The Second Floor Bistro

After a couple meals at 2nd Floor sans drinks, I was happy to finally get over to 2FB for an alcoholic libation.  My coworkers and I decided to take a quick break and grab a drink last night while waiting for Fashion’s Night Out festivities to commence at the Galleria, and we we had a nice assortment of drinks.  There were glasses of wine, straight-up Jack, martinis, mojitos, and Moscow Miles, OH MY!

I always ask my waiter for his/her suggestion and this time, it worked.  I was told to get the ginger gimlet with vodka … and it turns out, it was a Moscow Mule.  That girl knows what she’s doing.  I could tell that they didn’t use Rose’s lime juice and the ginger beer was just bitter enough to keep me from downing the entire glass in one gulp.

The coworkers in my immediate vicinity had:
- 2 mojitos: not too sweet and incredibly refreshing, mint leaves large enough not to be sucked into the straw
- Jack OTR: 3-1/2 fingers, a generous helping
- a Ruby Red: even though I don’t like grapefruit, it was tolerable and I was fine with having two small sips

All were good.  Their drink list looked well thought-out with a nice selection of different liquors, flavors, and sweetness levels.  Signature cocktails will run you a whopping $12 and martinis $13, the wine list starts at $8/glass, and the scotch list is $7-140.  The drink prices may be steep but they’re somewhat worth it since they’re decently strong, well-made, and generous portions.

The decore is modern and luxurious, all “leather” seating at the tables, the bar, the lounge (complete with awkward fireplace - pictured on right), and the back room.  The staff is (REALLY) friendly and provide snappy, efficient, and CORRECT service.

The food …oh, the food.  Try the roasted corn soup, the French Dip, and just about anything else - including brunch.  (Hint: they do trivia each Wednesday at 11am for a $25 gift card … you can try to beat me.)

In short, The Second Floor Bistro is second to none.  Go for happy hour, but only shop after if you have a DP (designated purchaser).

Strength: 3.75
Overall: 4

The Second Floor Bistro
www.thesecondfloorrestaurant.com | @2ndFloorBistro
13340 Dallas Parkway (in the Galleria - Westin entrance)
(972) 450-2978

Specials:
Thursday & Friday | 4-7 p.m. | $2 off martinis and beers
Friday nights | 1/2 price appetizers
Saturday nights | 1/2 price desserts 

Horne and Dekker

I attended the press opening for Horne and Dekker (what seems like eons ago) and was quite impressed.   It took me a while to get back and since my last visit, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to get my butt back in there.

We spent a Tuesday evening at H&D and were delighted when not only drinks were on happy hour, but so was the PIZZA (and until 10 p.m.!).  Once we were greeted by (who I think was) the manager, our waitress gathered our order and hurried back inside - yes, we were stupid enough to sit on the porch … “the fans, they do nothing!”  Our drinks came out and they were not only correct, but they were strong; I only had two.   Any place that not only has happy hour specials as great as H&D does, but has custom-printed cans announcing them is A-OK on my list.

While sipping on our drinks, Dekker (Flint Dekker, to be exact) came out to thank us for coming in and see how our drinks were.   He was delightful to talk to and told us a bit about the resto … we got some great scoop (like that Horne moved on and so now, Flynn and Dekker is now only Dekker).

This little Henderson eatery has limited seating (which gives it a cozy feel) along with a full bar inside.  The decor is simple but a little quirky - they have a grass wall … no kidding.  Outside they have the most ingenious umbrellas that don’t get in the middle of your conversation (they have a side arm and hang over the table).

If you’re on a budget, try this place on a Sunday for Sunday Supper - it’s all you can eat for only $16. I’ll be in very soon on a Sunday! Also, if you’re in need of a chuckle, check out their FAQ - you could find out the meaning of life … or something.

Drink strength: 4 
Overall: 4

Specials:
Tuesday, Thursday (summer) | 4-10 p.m. | $3 drafts, $4 wells, $5 select wine by the glass, $5 select pizzas
Wednesday | 4-10 p.m. | 1/2 price all wine
Friday, Saturday | 4-7 p.m. | $3 drafts, $4 wells, $5 select wine by the glass, $5 select pizzas
Sunday | 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Sunday Hangover Brunch - Limitless Mimosas, Margaritas, Bloody Marys, Bloody Marias and Micheladas for $12 
       4-7 p.m. | $3 drafts, $4 wells, $5 select wine by the glass, $5 select pizzas
       5-10 p.m. | Limitless Servings of Finger Lickin’ Fried Chicken, Mom’s Meatloaf and Beer Battered Fish plus four sides dishes (Savory Biscuits, Fire-roasted sweet corn kernels, mashed potatoes and braised greens) for $16

no malai-se here.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky group of people who were invited to the preview of Malai last month (it helps to know the right people!). I was not only delighted to try a new place, but intrigued to see what was taking on the former Tom Tom space. (If you remember, they ran into a little, shall we say, fiscal problem.)

Upon rounding the corner, I immediately noticed that they gave the facade a colorful facelift complete with inverted umbrellas (see picture on right). Dark beams were replaced with white ones and covering taken off for a more open-air feel.

Once inside, more surprises awaited. We had an assortment of drinks and all were as delicious as they were different. First I had the lemongrass fizz which was light and refreshing - the perfect drink for summer weather on their breezy patio. It had St. Germain in it but not so much to overtake the drink. I followed that up with a Vang Veing which is what I’d describe as a Moscow Mule meets mojito - another great patio drink. I had to stop there for fear of not being able to walk back to my friend’s place across the street.

We were also given tastes of some of their specialties including grilled satay, spring rolls, and drunken noodles. Everything was delicious and if we didn’t have to share with the other tables, my table would have eaten all of it ourselves.

I haven’t made it back just yet, but have every intention of multiple future visits.

Drink strength: 3.5
Overall: 4

Malai Kitchen
malaikitchen.com | @malaikitchen
3699 McKinney Ave #319 (West Village)

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 5-7 p.m. | $5 specialty cocktails and spicy crispy wings. 

Live music: Thursdays 6:30-9:30 p.m.

state and allen

A spring day in Texas begs for a refreshing drink on a patio with big sunglasses.  My friend and I had a free afternoon and decided to find an early happy hour - State and Allen was our choice.  We chose it because they have an amazing selection of food, an extended happy hour, and a great patio.  The early happy hour allowed us to escape just before the suits hit the watering hole after work.

We immediately ordered vodka lemonades which we sadly had to add Splenda and
lemons to; the vodka, however, was generously poured.  Our waitress brought us drink after drink and plate of food after plate of food (not quickly, but she got the job done).  After much ado, we decided on tenderloin sliders and BBQ pizza - both were incredible.

The wrap-around patio provided a great showcase for watching the creatures of the State and Thomas area - both people and animals.  Speaking of, their patio is pet friendly and there are some really cute mutts.  The wait staff with even bring a water bowl for them!

With the 80s rock music and the lemonade vodkas flowing, we greatly enjoyed our time at State and Allen.

Drink strength: 4 
Overall: 4

State & Allen Lounge‎
stateandallen.com
2400 Allen Street | (214) 239-1994‎

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 3-7 p.m. | $3 wells, $2 domestics
Tuesday-Saturday | 10 p.m. - 12 a.m. | $3 wells, $2 domestics
Sunday | 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. | $2.50 mimosas, $3 bloody marys, screwdrivers, and greyhounds

iron cactus

When Iron Cactus says they have the biggest happy hour in Texas, they aren’t kidding - I think their only rival would be The Oasis on Lake Travis!  Three patios and an inside bar area comprise the happy hour wonderland that is Iron Cactus.  Their drink options include wells, domestics, and margaritas for incredibly reasonable prices … along with half-price appetizers to keep you from floating away. 

While the wait staff is friendly, the service here leaves a little something to be desired but the slow service gives you time to watch the wait staff on the street level patio chasing the pigeons away.  Make sure you ask for chips because your waiter may not bring them automatically and if you ask for an extra lime or ketchup … you better be prepared to wait.

Watch the clock because they won’t give you a last call for happy hour; but you may be able to convince your server to double up your last drink to make the happy hour a little longer.

Drink strength: 3.5 
Overall: 3

Iron Cactus Mexican Grill & Margarita Bar
www.ironcactus.com
1520 Main Street | (214) 749-4766

Specials:
Monday-Friday 4-7 p.m. and Monday-Saturday 11 p.m. - close | $3.00 house wines, wells, beers, small margs (rocks or frozen), mexican martinis, Texas tea, 1/2 price appetizers (available throughout the restaurant and not just in the bar!)

my main squeeze

The Grape has gotten a lot of attention for its burgers … but it’s sooooo much more than an amazing burger that is so good that it is only sold two days a week and caused the restaurant to hire an extra hand in the kitchen to prepare.

Their happy hour is brilliant; you can get cheap drinks while paying next to nothing for the amazing food they serve (especially compared to their regular prices).  We took part in wells, martinis, fries, the cheese plate, the mini brat burgers, and plenty of sunshine.  Try the fries, you won’t be sorry … but make sure you have a piece of gum to chew after!

Their drinks were strong enough to give us quite a fun feeling and the need to partake in more rounds of appetizers.  The dirty martini could have been been shaken for a few more minutes but was overall superbly mixed.  The drinks became successively stronger as we sat.

The patio at The Grape is very nice other than its proximity to the street - it’s slightly loud during “rush hour”.  Take a pair of sunglasses and speak a little louder and you’ll be set.  Sit in the bar, which has an incredibly cool with an old-timey feel; they keep the doors open so you can still feel the nice breeze without the noise.

The wait staff is incredible.  Each and every one of them cater to your any need and in a snappy way … and with a smile.  I haven’t ever had anything but an amazing (if not exemplary) customer service experience here.  The chef will even walk around and chat when the kitchen isn’t slammed.  The best thing about The Grape’s happy hour: they make sure you know when it’s last call.

Their brunch is also quite a pip; the wounded yellowbird is addicting and the food is amazing.  It’s worth getting out of bed after a night out to have a meal here.

Drink strength: 4 
Overall: 5 (just FYI … I think this is my first 5!)

The Grape Restaurant
www.thegraperestaurant.com
2802 Greenville Ave | (214) 828-1981

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 4:30-7 p.m. | $2 domestics, $3 wells, $5 glasses of wine, select appetizers under $6 
Sunday | 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. | $6 Wounded Yellowbird and bloody marys, $4 mimosas

vickery park

Alas, the time has come to write another less-than-positive review - but this one is still nowhere close to as bad as Elbow Room.  I will try to be fair.

Each and every time I drive down Henderson, the patio of Vickery Park calls my name; it’s spacious and usually boasts a decent crowd.  The patio has to be one of the best in Dallas.  While I’ve had drinks here on weekends, this is the first time I’ve really hung out in the bar and spent an evening taking it in.

Our waitress was friendly, sweet, and prompt with our food and drink.  The food was really good and was a little bit too fancy for it to be classified as typical bar food.  It just so happened that Mondays are buy one sandwich, get one free - what a deal!  The atmosphere is incredibly laid back and the music is great.  The owner (who works behind the bar, also) loads her iPod up with her favorites and presses play.

However, they apparently do not go by, nor teach their staff, the familiar adage, “The customer is always right.”  At the end of our meal and after a couple rounds of birthday shots, our checks came and we were nearly positive that we had less drinks than were billed.  We asked our waitress and she was incredibly defensive while we were quite calm - whether we were wrong or right, the proper response for someone in the service industry would be, “I apologize for the confusion, let me look into it at the bar.”

She got the owner/bartender involved and she wasn’t any more helpful than the waitress.  At least appease the customer by being nice and not by listing your credentials or telling them they shouldn’t argue two drinks because they already got something else for free (mind you: it was buy one, get one free sandwich night).

Once again, whether I was wrong or right, there is no need to be nasty to a customer.  I paid for the extra drinks mainly because I didn’t want to fight with the staff anymore … but let’s just say, if we had all the drinks we were billed for, we may have at least gotten a buzz.

Even with the bad taste the small tiff left in my mouth, I will be back to Vickery Park to try the all you can eat mussels and relax on their porch (the mussels are meant to be some of the best in the city!).

Drink strength: 2.5 
Overall: 3.7 (I give them this many merely for the food and atmosphere)

Vickery Park
www.vickeryparkbar.com
Dallas location: 2810 North Henderson Avenue | (214) 827-1433 
Plano location: 1011 East 15th Street | (972) 423-6205

Specials:
Monday | buy one sandwich, get one free
Tuesday | all you can eat mussels for $15
Wednesday | 1/2 price bottles of wine when you order a cheese plate or a large order of mussels

Monday-Friday | 4-7 p.m. | $1 off domestics, wells, and drafts
Saturday & Sunday | 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. | $10 carafes of mimosas, bloody marys, and sangria

research this

Incredibly hungover, I slung myself out of bed to vacate my house for a showing that was to arrive within the hour (p.s. shameless plug: if you’re looking for a townhouse in University Park - I have one for sale!).  Luckily, I had a brunch at R+D Cafe to occupy my mind and motivate me to get dressed despite my pounding headache (I had forgotten to take The Hangover Cure again … you’d think I’d learn).

Upon arrival, we had a reservation and actually had to wait (that’s a good sign - follow the crowd to the good food, right?).  Looking around, I was reminded of the incredible meals I’d had in this restaurant on previous occasions and my stomach grumbled, begging for the gastronomic orgasm that it knew was imminent.  Any restaurant by the developers of Houston’s is worth it’s weight (in drinks).

Sitting down, drinks were ordered to serve as the hair of the dog - we were delighted that there were drink specials for brunch.  I ordered a bloody mary and sat back in anticipation.  When the drinks came … well, to say the least it was an expectation hangover.  Their bloody mary tasted like cocktail sauce with a touch of clam and was pretty thin and had big chunks of peppercorn.  Usually, a little clam juice is fine, but this just wasn’t right.  The waitress told us that they make their own BM mix … and that answered my question.  I ordered a screwdriver and the waitress was nice enough to take the offending drink off the bill.

All of the other drinks we ordered were delightful and strong enough to make a difference.  The food was fantastic as was expected.  Definitely try some of their mango sushi and the dips - the meals are large so be prepared to roll yourself to your car after a meal.  Watch how much you order, it adds up quickly.

The atmosphere is very older Park Cities mixed with the more laid-back and obviously hungover young Dallasites.  The decore of Cafe R+D is delightful - modern and clean and has just the right amount of pretension.

Sadly there isn’t a happy hour here, but they are “researching” a new strategy: any alcoholic drink that comes in a regular glass is $8 and anything in a martini glass is $9.  I can’t decide how I feel about that but … it is what it is.

Drink strength: 3 
Overall: 4

R+D Kitchen (or Cafe R+D)
www.hillstone.com
8314 Preston Center Plaza Drive | 214-890-7900

Specials:

ALL DAY EVERY DAY | $8 all drinks, $9 martinis
Saturday & Sunday | til 4 p.m. | $4 bloody mary, mimosa, greyhounds, and screwdrivers

a capital idea

Great food?  A great beer selection?  Head into Capitol Pub …

We only caught the hind end of happy hour, which, as it turns out, wasn’t much of a loss.  Drink “specials” wouldn’t really describe what they offer during happy hour.  I can pay $4.50 a lot of places and get a stronger well than they serve.  I guess yesterday I actually drank 2 of the 8 required glasses of water because water is about all that my cocktail consisted of.

The food at Capitol Pub is what one would expect from one of the people responsible for Old Monk, Idle Rich, and the like, Peter Kenny.  All have great food and know how to serve it hot (mine was piping!).  The pizza is pretty darn good, as is most of the menu - and all of the selections come in hearty portions.  See their delightful food selections here.

There was a good number of people happy houring - most were on the enclosed porch enjoying the nice heaters and fireplace (which is always nice to gather around).  The location is fantastic - we enjoyed dinner and a couple of drinks and then strolled into Veritas for a glass of vino.

I’ve always enjoyed this place because it doesn’t get too crowded on the weekends and I’ve never been disappointed with the amount of people during the week.  They have darts and TVs … something for everyone.  My only hangup is their meager happy hour specials.  But, as I said before, head into Capitol Pub … but only if you have the capital.  (not a bad pun if I do say so myself!)

Drink strength: 2.5 
Overall: 4

Capitol Pub
www.capitolpubdallas.com
2401 North Henderson Avenue | (214) 887-9330

Specials:
Monday - Friday | 4-7 p.m. | $1 off all drafts, domestic bottles, and wells

not a lemon!

Thanks to a reader’s urging, I finally got my butt into Lemon Bar.  Walking in, I was delighted to see how many people were happy houring at the newest watering hole in West Village.  A few restaurants have tried this spot but none have succeeded as Lemon Bar already has seemed to do after only a few months being open.

While the specials are somewhat limited, the drinks are pretty darn great … and not too overwhelming.  I had to cut happy hour short to get to dinner and I wish I didn’t have to have done so … and I would have given my left ear lobe to have whatever food’s smell was wafting from the kitchen.

The crowd is very “West Village” - in a good way - and seemed to be a fun place to meet a new friend or two.  However, returning to Lemon Bar at night is a different story.  People begin to trickle in for the night shift around 8:30 and bring the party.  Friday and Saturday nights it’s almost impossible to move let alone get a drink.

Thanks for getting me into Lemon Bar, @tgospel!

Drink strength: 3.5 
Overall: 4

Lemon Bar
www.thelemonbar.com
3699 McKinney Avenue Dallas, TX 75204 | (214) 443-6043

Specials:
Monday & Wednesday | all day | $2 domestic drafts
Tuesday & Thursday | all day | $3 wells
Friday | til 8 p.m. | $3 wells
Saturday & Sunday | 11 a.m.-3 p.m. | $8 bottomless mimosas and bellinis