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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 ~~
To all the Shell Shack fans... they have moved from their Uptown location to a bigger spot on Henderson (the former Mellow Mushroom location), with more parking, and seating! And there's a patio! To those who have never been, the new space is big with a large bar area and lots of TVs for all the sports watching.
I personally have never been to Shell Shack, so I was excited to check out their preview before the new location opened on Thursday 6/21. Walking in, I immediately noticed all the chalkboard art on the walls. They showcased all the different food and drink items as well as the market prices of all the different types of seafood available that day.
Shell Shack
2326 N Henderson Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
(877) 434-1411
https://www.shellshack.com
We were greeted with drinks upon arrival. My friend grabbed the Blue Hawaiian (rum, blue curacao, real coco, pineapple juice) $12~ It looks fun! She enjoyed it.
Once the event started we were ushered into the dining room to get some appetizers. They had it set up buffet style. Can you say "ALL THE FRIED FOODS"?! Haha.
Crab Tater Tots - Big 'ol tater tots, filled with crab. What's not to like?
Fried Crawfish - I love crawfish. I thought it was fried well, but the batter was just a tad too salty.
Fried Catfish Bites - This was my favorite of the 3, I got a nice plump piece and it was so tender on the inside and fried beautifully on the outside.
I tried not too get very much cuz I knew there was more food coming!
For the dinner portion we sat down in the dining room. The owner made a welcome speech and gave us some background on the restaurant. This is replacing the old location on McKinney, just FYI. He also introduced the next course we were about to receive which is MORE appetizers. Each table got a sampler of the Buffalo Shrimp, Calamari, and another kind of Shrimp (cajun? garlic? I'm not sure of the seasoning).
The Buffalo Shrimp was my favorite... that buffalo sauce is money! The shrimp IS fried just so you know, the other one wasn't. I dipped everything in that buffalo sauce. haha. Calamari was good. The owner noticed that it had gotten cold since they were waiting to bring it out after the speech, so he sent out fresh ones to every table. Eat it hot, y'all, it's good!
For the main attraction, we were gonna get a bit of everything... crabs, shrimp, corn, potatoes. We did NOT realize they were bringing a full bag for each individual person! WOW! That's a lotta crab! All the seafood is market price, so make sure you check out their board to see what's available! And oh yea... we all get bibs! Love it!
King Crab
Snow Crab
Bairdi Crab
Flavor: The Kitchen Sink - which is like ALL THE SPICES!
I'm a crab newbie, so I wasn't really sure what was what. I could tell the King Crab because it stabbed me in the fingers. haha. Those spikes are no joke! It was super meaty! And make sure you get that melted butter to dip in.
I'm not sure if it was Snow or Bairdi I liked better... I couldn't tell which is which, but I liked them better than the King. While King Crab is meatier, the Snow/Bairdi was more tender/delicate. And just a fun fact, Shell Shack is the only place in DFW that serves Bairdi Crabs. You may have heard of this crab if you watch Deadliest Catch. hehe.
Instead of everyone keeping their bags on their trays, my table dumped all the bags in the middle. YASSSS! That's the way to do it!!! Free-for-all! My friends also did NOT use gloves, like most of the other tables. I did... cuz I'm a noob and also don't like to touch food. haha. But 2 minutes in, the king crab spikes punctured my gloves so I still got my hands dirty. :P This was SO MUCH FUN, y'all. Definitely go with friends who don't mind using their hands and getting dirrrrty. And oh the corn!! That was probably my FAVORITE thing of the night! I wish they had given us each more than one. My friend gave me hers so I had two! I could've eaten everyone's!
The potatoes were also perfectly awesome. I did wish we had gotten spicy though. I thing that would've made the flavor even better! But since it was a media event where they had to prepare for a bunch of people, it's safer to go with mild.
Catfish Basket & Fries $10.99~ We also had 2 hushpuppies in the basket. While we were cracking shells with our messy hands, they brought out MORE food. I thought maybe a basket for each table for us to sample, but no, a basket for EACH OF US! I'm pretty full at this point, how will I ever finish! haha. I made the mistake of taking a fry and couldn't really stop after that. I have no self control with fried foods if I start eating them. Fries were good.. I think they sprinkle sugar on it... Most of us ended up taking our baskets to go.
While everyone was slowing down, the owner said "well I hope y'all saved room for dessert!" Um. Sure! Bring it on. haha.
Bread Pudding (warm bread pudding topped with homemade Jack Daniels caramel sauce and salted caramel gelato) $6.99~ A surprisingly low bread pudding... usually they're more layered but the flavor was good, especially with that salted caramel ice cream. Good portion size I think.
Ultimate Chocolate Cake (chocolate cake with layers of chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, chocolate sauce, and chocolate hazelnut gelato) $7.99~ Are you surprised this was my favorite? haha. You had me at ganache! It was delicious. I took most of it home because we were too full. And it was even better 2 days later because I let it soften for a bit after taking it out of the fridge. CHOCOLATE WASTED for reals!
Carrot Cake. So.. they're known for their carrot cake. Which is epically huge. However, my table was the last one to finish our crabs because we ate EVERY SINGLE PIECE, so by the time our desserts came out, they had ran out of the carrot cake. Sadness. So I don't have a picture, but we ended up snagging a piece from a neighboring table (don't worry, we knew the people, haha). They had barely even made a dent in it! It's almost a quarter of the whole cake I think. Now I'm not a carrot cake fan, but one of my friends was and she took the whole thing home. haha. So I think she liked it. I do have to say the frosting was quite luxurious.
We had a great time. This is definitely a place for friends who wanna just get down and get their hands dirty. The crabs were fresh and meaty. And just forgo the gloves... they're only gonna get punctured anyways. Plus, Shell Shack has the best hand washer ever!! You just stick your hands in it. It sprays and spins warm water and soap and gets everything off. Your hands feel nice and soft and clean after. Go check them out, it's a great place to watch a game too... TVs everywhere.
Thanks so much, Shell Shack, for having me!! And congrats on the new location!
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
The Eberhard on Henderson... typically known as a cool bar scene. They have chandeliers, leather sofas, high ceilings, and a gigantic wall of bottles. However, did you know they also have good food? I went to check out their brunch sometime last year and was pleasantly surprised by all the options and food quality. And now they've opened up lunch on Fridays only. It used to be only dinners and weekend brunch. I believe lunch runs from 11AM-4PM every Friday now. The crew at @bestfooddallas were invited to go check out the new lunch menu. They said we could go at any time, so I went last Saturday night with my husband.
I've always loved the decor here. Especially the chandeliers. Just makes you feel fancy! :P
The Eberhard
2107 N. Henderson Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 821-1100
www.theeberhard.com
Price (for lunch): $-$$$
We had an early dinner at 6PM. The place was still pretty empty. There was only one other table dining and a few people at the bar. We were immediately seated and our waitress, Barbara, came to greet us. She was super nice. Knew what we were in for and we were definitely well taken care of.
We started with some drinks.
My husband got the Knox Your Typical Old Fashion (Crown Royal, blackberry basil) $10~ He's normally super picky on drinks but he really liked this one. He actually finished it!
I normally don't drink. But I remembered a while back one of the @bestfooddallas Community Leaders went and featured a frozen cocktail with a popsicle in it. I asked if that was still available and she said yes. It's normally on the brunch menu, but I'm sure you can request it at other dining times.
Frozen Stoli Crush (Stoli orange, white wine, peach puree, tropical Red Bull, mimosa popsicle) $10~ She told me the popsicle flavor changes, but the frozen cocktail only comes in one mix. It is so cute!! And soooo delicious! I'm so glad I got it. Tasted like a peach slushie. And fresh peaches too... not just peach flavored syrup. The popsicle made it so much fun and kept it cold for a really long time. The mimosa popsicle on its own was great too. For once, I didn't need other people's help on finishing it. haha.
Our appetizers came out soon after our drinks. All of their lunch appetizers and flatbreads are $5 during lunch btw. Such a great deal.
Chef's Fancy Mac & Cheese $5~ I think Barbara said there's 5 different cheeses in here or something? It was really good. And definitely cheesy. We told ourselves not to finish it so we can have room for the other food but we ate it all... ha.
Avocado Toast (Toasted French baguette, avocado spread, roasted corn salsa, shaved asparagus, fresh radish) $5~
I always love avocado toast. I liked that this had a DIY element to it. You can top your toast with the corn salsa, asparagus, and/or radish. All the toppings were fresh and refreshing. I also liked that the bread wasn't super hard/crunchy. Most of the time baguettes are just too hard imo. Again... we weren't able to save any of it. haha.
For the entrees I chose the Duck Confit (confit of duck breast, savory bread pudding, butternut squash) $19~
My husband wanted this too but let me get it so we can try something else. (He ended up getting the better dish though. haha.) The plate was pretty. I was excited about all the elements. The portion of the duck was a little small but it's also the lunch menu. I was almost full anyways from all the appetizers. haha. The flavors were all very good, but the duck could've been seared a little more. The skin was not crispy at all. And the meat itself was a little dry, but still very tender... I also wished the bread pudding had some crispy parts. It would add a variation in texture. Overall the flavors were great but lacking in texture. I probably wouldn't order it again.
Corned Beef & Cabbage (confit of corned beef, steamed cabbage, potatoes in demi-glace) $14~
My husband chose this as his 2nd option. OMG. It was amazing. First of all, huge portion. And you can see the marbling in the corned beef. It was basically like thick slabs of brisket. The dish had so much flavor. I'm not sure what was on those potatoes, but they were yummy. The corned beef is made in-house and it was fork tender. Then I realized I've never actually had corned beef on its own. It's always in a sandwich or hash of some sort... But they just let the meat shine, and it was glorious! I would eat this any day. We ended up taking half of it to go because we were both full. (I made fried rice with it the next day... it was magical.)
We were stuffed! But of course... when you're checking out a new menu, you have to get dessert too. Fudge Brownie (a la mode).
They were out of our first choice... an Oreo Brownie Bar or something. The dessert was actually the least remarkable of the whole meal. I expected the brownie to be thicker when I hear "fudge" brownie. But I did like the cookie-like crust on the bottom. That added a nice texture. It was ok. I think also we were just way too full. But I would rather get another Frozen Stoli Crush as my dessert next time. hehe.
Now... I know what you may be thinking... $19 is a bit steep for lunch. And it is... but we both ordered from the "entrees" section. They also have a "sandwich" section that has sandwiches, burgers, and wraps... all $10, which is very affordable for the quality.
My husband and I really enjoyed ourselves. It was like a little date night. And we both liked our drinks! That's a miracle in itself. haha. Get the Corned Beef. Seriously. Do it. Barbara was great. She answered all my questions, checked on us often without being too aggressive. I think the manager came around a few times too. He was in a blazer so I'm guessing he's the manager. Also super nice and made sure we're having a good time. Throughout our dinner, people started coming in. Most of them went to the side with the sofas though. Only 2 other tables were actually eating there. They have good food, people! Go eat there, but still get a drink. hehe. :)
**This was a comped meal, but all opinions are my own.**
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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