18th & Vine BBQ

This place has been on my list since they opened. I got the opportunity to go when we had some European coworkers visiting back in March and the team was going out for dinner. Being the resident foodie, my boss told me to pick. When in Texas, you gotta have some BBQ right? Plus some people were taking our guests downtown to the AAC after for some hockey action, so this was on their way.

18th & Vine
4100 Maple Ave.
Dallas, TX 75219
(214) 443-8335
www.18thandvinebbq.com
Price: $$$+

This area is quite cute! It looks like house-turned-restaurant but also looked really new. I liked the style, but definitely not the look of a typical BBQ joint.

I was in charge of ordering. Everyone was good with doing it family style because we all wanted to try everything.

Started with Burnt Ends $13~ 
Of course!! This is one of my favorites at any BBQ place. Theirs is top notch! Really tender and flavorful. It was my favorite of the night. The pickled onions and pickles paired perfectly with the meat. 

 

Fresh Fried Okra $8~ Also pretty awesome. Fried really well and wasn't too much batter. I had to force myself to stop eating it because the entrees haven't even arrived yet!

Wood-Kissed Salmon (green split pea, warm frisee) $25~ 

This was requested by one of our guests, just to throw a fish in the mix. I liked the dish. The split pea mash was interesting. If you don't like the taste of peas, then this is not for you. Luckily, we all enjoyed it. I wasn't a huge fan of the warm frisee though. It just seemed mushy and limp. A good dish, but was my least fav.

BBQ Braised Beef Cheek (akaushi beef, creamed spinach, parsnip cacio e pepe) $32~ OMGGGGGGG... So freaking tender. Everyone was going "Mmmmmm" as they put a bite in their mouth. Loved it!

Matt's Picks (Sample 2 smoked meats chosen daily, serves 3-4, family style) Mkt price. I wanna say it was around $40ish? It's been a while, I don't really remember. The selection of the day was Brisket (we chose the fatty ones), Ribs, and Chicken. Everything was good, but not the best bbq I've had. I would've rather just ordered 4 more plates of the burnt ends. haha. I really loved their pickles and onions though.

Apple Cider Slaw $6~ I think it was good? I don't really remember, but I know it wasn't bad. Maybe just got overwhelmed with all the other good dishes.

Seasoned Fries $6~ Their fries were amazingggggg! Perfectly fried and the seasoning was great. A must!

Jalapeno Cheese Grits $6~ Love me some grits. These were comforting and cheesy.

Pit Roasted Mushrooms $6~ Lots of flavor, big portion. It was great. I'd get this again.

It was a great meal. And we ate it all! Had no room for dessert. I guess I'll have to go back again. haha. Everyone enjoyed it, so yay for me on the ordering. :P I'd say the prices were a bit high for my preference but you can't think of this place as a BBQ joint. It's a little more elevated, and less casual. I'm glad it was on the company! :D

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Knife @ Hotel Palomar

I'm overdue for another post! I've got several actually. Last weekend was crazy busy and exciting! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. :)

I've been trying to check out Knife for awhile with some foodie friends of mine. We had scheduled it weeks in advance and still had to reschedule another time. Finally it was the day! We were all pretty excited since we've all loved Chef John Tesar's (former Top Chef contestant) Spoon in the past. I think we all had pretty high expectations.

Knife
5680 North Central Expressway
Dallas, Texas 75206
(214) 443-9339
http://www.knifedallas.com/
Price: $$$$+

It is located in Hotel Palomar on Mockingbird Lane. I've always really liked that hotel, it's really nice and modern inside. Although parking is non-existent. They offer free valet to dining guests though.

Some of us arrived a little early so we went to the bar. The drink menu is displayed on an ipad, which is cool. But I didn't care for most of their cocktail options. Nothing really interesting stood out to me. The cocktails range from $10-14~ ish...

My bf ordered a Oaxacan Mule. I guess it's similar to a Moscow Mule? But it had pear liquor or something so maybe that's the difference. It came in a cool copper cup and adorned with sliced pears. He liked it.

My other friend got an Olive Oil Martini. She said it was super strong and did not taste any of the olive oil flavor.

Once everyone arrived we were seated immediately. The restaurant decor was nice. I especially liked the eclectic yet Western style in the bar area. Although there were 2 chairs by the hostess stand that looked like coffins... not sure where they were going with that. haha. Made for a fun photo op though! :P There was an open kitchen/plating area after you walk in. And I saw Chef John Tesar working! It wasn't as big of a space as I expected. We had 6 people and were seated in a giant booth with a giant table, probably could've fit another 4 people pretty comfortably. haha.

Our waiter came by with more drink orders. Then later explained the menu to us with the different cuts of beef, the aging time, etc. It was a little hard to understand him though for several reasons. 1) The table was so damn big, we all had to lean in to listen. 2) Once the dining room started filling up, the noise level was kinda high. 3) He had an accent, and I'm so bad with accents. XP

We started off with a Complimentary Crudite: Cucumber, Radish, Celery, Endive, Carrots, Jerky; with Green Goddess sauce. Cool presentation. The veggies were nicely chilled in the ice and fresh. I liked the Green Goddess sauce a lot.

Bread Basket: Biscuit, Bread. 

We got to choose from 4-5 kinds of bread. The waiter with the basket highly recommended the bread on the right. I think he called it "Lavon??", I can't be sure since I've never heard of it. I actually had to make him repeat it twice. haha. And in the end, I still didn't fully understand... The "lavon" bread was good, could've been warmer though. Fluffy, soft inside, and a harder crust on the outside. The biscuit was quite dense and kinda dry. Would've been better warmer too. And soaked in gravy... I'm just sayin'. hahaha.

It was time to order. Each couple ordered their own thing but we ended up swapping plates around the table.

Couple #1 got Teresa's Watercress, Endive and Walnut Salad (with goat cheese) $16~ 

They went ahead and split the salad for them (so the picture shows half portion). It came in these gigantic bowls. Cool presentation, but unnecessary? I got to try a little of the salad. I was hesitant since I don't like goat cheese at all, but it was good. The goat cheese was very mild. I loved the watercress, it's not everyday you see that in salads.

45 Day Dry Aged Niman Ranch Bone in Ribeye (32oz. for 2) $80~ 

This thing was massive. So impressive looking. And this is the first time I've had steak that was already cut for me. The meat was cooked well. And it had so much marbling, which I love. The flavor was great. They offer these sauces you can order on the side, but I think due to the aging process the meat already has a lot of flavor and the sauces are unnecessary. Plus with the fattiness of the meat, some of the richer sauces might be overkill? I really enjoyed this. Plus ribeye is my second favorite cut of steak only to prime rib. Can't say it was the best ribeye I've had, but it was definitely good.

They also got Johnny's Mac & Cheese $12~ 

There was some green stuff baked into the cheese. I'm guessing green chile? It was yummy. The pasta had good texture and it had a nice crust.

Couple #2 ordered the 45 Day Dry Aged Bone in Niman Ranch Sirloin (24oz.) $60~ 

This was also impressive looking and pre-cut. However, I didn't like this one as much. You can definitely taste the flavor difference between this and the ribeye. The ribeye was just richer and meatier. The sirloin is definitely a much leaner cut if you are into that.

Fettuccine Bolognese $19~ 

We also ordered this. They split the plates for all of us (half portion shown here too). I wanted to try their pasta because I know they make it in-house. I read online that the bolognese sometimes was too spicy so I asked beforehand if they can remove or reduce the spice. (I love spicy but my bf can't take much.) The waiter didn't seem to know and was hesitant to accommodate but he said he would write it down. I dunno how they prep the pasta, but I would think they could accommodate to people who can't handle spicy?? Wasn't too happy about that.... But I really liked the pasta dish. The fettuccine was cooked well. I loved the texture. The bolognese was good too. Not spicy enough for me, but still too much for my bf, so I ate his half too. I win! :P And we realized that the table was not so big after all. With all our large slabs of meat and split plates, the entire table was covered! hahaha. It was a feast!

They also got Roasted Okra, Tomato, and Bacon $9~ This was really good. Nice smoky flavor. The okra was cooked well. (sorry, forgot a picture)

Finally, the two of us opted for no steak because there were other dishes I wanted to try more.

Sous Vide Beef Cheek Open Faced Sandwich (morel mushroom gravy) $17~ 

I love beef cheeks. I've realized that the best part of any meat is the cheek. And fish too! The most juicy and tender. This was amazing. Sous vide is basically sealing the meat in an airtight bag and then cooked in a temperature controlled water bath for a long time. It makes the meat super tender. The meat was fork tender and had so much flavor. The combo of textures from the morel mushrooms and bread contrasted the soft meat. It was our favorite dish of the night.

Crispy Pork Belly (collard greens, pan juices) $18~ 

It also had pickles and mustard seeds. You know me and my pork belly! Gotta try it. They actually had 2 pork belly dishes and we chose this one. The pork belly was thick cut and had a really nice crust on the outside. The best part? The combination of the pickles, pork and mustard seeds. The slight acidity from the pickles made the dish. The collard greens lightened up the dish next to the fatty meat. Tasty. But not as good as the beef cheeks. :P

And of course we got the Fettuccine Bolognese $19~ as I mentioned earlier.

Vegetarian Collard Greens $7~ I wanted some veggies so we ordered this. Basically same as what was underneath the pork belly. Cooked well, nothing spectacular though. (sorry, forgot a picture, but it's just collard greens)

That was a lot of food. We were given dessert menus but seeing the price and how full we were already, none of us opted to get anything. I wanted to try one of them, but I think it was a good decision I didn't. Because... we were given Complimentary Mini Desserts (from left to right): Moscato Jelly, Shortbread Cookie, Banana Macaron, Brownie (with sea salt). 

 

The macaron was by far the best. And it was so cute! They did this too at Spoon, where you get a complimentary beginning and end. Which I like, and not many nice restaurants in Dallas does this. We also got some parting gifts. Madeleines, which are French butter cakes shaped like shells. I ate mine the next day. It was moist and buttery and you can see the vanilla bean specks in it.

Overall the food was delicious. Everything else just mediocre. The waiter was nice, but not as informative or accommodating as I would've expected. It was a bit loud in there and conversations were kinda hard because the table was so large. And honestly I was comparing it to Spoon, which was phenomenal, so Knife had a tough act to follow...

I probably won't return. But don't mark it off your list if you haven't tried it yet.

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Brownstone! Again!

I dined with one of my quarterly get together groups this past weekend. Some of them are avid Top Chef followers so we all really wanted to go to Brownstone in Fort Worth. The Executive Chef is Casey Thompson from Season 3 and also Top Chef All Stars. I've been once before, but I find every reason to go back!

Brownstone
840 Currie Street
Fort Worth, TX 76107
(817) 332-1555
http://www.brownstonerestaurants.com/
Price: $$$

My bf and I got there a little earlier than our 6:30PM reservation time. We decided to take advantage of the amazing weather and also their happy hour specials! We sat outside to wait for the rest of our party with some drinks and an appetizer.

The hostesses and waiters were all super friendly. So was the bartender. I got the Mojito with Seasonal Fruit (which was Strawberry that day) $10~ The happy hour prices for cocktails were $7. It was super yummy! I'm not a big drinker...and this was perfect for me. I could feel the alcohol but I couldn't taste it too much. There was fresh crushed strawberries in there as well. My bf got a beer...I think that was like $3? We also ordered the Grandmother's Biscuit Pan (Fire roasted biscuits, homemade pork sausage, seasonal preserves: black plum and pear) $13~ Happy Hour is available in outside seating and in the bar. The appetizers were all half off. :) It was a pretty big appetizer...and totally yummy. The preserves were my favorite. OMG. It was sooo delicious. Made in-house. It was not too sweet and paired amazingly with the biscuits which were fluffy and moist and cooked perfectly. The outside had a nice crust and the inside was soft and fluffy. I wish I can have this every morning for breakfast. The sausage patties were pretty hefty. They were thick cut and the flavor was nice. I wish there was more of a crispy sear on the outside though. It was more food than we expected. We joked that we were full already before dinner even started!

Finally everyone arrived and we moved into the dining room. The party didn't all show up until about 20 minutes after the reservation but they never gave us any grief about people being late. They were really nice and accommodating and we were immediately seated once everyone was there. :)

Our waitress was really nice and presented all the specials clearly. She gave us some time to look over the menus, ask questions, and get our drink orders.

On to the food!!

Some appetizers to start...
Puffed Okra (green pepper sauce) $7~ This was really good. The okra was fried nicely and had good flavor. The green pepper sauce was so pretty...such a vibrant color and added a nice spice and acidity against the fried okra. We finished it pretty quickly! haha.

Smoked Beet and Chickpea Hummus (baby vegetables, Texas olive oil, sea salt) $9~ I had this the first time I went and I highly recommended it to my friends. They loved it! They were all surprised because most of them aren't really fan of beets. But the colors on the plate were amazing and the flavor was bold. They use seasonal veggies so this time there were some different vegetables than when I had it several months ago. It was as good as I remembered. I'm glad everyone liked it!

I was kinda getting full so I decided on the Green Beans and Creamy House-Made Curds (mixed greens, radicchio, boiled farm egg, savory brittle, apple) $12~ I wasn't too sure about the house-made curds so I asked the waitress what it was. She said it was basically like a pureed version of cottage cheese and that it paired really well with the salad. I trusted her judgement and decided to try it. The salad was super fresh and all the elements really did work together. On its own, I didn't care for the curds, but a little bit with each bite of salad just added that extra creaminess which was great. I also loved the brittle...there just wasn't enough of it!

I did notice that their entire entree section had changed since the last time I was there. I guess that's a good thing so you can always try something new when you go back!

My bf picked the Chicken Stuffed Chicken (Fire roasted Fran's Farm chicken, pepper jack grits, roasted sweet onion) $24~ The waitress explained how it was prepared. Basically they take the dark meat and grind it into a paste and then stuff it into the white meat and put a nice crispy sear on the outside of the chicken. It was so good! The white meat wasn't dry at all and the dark meat on the inside added additional flavor. The skin on the outside could've been a little crispier, but it had a lot of flavor. The sauce was delicious! The entire plate worked together beautifully. I would put all the elements on my fork and take one bite of everything. Awesome! The onions were tender and yummy and the grits were creamy and fantastic. I totally recommend this dish.

These were some of the other dishes...
Brownstone Grilled Chicken Sandwich (organic chicken breast, Brazos Valley pepper jack, dill pickles, malt vinegar slaw, waffle fries) $13~ I thought this was a great deal. It was a lot of food and the sandwich looked really good. I got to try a bite. It's not a typical grilled chicken sandwich. I really liked the slaw in there and all the other components added different flavors to make it a very interesting sandwich. And the fries were crispy and addicting.

Ocean Friendly Fish: Barramundi? (in a fish broth with mixed vegetables) $26~ This was the fish of the day. It looked like a really comforting and earthy dish. I got to taste the sauce a little and it had some kind of spice in it. Kind of had a curry-ish flavor. It was bold and flavorful. My friend really enjoyed it..although I'm not sure if it was enough food for him. haha.

Two people ordered the Cut of the Day: Red Deer Tenderloin (with creamed potatoes and mushrooms) $29~ One of my friends didn't like mushrooms so she got hers with mixed vegetables. They were very accommodating to her making changes to the dish. They both said the venison was really good. Very mild and cooked really well. I didn't get to try but it sure looked good! haha.

The Fresh Pasta of the Day: Scallops and Ravioli (Beet ravioli filled with cheese in a cream sauce) $27~ This looked amazing. I was kind of sad that I didn't choose to order this. The scallops were ginormous!! They had a great sear on the outside and the entire dish just looked so yummy. I didn't get to try this either but my friend loved it.

Everyone loved their food. YAY! :) I would recommend all of these dishes. And even though I was stuffed. We just HAD to get dessert!! Duh! haha.

They had a huge selection of desserts... like 8-10 different options or something. So many to choose from... I want them all!

I finally decided on the Strawberry Shortcake $8~ I figured it would be lighter since I was so full already. It was served in a little mason jar. So cute! It's not a typical strawberry short cake. For one, it was layered differently with the custard/cream on the bottom, then strawberries, then the cake, and freshly whipped cream. Of course it was delicious! The cream was smooth and not too sweet. The strawberries were really fresh and the whipped topping was nice and light. I also really liked the little bits of crushed up almond cookies layered in the middle with the cake. It added a nice crunch. It was a good choice...satisfying my sweet tooth and was light enough to not push my fullness over the edge. hehe.

Banana Pudding (with an almond cookie) $8~ This was also served in a mason jar with a big almond cookie on top. YUM! The pudding was creamy and full of banana flavor. I thought it was fantastic!

Chocolate Cake $8~ The cake looked really good. It was a little smaller than I imagined since the first time I was there, our cake was massive. It wasn't too sweet or heavy. My friends really enjoyed it. I wish the middle layer could've had more cream, but overall it was yummy.

Another fantasic meal at Brownstone. Unfortunately Chef Casey Thompson was not there again. :( Hopefully third time's a charm and I'll get to meet her the next time I go. I would also love to go for their brunch some time...guess I gotta get my butt out of bed and make the long drive one of these days. haha. Everyone had a great time and really loved the food. Yay! I always like it when they like my suggestions. :)

Can't wait to go back. If only they would open another location closer to Plano! hehe.

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