East Hamptons

Went for a quick lunch at East Hanpton.

It's a neat place.  I just love the decor and it does make you have the North East feel.

They have house made chips.  I'm always a sucker for those.  They're crispier and often less greasy.

I got the Presto Chicken Caprese.   It's very flavorful and I like the combo.  Most importantly, chicken was not dry.  I actually quite like it and wish the one in Houston would open.  

Not pictured: I got the black and white cookie.  It's actually pretty lovely and totally reminded me of the Seinfeld episode.  Love it!

East Hamptons

200 Crescent Court

Ste 100

Dallas, TX 75201

214-698-5108

https://www.ehsandwich.com

 

Town Hearth

Had a dinner at a very neat place.

Town Hearth is located at a place that's been re-gentrified.  The area used to be warhorses and not very sightly businesses were there.

I guess they tell you what you'll have as you walk into the door.

Nothing like seeing the fish swimming with a submarine.

Got the Rock Shrimp Dynamite - It's crispy and has Asian flavors to it. 

Bacon - true half pound of bacon with bourbon maple syrup.  

Got the Delmonico which is a boneless ribeye.  I did the chef's recommendation on the cooking temptation, which was medium rare. The outside was great, I'm not exactly a fan of medium rare, but if it's cooked to medium, it felt too chewy.  

Let's talk sides: we got the Cacio e Pepe - it's not oily but flavorful. 

I was recommended to me to order Brussels sprouts, so we did, and it was pretty good. 

Of course mashed potato - yes, gimme!  Nice and creamy.

Now, here's a surprise.  My coworker recommended to get the corn.  Personally, I'm not a fan of corn, but this is nice and crisp and it was definitely not what I expected.  Definitely recommend this.

For dessert, Oreo Cake.

On the way out spotted a car in the kitchen.

Vintage decor in the bathroom.

Beautiful lights too.

I will say, the place, ambiance and food are fine.  Definitely trying to play up the we're in a warehouse setting and putting all these nice chandeliers and justify the asking price for the steaks.  Now, I'm not dogging the food, it's fine.  But they definitely play up the kitch.  Service is also fine, it does get loud as the evening progress.  The services is not what you would get from a steakhouse but it's not shabby.

If you were to come here, be sure to make a reservation.  They do tend to get the hip crowd in around 7-8p.  If you come in early for dinner or drinks you shouldn't have any trouble.  If you come later however, the joint gets jumpin' there's no place to park, hell, try to get out and can barely budge.  Definitely a seen or be seen place.  

Town Hearth

1617 Market Center Blvd

Dallas, TX 75207

214-761-1617

http://www.townhearth.com

 

Ascension Coffee - Dallas

Walked by a coffee shop, it was cute on the outside, so I decided to step in.

I walked in and the menu can be overwhelming.  They have coffee galore and come in so many variations.  

I got the pear matcha latte.  It's was matcha for sure, and the pear is really added the texture but you can't really tell in taste.  

Got the Simple Brekky, which is nice and simple with scrambled eggs with bacon, sun-dried tomato squeezed in a croissant.  It comes with a side of sweet potato hash.  

To be honest, that is a lot of food.  If you're not as hungry, just go w/ the brekkie and skip the hash.  On top of the coffee, it's a lot. You can order ahead and then go pick it up and highly encouraged.  Everyone there is pretty friendly and efficient.  Food is pretty good too, if you're in a hurry in the morning, try ordering ahead first, they do get busy.

Ascension Coffee

200 Crescent Court

Ste #40

Dallas, TX 75201

469-941-4542

https://ascension.coffee/pages/crescent-court

 

Cousins Food truck

Have been a long time since I caught a lobster roll food truck.

And we came back to Cousins.

Got the Connecticut Style Lobster Roll.  I usually like my rolls warm and no mayo.  The meat is definitely generous.  So that's $20 well spent.

Also got the Tails & Tots.  It is literally a full tail and tator tots.  It's on a stick, but not easy to peel off.  So, not sure how to eat that elegantly without being a mess, but it's definitely something you should eat right away.  Once it cools, it doesn't taste as rich for me.

Cousins Lobster Roll 

https://www.cousinsmainelobster.com/locations/houston-tx/

 

Jeng Chi

It's been a couple of years since I've been to Jeng Chi.

This time the experience is vastly contrast that of the previous one.

Sautéed Snowpea Leaves with garlic.  Always one of the favs.

Beef with Black Pepper, which has sliced beef, onions, black pepper, and more onions.  The little crispy shreds are good mix with the beef.

Star of the show, original style Xiao Long Bao.  Pretty juicy and nicely wrapped little pouch.

Also got the Pork & Crab Xiao Long Bao.  Those are baby caviar on top.  It does taste lighter than the originals.  I can eat those all day.

Anyway, lots of food.  The place is definitely not like it was before.  Before pandemic, lots of folks come out to eat, where they have at least a 45 minute wait if you come during peak hours.  Now, we were seated right away.  And you know that myth about a place is good if there's a lot of Asian people eating there?  Well, there aren't as many Asian people eating there (in case you're curious yes I'm Asian, so I can say that).  At any rate the service is not any better but luckily food remain the same.  Seems like weekday at Chinatown area definitely is not busy.  So try to go during the week.

Jeng Chi

400 N. Greenville Ave

#11

Richardson, TX 75081

972-669-9094

https://jengchirestaurant.com

 

Truluck's Dallas

It's been a long time since I've been to Truluck's. 

Got an Arnold Palmer to start - since it's lunch with coworkers, it was again an unleaded. 

I got a cup of Lobster Bisque.  It was so good, large lumps of lobster meat, and it is so filling.

I got the Crab Fried Rice, thinking that I could use some carbs, except all the space was taken up by the bisque.  But the fried rice wasn't bad.  I ate a couple of bites and boxed it up.

I will say, for a place this caliber I expected the service to be top notch.  We did get very attentive service when we first sat down.  There was also maybe another table in the area.  As the tables get filled, we got to see our fewer and fewer.  As a matter of fact, when I tried to pay, I couldn't even leave a card with a server to get the job done.  I had to make a trip to find someone to assist.  Definitely not one of my best experience here, which is very surprising for the brand.  Hope that is a one-time thing.

Truluck's Dallas

2401 McKinney Ave

Dallas, TX 75201

214-220-2401

https://trulucks.com/locations/dallas-texas/

 

Moxie - Dallas

You got Moxie's? 

I was just there not too long ago... This time came in for lunch.

Got me an Arnold Palmer to start.  Not the leaded one, just the unleaded ones; which is, lemonade and iced tea.

I got the Seared Tuna salad.  It has edamame with avocado.  I think in terms of protein, they have overloaded them here between the fish and the avocado.  There are daikon, cashews, ginger sesame dressing.  I really liked this edamame dressing on the side too.  

Don't underestimate this plate, there are actually a lot of slices and this is actually a lot of food.  It was lovely, don't get me wrong; but it is actually heavier than it looked.  Not bad, but be prepared.

Moxie - Dallas

100 Crescent Court

Ste 140

Dallas, TX 75201

469-687-0050

https://us.moxies.com/restaurant-locations/tx/uptown-dallas-crescent

 

Maison Burdisso

It's been a while since I had Maison Burdisso's macarons.

So, when I saw them at the farmer's market recently, I was none too happy to line up.  No joke though, I was there about 40 mins after the market had started and they were already sold out on few of their rotating seasonal flavors. 

What did I get?  I got the Baked Apple but ate it on the way home.  It supposedly had a tad of alcohol in it, but couldn't taste it.

Then I got pistachios, always a crowd favorite.  And a Chocolate, that's a kid favorite.  Soft as ever, perfect 'feet', the filing was the right temperament, and stay neat and tiny.  Definitely need more of them.  When they say they're Parisian Macarons, they were not exaggerating.  Living up to every letter of that claim.

Maison Burdisso

http://www.maisonburdisso.com/

 

 

Brian's Bitchin' Bakery

Been dying to catch Brian & and Bitchin' cookies for a while now.

He mostly participate at weekend markets.  But there are lines and lines every time he goes... so I'm super curious.

First off, Thai Tea-ramisu (see what they did there, play on words... Tiramisu).  It has a strong scent of Thai Tea, but when you take a bite, it's light and fluffy.  Not too over empowering which you would've thought it might be from opening up the box and smelling it.  It is good nonetheless.  Thank goodness the slices are generous, but I can serious eat the whole thing by myself.

Then, the piece la resistance! I got the Bitchgiving Box, which has an assorted mix of cookies.

Individually packed, in case you're in a sharing mood.  Which I am not, of course.

This is the Earl Grey, Lavender, Blueberry.  First off, Earl Grey and Lavender, I've tried (tea - not cookie). Or Lavender and Blueberry I've tried (muffin - also not cookie).  But the mix of the 3 was interesting and got me curious.  I would say, as unusual as the combo, it mixed well and I really liked the Blueberry.  The little zing after taste with the Earl Grey makes me felt like I took a sip of the tea with my Blueberry cookie.   Definitely different but in a good way.

Next up: Vietnamese Coffee & Chocolate.  Urm, HELLO!  It's coffee & chocolate, what is there not to like.  I do appreciate that the cookie is not too sweet, it has a hint which is great for just a quick boost.

This is Ube (aka Taro).  The texture actually reminds me more of a brownie than a cookie.  I couldn't taste too much ube, to be honest.  But as a cookie it's not bad.

This is Raspberry Chocolate.  Again, the zing with the sweet mix well together.  I will say, white chocolate is very tame for me.  I like the zing.

This is Pumpkin Cookie Butter.  I can tell you that I definitely tasted cookie butter, cookie, and butter.  The pumpkin flavor, to me, was more from the cinnamon sprinkle than the pumpkin itself.

Here's a good o' fashion Chocolate Chip.  Nice and yummy, and buttery.  

 I have to int out that all of his cookies are thicc and chewy.  You don't get crunchy here.  All of them comes with instructions for reheat or store.  Brian is also super nice when dealing with him with pre-order.  He is a student who stress bake, and the results are these yummy goodness.  I know he also have a Matcha, hope to try that one soon.

Brian's Bitchin' Bakery

https://www.instagram.com/briansbitchinbakeryofficial/

 

Blue Heron Farm

We decided to take a trip out to Waller to visit Blue Heron Farm.

They are known for goat cheese and is a farmer's market favorite.

Here's a few of them.  There's actually a lot more, but they're all wandering in different directions and hard to take a picture.

You come out here and you learn about their process, the goat's breeding cycle, cheese making cycle, and difference between goat and cow's milk. You even can try to milk a goat yourself, their goats are totally used to it and comfortable with people approaching them.

There's a tasting at the end of tour too.  They are all chèvre and have different flavors.  (Top) Greek, Green Goddess, and Chipotle.  I liked the Green Goddess, but I love the Chipotle.  Definitely has more taste and texture to it. 

The other thing we got to try was Cajeta (aka caramel) and in the picture is the plain.  On a cracker, you put some plain goat cheese and then drizzle on the Cajeta on top, that's the best!  When we went to the farmer's market to get some,  someone had gotten there before us and swiped all of their available stock.  Have to try again another weekend.

Oh and they have geese on site too.  Just throwing it in there for show.  

The tour is $10 for adult and $5 for kids.  You email them and reserve a time.  You can even bring lunch and eat it out there if you'd like.  Keep in mind, their job is really running a farm and making those yummy cheese, so if they don't answer as quick as you expected that's why.  That said, the drive is not too bad, and it's a fun time for kids, and eat some yummy cheese.  By the way, if you think we can buy some there, they literally sell what they've got and may not have stock on hand for sale.  So, wake up early on a Saturday and catch them there.  Otherwise, they do have stockist at a few places in town. 

Blue Heron Farm

https://blueherontexas.com