The Capital Grille

OMG. My little sister is married, y'all! They didn't want to have a ceremony or anything. And actually eloped when they were on a trip to Spain... but decided to have a dinner with family once they returned. They chose The Capital Grille at Crescent Court. A great choice... I've never had a bad experience there (or the one in Plano).

The Capital Grille
500 Crescent Ct.
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 303-0500
www.thecapitalgrille.com
Price: $$$$+

This was the first time both sides of the family met...can you believe it? It's been almost 7 years. haha. We had a long table in the first dining area. The party had about 16 people or so. Our waiter was super cool. Gave us time to do our greetings and introductions and everything before all sitting down to look at the menu.

The table was too big so I couldn't get photos of everything but trust me it all looked and tasted great!

We started with some appetizers for the table.

Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella (with vine ripe tomatoes) $16~ These were large pieces.. I only ate a little because I was looking forward to the entree!!

Lobster and Crab Cakes $19~ These had so much lobster and crab inside. Sooo good.

Bread Basket. I always like their bread baskets... a lot of variation. Some sort of raisin rye, cheese bread, and some type of lavosh cracker thing. Put the prosciutto mozzarella on the lavosh... now you're thinking! hehe.

Some people ordered salads to start. I got the Butternut Squash Bisque (cup) $8~ 

Love me some butternut, so I had to get it. It was really good. There were little cubes of apples in there which added a crunch and tartness. Oh man.. I'm already getting full!

My parents decided to share the Sliced Filet Mignon (with cipollini onions and wild mushrooms) $48~ 

The mushrooms and cipollinis were amazing. Really great flavor. The steak was also spot on. I'm not a fan of filet mignon though, not fatty enough. ha.

I got the Porcini Rubbed Bone-In Ribeye (with 15 year aged balsamic) $50~ 

A-mahhhh-zing!! First of all, it is massive! And then cooked perfectly medium rare with pockets of fat throughout. That rub on it had soooo much flavor. Loved it. My dad said it was better than his. haha. I actually made it through more than half! Proud. :P

My fiance got the Sushi-Grade Sesame Seared Tuna (with gingered rice) $44~ 

He has a soft spot for Ahi tuna. And also he knew we were getting dessert later so he wanted to pace himself. Giant piece of tuna, perfectly red in the center. I loved the gingered rice. Super yum.

We also had some shareable side dishes for the table.

Lobster Mac N Cheese $17~ Totally the winner. Just look at the lumps of lobster sticking out of the cheese. The pasta texture was great. Loved the bread crumbs on top.

Sam's Mashed Potatoes $10~ This is pretty standard. I decided not to waste any stomach space by eating too much potatoes. haha.

We also got Brussels Sprouts too (forgot to take a picture). Was a little disappointed. It didn't have that char that Brussels sprouts need to have.

It was a great dinner. The steak here is always on point. And seems their seafood is too. The waiter surprised my sister and her husband with a dessert tray. We got to sample a bite of that dessert. I think it's coconut cream pie... it was pretty outstanding. We were going back to their place for dessert and drinks so I didn't get to browse the dessert menu... next time, I guess.

 

Definitely a great spot for a special occasion. I actually noticed a lot of other tables celebrating for different reasons. They decorated the tables, and the ladies all got a single red rose. How sweet!

Congrats to the newlyweds. And good job for picking a great place to celebrate!

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Chef in Blue

Recently I got a recommendation for a crepe place in Frisco. I haven't gone to the Frisco area for a while now and I don't really know what new places popped up. I happened to schedule a dinner last Friday night with 2 of my friends so I suggested we go try Chef in Blue.

Chef in Blue
4710 Preston Road, Suite 312
Frisco, TX 75034
(469) 252-0486
http://chefinblue.com/
Price: $

It's located in a strip mall. Just look for Cedars Woodfire Grill when turning in. It's a small cafe type restaurant. Not too fancy on the decor but I did like all the large pictures of their food. Everything looked delicious. I was the first to arrive so I was looking over the menu. The guy at the register was very friendly and made some suggestions and answered my questions. I was told that the had a pumpkin crepe that wasn't on the menu so I asked him about it. It sounds like it's a new addition and they might put it on the menu soon? As you know, I'm obsessed with pumpkin so I already decided that was going to be my dessert. :P

Everything looked good on the menu. It was very hard to make a decision... We all got different things. Yay! More stuff for me to try. haha.

Specialty Crepes:
Latina (baked chicken, ham, spinach, pineapples, mozzarella, honey Dijon dressing) $8.75~ Their crepes are huge!! Completely stuffed with fresh ingredients. My friends really liked this one. It was good, but I didn't care for the honey dijon dressing. I liked the other crepe better.

 

Savory Crepes:
Spinach, Potatoes, Mushroom, and Cheese Crepe (with choice of cheese) $6.80~ Plus Ham +$1.90~ My other friend ordered this. He ended up liking the Latina better. I liked this one better... especially the cubes of potatoes in there. It's like a breakfast crepe almost. Again, stuffed to the brim. My friend finished it, but he was pretty full after.

 

Chef Combos:
Sandwich or Panini/Salad Combo (1/2 sandwich or panini with a small garden salad) $5.75~ I got the Roast Beef Chimichurri Panini (choice of white or multigrain ciabata with Swiss cheese, roasted beef, chimichurri sauce, fresh tomato and mayonnaise). 

 

I chose the multigrain and also added spinach in there. I knew I was getting dessert so I wanted to keep it light. It was just the right amount. I loved the panini. The multigrain had extra texture from the grains/seeds in the bread. It was pressed nicely where the outside had a crunch. The ingredients were all fresh. I didn't really taste the chimichurri, which was my main reason for getting this, but it didn't even matter. It was delicious. I was actually getting full after this.

We got 2 Dessert Crepes between the 3 of us:
Pumpkin Pie Crepe (pumpkin pie filling, cinnamon, whipped cream, topped with ice cream) $7.75~ 

This was yummy. And quite big as well. Not as big as the savory crepes though. The first few bites along the edges I didn't get much of the pumpkin, but the middle was filled with it. The pumpkin had so much flavor. The added cinnamon and ice cream was the perfect pairing. One of my friends didn't care for pumpkin so he didn't really have any of this. My other friend was too full, so I think I ate about 3/4ths of this myself. XP AND I ate part of theirs!

Apple Cinnamon (brown sugar, fresh apples, caramel,topped with whipped cream) $7.75~ Plus ice cream +$1~ This was pretty good. The apples were cooked down a little so they're softer to eat with the crepe which was good. I liked my pumpkin one better but both were good.

We were all so stuffed after. It's a lot of food! And all so yummy. The quality of the ingredients were all nice and fresh. It wasn't really heavy either. We just overstuffed ourselves. haha. The service was really great too. You order at the counter and they bring it out to you, but during the course of our meal, they came out to check on us, ask how the food is, etc. I will definitely be back in the future. Go check them out! Help them stay in business!! And thanks to my friend for the recommendation! :)

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Good Good Restaurant~

I was really craving pasta last weekend…I don’t eat Italian food very often because it’s usually a lot of carbs and cheese and cream. I mean, I loveeee those things, but it’s hard to eat that all the time while trying to maintain my weight. :(

Bene Bene Ristorante
4727 Frankford Road # 409
Dallas, TX 75287
(972) 267-2363
http://www.benebeneristorante.com/
Price: $$

I had a $25 gift certificate to Bene Bene Ristorante, a new Italian restaurant on Frankford and Tollway. It was a very sophisticated and classy little restaurant…a bit fancier than I had imagined. It’s a good place to go for a date or a quiet meal, but still good to take family there.

The prices were also a little higher than I had expected. Good thing I had that gift certificate!! :P

We started off with salads. I got the Insalata di Campo (mixed leaf lettuce with Italian vinaigrette), basically the house salad. $5.95~ It was fresh and light, just what I wanted to start my meal. My friend ordered the Special of the Day Salad (cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and avocado slices tossed with a vinaigrette with basil, olives, and croutons). $11.95~ Since this was the special, we didn’t know the price. A LOT more expensive than I expected. At this price, I would expect the portions as a meal, not a starter. Nevertheless, it was very good. It was fresh, with creamy mozzarella, and the avocado added a nice touch.

For the main course, my friend ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo (with classic alfredo sauce). $12.95~ The portions here are smaller than normal, however, I think it’s good that they don’t give you a gigantic plate of food. It was just enough because Italian food can be quite heavy. This was really good! They hand made the pasta, and you can really taste the difference! You can tell by the texture and the freshness of the pasta.

I asked the waiter for a suggestion and he recommended the Rigatoni Ruspanti (chicken, Portobello and asparagus in a light cream sauce), which is one of their most popular pastas. $15.95~ The pasta was cooked just right. I hate it when restaurants overcook the pasta and it becomes too soft. The cream sauce wasn’t too heavy or greasy, and there were plenty of ingredients in the pasta…big chunks of chicken that you can actually see and generous slices of mushrooms and asparagus. Mmm Mmm GOOD!

They didn’t have a physical dessert menu so we weren’t very intrigued by their dessert offerings. Somehow seeing the desserts written out on a menu or a dessert tray makes me want to have it more. Haha.

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So we went to Braum’s to get some ice cream instead. It was such a good deal!! I got the double dip cone (which was on special) with cookies n cream and cake batter, and he got a banana split. Soooo much ice cream for only 5 bucks!! That was a great way to end the night! :)










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