Stackhouse Burger in Dallas

Stackhouse Burgers is located down by Baylor Hospital in Dallas and has a few things going for it: Number one, parking was decent. Number two, they do offer outdoor and rooftop dining. Can you take advantage of that right now? Not unless you plan on checking in to Baylor for heat stroke. But....come November/December, when the weather cools to less than 80, it'll definitely come in handy. Number three, it's so good you will want to make a return visit to eat up whatever you missed the first time.

We started with a vanilla milk shake, which tasted like pure delicious Bluebell topped with whipped cream and a cherry. A little on the thick side, this shake had staying power.

If you're into something a little more serious, Stackhouse also has a bar complete with a sports centered tv. 

Vanilla Milkshake at Stackhouse Burgers

Next up, the burger. We ordered the single patty 6oz burger. You can tailor it to your specifics, including cheese and other toppings. We went with cheddar, lettuce, and avocado. This burger was one of the better burgers we've had recently; the cheese was melty, the avocado was smooth. We could not have been happier with our burger choice. Plus, while 6oz isn't skimpy, it also isn't overwhelming. We found it to be of good heft. 

Single Patty Burger with Avocado, Cheddar, and Lettuce

The french fries were decent. The show stealer, however, was definitely the mac and cheese. This little ditty came out in a foil dish - was bubbly and hot with a toasted crumb top. It looked good, but we've recently been burned by mac and cheese that came out grainy or bland. This was neither. It was smooth perfection with a nice sharp bite to it. This dish gets a blue ribbon. 

The French Fries - Decent, but overshadowed by the mac and cheese experience

Our Pick for Best Dish!

Our experience with the wait staff was a little stuffy, but we won't let that deter us from visiting again. We enjoyed the atmosphere and the food exceeded our expectations. Oh, and if burgers aren't your thing, the menu does hold other options - the griddled cheese caught our eye, made with gouda, cheddar, and bacon. Can you beat that?

The dish: Try that mac and cheese!

Pecan Lodge

Pecan Lodge at the Dallas Farmer's Market keeps some limited hours (Thursday-Sunday 11-3), but the crowd outside lets you know that things inside are worth finagling your schedule. 

We arrived on the Thursday after July 4th at noon. The line was wrapped around the side of the building and down the hall. Luckily, it is located inside the air conditioned shed #2 AND our spot in line put us right across from a fudge shop. Jackpot. 

The line.

 

The line moved quickly, and we soon found ourselves ordering up The Hot Mess. The Hot Mess is something you may have seen on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives? Or something you might have seen in Southern Living, The Dallas Morning News or even The Observer? It even has it's own hashtag. It is darn good. This salted sweet potato is topped with barbacoa, chopped bacon, chives, butter, and chipotlecream. The picture doesn't really do justice to how good this potato is, but it is unparalleled - and it's a ton to eat.  

The "Hot Mess" with all of the delicious trappings

Wanting to try a sampling of sides, we also ordered up the fried okra and the mac and cheese. 

The mac and cheese had a whole litany of praise mounted on the wall as part of their advertising. However, we found the dish to be a little grainy and not quite up to snuff. The cheese was mild and it was topped with bacon - but the grainy texture to the roux really put us off.

The mac and cheese.

 

The fried okra was delicious and couldn't have been done better. Crisp applied to both the breading and the okra itself. Every single piece was a success. It was an A+ side dish. 

Okra done right!

The Dish: We would revisit for The Hot Mess. Fortunately, today is Sunday. 

We may just revisit once we hit publish!

Kenny's Italian Kitchen

We usually don't venture outside of our loop ( north of 635), but we have heard too many great things about Kenny's Italian Kitchen to miss out.  This spot is located in Addison right off the tollway on Beltline.  We arrived about 6:45 on a Tuesday night and the place was absolutely packed.  Luckily we made a reservation on opentable.com prior to arrival.  Our waiter was very friendly and suggested their happy hour house wine.  At $4.00 a glass with a nice big pour, this was an excellent start.

We started with the "Midnight Meatballs".  These were served three to a dish, covered in marinara, mozzarella cheese and Italian parsley.  They tasted authentic and were filling. 

For the entree portion, we ordered the veal piccata and asked for Fontina cheese on top.  This was served with a lemon caper sauce and a side of spaghetti noodles tossed with garlic and olive oil.  The veal was pounded thin and the sauce was flavorful: the lemon had a great punch to it.

We also went tried the gnocchi. At Kenny's you can choose a white cream sauce or the vodka sauce.  The vodka sauce seemed more appealing.  These medium sized potato pockets were fluffy  and the sauce was a great balance with the starch.

Even though we were stuffed, we had to order the light and dark chocolate bread pudding.  This generous portion could easily have been split by four people, but we made a pretty good attempt at finishing it.  The pudding was dense and the chocolate sauces were creamy. This dessert is a show stealer. 

We were glad that we ventured out of the loop for this spot.  Kenny's has Italian comfort food down.

Nando's

This week we decided to give Nando's a try.  This spot is formerly Cava (also a Dish on Dallas reviewed location) found on Preston and Royal.  The owner is a previous Gloria's employee and together with his mother, they opened up this Veracruz style restaurant.  We were greeted by the owner upon arrival and were seated in the middle of the main dining room.  Our waiter immediately let us know of their happy hours prices- $5.00 for the house red/white wine and margaritas.  What a deal! Cheers!

 We started with the chile con queso and chips and salsa. They offer the queso flameado as well, but we went with the plain and simple option.  Nando's does queso right- rich, creamy and salty - this was a great start.  The salsa had a bit of a kick, but it paired well with the queso and warm chips. 

 Next, we opted for the cucumber guacamole.  The plate was served with 4 heaping scoops of guacamole and tomato slices.  Unfortunately, this dish was a let down.  The dish lacked flavor and it almost tasted just like it was prepackaged from the grocery store. Yikes.

 Next up, we ordered the sopes.  These are corn patties topped with beans, lettuce, tomato, and queso fresco.  We were very pleased with this authentic dish.  The flavors were great and the presentation was appealing. The fresh sliced avocado really made this delicious.

 On to the diablitos.  These were tempura fried shrimp served in a spicy jelly. The presentation was very pretty, but the dish was a tad spicy, and the shrimp were a little too chewy.

We ended the meal with sopapillas.  These came three to an order with a dollup of sweet cream ice cream in the middle.  How can you go wrong ending the meal with a sugary fried dessert?  We were pleased that we ordered it.

We enjoyed our trip to Nando's, despite our mixed feelings on the things we ordered. We would definitely give this place another shot. It has potential. Plus the queso and happy hour specials are quite an incentive.

Craft in Dallas

We have had some ups and downs with our dining experiences lately and we wanted to have a "for sure" dinner this week - one that wouldn't let us down in the flavor, taste, price, atmosphere department. When we have a list of requirements that specific, we always know that we can rely on Craft. 

Located in the W Hotel, Craft has consistently been one of our favorites because of the potato puree that they serve. If you've been reading our blog long enough, you know that we have a thing for the potato. No one in Dallas, and we mean NO ONE, has the potato down like Craft. It is amazing. It is art. It is something that we won't be able to do justice to when trying to explain, so just look at this picture and sigh with contentment. This is the perfect dish. 

However, Craft isn't shabby in other departments either. Service, being one. Our waiter - super nice guy. Potato Puree wasn't on the lunch menu, but he didn't hesitate when we asked. He made sure that we were happy.

But while we were waiting, he made sure we got a few things we didn't come for, a complimentary salad and complimentary arancini. Both were unparalleled.  The salad had such a nice and fresh blend of lettuces. We were impressed. The arancini was done perfectly - but the sauce served alongside it had us wishing that we could order a plate of those little beauties.

 

For lunch, the veal meatballs with pappardelle pasta were out of this world. I didn't even mind the accompanying heartburn. The noodles were fresh and thick. The sauce was beautiful without being overwhelming, a nice burst of bright tomato flavor. The meatballs were a nice blend that had us clearing our plate. There is not one thing that could have made this dish better. 

The chicken salad sandwich served on a croissant was also worth trying. Pieces of white meat chicken were blended with mayonaisse and served along side an arugula salad with grilled peaches. As far as summer fare goes, this one was right on the money. 

Our experience at Craft, as always, was amazing. We will continue to revisit. Their menu changes with the seasons, so you're assured to never be bored.  Thank you, Craft.

Chicken Scratch

Our experience at Chicken Scratch was a very pleasant one thanks to a combination of factors that features, most prominently, the weather. This chicken joint, located over near The Belmont Hotel, has a very Austin-y feel to it. Chicken Scratch shares a common space with The Foundry - which brings together a nice marriage of chicken and beer.  

We started with the chick peas and crackers (we liked that they went with the chick-en theme vs. just calling it "hummus"). It was just okay. The texture wasn't creamy enough and it had some odd spices that didn't work for our palate. We loved that the Saltines were served in packets; it all fit in with the feel of the place.  

For the main event. we ordered up the chicken finger and a slew of sides. The chicken batter or marinade had a very unique flavor to it. The chicken was perfect, though - juicy with the right amount of batter.  You can choose from four amazing sounding dipping sauces for $0.50 each. We ordered the ranch dressing, but we think we ended up with the Dijon honey mustard - we didn't mind. 

The mac and cheese was made from scratch. It was nothing gourmet - a little better than something you might find in a cafeteria. The cheese was solid, but the mac was a little limp. They do offer small or large sides and we found the small to be plenty.

The homemade mashed potatoes and gravy were also good - but reminded us, also, of cafeteria food.

The biscuits were flaky and warm - a little dry - but nothing butter couldn't fix. 

All in all, we would say this about Chicken Scratch: the ambiance elevates the food. If not for the set up and the cool vibe they have going on with their outside dining, this place would be just a C instead of the B+ that we're giving it.

Oh, and a note: Don't leave your children or pets unattended - though feel free to bring both. This place is definitely family friendly.  

Media Grill and Bar in Dallas

We walked into Media Grill and Bar at the Hilton Anatole and were excited. Very sleek and modern, the bar set up is perfect for sports fans with banks of beautiful tvs, a tennis video game playing on the hardwood floors, a bright bar area with tons of pretty bottles. We were inspired. 

Our table was situated in the middle of the restaurant, but we could see that individual televisions lined the walls, present at each table. We were glad that we didn't bring our husbands, as conversation would have effectively ground to a halt.  

Our conversation ground to a halt when the first dish was served. 

We decided to start with the crab and artichoke dip served with lavash. After a ridiculous wait considering the number of other dining patrons, it was presented. Piping hot and topped with delicious looking crumbs, we were looking forward to digging in. The lavash was unlike any I had ever seen...making me wonder if it might ought to be called "pita chips" instead. Not a huge deal. The dip itself was ridiculously crabby. The artichokes were strangled by the other flavors, which is a shame since they're so good on their own. We expected more sauce and more artichoke and didn't care for the texture and taste of the appetizer. 

This flavored the rest of our ordering. 

We decided to try side dishes because we were already uninspired. The glass of wine ordered took about 20 minutes to arrive - making us feel like we could grow, stomp, and ferment our own bottle faster. We were put out. 

So we went with the Fingerling potato mash, the garlic fries, and the mac and cheese with Pancetta. 

Of the side dishes, the mac and cheese was our "favorite" - a dubious honor.  Please slice our Pancetta. Cook it up for us and sprinkle it throughout the dish. Based on your patronage, you're not too busy to do that...right? This greasy hunk was just placed on top and that was that. Presentation fail.

Fingerling mashed potatoes - they were ok. They were mashed with jackets on and were definitely rustic and lumpy. We don't mind that so much. We would like to see more flavor, possibly a creamier texture with our potatoes - or serve it with some butter. 

 

Finally, the garlic fries. Our waiter assured us that they were the best. In the five months he'd been working there, he couldn't stay away from these fries. Great news! We were excited...until they came. These guys were uninspired, for sure. Give us Smashfries any day over this dish.

All in all, our visit to Media Grill was short of the Touchdown! we expected. We won't revisit this spot- especially for the price tag.