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!