Del Frisco's Grille

Del Frisco's Grille recently opened on McKinney and it is a hot spot right now. Wednesday presented a wonderful opportunity to give it a try. Across the street from Frankie's sports bar and next door to the new Private Social, this is one place that we were actually pleased to find valet parking.

We made a reservation, which was a good call. This place was packed with people two and three deep all around the bar. Busy! We were seated in a booth on the backside of the restaurant that faced the kitchen. Our waiter was very nice and offered up several opinions about the best of the best.

We started with the ahi tacos and they were fantastic. The shells are extra crisp, which brings a nice contrast to the texture of the tuna. Stuffed with avocado and topped with spicy citrus mayo, these unique tacos are something that you should definitely try out.

From there we moved on to the crabcake. Made with generous pieces of real crab, this cake was lightly seared so that you weren't overwhelmed by the fried taste. The peppers gave it a nice flavor, but the sauce brought the dish home. Spicy, but not overbearing, it was a great combination.

The Pimiento cheese fritters were delicious little balls of gooey cheese served alongside chipotle ranch sauce. Making your cheese fritters with pimiento cheese is actually genius because it gives the cheese a little extra punch.

The wild mushroom flatbread seemed like a good choice, but it wasn't our favorite. The dough tasted off a little - maybe frozen? - and something was missing from this dish. Fontina cheese, caramelized onions, and baby arugula are usually a home run, but this was lackluster.

We were also a little disappointed by the jalapeno mac and cheese. We expected something more from this dish that boasted both jalapeno and bacon, and instead decided that it was a little Velveeta-tasting. I'm not going to lie - we ate the whole thing - but it felt like a dish that had very little thought going into it.

We were also a little disappointed at how quickly the staff wanted to turn over our table. On four different occasions, people (who weren't our waiter) tried to clear our plates when they obviously still had food on them. My wine glass was taken away with wine still in it (crime of crimes). We were interrupted repeatedly by the staff, and it got to be a distraction. We get that it's popular, but we still dropped a pretty penny in there and that was something we didn't appreciate.

Luckily, the coconut cream pie finished our meal and made our taste buds beyond happy. Generous white chocolate shavings, a huge dollop of whipped cream, and everything else good that goes into a coconut cream pie, this dessert was both visually appealing and so, so tasty!

Now, the noise level in this place is intense, and it is super crowded (make sure to get a reservation and you might request a table so that you're not directly next to the bar crowd?), but it makes for a fun evening. We will definitely be back and hope for better/less service.

The Dish: ahi tacos and coconut cream pie were our favorites!

Bijoux

We hesitate to mention it, but Bijoux offers Twitter Trivia on Wednesdays and if you answer correctly/first/whatever the stipulation, they generously provide you a $50.00 credit. We love Bijoux, so we, of course, play compulsively...But everyone can be a winner because on Monday nights, Bijoux is now offering a three course dinner for $39.50.

We had to check this out; Monday night found us with our cocktails in hand, perusing the menu.

First, they brought us the amuse bouche which was a petite portion of pate topped with a delicious sauce. Then, they came around with a bread basket offering olive, rosemary or raisin/pecan bread. They are all served warm and you can have as many slices as your heart/stomach desires.

For starters, we had the whipped carrot soup with a marshmallow cracker. This was truly amazing- frothy and almost like sweet potato pie, it wasn't heavy enough to deter us from eating the rest of our meal, but it was very tasty.


Going the opposite direction, we also got the chipped brisket appetizer. Chipped brisket, an egg, and a light sauce all served on toast points with a shaving of white cheddar- we would order this again in a minute.

Next, the main courses: we ordered the truffle stuffed chicken served with mashed potatoes and celery. This tasted like a true home cooked meal, deliciously lumpy potatoes and all. The chicken was served with the skin on- what a rare and caloric treat!

We also tried the basil risotto with pine nuts. The risotto was flawless and the pine nuts offered a nice contrast.

And finally, dessert - the blue cheese plate was served with tiny toasts, chopped nuts and julienned apples. Lovely presentation!

We were served a kiwi palate cleanser and were ready for our final dessert. This was an upside down quince cake served with whipped cream and house made chamomile gelato. This dessert rivaled the chipped brisket for our favorite part of the evening.

The Dish: We love Bijoux and we love being able to visit for only $39.50. It's like Restaurant Week without the disparaging parts! Give their Monday menu a try.

Jonathon's in Oak Cliff

After being published in Food & Wine magazine for their Friday beer cheese soup special, we HAD to try out Jonathon's in Oak Cliff. We decided to get there pretty early (11:15 am) in case everyone else read the same article; by the time we finished our lunch, the place was certainly filling up.

We each started with a cup of the beer cheese soup and loved it. It was flavorful and creamy, but wasn't too rich. As described in the magazine, there were hints of bacon and jalapeno - making this the best beer cheese soup we've ever had.

We deiced to split the chicken pot pie for our entree. Again, we were very pleased. The presentation was lovely and homey. The pie itself was even better! The crust was buttery and flaky and the flavors were wonderful, a true bite of fall with peas, carrots, a solid gravy, and shredded chicken.

We wrapped up our lunch with a delicious pumpkin chocolate chip muffin topped with cream cheese frosting. A nice end to our carb-y lunch.

Our gentleman server could not have been nicer and the food got an A+! We are excited to have another favorite in the OC!

The Dish: Friday beer cheese soup is worth the lunch break, but don't forget Jonathon's serves up some delicious brunch (chicken and waffles), too!

Zio Cecio

Last night we tried Zio Cecio on Lovers Lane. It is located in the spot where Cafe Italia used to be, but it is completely renovated. The bar has been moved, the kitchen is more available. Placement of mirrors and better use of floor space gives this place a cozy and yet, open feel.

The restaurant was about 90% full, so we were able to get seated immediately. We ordered our Prosecco and Chardonnay and dove into the extensive menu (which largely features seafood items). The waitress was extremely helping us with our choices. We were a little disappointed to hear that the pizza oven was still being prepared and wasn't ready; focacia and pizza would have to wait for another day.

Our entrees took an inordinate amount of time to arrive, but we imagine they are still working out some new restaurant kinks. The server was good to refill our bread basket.

The ravioli was topped with a homemade tomato sauce that was truly flavorful and there was a hint of mint mixed into the potato-cheese stuffing. Overall, the dish tasted very authentic Italian and managed to have a light feel. The tomatoes really made it work.

The risotto wasn't our favorite- we had to salt it and the flavor was a bit lacking. The rosemary overpowered the apple. The walnuts did add a nice crunch, but on the whole, we wouldn't order this again.

Due to the heavy starch intake, we were to full to venture into dessert. However, they had more than a few choices that looked delicious!

Our feeling on Zio Cecio is that it is a nice place, a great spot for the neighborhood. For our drink and dinner tab, however, we were disappointed. Prices were a little too high for dishes that we didn't love.

The Dish: Let Zio Cecio work out their kinks before stopping by!

Buick Discovery Tour

On Saturday we were invited to attend the Buick Discovery Tour held at the Ritz Carlton- Dallas. They parterned with Food and Wine Magazine, and the event was top notch all the way!

Schedule of Events:
11 am- Registration
11:30- Welcome Speech and Event Instruction
11:35-12:00 - S'Mores Bomb and homemade ice cream demonstration by Ben Roche
12:05-12:30- Test Drive the Buick Lacrosse

12:35-1:00- Walnut Crusted Salmon with Curried Butternut Squash Puree demonstration by Alessandro Stratta

1:05-1:25- Wine Tasting demonstration by Michael Green

1:30-2:00- Fried Pork and Beef Meatballs demonstration with Michael Psilakis
At the end of the event, all participants were given a signed cookbook by Michael Psilakis!
Overall we had a great time at this event and learned some new things, too!
Thanks Buick (client) and Food and Wine for a great afternoon!

Ruthie's Rolling Cafe

Ruthie's Rolling Cafe has been garnering a TON of praise recently. You can't look at anything regarding a food truck without coming across Ruthie's. According to their advertising, it is Wheel Good Food.

We found today's location by using their Facebook page, and quickly made our way to 8117 Preston Road.
Ruthie's is easy to find - the blue truck is a dead giveaway. Parking was great. Location was great - there were even a few tables and a cute fountain to sit by and enjoy our grilled cheese. The staff was so friendly...and then there was the FOOD!

We walked up and placed our order.
You select the bread of your choice, the cheese of your choice, meats, sauces, and extras. It's custom made while you wait.


I went with jalapeno cheese bread, cheddar, their secret sauce, and pickles. It was amazing. Unparalleled. Grilled cheese perfection.

We also, piggies that we are, had a sourdough, cheddar, bacon grilled cheese with mayo. It was equally good.

How do you hit two home run grilled cheese sandwiches when they are so different? It is clear that Ruthie's knows their business. This little blue truck is definitely an asset to our great city. I'm glad we met.

For under $10 you are served a delicious grilled cheese, a bag of chips, and a soda. You can't beat that and with the fabulous ingredients they use, I doubt you could even make it at home for that small of a price tag.


The Dish: It's grilled cheese - you really can't go wrong. Find them and see for yourself. But try that secret special sauce.

The Fatted Calf

Lunch today took me and the boy into Rockwall. On the town square, across from the courthouse, is a little spot called The Fatted Calf. They serve breakfast until noon, and then they serve their lunch/dinner menu - all with a generous side of hometown friendliness.

Breakfast had a number of items that looked amazing: Apple Cider Waffles, Sweet Potato Pancakes, Pecan Sticky Buns, Grits, eggs galore, Ham and Cheese Biscuits. Our table was split 50/50 between ordering breakfast and lunch, so we tried a little of everything.

For breakfast, Eggs Chesapeake kicked us off.
These crab cakes were topped with spinach, poached eggs, and hollandaise. Served on the side were some amazingly delicious and fresh tomatoes. Good start.



From there, we moved on to the Sweet Potato Pancake. Made with ricotta so they were light and fluffy, these giant pancakes were topped with pecans and a drizzle of something caramel-y. It was like sweet potato pie, but better...if sweet potato pie can GET better.



The grilled chicken sandwich looked good. It also featured some of those amazing tomatoes, Swiss cheese, and a lemon mayo that I wish I could copy. Fries were crinkle cut and crispy - no soggy over-fried potatoes on this plate. A sliced pickle was served on the side. It was both sweet and spicy - a very nice touch.



The salad trio finished up our lunch entrees: freshly made pimiento cheese, apricot chicken salad, and mixed greens served with toast points. The perfect ladies lunch!


Though the chicken fried steak looked superb and the squash casserole appealed, we had to save something for our next visit. The Fatted Calf is a cute little spot to visit, should you find yourself in Rockwall.

The Dish: Breakfast was top notch.

Swig

After our first choice was thwarted, we pleasantly found ourselves at Swig. Swig now occupies what used to be Park on Henderson. Gone is the valet (we like it). Gone also: the crowd (granted, it was a Monday night).
Swig was decked out for Halloween with spooky cobwebs and other precious decor. Loving Fall as much as we do, we appreciated their nod to the season.

We chose the enclosed patio area where a nice breeze was blowing and Monday Night Football was playing on mute (just the way we like it). After looking over the menu, we selected a few appetizers for our dinner.

The truffle salt fries caught our eye. These fries come with your choice of three dipping sauces. Cute concept. The fries were decent, the sauces were fun!


We moved on to the slow roasted Niman Ranch pork sliders. These sliders were smaller than normal slider fare, which we loved. Each slider had a delicious helping of pork, bbq sauce, slaw, and a pickle. Four came to an order, and we found that to be plenty.


We finished off with the cheese board. Accompanied by grapes, crackers, bread, mustard, pecans, and dried cherries, this was a fun selection. You can choose your number of cheeses and meats. We went with Gouda, Belletoile Triple Cream, and Red Dragon Cheddar - the presentation was appealing, and the cheese was a surprisingly generous portion.


All in all, our evening didn't work out quite the way we planned, but we were pleasantly surprised by our detour.

The Dish: the appetizers amazed.

Rohst

Monday night we checked Rohst off of our list. This newly opened spot is located on Greenville Avenue in the new strip with Terrelli’s. This entire strip has been completely redone and the outcome is very pleasing; there are patios and rooftop bars galore!

Green Tea Martini. Cheers!

We decided to sit outside on their front patio to enjoy the cool fall air that we are so excited to finally experience. If you arrive between 5-7 p.m. all drinks are half price and most of the appetizers are discounted. We went with a martini, glass of wine, tempura green beans and the avocado pork roll. They were all delicious choices. The panko crusted green beans were very lightly breaded so you didn’t have that fried [State Fair of Texas] taste- the crisp green beans were notable. The avocado pork roll was divided into four generous portions all stuffed with pork, fresh avocado and rice noodles. At this point we were pretty satisfied, but we wanted to try an entrée.

We choose the teriyaki chicken sandwich. You can have your choice of fries, vegetables or coleslaw on the side. We went with the coleslaw, which had a very distinct and delicious sesame seed oil dressing vs. the normal mayo. The sandwich was served on ciabatta bread with grilled marinated chicken, onions, peppers and melted provolone cheese. The flavors all worked well together.

This place was good and with the happy hour deals, and the great view of Greenville, we were pleased. Our service was exceptional (the waiter even chased us down to hand over a forgotten sweater) and the food was unique.

The Dish: Go for Happy Hour. Try everything!

Red Fork

We tried visiting Red Fork once before, but they were temporarily closed. Then there was chef drama that we read about all over Dallas food blogs. All of that said, we were interested in trying this new spot - especially when Daily Candy wrote about their new pizza oven.

We arrived around 6:30 and there was only one other occupied table in the place. Honestly, it felt more like a bar than a restaurant - loud music, open windows (without the fall temps but with all of the the Dallas humidity), sticky tables. We were seated and began perusing the menu. We weren't quite sure what to order, so we went with the safe bet: the cheese plate. You could make your selection from a variety of meats and cheeses. For $16 you could select three items, $4 for each additional item. Considering what all came with the plate, this is good bang for your buck. We went with three different cheeses: golden cheddar, manchego, and Prairie Breeze (Prairie Breeze is amazing and is also served at Bolsa). The plate came with a cute little jar of pickled vegetables, grilled bread, horseradish mustard, honey, green apple, pear, peaches, and arugula. We enjoyed this part of dinner, as well as their decently priced wine list.

They have recently been touting their pizzas, so we ultimately picked the mushroom pizza over their equally well publicized burger. The pizza portions are large so you could probably share this dish. The pizza was served with all fresh ingredients: mushrooms, tomato sauce, grilled onions, and pork belly. I think we both attempted two small slices and were done. The flavor was a little lacking here.

All in all, we won't return to Red Fork. It might be better saved for a late night snack.

The Dish: If you make it to Red Fork, try out the cheese plate.

Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

Dough, located at the Preston/Forest intersection, is new to town. They hail from San Antonio where they created quite a stir up with their unique method of pizza prep, and now they have found a home in Dallas. Closed on Sunday and Monday, Dough had a full crowd during Saturday lunch.

We had the choice of sitting at a table/booth, or sitting up where we could see the pizza prep at a kitchen bar area. We chose that spot because we had a great view of our pizza dough being rolled out, put into the oven, and then stacked with other fresh ingredients. The basil plants made for cute decor, but they were also used in the prep process - very neat to watch.

We started with the House Made Italian Soda. Raspberry cream was a delicious treat - very rich.

The non cream version!

The lunch selections were amazing and it was hard to reign in our appetites.
The Margherita STG arrived dotted with delicious Mozzarella di Bufala, Parmesan, fresh tomato sauce, and basil.



We also chose the arugula & prosciutto pizza. This guy had a very slight truffle oil tang, the cheese was the perfect amount of salty, and then piled on top of that was fresh arugula and prosciutto. It struck the right balance of flavors, was beautifully presented, and definitely made my taste buds happy.


There was no way we could bypass the Nutella panini for dessert. This is a must try. It was the equivalent of a sandwich and a half where marshmallows and Nutella came together to create something extraordinary (how could they not). Best of all, piled high in the middle of the plate was some fresh and homemade whipped cream drizzled with caramel.


Our experience at Dough was fresh and flavorful.
We will definitely be revisiting this spot for a unique pizza experience.

The Dish: The Nutella Panini is a must!