Dallas dining & drinking - 2/28/11

Another week exploring food places around Dallas. Some recent places I tried:

The Blue Fish - A Japanese/Sushi restaurant over on Greenville Ave - across from the Granada Theater (where I was headed for IgniteDallas). I went with some co-workers/friends for a quick drink and sushi. I have to say they have a great happy hour menu - they had several rolls and other appetizers that were around $4. The crab potstickers, salmon roll, california roll and shrimp tempura roll were all pretty good - nothing special, but a great deal.

Quarter Bar/Breadwinners - On McKinney Ave at Hall
Part 1: Quarter Bar and Breadwinners are next door to each other and owned by the same people. Quarter Bar has great drink specials ($2 wells and $2 domestics on Thursdays) and Breadwinners has great food. So my friends and I went to Quarter Bar and ordered off the menu of Breadwinners. I had the Grilled Mahi Sandwich - it was pretty good. I could have just ordered the Mahi - the bun didn't really do anything for me. The side caesar salad was also pretty good.

Part 2: I was meeting some friends for brunch and we were set to meet at Breadwinners at 11:30am on Sunday (I normally don't go to the same place twice in a week, but I'd heard they have amazing brunch). There was a huge crowd waiting outside and we were told there would be a 15 min wait - based on the number of people I assumed it would be closer to 45min, but they were getting people seated. We waited about 20min. It was the best brunch menu I've ever seen. There were at least a dozen things I wanted. I'm not even exaggerating. I'm going to have to go back a few times - and will absolutely be taking visitors here. I decided on the Stuffed Biscuit, one of their weekly specials and WOW - it was fabulous. It was a biscuit that was set on top of "brunch potatoes" the biscuit was overflowing with scrambled eggs filled with bacon, sausage, cheese, veggies and topped with gravy. I only ate half and ate the rest for lunch today - still delicious.
Here's a photo:












Jake's Burger's - A burger spot on McKinney at Boll - My parents came over to help me hang curtains and a few other things and we were looking for a low-key spot on a Saturday evening where we wouldn't have to wait. It was the perfect place - nice enough weather to sit on the patio and people watch on McKinney Ave (my parents were entertained). I got the Flaming Rooster - I know, not a burger but it sounded so good- Grilled chicken, hot mustard, Monterey jack cheese, and fresh pico de gallo. And it was sooooo good. The hot mustard and pico were perfect - both my parents tasted it and agreed it was stellar. My dad had the Jalapeno Bottle Cap Burger and I had a bite - equally delicious. My mom had the caesar salad and said the chicken on it was fabulous but I wasn't interested in trying as I was focusing on scarfing down my chicken sandwich. We split an order of their waffle cut sweet potato fries and Jumpin Jake's fries. The sweet potato fries were topped with brown sugar and cinnamon, which were delicious. But my favorite were Jumpin Jake's fries - they were just seasoned perfectly. Although I have to say, I still think Ketchup (mentioned last week) has the best fries.
My Flaming Rooster:











And fries:

Dallas: Week 1, so far a success

I've been here a week now. Here's a quick recap:

• Delicious food - I've had Mexican food 3 times (I love having good Mexican food places everywhere), dad's chili as my first meal back, steak and of course, Whataburger.
• Work - Everything is going really well, jumping into projects. I'm working with some really great people. I look forward to the challenges and the travel (SXSW in Austin and a tradeshow in Orlando - both in March).
• Place to live - I've been commuting from my parents house, which is about 28mi from work - but it takes an 1 - 1.25 hours which is really annoying (especially if I work long hours). I found an awesome place to live, walking distance to work and a lot of restaurants and bars. Plus one of my favorites lives here (with her dog, which I plan on kidnapping frequently). The place is about half the size of my townhome in Raleigh, so we'll see how I adjust. Now I just need to get my Pod delivered, hire movers, unpack and buy new furniture.
• Welcome back night out - I have some great friends in Dallas and we got together for dinner and a fun night out. My tolerance is definitely not what it used to be. Photo highlights below.

Austin asked for someone to grab a branch. Mike grabbed this tree:













Some of my favorite ladies - Taylor and Tracy:











Some of my favorite guys - Austin, Mike and Jake:

Nashville Adventure

I took a long weekend and headed to Nashville to explore and visit some great friends - Hunter and Molly (and their almost 2 year old Jackson). Going into the trip I didn't really have too many expectations of seeing all things Nashville, given that my friends have a toddler, but was really just looking forward to catching-up. Hunter and Molly couldn't have been better hosts - we spent a ton of quality time hanging out and playing with Jackson and I got to see a lot of Nashville.

Some highlights:

• Pancake Pantry - Everyone told me I had to go here - a line actually forms around the building (even when it's freezing out). Hunter & I went Friday morning and I got the sweet potato pancakes. They were sooo delicious! I see why people line up around the block!
• Music Row - Totally different than what I was expecting - all of the production companies are holed up in adorable historic houses. Really cool to drive through this unique area.
• Patterson House - This cocktail bar is amazing! They specialize in high end drinks and the atmosphere is really cool. We kicked off our night out here and it was the perfect spot to begin our night.
• Broadway - Whew! This is where all the honky-tonks are. I had a blast going out here. Hunter may have been hesitant to go to this part of town, but we all had a blast. Between Legends, The Stage and Lonnie's we had a blast. I also witnessed Molly and a friend doing some STELLAR karaoke.
• Karaoke Cab - We took a karaoke cab home - it was hilarious. Hopefully the pictures from this will never appear.
• PM - Another delicious restaurant - one of the chefs here was on Top Chef. Apparently they have the best burger in Nashville, but I opted for some great sushi.

My sweet potato pancakes from Pancake Pantry:










We also hit up various neighborhoods, parks, Franklin, Sub Stop, had a play date for Jackson, drank lots champagne and wine, all participated in nap time and more fun. It was a perfect 4 day adventure. I'm already planning my next visit.

I should also note that I have a new respect for parents. Jackson is an adorable kid, but man, kids are "on" non-stop! Hunter and Molly are amazing parents - I don't know how they do it!