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I got to check out District Food & Wine in the Design District last week. I had heard positive things about the restaurant so I was definitely looking forward to it. They're open for lunch M-F, and dinner service is only Th-S, closed on Sundays. I couldn't make it out for dinner so I invited a friend that works downtown for a long lunch. :)
District Food & Wine
921 N Riverfront Blvd. #300
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 792-9729
https://districtfoodwine.com
Price: $$-$$$
The Design District is a cool place but still has a lot of opportunities for expansion/development. It's quite far out for me from home and work so I rarely go to that area. So I'd consider District Food and Wine to be a hidden gem. I think more people need to know more about this area as well.
Walking in, the restaurant was pretty empty... only a couple tables taken. But the place has floor to ceiling windows on 2 sides of the building so it had a bright and open feeling. And perfect for photos! :) The hostess grabbed the owner for us when we arrived. Jeff is one of the nicest people I've ever met. Just the first handshake and I felt like he was so genuinely happy to have us there. We were seated close to the window for optimal lighting. And Jeff proceeded to take care of us for the entire duration of the lunch.
We started with some Bread (rubbed with garlic; served with butter). It looked simple but it was freshly baked...warm and fluffy on the inside, crispy edges, and the garlic rub perfumed our noses.
Jeff gave us the run down on the menu, as well as their daily specials.
Then he told us that he is already going to send out some of their Risotto Balls and Meatballs (tomato basil sauce). Normally the Risotto Balls are $7~
It was nice to get a little sampler so we're not getting too much food. The risotto balls were super cute and delicate. He explained that they are actually gluten free! They were deliciously airy and light for a fried rice ball. Without the breadcrumbs they were really able to lighten it up. Soooo yummy with the tomato sauce. The meatballs were good too but the risotto balls stole the show.
As we were waiting for our entrees, I saw that more and more people were coming in. And Jeff greeted each table himself. That's really great service and hospitality.
I chose the Grilled Salmon (Scottish salmon, grilled vegetables, jalapeno mustard sauce) $17~
I wanted to be a little healthier since 1) I've been eating a whole lotta fried foods last week, and 2) I wanted to get the Mac n Cheese. hahaha. He told me that they typically cook their salmon medium rare, which is perfect. And you know what? They were SPOT on with the cook temp. The fish was beautifully pink on the inside and insanely tender. And that sauce... you can see the whole grain mustard in there and it paired perfectly with the fish. It was a pretty plate. Again, everything's so simple, but extremely well executed. It was refreshing to see a place that just does good food instead of trying to be "epic" or "trendy" or whatever.
My friend got the Rigatoni (with tomato basil vodka sauce; added chicken) $10~
He added chicken since the original dish does not have a meat. It was really good. I love vodka sauce. I wish the chicken pieces were a tad bigger, it got lost a little bit in the dish. Other than that, no complaints!
Mac & Cheese (with truffle oil) $7~
I HAD to get this. I've been seeing so many posts on social media of this one dish. The truffle was so fragrant and smelled so good. It was still bubbling a little when it was brought to the table. It's not stringy cheesy like a lot of other macs (like the long cheese pull) but it definitely was not lacking any cheese! I freaking loved that crust on top. It was legit, and it definitely lived up to all the hype.
It was a great lunch. And we weren't too stuffed. But then we had to get dessert right? hehe. :P
Jeff highly highly recommended the Lemon Cake (mascarpone frosting, white chocolate curls) $7~
And that's the main thing I've been seeing on their Yelp page. I'm not really a huge lemon fan but I was really intrigued. I'm soooooo glad we got it. It is seriously THE BEST lemon cake I've ever had in my life. No joke! It was so light and fluffy. The frosting was made with mascarpone so it was really light as well. But was still somehow luscious. The amount of lemon was spot on. It had just the right amount of tartness... a lot of lemon desserts tend to be too sour for me. Or too sweet because they overuse sugar to cut the citrus. Both my friend and I agreed it was the best lemon dessert either of us have ever had. I wonder if I can order a whole cake for a party or something.... :P
Chocolate Cake (chocolate ganache) $7~
We only ordered the lemon cake, but Jeff said he was also sending out the chocolate cake. haha. I love chocolate so I wasn't gonna say no! :P The chocolate cake was also fantastic. The filling was light, and the ganache was rich... the cake was surprisingly not overly sweet. And it was super moist. Normally I would opt for chocolate, but in this case, the lemon cake still won out. Needless to say, we finished the lemon cake. haha. And actually made it through more than half of the chocolate as well.
We had a great time. Jeff was the most wonderful host. And the food was just simply delicious. I want to send everyone I know there... so GO!!! I really hope they stick around for a really long time. Thank you, District Food & Wine, for having us. I hope I will make it back in the near future. :)
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Our 2nd dessert stop was Hypnotic Emporium. I've been dying to go here forever! I'm finally close enough to stop by. It's a cute shop right next to their donut shop by White Rock Lake. The front of the store is a old school candy shop with all different types of treats you may not find in a typical store. I went straight to the back tho, to where the ice cream/soda shop is. They don't have much seating, just FYI.
Hypnotic Emporium
9005 Garland Rd #150
Dallas, TX 75218
(214) 354-3414
www.hypnoticemporium.com
Price: $
They use ice creams from Beth Marie's which is a shop in Denton that makes some amazing flavors. Their ice cream is classified as "premium quality" which means more butterfat (14% to be exact), which makes it more rich and creamy. They have some interesting flavors such as Jack & Coke, and Bee's Knees which is honey lavender.
I'm here for only one reason. Well... two. 1) to treat the birthday boy to a dessert of his choice, 2) to try their donut ice cream sandwiches. No one wanted to share, so I had to get my own. I was pretty full already but since I'm here, I gotta get it.
Dream (Donut Ice Cream Sandwich) $6~
After sampling a ton of flavors, I decided on half Lemon Drop, half Banana Cream Pie.
The Banana Cream Pie was everyone's favorite flavor. One friend got 2 scoops of it in a waffle cone. And the bday boy got it too. It was so good I got a pint to go before we left to take home to my husband. The donut sandwich was yummy. Too bad I was so full, I couldn't finish. :( I can't eat like I used to. Damn you, low metabolism!! The donut is unglazed and warmed when served. I really liked it. The donut was fluffy and I liked it unglazed. Glazed would've been too sweet and just a mess to eat. This way I could pick it up with my hands and not be too sticky. I was a little confused when they gave me the sandwich tho, they never asked me if I wanted toppings. So I assumed they were extra... but when I got one for the bday boy, they asked him what he wanted. Oh well, this time around, I probably couldn't have taken any additional food anyways. haha.
The bday boy got the same thing. Dream $6~ (All Banana Cream Pie ice cream and loaded with all the toppings: whipped cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, strawberry sauce, peanuts, pecans, sprinkles, waffle cone crumble topped with a marachino cherry).
Damns! You couldn't even tell what was under there after they put all the toppings on. You definitely can't pick that up with your hands! haha. It was a big ol' mess to eat, but he ate it all. He also ate the 2nd scoop and waffle cone from my other friend. This boy can put down the sugar for sure.
A little pricey but it is more of a novelty and they use really good quality ice cream. And I think I like donut ice cream sandwiches better than cookie ice cream sandwiches. It's a little less sweet and much easier to eat! I'll go back next time when I have someone to share with!
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Two weekends ago I went on a trip with some friends to Ft. Lauderdale. We had been talking about doing a trip forever. And all of us wanted to go to the beach. Just lay back, relax and veg out! Cancun was our first choice but we missing the window and the prices went up up up... :( Luckily, I found a pretty great flight deal to go to Ft. Lauderdale. None of us have ever been there. And we thought it would be quieter than Miami, since we just wanted to unwind. The trip couldn't come soon enough, and finally we were on the plane!!
We arrived late on a Thursday night. After we checked into our hotel, we asked the front desk where we can go eat. We didn't rent a car so we just walked around. Most places were already closing at this point but we found a hip little pizza place that is open late. The place was packed! Apparently Thursday night is ladies night and ladies get free wine with the purchase of an entree. Nice! We actually had to wait a while to get a table for our party of 5.
Piola
1703 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd.
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
(954) 457-9394
www.piola.it/countries/display/us
Price: $$
Finally, we were seated. Our waiter was pretty cool. Brought us some waters and took our drink orders. My friend and I both got a glass of wine. I don't drink wine but I gave it to another friend. hahaha.
Another friend ordered the Sgroppino Al Limone (lemon gelato and Vodka) $6~ It was definitely not what we expected. All of us thought it would be more like a slushy, but it was creamy. Very thick and rich. It was interesting for sure.
After we ordered , the waiter gave us some Complimentary bread. With olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
It was pretty late, so we got a few things to share.
D'Annunzio Salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, sweet corn, fresh bean sprouts, hearts of palm, mozzarella fior di latte, avocado, boiled eggs, dijon mustard dressing) Regular size $10.95~
This was a pretty big salad. Interesting too, with the bean sprouts. I think this is the first time I've had bean sprouts in a Western style salad. It was really good. Everything was fresh. The avocado added a creaminess. And I loved the dijon mustard dressing. It was the perfect size for the 5 of us.
Moderna Pizza (topped with fresh arugula, dice tomatoes, and shaved grana padano cheese) $11.95~ We added prosciutto on top +$3.50~ This was pretty good. But after eating the other pizza, this was pretty normal. haha.
Rio De Janeiro (oven baked pulled chicken breast, catupiry cheese, a dash of parsley) $13.95~
We decided on this because of the catupiry cheese. I had never heard of it. The waiter explained it was a Brazilian cheese that's like a mix betweem cream cheese and butter? Sounded super decadent and awesome! I took a knife and spread the catupiry all of the pizza. It was just as he described...super rich, super creamy, and super delicious. I loved the flavor with the pulled chicken. Love love loved this pizza. However, it was really heavy, so a slice and half in, I was stuffed! It's always cool to learn a new food. :)
It was a great first meal on our vacation. If I lived there, I'd go back. Service was great and food was delicious. And it had a good vibe.
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Sooo... walking there, we noticed that there's a Ben & Jerry's just a couple stores down and it opens til midnight!!! It's a sign. We're on vacation right? We're allowed to eat ice cream at 11PM. haha.
I always have a hard time choosing a flavor here cuz everything is so good. I ended up with Save Our Swirled (raspberry ice cream with marshmallow and raspberry swirls, white and dark fudge ice cream cones). Oh man... I was so full after this! haha.
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
This is a recent discovery of mine. Thanks to Instagram! I'm obsessed with IG since I post food pics all the time, but then I also find out new places from other people's posts. I noticed that @amazeballz_cakeballs was following me so I clicked into her link. Apparently they have a shop in downtown Plano! AND... I just happen to be going to dinner in downtown Plano that weekend! AND the store closes right before our dinner reservation!!! This is meant to be. I made sure we had extra time to get to downtown Plano to swing by Amazeballz.
Amazeballz
930 E 15th St #200
Plano, TX 75074
(214) 223-8044
www.getamazeballz.com
Price: $
We got there about 20 minutes before they closed at 6PM. I got to meet Jaime, the owner. She was super nice and gave us the run down of the flavors. They've only been in that space for about 3-4 months and business is already booming. They also have "boozeballs" btw... inflused with liquor. Wow. :P And their cake balls are slightly bigger than I've seen in other places.
We got a Dozen Cake Balls $20~ 6 for ourselves, and 6 for my friends who are having the birthday dinner later.
From top left, clockwise to bottom left.
S'mores, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Oreo, Lemon, S'mores, Oreo, Italian Cream Cake, Chocolate Raspberry, Birthday Cake, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cherry Vanilla, Chocolate Maple Bacon (flavor of the month).
The cake balls in general are all super super moist. And beautifully decorated. The S'mores one is super cute!! My personal favorite was the Flavor of the Month: Chocolate Maple Bacon.
The ratio of savory bacon to sweet cake was perfect. The bacon bits were quite large but not greasy. And it was so big! I tried to savor it so I took small bites. I got like 8 bites outta that thing! My fiance and I also loved the Chocolate Peanut Butter.
So rich and peanut buttery. Actually, everything was good. There wasn't one that we didn't like....just some even more than others. And kept in the fridge a few days, they still tasted like new. :)
Next time I'm in the area, I'll definitely hit them up again.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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 ~~
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