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First post of 2017, y'all! I'm really going to try hard and do consistent posts this year. #newyearsresolution :P
I had the pleasure of dining at Beto & Son this past weekend with another food blogger friend of mine. I was invited through @bestfooddallas. :) The restaurant knew we were coming and we were supposed to meet with Chef Julian. Chef Beto and his son Julian opened their new restaurant in Trinity Groves just 2 short months ago. The place was packed when we arrived! They call their concept "next generation Mexican food", everything's from scratch, locally sourced, and had a "chef-to-table experience".
Beto & Son
3011 Gulden Ln #108
Dallas, TX 75212
(469) 249-8590
www.betoandson.com
Price: $$-$$$
We were warmly greeted by the hostess when we walked in. I gave them my name and that I was supposed to meet with Chef Julian. The hostess seated us quickly and sent over our waitress, Bree (sp?). She was super nice, got us our drinks and menus and gave us some info on the restaurant concept while we waited. Chef Julian showed up soon after. He was super friendly as well. We didn't really know what to expect from this visit... I was just thinking we each order and entree or something but he told us he would just send out some stuff so we can get a variety and feel of the food. And if we wanted anything else, we can just ask. He also brought out the dinner menu, which had more items so we can try everything. (We went for lunch.) The only thing we requested was one of their noodle bowls. We've both been perusing the pictures on Yelp and both wanted to try that. He mentioned the dinner menu has a Salmon Noodle Bowl and we were sold!
So we just kinda sat back and waited to see what surprised they were going to bring out! :)
We got started with some Housemade Tortilla Chips (with salsa and bean hummus).
This is complimentary for every table. Everything is made in-house. The chips were fantastic. They were super thin and light and crispy. Chef Julian says the idea is to keep things light so people don't fill themselves up on just chips. That bean hummus though.... OMG. It was awesome and interesting. The texture reminded me of the black bean dip from Glorias which is amazing. I think I can slather this bean hummus on everything.
Chef Julian brought out 3 appetizers. He personally served every course by the way. It made us feel so special! And he explained every dish, their ideas behind it, what the elements were, and how they were made. I always love the background info on what chefs are thinking when they create something. You can definitely tell he takes pride in all their food.
Mexican Poutine (scratch crafted masa fries, chicken tinga, queso blanco, tomatillo sauce, queso fresco, pico, fried egg) $11.99~
Sooooooo good!!!!!!!!!! Definitely one of my favorite dishes of the meal (I had lots of favorites...haha). Totally loved the potato/masa blend of the fries. I think it created a better texture than just pure masa. So many different flavors but all blended so well. That perfectly runny egg was just the cherry on top. Yolk porn, y'all! I can totally order this as my entree.
Gulf of Mexico Ceviche Tower (shrimp, slaw, avocado, pico, mexican cocktail sauce) $14.99~
A play on the sushi towers you find at every Japanese restaurant. Any food in stacked form is cool I think. This was very refreshing and the Mexican cocktail sauce added just a hint of heat. The slaw was crunchy, avocado was creamy, and the shrimp was cooked well. It was a nice contrast to the Poutine which was heavier. It went really well with the tortilla chips.
Street Elote (charred shaved corn, garlic aioli, chile de arbol, queso fresco, crema cilantro) $6.99~
Yesss!!!! I love me some elotes. This is their take on it. Loved the charred corn with a hint of smoky flavor. The aioli and crema added the creaminess. An explosion of flavor! Another favorite!
We had to fight the urge to keep eating it all. Since we only just got started! We asked them to pack most of the appetizers away so we wouldn't be tempted. haha.
Before the entrees came, our waitress told us another table had ordered the Liquid Nitrogen Mango Margarita. It is made table-side and it's pretty freaking cool! They use liquid nitrogen to make the frozen margarita. So much smoke!! Definitely a fun thing to do when you're out with friends. :)
Time for the entrees!
Sour Cream Chicken Tinga Enchiladas (shredded chicken tinga, sour cream sauce, melted cheese, avocado, pickled slaw; served with achiote rice and charro beans) $11.99~
They decided to do an open faced enchilada. What a great idea because you get so much more tortilla real estate to put stuff on! They use white wine in their sour cream sauce to add a different flavor and also make it less heavy. The addition of the pickled onions and watermelon radish brightens up the entire dish and adds vibrant colors. I don't like corn tortillas so I never really order enchiladas. I liked the idea of it being stacked and I think if they did it with their bomb flour tortillas, it would be that much better!
Fajita Skillet (caramelized peppers and onions, chimichurri, calabacitas, fried onions, chile de arbol glaze; served with fresh tortillas, achiote rice, and charro beans) Chicken $15.99~ or Fajita Steak $19.99~
The skillet came out sizzling and the smell filled the room. Ahhhhhh. We got a combination so we can try both meats. Both the chicken and steak were tender and flavorful. The fried onions are coated with a Mexican seasoning. It is reminiscent of cajun... tons of flavor and complimented the meats well! Their housemade flour tortillas were magnificent. It just about stole the show! So light and soft but doesn't tear, however much you fill with goodies! When our meal was over, Chef Julian said he would give us each some tortillas to go. Yay! If he hadn't offered, we would've asked anyways. hehe.
Tropical Salmon Noodle Bowl (roasted fideo pasta, seared salmon, calabacitas, chipotle cream, pickled onions, avocado) $17.99~
Dinner menu only. This was the one thing I really wanted to try... the noodle bowls. I didn't realize they had a salmon version until Chef Julian mentioned the dinner menu. I'm so glad we got this one. The pasta is toasted first then cooked in the same stock they use to make their tortilla soup so it already has a bunch of flavor. The toasting process makes it a little nutty. And that salmon...oh the salmon. I KNEW it was going to be amazing before I even cut into it. It was cooked PERFECTLY. Pink on the inside, fork tender, and so moist it just flaked right off. One of the best pieces of salmon I've eaten to date. Not just recently, but my whole life. And I've had a lot of salmon, y'all. Highly highly recommend this dish!
What an amazing meal. I loved all the variety their menu offers. I never get Mexican food because I find it to be the same thing most of the time. Here... you have a ton of choices. I challenge you to pick just one!
Of course the meal can't end without dessert. I was hoping he would bring out the flan and he did. I love flan!
Luna de Noche Flan (chocolate cake, flan, whipped cream, cajeta) $7.99~
The presentation was great. I normally don't care for the half cake half flan thing. Since the flan is always so much more moist than the cake, it makes the cake feel even drier. Not the case here. The cake was just the right thickness, it melded into the flan. And that cajeta (caramel sauce)... oh man. A dessert lover's dream! The flan is a good size too, totally shareable. But if you don't, I won't judge. hahaha.
Thanks to Beto & Son for having us out. It was more than what I expected for sure. Chef Julian showed us a great time. His choices of dishes gave us a really good range of their menu. And that salmon.... ahhhhhhh! Like butter! The place has a fun vibe, but the lighting wasn't great for food photos (hence the rating). But I'll be back for sure. Food trumps lighting! haha. :P And you should definitely check it out!
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
I absolutely love Smorgasburg. I went to it 2 years ago and I'm so glad it's a yearly thing! The weather was perfect on Saturday too! It was my 2nd thing to do in NYC (after Shake Shack). hehe. And it was about 20 min walk from our Airbnb apartment. It was such a great location!
Smorgasburg
90 Kent Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11249
Saturdays 11AM-6PM
(Sundays are in a different location)
www.smorgasburg.com
We got there around 11:45 or so. There were already a lot of people walking around and standing in line. There were a few vendors still setting up. This is a lot bigger than Madison Square Eats so it took a lot longer to walk around and scope everything out. We made it thru about 2/3rds and then gave up. Oh... and I thought all the vendors would have Square or something to take credit cards... I was wrong. We were running out of cash, fast! So consider yourself warned! Estimate $8-10 per item per vendor. You do the math.
While we were waiting for my fiance's sister to meet us, we stopped at the first vendor. This was new to me and they had displays set out. All looked yummy!
Duck Season
Crispy Duck Lettuce Wraps (I think it was $8 or $10~)
This was a new item so it wasn't even on their menu. The duck was nice and crispy but the lettuce was too frail to hold everything together. It was a messy item to eat while walking around. haha. Every element was good, just needed a bit more sauce. His sister showed up and was able to get the last bite.
Overall Experience:
So now that we had 3 people, we decided to split up, get different foods, and meet back at a central location. Didn't really work too well.. haha. Since different vendors cook food at different pace. Oh well...
Asia Dog
WangDing Hotdog (chinese bbq pork belly, cucumber, scallions) $5~
Sounded good but quite disappointing. At least it wasn't as expensive as everything else. It was a puny little hotdog with some pork sauce on it. I guess flavors were ok but very unmemorable.
Overall Experience:
Bite Size Kitchen
Braised Pork Belly Bun (cucumber,scallions, hoisin, pickled jalapenos)
Duck Bun (sesame seeds, cilantro, pickled ginger, fried garlic and shallots)
2 for $9~
Both were good. The duck won out over the pork belly. I think it was the sesame seeds and fried garlic/shallots.
Overall Experience:
Bassanova Ramen
Green Curry Ramen $9~ Plus Berkshire Pork (Chashu) +$1~
I had to wait a while for this because they were still setting up. It was cool that they torched the chashu on the spot but certain parts tasted burnt. The meat was tender though. I loved the texture of the noodles. Nice and chewy. And the green curry is more of a sauce, so it's considered a dry ramen. It was good! $10 for the portion tho, I'm not so sure.
Overall Experience:
Vaquero's
Elotes (grilled corn served with mayo or butter, cheese and chilli) $4~ Who doesn't love elotes?? Yummmmm!!
Overall Experience:
Brooklyn Soda Works
Apple Ginger Soda. Quite refreshing on a hot day.
Overall Experience:
BFC
Buttermilk Fried Chicken (with a cheddar waffle and pickle garnish) $12~
This looked so awesome, but I was disappointed. Very expensive for fried chicken btw. I liked the waffle more too. The chicken was fried well but needed way more seasoning. They had hot sauce on the side, so that helped a lot.
Overall Experience:
Dough
Hibiscus Donut.
Freaking love Dough. Their donuts are so big and fluffy! The hibiscus is good but their favorite of mine is still the Cafe au Lait!!
Overall Experience:
Palenque: Homemade Colombian Food
Arepa (arugula, Oaxaca cheese, chipotle mayo, cilantro salsa) Vegetarian toppings: Tipica (mashed red beans and hogao) 4" for $8~ This is his sister's favorite. This time, however, it took forever for her to get her food. I think she waited like 20 minutes or something... It's good though. :)
Overall Experience:
We were pretty full at this point and talking about leaving. So we were trying to think of things that we saw on the website that we wanted to try but haven't yet. The only thing I could think of is this spaghetti burger that sounded really good but I never saw it. Oh well... we started walking out. As we were walking, I saw it! And they had no line! They had some of the spaghetti burgers on display and it looked really good. I was full, but was contemplating getting one.
Antica Pesa
Spaghetti Burger (lamb ragu, parmigiano, fontina) $10~
I was a little weary of the lamb ragu since I don't like lamb. But this is something unique and it WAS something I wanted to try from the start. BIG MISTAKE. I think it was already fried, but they fried it again when you order it so it would be hot. It looked really good, but was sooooo greasy. It also came with a cheese dip on the side. After a few bites, I started feeling queasy. But it was freaking TEN DOLLARS so I felt bad for not eating it. But I couldn't. I soon admitted defeat. And it was the biggest mistake of the trip because it completely ruined my stomach for the rest of the day! Booooo. Serves me right for trying to cram in one last item. :( Next time, stay away from deep fried pasta and cheese!! And lamb. The gaminess made everything worse.
Overall Experience:
It was a fun afternoon but I wasn't as satisfied this time around. The price to food quantity/flavor ratio just wasn't there. I wish I hadn't eaten certain things so I could have another dough donut. haha. And after the fried grease of a "burger" I was out for the count for the rest of the day. Probably good for me in the long run but still wasn't fun to feel nauseous all the time.
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
SATURDAY: Day 3.
I absolutely love Smorgasburg. I went to it 2 years ago and I'm so glad it's a yearly thing! The weather was perfect on Saturday too!
Smorgasburg
90 Kent Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11249
Saturdays 11AM-6PM
(Sundays are in a different location)
www.smorgasburg.com
Duck Season
Crispy Duck Lettuce Wraps (I think it was $8 or $10~)
Bassanova Ramen
Green Curry Ramen $9~ Plus Berkshire Pork (Chashu) +$1~
Bite Size Kitchen
Braised Pork Belly Bun (cucumber,scallions, hoisin,
pickled jalapenos)
Duck Bun (sesame seeds, cilantro, pickled ginger, fried
garlic and shallots)
2 for $9~
Asia Dog
WangDing Hotdog (chinese bbq pork belly, cucumber,
scallions) $5~
Vaquero's
Elotes (grilled corn served with mayo or butter, cheese
and chilli) $4~
Brooklyn Soda Works
Apple Ginger Soda
BFC
Buttermilk Fried Chicken (with a cheddar waffle and
pickle garnish) $12~
Dough Donuts
Hibiscus Donut.
Palenque: Homemade Colombian Food
Arepa (arugula, Oaxaca cheese, chipotle mayo, cilantro
salsa) Vegetarian toppings: Tipica (mashed red beans and
hogao) 4" for $8~
Antica Pesa
Spaghetti Burger (lamb ragu, parmigiano, fontina) $10~ This was the last thing I purchased and ate. It was deep fried... so greasy it completely ruined my stomach for the rest of the day! Booooo. Serves me right for trying to cram in one last item. :(
--------------
Grand Central Terminal
Zaro's Bakery
Shake Shack
Shack Burger (cheeseburger topped with lettuce, tomato
and Shack Sauce) Single $5.19~
Root Beer Float
--------------
Wonton Noodle Garden
56 Mott St.
New York, NY 10013
(212) 966-4033
Roast Pork $8.95~
Beef Stew & Wonton Noodles $7.95~
The uber heavy spaghetti burger (or "the greasy devil") took me out of the running for our last day in NYC. I felt nauseous everytime we walked a lot and just couldn't eat much more the rest of the afternoon. Sigh... curse you greasy foods!!! Anyways, it probably did me a favor in the long run. haha. We still ate a lot that weekend.
Make sure to check out my separate review on Smorgasburg to get the lowdown of each item we had! :)
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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