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I've never been a fan of Tex-Mex... I always find it a bit repetitive. But... I LOVE Mexican food. There's a big difference!
Two of my friends were in town for the weekend from NYC so of course Mexican food is on their list. I found this place and they had mole!! OMG! I love mole and ever since I had it again in Cancun, I was dreaming about it. So I suggested this place.
Lalo's Fine Mexican Cuisine
18484 Preston Rd. Ste 118
Dallas, TX 75252
(469) 298-3017
www.lalosmexicancuisine.com/
Price: $$
I didn't even know about this place! It had really high Yelp reviews too. Looks promising! We arrived on a Saturday around 6:30PM. The place wasn't completely full but business was pretty good. I thought the decor was nice. Casual yet somewhat elegant.
We got some complimentary chips with salsa and black bean dip. The salsa had a kick to it! :) And the black bean dip was almost as good as the ones at Gloria's... almost... hehe.
Mango Strawberry Frozen Margarita. My friend got one of these. It was really pretty. And she said it was good. I couldn't try it though since I'm allergic to mango. I'll take her word for it though.
Chile Con Queso. Her husband had thought this was "chili" so he was a little surprised. teehee. But this was really good. He totally enjoyed it. It was great with the chips and the salsa.
Pollo Oaxaca (chicken breast simmered in Oaxaqueno Mole served with beans refritos and arroze blanco) $14.99?~
I already knew I was going to get this. Normally I see mole on enchiladas, which I always end up subbing the corn tortilla with flour. But this is perfect because there's no tortilla at all (less heavy)! It was delicious. The mole wasn't as good as the one from Mexico, but it was still really tasty. Lots of complex flavors with that tiny hint of sweet from the addition of chocolate. Just a disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on mole. I just know what tastes good to me. hehe. The chicken was super tender. I didn't even use a knife. I loved the pairing with the sauce and the rice. I asked to sub the beans for veggies. It was the perfect side to the chicken and rice. I also liked the slaw on the side. The whole thing was great. I would totally go back and get this again. And it was a big portion too. I took almost half of it home. And it was still good the next day when I had it for lunch. :)
Carne Asada (grilled steak or grilled chicken breast served with Mexican rice, Sopa de Frijol, guacamole and pico de gallo). My friends shared this since they weren't too hungry. Also a good sized portion. The guac was very good. And the Mexican rice had good flavor. They both liked it.
Tres Leches Cake. I love tres leches so I ordered it before I even finished my dinner. Even though I wasn't that hungry either. haha. It was good, not the best I've had but I would get it again. I wish they had served it on its side with more milk to soak up but it was still surprisingly moist and fluffy.
Sorry I didn't include the prices. I forgot to take a picture of the menu... But both dishes were arond $14-15 which was decent for the portion size. And my friends paid for me... again... Sigh. Everytime they come visit, they always end up grabbing the check. I feel bad. I'll get them one day! haha. And I have such awesome friends. :D
It was a great dinner. Our waiter was also really nice and attentive. The ambiance was nice. I will be back for sure!
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
We were saving some stomach space because we wanted to get dessert at Kate Weiser Chocolate. Not only does she make amazing looking chocolate, I found out she also has ice cream in the new store!
Other than Cake Bar, this was the other place I really wanted to check out at Trinity Groves.
Kate Weiser Chocolate
3011 Gulden Ln, Suite 115
Dallas, TX 75212
(469) 619-4929
http://kateweiserchocolate.com/
Price: $-$$$$+
Loved the decor. It was bright and open and lots of colors from the picture on the wall to the chocolates on display. Her chocolates are definitely works of art, All have lots of color, almost too pretty to eat!
We were there for the ice cream though, first and foremost. Each one is $5, which I thought was reasonable. The chocolates were half that price EACH! Dang...
The ice creams were pre-packaged in these little containers. They were VERY frozen so we sat outside and let them thaw out a bit before digging in.
(From left to right)
Ascension Coffee Ice Cream (crushed biscotti, chocolate espresso bean) $5~ This was pretty good. I particularly liked the biscotti to add texture. I've heard Ascension coffee is really good, but since I'm not a coffee drinker, I haven't checked out the cafe yet. Very bold coffee flavors. It's probably the best one of the three.
Chai Tea Ice Cream (black tea, cardamom, ginger streusel) $5~ I chose this one. It was very interesting. Kind of a deconstructed ice cream. The bottom was the black tea ice cream, the top was cardamom ice cream (we think) and when you eat it together, it creates the chai! I loved the ginger streusel.
Pecan Butterscotch Ice Cream (mandarin orange, candied pecans) $5~ We liked this one the least. The top was a mandarin orange sorbet. I guess the bottom ice cream was the pecan butterscotch. I found the combination of orange and butterscotch a little weird. The butterscotch flavor was actually overwhelmed by the orange a bit. The candied pecan pieces were too big. I think they should've crushed it up a little. Meh...
French Macarons (per piece) $2.50~ I forget what the flavor was that my friend got. I think something maple? I'm not a macaron connoisseur at all. I thought it was ok? But I find them generally unsatisfying and seriously overpriced since most of them are semi-hollow. This one was hollow in the cookie part too.
We walked around the area a bit after dessert. Before leaving I went back and bought some chocolates to try later. Since I'm here and all... :P
Bonbons and Truffles (per piece) $2.50~ I got 2 pieces. They had lots of flavors I wanted to try, but they were too expensive... I got the Truffle Honey (milk chocolate, truffle honey) and the Yuzu (dark chocolate with Japanese lime).
They were so pretty! The lady at the register was super nice. She told me that each of them was packed with the listed flavors. She also recommended that I eat the Yuzu first since the Truffle was heavier in flavor.
I was super excited about the Yuzu (on the right). It's a Japanese citrus and I love it. However, I took a bite of the chocolate and didn't even get a hint of citrus... What?? She told me it had lots of yuzu flavor... I took another bite, still nothing. Needless to say I was very disappointed. And here's where my dilemma comes in. As a piece of chocolate, it's pretty awesome. The quality and craftsmanship of the dark chocolate is great and I absolutely enjoyed it. But since you tell me it's yuzu, I expect to get the citrus flavor. Which I didn't, AT ALL. That was a big let down. Next, I still had high hopes for the Truffle Honey.
Now this isn't the chocolate "truffle", it's straight up black truffles infused honey. The lady at the store told me, again, that the truffle flavor packs a punch. I love truffle. I took a bite. The truffle flavor was so slight that if I didn't know what was in the chocolate, I wouldn't have guessed it was truffle. Upon the 2nd bite, I got a little bit more but still not "a punch". Double disappointment. Again, really great craftsmanship on the chocolate and the filling was silky and luscious. But only as a regular piece of chocolate. I have to say I'm disappointed, especially after the reputation I've heard and expected from her chocolates. Has anyone had these flavors and had a different experience? Part of me is hoping that for some reason these batches were just flukes and they forgot to add the flavorings or something. XP
Well, I'm not sure if I'll have these again. Sigh...
At least all the people there, including Kate Weiser herself, were very friendly.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
After my dessert first at Cake Bar... I met a couple of my friends for dinner at LUCK. None of us had been there so it'll be fun to try a new place!
LUCK (Local Urban Craft Kitchen)
3011 Gulden Lane, Suite #112
Dallas, Texas 75212
(469) 250-0679
http://www.luckdallas.com/
Price: $$-$$$
Their concept is pretty cool. They are a craft beer inspired kitchen so they promote items that pair well with beer. They also try to use locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. Unfortunately I don't drink beer, so the pairing is a little wasted on me. But I do enjoy pub fare.
I was a little disappointed to find out that their menu had changed and all the dishes on yelp that I wanted to try were no longer available. Booohoo. :( Their menu is pretty small and I didn't really see anything I really wanted. (Which is rare... I might add...)
None of us were super hungry and we were also saving room for dessert. So we got some stuff to share.
Bierocks "Beer-Rocks" (meat and cheese filled pocket pastries served with beer cheese fondue and au jus) $10~
I liked the presentation on the wood board with the name of the restaurant carved into it. It was basically a meat bread bun. Very delicious. There was a lot of the meat filling which was good. The top of the bread was a little heavily salted, but overall the flavors were good. Totally loved the beer cheese fondue sauce. We kept that around for other stuff to dip in. hehe.
Blueberry & Raw Butternut Squash Salad (mixed greens, candied pecans, goat cheese, citrus honey vinaigrette) $10~
I got this because I didn't want something too heavy and I love butternut squash. It was a big salad. I opted for no goat cheese since I don't like it. The butternut squash turned out to be thin strips chopped and put on top of the salad. I think if it's in the name, it should be more of a star than a topping. It was good though. Quite filling. I always liked candied pecans in a salad...adds sweetness and crunchy texture.
Signature Pastrami ("Texas Brisket Style", house-cured for 3 days and smoked for 15 hours with stone ground mustard, caramelized onions, swiss cheese, on sourdough) $13~
My friends shared this. The waitress said it's one of their big sellers. The pastrami wasn't really pastrami but more brisket. It was really good. Soooo much flavor. You can definitely get the smokiness of the meat. It's a very heavy sandwich though. Their housemade chips were also really good. Especially dipped in the beer cheese fondue. :P
The food was pretty good and they've not a nice patio area. The service was ok. Our waitress was nice but I don't think she checked on us enough. I probably won't go back. The food options were not super enticing or exceptional. If you like beer though, definitely check them out since they've got a big selection of craft beers.
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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