The People's Last Stand

Wednesday evening we found ourselves at The People's Last Stand for happy hour.  This fairly new spot is located in Mockingbird Station - upstairs by Angelika. They have quite an extensive listing of cocktails and segment their drink menu into 5 categories: Alchemy, Sours &Flips, Classic, High Balls and Kon-Tiki/Aperitifs/Beer. We ordered a Great White Jail out of the High Ball section and a Boleyn from the Alchemy section.  The Great White Jail was made up of pear bourbon, bitters, ginger beer and lemon juice all served up in a copper cup.  The Boleyn had gin, pureed strawberries, rose water, yellow chartreuse and lemon juice served up in a champagne glass.  Both of the choices were refreshingly different. 

We ordered the cheese plate to accompany our cocktails and were very pleased.  All of the cheese choices are straight from one of our very favorite cheese shops in Dallas- Scardello.  You get your choice of  three cheeses from their chalkboard; we went with the cheddar, brie and gouda.  The cheese was served with toasted bread slices, almonds, raspberry chutney and a honeycomb.  No complaints here!

The Dish on Dallas recommends The People's Last Stand for a happy hour pre or post movie at Angelika!

The Landmark

On Monday night we headed over to the Warwick Melrose Hotel to enjoy their newly renovated restaurant, The Landmark. We went about two years ago before the renovation and were some of the only folks in the restaurant.  Needless to say, our experience was less than stellar.  This time, we'd hoped the outcome would be different.

The remodel has left the place looking great!

We arrived promptly at seven and there was one larger party in the wine room area and no one else in the restaurant.  In fact, there wasn't even a hostess at the stand.

After about 3 minutes, a waiter noticed us and then sent someone around to seat us.  We had the pick of any table in the place.  Red flag #1.

Our waitress was very nice (once she arrived) and told us about their course special.  We could basically have a 3 course meal picking anything off of hte menu for 35.00.  Reminder: "if it is too good to be true, then it probably is". 

We started with the lobster bisque and the crab cake for our appetizers.  About 20-30 minutes later, we were served the starters.  The bisque was watery and so bad, that we actually had to send it back (something that we have never done as Dishers).  Red Flag #2. The bisque was replaced by a charred tomato soup and cornbread.  This was actually pretty good- the flavors were really nice and the cornbread was buttery and crisp.  The crab cakes were served on a bed of greens accompanied by avocados and tomatoes. This was our favorite item.  They were light and generous on crab meat and not filler.

Crabcakes: the star of the show, hands down!

Lobster Bisque: Not up to par

Next, we both went with the tenderloin served over ravioli and topped with mushrooms. Fast forward 3 minutes later and we were served the entree.  The ravioli was filled with mushrooms and cheese and had a nice flavor.  The mushrooms on top of the steak were rubbery and I would have to say the same about the steak . It lacked taste and was not good. Red Flag #3.

The ravioli was tasty

Finally, on to dessert.  By this time we had been at our table for over 2 hours (and there were only two other parties in the restaurant). We actually considered leaving before dessert came.  The creme brulee was decent, but not great.  We also ordered the tuxedo cake- again decent, but not great.

Overall, we had a very dismal experience at The Landmark. Despite the 20% off coupon and nice waitress, we won't be returning.

Mason Bar

Thursday night we tried out Mason Bar located in the State Thomas neighborhood in Uptown.  They were hosting a charity benefit that night, so it was quite loud and very crowded. Since we were already planning to try this spot out, we decided to stick around.  We started with the mason fries as an appetizer.  These came complete with cheddar cheese, bacon, cilantro sour cream and shredded pork.  The waitress brought out a chipotle ranch dipping sauce and ketchup.  This was a good start, the pork was especially memorable, but we weren't blown away by the dish. 

We moved on to the side items.  It was such a loud atmosphere that a long drawn out dinner was not in the cards.  We ordered the mac and cheese and the Brussels sprouts. I would give both of these dishes  a B-.  The mac and cheese a little grainy and the Brussels sprouts lacked the full flavor that we'd prefer.

We wanted to end with something sweet.  Mason Bar offers bread pudding and a dessert of the day.  We ordered the dessert of the day which happened to be key lime pie.  This was the show stealer and possibly the only thing for which we would return.  The crust was buttery, the key lime filling was the perfect level of tart and the thick layer of whipped cream completed the delicious trifecta.

Overall, Mason Bar wasn't our favorite spot, despite having a cool vibe and a very nice staff.

The Dish: Dessert of the Day was an A+.

Mr. Mesero

Salsa served with fresh chips

Compliments of the Chef: pickled vegetables. These guys were H-O-T!!!

In the spot where Burger Girl used to be (on McKinney) resides a new hotspot: Mr. Mesero. The owner has some some idea of what works - he was the former creator/owner of the M Crowd group. On the day we visited, he cordially visited and sat tables.

The inside has been redone, the outside still has it's decent wrap around patio. The staff is very attentive, super polite, and knowledgeable. We loved our dining experience and can't wait to do a revisit. 

Our server, Marisol, enhanced our experience; she was a straight shooter about menu items, making sure to put warning labels on things that were too hot. 

We started out with the Queso Mesero. It is listed as a House Favorite, and we understand why. Spinach, artichoke, Poblano pepper, and queso make up this dish. It is served, with much fanfare, atop a crunchy chip. The flavors combination is delicate. The pepper is very mild. The queso itself is buttery. We loved it and would order it again. 

Marisol dressed our chip for us. It was a unique experience.

From there, we moved on to the Guacamole Tipico. Nothing too spicy - thanks to Marisol's warning. This was a huge serving of guacamole and we ate every bite. It was a real treat; small chunks of avocado were mixed in among the normal guacamole smoothness, no surprise tomatoes or peppers. Fresh onions sat atop our guacamole stack. All of it was amazingly fresh. 

Nothing "tipico" about it...

We split the Nachos Conocidos for our entree. Slices of avocado, black beans, and brisket made up these crunchy, hearty nachos. The brisket was unique, despite brisket being a staple on the M Crowd menus. We enjoyed it - another dish we would order again.

The server was nice enough to split our order of nachos. These babies were huge.

Our dining companion ordered the tacos. Again, we asked Marisol if the barbacoa tacos or the carnitas were worth a try - she was kind enough to plate up both. We only sampled a bite of the carnitas, very rich, but they were darn good. 

Margaritas were no slouch either! One on the rocks and one frozen, we were pleased with the outcome of our frosty beverages. 

Mr. Mesero has something going on that is worth checking out!

The Dish: Try that queso!