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Sorry all, it's been a while... The last few months have been so hectic. Sick, traveling, holidays, sick again. Ugh. Plus I've just been so busy that I didn't wanna write at all... So the next few posts may be abbreviated but still with lots of yummy pictures! (That's the most important anyways, right??)
I've been wanting to take my fiance to Rise No. 1 forever. So one Friday night, I made him drive all the way out from Rockwall to meet me for dinner. Plus they had some seasonal items on the menu I really wanted to try.
Rise No. 1
5360 W. Lovers Ln.
Dallas, TX 75209
214-366-9900
www.risesouffle.com
Price: $$$-$$$$
We got started with some bread. I love the presentation with the bread cutter.
Rise No1 Salad (baby greens, blue cheese, roasted pecans, Granny Smith apples, pecan vinaigrette) $8~ Always a good choice. Not heavily dressed, the flavors are fresh and light. LOVE the roasted pecans on top.
Truffle Infused Mushroom Souffle $20~ Again, a great choice. I always order this when I go there. The smell is amazing! It's like cream of mushroom soup but fluffy!
Special: Crab Souffle (I think it had Gruyere cheese in it). First time having this. I loved the cheesy crust on top, and there were nice big chunks of crab throughout. I have to say Gruyere and souffles go together hand in hand.
Seasonal Pumpkin Souffle.
This was only available until the end of the year, so I had to try it. You KNOW I love me some pumpkin ANYTHING! It came with a sauce... don't remember what all is in it. But the sauce helped the souffle a lot. The souffle was disappointing. Not enough pumpkin and not very satisfying. I always realize that I like savory souffles over sweet ones when I come to dine here.
But I do still love this place. Great ambiance. Very intimate, great for date night. Service was a little spotty that night but they were also really busy.
And we went to Berrynaked for more dessert after. :P Go check them out... super fresh ingredients. They make everything from scratch. It's dessert, but healthier! Loved their Fall Festival.. sweet potato!! Yum! Aren't these gorgeous?!?
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Ah.. Bin 303. One of the shiny gems of Rockwall. We can always count on them to deliver a great meal. Since we finally tried their burgers, we knew we had to go back again, on a Tuesday, for their $10 burger night. In fact... we went back TWO Tuesdays in a row! haha.
Bin 303
105 Olive St.
Rockwall, Texas 75087
(972) 771-5303
http://bin303.com
Price: $$-$$$$
Their burgers are normally $14 each but on Tuesday they have a special $10 deal. Honestly, it's worth the $14, but a special deal just makes the food taste that much better. hehe.
First time back, I decided to try a different burger. (They only have 3 options.) Bin Burger (blue cheese mayo, nueske bacon, arugula, port braised onions; in a brioche bun) $14~ With side of barley salad.
I was a little hesitant on the blue cheese mayo since a little blue cheese goes a longgg way. I don't like too much of it. But honestly, I could barely taste it. The braised onions and bacon were great toppings. And I love the pepperiness and slight bitterness of the arugula to kind of round off the heaviness of the meats. And again, that bun... ohhhh sooo good! It certainly holds everything together well. I think the Texican I had last time still has the edge, but only because it has guac on it. :P
My fiance stuck with the Cheese Burger (aged cheddar, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles; in a brioche bun) $14~ With side of sweet potato fries. He really enjoys this one so why mess with a good thing? And OMG, lurrrrrrv those sweet potato fries.
We also decided to try the Apricot & Cranberry Potato Hash $5~
It was a side dish. I think they recently updated their menu for the fall? Not sure, but it certainly sounded tasty. It was not what I expected. Usually I think of chunkier potatoes in a hash. This one was pretty much all mashed together and then seemed like it was pan fried? Either way, it was yummy.
The following week we went back with some different friends. I wasn't super hungry that day, and was trying to be good... so I opted for a salad. Gasp! I know... why am I getting a salad when there are $10 burgers?!! haha.
Crispy Avocado Salad (bed of greens, roasted red pepper vinaigrette, seasoned crab meat, jicama, pico) $15~
The waiter highly recommended this. And as he was describing the crispy avocado to me, I was like, "done, order it, do it." haha. Avocado covered with breadcrumbs and fried. What's not good about that? It was a delicious salad. There was a ton of crab meat and they were so light. The vinaigrette was super flavorful and everything was so fresh. And then you get the creaminess from the avocado. Yum. However... it did not fill me up. I guess my stomach wanted a burger. hahaha. I highly recommend this though.And my fiance got his usual Cheese Burger so I got to have a few bites. :)
It was our friends' first time there. They both loved the burgers. AND the sides too. :)
Always a good time there. Love the ambiance of being in a cozy home setting. Service is always friendly. And the food yummy.
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Lots of good food this past week, you guys! No wonder I haven't been to the pool at all this summer.. need to diet first! hahaha XP
My fiance and I finally got to go check out Bin 303's $10 Burger Tuesdays. We've known about it for a long time now but never made it on a Tuesday night. AND we've never tried any of their burgers! So we specifically set aside a Tuesday night to go check it out. All the burgers are $10 on Tuesdays.
Bin 303
105 Olive Street
Rockwall, TX 75087
(972) 771-5303
http://bin303.com
Price: $$-$$$$
First of all, Bin 303 is a neighborhood gem in Rockwall. It's a converted old house so it's very homey. The food is always pretty fantastic. I had made a reservation thinking we didn't need one since it's a week night but just in case. I'm sooo glad I did because apparently their Tuesday nights are equivalent of a Friday night. The place was packed! My fiance dropped me off and had to go circle around to find parking. They had our table ready for us. As I was waiting for my fiance to park, 2 ladies walked in without a reservation, and the wait was like 45 minutes or something. Damn! I'm so glad I was being cautious. They had recently renovated so the bar area now is really big. Looks like a great place to chill with some friends.
After we were seated, the waiter brought us some waters. My fiance decided to get the Cucumber Sipper (Hendrick's Gin, St. Germain Elderflower liquor, fresh mint, cucumber water, simple syrup, fresh cucumber) $10~
Refreshing, but a little heavy on the elderflower liquor for my taste. A bit strong for me. But as you all know... I'm a super light-weight. hehe.
It's $10 Burger Tuesday so we're gonna order burgers!
I got the Texican Burger (aged cheddar, chipotle mayo, nueske bacon, pico and avocado spread; on brioche bun; served with barley salad) $14~ I also added grilled jalapeno relish (on the side) +$1~
I got my meat cooked medium, which I think they did a good job. It was a damn good burger. I absolutely loved the buttery, fluffy brioche bun. The meat was flavorful and super juicy. Avocado is always a good addition.
I did notice that I didn't get much bacon, but honestly, I didn't miss it. The jalapeno relish was WHOA! So spicy on it's own. But I spread it on my burger and it was just the right amount of heat. Guess the jalapenos were extra spicy that night. I wouldn't recommend it unless you can take some serious heat. The barley salad was a nice and light side. I liked that there was arugula and tomatoes mixed in. I would so totally have this burger again. Any time. Delicious!!
My fiance got the Cheese Burger (aged cheddar, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles; on brioche bun; served with sweet potato fries) $14~
He got his medium-rare. The waiter didn't object when he ordered it med-rare either, which means their meat is good quality. I've had restaurants say they're uncomfortable cooking their meats less than medium for burgers. The meat was cooked perfectly.
He loved it. Another winner! Oh, and the sweet potato fries were fantastic! We both love sweet potato fries, and they did them right.
Creme Brulee (with fresh strawberry) $9~
Usually we don't eat like this on a week night.. But this is like a special occasion. Mid-week date night. Awww. :P So we got dessert. Great consistency, crunchy burnt sugar on top. It wasn't too heavy to round out this great dinner.
Needless to say, we'll be back soon. They do offer their burgers every night, but normally it's $14 each. If you ever find yourself in Rockwall, definitely check out Bin 303. It's one of our favorite spots. :)
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The place we wanted to go for dinner in Ft. Worth ended up being closed for a private party that day. Blahhh. So we decided not to stick around and just head back to Dallas.
I took the opportunity to suggest Bishop Arts District. I love that area, but it's just so dang far to go usually. As we were driving back, I went on OpenTable.com and made a reservation at Tillman's Roadhouse. I had only gone once for brunch and once for dessert, so I've never had dinner there.
Tillman's Roadhouse
324 W 7th St.
Dallas, TX 75208
(214) 942-0988
www.tillmansroadhouse.com
Price: $$$$
We arrived for our reservation by 6PM. The place was only about 30% full. By the time we got our food, it was packed. I'm glad we went early. I always love the decor here... especially the chandeliers. Western/cowboy meets fancy chic. haha. We were seated immediately, in this square table that was wayy too big for us. haha. We got drinks and quickly browsed the menu.
Chicken Fried Steak (buttermilk whippers, bacon braised green beans, charred poblano gravy) $28~
One friend ordered this after I described it to her. I've tried it before. Instead of normal, pounded down beef cutlet, Tillman's uses thick cut pieces of steak. The meat is super tender and the outside is nice and crispy. She loved it, and ate IT ALL. I was so impressed. haha.
Charred Baby Back Ribs (bacon mac & cheese, chive, house chipotle barbeque) $26~
This looked so yummy. I loved the mac and cheese, good texture and flavor. The ribs... flavor was good, but was quite dry. It definitely needed the bbq sauce.
Flat Iron Steak (char-grilled flat iron steak, wild mushrooms, chimichurri, tobacco fried onions) $28~
My fiance got this. The steak was tender. There were different types of mushrooms which he really enjoyed. The chimichurri added a splash of brightness to the dish. Overall very good.
I finally decided on the T Burger (house ground beef, tillamook cheddar, texas farms mixed greens, tomato, fresh mayo, potato bun; side of truffled tater tots) $13~
I subbed the tots for Bourbon Sweet Potato Fries (fresh sweet potato fries, bourbon salt, house spiced ketchup). The fries pieces were small and short, didn't look that great, but it was really tasty. Especially loved the housemade ketchup. It was sweet, and the texture was kind of like apple sauce. I slathered that on my burger too, made it better. The burger was great! Definitely not the best I've had, but enough to satisfy my meat craving. I ate it all!
Before we even got to the restaurant, I said we had to get the tableside s'mores. I've heard so much about them but never tried it. Luckily they have a full and half version, cuz two of my friends were too full to help. And neither of them liked marshmallows... what?!?!
Tableside S'mores (marshmallow duo, cinnamon grahams, dark chocolate bark) Half $8~
Maple and Strawberry marshmallows. This was a lot of fun. Everything was made in house. The marshmallows were nice and fluffy and you can actually taste the different flavors. We both liked the maple better. I loved the dark chocolate paired with the cinnamon and marshmallows. Yum! Definitely a fun way to end the night.
At some point I'll have tried all the restaurants in Bishop Arts... may take years, but I'm gonna make it happen! haha.
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