American Girl Bistro

I realize that the American Girl Bistro is going to have limited appeal, but I stumbled upon this spot while shopping with my friend's seven year old little girl. If you know a girl around this age, the American Girl store is, of course, heaven.

The Bistro is located upstairs from the store, which somewhat removes you from the madness of the crowd. Reservations are recommended.
Before you are seated you are either given a baby seat, just in case you brought your doll with you. If you forgot your doll or if you don't have a doll, the Bistro has a wide selection that you can choose from. Doll and seat are attached to the table, and everyone is given a menu - doll included.


I didn't have high expectations for the Bistro, but it definitely surprised me.
The menu is coursed - you pay $14.50 for dinner.


Everyone at the table chose a different starter, so we were served the very veggie platter that was complimented by both green goddess and ranch dressings, the fruit platter with yogurt dip and two strawberry muffins (the fruit was on skewers and cut into star shapes), and the warm tomato-and-mozzarella flatbread.




For dinner, I selected the salad with coconut crusted chicken. It was so yummy with dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, tomatoes, nuts, goat cheese (which I, of course, had removed), and three big pieces of coconut crusted chicken breasts. It was tossed in a light vinaigrette. It was delicious.


My dining companion had the turkey sandwich, which was plated well and served with sweet potato chips that were so unique, she quickly found her plate empty.



My seven year old dining companion enjoyed the chicken tenders served with a side of mac and cheese.

We all enjoyed a cup of peppermint hot chocolate before heading back out into the cold weather. However, even the seven year old pointed out that there was no peppermint flavor to be found.



All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this delicate little restaurant that I would have never found on my own!

Hotel St. Germain

Hotel St. Germain is extravagant. It has all of the accoutrement that make it both gentle and elegant. The attention to detail, alone, makes this restaurant and hotel a star.

We were greeted at the door by our host. Before we were seated, he gave us a tour of the downstairs area in the hotel, including the original fireplace found in the library. Everything was decorated for Christmas in a manner well suited to the hotel.

We were seated in front of a tall window that overlooked the porch area. Our waiter could not have been nicer, and I would like to take a minute here to acknowledge how much his excellent service and attention to detail enhanced our dining experience. He served everything with white gloves. He did not rush us. He was so very polite and patient…and professional.

The dinner was a coursed menu, arranged before hand. I cannot think of a single thing that was not perfectly prepared, well plated, presented with decorum, and appreciated while consumed.

Amuse Bouche

Pate with gherkins and mustard

Soup

Hearty Potato and Leek with Thyme Croutons

Appetizer

Duck Foie Gras on Country Toast, Braised Greens, Cranberry Jus

Seafood

Oyster Rockefeller

Broiled Sea Scallops with Serrano Ham, Parmesan, and Butternut Squash

Entrees

Grilled Prime Beef Tenderloin on Beef and Potato Hash, Creamed Turnips with Horseradish, Red Wince Glace de Viande

Trout Meuniere with Meyer Lemon, Frisee Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

Fromage

A cow’s milk and goat’s milk cheese blend served with fig compote and toast

Dessert

Quince and Apple Tart Tartin, Vanilla Mousse

Chocolate-Cinnamon Souffle

Mignardises

Pralines served with two roses

Zodiac Room at Christmas

Today we went to the Zodiac Room at Neiman Marcus for Aimee’s birthday lunch. the store windows are really cool this season. They are interactive and kids can actually crawl through each of the window displays!

I didn’t photograph any of the lunch entrees (too many!!), but I had to take a few pictures of the fabulous dessert tray. They brought out individual tiny ice cream cones for the table. Then, they had an entire platter of tiny donuts. This included two cinnamon and sugar donuts, two glazed donuts, and two glazed and sprinkles donuts. In the middle were fresh strawberries and on both ends- two dipping sauces: raspberry puree and chocolate. Can we say Merry Christmas??

Samar

We tried Samar last week and it was simply amazing. I really with that I would have brought my camera to take all of these pictures, but then I supposed the post would have been HUGE. Stephan Pyles came by several times to check on our table and pick out several of the items that were going to be included in our tasting. Overall, it was a truly a delicious experience!

1. Tres vasos
2. Chorizo/potatoes/fried egg
3. Roasted chiles
4. Plain naan
5. Rosemary naan
6. Sundried tomato naan
7. Cream-cheese stuffed squash with pomegranate salad
8. Mussels in cream sauce
9. Plate of hummus / homemade cheese / baba ganoush
10. Ground lamb "pizza"
11. Ground beef dumpling
12. Fried spiced pumpkin kofte with peekytoe crab and caviar
13. Spicy stewed lamb meat sauce with croquette
14. Chicken tandoori butter masala
15. Curry-spiced halibut
16. Tandoori prawns with pear chutney

I highly recommend the tasting menu, but if that isn't your thing there are definitely many options for you to choose from!

Enjoy!

http://www.samarrestaurant.com/

The Lemon Bar

Christen, Katie H and I went to lunch today at Lemon Bar. This place is located in the West Village next to Cru and across from Mi Cocina. This place has changed hands more than several times over the last few years, but I hope this place gets to stick around.

It is sort of like an upscale pub. There are definitely lots of flat screen TV’s, but it doesn’t feel consumed by too much of a “sportsy” feel (which I personally do not appreciate). We were immediately seated and all squeezed in a booth. Apparently, not one of us wanted to sit in the chairs! It worked out and there was plenty of room. On such a cold day, it was nice to be cozy with these lovely ladies!

Katie H ordered the Lemon Bar flatbread. This came with a spinach dip base, tomatoes, basil, and chicken. She mentioned that the chicken was bit bland and they kind of went overboard on the tomatoes. She loved the spinach dip base and thought that alone with the bread would have been an excellent combination!

I ordered one of the lunch specials (there are 6 you can pick from that are $8.00). It came with either a house salad or caesar salad or cup of soup and half of a flatbread order. I got the BLT flatbread which came with tomatoes, cheese, and bacon. It was tasty, but a tad greasy. The side salad was pretty plain- nothing too exciting.
Christen ordered one of the lunch specials as well. She ordered the bowtie pasta and a caesar salad. The caesar was a traditional caesar and she really liked it. She said that it had the perfect amount of dressing and croutons! I feel like this is a fine art that some restaurants have a very difficult time mastering. She mentioned that the bowtie pasta was just so-so. Apparently, the best part was the top with the crunchy cheese! Maybe this place has a few kinks to work out, but I think they are on the right track. Also, if you can’t make it for lunch, I have heard their brunch is pretty amazing!

Chapman Chile Kitchen

Yesterday was FREEZING and rainy in Dallas. After reading D Magazine’s write up on Chapman Chile, I decided to check it out. I got a bowl of their mild chili with cheese and sour cream on top. It was REALLY good. The chili was chalked full of tomatoes and ground meat and had a nice flavor. They also sell jalapeños that are supposed to be very good as well. Check out the website to see the full menu:
http://www.chapmanchile.com/


If you need something to warm you up, try this joint out!

Farnatchi

Monday night Morgan and I decided to try out Farnatchi. It is a new pizza place located near the Knox/Henderson area. We were interested in giving it a try since the owner is that of Medina in Victory Park. We both really like Medina, so we knew that this would probably fall close in step. The concept is similar in that the restaurant it self is fairly small and has a combination of tables and booths. Most of the kitchen is open, so you can see the cook baking all of the pizzas in the center of the restaurant. You immediately feel warm and cozy when you walk in. Each table is equipped with candles and cast iron pizza holders. The restaurant is BYOB and they charge a corking fee (I think it was 5.00). The menu is pretty basic and includes a salad section, a pizza section, an entree section, pasta and then desserts. I don’t think that anything is over $15.00.

Morgan ordered a mixed greens salad that had garbanzo beans, tomatoes, and pan seared cheese (can’t remember the name, but it was AMAZING). I ordered a spinach salad that came with poached apricots and pine nuts. Both salads had a vinaigrette dressing and lovely flavors. We were both pleased.

On to the main course! You have the option of ordering a small, medium, or large pizza and they all are served on thin crust. They have some pretty inventive toppings, or you are welcome to create your own. We ordered a pizza that came topped with: gorgonzola, mozzarella, spiced pear slices, poached dates and arugula. It was simply delicious! Who knew all of those flavors went so well together. We couldn’t finish all of the pizza, but we absolutely boxed it up and took it to go!

If you are looking for a cozy pizza place, I would definitely add this to your list!