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If you haven't noticed that I'm obsessed with City Hall Bistro, then you haven't been paying attention. haha. So when I got invited to the January Blog and Brunch, I responded pretty much instantly, and then counted down the days! So excited!
City Hall Bistro - Brunch
1321 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 651-3686
www.cityhallbistro.com
Price: $$-$$$
Love the space. Duh. :P But a tip for foodies who wanna take photos... request tables in the back, where the windows are. Instant lighting! You're welcome.
We had a big group that day... 20 people or so? Biggest Blog and Brunch I've been to. And you know what that means?! MORE food! :P We had a feast that was to die for. Keep scrolling for all the pics. Also... follow @blogandbrunchdfw on Instagram! :)
Breakfast Bread (muffin, daily bread, croissant, pain au chocolate) $5~ I didn't know where to start first!
I wanted one of everything! But I had my eye on those chocolate croissants. Probably one of the best chocolate croissants I've ever had. Mainly because it was completely filled with chocolate. Most places have that sad little dab of chocolate in the middle. At City Hall Bistro, they're not stingy. The dark chocolate was awesome, and the croissants themselves were flaky and buttery.
Another favorite was the carrot (and maybe banana or zucchini?) bread. I normally get turned off by anything carrot, but the way they crisped the edges of each slice... it was bomb. Texture was so good. I won't be mad if I get my vegetables that way. :P
Cheese (fruit jam, honeycomb, raisin pecan toast) $12~ I skipped this one because I'm not one for cheese boards. Need more stomach room for all the other foods!
Papas Bravas (crispy potato, garlic aioli, smoked paprika) $5~ Freaking love these potatoes. They are packed with flavor. Highly recommend!
Greek Yogurt (pomegranate, blueberry, caramelized honey, basil, blueberry meringue crisp) $10~
This was surprisingly one of my favorites for the day. I NEVER order yogurt at restaurants because... why? haha. But this was SO good. I actually went back 2 weeks later and got it. By myself. I mean... it's healthy! The yogurt is swirled with vanilla bean. The best thing on there is the blueberry meringue crisp. Adds a light and crispy texture to the creamy yogurt. It's not too tart, not too sweet. Just perfect. Just a note: most of the stuff we got were for sharing so they were bigger portions. Like the yogurt, the actual portion is individual sized... see photo with spoon. It's still quite filling though, just not great for sharing.
Hazelnut Waffle (nutella, banana, pure maple syrup) $12~ Always a good choice. I've already had this before. It's a solid dish if you want sweet for breakfast.
Frittata (roasted mushroom, leek, arugula, cheddar, tomato chutney) $15~ Um. Probably one of the best frittatas I've ever tasted. I don't even know how they packed so many flavors into this little slice of egg.
Mushroom Tartine (tarragon mascarpone, pickled beech mushroom, mustard seed, soft poached egg) $13~ Prettiest dish you ever did see. They were topped with edible flowers, so it's literally a garden on a piece of bread. Check out the perfectly poached egg p0rn. :P
Shakshuka (farm egg, roasted pepper, spicy tomato, ciabatta toast) $16~ I think this is my first shakshuka. It's basically poached eggs in tomato sauce and spices. Not sure if it's "authentic" but it was quite delicious. I really liked the flavor of the spicy tomato sauce.
Creme Brulee Toast (kumquat, vanilla custard, mint) $14~ I was very excited about this dish as I love french toast. However, I think it was one of the weaker dishes. The presentation is clean and pretty, but I like a fluffier french toast. It was more compact and flat...
Cauliflower (golden raisin, smoked paprika aioli) $10~ I love their cauliflower dish. Especially when served on the wood board. The addition of the golden raisins elevates the dish imo. And just a tip... you can get this during their Happy Hour for $5. :)
What a fantastic spread. My favorites still tend to favor the sweet stuff. hehe. Thank you, City Hall Bistro and Blog and Brunch, for having me. I'm ready for their new menu items now. hehe. In case you didn't know.. they change up their menu items from time to time. So most of the dishes I've had the first time I went are already not available. T_T So you better make reservations soon, if you want to try any of these!
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
This past weekend we went to LA for a wedding. Before all the wedding festivities, we went to Redondo Beach with 2 of my friends Saturday morning to do some beach side bike riding and brunch. :) The weather was beautiful and great for riding.
We went to Baleen at The Portofino Hotel for brunch because we all bought a Travelzoo deal. It was $45 for 2 people to have a 3 course brunch with unlimited mimosas or champagne. Amazing deal!! Unlimited mimosas?!?
Baleen @ The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club
260 Portofino Way
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(310) 372-1202
http://www.hotelportofino.com/
After riding we arrived at the hotel like 20 minutes earlier than our reservation but were seated immediately. The hostess was super nice. We were seated upstairs by the window and it overlooks the dock with all the sailboats. It was so nice and bright by the water...perfect for brunch!
Everyone got a mimosa except me. I opted for orange juice which were freshly squeezed and so refreshing! I don't like champagne so I don't care for mimosas. The orange juice was sooo fresh and yummy!
First Course --
I got the Strawberry & Yogurt Parfait (honey, lemon & granola).
It was a nice portion..full of toasted granola and fresh strawberries. The yogurt itself wasn't very sweet so the honey and granola added just enough sweetness to the dish. I really liked the pumpkin seeds in the granola as well. It was fresh and actually quite filling!
Crisp Calamari (lemon, smoky cocktail & tartar).
The presentation was really cute with the mini fryer basket. The calamari was fried well and had good flavor. It was pretty standard.
Smoked Salmon (crostini, Boursin, tomato, red onion & caper).
My friend thought this was amazing. The salmon was smokey and paired well with the cheese and crostini. It was definitely the best deal out of the starters. I'm not a fan of smoked salmon but my friend said it was really great. The Boursin cheese however, was phenomenal. I've never had this cheese before, and I'm not big on eating cheese on its own but I can eat spoonfuls of this on its own. It was creamy and milky and divine. I will definitely go get some of this cheese next time I go to a dinner party or something.
Main Course --
Fish Tacos (seared Snapper, cabbage slaw, avocado, Pico de Gallo, cilantro).
You get 3 tacos on corn tortilla. I only tried a bite of the fish which was cooked nicely. My friend liked it a lot.
Steak Frites (hanger steak, fries, arugula salad & housemade steak sauce).
This is what I got. It was a huge plate! I don't usually eat this much food for lunch! I ordered it medium rare but I think because it was so thin, it was a bit more cooked through than medium rare. But the flavor was great. It was definitely seasoned well. One of my friends ordered this as well. He ordered the steak medium but it was definitely overcooked...kinda dry. He still liked the flavors though. And neither of us cared too much for the steak sauce.
Huevos Redondos (black bean quesadilla, fried eggs, avocado, romesco, feta, cilantro).
My bf ordered this. I really liked it which was surprising because it was corn tortillas layered in there. I don't like corn tortillas at all and this was the first time I didn't mind it being in a dish! The combination of the beans, tortilla, avocado and sauce was great. YUM!! Without meat, it was still a very hearty dish.
Sweet (to share) --
One dessert is shared between 2 people and there were only 2 choices on the menu so we got one of each.
Chocolate Macadamia Torte (chiantilly cream & raspberries).
I really enjoyed the dark chocolate sauce on the plate, not too sweet and quite decadent. The chiantilly cream was also great on the torte. The torte itself was good but I wanted it to be a bit more fudgy. There was too much chopped nuts in there for me.
Lemon Meringue Pie (white chocolate anglaise).
I saw on online reviews that this was the dessert everyone raved about. I don't care for lemon desserts but this was awesome. I definitely preferred it over the chocolate torte which was surprising. First of all, the presentation was adorable and clean. I loved the torched little dome of meringue on top of the pie. And I really liked the fact that it was a mini pie, not a slice cut from a bigger pie. The meringue was fluffy and not too sweet. The lemon pie was velvety and fantastic. Just the perfect amount of sweet and tart. The white chocolate anglaise on the plate was a nice additional flavor to it all. I would sooo have this dessert again. I was already so full but I ate most of this myself! :p
I had read iffy reviews on Baleen about the quality of their food and service so I was a bit nervous since we already purchased the coupon. But I don't know what those people are talking about. We had a fantastic time! The hostess and waiters/waitresses were all super nice and accommodating. The food overall was very enjoyable with some hints of greatness (like the lemon meringue pie) hehe. The Travelzoo deal was amazing! And we definitely got our money's worth and MORE! Between my bf and 2 other friends, I think they had 20 glasses of mimosas or more... Hahaha! OMG!
It was a beautiful relaxing day to hangout with my friends and enjoy some good food. That's how vacation should be!! I would recommend Baleen for a relaxing brunch any time. :)
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value (with coupon):
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Before our flight (again...) in the afternoon, my aunt took us to downtown Los Altos to this bakery/cafe she likes a lot.
Le Boulanger
301 Main Street
Los Altos, CA 94022
(650) 949-3429
http://www.leboulanger.com
Price: $
The bakery goods all looked really good.
I finally decided on the Sandwich & Salad Combo (petite size sandwich accompanied by a small salad: Roasted Portabella (portabella mushroom, jack cheese, roasted pepers, red onion, spinach, vinaigrette) and Primavera salad (fresh spring mix with walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, craisins, vinaigrette dressing). The ingredients were all really fresh. It was a nice, healthy lunch!
My sister and I got a Yogurt Parfait to share. It wasn't that great. But it was nice to have a lot of fresh strawberries in there.
My sister's bf got the Reuben (Sourdough Rye, turkey pastrami, swiss, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing)
My aunt got a bear claw for dessert. hehe. It was pretty good. Not super sweet.
Now it's off to the airport for the 2nd time...
----------------------------------------
So...guess what?!? The flight got cancelled AGAIN!! DAHHH! It's such a waste of time. From the time we checked in at the ticketing counter to walking to the gate was all of 5 minutes. And in that 5 minutes our flight was announced cancelled. WTF!! I guess we'll try again tomorrow!
Since we were stuck in Cali again, we decided to enjoy ourselves. We decided to take the train to San Francisco. I haven't been there since I was little!
We took the Cable Car to Fisherman's Wharf and stopped by a restaurant for some seafood! Dinner #1~
Sabella and La Torre
2809 Taylor St
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 673-2824
Price: $$
There was a whole strip of restaurants but we decided on this one because it had the most people in it. That means it should be good right? hehe.
We were going to eat more later so we got some stuff to share.
Chef's Special Platter (Fried crab legs, scallops, prawns, oysters & clams; served with clam chowder and potatoes) $26.95~
I really wanted clam chowder and my sister really wanted oysters so this was a good option. She was able to substitute the clams for more oysters and get raw oysters instead of fried. The clam chowder came first with bread. 
It was AWESOME! I think we could've finished a whole pot of it. YUM!! The fried platter was pretty good as well. It came with tartar sauce which I love. They were all fried nicely. The scallops were cooked perfectly. Not at all overdone and rubbery. And my sister really enjoyed her raw oysters and cocktail sauce.
Our waiter was super nice and even gave us a couple suggestions on where to get some good sushi later!
After, we took the bus to Japantown. It was a cute little area and we found a place that specialized in Ramen! Sweet! Dinner #2~
Tanpopo
1740 Buchanan Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 346-7132
Price: $-$$
We just got several things to share.
Vegetable Ramen (Salt flavor soup ith boiled vegetables - cabbage, onion, green onion, carrot and shiitake) $9~ For $2 more we added Extra Roast Pork. 
YUM!! The noodles were cooked really well and the roast pork was sooo good. There was lots of veggies in there as well. Really tasty!
Hamachi Sashimi (Yellowtail 6 pcs) $7.50~ 
This was a really good price for sashimi and the pieces were a decent size. It was super fresh!
Gyoza (Pan fried pork potstickers, 7pcs) $6.50~ 
This was fried well. The outside was nice and crispy and the filling had good flavor.
The service sucked at this place. Once we were seated, it was as if the waitress forgot about us. We had to flag her down to get menus, and waited a long time for our waters. But the food was really good. I would still go back for the food.
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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