Asador: Chef's Harvest Dinner Series - November Edition

Last week, my husband and friends and I went to the Asador Chef's Harvest Dinner Series: November Edition. They do these dinners seasonally and is available once a month. We decided to do the one in November thinking it'll get us in the mood for the holidays. Boy were we in for a treat!

Asador
Renaissance Dallas Hotel
2222 Stemmons Fwy.
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 267-4815
www.asadorrestaurant.com

I had gone to a preview of the upcoming fall harvest dinners at the beginning of September. There we got to taste some of the dishes featured in the September dinner. The food was amazing! I have to say... I've always heard of Asador, but it's never been on my radar. The location is never really in an area where I frequent. But it truly is a hidden gem. I had an amazing time at the preview. (At some point I will finally write up the post for that one. hehe.) They told us that each dinner will feature 3 courses family style. Start off with a welcome drink and some snacks, then move into the actual dinner. Each dinner will have some sort of beverage accompaniment, whether wine, cocktails, or beers. And the whole dinner PLUS drinks PLUS tax PLUS gratuity is only $90! Whoa... That's a game changer. Most dinners like these typically run $80-120 and THEN you have to add on another $30-50 on the drink pairings. And they never include gratuity! This is a steal people... stay tuned for their dinners next season!

We arrived a little late due to terrible traffic. The dinner was on a Wednesday night and we were driving from Rockwall. The group had already started with charcuterie boards and a welcome beer. The dinner this night featured pairings from Real Ale Brewing. One of my friends was super excited because he's a real beer connoisseur. He had a hell of a time talking to Brad, the owner of the brewery, the entire night.

Asador has one of the best charcuterie boards I've ever had. Their smoked duck is my favorite. :) It was a little sparse by the time I got there. haha.

After some introductions and background info from Real Ale, they moved us to the long wood table for our feast. It was a communal style table since the dinner is family style. Looking through the menu, there's gonna be so much food. I'm so excited! The theme was Thanksgiving, since it was so close to the holiday.

First Harvest:
The featured beer is Lost Gold, IPA.

Carrot Cumin Soup (chive cream). The soup was poured tableside by the Chef, Brad Phillips. He's super nice and you can tell he's just so passionate about the food. Ever course he comes out to explain the dishes and ingredients. 

 

 

OMG... I normally hate carrots, y'all. But this soup was something else. One of my favorite dishes of the night. It was smooth, creamy, and luxurious. Slight sweetness from the carrots and just the most beautiful color. It had none of the flavors that I normally dislike of carrots. It was just magnificent. I'd be happy if we were only served this dish in the entire dinner!

Crispy Pork Tibia (wild boar, jalapeno orange, baby kale). 

 

I love me some pork. This was no exception. That jalapeno orange glaze was a great pairing with the boar meat. Just a hint of citrus sweetness and heat. I really tried hard not to over eat. There was just so much food!

Frisee, BBQ Apple, and Red Plum Salad (chestnut puree, black pepper honey vinaigrette). 

Loved pairing this with the Crispy Pork, the flavors all complimented each other so well. This was dressed lightly, which I liked. I did think the apples were cut a little too large but the flavor was great. It was so interesting with the BBQ rub on it. Loved it all!

Oh man... the first course blew our minds already and we've already been stuffing our faces. There's so much more coming!

Second Harvest:
The featured beer for the main course was Brewhouse, Brown Ale.

Turducken Roulade (cranberry tartar). 

 

OMG. My first ever Turducken! It was beautiful. The cranberry tartar was so vibrantly red. It was great but I think the turkey overwhelmed everything else because I couldn't discern the chicken or the duck. haha. But oh well. Yummy!

Roasted Wild Trout (mashed rutabega, artichoke). 

I think the fish stole the show for me for the entrees though. It was so freaking fresh and tender. The whole thing just melted in your mouth. And that rutabega mash... oh my. Just gimme a bucket of it. It's not often that I get to try rutabega either. Loved all the interesting ingredients we were tasting that night. Each plate of food they put on the table were just over flowing with food. The fish dish is the only one where we finished every piece of fish. We just can't let that go to waste!

Sides:
The side dishes were a show of their own!
Green Bean Casserole (crispy onions). Fresh green beans, not that mushy stuff from a can. Delish!

Crispy Squash Blossom (ricotta, goat cheese). I love squash blossoms. These were so perfectly fried and the filling was fluffy. 

Sourdough Stuffing. We had so much stuffing we didn't know what to do with ourselves! We barely made a dent in this. I hope they let the staff take the leftovers, cuz I hate to think all this food was wasted. Or they should've just given me like 10 to go boxes. hahaha. 

Carrot Souffle (pecans). My favorite side dish. Again, CARROTS! Wow... they're really making me rethink my preferences. haha. This tasted more like a sweet potato souffle. It was cinnamon-y, nutmeg-y, and fluffy. The crushed pecans on top were a great additional texture. 

Potato Puree (garlic confit, truffle). Silky and smooth. Really great mashed potatoes.(And apparently I didn't get a picture of this...)

Third Harvest:
For dessert, our pairing was Coffee Porter, Brewed with Katz Coffee. Really quite interesting, to have beer paired with coffee. I managed to take a couple sips since usually I don't drink any beer.

Vanilla Panna Cotta (persimmon chutney). 

 

Persimmons seem to be the fruit of this year. I've been seeing it everywhere! And it's not that popular of a fruit! The panna cotta was creamy, yet light. The persimmon chutney on top was the perfect flavor pairing with the vanilla panna cotta.

Dark Rum Sticky Buns (apples, caramel). 

 

 

This was a show stopper dessert. I mean, serious mike drop. They placed about 3 of these mega sticky buns on the long table. Topped with that shiny pool of caramel sauce. Ahhhhh. If only I can just stick my whole face on it! Use it as a pillow. haha. They did give us some small to go boxes for these cuz there was no way we could've finished any of that.

What a phenomenal dinner. Chef Brad and the team at Asador outdid themselves. It was literally a Thanksgiving feast! I'm so glad we were able to be a part of this dinner and I will definitely be on the lookout for their future special dinners. Asador is worthy of a visit, add it to the top of your list, you won't be disappointed! The food was fantastic, and so was the company. We sat by Brad, the owner of Real Ale Brewing, and learned a lot of things on his business and beers in general. If you are ever in Blanco, TX, they do tours of their facilities.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Vegan Pop Up Dinner + Floral Workshop

Back in November, I attended a Vegan Pop-Up Dinner in Bishop Arts District. I found this even through Instagram from someone I follow. Along with a 3 course vegan dinner, it also features a floral workshop. Sounds like so much fun! I got a friend to go with me, I was super excited.

This whole event was brought together through Instagram. I got to meet some great people and learn new things! Make sure you follow all these wonderful people!

Hosted by: @threetwelveco

Collaborators: @lalascakes, @wheatandsour, @wethebirdsmacarons, @vegannomstx, @clearlykombucha

Floral Workshop by: @thebackyardbouquet

Guest Speakers: @cgar1121, @plantbasedzak

We started with the floral workshop with Lauren from The Backyard Bouquet. It was lots of fun. She brought all these different types of flowers, herbs, berries, and other interesting plants. It was so eclectic. I love the addition of the herbs and berries. There was also wheat! We all got to pick our own plants and just let our creativity flow. Everyone's bouquets turned out so well!

 

 

Once the flowers were done, it was time for dinner! I've never had a full vegan meal. But I'm always interested in trying new diets and foods.

We started with the most amazing Butternut Squash Soup. With bread by Wheat and Sour. The soup was rich and warming and quite filling. The bread was fantastic with it. I used it to scrape the entire bowl clean. Soooo good!!

 

 

Clearly Kombucha provided the refreshments for the night. They were also the sponsors of the event. :)

Salad: Arugula, pear, radish, fresh lemon. It was light and fresh, really just highlights the ingredients.

Main Course: spaghetti squash, red sauce, roasted fall veggies, vegan provolone. 

This was delicious. I loved the red sauce on the squash. The flavors were also light, but still complimented each other. I love that you can taste all the ingredients on their own. And guess what? I never missed the meat in the entire meal!

Dessert: dark chocolate pumpkin butter cups, chai vanilla orange spice macarons, spiced pear soaked vanilla sponge cake with vegan cinnamon buttercream, chocolate chip banana cookies. 

 

A cute assortment of mini desserts. All vegan! That pumpkin butter cup was the best thing ever. I also really liked the chocolate chip cookie.

This was the most wonderful event. :) I enjoyed every minute of it. Learning about new flowers, how using herbs and vegetables makes an arrangement so interesting! And I was completely blown away by the dinner. Great job to all the people that cooked. Not once did I miss meat! After the meal, we had a short presentation by the guest speakers on the values of vegans. I learned it's not just a diet but a lifestyle and moral code. And I totally respect that.

So much fun. I hope they do another event like this again soon. Make sure you follow @threetwelveco for future events and pop ups. :)

Overall Experience:

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Snug on the Square

Last month, I had a car appointment in McKinney so I took the opportunity to get some lunch in downtown McKinney beforehand. I called up a friend that works in the area and we met up at Snug on the Square. This place used to be just a small cafe, but it's now taken over the space next door and is now also a restaurant. I'm not so sure when the expansion happened but I love it!

Snug on the Square
109 N. Kentucky St.
McKinney, TX 75069
(972) 548-7684
http://snugonthesquare.com
Price: $

The food pictures I saw online were all pretty amazing looking. The restaurant itself was homey and cozy. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table.

I went with the Any Breakfast Sandwich + Coffee $6.95~ (Build Your Own Egg Sandwich: mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, baby spinach, cheddar cheese, jalapeno, and sausage; green salsa on the side) The lady at the register said I could sub with hot tea.

I got this thing loaded! It was quite tall. And super yummy. The bread was fluffy and held everything together. Layers and layers of egg, sausage and veggies. I'd totally get this again. The hot tea took some effort. Their hot water machine was broken apparently, but the lady at the register didn't know when she said I could sub for hot tea. I waited around for awhile, since the drinks were all self-serve, for someone to help me. Finally, one guy had to go next door to the cafe to get me some hot water. Yeeesh.


My friend got the Pick Any Sandwich + 1 Side $7.95~ Club Melt (roasted turkey, honey ham, bacon, melted swiss, honey dijon, lettuce, tomato; served on butter brioche) $6.50~ With Soup of the Day: Broccoli Cheese (I think?). 

She said the soup was really good. And her sandwich was pretty loaded too. We swapped halfsies and I got to try hers. Yum!

It was a fun lunch. I totally enjoyed the food. I'd like to go again soon!

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And since I'm there, I gotta stop by Emporium Pies! :)

Emporium Pies
107 S. Tennessee St.
McKinney, TX 75069
(214) 491-1577
http://emporiumpies.com
Price: $

Got the Buttercream Gang (buttermilk pie) $5~ I love me some buttermilk pie and theirs is great.

It was a good day. (Despite paying $$$$ for a set of new tires.) hehe.

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Tom + Chee

2 weeks ago we had a work outing to check out the new grilled cheese restaurant in the new Richardson CityLine. I've been keeping up to date with the opening of this place with a few of my co-workers. We finally planned for a day to go. Hopefully by now the initial rush has died down a little. We had a fairly large group of 9 people. 

Tom + Chee
1251 State St.
Richardson, TX 75082
(972) 677-7482
www.tomandchee.com
Price: $

Tom + Chee was originally from Cincinnati and after being picked up on Shark Tank (an ABC show), they expanded rapidly across the nation. They use fresh ingredients, roast their own meats, and makes all the sauces from scratch. They have gluten-free and vegetarian options.

We were all super excited. None of us had been there before. We arrived around 11:45AM on a Tuesday. There was a line, but it wasn't super long and moved fairly fast. The dining area was pretty full but we got lucky and secured a table. I guess most of the people in line were waiting for to-go orders. Worked out for us! Everyone went up to the counter and ordered. They give you a number and bring the food to your table.

Almost everyone got something different so lots of pictures to see! :)

The Tom + Chee (diced tomato, garlic seasoning, mozzarella, cheddar, hardy white) $4.95~ Plus Diced Bacon +$2~ Already sounds great on its own, but bacon makes everything better! She absolutely loved it.

Pesto Turkey (roasted turkey, pesto, mozzarella, hardy white) $5.95~ She subbed ham for the roasted turkey. I tried a bite of this. I think this was my favorite savory sandwich of the day, and I'm usually not a fan of ham. The pesto was awesome. I'd totally get this next time! (But with turkey... hehe.)

Grilled Mac + Chee (mac & cheese, cheddar, hardy white) $5.95~ Plus Potato Chip Crunch +$0.50~ 

They have a "crunch" section on the menu that has different flavored chips in every sandwich, but you can also make any sandwich a "crunch" by adding chips. I felt the chips were necessary in the Grilled Mac + Chee because it adds texture. The mac n cheese itself was very good but I would recommend adding chips and maybe bacon! :P

Ham + Chee (ham, pickle, american, hardy white) $5.95~ Simple, to the point. Tasty.

BBQ + Bacon Crunchy Grilled Cheese (bbq potato chips, bacon, american, hardy white) $6.45~ This thing was LOADED with bacon. I didn't get to try but my boss loved it.

Italian Crunchy Grilled Cheese (salt & vinegar chips, pepperoni, ham, mozzarella, hardy white) $6.45~ Plus Soup Dipper (a small soup to dip your grilled cheese in) +$1~ 

He chose the Classic Tomato soup. This was good, I liked the salt & vinegar chips addition. But I felt the pepperoni and ham combo was a tad too salty for my preference. I did not get to experience the sandwich dipped in soup combo, but my co-worker said the soup was good.

Crunchy Garlic Chicken (roasted chicken, grilled onion, diced tomato, sweet hot mustard, garlic seasoning, parmesan garlic chips, pepper jack, wheat berry) $6.45~ This was my other choice, but I ended up not getting it. It's pretty loaded. Looked awesome. I may try this one too next time. hehe.

Smoked Brisket (hardy white, cheddar, bbq sauce, pickles, red onion) $6.95~ 

 

This was mine. It was the special for the day. Since it's not always on the menu, I knew I had to try it. The brisket wasn't what I expected... it made me think more of sliced roast beef? But was still moist. A little too much bbq sauce, but then again, I never like much sauce. But overall was really yummy. The bread was nice and crisp but still soft. Mmmmm!! I would order it again and just get a little less sauce. And it wasn't that heavy, surprisingly. I ate half of mine, and then a bite or two of 4 other ones. AND a little bit of dessert. And I wasn't overstuffed!

OF COURSE we had to try their donut grilled cheeses! I think we were there more for the dessert than the other food. haha.

The Fat Elvis Grilled Cheese Donut (fresh banana, peanut butter mascarpone, mozzarella, marshmallow, bacon, donut) $4.95~ 

This was also the special of the day. It's like The King, but with marshmallow and bacon. We shared this among 4 people. It was so goooood! The peanut butter mascarpone was rich and creamy but wasn't super thick like just pb. The bacon added a smokiness, it was awesome. We all loved it.

S'more Grilled Cheese Donut (chocolate pieces, graham cracker, marshmallow mascarpone, donut) $4.95~ Another co-worker got this. I got to try a teeny bite. This donut was grilled to perfection.. you can see the color on it. It was yummy too, but the Fat Elvis won it for me.

We had a great lunch. Everyone raved about the food. The service was great too. You'd think with a "fast-food" type set up there wouldn't be much service. But they were constantly cleaning off tables, came around a few times to make sure we were enjoying everything. Just very friendly and hospitable. I can't wait to go back again. I have so many more things to try!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~