Perception is reality to me when it comes to food and food service.  We came here for restaurant week and had reservations set for 7:45 on a Thursday night.  When we arrived, we were told there would be a slight wait.  No worries, we stood off to the side of the entrance engaged in conversation for a good ten minutes.  I saw another couple walk in, then they waited for 3-4 minutes before they got promptly seated at the front of the restaurant.  My gf and I just kinda looked at each other like “hmm, weird” I approached the hostess stand and asked how much longer was our wait.  They said just another minute or so.  We were then told our table was ready and to follow.  We were walked allllll the way to the VERY last table in the very back of the restaurant.  Now when I say very back of the restaurant, I meant it.

Baked Dungeness Crab Dip with Wood Oven-Fired Crackers

Deep Dish Mac Casserole

We were greeted promptly by our waiter who was cordial and explained the menu available.  We then ordered quickly choosing the crab dip, mac & cheese, scallops, beef/prawn, and ice box pie.  Crab dip was phenomenal.  I enjoyed the home made crackers.  Mac & Cheese was good, but way too rich.  We took the mac & cheese home but it was inedible after reheating, a pool of butter formed underneath it.  Scallops were very good and steak was very good as well.  Dessert did not fail either.  So overall the FOOD was spectacular.

Jumbo Sea Scallops with Seasonal Mushrooms, Pancetta w/ Warm Cracked Pepper-Sherry Vinaigrette

Mixed Grill of Petite Prime Tenderloin & Grilled Prawn with Buttermilk-Reggiano Mashers, BBQ Glaze & Tangy Slaw

After our main entrees were served, the waiter was basically non existent.  We had a food runner bring our dessert, and the busboy was actually more helpful.  He offered to box up our mac & cheese and filled our water glasses at least 5 times during the meal.  He also cleared plates a couple times.  I ended up tipping the bus boy separately b/c he was the saving grace of my experience there.

Ice Box Pie - Crushed Butterfinger, Vanilla Ice Cream, Oreo Cookie Crust & Chocolate

I did feel like we got treated differently perhaps b/c of restaurant week or perhaps b/c of some other disparate reason.  I did see another group of restaurant weekers seated at the very back with us.  Would I go back…no.  Food was great, service I’ve had better.

Hibiscus
2927 N Henderson Ave
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 827-2927

Came here for a date night w/ the gf.  Place was a little hard to find, and I kept zooming by their parking lot.  Finally got to park in the back of the restaurant, even though there’s this HUGE lot in front.  I’m guessing that lot belongs to someone else.  The place has minimal decor and because of the bare, hardwood floors and minimal textiles on the walls, the restaurant was very loud.  We were promptly seated by the hostess and greeted by a server quickly.  I had already perused the menu online at home, so I ordered quickly.

Ahi Nachos

Ahi nachos were VERY GOOD.  They had higher than average heat, which hit the spot since I’m a fan of spicy foods.  Little bits of jalapeno and cilantro really brought out some good flavor in them.   My only complaint was there wasn’t enough of them.  Good stuff from simple ingredients.  Crab fried rice…YUM.  I loved it.  It wasn’t that imitation crab either, it was the real deal…nice and flakey crab.

Crab Fried Rice

Crab fried rice…YUM.  I loved it.  It wasn’t that imitation crab either, it was the real deal…nice and flakey crab.  I always seem to gravitate towards fried rice when going to a thai or other asian restaurant.  This one did not disappoint at all and wasn’t overly oily like some places tend to prepare them.  It came with a small fried soft shell crab too, which tasted and looked great alongside the mound of rice.

Crab Fried Rice w/ Soft Shell Crab

The final selection of our order was duck dumplings which were just okay.  I may be biased b/c my family makes some amazing dumplings which I get to eat on a regular basis.  The texture of the dumpling filling was a bit too smooth for my tastes, and the five spice was a new taste for me in dumpling preparation.  I enjoy some firmness in the meat filling to counteract the outer wrapper.  I’m like a salty soy/vinegar dipping sauce, and this came with a sweet sauce.

Duck Dumplings

Overall I enjoyed the dinner and it met my expectations, service was very good and attentive, and we were never left sitting around for an extended amount of time.

Lumi Empanada & Dumpling Kitchen
3407 McKinney Ave
Dallas, TX 75204
(214) 979-2424

We found this place through some mailing flyer, and it was close to the house.  It’s located in a very non distinct shopping center in East Plano, which is a very restaurant sparse area.  We arrived early for dinner around 4pm, and we were the only ones in the restaurant.

I’d assume the owner/co-owner was the one that took care of us, and seated us at a two top.  The decor of the place really gives me the feel of an outdoor, Italian cafe.  They have a little coffee bar type area slightly separated from the dining room by a partition.  The floor is covered in tile and stone type material which is very cool.  It looks like this place has a lot of large parties come in frequently.

Some kinda bread

Dining area

I don’t have much experience w/ Mediterranean food, but I was open to anything.  The menu has items ranging from hand tossed pizza, hummus, leg of lamb, and even paella.  Pretty good choices in entrees.  I decided to play it safe.  I ordered the Spanish Beef Empanadas.  Tender beef stuffed in garlic bread, sprinkled with cilantro and served with an avocado salad.  The dish came out, and the crust of the empanada was crispy and buttery in flavor.  Filling consisted of long green beans, potato, cubed beef, and herbs.  It was served on top of some tomato sauce which gave a great tarty flavor which was a welcome compliment to the buttery crust and hearty filling.

Empanada

My girlfriend ordered the combo kabob.  Saffron flavored chicken and lean beef grilled and served with basmati rice and grilled vegetables.  The meat was grilled pretty well, with the chicken being slightly dry.  The yogurt sauce complimented the slightly dry chicken well, and the beef had a good flavor as well.

Combo Kabob

We also ordered the Spinach Mushroom – Bistro style salad which came with sliced strawberries and a vinaigrette dressing.  The salad wasn’t anything special, but the presentation was pleasing to the eye.

Spinach Salad

As we were waiting for the check, the owner was gracious enough to bring a complimentary dish of their “Cream Carmel” dessert, which he said is made fresh daily.  A custardy flany type dessert which was great, not overly sweet and a good end to a wonderful meal.

Cream Carmel

I’d recommend anyone to seek out this hidden gem of a restaurant.  I will definitely be coming back to try the rest of the menu.

Los Rios Mediterranean Bistro
3509 Park Blvd
Plano, TX 75074
(972) 578-7773

Pho Saigon

I’ve never been disappointed with this place.  My girlfriend and I are somewhat regulars here, and we swing by anytime we’re in the mood for viet food.  The Pho Saigon (i think) is very flavorful and aromatic.  One of the best pho broths I’ve tasted in DFW.  The Bun Bo Hue is pretty good as well.  I’ve also tried the Com Bo Luc Lac, which was very good.  The only shortcoming was I thought it wasn’t cooked as well as i’d like.  This is just personal preference on my meat “doneNiSS” though.  They do it a rare to medium rare, while I like it to me medium.  Great flavor though.

Bun Bo Hue

My gf has come here w/ her family and tried the whole fried fish, which she commented was great.  It seems as though the cooking staff has it on lockdown with basically everything we’ve tried so far.

Deep Fried Fish with Garlic, Peanuts, and Onions

I like the decor here, very clean and contemporary.  A relief from the typical hole in the wall pho places that you normally see around.  The place always feels clean and inviting.  There is a small “waterfall” which you always see little kids playing with.  The booths are huge wooden blocks which are a bit stiff, but not overly uncomfortable.  There are a few flat screen TVs strewn about the restaurant, and a few even show Vietnamese programming which adds to the ambience.

Beef Kalbi

Saigon Block
2150 E Arapaho Rd
Richardson, TX 75081
(214) 575-6400

cupcakes

Well after reading all the hype, I went down to Society Bakery yesterday afternoon to check it out.  The place looked typical of a small shop on Greenville Ave, with a few bakery type decorations around the shop.  It’s also connected to a cafe next door.  They have a large display case filled with cupcakes and other treats.

I decided to try 4 different cup cakes to bring home.  Italian cream, chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla.  I also snagged a chocolate chip cookie for good measure, since I love those with a passion.  The chocolate chip cookie was very good, and soft throughout.  I’m not a fan of hard cookies (i.e. Chips Ahoy type).

I took the treats home and ate the Italian cream, when I noticed the size of the actual cup.  You know those cupcake baking cups you get from grocery stores to put in pans.  Well, this baking cup was about half the size of those, which I found odd.  The whole concoction is huge with A LOT of icing on top.  I found the ratio of icing to cake to be too large.  I like a nice even amount of icing to go with each bite of cake, but they went overboard on the icing.  The Italian Cream had bits of walnut on top, which added some much needed texture with the gobs of icing.  Flavor was good.

The cupcakes looked great though and very appealing.  Taste wise they were a little too sweet, which can probably be attributed to the excessive icing.  I snagged a few bites of the chocolate cupcake this morning and it was good.  I can’t comment on the other flavors yet, since I haven’t eaten them yet.  4 cupcakes and a chocolate chip cookie ended up being around $13 which is ridiculous but I splurged just to say I experienced it.

Society Bakery
3426 B Greenville Ave
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 827-1411