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To all the Shell Shack fans... they have moved from their Uptown location to a bigger spot on Henderson (the former Mellow Mushroom location), with more parking, and seating! And there's a patio! To those who have never been, the new space is big with a large bar area and lots of TVs for all the sports watching.
I personally have never been to Shell Shack, so I was excited to check out their preview before the new location opened on Thursday 6/21. Walking in, I immediately noticed all the chalkboard art on the walls. They showcased all the different food and drink items as well as the market prices of all the different types of seafood available that day.
Shell Shack
2326 N Henderson Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
(877) 434-1411
https://www.shellshack.com
We were greeted with drinks upon arrival. My friend grabbed the Blue Hawaiian (rum, blue curacao, real coco, pineapple juice) $12~ It looks fun! She enjoyed it.
Once the event started we were ushered into the dining room to get some appetizers. They had it set up buffet style. Can you say "ALL THE FRIED FOODS"?! Haha.
Crab Tater Tots - Big 'ol tater tots, filled with crab. What's not to like?
Fried Crawfish - I love crawfish. I thought it was fried well, but the batter was just a tad too salty.
Fried Catfish Bites - This was my favorite of the 3, I got a nice plump piece and it was so tender on the inside and fried beautifully on the outside.
I tried not too get very much cuz I knew there was more food coming!
For the dinner portion we sat down in the dining room. The owner made a welcome speech and gave us some background on the restaurant. This is replacing the old location on McKinney, just FYI. He also introduced the next course we were about to receive which is MORE appetizers. Each table got a sampler of the Buffalo Shrimp, Calamari, and another kind of Shrimp (cajun? garlic? I'm not sure of the seasoning).
The Buffalo Shrimp was my favorite... that buffalo sauce is money! The shrimp IS fried just so you know, the other one wasn't. I dipped everything in that buffalo sauce. haha. Calamari was good. The owner noticed that it had gotten cold since they were waiting to bring it out after the speech, so he sent out fresh ones to every table. Eat it hot, y'all, it's good!
For the main attraction, we were gonna get a bit of everything... crabs, shrimp, corn, potatoes. We did NOT realize they were bringing a full bag for each individual person! WOW! That's a lotta crab! All the seafood is market price, so make sure you check out their board to see what's available! And oh yea... we all get bibs! Love it!
King Crab
Snow Crab
Bairdi Crab
Flavor: The Kitchen Sink - which is like ALL THE SPICES!
I'm a crab newbie, so I wasn't really sure what was what. I could tell the King Crab because it stabbed me in the fingers. haha. Those spikes are no joke! It was super meaty! And make sure you get that melted butter to dip in.
I'm not sure if it was Snow or Bairdi I liked better... I couldn't tell which is which, but I liked them better than the King. While King Crab is meatier, the Snow/Bairdi was more tender/delicate. And just a fun fact, Shell Shack is the only place in DFW that serves Bairdi Crabs. You may have heard of this crab if you watch Deadliest Catch. hehe.
Instead of everyone keeping their bags on their trays, my table dumped all the bags in the middle. YASSSS! That's the way to do it!!! Free-for-all! My friends also did NOT use gloves, like most of the other tables. I did... cuz I'm a noob and also don't like to touch food. haha. But 2 minutes in, the king crab spikes punctured my gloves so I still got my hands dirty. :P This was SO MUCH FUN, y'all. Definitely go with friends who don't mind using their hands and getting dirrrrty. And oh the corn!! That was probably my FAVORITE thing of the night! I wish they had given us each more than one. My friend gave me hers so I had two! I could've eaten everyone's!
The potatoes were also perfectly awesome. I did wish we had gotten spicy though. I thing that would've made the flavor even better! But since it was a media event where they had to prepare for a bunch of people, it's safer to go with mild.
Catfish Basket & Fries $10.99~ We also had 2 hushpuppies in the basket. While we were cracking shells with our messy hands, they brought out MORE food. I thought maybe a basket for each table for us to sample, but no, a basket for EACH OF US! I'm pretty full at this point, how will I ever finish! haha. I made the mistake of taking a fry and couldn't really stop after that. I have no self control with fried foods if I start eating them. Fries were good.. I think they sprinkle sugar on it... Most of us ended up taking our baskets to go.
While everyone was slowing down, the owner said "well I hope y'all saved room for dessert!" Um. Sure! Bring it on. haha.
Bread Pudding (warm bread pudding topped with homemade Jack Daniels caramel sauce and salted caramel gelato) $6.99~ A surprisingly low bread pudding... usually they're more layered but the flavor was good, especially with that salted caramel ice cream. Good portion size I think.
Ultimate Chocolate Cake (chocolate cake with layers of chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, chocolate sauce, and chocolate hazelnut gelato) $7.99~ Are you surprised this was my favorite? haha. You had me at ganache! It was delicious. I took most of it home because we were too full. And it was even better 2 days later because I let it soften for a bit after taking it out of the fridge. CHOCOLATE WASTED for reals!
Carrot Cake. So.. they're known for their carrot cake. Which is epically huge. However, my table was the last one to finish our crabs because we ate EVERY SINGLE PIECE, so by the time our desserts came out, they had ran out of the carrot cake. Sadness. So I don't have a picture, but we ended up snagging a piece from a neighboring table (don't worry, we knew the people, haha). They had barely even made a dent in it! It's almost a quarter of the whole cake I think. Now I'm not a carrot cake fan, but one of my friends was and she took the whole thing home. haha. So I think she liked it. I do have to say the frosting was quite luxurious.
We had a great time. This is definitely a place for friends who wanna just get down and get their hands dirty. The crabs were fresh and meaty. And just forgo the gloves... they're only gonna get punctured anyways. Plus, Shell Shack has the best hand washer ever!! You just stick your hands in it. It sprays and spins warm water and soap and gets everything off. Your hands feel nice and soft and clean after. Go check them out, it's a great place to watch a game too... TVs everywhere.
Thanks so much, Shell Shack, for having me!! And congrats on the new location!
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Sixty Vines... quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Plano. It's just such a beautiful space, and of course the food is fantastic. I was invited to come check them out for lunch and I was ecstatic! Luckily I had a doctor's appointment in Plano in the morning so I took half a day off work and had a long lunch with a friend.
Sixty Vines
3701 Dallas Pkwy.
Plano, TX 75093
(469) 620-8463
https://sixtyvines.com
Price (for lunch): $$
Did I mention I love the decor and space? We were initially seated by the kitchen which was an open space so you can see them work. While I love that, it was a little dim. So we moved to their covered patio seating. The weather was cool and kind of overcast, perfect for taking photos!
Our waitress was Kirsten. She had only been working there for a few months but was extremely knowlegeable of the menu and their VERY extensive wine menu. The name IS Sixty Vines... meaning they have 60 wines on tap. Yes. ON TAP. And tons more by the bottle. So naturally they feature a lot of drink specials. :)
Bubble Monday - Half Off all bubbly
Rose All Day Tuesday - Half off all sparkling and still Rose
Wino Wednesday - Half off all premium and super premium wines
They also have an ipad for all the wine options which is really helpful if you want more information on certain wines, which dishes on their menu pairs best with which wine, and flights for those who want to try multiple types. You can probably spend a whole day going through and reading their selections.
Kirsten told us they also have a Frose (frozen rose with a splash of Rosa Regale). I don't really drink, but I do love sweet wines like moscato... and Rosa Regale is one of my favs. So I got the frose to try, plus it's really pretty.
My friend ordered the Rosa Regale per Kirsten's recommendations (and mine. hehe). She loved it. Had a 2nd one! :P
We started with the Garden Vegetables (fresh chilled vegetables, pears, lettuces, green goddess dressing) $11~
The veggies change depending on the season. I knew we were going to order a bunch of carbs for the main dishes so this is my attempt to be a little healthier. ha! It IS super healthy. The bowl was so colorful and pretty. You can just FEEL the freshness by looking at it. Other than the celery, I loved all the different veggie selections. My favorites if I had to choose... the tomatoes and asparagus. But they were all good. And that green goddess dressing was absolutely necessary!
For the entrees we got several different things to share. And I wanted to get things that I haven't tried before.
Tonnarelli (coconut and cilantro infused noodle, jumbo gulf shrimp, spinach, basil, cracked black pepper, pecorino romano) Full Order $15~ You can also get half order for $8.
I freaking love pasta... I will always choose pasta over pizza. The coconut and cilantro infused noodle sounds so interesting. However, neither of us could taste those flavors. The shrimp, while super plump, overpowered the entire dish imo. I did like the hints of basil throughout. Their pastas are made fresh daily, so our pasta was literally made like 2 hours before we got there. So fresh!
Weekly Pizza: Autumn Flatbread (acorn squash and sage infused white sauce, provolone, halloumi cheese, butternut squash, herb roasted turkey, cranberry, arugula, freshly grated Pecorino Romano)
When Kirsten started describing this to us... we kept nodding our heads cuz we knew we had to get this. I love anything with butternut squash. This is fall in pizza form. The acorn squash and butternut squash made it sweet and savory. The dough had a nice chewy texture. I loved the arugula on top to add a little peppery-ness. Our only complaint was it was a little dry. A drizzle or dipping of sauce of some kind would be perfect.
Short Rib Sourdough Melt (red wine braised short rib, basil pesto aioli, tomato, fresh mozzarella, balsamic, sourdough, duck fat lemon potatoes) $15~
Y'all. This dish stole the show! Not only did it look and smell amazing. It tasted even better. I'm not even a sourdough fan. But the bread was nice and crispy. The short rib was tender. The aioli and cheese and balsamic added so much flavor. And my friend extra loved it cuz it was saucy. Definitely an extra napkin sandwich if you are going to pick it up. hehe. Huge portion too. We each ate half and it filled us up! The duck fat potatoes were great too.. but we had too much food to pay that much attention. haha. Highly recommend this!!
Deviled Affogato (devil's food cake, salted caramel ice cream, coffee caramel, nitro cold brew coffee shot) $7~
We got a dessert to share. I haven't had their desserts yet and this sounded so good. I recently started loving affogato. I don't really like coffee so it wasn't something I normally order, but since Starbucks Reserve in Legacy West, I've discovered that I LOVE affogatos. Mixing ice cream sure makes the coffee better! haha. This also is on a chocolate cake. It was wonderful. The coffee, caramel and ice cream gets soaked up into the cake. YUM!
It was a fabulous lunch. I got to catch up with my friend, have delicious food, and enjoy the nice fall weather. The food was great, just as I expected. And Kirsten was a fantastic waitress. We were given plenty of attention, she was extremely knowlegeable, and super nice. Also, at some point during the meal, everyone came to greet us, the manager, the chef, etc. We definitely felt very special. So get over there if you haven't yet. And keep in mind that Monday - Wednesday are great for drink specials! Ohhhh... and they told us that they are getting ready to roll out some new lunch menu items too. So keep an eye out for that!
Thank you so much, Sixty Vines, for having us. We will definitely be back soon! :)
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Earlier this month I had a chance to check out the new Don't Tell Supper Club. Now... it's a little bit of a secret so I won't give away too much. hehe. Mostly just the food parts. :P
Don't Tell Supper Club
2026 Commerce Street
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 432-8282
www.donttellsupperclub.com
Price: $$$$+
Is this place a restaurant? Bar? Or nightclub? Yes. ^_~ They are only open Thursday-Saturday nights. And after 10PM, it becomes a nightclub. What I liked about this place? The decor is eclectic... a little fancy, a little fun, and a little naughty. I especially loved the caged chandeliers at the bar. You also get a show while you dine which is the concept of a supper club.
We arrived on a Saturday night at 7PM. There were 4 of us and we were seated right in front of the stage. I would've preferred to be seated farther back so we can see the stage completely... But out of the 4 seats, I had a pretty good angle to the stage. The waitress came by immediately to take our drink orders. Our waitress was Alexis (I think?), I liked her a lot. :)
(I apologize for some of the photos btw... since it's more of a mood and performance lighting, it was not great for pictures.)
All of their cocktails sounded really interesting. We asked the waitress for some recommendations on the coolest looking ones. So I started with the Most Unusual Tea (Hendrick's Gin, basil, lime juice, a touch of chamomile) $14~
I love anything with dry ice which makes a cool smoking effect. The cocktail was poured tableside on the basil leaf. I really liked this. The flavors were just right... I could taste the gin as well as the basil. Hendrick's Gin is one of my favorites... if you haven't tried it, this is a good drink to get. :)
The waitress also brought by some drinks on the house. I think she said it was like a Dreamsicle.
Trainspotting (Gosling Rum, Cana Brava Rum, lime, orange, pineapple juices with a hint of coconut) $14~ This was definitely a fun drink. I started to see that their presentation is their strong suit. The syringe was "injected" into the drink tableside. I liked that it was interactive.
Contortionist (Tito's, fresh fruit puree, lemon, topped with champagne; served with Pop Rocks) $13~ This was fun too, a pretty drink with contrasting colors of the drink and pop rocks. All topped with a fun twisty straw. However, my friends said the drink flavor wasn't too exciting.
That seemed to have been the general consensus on the cocktails. Pretty and fun, but the flavor lacks a little... whether it wasn't strong enough or the flavors were muddled, or wasn't sweet enough, etc.
While we were waiting for our drinks to come, a magician came by our table and did some tricks. I was impressed! The tricks were fun and the magician guy had a really great attitude. He later did several acts on the stage and I liked him best out of all the performers of the night. He had great energy and was just fun! (I'm not posting any more pics than this! You'll have to go and see the shows for yourself!)
We ordered the food in two rounds. All their dishes are kinda made for sharing. And again... we saw that their presentation game is strong! Every plate came with a cool decoration on the platter, and it just keeps getting more epic.
Jumbo Lump Crab Filled Eggs (tarragon, lemon, paprika panko) $14~ I loved the platter that this dish came on. The steampunk octopus was unexpected and very cool. I've never had lump crab on eggs before. I liked it a lot. The paprika panko was a nice bit of color.
Heirloom Tomato Watermelon Salad (cornbread croutons, balsamic gel, basil) $12~ Plus Grilled Shrimp +$7~ I don't like watermelon, but I ate everything else... and surprisingly this was my favorite dish of the night! The shrimp was so plump and cooked perfectly. But my favorite bite was the cornbread crouton. It had really great flavor and texture. It wasn't super crunchy like normal croutons. I would eat a whole plate with just that.
DT Castle Burgers (chipotle mayo, cabbage, cilantro, pepper jack, bacon) $16~ This normally comes with 3 sliders but we asked them to add a 4th since we had 4 people. The sliders were good. The chipotle mayo was bold and smokey. I liked it, but some didn't for that same reason. The texture of the buns were good. And the bacon is TOTALLY necessary! hehe.
Truffle Parmesan Fries. Instead of ordering the Steak and Frites, we just got the fries as a side. As it was served, you can already smell the truffle, which is a good sign. It was good...but got cold quickly. Still... I pretty much like all fries. haha.
Crispy Seared Key West Cobia (pan seared atop kale, shaved brussels sprouts, swiss red chard, soy sesame glaze) $48~ "Serves 2 to 3". I was super excited to order this. I had seen pictures of a giant WHOLE fried fish on Yelp and I thought this was it... since they only had one fish dish on the menu. Plus a giant whole fish would definitely feed 2-3 people and justify the $48 price tag. Yowza! However, when it came... we were confused. I was like "we didn't order this... did we?" It was just 2 normal filets of fish on a long plate.
The waitress confirmed that this was indeed the cobia. So I asked her about the picture I saw, and she said "oh, that's a prop!" And it was being served at another table, that's why we got the pointing hand on our platter. She asked if we wanted the fried fish prop brought over and I said yes. Might as well get some cool pictures, even though I was so disappointed that it wasn't for consumption! The fried fish prop was certainly impressive!
I mean, just look at it!! But the cobia dish itself was a disappointment. First of all, it barely feeds 2 people, unless you've ordered a lot of other dishes. The fish could've been seared more too. I wonder what justifies the price point? It's quite expensive... Is cobia an expensive fish? I don't really know. The flavors in the kale, brussels sprouts mixture was good though. You can definitely taste the soy sesame glaze.
We were getting full but wanted to try a couple more things. So here goes Round 2!
Big Eye Tuna Tartar (scallions, yuzu, togarashi, black radish) $19~ Again... a cool display with the dish. This one was especially fitting to the establishment's name. The fish...while tender, was completely overwhelmed by the spices. The flavor wasn't bad or anything, it just didn't let the fish shine.
Kobe Beef Carpaccio (shallot black pepper vinaigrette, key lime, yellow tomatoes, toast) $20~ This was good. The beef was sliced razor thin and actually fell apart when we tried to scoop it up. Flavors were good, although slightly too salty. Definitely squeeze some of the little key limes onto each bite. It makes a difference!
For dessert, they had 3 cakes available, so we just got one of each.
NY Style Cheesecake (vanilla cheesecake with a hint of lemon and orange on a graham cracker crust) $12~ The other two cakes towered over this one and I felt it got kinda lost. It was ok. I didn't get the hints of citrus very much and the texture was fine. Wasn't too impressed.
Wedding Cake (white chocolate buttermilk cake filled and frosted with Italian buttercream frosting) $12~ Pretty. Loved all the different textures on top. Flavor wise... a little bland. And the cake felt like it was just taken out of the freezer or something... didn't taste fresh and was quite hard.
Chocolate Mega Tron Cake (6 layers of chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting and crushed candies between each layer; covered with vermicelli sprinkles) $12~ This was by far my favorite out of the three. I really liked the crunch candies within the layers and it's incredibly chocolatey. But like the wedding cake, it was hard, like it was just in the freezer. I wonder if they get their cakes from a third party...? I left it alone for a while and let it thaw and it was better. And vermicelli sprinkles? We were soooo intrigued! Vermicelli is a type of really thin rice noodle often used in Vietnamese cuisine. But it was just normal chocolate sprinkles. haha. I think they used the word "vermicelli" to describe the shape.
I had a good time. The food and drinks were a little hit and miss but overall we had fun. Our waitress was great! I really enjoyed watching the magician guy. He was definitely my favorite. I won't give away too much on what he did, but he was on that stage a lot! You gotta go check it out yourself to see what kind of performances they have! This is definitely something different to do in Dallas... since it's our first ever supper club. I would recommend y'all experience it at least once. And for those who like to party it up, the nightclub part starts after 10PM!
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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