A Sunday Funday of Patio Hopping in Dallas

Brunch at Smoke

Cyberspace: smokerestaurant.com
Grade: A-
Where to Find It: 901 Fort Worth Ave, Dallas, TX 75208
Food Group: BBQ, Brunch
How Much to Fork Over: $$
Faves: The smell of smoky goodness that permeates the air throughout the restaurant, Bottomless Mimosas, Bloodymary, brisket

Peeves: Long wait

The Jibba Jab:

Our patio bar hopping day had to start at a fantastic brunch spot, so I had to try Smoke and see what all of the fuss was about.  

It’s hard to miss the immediate waft of smoky bbq when you walk through the doors, but once you stop drooling, you notice the décor.  It makes you chuckle, but feel right at home because they literally have family photos on the walls.  Hilarious, but so welcoming.  I get it! Definitely order the bottomless mimosas if you are truly looking for a Sunday Funday or get the Bloodymary.  Beware it’s rich, but delicious.  All of the brunch items on the menu are great, but I would seriously just steer yourself toward the brisket.  It’s amazing!

Bloodymary

Mimosa

Family Photos!

The Omelet with Salad & The Things Inside

Smoked Brisket Cornbread Hash

Pulled Whole Hog BBQ Eggs Benedict

The Foundry 

Cyberspace: http://cs-tf.com/

Grade: A

Where to Find It: 9303 Pittman St, Dallas, TX 75208

How Much to Fork Over: $$

Faves: Atmosphere

Peeves: Couches smell

The Jibba Jab:

Country Coolness in Dallas.  I loved that the entrance is adorned as a giant chicken coop; they use old train cars as seating areas, and a ton of old wooden pallets as a giant stage.  Then the cactus garden is the icing on the cake.  This place is all recycled, which is great, but the old couches need to be cleaned big time.  Just hang out in the middle at the picnic tables under the string of lights.  This is a great hangout for a big group! I also really want to try Chicken Scratch, which is the restaurant connected to this bar.

Rattlesnake Bar at the Ritz Carlton

Cyberspace: fearingsrestaurant.com

Grade: B+

Where to Find It: 2121 McKinney Ave, Dallas, TX 75201

How Much to Fork Over: $$$

Faves: Outdoor patio

Peeves: Pricey

The Jibba Jab:

A place to go when you want to feel really Dall-ass! 

The Common Table

Cyberspace: thecommontable.com

Grade: A

Where to Find It: 2917 Fairmount St, Dallas, TX 75201

Food Group: Gastropub, American

How Much to Fork Over: $$

Faves: Outdoor patio, Skittles Sangria, Dog Friendly

Peeves: We didn’t have a dog with us

The Jibba Jab:

Definitely a great outdoor patio, but the real kicker is the Skittles Sangria.  It’s childhood nostalgia with an adult spin.  FYI though, order the white sangria because you can see the skittle colors run down and get psychedelic inside the pitcher!  The red sangria just covers it up.  We also grabbed a few apps to soak up some of the alcohol we had been drinking. 

Red Skittles Sangria

White Skittles Sangria

Cool Huh?

Uptown Devils

Buffalo Meatballs

Pulled Pork Spring Rolls

Primebar

Cyberspace: primebardallas.com

Grade: B-

Where to Find It: 2520 Cedar Springs Rd, Dallas, TX 75201

Food Group: Gastropub, Pizza

How Much to Fork Over: $$

Faves: Outdoor patio

Peeves:  Didn’t care for the wine

Union Bear

Cyberspace: unionbear.com

Grade: A

Where to Find It: 3699 McKinney Ave, Dallas, TX 75201

How Much to Fork Over: $$

Faves: Outdoor patio, Beers on Tap, Pizza

Peeves:  Out of a few beer and food items

The Jibba Jab:

We learned that a beer expert is called a Cicerone here, which definitely means these guys know their stuff about beer.  Although, I’m much more of a wine drinker, so the beer talk doesn’t really appeal to me, but definitely drink a few brews here if you love the stuff.  It’s interesting.  On the other hand, all of the food they serve is here Farm to Table and that definitely appeals to me.  The Honey Pig pizza (Salami, Mozzarella, Thyme Oil, Texas Honey) and Habanero Asian Pear Salad (Seasonal Greens, Manchego, Tomatoes, Champagne-Mint Vinaigrette) were fantastic!  

Sorry, my food photos turned out horrible, so I'm not posting them.  Not enough light.

Neighborhood Services Tavern

Cyberspace: www.neighborhoodservicesdallas.com

Where to Find It: 2405 N. Henderson, Dallas, TX 75206

Food Group: New American/Gastro Pub

How Much to Fork Over: $$

The Grade: A

Faves: Double Deviled Eggs, Butterscotch Pot de Crème!! And Our Neighbors

Peeves: I wasn’t hungry enough to try more

The Jibba Jab:

Now I know that I’ve reviewed the NeighborHood Services Bar and Grill in North Dallas on Preston already, but I heard that this location is better, which is conveniently located right near Veritas Wine Room, and after enjoying a few glasses of the half-priced wine and a cheese plate there, my girlfriend and I moseyed our way to NHS for some real grub. 

Sangria - Check out the ice cubes!

We were immediately sat, but I was quite surprised at how full the place was on a Monday.  After researching the menu, we decided that we hadn’t had enough to drink at Veritas, so why not order a pitcher of ice-cold Sangria on this scorching hot summer night.  Our waitress immediately complied, while we pondered about what we wanted to eat.  Because we already had a bit of a snack earlier, we opted to just get a few more of shared snacks such as their Standard Dips of Crab and Artichoke Gratin and Roasted Salsa with red salted corn chips, Double Deviled Eggs made with pepper and a bacon relish, and finally the Feisty Greek Sliders that consisted of roasted lamb, greens, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce……mmmmm!  Our Sangria came out incredibly refreshing and beautiful, especially with the big perfect cubes of ice in our glasses.  Its crazy how something as seemingly insignificant as ice can take a drink to a completely new level of sophistication just by being geometrically uniform.  The gratin and salsa weren’t anything to remember, so I suggest skipping it, and move on to the Deviled Eggs as a starter.  Now these were much better than their sister restaurant in North Dallas, which were under-seasoned and mostly boring.  These had Pow from the peppers and wonderful contrast in texture from the towers of a gorgeous yellow creamy center to the crunch of the smoky, salty, bacon.  Marvelous!  Next, the Greek Sliders were placed on our table and I think I dove in not really thinking about anything else because I love sliders, or everything in the burger family, for that matter.  They were quite good in taste, particularly with the always and forever marriage of spicy lamb and a great, cooling tzatziki sauce, but the lamb to bun ratio was a bit off.  I thought too much bun action and not enough lamb.  Don’t skimp on the good stuff!! 

Standard Dips - Salsa and Crab and Artichoke Gratin

Double Deviled Eggs

Double Deviled Eggs

Feisty Greek Sliders

Feisty Greek Slider

At this point, we were finishing up and drinking that last of our Sangria, but we couldn’t help but notice throughout our meal, the two ladies dining at the table right next to us, who unquestionably were having a great time.  Somehow we all sparked up a conversation, and the next thing we knew, they were telling us that we just had to try their Butterscotch Pot de Crème.  One of the ladies said it was so amazing she called it Butterscotch Crack in a Jar!  I loved her description, so I knew that we needed to take them up on their generous offer, and we certainly did.  Now the name makes this dessert sound fancy, but NHS presents it in a brilliant jar with little wooden spoons for everyone at the table to dig their way to the bottom of this delicious masterpiece.  I took one scoop, and knew straight away why our neighbor called it Butterscotch Crack in a Jar!  The sweet and salty, velvety, buttery rich caramel creaminess made we want to use it as a mask on my face, so I could lick it off later.  Now that’s addicting!  Then, I tried to think of a way to re-create this dish at home, so I could bring it to a party and be the smashing hit!  I might be stalking the chef for the recipe in the near future.  Finally, I would have to say between this location and the one on Preston, opt for this one.  The menu, pricing, and food are all a notch above!

Butterscotch Crack in a Jar!

Hearsay Gastro Lounge

Cyberspace: www.hearsayhouston.com

Where to Find It: 218 Travis Street, Houston, TX 77002

Food Group: American, Gastro Pub

How Much to Fork Over: $$

The Grade: A+

Faves: Cocktails, The Byrd, Mac and Cheese

Peeves: Why don't we have one of these in Dallas?

The Jibba Jab:

Time-Honored Sophistication.  If I were to create a fictional scene of how my grandparents met, Hearsay would be the location in which I would film it.  The building it resides in, which was built in 1860, could be a movie because of the history alone.  It was a Confederate armory store owned by John Kennedy and was raided by the Confederacy after General Lee’s surrender, but the building was spared until 1888 when half of it burnt to the ground.  Then the next year it was restored by Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner, which updated it to a 20^th century façade.  With a little knowledge of the building’s history, simply sipping on a cocktail or enjoying a burger at this establishment now becomes an experience back in time.  If you do actually come here, and I recommend it, and take in your surroundings then you will understand what I’m talking about.

Located in the heart of downtown Houston, our good friends, who live within minutes from Hearsay, took us here because they loved the food, and they were right! Now, their cocktails are just as old-timer as the building, but they also have a modern twist to them from the Good Bloody Mary and Halapeño Cocktail, which are both made with a very spicy vodka, to the La Rosette Champagne Cocktail and Lavish Collins.  On the other hand, their gastro-lounge grub is anything but geezer-like.  We began to please our empty bellies with an order of the Bacon and Chive Deviled Eggs.  Yes, I know…..Deviled Eggs again?  What can I say?  We are fans, and these did not disappoint.  We also started with the Jumbo Lump Crab Cocktail with Avocado.  I have to say that was some of the freshest and sweetest crab meat I’ve tasted in quite some time, and it was a great take on a ceviche. 

Good Bloody Mary and La Rosette

Halapeno Cocktail

For our mains, we just had to have The Byrd burger because A) It was suggested and B)It sounded quite amazing.  Just read the following: Angus Beef, Applewood Bacon, Cheddar, Mozzarella, onions, jalapeños, fried egg, avocado, ketchup, mustard, mayo & tomato on a sweet bun served with mac and four cheese….ummm….See what I’m saying?  We also had to try the Smoked BBQ Brisket Sandwich with rosemary fries because who doesn’t like brisket in Texas?  Take into count that these two orders are going to feed 4 people.  We were told that they were big enough to do just that, so we listened, and very glad that we did. The other table members ordered the Shrimp and Chicken Spring Rolls, Lamb Chop Pops, and the Stuffed Chicken Breast.  When our Byrd came out with the Mac and Cheese, I was bouncing out of my seat with excitement.  It was massive, looked amazing, and smelled even better!  The Brisket Sandwich didn’t have the same dramatic entrance in my mind, but it was still quite large in size.  I cut the Byrd and Brisket Sandwich in quarters, passed them around, while salivating at the mouth, and then finally dove into my portion.  Wow, Wow and another Double Wow!!  The Brisket was incredibly flavorful, and tangy, the Mac and Cheese was “bowl lickable” and the Byrd…..well…. sorry, I was entranced.  Juicy, meaty, cheesy, spicy, yolky, bacony.  I will have dreams about this burger!  Sorry, MT. 

Now the other dishes on the table looked delicious, but didn’t get a chance to try because I was basking in the glory of our own.  At this point, you could come here for the great cocktails or to visit one of the oldest buildings in Houston, but if you really want an experience, then come here for The Byrd.

Bacon and Chive Deviled Eggs

Jumbo Lump Crab Cocktail with Avocado

Shrimp and Chicken Egg Rolls

Smoked BBQ Brisket Sandwich

Lamb Chop Pops

Stuffed Chicken Breast

THE BYRD....See what I mean?

Mac and Cheese....."bowl lickable"

The Byrd with Mac and Cheese