Seasons 52

Seasons 52
7300 Lone Star Drive
Plano, TX 75024
(972) 312-8852
http://www.seasons52.com/
Price: $$ (Lunch)

I've been wanting to try Seasons 52 since they opened and I found out that everything on the menu is under 475 calories. REALLY?!?! That's freaking amazing if the food is good!

I heard from several people that it's pretty good but always packed. You definitely need to make a reservation at least a week or two in advance. For dinner, maybe even earlier...

So I thought this would be a great place to try for lunch with some of my close friends that are back in town for the holidays. I called them 5 days in advance for a reservation for 5 people at 1PM. The girl on the phone was really nice.

When I walked in the place was packed! 1PM on a weekday! Wow... The place is pretty big and most of the tables were occupied and people continue to stream in.

We were seated in a room in the back, which was good cuz it was more quiet. Our waiter was really friendly and gave us a run down of the menu and what makes Seasons 52 special. They don't use butter or fry any of their foods, that's how they keep it healthier. Also they use seasonal ingredients and change their menu on a weekly basis! So if you go every week you can have something totally different!

We started with an appetizer of Rosemary & Parmesan Cheese Crispbread $3.80~
The presentation was really cute. I liked the man with the wine glass holding the bread. hehe. It was like a super thin flatbread. But not too thin where it was dry like a cracker. The cheese wasn't overpowering but still had plenty of flavor. I think I could've kept eating it... haha.
There were soo many good choices I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to eat...

One of my friends ordered the Farmer's Market Vegetable Soup (Cup) $4.80~ to start. He really liked the soup. I tried a bit...not bad. I'm not a fan of light soups so I won't comment on it. haha.

He also got the Oak-Fired Western Buffalo Burger (with guacamole, spicy chili sour cream and roasted pepper salsa; accompanied by organic mixed greens salad) $9.95~ I didn't get to try the burger, but he said it was good. Although he wasn't sure if it was really buffalo or beef since he doesn't really know the difference. haha. The meat seemed nice and tender. The chili sour cream was too spicy for him though. I thought it was yummy! :P

I ordered the Grilled Portobello Turkey Burger (under melted mozzarella cheese with sliced tomatoes on a whole wheat bun; accompanied by organic mixed greens salad) $9.50~ The presentation was great. Very refreshing with the stand for the burger...added dimension to the dish visually. The burger was a good size and came with mustard on the side. I'm not a fan of mustard, but I used my friend's chili sour cream sauce on it and it was pretty awesome. The burger was not greasy at all, but very hearty. Just needed some sauce. I think if I get this again I'll ask for the chili sour cream instead of mustard. The side salad was fresh, not too much dressing which I like. I actually took some of the lettuce and put it inside my burger. :)

I also got the Roasted Squash Trio (with spiced honey-mint glaze) $3.95~ It was one of the specials for the day. I love squash and it's so good for you! hehe. As a side dish it was quite big...definitely plenty to share with others. The colors in the plate were just beautiful. Some parts of the squash were a little undercooked in my opinion. I like it to be a little softer. The circular piece was my favorite. I don't know the difference or names of the squash(es?) but overall I liked it a lot. The sauce on the bottom was sweet from the honey and also had a bit of lemony citrus flavor. I normally don't like the flavor of honey, but I was ok with it in this dish.

Another friend ordered the Black Mussels (steamed in a zesty marinara sauce served with grilled garlic toast) $9~ It was a huge bowl of mussels...and for lunch too! And it was cheap!!! The flavors were good, very fresh.

One friend got the Spicy Tandoori Chicken Skewers (with fresh mango chutney and cucumber herb raita and organic mixed greens salad) $9~ The flavor of the chicken was good but not really truly tandoori or spicy to me. haha. But it was all white meat chicken and was tender. The portion didn't look too big so if you are hungry, maybe go for something else...

The final entree is the Caramelized Sea Scallops (grilled and served with sun-dried tomato pearl pasta and roasted asparagus) $19.65~ Initially my friend ordered the Buffalo Steak, but they were out so the waiter suggested this. I'm glad he got this. The portion was pretty large for a scallop dish or even lunch in my opinion. Usually restaurants are stingy with the scallops. The scallops were cooked perfectly...lots of flavor...and paired with the sides really well. I really liked the pearl pasta. I'd say this was the winner of the day!

Of course we had to have dessert! All of their desserts are ready made. They bring around a rack of all the choices and you basically just take whatever you want right then and there. Mini Indulgences (individual servings of classic desserts) $2.50~ each. We got the following flavors...ranking from least favorite to best (although the last 3 tied for first place):

Pecan Pie with Vanilla Mousse. I didn't like this at all... even though my friends did. I thought the pecan pie part tasted kinda store bought... not freshly made..

Key Lime Pie. I'm normally not a fan of actual key lime pie. This was a little bland...not enough lime, no contrast in flavors...

Old-Fashioned Carrot Cake. Tasted just like a mini carrot cake. Nothing too special...

Mocha Macchiato.

This was good. Rich chocolatey flavor with hints of coffee. Needed more cakey texture though.

Belgian Chocolate Rocky Road. This was SUPER chocolatey and rich. Just a little cup of chocolate goodness. YUM!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse. Rich peanut butter and chocolate mousse...totally delicious! This was voted as the best out of the bunch!

Pumpkin Pie. This is their seasonal flavor, only available for limited time. I loved it! The pumpkin mousse was nice and smooth. It was like a pumpkin pie but even better!!

I really enjoyed our visit to Seasons 52. The food was great for the most part, everything was fresh and not greasy. I can definitely see how they can keep it all under 475 calories. The service was great, and our waiter offered some good suggestions. I will definitely be going back in the future to try their new dishes! Start making your reservations now!! :P

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Restaurant Week #2 - The French Room

French Room
1321 Commerce Street
Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 742-8200
http://www.hoteladolphus.com/adolphus_dining.aspx/
Price: $$$$+

Ahhhh….so I FINALLY get to go to the French Room! I’ve been wanting to go for like 2 years now just never could afford it. So when I found out that they were participating in Restaurant Week, I totally jumped on the opportunity. I called them the morning the list was posted at like 10am! Hahaha. :P I was shocked when I was able to book my party of 10 at the time I wanted! Niceeeee!

The French Room is located downtown at the Adolphus Hotel. It serves modern American cuisine using classical French cooking techniques. The décor was also very traditionally European with the arched and painted ceilings and sparkly chandeliers. The host/hostesses were extremely friendly…part of the group was running late, but they went ahead and seated us anyways. The service was very good…it’s the type of place where they place the napkin in your lap, pull out and push in your chair, and keeps the water glasses filled, etc. Our waiter was an older European guy, very nice, unfortunately I couldn’t really understand his thick accent, and also the restaurant was quite noisy.

While we were waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, they gave us some bread baskets.







Now it’s time for the food! I’m going to talk about what I ordered first then on to other people’s dishes.

For the appetizer, I got the Dominion Farms Pork Belly (Five Spice Glaze, on a bed of Beluga Lentils).

If there’s pork belly on the menu, then I must order it. Hehe. LOVE LOVE LOVE pork belly! The French Room certainly did not disappoint. The pork belly was perfectly cooked…so silky and velvety. The glaze added a little sweetness and the lentils added some contrast in texture. I ate it very slowly so I could savor it… :)

I got the Red Snapper (with Spinach Risotto and Romesco sauce) as my entrée. The fish was cooked very nicely. The colors on the plate were beautiful…with the orange sauce and the green risotto. The risotto had lots of flavor and was cooked nicely as well…al dente…just the way it’s supposed to be. I enjoyed the dish…I’m not a big seafood person so I wasn’t as excited about it as like a pork chop or steak, but it was very good.

For dessert I was initially gonna go for the chocolate, but I asked the waiter what he recommended and he insisted on the Popcorn Pot du Crème (with Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce). I took his suggestion and was very pleased. It was basically like a cup of flan/crème brulee type custard...insanely silky and creamy and full of milky caramel flavor. Caramel covered popcorn topped the custard and added a nice crunch to the creaminess of the dessert. The caramel ice cream on top just made it all the more creamy and luscious! YUM!!

I was incredibly full after the meal…the portions didn’t look very big but they were definitely filling.

Now here are all the other dishes around the table…

APPETIZERS:
Texas Yellow Corn Soup (with Duck Pot Stickers, Crimini Mushrooms and Paprika Oil). I got to try a little sip of the soup. OMG. Soooooo freaking delicious. It was rich and creamy and smooth…plus the sweetness of the corn. Mmmmmm… I almost wished I had gotten that instead…but I liked my pork belly too!

Jumbo Lump Crab Cake (in Lemon Grass Lobster Sauce and Tomato Jam ($5 additional). This was also very good. It’s FULL of crab…unlike most crab cakes that have a bunch of bread crumbs as fillers.

ENTREES:
Atlantic Salmon (with Green Peppercorn Whipped potato and Parsley Sauce). This was cooked very nicely and the flavors all worked together very well. And just like the snapper, the colors on the plate were vibrant and pretty.

Herb-Roasted Pheasant Breast (with Saffron Linguini and Champagne Cream Sauce). This was the biggest entrée, portion wise. I didn’t get to try the pheasant but I did try the linguini. I think it was made in house which is good…but I thought it was just slightly overcooked. It was softer than I like my pasta to be, but still very good.

DESSERTS:
Peach and Amaretto Cheesecake with Raspberry Sorbet.

The cheesecake was sooo good. It was more light and fluffy instead of normal cheesecakes that are denser. The pairing between the raspberry sorbet and the cheesecake was also very good.

Mocha Espresso Torte with Coffee Ice Cream. This was very good as well. Super silky…like really fine mousse. The coffee flavor really adds a kick to the dessert. I was happy with my dessert choice but either one of these would’ve been good as well.

So overall, the appetizers and desserts were wonderful. The entrees were good (the Butterfish at Roy’s still has to be my favorite fish dish of all time though). The service was great, very friendly and attentive. But I think I had such high hopes for the restaurant that I was a little underwhelmed... But in the future, when I can afford to go there for regular menu, I will most definitely go again.

Bon Appétit!

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~~CHOMP CHOMP~~