Earl's 377 Pizza - Media Night

Back in May I was invited with the MyFab5 crew to check out the new pizza place in Argyle, TX. I hadn't even heard of Argyle and had no idea where it was. Turns out, it's far... far from me at least. Good news to the folks in Denton, it's just a little North of y'all. But this is the lastest concept from the team behind Barley & Board, which you know is my new favorite place! I have to support my peeps! So out of the 3 community leaders for MyFab5/@bestfooddallas, I was the only one that made it out there. It was a week night and quite difficult for everyone to make the trek.

Earl's 377 Pizza
427 U.S. 377
Argyle, TX 76226
(940) 464-4444
http://earls377pizza.com
Price: $$-$$$

It was their media night, so there were lots of other bloggers, writers there. The place is a converted fire station. It's really cool! It's like Barley & Board where they re-purposed materials already there, that has history and meaning, and use them in interesting ways. For example, they have shovel chandeliers, "shoveliers". Ha! Makes sense when the decor is done by the same team that did B&B.

At first I had a table for myself. I had mentioned that I didn't mind being placed with other bloggers but wasn't sure if that was going to happen. So I went ahead and ordered... Oh man did I represent! I ordered enough for like 5 people. haha. Gotta try a little bit of everything right?? But after I placed my order, Narciso (the PR guy) found me a spot with two girls from The Dentonite. They were super nice and welcomed me to their table. After some brief introductions the food started arriving. It was their orders first.

Isabella's Snack Board (prosciutto, salami, mortadella, marinated vegetables) $12~ 

My new foodie friends had ordered this. I had a bite of one of the meats, not sure which one. I've never been that into meat boards as cured meats are not my favorite. But I'll eat them, don't get me wrong. I'm just not the best judge on whether or not one is good. This looked pretty good to me. And the two girls seemed to really enjoy it.

Crawfish & Artichoke (roasted peppers, pepper jack) $9~ 

Then my appetizer came. It was still bubbling when they set it on the table. I liked that they used pizza crust as the bread. The crust on the pizza is usually my favorite part. I know that's not the norm... but a good dough with good texture can make or break a pizza for me. The dip was warm and cheesy. We all really liked it. It's quite heavy though, so good to share with people.

Baby Arugula (shaved prosciutto, parmesan, shallot, dried figs, balsamic vinaigrette) $10~ 

I had to try a salad since I like to have some fresh greens with every meal. The salad was huge!! Tons of fresh arugula. The figs were nice a juicy and it wasn't overly dressed. I hate it when restaurants drown the salads. This was perfect.

Chicken & Artichoke (ricotta, spinach, artichokes, mozzarella) Reg $12~ 

This was the first pizza to arrive. The other girls ordered this one. It was on my list, but I had too many already and had passed on it. I'm so glad I got to try it. It was one of my favorites for the night. I just love all the ingredients and it was simple and good. All their pizzas were good actually...

Yukon Gold (ricotta, smashed potato, bacon, roasted onions, rosemary) Reg $12~ 

We both ordered this so we had 2 for the table. haha. One of our absolute favorites. It's like a baked potato on a pizza. Sounds amazing right? I think potatoes need to become a standard on pizzas. And that bacon tho... I also wore my pizza shirt to match the food! :P

Forager (roasted mushrooms, sweet onions, spinach, truffle oil) Reg $12~ 

One of my orders. I freaking love mushrooms so I had to get it. It was good, but didn't live up to some of the other ones so it got lost in the mix. I think I was missing a meat element with this one. Next time I'd add sausage to it I think.

N'Djua (spicy prosciutto spread, shallot, ricotta) Reg $12~ 

This was the one I was most excited about, because of that prosciutto spread. I think I had an idea of what it was and I was right. The only thing is... it needed more of it on the pizza! Just load it up!! It had a nice kick to it too. Yum!

Meatball Sandwich (house meatballs and marinara baked with mozzarella and provolone; served with Deep River chips) $12~ 

I had to get a sandwich to try as well. This was epic. I just stared in awe as they set it in front of me. We had ran out of table space by then. haha. The meatballs were ginormous! And very tasty. I was only able to take a bite or two though since I was stuffed at this point. Loved the chips as well.

We tried to get one of their dessert pizzas but the kitchen ran out. Oh well, it's probably good that we didn't get it since I was about to burst! Plus I had a mountain of leftovers to take home. :D I'm gonna have to try it some other time. The food was great and the ambiance was super unique yet casual. I expected no less from the team behind Barley & Board. And I have to give a special shout out to the wait staff. Most of the wait staff was made up of teenagers (I think)...they all seemed really young. And all were just super enthusiastic and friendly. They were constantly checking on all the tables making sure everyone had everything they could ever need. They didn't even give us the chance to ask for drink refills. The 2 girls I sat with were drinking pink lemonades. They were constantly being refilled. One girl even brought over fresh cups when she saw that the ice had melted down a little in their current drinks. What service! And when our waiter had to deliver the news that the dessert pizzas ran out, he was seriously distraught and kept apologizing. haha. At first we thought maybe it was because it's media night, but then quickly realized that they were just good kids and really cared about the customers.

It was a great and delicious night. I made some new friends too! I got to talk to some of the owners as well, they were going around the room talking to customers. I told them I drove all the way out from Rockwall! They were very impressed. hehe. It was worth it. I have really high hopes for this team. I hope they continue to expand through DFW. (Please come more Southeast! *hint*hint* hehe.) Glad I was able to represent @bestfooddallas during their sneak peek. :)

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value: *comped*

Overall Experience:

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Barley & Board

Oh Barley & Board... I'm so happy I have found you. Or actually it found me.

I had never heard of this place until I reposted a picture on the MyFab5 @bestfooddallas IG account back in February. It was an epic looking S'mores oatmeal cookie. Little did I know that one little action was going to change my life. They saw the repost and reached out to me. I connected them with the founders of MyFab5 and we (the other 2 community leaders @thediningdino & @phileats_ and I, @chompdallas) were invited out to dine at their restaurant. Cool! The only thing was... it's all the way in Denton! I think I've only been to Denton once in my life. It's far... and now that I'm in Rockwall, it's REALLY far! I think the total drive time is around 70-75 minutes, ONE WAY! Eeeks. But since I was the one that made the connection and they were so excited for us to come out, we all found a Sunday afternoon and headed out there.

Barley & Board
100 W Oak St.
Denton, TX 76201
(940) 566-3900
http://barleyandboard.com
Price: $$-$$$

It's located in downtown Denton and it's quite cute! It reminded me of downtown McKinney, but bigger. I wish it was closer so I could go explore there more often.

It was a grey and rainy afternoon, but turned out to be the best lighting for taking photos. I arrived first, and Narciso, the head of PR for the restaurant, greeted me. He was super nice and told us we could sit anywhere we'd like. The restaurant was super cool. It was a renovated old building. The decor was amazing. Big open windows, high ceilings, and you can see the history in the building. They had re-purposed a lot of old bricks and other materials found around Denton. There was one long table in the middle of the dining room that was one single slab of wood. Things like that... really cool. We found a booth by one of the large windows. The lighting was perfect.

Narciso got us situated, then he told us he would get out of our hair and let us order and photograph as we please. He checked on us from time to time but pretty much left us to our own devices. We had gotten some recommendations from him and our waiter and we started ordering! And just so you know, the 3 of us can eat! Plus we always want to try everything so once we started ordering, you can't stop us. haha.

When we were first seated they brought out some Toasted Barley for the table and took our drink orders. At first I thought it was just decor? But you can eat it. Don't think I've ever had toasted barley like this before. It's very nutty!

Since it was quite chilly that day, I got an Earl Grey Tea $4.50~ Served in a French press. Nice!

We got a round of appetizers.

Blistered Shishito Peppers (sriracha, radish, cilantro, mso salt) $9~ These were the biggest peppers we have ever seen! All the other peppers have been like a third of the size, maybe half. Wow. Nicely blistered. I liked the addition of the radish slices and that aioli was bomb. I dipped everything in that sauce.

 

Bacon Wrapped Medjool Dates (chorizo, piquillo sauce) $14~ Highly recommended and I just have to say now... not one single recommendation was bad. Actually no single dish was bad. These dates were huge. The pairing with the chorizo and bacon was fantastic. And that piquillo sauce!!!! I had to cut mine in half in eat 2 bites.

 

 

Wicked Gulf Oysters (grilled with garlic parmesan butter) $12~ I've never been a huge fan of oysters. I mean, I'll eat them, but I would never order them on my own. These had really great flavor. If you love oysters, you'll love these. Again, they were large.

Roasted Bone Marrow (parsley pesto, smoked salt, grilled bread) $12~ I also never really order bone marrow, but I'll eat it. I loved the parsley pesto plus the bit of smoked salt. But I always feel like eating bone marrow is just slathering fat on a piece of bread. haha. If that's your thing, do it!!

Hen of the Woods Flatbread (roasted garlic, ricotta, mushroom, parmesan, truffle) $12~ This was one of my choices. You don't see Hen of the Woods mushrooms in many places so I had to have it. I love all types of mushrooms. It was a good flatbread, just felt like it needed some sriracha or sauce. So I dipped it in the aioli from the shishito peppers and it was amazing. :D

We ordered a bunch of different entrees.
Crisped Mechada (aji panca, organic egg, lime) $18~ This was highly recommended. It was so pretty. All the dishes were so pretty. The vibrant colors, the plating, on point! This was all about the sauce. It was so bold. A little too sour for my preference, but my tolerance for sourness is quite low. It definitely packs a punch!

Brazen Two-Faced Quail (b&b pickles, slaw) $23~ On of my favorites. The quail was so juicy! Which is rare... most place tend to overcook quail. And that batter was my favorite part. It was crispy and spicy. Sooo sooo good. Along with the pickles and the slaw were the perfect combination.

Parisian Gnocchi (market vegetables, broth, soft herbs, parmesan) $15~ Another beautiful plate with all the colors. I loved all the different types of vegetables in there: brussels sprouts, carrots, sweet potatoes, and onions. It was a very filling dish.

Slow Roasted Pork Tenderloin (mexican street corn, crispy onions, chipotle honey) $19~ Almost didn't get this but the waiter recommended it so we added it at the end. So glad we did. Again, so pretty. The pork was cooked perfectly, not dry at all. I really liked the corn. The chipotle honey was quite sweet, so you have to be into the sweet and savory combo to enjoy this.

B&B Burger (sweet onion, b&b pickle, house sauce, american cheese) $12~ 

 

 

This burger.... O.M.G. It changed our lives. Seriously. It's the only burger on the menu, and it really is the only burger they'll ever need. It is amazing. By far my favorite thing of the day, and that's saying a lot since everything was good. No idea what they do to this but it seems like a simple burger, no extra ingredients, no frills, but it's so good!!!!!!!! It's like the onions and cheese melts into the beef patty and the whole thing is just super juicy. And their pickles are awesome, so that was the cherry on top. I dream about this burger. I will drive an hour to have this burger. (...and I did...stay tuned to my next post!) One of the best burgers of my life, and definitely in DFW. The shoe string fries were good too, but at this point we had to focus on the more important things. haha.

WE NEED A BIGGER TABLE. STAT! :P

Wow... good thing we didn't order more! But wait, there's always dessert. haha. Can't leave without at least trying the S'mores cookie that had started this whole experience!

I don't know the exact names of these desserts since they don't have a printed dessert menu.

Bread Pudding. Not sure what all is in it. But it reminded us of the whiskey cake at Whiskey Cake. Kind of toffee like. Dense, and that cream sauce underneath is just everything.

Oatmeal S'mores Cookie. This is such a beautiful dessert. Just flawless. But guess what, the Bread Pudding stole the show in terms of taste. I really liked the dark chocolate on top of the marshmallow. But I feel like the marshmallow to cookie ratio was a little skewed. Need more cookie, less marshmallow. But then maybe it won't look as epic? The dilemma! :P Still yummy tho.

This has been such an amazing experience. The food speaks for itself. Quality ingredients, wonderfully prepared, and beautifully presented. They brought "brewpub" style food to a whole new level. The service was amazing. Checked on us frequently and catered to whatever we needed. After, we got a brief tour of the space with one of the managers. The whole history and concept behind the restaurant is just fantastic. I want to hang out there all the time. And I just want to include a note that this was all comped, but we did leave a large tip. Gotta take care of your wait staff! All of us would've gladly paid for the meal.

Like I said, so happy I found this place. Just sad that it's so far away. Please open another location more Southeast in the future please! :P What an amazing experience. It is definitely my new favorite restaurant of the year. I will continue to support them as much as I can!

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value: *comped*

Overall Experience:

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~