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What do you do when you have 4 hours to kill at the airport? You update your blog. Lol! Seriously though, can you guys believe January is almost over? We are one month into 2020, a new decade! Crazy!
So continuing with my monthly features... my December favorite was Smithy on Henderson! I had heard lots of good things since they opened but never got the chance to go. Then out of the blue, they invited me in! That's the best feeling. My friend and I went on a Tuesday night so it wasn't too crowded. Walking up to the restaurant, I saw that they had a really cool covered patio area. It reminded me of Ebb & Flow which I featured in Nov.
Smithy
2927 N Henderson Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 316-1984
https://smithydallas.com
Price: $$$-$$$$
The interior is really cool. I loved the art on the walls, the use of dark wood and iron... it used to be a former ironwork/blacksmith shop! Hence the name Smithy. I like that! It was bigger than I expected! They have a private party area all the way in the back of the restaurant.
We were greeted by the owner who sat down and chatted with us for a while. Did you know this is the sister restaurant to Woolworth in downtown Dallas?
To start, my friend got the Quite Frankly (frankly organic vodka, dolin blanc, strawberry, jalapeno, lemon, ginger) $11~ Served in a mason jug, it's a pretty big cocktail. And it was really good. I don't drink much but I can appreciate that you tasted all the different ingredients in this drink. The addition of heat from the jalapeno is a nice touch.
I got the Frozen Irish Cream. It looked super delicious but alas was not sweet enough for me. I also prefer sweeter drinks than the norm.
Just FYI... During their Happy Hour (Tue-Fri 11AM-7PM), craft cocktails are $8 and frozen cocktails are $6! And YES, it starts at 11AM and basically goes all day! What a freaking good deal!
Flat Bread (heirloom cherry tomato, champagne grapes, capers, basil, arugula, EVOO, boursin cheese, feta, naan) $12~ Can be prepared vegetarian.
This was our appetizer. It was delicious!! Using naan as the base was kind of awesome. The texture was great. I don't like it when flatbread is too thin like a cracker. The toppings were so flavorful. I can easily have this as my entree.
Truffle Fries (white truffle oil, shaved pecorino, house ketchup) $9~ Can be prepared gluten free and/or vegetarian.
We thought this was going to be a much smaller portion but I guess the one we saw coming out of the kitchen was a side dish for a burger or something. Haha. This is definitely big enough for a group! The fries were fried well and I freaking LOVED their house-made ketchup, but the truffle flavor was lacking. Needs more.
Cedar Salmon (verlasso salmon, cedar plank, maple mustard, wood fired Brussels sprouts, bacon sherry cream) $28~
My friend got the salmon. Beautifully cooked and presented... sitting on a cedar plank. The Brussels sprouts were also fantastic. I've never had it like this in a cream sauce before. Definitely worth a try!
Luke's Hot Chicken (peri peri spice, local honey, gin pickles, white bbq sauce, cavatappi pasta, pancetta, four cheese sauce: gruyere, pepper jack, monterey, pecorino) $24~
I wanted to eat light... but then saw this on the menu. Lol. Oh well. YOLO. Haha. This is one of their crowd favorites and I can see why. Holy Crap! It was a big plate. Perfectly fried chicken stacked high on perfectly cooked pasta. The breading on the chicken was amazing. Crisp, yet light, and not overly greasy. I could not get over how awesome it was. AND, finally, a hot chicken that was actually spicy! Not super spicy but it had a kick. And that's all I want if I'm ordering a "hot" chicken. The pasta is basically like a 4 cheese mac n cheese. But it wasn't swimming in sauce. It was perfect. I loved every bite and had enough leftover for another meal. 100% would get this again.
Hula Pie (chocolate cookie crust, macadamia nut ice cream, espresso ganache, ghiradelli hot fudge, toasted macadamia nuts, whipped cream) $12~
Holy moly. We were stuffed but wanted to try dessert. This was enough for 4! The espresso ganache was to die for... my favorite element on this dessert. My friend said it tasted like the name... definitely reminded her of Hawaii.
What a fabulous meal. We also had exceptional treatment and service. I definitely want to go back and try more things. Or maybe I'll just end up getting the hot chicken again. Haha. And they also rolled out a new brunch menu last month!
Thank you so much for having us, Smithy! Hope you stick around Henderson for a really long time!
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Sixty Vines... quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Plano. It's just such a beautiful space, and of course the food is fantastic. I was invited to come check them out for lunch and I was ecstatic! Luckily I had a doctor's appointment in Plano in the morning so I took half a day off work and had a long lunch with a friend.
Sixty Vines
3701 Dallas Pkwy.
Plano, TX 75093
(469) 620-8463
https://sixtyvines.com
Price (for lunch): $$
Did I mention I love the decor and space? We were initially seated by the kitchen which was an open space so you can see them work. While I love that, it was a little dim. So we moved to their covered patio seating. The weather was cool and kind of overcast, perfect for taking photos!
Our waitress was Kirsten. She had only been working there for a few months but was extremely knowlegeable of the menu and their VERY extensive wine menu. The name IS Sixty Vines... meaning they have 60 wines on tap. Yes. ON TAP. And tons more by the bottle. So naturally they feature a lot of drink specials. :)
Bubble Monday - Half Off all bubbly
Rose All Day Tuesday - Half off all sparkling and still Rose
Wino Wednesday - Half off all premium and super premium wines
They also have an ipad for all the wine options which is really helpful if you want more information on certain wines, which dishes on their menu pairs best with which wine, and flights for those who want to try multiple types. You can probably spend a whole day going through and reading their selections.
Kirsten told us they also have a Frose (frozen rose with a splash of Rosa Regale). I don't really drink, but I do love sweet wines like moscato... and Rosa Regale is one of my favs. So I got the frose to try, plus it's really pretty.
My friend ordered the Rosa Regale per Kirsten's recommendations (and mine. hehe). She loved it. Had a 2nd one! :P
We started with the Garden Vegetables (fresh chilled vegetables, pears, lettuces, green goddess dressing) $11~
The veggies change depending on the season. I knew we were going to order a bunch of carbs for the main dishes so this is my attempt to be a little healthier. ha! It IS super healthy. The bowl was so colorful and pretty. You can just FEEL the freshness by looking at it. Other than the celery, I loved all the different veggie selections. My favorites if I had to choose... the tomatoes and asparagus. But they were all good. And that green goddess dressing was absolutely necessary!
For the entrees we got several different things to share. And I wanted to get things that I haven't tried before.
Tonnarelli (coconut and cilantro infused noodle, jumbo gulf shrimp, spinach, basil, cracked black pepper, pecorino romano) Full Order $15~ You can also get half order for $8.
I freaking love pasta... I will always choose pasta over pizza. The coconut and cilantro infused noodle sounds so interesting. However, neither of us could taste those flavors. The shrimp, while super plump, overpowered the entire dish imo. I did like the hints of basil throughout. Their pastas are made fresh daily, so our pasta was literally made like 2 hours before we got there. So fresh!
Weekly Pizza: Autumn Flatbread (acorn squash and sage infused white sauce, provolone, halloumi cheese, butternut squash, herb roasted turkey, cranberry, arugula, freshly grated Pecorino Romano)
When Kirsten started describing this to us... we kept nodding our heads cuz we knew we had to get this. I love anything with butternut squash. This is fall in pizza form. The acorn squash and butternut squash made it sweet and savory. The dough had a nice chewy texture. I loved the arugula on top to add a little peppery-ness. Our only complaint was it was a little dry. A drizzle or dipping of sauce of some kind would be perfect.
Short Rib Sourdough Melt (red wine braised short rib, basil pesto aioli, tomato, fresh mozzarella, balsamic, sourdough, duck fat lemon potatoes) $15~
Y'all. This dish stole the show! Not only did it look and smell amazing. It tasted even better. I'm not even a sourdough fan. But the bread was nice and crispy. The short rib was tender. The aioli and cheese and balsamic added so much flavor. And my friend extra loved it cuz it was saucy. Definitely an extra napkin sandwich if you are going to pick it up. hehe. Huge portion too. We each ate half and it filled us up! The duck fat potatoes were great too.. but we had too much food to pay that much attention. haha. Highly recommend this!!
Deviled Affogato (devil's food cake, salted caramel ice cream, coffee caramel, nitro cold brew coffee shot) $7~
We got a dessert to share. I haven't had their desserts yet and this sounded so good. I recently started loving affogato. I don't really like coffee so it wasn't something I normally order, but since Starbucks Reserve in Legacy West, I've discovered that I LOVE affogatos. Mixing ice cream sure makes the coffee better! haha. This also is on a chocolate cake. It was wonderful. The coffee, caramel and ice cream gets soaked up into the cake. YUM!
It was a fabulous lunch. I got to catch up with my friend, have delicious food, and enjoy the nice fall weather. The food was great, just as I expected. And Kirsten was a fantastic waitress. We were given plenty of attention, she was extremely knowlegeable, and super nice. Also, at some point during the meal, everyone came to greet us, the manager, the chef, etc. We definitely felt very special. So get over there if you haven't yet. And keep in mind that Monday - Wednesday are great for drink specials! Ohhhh... and they told us that they are getting ready to roll out some new lunch menu items too. So keep an eye out for that!
Thank you so much, Sixty Vines, for having us. We will definitely be back soon! :)
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
I had the pleasure of trying Barley & Board's Fall Menu Preview at the end of November. As some of you know, Barley & Board is my new favorite restaurant since I discovered it earlier this year. It's all the way out in Denton though, so every visit is special. This was no exception. We feasted on their new additions until we can no longer move!
I was there with my fellow food bloggers and writers. I knew like 60% of the guests that night so it was pretty awesome. Just one big party!
Barley & Board
100 W. Oak St.
Denton, TX 76201
(940) 566-3900
http://barleyandboard.com
Price: $$-$$$
The evening started off with an introduction by Chef Chad Kelley. He talked about the inspirations and ideas behind their menu and new items. He also introduced all the dishes as they came out of the kitchen. I cannot wait to see what all they have in store for us!
Some of my friends ordered cocktails. The liquor was certainly flowing that night! hehe.
Bitter Little Pe'ach (deep eddy lemon & peach vodka, lemonade, mint) $8.50~ Pe'ach is pronounced like "biatch". hahaha. I heard the waitress say it and thought it was hilarious! This seemed to have been the favorite. I kept seeing people reorder this.
Camaraderie (vodka, lemon, blackberries, champagne) $8~ Pretty!
Clara Lou (tequila, hibiscus syrup, lime, grapefruit) $10~ This was the pink ones in the martini glasses.
Sam Bass Bullet (bacon infused rye, maple syrup, bitters) $9~ My friend said he could actually taste the bacon in this. He enjoyed it a lot.
We started off with the appetizers.
Buratta Cheese (beet salad, chives, crushed walnuts) $12~
I would've ordered this myself if it wasn't part of the tasting. The buratta was like butter...basically melted in your mouth. And the combination with the raw beet salad was very interesting. I loved everything about it. It had a great combination of flavors as well as textures.
Roasted Cauliflower Flatbread (garam masala ricotta, lemon, pickled onion, capers) $13~
YUM! The garam masala added this nutmeg-y flavor. Very interesting, and oh-so-good! The lemon on the greens brightened up every bite. And if it had meat on top, I can totally make this my entree.
Second round were the sandwiches.
Harvest Turkey Sandwich (sourdough, smoked bacon, cranberry mostarda, arugula, havarti; served with house chips) $13~
Thanksgiving in a bite is what this is. Not only were the colors vibrant and festive, that tart cranberry mostarda wakes you up a little. I loved that the turkey was thick cut... none of that thin, deli sliced type of meat. And their chips... wow. Superbly crispy without being too greasy. They also reheated very well in the oven since I got one of the sandwiches to go. :P
The House Reuben (russian dressing, sauerkraut, gruyere; served with house chips) $13~
I normally don't care for reubens because I find the corned beef too salty. But the chef explained that they decided to use large chunks of beef instead of the typical thin slices. And by making the chunks bigger, they were able to use less salt while curing the meat. So the salt level was perfect. Also, the ratio of sauerkraut was just enough where it didn't overpower the rest of the ingredients. And the pickles were the perfect pairing to the meat. Loved it! I got one to-go to take home to my husband since he loves Reubens. :)
Now for the entrees! And I'm loving some of their item names. They're fun. :P
Soba-dass Noodles (yellow curry, coconut, bok choy, chickpea, acorn squash, cashew) $15~
This is a completely vegan dish so they're covering all the bases now. It had a ton of different ingredients and textures. I loved the subtle flavors... even the curry flavor was very light but still prominent. The more bites you take, the more flavors you discover. I loved the addition of the chickpeas.
Mr. Shankly (braised lamb shank, warm barley salad, jus) $25~
This dish made me wish I liked lamb. This was more than fork tender. Someone picked up the bone, and the whole thing just slid off. Knife definitely not needed! Served on a bed of barley, on top of a board... their namesake, hehe. Smart move there! I enjoyed the barley salad a lot. It was a light compliment to the heavier meat.
Scottish Salmon (horseradish crust, celeriac puree, brussels sprouts, golden raisings, dill brown butter) $22~
One of my favorite dishes of the night. That plating was gorgeous with that perfect horseradish crust on top. At first bite, the horseradish knocks the wind out of you. In a good way! But you'd have to like horseradish to like this dish. The salmon was perfectly pink and sooo tender. I loved the compliment of the brussels sprouts and puree.
We were told at the beginning of dinner that we were welcome to order anything else off the menu. So we're getting the burger! Duh!! One of the best burgers in Dallas, imo! There hasn't been a visit to Barley & Board where I haven't had the burger. :)
B&B Burger (sweet onion, b&b pickle, house sauce, american cheese; side of matchstick fries) $12~ It's just so amazing. Everything melds together so well. I can't believe I had half a burger after everything else we just ate. haha.
A friend of mine got the Mother Board (selection of artisanal cheeses, cured meats, pickles) $28~ I guess it's chef's choice since we didn't really know what all was on the board.
What a fantastic meal. As always... I was so honored to have been invited to be a part of this. It made my long drive to and from (on a week night, I might add) totally worth it. I didn't get home until 11:30PM but was still on a food high when I got home. haha. I also had a blast with my food blogger friends. And our waitress, Chelsea, was amazing! A big shout out to the PR team, particularly Narciso who always takes the best care of us. :) I highly recommend you to go check out their new menu as it is seasonal and may not be around forever. They also have some new additions to their brunch menu, I heard. I gotta make it out there to try that at some point. Looking through these pictures is making me hungry again. haha. I better go find me a snack!
*The meal was comped but all opinions are always honest and my own.
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Oh Barley & Board... I'm so happy I have found you. Or actually it found me.
I had never heard of this place until I reposted a picture on the MyFab5 @bestfooddallas IG account back in February. It was an epic looking S'mores oatmeal cookie. Little did I know that one little action was going to change my life. They saw the repost and reached out to me. I connected them with the founders of MyFab5 and we (the other 2 community leaders @thediningdino & @phileats_ and I, @chompdallas) were invited out to dine at their restaurant. Cool! The only thing was... it's all the way in Denton! I think I've only been to Denton once in my life. It's far... and now that I'm in Rockwall, it's REALLY far! I think the total drive time is around 70-75 minutes, ONE WAY! Eeeks. But since I was the one that made the connection and they were so excited for us to come out, we all found a Sunday afternoon and headed out there.
Barley & Board
100 W Oak St.
Denton, TX 76201
(940) 566-3900
http://barleyandboard.com
Price: $$-$$$
It's located in downtown Denton and it's quite cute! It reminded me of downtown McKinney, but bigger. I wish it was closer so I could go explore there more often.
It was a grey and rainy afternoon, but turned out to be the best lighting for taking photos. I arrived first, and Narciso, the head of PR for the restaurant, greeted me. He was super nice and told us we could sit anywhere we'd like. The restaurant was super cool. It was a renovated old building. The decor was amazing. Big open windows, high ceilings, and you can see the history in the building. They had re-purposed a lot of old bricks and other materials found around Denton. There was one long table in the middle of the dining room that was one single slab of wood. Things like that... really cool. We found a booth by one of the large windows. The lighting was perfect.
Narciso got us situated, then he told us he would get out of our hair and let us order and photograph as we please. He checked on us from time to time but pretty much left us to our own devices. We had gotten some recommendations from him and our waiter and we started ordering! And just so you know, the 3 of us can eat! Plus we always want to try everything so once we started ordering, you can't stop us. haha.
When we were first seated they brought out some Toasted Barley for the table and took our drink orders. At first I thought it was just decor? But you can eat it. Don't think I've ever had toasted barley like this before. It's very nutty!
Since it was quite chilly that day, I got an Earl Grey Tea $4.50~ Served in a French press. Nice!
We got a round of appetizers.
Blistered Shishito Peppers (sriracha, radish, cilantro, mso salt) $9~ These were the biggest peppers we have ever seen! All the other peppers have been like a third of the size, maybe half. Wow. Nicely blistered. I liked the addition of the radish slices and that aioli was bomb. I dipped everything in that sauce.
Bacon Wrapped Medjool Dates (chorizo, piquillo sauce) $14~ Highly recommended and I just have to say now... not one single recommendation was bad. Actually no single dish was bad. These dates were huge. The pairing with the chorizo and bacon was fantastic. And that piquillo sauce!!!! I had to cut mine in half in eat 2 bites.
Wicked Gulf Oysters (grilled with garlic parmesan butter) $12~ I've never been a huge fan of oysters. I mean, I'll eat them, but I would never order them on my own. These had really great flavor. If you love oysters, you'll love these. Again, they were large.
Roasted Bone Marrow (parsley pesto, smoked salt, grilled bread) $12~ I also never really order bone marrow, but I'll eat it. I loved the parsley pesto plus the bit of smoked salt. But I always feel like eating bone marrow is just slathering fat on a piece of bread. haha. If that's your thing, do it!!
Hen of the Woods Flatbread (roasted garlic, ricotta, mushroom, parmesan, truffle) $12~ This was one of my choices. You don't see Hen of the Woods mushrooms in many places so I had to have it. I love all types of mushrooms. It was a good flatbread, just felt like it needed some sriracha or sauce. So I dipped it in the aioli from the shishito peppers and it was amazing. :D
We ordered a bunch of different entrees.
Crisped Mechada (aji panca, organic egg, lime) $18~ This was highly recommended. It was so pretty. All the dishes were so pretty. The vibrant colors, the plating, on point! This was all about the sauce. It was so bold. A little too sour for my preference, but my tolerance for sourness is quite low. It definitely packs a punch!
Brazen Two-Faced Quail (b&b pickles, slaw) $23~ On of my favorites. The quail was so juicy! Which is rare... most place tend to overcook quail. And that batter was my favorite part. It was crispy and spicy. Sooo sooo good. Along with the pickles and the slaw were the perfect combination.
Parisian Gnocchi (market vegetables, broth, soft herbs, parmesan) $15~ Another beautiful plate with all the colors. I loved all the different types of vegetables in there: brussels sprouts, carrots, sweet potatoes, and onions. It was a very filling dish.
Slow Roasted Pork Tenderloin (mexican street corn, crispy onions, chipotle honey) $19~ Almost didn't get this but the waiter recommended it so we added it at the end. So glad we did. Again, so pretty. The pork was cooked perfectly, not dry at all. I really liked the corn. The chipotle honey was quite sweet, so you have to be into the sweet and savory combo to enjoy this.
B&B Burger (sweet onion, b&b pickle, house sauce, american cheese) $12~
This burger.... O.M.G. It changed our lives. Seriously. It's the only burger on the menu, and it really is the only burger they'll ever need. It is amazing. By far my favorite thing of the day, and that's saying a lot since everything was good. No idea what they do to this but it seems like a simple burger, no extra ingredients, no frills, but it's so good!!!!!!!! It's like the onions and cheese melts into the beef patty and the whole thing is just super juicy. And their pickles are awesome, so that was the cherry on top. I dream about this burger. I will drive an hour to have this burger. (...and I did...stay tuned to my next post!) One of the best burgers of my life, and definitely in DFW. The shoe string fries were good too, but at this point we had to focus on the more important things. haha.
WE NEED A BIGGER TABLE. STAT! :P
Wow... good thing we didn't order more! But wait, there's always dessert. haha. Can't leave without at least trying the S'mores cookie that had started this whole experience!
I don't know the exact names of these desserts since they don't have a printed dessert menu.
Bread Pudding. Not sure what all is in it. But it reminded us of the whiskey cake at Whiskey Cake. Kind of toffee like. Dense, and that cream sauce underneath is just everything.
Oatmeal S'mores Cookie. This is such a beautiful dessert. Just flawless. But guess what, the Bread Pudding stole the show in terms of taste. I really liked the dark chocolate on top of the marshmallow. But I feel like the marshmallow to cookie ratio was a little skewed. Need more cookie, less marshmallow. But then maybe it won't look as epic? The dilemma! :P Still yummy tho.
This has been such an amazing experience. The food speaks for itself. Quality ingredients, wonderfully prepared, and beautifully presented. They brought "brewpub" style food to a whole new level. The service was amazing. Checked on us frequently and catered to whatever we needed. After, we got a brief tour of the space with one of the managers. The whole history and concept behind the restaurant is just fantastic. I want to hang out there all the time. And I just want to include a note that this was all comped, but we did leave a large tip. Gotta take care of your wait staff! All of us would've gladly paid for the meal.
Like I said, so happy I found this place. Just sad that it's so far away. Please open another location more Southeast in the future please! :P What an amazing experience. It is definitely my new favorite restaurant of the year. I will continue to support them as much as I can!
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: *comped*
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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