MAY: A Compilation

Sorry I missed posting in June, everyone. It's been a hectic yet fruitful month! I was too busy with job applications and interviews and round 2 interviews AND.... not one job offer, but TWO! Woohoo. That's right, this girl got herself a new job. I start Monday!

Also... I have to say that May was not an impressive month. Bummer. There wasn't a particular place that blew me away so I wasn't too enthusiastic in writing about any specific place. But I promised myself, and you, that I would post once a month so I'm still going to do a May post!

Here are 5 of my favorite bites, or sips, in May. (In no particular order.)

One of my favorite little shops in Bishop Arts District, Serve! Everything there is good but they recently introduced me to the Blackberry Almond Latte. Not only is it beautiful, it's probably my favorite latte at the moment. Also, bonus points to Serve for having reusable iridescent metal straws!

Detour Doughnuts. They're amazing. If you haven't driven at least once out to Frisco to get their donuts, you're seriously missing out. Their flavors change seasonally, so maybe you'll have to drive out 4-5 times a year. Haha. Their Beet & Ricotta (the bright pink one) was beyond amazing! And they make the BEST Creme Brulee donuts and mini fritters. This box was about $30? They just rolled out new flavors this past week!

Nutella Latte from San Martin Bakery. Served in a cool glass, comes with a cookie (baked in-house), AND it's less than $3. You will NEVER find prices like these anywhere else in Uptown. Yea, this place is in Uptown.

Jinya Bun from JINYA Ramen Bar in Victory Park. Slow-braised pork chashu, need I say more? They cooked it so well! Their ramen is pretty good too. Need to go back and try more things. And I freaking loved this wall.

I went to a media Happy Hour at Truluck's to check out their summer cocktails. The cocktails were beautiful and delicious but my favorite bites were the Prime Meatballs! During HH it's 3 for $6 or 5 for $8. Not too shabby! They have live music in the bar as well and it's a lovely time.

Happy July 4th week, y'all!

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

JANUARY: Nori Handroll Bar

I'm finally back from a long break from blogging! My new concept for CHOMP! is that once a month, I will be featuring my favorite dining spot from the previous month. Since today is the last day of February, I gotta hurry up and post my favorite from Jan2019! I am also removing my "cookie rating" since these will all be my favorites. It'll get boring when all of them have 5 "cookies". Haha!

Technically I've been going to Nori since October of last year... and I've wanted to write about them ever since then (but life got busy and I was a little burnt out). But it's too good not to feature, so they're kicking off my 2019! Plus I did go to Nori in January. Ha!

I've been following Chef Jimmy Park since the days of Pok the Raw Bar (still my favorite poke place in Dallas). I had one of the best meals when the raw bar opened up there. Since Chef Jimmy left Pok, I've been WAITING for him to do something else. Finally Nori Handroll Bar opened in September 2018 in Deep Ellum!! Woohoo!

Nori Handroll Bar
2814 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(469) 436-6674
norihandrollbar.com
Price: $$-$$$$

I've gone numerous times since they've opened and every time the food is just fantastic. I expected nothing less from Chef Jimmy! Hands down my favorite sushi spot in Dallas, Nori has a great chef (duh!), a great team, and wonderful owners. Plus the decor (minimalist modern) and the music are great!

Chef Jimmy Park being his awesome self.

They specialize in handrolls (or "Temaki") which is a new trend in DFW. A few things to understand when eating handrolls...
1) The seaweed is very important. Nori's is custom made so it has that perfect crispness when you bite into it. Eat it quickly when they place the handroll in front of you so you can experience that perfect texture. The longer the handrolls sit, the softer the seaweed can get. (Mind you, it's still good if left sitting too long, but once you experience how it's SUPPOSED to be, you'll know what I'm talking about!)
2) The handroll chefs at Nori will wait until you have consumed one roll before making your next one. That way the handrolls are not left sitting too long.
3) This one is specific to Nori... their handrolls do not need soy sauce. AT ALL! I have never used soy sauce there because each roll is already so flavorful. I do get their wasabi relish to put on there though. YUM!

Aside from handrolls, Nori also offers complimentary tapas such as seaweed salad, octopus salad, edamame, shishito peppers, and more. 

Yes, complimentary. It's awesome. On the dinner menu, you can also find the full selection of hot dishes like their awesome brussels sprouts, hamachi kama (yellowtail cheek), etc. They have various sashimi dishes which sometimes changes depending on whatever fresh fish they have that day. They also have a sake bar at the front of the restaurant which is pretty badass looking!

Since I've been there so many times already, I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures and what they are. You can't go wrong with anything. I'd happily eat any of these again!

Yamaimo (japanese mountain yam, shisho, ume boshi) $5.50~ Gluten free and vegetarian

King Salmon (house cured ora king salmon, crushed sesame seeds, chives) $7~ Gluten free

Negitoro (fatty tuna, scallion) $9~ Gluten free

Negihama (yellowtail, scallion, crushed sesame) $7~ Gluten free

Nori Scallop (hokkaido scallop, tempura crunch, creamy spicy) $8~ This is a personal favorite.

Red Crab (red crab, garlic aioli) $9~ Gluten free

Baked crab... torched in front of you. Yum!

Baked Crab (red crab, baked avocado with creamy spicy) $9~ Gluten free. Another personal favorite.

Ebi Katsu (panko shrimp, ginger dressing) $8~ This is my absolute favorite!

Chef's Temaki Special: This changes, but I had Tamago (egg).

Lobster (lobster, butter ponzu aioli) $10~

Uni (uni, lobster roe pate, gold flake) $MKT~ Gluten free

Brussels Sprouts (fried brussels, parmesan, premium sauce, crushed sesame) $7~

Rock Shrimp Tempura (amazu ponzu or creamy spicy, yuzu) $MKT~

Hamachi Kama (yellowtail collar) $18~

Takoyaki (octopus dumplings, mentaiko sauce, bonito) $8~

Chicken Karaage (japanese fried chicken) $8~

Here are also some special bites that Chef Jimmy has made for me. I am honored to be considered his friend and can experience these wonderful creations! Disclaimer: Nori does not offer omakase (chef's tasting) on their regular menu. They may offer it on certain holidays so keep an eye out for that! They recently did one for NYE and Valentine's Day.

Hakami in homemade soy sauce

Salmon Belly nigiri

Home cured Japanese mackerel nigiri

Yellowtail in homemade wasabi soy sauce

Bluefin with ponzu

Kampachi with jalapeno dressing

Spear Squid nigiri

One last thing. Save room for dessert. It's not listed on the menu, but sometimes Nori will have this donut ice cream dessert that is just to die for. The donuts are from Detour Doughnuts in Frisco (they're seriously good at what they do) and topped with either a matcha or black sesame ice cream, with different sauces poured at the table. It's delicious. You won't wanna share. :P

Detour's custom Black Sesame donut with Black Sesame ice cream

Detour's Creme Brulee donut with Black Sesame ice cream and chocolate sauce

Thanks for always taking such great care of me, Chef Jimmy and Nori team! If this post doesn't convince you to go check them out... I don't think we can be friends. LOL! They just recently rolled out a new lunch menu btw. I'll be checking that out soon!


~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Blog and Brunch at Fearing's

I look forward to Blog and Brunch with my food blogger friends every month. The months where I'm busy or out of town, I'm always so bummed. I'm glad I was available this month though! Because we're having brunch at Fearing's inside the Ritz Carlton, y'all! I have never accepted an invitation so fast in my life! haha. This is definitely going to be a special treat. :D

Fearings - The Ritz Carlton
2121 McKinney Ave.
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 922-4848
http://fearingsrestaurant.com
Price (for brunch): $$$$

If you haven't heard of Chef Dean Fearing, you probably don't go out to eat much or you just moved to Dallas. haha. He's a huge name in the Dallas food scene. You can read up about him here. We were all super psyched to be here!

We were seated at a large square table in the back dining room, right by the kitchen and the action! The place was packed and everyone was slightly dressed up. It IS the Ritz... gotta fancy it up a little, ya? hehe.

Get Rattled - Food/Drink Specials & Live Music

Some people started with some sangria. White Peach Sangria $12~ It's so pretty and full of fresh fruits. Waiters came by with either still or sparkling water.

Then we got to meet the Executive Chef. Chef Eric Dreyer was super nice and greeted our table. He's quite young! It was such a treat to be personally welcomed by the chef, especially of such an establishment. He actually came by and checked on us a few times througout the meal. And we got a group photo with him at the end. :)

As we looked over the menu... everything looked amazing. It was really hard making a decision, but we all knew we wanted the Breaking Bread (Pecan Brioche Cinnamon Rolls, Bacon/Cheese/Chive Scones, Banana Bread, Buttermilk Biscuits; mixed berry jam, honey, Vermont butter) $5~ You get 2 of each kind of bread. 

They served us 3 samplers. THREE. That's a lot of carbs. Wonderful, delicious carbs. It was my cheat day obviously so I'm going all out!! My favorite was the buttermilk biscuit. It was perfect with the butter and berry jam. But everything else was good too. I liked that the scone was savory since everything else was sweet. It was a nice variety. We had a ton left over. And guess who got to take it all home?! ME!!!! Yaaassssss!

To give you an idea on how brunch at Fearing's works. You can either do 'The Whole Enchilada' - Choice of Starter, Main Course, Dessert for $42~ Or order everything 'a la Carte' - Starters $12~, Main Course $26~, Dessert $10~ If you are hungry, go for the Whole Enchilada for sure.

STARTERS:
Dean's Tortilla Soup (with South of the Border Flavors). This is Fearing's famous tortilla soup. We got a taster of it. It was poured table side, which I love... always a great presentation. The flavors of this soup is really bold. I liked the thin strips of tortilla and radishes in the soup. The little chunks of avocado was nice too. I'm not really a soup person so my opinion is not the best to judge by... but EVERYONE at the table were Mmmm and Ahhh-ing all over it. It was a HUGE hit. So the hype is real.

Chilled Shrimp Campeche Cocktail (with avocado/jicama salad, and chile lime plantain chips). I really enjoyed this though. The shrimp were plump and tender. The dish was very refreshing. All the elements complimented each other... the creaminess of the avocado and the crispness of the jicama. Yum! And eat it with the plantain chips for that added crunch!

House Smoked Salmon Flatbread (with whipped goat cheese, hand picked dill, crispy capers, pickled onions, heirloom tomatoes). I did not try this as I don't like smoked salmon OR goat cheese. So I let the others enjoy it.

Warm Buttermilk Doughnut Holes (with honeycrisp apple butter, and house made sage sausage). 

It was unanimous at the table that we order this. I really liked the presentation but somehow it just doesn't turn out in photos. This dish is not as expected. I'd have to say I was a little disappointed. Although I liked the sage flavor in the sausage, it was lacking salt. Since there was not much salt, the sausage was almost more sweet than savory. The donuts themselves had good texture but without dipping a lot of the apple butter, it wasn't sweet enough. Overall it was just a little lacking.

HOT PLATES:
Gaby's Migas (chorizo and scrambled eggs in a flour tortilla with salsa verde, queso fundido and charred tomato/avocado salad). 

This was certainly not my idea of migas. I thought usually it's tortilla chips or strips mixed in with eggs and meat and stuff. This was more like a burrito? But no matter... it was so good. I'd say it was my favorite entree of the day. That tortilla texture was fantastic and all the flavors were great. Especially that salsa verde. I even asked for extra salsa verde so I can dip my fried chicken into it. haha.

Granny Fearing's 'Paper Bag Shook' Fried Chicken (with whipped potatoes, all day green beans and tomato gravy). 

This was my choice. It's not very photogenic but that fried chicken was amazing. It's just barely breaded and fried so it's got the crispness without the heavy breading. The chicken was super moist and tender. The whipped potatoes were nice and creamy. The green beans and tomato gravy were kind of a let down. The green beans were pretty basic, kinda soft. The gravy... wasn't sure if they forgot to season it, but it didn't have much flavor. I just got the salsa verde from the migas and slathered my chicken with it though. Delicious! haha.

Red Chile Glazed Crispy Fish Tacos (wrapped in white corn tortillas with firecracker slaw, cilantro/tomatillo rice, and house made escabeche). A pretty dish. Lots of colorful veggies. It looked pretty light. I tried a small bite of the fish, but couldn't really tell anything from that. haha.

Buffalo Chili 'Benedict' (on jalapeno cheddar cheese biscuits with poached farm fresh egg and poblano hollandaise). Those soft poached eggs were unreal! I've never seen soft poached like that before. It's pretty impressive. They almost look like mochi to me. haha. Loved the biscuits on the bottom.

Dr. Pepper Braised Short Ribs (with 'Loaded' whipped potatoes and crispy tobacco onions). This was definitely the crowd pleaser of the day. Not only was it a beautiful dish, but that short rib was fork tender and full of flavor. The crispy onions on top was a great pairing. Everyone who got this cleaned their plates.

Grilled BBQ Glazed Filet (on Brazos Valley jalapeno grits with a tangle of greens, smoked bacon, poached egg, and traditional hollandaise). Also a fantastically soft poached egg. I only tried a bite of the grits which was good. But it looked like a well rounded dish.

We were all really full but we can't have a meal without trying the desserts! They had 3 on the menu so we got all 3 for the table. :P

DESSERT:
Banana Pudding (with homemade vanilla wafers, toasted meringue, bananas foster sauce and warm beignets). A cute presentation, but again, the photos don't do it justice. It was yummy. The best part was the banana ice cream imo.

Double Dark Chocolate Cake (with hazelnut mousse, blood orange sauce, and coffee toffee ice cream). 

This was the show stopper for me. Absolutely gorgeous presentation. That tuile/crisp though... So delicate and intricate and beautiful. Not to mention yummy! The cake was super moist. I love the coffee flavors in there. Helped to accent the chocolate. That hazelnut mousse was oh so luscious. I do have one little nitpick though.. they should've removed the strings from the mandarin slices. haha. I think it took away from the presentation a little.

Fried Blueberry Pies and Blueberry Crisp (with lemon cheesecake ice cream, and graham cracker crunch). 

Such a fun dessert. Cute presentation and ALL THE BLUEBERRIES! My favorite part was the fried pie. I loved the crust. I wish all the ice cream scoops were much larger though. We always run out of ice cream before everything else. :P

It was a great brunch overall. I loved spending time with my fellow bloggers, we always have so much fun. The ambiance was bright and energetic in the dining room by the kitchen. Chef Eric Dreyer took great care of us as well as the wait staff. There were a few misses here and there but there were so much other delicious foods that I was beyond full. I'm still dreaming of that Breaking Bread sampler. I love my carbs! :) And gimme that chocolate cake all day every day!

*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*

Quality of Food: 

Service: 

Ambiance: 

Value: (comped)

Overall Experience: 

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~