Whisk Crepe Cafe

If you love French crepes, you've gotta go check out Whisk Crepes Cafe at Sylvan Thirty. The owner, Julien, is French, and this is about as close to being in Paris as you can get. :)

*FYI: He's got a 2nd location, called Whisk & Eggs, opening in the new Legacy Food Hall (Legacy West) in Plano THIS WEEK!! Be sure to check that out too! He's gonna be serving up more than crepes there! I can't wait to try the egg sandwiches.*

Whisk Crepes Cafe
1888 Sylvan Ave. F120
Dallas, TX 75208
(469) 407-1899
www.whiskdallas.com
Price: $$

I had been to Whisk Crepes when they first opened and was very impressed with the quality and flavors of their crepes. I was very excited when I got invited to check them out again. I rarely go to Sylvan Thirty area so I haven't really been back. The place is really small. Intimate and quaint, I'd say. But I wouldn't take more than 2-3 people with you at a time. They also cook all crepes to order, so be prepared to wait a little bit. You're in France now... you have to learn to slow down, sit back, and relax. :P

I met Julien when we arrived. He actually remembered me from my previous visit. :) We sat down and got served some waters and waited for him to take care of the table that was there before us. When he came to us, he asked if we drank... I don't, but my friend did. But Julien insisted that I needed to try their French Cider. Sure... why not. :P He explained the cider to us a little bit. It's made from fermented apples. And it's gluten free btw.

Domaine Dupont Reserve. Cider from Normandie. Matured six months in Calvados Casks. 6.9% ABV. 

This was delicious. I was surprised I liked it since I don't like most wines, ciders, alcohol basically. haha. It wasn't even super sweet like the moscatos I drink. But there was no bite from the alcohol, no sour aftertaste like wine. Just smooth. And you get hints of the fermented flavor at the end... and in the smell. But I'm Chinese, I love fermented stuff. As does my friend, he's Vietnamese. It's seriously good stuff. Initially I only told him to pour me a little taster. I actually refilled my glass! He said the cider pairs really well to the buckwheat crepes. I started feeling it pretty quickly though. haha. I'm a super lightweight. Time to get some food in my belly!

They have "Wine Wednesday" specials FYI. When I was there it was $4 glass of wine, and $3 mimosas.

Julien started recommending some of their items. The first one he mentioned. The smoked brisket, was one of the ones we were looking at. Done!

Smoked Brisket (queso fresco, mozzarella, pickles, jalapenos, bbq cream; in a buckwheat crepe) $12~ 

Buckwheat has a more earthy flavor and is gluten free. It's great with savory crepes. He said the smoked brisket actually works with both types of crepes, the flour one just adds a sweet and savory combo. The brisket is sourced locally from Lockhart BBQ in Bishop Arts, one of my favorite BBQ places in town. You get the smokiness right off the bat. The pickles and jalapenos complimented well to the meat. We enjoyed this a lot.

He also mentioned their special that day. Which was also the other one we were looking at. haha.

Special of the Day: Monte Cristo (turkey, ham, gruyere, dijon mustard; served with a side of strawberry preserves; in a flour crepe) $11~ 

Flour crepes have a more sweet nature... reminicent of a thin pancake. It's great for sweet crepes, or if you want more of a sweet and savory combination. Since normal Monte Cristos are already sweet and savory, it makes sense to use the flour crepe for this. I never order Monte Cristos because they are like heart clogging monstrocities. haha. Typically they are ham and cheese, and sometimes turkey too, sandwiches that are battered, deep fried, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served with a side of jam. Whew... they're soooo heavy. But it wasn't the case with this. I LOVED it. One of the best crepes I've ever had. It had all the positives of a Monte Cristo with none of the heavy, heart-clogging parts. The crepe was much lighter than bread, and the flour crepe was perfect with the ham as well as the preserves. The strawberry preserves are a French brand, so staying with the theme. I can eat this every morning, noon, and night. I told him he MUST put this on the regular menu.

Of course we had to have dessert. I already had two options in my head when he mentioned their special of the day...

Special Sweet of the Day: Belgium Cookie Butter & Bananas (with coffee whipped cream, caramel, and Biscoff cookie crumble). Um. I'll take that. Yes. Thank you. 

I freaking love cookie butter. It was delicious. The coffee whipped cream made it. It wasn't too sweet so the bitterness from the coffee helped to balance the sweetness of the cookie butter and caramel. He said his inspiration is that when you're in Europe and you order coffee, they generally give you a little cookie or Biscoff on the side. I hope he puts this on the regular menu too. haha.

This visit was even better than the last! Not only did I get to try some amazing new crepes, I also discovered an alcohol that I enjoyed! Next time you go, I highly recommend you get the French Cider to go along with your crepes.

Thanks for having us, Whiske Crepes. I'll be back for that Monte Cristo! :)

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

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Rise No. 1

Sorry all, it's been a while... The last few months have been so hectic. Sick, traveling, holidays, sick again. Ugh. Plus I've just been so busy that I didn't wanna write at all... So the next few posts may be abbreviated but still with lots of yummy pictures! (That's the most important anyways, right??)

I've been wanting to take my fiance to Rise No. 1 forever. So one Friday night, I made him drive all the way out from Rockwall to meet me for dinner. Plus they had some seasonal items on the menu I really wanted to try.

Rise No. 1
5360 W. Lovers Ln.
Dallas, TX 75209
214-366-9900
www.risesouffle.com
Price: $$$-$$$$

We got started with some bread. I love the presentation with the bread cutter. 

Rise No1 Salad (baby greens, blue cheese, roasted pecans, Granny Smith apples, pecan vinaigrette) $8~ Always a good choice. Not heavily dressed, the flavors are fresh and light. LOVE the roasted pecans on top.

Truffle Infused Mushroom Souffle $20~ Again, a great choice. I always order this when I go there. The smell is amazing! It's like cream of mushroom soup but fluffy!

Special: Crab Souffle (I think it had Gruyere cheese in it). First time having this. I loved the cheesy crust on top, and there were nice big chunks of crab throughout. I have to say Gruyere and souffles go together hand in hand.

Seasonal Pumpkin Souffle. 

This was only available until the end of the year, so I had to try it. You KNOW I love me some pumpkin ANYTHING! It came with a sauce... don't remember what all is in it. But the sauce helped the souffle a lot. The souffle was disappointing. Not enough pumpkin and not very satisfying. I always realize that I like savory souffles over sweet ones when I come to dine here.

But I do still love this place. Great ambiance. Very intimate, great for date night. Service was a little spotty that night but they were also really busy.

And we went to Berrynaked for more dessert after. :P Go check them out... super fresh ingredients. They make everything from scratch. It's dessert, but healthier! Loved their Fall Festival.. sweet potato!! Yum! Aren't these gorgeous?!?

 

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Las Vegas - Mon Ami Gabi

For dinner with the bachelorette party, we had a 7PM reservation at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris hotel. I have yet to try there. It's supposed to have some great views of the Bellagio fountains across the street. We were seated in the enclosed patio area where we got part view of the fountains. However, it was next to a doorway so there was a cold breeze that kept coming through. Saturday in Vegas was quite cold too.. Brrrrrr. The place was quite large, dimly lit, and a bit crammed. I felt like they stuffed too many tables into the space they had.

Mon Ami Gabi
(in Paris Hotel)
3655 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 944-4224
http://www.monamigabi.com/
Price: $$$$

Our waitress was friendly and greeted us. We started off with waters and also ordered their riff on a Sangria (with Gran Marnier). A pitcher was enough for about 7 full wine glasses. It was quite tasty! I normally hate sangrias because I don't like wine, particularly red wine, but the addition of the other flavors masked it quite well. :)

Then we got a whole Baguette (with whipped butter). We just ripped the bread with our hands. It was warm and crusty but still soft on the inside. The whipped butter was awesome. I think all butters should be whipped.

It also came with a Radish/Jicama? Slaw. It was light and refreshing. I really enjoyed it. But is this a normal French thing? Some sort of slaw with your bread? I didn't really understand the combo...

For starters, I got the Arugula and Butternut Squash Salad (frisee, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, sherry brown butter vinaigrette) $11.95~ 

It. Was. Delicious. I think one of the best salads I've had in a long time. There was nothing super unique about each element but the combination of everything together was perfection. The butternut squash was cooked perfectly. The combination of arugula and frisee provided some interesting texture. The pumpkin seeds were the crunch element and the cranberries were tart and sweet. It was perfectly dressed too. It wasn't drowning in dressing. You could taste the dressing but also each component. I almost thought of cancelling my entree and getting a second salad.

One friend got the Soup du Jour (English pea and potato; served hot) $9.95~ 

I wanted to get this too, so I got to try it. I was surprised it was warm because normally pea soups are served cold. I guess with the addition of the potato made it hot? It was rich and creamy... my kind of soup. It was poured table side, which I always love that kind of presentation. Quite filling, I'd imagine.

Frisee, Kale, and Warm Bacon Salad (soft poached egg) $11.95~ Two girls split this salad. It looked amazing. If my salad was that good, I'm sure this one was delicious too.

The entrees:

One friend decided to get an appetizer plus a side dish. Sea Scallops Gratinees (caramelized fennel and onion marmalade, mussel cream) $13.95~ It looked good. She said it was good but not great.

Garlic Spinach $5.95~ (in the background) Quite bland... Needed more salt.

Caramelized Sea Scallops (butternut squash puree, fall mushrooms, sage) $25.95~ Looked yummy, I didn't get to try it.

Poisson du Jour (daily fresh fish) $29.95~ 

This sounded interesting. I forgot what the fish was but it came on a butternut squash and coconut puree. Unique combination! I tried a little of the puree, it was weird at first but then you let it set in, and I think it works! I'm sure it would pair with the fish well.

Chicken Paillard (root vegetables, arugula, chick pea croutons, grana padano) $20.95~
I got this because I've heard of chicken paillard before, sounded very French. But it was basically a seared piece of chicken breast with a side salad. The chicken was bland. It needed seasoning and some sort of a sauce would've been great. The salad looked very similar to the one I just had, but was nowhere as good. I ended up dipping some of the chicken into my friend's merlot sauce for her steak which made a world of difference. It was a very disappointing dish. I left more than half the chicken uneaten. What a waste of 20 bucks. :(
-- While trying to take pictures of all the other dishes... I forgot to take one of my own. *Face Palm* But it wasn't worthy anyways... 

Apparently they are known for their steaks so several girls got different kinds of steaks.

Classique Steak Frites (maitre d'hotel butter, served with signature hand-cut frites) $26.95~

Merlot Steak Frites (red wine sauce, merlot butter, served with signature hand-cut frites) $27.95~ 

My friend next to me got this so I got to try it. It was delicious. Mainly because of the sauce. The steak was large but fairly flat, which I tend to like instead of a thicker filet mignon or something. It was cooked well and had a lot of flavor with the sauce. This was the sauce I kept dipping my chicken into. It was sooo tasty. The frites (fries) were different.. almost like chips because they were flat and crispy. Soaking in the sauce was so addicting!!

Filet Mignon (merlot butter, red wine reduction, served with signature hand-cut frites) $36.95~ Sounds like the same sauce as the previous steak. So I'm sure it was pretty awesome.

We were all pretty stuffed after the entrees but then the waitress brought the dessert menus. Well... I probably wouldn't come back in the future so might as well try the dessert too. haha.

I shared a Lemon Tart (sun-dried cherries, brandy, tarragon) $8.95~ 

It was really good. I used to hate lemons but I'm getting more and more used to them. The tartness was right on.. and was a good ending to a heavy meal. The custard consistency was smooth and creamy. The crust was delicate and buttery. The best part was the cherries in brandy. A lot of flavor and countered the sourness of the lemon.

Two other girls shared the Chocolate Mousse (light semi-sweet chocolate mousse) $7.95~ 

It had crispy chocolate balls on top which added the crunch factor. The mousse was rich and velvety. The chocolate was dark so it wasn't too sweet. Good dessert.

Everything was pretty good other than my entree. One of my friends said the steaks were the best part. I'd agree (with the exception of my salad), but the steaks weren't the best I've had by far. Maybe that merlot butter sauce was though. haha. Service was good and attentive. Not sure if I would return though, maybe just for the salad, but there are so many other good places in Vegas I've yet to try.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Las Vegas - Payard Patisserie & Bistro

Saturday morning in Vegas commenced my friend's bachelorette party. We started with breakfast at Payard Bistro in Caesars Palace. This was in my list of places to go the last time I was in Vegas so I get to try it this time!

Payard Patisserie & Bistro
(in Caesars Palace)
3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 731-7849
http://www.payard.com/
Price: $$$

It was a last minute change for breakfast location so we didn't even think to make a reservation. The bistro turned out to be quite small and we had a party of 7. The hostess told us it was about a 15-20 minute wait though. That's not too bad... But I think we ended up waiting a little over half an hour.

We finally got seated and they took our drink orders and brought us a bread basket. 

All the breads were yummy. There was one with a roasted garlic in the center, I think a focaccia and baguettes (since it's French and all. hehe) Most people were pretty hungry by now. I was still full from the dessert and dinner the night before! XP

I ordered the Brioche French Toast (chocolate, with nutella, sauteed banana compote, whipped cream) $18~ 

My friend and I both wanted something sweet and savory. So I got the sweet dish and she ordered the savory and we were gonna share. This was good, I think if I was hungrier, it would've been even better. But I still finished a whole piece on my own. The french toast had good texture and I liked the chocolate chips inside. I wanted more nutella on top though. I can never get enough nutella. :P Loved the bananas on top.

My friend got the Classic Monsieur (with ham, Bechamel, swiss cheese, baked tomato, salad) $16~ 

We thought all the prices were pretty steep but the portions turned out to be massive. It was a very large sandwich. I like the melted cheese and crispy crust on the sandwich but I wish Croque Monsieurs had some fresh veggies inside. I ended up stuffing some of the salad into the sandwich. It's quite heavy. The salad on its own was a little too sour, but I liked it paired with the sandwich.

Here are some other things people got...

Eggs Benedict on a Croissant $18~ Looked really good. I got a small bite, but wasn't enough to really get a sense of it.

Omelet (choice of 2 ingredients; with side salad) $18~ Looked pretty healthy. Didn't try it.

Almond Croissant. This is a big seller apparently. It was a large croissant. I got to try a bite, but again, not big enough to really tell how good it is...

The food portions were very large and tasty for the most part. It was a bit heavy for me so early in the day and still full from the night before. haha. But it's good quality French food. Our waitress was really nice and took some group photos for the bachelorette party. If you plan to go, make sure you reserve ahead of time, otherwise you'd have to wait...

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~