!
Then it was time for Desserts -- (Choice of one per two guests, Served family style.)
I am so glad we had to share these because they were impressively massive. OMG! Especially the chocolate cake.
- Ice Box Pie (crushed Butterfinger, vanilla ice cream, Oreo cookie crust). We got 3 of these. What's not good about butterfinger ice cream and oreo crust? YUM! The majority preferred this one.
- Classic Chocolate Cake (devils food, truffle ganache, Morello cherry). We got 2. Wow.. this is a pretty epic cake. I'd say at least 6 inches high. I liked this one better. So chocolately and rich and decadent.
The ganache was amazing! I was super full but I think I managed to eat half of a slice by myself! It was actually great to eat both desserts together since ice cream pairs perfectly with chocolate cake!
We tried really hard to finish it all, but ended up taking some cake to go. Plus some of the girls (including me) boxed up half of our entrees. The desserts were a great ending to the meal. Overall, we had a good time. Some parts of the meal were disappointing, but I liked it for the most part.
Our waiter was great, didn't rush us or anything after our meal even though I saw a lot of people waiting at the bars for tables. He was also very accommodating to split the checks.
Just an advice if you are interested in their RW for the future. Make sure you go with at least a party of 3 or more. You get to try more dishes, it's a better deal! hehe. So far RW has been extremely filling! Sometimes you get restaurants that have tiny portions, but apparently I lucked out this year!
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Hi Boys and Girls. It's that time again! One of my favorite times in Dallas. The Dallas Restaurant Week has officially begun!!!! For those of you new to RW... restaurants all over Dallas/Ft Worth participate every year for a week (and some extend a 2nd or 3rd week). They offer a 3 course meal for $35 per person. And $7 of that goes to the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas or Lena Pope Home in Ft. Worth. It's a great opportunity to try great restaurants around town for a good cause!
I had only made 2 reservations this year for later weeks. III Forks was a last minute add. Actually my bf had a giftcard and wanted to wait until his parents were in town to treat them to a nice dinner. We just lucked out that today is the first day of RW! Woot!
III Forks
17776 Dallas Parkway
Dallas, TX 75287
(972) 267-1776
http://www.3forks.com/
Price: $$$$+
We had a super early reservation at 5:30PM since his mom doesn't like to eat late. I arrived on time but they were stuck in traffic. The host was super nice and said they could seat us at any time. It was still pretty empty at this time. Once they arrived, my bf asked if we could go to the bar for a drink before seating and they happily said yes. We can be seated at any time. How nice! The restaurant is massive btw. I had never been there and it was quite a surprise... Although from the outside it looks pretty grand, I guess I just never expected the inside to be that big for some reason.
We went to the bar. They have happy hour from 4-7PM Daily by the way. There are some food specials and $5.50 III Forks martini and $5 Sommelier's Pick of the Cellar. They ordered some drinks and then we were seated.
So far it's going pretty good. But then our waiter showed up... and it just got better from there! Our waiter was Pete. (I normally don't mention people by name as some of you have noticed but this is an exception.) He gave us a warm and friendly welcome. He found out this was our first time dining there and gave us some background info on the restaurant. Always interesting to me. :)
I was immediately impressed by Pete. He quickly gauged our group and was able to make us feel at ease. He was professional yet joked with us. My bf's mom is gluten intolerant so he joked around with her with the bread and dessert items (kinda rubbing it in but also accommodating to her dietary restrictions at the same time). It was all good fun. :)
As he brought the bread, he explained that it's baked in house. I particularly loved the presentation of it. It comes wrapped in a cloth napkin and he crushes it as he places it on the table. You can hear the crunch of the bread. What a great sound! It's always nice when we can dine with all our senses!
The bread was great. The shell was nice and crunchy and the inside was soft, slightly chewy, and fluffy.
I signed up for the restaurant's newsletter when I found out we were going and received an email for a free app. Yay! :) I showed the email to him and he immediately put the order in while giving us more time to look over the menus. Beef Croustades (Filet Mignon sliced and topped with blue cheese and red wine demi) normally $12.95~
So delicious! The beef was super tender and the bread was just the right thickness and not too hard like crostinis can sometimes get. I loved the blue cheese sauce on top as well. It was a good indicator of the food we were getting next!
The other 3 people decided to order from the RW menu and I opted to order from the regular dinner menu (I didn't feel like I could eat 3 courses!). **And I apologize for my pictures. The restaurant was quite dim and my flash isn't doing the food justice!**
First Course --
III Forks Salad (award-winning signature salad prepared with crispy green apple slices, Wisconsin blue cheese, toasted pecans and field greens laced with housemade vinaigrette). This was really good. It was fresh and had just the right amount of vinaigrette. The addition of apple gave a nice crunch and sweetness.
Steakhouse Wedge (classic crisp iceberg with spring onions, bacon, and tomatoes topped with blue cheese). My bf ordered this. It was drowning in dressing. Wayyyy too much. But other than that, it was really tasty. I loved the bacon and the flavors were great. If you order this make sure you ask them to ease up on the dressing (unless you like that of course).
Asparagus Soup (fresh tender stalks simmered with thyme in rich chicken broth, pureed and finished with a dollop of cream, Asiago cheese and pecan smoked bacon). This was my fav out of the 3. The soup was pretty massive. It was warm, creamy and so comforting. It was super smooth and had lots of flavor. Dip bread in there and sop up everything! I would order this again in a heart beat! But unfortunately they don't offer it on their regular menu...
The service was very attentive. The water glasses were always refilled without asking and Pete came by to check on us a lot. You can tell he enjoys the food at the restaurant and is proud to promote it and serve it. Always makes a better dining experience. :) Also, the manager, John, came by and checked on us a few times. He was constantly making rounds in the dining room and making sure everyone was having a good time. I also saw him help serve when the restaurant filled up. The place was packed by the time our entrees came around.
When the entrees were served, Pete asked the guys to cut into their meats to see if it was cooked to their liking. I think this is the first time I've seen a restaurant do that. But before they cut into it, I had to take my pictures! hehe. So he asked if I was blogging and I said yes! I also added that so far it's been fantastic and that he was an A+! He was very happy to hear that.
Entree Course --
Aged Midwestern Beef Filet Mignon (topped with a fresh herb pink peppercorn butter; served with side of mashed potatoes, sugar snap peas, off-the-cob cream corn, ripe tomatoes and spring onions). The filet was cooked perfectly medium rare and extremely tender. The peppercorn butter added great flavor.
Pan Seared Idaho Brook Trout (crusted with toasted almonds in a champagne buerre blanc; served with wild rice, sugar snap peas, off-the-cob cream corn, ripe tomatoes and spring onions). The trout was huge! OMG!! I liked the crust on it. I think it had nutmeg in it or something... tasted a hint of that. The texture of the fish was also very good. It also had some fruit on top... I think they were grapes. My bf's mom loved that. She liked the hints of sweetness from the grapes with the fish.
Pipestone Farms Prime Pork Chop (over sweet potato-spinach hash in a Dr Pepper Serrano BBQ Sauce; served with sugar snap peas, off-the-cob cream corn, ripe tomatoes and spring onions). My bf ordered this. It was the best out of the 3 RW choices, we all agreed. But all 3 were really delicious. He ordered the chop medium and it was cooked to perfection. It was a pretty thick cut and was still super tender and juicy. Hard to come by with a pork chop. My favorite part of it all was the sauce. It had a hint of sweet and spicy and the flavors were just bold and fantastic. I also liked the sweet potato and spinach hash that came with it.
Before I made my order I asked Pete if he would recommend the prime rib over the fish dishes. He said "absolutely not!" Really? Since I thought it was more of a steakhouse. He explains they have an excellent fishmonger and all the fish is fantastic...the seabass being one of his favorites. I was already considering the seabass so I was sold!
Chilean Seabass (in beurre blanc; served with wild rice, sugar snap peas, off-the- cob cream corn, ripe tomatoes and spring onions) $37.95~
I asked if I could substitute the rice for another veg. He said normally they can only substitute a starch for another starch but he wrote it down and said it doesn't hurt to ask. hehe. Of course they made it happen. I was able to get broccolini instead of rice. He didn't steer me wrong. The fish was amazing. AH-MAZING! I've never seen such a thick piece of sea bass in my life!
And it was like butter. I didn't use a knife at all. It just melts in your mouth and I loved the sauce (which is basically a white wine butter sauce). And there were so many sides that came with every dish. When Pete was explaining the dishes to us, I was shocked that we got ALL the side dishes instead of just one or the other. He also said that the cream corn will be our favorite. I think he was right. The cream corn was the bomb! But everything else was yummy too. All cooked perfectly and seasoned well. They also come by with a tray of sliced tomatoes and spring onions. It was a cool way to present a side dish I think. It's like a bread tray but for veggies!
So yum...everything! I was truly impressed. And of course the service just elevates the experience to another level.
But it's not finished... there's dessert! It says it's "chef's selection" so I wonder if they change it from day to day? And everything is made in-house. I didn't get a dessert since I didn't do the RW menu, but Pete brought me a spoon and fork "to share". hehe. It's little things like that that makes the dining experience better.
There were 2 choices for RW. But because my bf's mom cannot eat gluten, Pete let her choose from their selection of ice creams. She chose cinnamon which was super tasty.
The others got the 2 cake options. The cakes were surprisingly small compared to the other parts of the meal, but it's probably a good thing. We were stuffed already!
3 Layer Chocolate Cake. The cake was pretty moist and the frosting was yummy but it was pretty standard.
Pecan Cake (3 layer yellow cake with crushed pecans and topped with candied pecans). This was also really moist and really light. I also liked the candied pecans on top. I normally go for anything chocolate but I actually liked this one better. I think because it was a little moister and lighter than the chocolate cake.
It was an amazing meal. I was impressed from beginning to end. The food was perfectly delicious and unpretentious and the service was A+ through and through. The best service I've ever had in my life was during RW last year at Charlie Palmer (which was leaps and bounds above any other service I've had) and Pete was giving that a run for it's money. I've already written a lot and I can go on and on but I think you get the idea. :)
The only complaint (other than the overdressing of the wedge salad) was that the restaurant was too loud. I guess it was the acoustics or something but it's hard to hear others talk even when we were in a small table for 4.
I'm glad we lucked out and got to do RW at III Forks. It was more than anything I expected. I would highly recommend this for your RW experience (or just regular dinner and special occasions). And if you are lucky, you'll get Pete as your waiter! Tell him CHOMP! says Hi! hehe.
I'd love to hear about everyone's RW experiences too! Where did you go? What did you order? The good, bad and delicious~ Feel free to leave me some comments!
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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