District Food & Wine

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 ~~

Paul Martin's American Grill

I recently got invited to go check out Paul Martin's American Grill. I see it all the time since I go work out at ZYN22 which is in the same shopping center. But it was never on my radar since it's kind of in the corner of the center. However, when I got invited, I scoped out their menu online and wondered why it was never on my radar. haha. Their menu sounded yummy!

I made it a date night with my husband. We went and saw Spiderman Homecoming first, then headed to dinner. Our reservation was at 6PM... upon arriving, the place was already somewhat busy. At least the parking lot was. Not the best set up for self parking and valet in front of the restaurant. But know that there's plenty of parking behind the restaurant as well.

Paul Martin's American Grill
3848 Oak Lawn Ave. Suite 210
Dallas, TX 75219
(214) 521-0116
https://paulmartinsamericangrill.com/locations/dallas-restaurant/
Price: $$$$+

We were seated immediately. The manager came by to greet us... Jorge was very nice and welcoming. Then our waiter, Aaron, came to take our drink menus and tell us the specials for the day. A very soft spoken man, but he took care of us wonderfully. He was also very detailed when he described the specials, which I appreciated.

Then the manager came back with an Amuse Bouche (watermelon, feta, caviar) from the kitchen. 

I love the contrasting colors of the watermelon and caviar. And Aaron brought us some Bread (with whipped butter, sea salt). What a lifesaver! I was starving!! The bread was soft and pillowy in the middle, and the butter spread so easily. Loved the touch of sea salt on it.

We had 2 different menus to look over. One was for their Happy Hour specials. They have it every day from 3-7PM. Every Day! That's pretty awesome. We ordered 2 appetizers from the HH menu.

Signature Deviled Eggs (cold smoked, crispy La Quercia prosciutto) $6~ I don't think I've ever had a bad deviled egg. I love eggs and I'm not picky on how they're prepped. They came 5 to an order.. for 6 bucks?! That's a great deal.

St. Louis Duroc Pork Ribs (hoisin glaze, green onions) $9~ 

I saw that a friend had gone a couple weeks earlier and ordered this...it looked so amazing I had to have it. O.M.G. Freaking delicious. The meat was super tender. My husband barely got his fork in the meat and it slid right off the bone. It was juicy, flavorful, and had just the right amount of fat to meat ratio. I also loved the glaze and sauce that came with it. It definitely did not disappoint. In fact, with my already high expectations, it easily exceeded it. I would totally go back for HH and just order this. It was by far my favorite thing that night.

My husband ordered a cocktail. Elijah Craig Ginger Punch (12 year bourbon, Domaine de Canton Ginger liqueur, fresh lemon juice, honey, topped with ginger ale) $9~ 

I don't drink, and he's not a big drinker either, but he always wants to try. I had a sip... it was too strong for me. He seemed to have liked it, but then didn't finish. I think he focused on the food once the entrees came and was too full to finish the drink. haha. We do always tend to stuff ourselves silly at a media dinner.

For the main dishes. I went all out. Why not? :P
Prime Bone in Ribeye (22 oz, grass-fed, certified Black Angus; grilled over a live fire) $56~ Side of Chimichurri Sauce. 

Aside from prime rib, ribeye is my favorite cut of steak. And since they only offer prime rib on Sundays, my choice was easy. It was a huge slab of meat. Yaassss! The color on it was great and it came with a cheesy roasted tomato of some sort. I think all their steaks are a la carte, so you'd have to order the sides separately (which we did). I ordered it medium rare but it looked more medium, and some areas even medium well. It was not very pink in the center. Bummer. I know that it's grilled over a live fire, so I wonder if it overcooks easier? If this happens consistently, I would definitely recommend you order your steaks more on the rare side. However, it was still pretty juicy and had enough flavor to stand on its own. I thought the chimichurri sauce was a little bland, but I liked having the herbs with the steak.

My husband got the Special of the Day: Risotto Frutti di Mare (shrimp and mushroom risotto, 8 oz lobster tail, 2 shrimp, crab and crawfish cake, asparagus) $45~ 

This was a very pretty dish. It was hard to capture all the different elements in a photo. I loved the flavor of the risotto. And the crab and crawfish cake was our favorite seafood element on the plate. The lobster was good but he thought the shrimp was overcooked. He liked his dish better between the two. I'd say flavor-wise, I have to agree with him. But I prefer meat over seafood any day. haha.

For the sides we got..
Mac & Cheese (Tillamook 2 year aged white cheddar, La Quercia prosciutto) $7~ I love nontraditional pastas... they used Sfoglini(?) or Trumpet pasta. I love the curly edges. The texture of the pasta was great. But the flavor was a little odd... it took me a while to figure out what it was. I think they were a little heavy handed with nutmeg? It had a spice/warm flavor that was a tad too strong. I'll still eat it though. I love pasta...

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts (bacon vinaigrette) $6~ I was a little surprised that they were roasted/charred, but then I didn't even pay attention to the menu, haha. I just saw brussels sprouts and ordered. It was a change from the typical charred ones (but I love them so). I liked the flavor though. I think it paired well with my steak.

My husband ate his entire plate... so he was pretty much out for the count. But I wanted to try dessert. I mean... I have to right? :P

So he got a Cafe Latte $4~ He said it was very good. They use Mr. Espresso oak wood roasted coffee. It's certified organic and fair trade.

Banana Cream Pie (layers of vanilla bean pastry cream, chocolate, bananas, fresh whipped cream) $10~ 

I couldn't decide on the desserts but ended up choosing the banana cream pie because it's lighter. I was pretty full too! And Aaron told me that it had a layer of chocolate between the crust and the banana filling so it would be enough to satisfy my chocolate craving. It was a nice big slice. I did love the layer of chocolate in the middle. It was just enough to differentiate this banana cream pie from most others. The whipped cream was airy and there was lots of bananas in there. My only complaint is that the crust was a little dry. But pairing it with the whipped cream helped.

It was a good dinner. Although the high point was the appetizer. I will definitely be back for HH to have those ribs again. Aside from their daily HH specials, they also have some other weekly promotions.

Sunday Prime Rib - Texas field green salad, roasted prime rib, mashed potatoes, house-made shortbread cookies and gourmet ice cream. $33~ 3 course meal for a pretty great deal! And I love me some prime rib.

Monday Wine Dinner for 2 for $60~
Texas field green salads, entrees of choice, one bottle of selected wine. This is also a great deal if you're a wine lover. For $60 this is a steal!

Thanks so much to Paul Martin's for having us. It's always nice when I can bring my husband to one of these media outings. :) And the service was great! Thanks Aaron!

*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

North Italia - Officially Opens 6/27!

I'm sooooo very excited that North Italia at Legacy West Plano is officially opening tomorrow!!! Tuesday 6/27. Have you made your reservation yet?!

I went to the Austin location about 2 years ago and absolutely loved it. From the decor to the food. It was very exciting to have North come to Dallas. :) I got a sneak peek last Thursday with a friend of mine. We were both basically squealing with excitement. hehe.

North Italia - Legacy West
7501 Windrose Ave. Suite D190
Plano, TX 75024
(214) 291-6996
www.northitaliarestaurant.com/nso/plano-tx
Price: $$$$

We arrived at 6:15PM for dinner. The place was already packed with people. We were seated immediately. I love the open space... high ceilings and wood decor. I especially love their large glass lamps. We sat in one of the booths. We were given menus and were warmly welcomed for like the third time and ready to enjoy our evening. Our waitress, Kariel, greeted us and asked for our drink orders. We asked her for some suggestions and she was very helpful. This is the first of their friends and family nights so the staff is still in training. 

Neither of us really drank so my friend got the Strawberry Spice Mule (dripping springs vodka, clove spiced gran gala, lime, smashed strawberry) $11~ 

It was recommended as one of the sweeter options. I just took a sip cuz that's enough for me. haha. The drink is very pretty. I loved the actual muddled strawberry throughout the drink. It's very refreshing too. My friend really enjoyed it.

For our appetizer, we chose the Burrata (heirloom tomato, basil, mint, cucumber, crouton, saba) $12~ 

We had several items that we wanted to try... so I guess we'll be going back. haha. The burrata was gorgeous! I loved the presentation... rustic and colorful. The burrata was to die for. So incredibly creamy yet light. The tomatoes were fresh and paired beautifully. I also loved the freshness of the mint and basil. The saba (I think it's kind of a balsamic reduction/vinaigrette) was delicious. They didn't overdress it. My friend wanted more saba, but I thought it was just right.

During the course of our meal, we were greeted by several people. Bianka from Giant Noise PR came over to say Hi. So did Meredith, the general manager, and England, the manager. They were all SUPER nice and we got to chat with each of them for a while. They really took the time to make sure we were enjoying ourselves throughout the night and made us feel welcomed. :)

For the entrees, they mixed up my order and served me the Red Wine Glazed Short Rib (heirloom carrot, swiss chard, creamy mascarpone polenta) $26~ 

I had ordered the short rib pasta. So they quickly fixed the issue and gave us the Short Rib entree as well! Well, yes please! I never say no to extra food! :P The short rib doesn't really photograph well but I assure you it smelled divine! That mascarpone polenta was so luscious. I can eat that by itself. The short rib was tender and had great flavor. I also like that there were actual green veggies (swiss chard) in the dish. I always prefer to have some sort of green vegetables at every meal.

Short Rib Radiatori (parmesan cream, fresh horseradish, wilted arugula, herbed breadcrumb) $20~ 

My actual order. Amazing. It was my favorite entree of the night. I love interesting pasta shapes. The Radiatori was perfect in collecting all the cream sauce in all its nooks and crannies. And the texture on the pasta was perfect. The short rib in the pasta was even more tender than the entree I think. The addition of the horseradish was a nice touch. It brightened up the cream sauce so it wasn't too heavy. Totally recommend this!

My friend chose the Filet of Beef (crispy potato, roasted mushroom, cipollini onion, marsala) $38~ 

She got it medium well... booo. I think all steaks should be med rare. hehe. But you know what... even at med well, the steak was really tender and the flavor of the meat really shined. The marsala sauce paired beautifully with the beef, mushrooms, and onions. And those crispy smashed potatoes? They almost out shined the steak. Another great choice.

Diver Scallops (sweet corn risotto, asparagus, crispy shallot, pancetta gremolata) $25~ 

We also really wanted to try the scallops so we talked them into giving us another entree. :P (Although I have to say, we ordered this 3rd dish before we got the short rib... too much food you think? Nahhh. ha.) Beautiful vibrant colors on this dish. And you get FOUR plump scallops instead of the typical 3. We both liked it. The scallops were cooked wonderfully. But I have 2 complaints on this dish. 1) It needed a bit more acid... a squeeze of lemon maybe? or some lemon juice inside the sweet corn sauce. And 2) more sear on the scallops so the tops are crispier. Other than that, it was still a yummy dish.

We each got a box for our leftovers, because we need to save room for dessert! Duh!

Dirty Almond Chai (two shots espresso, almond milk, chai tea; shaken and served cold) $5~ This drink sounded really interesting. I don't really drink coffee but I wanted to give it a try. My friend can't handle the caffeine that late in the day so she just got a "clean" Almond Chai (without the 2 shots of espresso). Hers was delicious. Mine... wasn't sweet enough for me since I'm not a coffee drinker. But I do love that it's served cold. It almost tastes like a cold brew (according to my friend anyways).

We couldn't decide so we got 2 desserts. Cuz why not? :D

Hazelnut Torta (nutella cream, hazelnut toffee, salted caramel gelato) $8~ 

I can't say I've seen tortas served in this shape... it made me think of a molten chocolate cake. But it wasn't molten inside of course. Torta basically means a dense and chocolatey rich cake made with a few simple ingredients. The torta wasn't super dense which I would've been fine with either way. The salted caramel gelato was great on top. The toffee added a nice crunch. This'll definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart (lemon crema, basil, almond crust) $7~ 

This could not be more different than the torta. This was light and fresh. The tart itself reminded me of a shortbread and wasn't overly sweet. The mascarpone added the richness but wasn't heavy. And the basil was the most genius touch. We both agreed that without the pop of basil, this dessert would be kind of generic. The brightness of the basil definitely elevated the dish. Yum!

If you can't tell... we loved it. We both had pretty high expectations going in and they definitely didn't disappoint. The food was fantastic, but I really enjoyed meeting all the people in the restaurant. We lingered a little after dinner and chatted with England and Kariel. They're both so great! I hope they'll remember us the next time we go back. :)

They officially open to the public TOMORROW!! Tuesday 6/27!!

Thanks so much to North Italia for having us. Even though I live 50 minutes away, I hope to be back really soon. :)

*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Joyce & Gigi's Kitchen

Last week I had dinner with a friend for her bday. It was a small group and she had chosen to go to Joyce & Gigi's. It's been on my radar for a while and I haven't gotten to try yet. I made a reservation for 6 people at 7PM.

Joyce & Gigi's Kitchen
1623 N Hall St.
Dallas, TX 75204
(469) 334-0799
http://joyceandgigis.com
Price: $$$

We arrived right on time. The place was empty, and it was a very small restaurant. Maybe fits like 40 people... maybe? The decor is nice, quite cozy. Apparently this is a mother-daughter duo so you get that homey feel. They specialize in South American food. I sure love me some Latin food!

Two of my friends were already there and ordered cocktails from the bar.

Sour Joyce (Creamy papaya, pisco sour) $12~ This was a pretty drink. A little tart for me but not bad.

Joyce and Gigi's (Rhubarb and strawberry sangria) $11~ This was delicious! And I never like sangria because I don't like wine. But it was like drinking juice. So yum!

We were seated immediate (duh!). The table was 2 small square tables put together. For 6 people, it felt quite cramped. :( I guess you can say "more intimate". Haha.

The waitress came and gave us the specials and took our orders. Then we were served their Homemade Mint Bread (with chimichurri butter). 

It was fresh out of the oven. And it was heavenly! The bread had so much flavor, and that crust on the top was perfection. At first we thought the butter was chunks of cheese. But then we spread it on and realized it wasn't. It was really rich in flavor and went very well with the hot, fluffy bread. I found out that you can buy a fresh loaf to go for $5.50~ I decided to get one before dinner was over. hehe. They freshly baked one for me to take home. Made my car smell so good! You can buy 8 oz. of butter to take home as well...that's a lot! I think it's like $8.50 or something.

One friend got the Soup of the Day: Peanut Soup (with beef and noodles) $6~ 

Sounded very interesting. The waitress said it was more brothy. But one would think peanut soup would be more creamy/rich. It was a very dark soup and the flavor punches you in the face. It was really tasty but I don't think I could finish that bowl in one sitting. It was very strong and heavy. It went really well with the bread though.

For the entree I got the Milanesa (Chicken milanesa fritatta, served over chicken skin quinoa grits and a side of beurre blanc sauce, garnished with a pickled onion and herb salad) $16~ 

 

The waiter poured the beurre blanc over the chicken for me when he served this dish. It was not a typical chicken milanesa which is usually a pounded out chicken cutlet. This just looked like fried chicken. Tender juicy awesome fried chicken. haha. It was pretty damn tasty. The crust was really nice. It was on a bed of quinoa which I felt was a little soggy? But still went ok with the chicken. The pickled onion salad was a nice compliment with the fried foods.

Pescado Sudado (seared chilean sea bass served over a yuca root cake topped with dried chili broth) $27~ 

This was market price, just FYI. So ask before you order because the price will change. It was yummy! The fish was cooked really well and paired surprisingly well with the yuca cake. I thought 2 soft textures would be boring, but the flakiness of the fish and the creaminess of the yuca was great. The sauce had so much flavor. I don't know if I liked this more than my chicken!

Feijoada (Pork sirloin, pork shoulder, homemade chorizo and black bean stew, served with a pickled onion and tomato salad) $17~ 

This wasn't as good. It was mostly beans, which was actually cooked well. But I dunno if I'd want to eat all of this as a main entree. I didn't get to try any of the chorizo, but my friend said it was very dry. He didn't like it very much. :(

Majadito (Duck confit red risotto with plantains, topped with a poach egg, garnished with pickled onion and tomato salad) $18~ 

I almost ordered this, but 3 other people were getting it so I changed my mind. I'm so glad I did, cuz this did not live up to expectations. First of all, where's the duck?!? It was so finely shredded and mixed in that you couldn't really tell. And usually I find risotto as an entree is just too much carbs... too heavy. The flavor was actually good, to me. The flavors were surprisingly light. The poached egg was nice. But we also didn't see any plantains. I'm thinking that was probably mashed up and mixed in as well. One of my friends really did not like it so she barely ate. I took the leftovers home to my fiance. haha. One of my other friends really enjoyed it though. Just depends on your preference I guess. But it would've been nice to have actual sliced duck on top or something and more textural differences in the dish.

So the dinner started off good but then took a different turn. Some of us really liked our dishes and some hated theirs. The drinks and bread were amazing though. By the time we had gotten our food, the place was almost half full. It's definitely a quaint little place off the beaten path. I doubt I'll go back again, but I don't regret trying it.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~