Bella

Bella is so new to the Quadrangle that they don't even have a menu that I could link to.
Katie, Mom, and I went there for a girls lunch on Friday. As you can see, at 11:30, we were the only ones there.

It is nice enough. The table decor was a cute little tulip in a frosted glass vase. There are some booths lining one wall. Those made the place seem a little less austere. The bar was tiled and backlit, which gave it a neat kind of feel. However, the music was a bit too loud for the crowd that was there, and the service was a little slow for the number of patrons.

All of that being said, however, the food ranged from decent to delicious.

We ordered up the Mushroom Reggiano. It was a delicious cream based mushroom soup that had great flavor - maybe a wine base? It was topped with focaccia croutons and Reggiano shavings. All in all, this was a highlight of lunch for me. Found on the soup/salad part of the menu, this was about $7, but it was more than the three of us could split. Well worth it!

Katie had the 8oz Bella Burger with Parmesan fries. The bun was baked with rosemary, and that was the only thing I really remember her saying about the whole thing. It looked pretty, though.

Mom and I split the Short Rib Grinder. While mom found the meat to be too dry, I found it enjoyable and tender enough that I didn't have to wrestle it. It was topped with white cheddar, a horseradish-mayo blend, and fried onion strings. It was rich and half was plenty!! This picture is the half portion.

We will hope that Bella fares better than the other restaurants that have attempted that same location. We liked it, but we weren't blown away.

Hattie's

It is Spring Break. That means sleeping in, having lunch out during the day, lazing around, and catching up on errands.

I was lucky enough to be able to meet my friend LN at Hattie's in Bishop's Art District. If you haven't been to this area of Dallas, I highly recommend taking in Tillman's Roadhouse first. It's one of my all time favorites. In fact, I could (and might) write a whole page on the merits of Bishop's Art in OC. Just go there and see for yourself.

Hattie's serves up southern home cooking. Things like shrimp and grits and fried green tomatoes. LN and I were on a sweet potato fry quest. These fries were delic because they were crisp, dusted with sea salt that helped balance the sweet aspects of the fry. Amazing!



I had the fried chicken salad salad. It was packed with avocado pieces and sliced beefsteak tomatoes. The lettuce was tossed in buttermilk ranch and bacon bits, and then topped with their delicious fried chicken.

LN had the chicken salad sandwich at the top, made with grapes, onions, chopped chicken, served on toast, accompanied by more sweet potato fries.

It is cute inside - pale yellow with black accents. Cute little tables, nice wall hangings. It is a respectable joint southern style.

The Pearl Cup

The case with all of the yummy goodies!
View of the inside. Lots of pretty flowers!

View of the sandwich.

View 2 of the sandwich. Is your mouth watering yet?

The Pearl Latte.


I needed a boost over my lunch break, so I headed over to the Pearl Cup to get a latte to go. I received an email from Daily Candy about a month ago about this place. It shares a parking lot with the Slip In and is across from Barcadia. The place is very "austiny", and since I lived their for four years- I LOVED it! They have a case right when you walk in full of goodies. Next time I go, I would love to try the red velvet cookies. They all looked delicious! I walked around the counter and ordered the Pearl Latte. It was very good, but it was 3.85 for a regular. A tad more than I am comfortable spending on a coffee, but oh well. Pretty tasty. Then, I noticed a breakfast pannini offering on the menu. You have your choice of regular bread or cinnamon raisin. Then, you can add nutella, almond butter, bananas, or marshmallow fluff to the sandwich. I went with the Cinnamon raisin bread, almond butter (like peanut butter) and marshmallow fluff. I was not disappointed. After it came out of the pannini press, it was nice and warm. Yum! This place is super cute and worth a visit. Apparently they offer free wi-fi as well.

http://thepearlcup.com/

March Madness: The Palm

Kate and I both agree that The Palm has been a staple in Dallas for as long as we can remember. Back when The West End used to be culturally significant, you could drive by The Palm any time, night or day, and see the most expensive cars on display in front of the joint. In fact, you still can!

Today, we decided to give it a try. We arrived at 11:20, a little early by lunch standards, but someone actually had to work today, so...we were definitely the first ones there.

Our waitress, Lacy, was great. I cannot imagine a friendlier staff. She frequently checked on us without being too much. She set us straight on the specials and how to get bang for our buck. She was amazingly nice and we both appreciated it!!

The apps list for lunch didn't appeal to us, so we snacked instead on the pickle and radish dish they brought out. It was followed by a bread basket that contained three different types of bread and some good old fashioned butter. Lacy told us about the specials, and if you get a chance to make it by The Palm for lunch, I think you'll find that the specials are a pretty good deal.

We started with the lobster bisque. Katie and I are both pretty picky and we don't like things with crustaceans to taste overly fishy. This bisque contained pieces of real lobster meat and had a nice consistency that our taste buds appreciated. Glad she brought us two spoons!!

Next was our main course. Katie had the fish on a bed of asparagus. Though I didn't try it (because I just don't appreciate fish), Katie said it had a nice mustard based crust along the edges that did a great service to the fish.






I had the lobster ravioli in a tomato-vodka sauce. While this isn't part of the lunch special list, it is amazing and should be tried!!!

Of course, we had to sample the sides, so we split the difference on mashed potatoes and a three cheese potato Au Gratin. The mashers tasted just like the kind our grandma used to make. I don't know what the secret ingredient is that makes those potatoes taste like home, but they were delicious.
The Au Gratin's were cut into half-sized match stick potato bites. They had a perfectly delicious Parmesan cheese crust on top and the blend of herbs used in the sauce was magical. Both carb dishes rated high on our potato scale.


When they brought around the dessert tray, we were too stuffed to try what they offered, but we both agreed that the carrot cake looked phenomenal. They even offered us a free dessert because it was our first time to visit. We were very sad that we were too full to partake.

Katie and I agreed that this spot is one we would revisit. We were pleased with the atmosphere. The wait staff, not just our waitress, went above and beyond in the service department. And to top it off, the food was top notch.

But don't take our word for it!!
Give this place a try!!

Dish on the Road: Fredericksburg

Jas and I hit the road this weekend, we went to Fredericksburg, TX.
We went for the vineyards...won't do that again.
However, we tried a few places that I do recommend, should you ever find yourself in that part of Texas.


The first place that we stopped was off of the beaten path. It was Alamo Springs General Store & Cafe. This is the best greasy burger I have ever had. We also tried the crusty fries...which were normal fries mixed in with fries that had been coated in chicken fried steak batter. Um...yes.



We went on in to Fredericksburg and we tried some wines... then we went on to The Cotton Gin Cabernet Grill.
The food here was decent, but it wasn't just out of this world.
Jas had the fillet. I had the cilantro-pesto grilled shrimp. J had the Tasso Chicken Breast and M had the bison enchiladas. Out of the four, I think M won that coin toss. The enchis were delic!






The next day we went to Java Ranch for breakfast because we happened to have coupons courtesy of our hotel stay.
This place had muffins, strudel, breakfast tacos, coffees and hot chocolate. It was darling inside, with painted murals and a ranch-house feel.
I had the bacon-egg-and-cheese croissant. It was out of this world. I have never had a better croissant. Jas had a breakfast taco that came with homemade salsa. Yum-o!


After our fortifying breakfast, we hit the road so that we could take in the National Pacific War Museum. This museum is amazing and it is much larger than you can imagine. It is filled with so many great pieces of information. I highly recommend this venue, if you can arrange it.

As you can imagine, that took a lot out of us, and we found ourselves once again in need of sustenance. We chose Hondo's on Main Street. Hondo's is known for their live music and their on-line schedule can be found on their website.
The menu is mecca for fried food!!
We started out with the onion strings. Their lightly battered goodness came with two different dipping sauces, both spectacular!



Jason and I split the chicken fried steak plate. He had the curly fries that came served in a precious little tin bucket complete with parchment paper. The CFS came with homemade potato chips brushed with Parmesan. Wow.


M chose the meatloaf and had many positive things to say about it. It was accompanied by the onion strings of deliciousness. It was such a large plate that he didn't even finish it!!

-



Overall, it was a lot of fried food and bad wine.
However, it was nice to be on the road and out of the metro-plex for a bit.


...And Hula Hut in Austin, a tried and true joint that we hit on way home, was definitely one of the best stops we made!

Another Broken Egg Cafe

View from the front- if you look really hard you can see Matt on the curb.


The wonderful banana waffle.
Home style Potatoes.

Cheesy Grits!

Biscuits and Gravy.

Flower arrangement on the table.

Okay- so this place goes against my standards- which is no chain restaurants. But, I had to give this one a try. Matt and I tried it out this past Sunday for brunch. It is a popular place! We waited 35 minutes for a table. Luckily there was a Southern Maid donuts place right across the street, so we had a little appetizer:) We ordered a lot! We had to try the banana's foster waffle and I am so glad that we did. It is drizzled in caramel syrup with pecans, bananas, and whipped cream. I would go back for this. We also ordered cheese grits which were very yummy. They needed some salt, buy they were very creamy. We had a side of home style potatoes, which I find usually bland. These actually passed the flavor test. Finally, the biscuits and gravy. They were probably the biggest let down. The biscuits were hard and the gravy was not so good. Overall, if you go, order the foster waffle and you won't be disappointed! We actually had enough energy to go by some open houses on the way home! Soon after we had a crash landing that lasted until Monday morning. That was a lot of food!!

Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen

The precious plant that was on the table. Emily made me post it:)

Emily's mojito that put her to sleep. The bartender added a another shot to it. Just what she needs:)

The bread box for every table. It came with cornbread, banana bread, and biscuits. Served with honey marmalade and sage butter. Yummy!

The cheese bread (appetizer). It was herb bread with ricotta. Wonderful!

The dessert menu. We couldn't eat another bite, or we would have definitely ordered one!

The creamy cheese polenta and the creamy whipped parsnips!

The cream cheese/spinach/crab dip with toast and bread crumb topping (that sneakily contained goat cheese....good eye, Kate).



So Kate and I are doing our own version of March Madness. We've made our own bracket...we're trying the new spots, narrowing them down until there is a winner...is that how brackets work? Who knows.

I do know that Rathbun's new local is fab.
Located near Sprinkles and the new Orange Cup off of Preston and NWHwy, this little gem is well worth visiting. If the pictures didn't inspire you, maybe my little write up will.

Get a reservation!
We did.
The hostess group was super nice. They asked if we were twins. We're not.

We waited at the bar for a second. The cocktails are a little steep, $12 each, but they are the most delicious flavor blends. I had that delicious looking mojito up top. Wow! Now, I know the bartender gave me an extra shot of rum, but that was a good stout drink BEFORE the extra shot. You can just imagine after...and the bartender was a real nice fellow. They also have a wine list, but we didn't make it that far!!

When we were seated, it was cozy but not cramped. The couple next to us did lean over and give us some ordering tips, as well as asked us about what we were eating. They quickly got the message that we were "working", nor in the market for new friends.

The bread basket had a nice trifecta - corn bread, banana bread, and biscuits.
Note: they will refill this for FREE and the butter is so good I thought about putting it in my purse...maybe that was the mojito talking?? It was some good butter.

We ordered the Wood Roasted Cheesy Bread. I don't even have the words to describe how GOOD it was. It was huge, too. There was no way Katie and I could finish....well, that's a lie.

We weren't interested in the DP marinaded chicken or Gramma Minnie's Fried Chicken (a D Mag favorite), so we moved on to our favorite thing: SIDE DISHES.

We tried the cheesy polenta - not disappointed.
We tried the creamed parsnips - wow. This little dish was a dream. In fact, for the next Potato Party we are going to try a parsnip recipe of our own. I would say that dish was inspirational.

We also tried the Texas Gulf Blue Crab Gratin. It had all of the makings for something fab. However, it also had goat cheese, so...thank you, but no thank you.

In fact, I think that Rathbun and Paula Lambert formed an alliance on this venture, because I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the dishes contained her signature cheeses.

The dessert menu looked like Heaven, but we were too stuffed at that point, so we just made a vow to come back...

Four defnite stars for this venue. Make sure you visit it before it is too overpopulated!!!

Tre Amici

After a day at the Crescent spa, what can really top that? A good meal. Matt and I headed out to North Dallas to Tre Amici. A family friend had given Matt two drink coupons and a 25.00 off ticket. We called ahead to make reservations for 8:00. Once we arrived, they told us that it would be another fifteen minutes. That was fine with us- we just used our drink coupons at the bar. Matt had a glass of red, and I had a glass of white. While at the bar, we were able to enjoy live piano music! We were then seated right in the middle of the restaurant, so we had great views all around. The restaurant is dimly lit with candles on every table and the kitchen is an open kitchen that is the focal point of the restaurant. Our waiter was very friendly and outgoing. Matt ordered a martini and I had one more glass of white. The waiter brought out fresh warm bread and olive oil with Parmesan cheese and green olives. Matt ordered the 11oz. fillet with lobster mashed potatoes and I ordered the appetizer scallops on a bed of risotto and a side of the lobster mashed. WOW! Matt’s steak was delicious! It had a really good crust on the outside and just sort of melted in your mouth. My scallops were really good as well. The citrus risotto that accompanied the scallops was wonderful- nice and creamy. My favorite was the lobster mashed potatoes. They were AMAZING! And there was actually quite a bit of lobster meat in them. What a treat!

One of the highlights of the evening in included a visit to our table by two of the Tre Amici’s- Judd Fruia and Charlie Turano, Jr. They both were very nice to Matt and I and chatted for a bit. We both watched throughout the evening as they both welcomed almost all of the tables in the dining room. What a nice way to thank people for coming out to dine at your restaurant! Overall the experience and food was just lovely.

Website: http://www.tre-amici.com/

Side note: I love that you have the choice to valet here. Thank you. Also, they open for lunch starting this week!



Matt's steak
My scallops!

Wonderful lobster mashed potatoes!

The Martini:)

Lefty's

I had to run an errand for work out at the Galleria, so I decided to pick up Matt and head to lunch in Addison since we were so close. We decided to go to Lefty's for lunch. It is located on Beltline past Fogo de Chao, and it is only open for lunch during the week, and not the weekends ( we have tried on a Saturday afternoon before). The place is has been here a while for sure. It is very festive, though. Allergies beware- they still allow smoking in the establishment with out barriers. No thanks!

We each ordered a lunch special and semi enjoyed it. Matt rated his a 5 on a 1-10 scale. I think I would agree. He ordered the blackened tilapia sandwich which came with potato salad and coleslaw. I had half a shrimp po boy with lobster bisque which also came with potato salad and coleslaw. I passed on the bisque and Matt decided that he liked it.

Overall, it reminded us of old school Galveston. Pre-hurricane. And smoking bans.

Potato Salad - besides the bread- that was the only thing left to photograph. Oops!

Maximo's

Last night ( Thursday) my best friend and I headed out to an upscale Mexican food joint over by the Galleria. It is in the spot where BLT steak used to be. The outside photo is kind of dark, but this is a view from the front. It has a wrap around patio, so it will be great once the weather warms up around here. Around the corner are trees with little white lights on them. Cute!

When you walk in, it is kind of dark. It is all wood and lots of candles. The bar looked pretty full with different age folks! The ambiance was really good.

The first thing that we ordered was a Margarita- of Course. We both got frozen with salt. Not the best, but not the worst either. Then they brought out chips with three kinds of salsas. The green one in the middle was my favorite, but it definitely had a kick to it! Next for the entrees. I ordered the black bean and chicken nachos smothered in cheese. They were supposed to come with gauc. too, but it didn't come on the nachos. I kindly let the Waiter know, and he brought out a side for me. Very nice. My bestie ordered tortilla soup and really liked it. It had chicken and avocado in it with crunchy tortilla chips on top. She really liked the consistency and the flavor. Overall, the place was really nice if you are in the mood for upscale mexican. Personally, I prefer the plain old mexican food joints.