villa-oh my gosh, yum

This organic cafe knows how to do brunch!  I’ve been known to lose track of time when at bars, but this was a brunch that lasted 3-1/2 hours.  Let’s be for real, though … how could anyone turn down brunch, nay, brunch with bottomless drinks for a reasonable price?  Definitely not me.

While I waited a hot 2 minutes by the front door for the host to acknowledge me, he was very friendly when he did and led me to a plush booth toward the back of the blue-and-white restaurant.  This restaurant has been host to many-a work dinners and various other meals and events, and I seem to have a completely experience each time.

On a Monday they offer a free 2-course meal (full servings, no kidding) and it will only cost you the tip.  Though you can get caught with this by ordering drinks and dessert, it’s still a fantastic deal.  Get one sfuzzi and your night is made - it’ll get you festive.

Sundays are brilliant because you can mix-and-match.  Having to choose one drink to be your bottomless choice is almost like choosing a husband … one flavor for an entire meal?  No, thanks.  Luckily Villa O is liberal with their choices and their portions.

The food at Villa O is very good and, as I mentioned, the portions are large so an entree can fill you up and leave you enough to take home for a midnight snack.  The bread, though, is the crowning glory of this restaurant.  I could be happy for the rest of my life with their bread basket and bottomless choices.

Drink strength: 3 (except for the sfuzzi which gets a 4.5!)
Overall: 4

Villa O
villaorestaurant.com
4514 Travis Street
(214) 780-1880

Specials:
Sunday | til 3 p.m. | bottomless drinks (your choice of mimosas, sfuzzis, bloody marys, or bellinis) $8 | kids eat free all day
Monday | free 2-course meal
Wednesday | 1/2 price wine
Thursday | $3 drinks for SMU students only

chuy's

I suppose it was inevitable that I would end up reviewing a chain.  While I don’t love chains, this one wasn’t too shabby aside from one major hitch in the giddy-up (since this site is for Dallasites, I feel that I can use Texasisms!).

$3.50 margaritas usually wouldn’t impress me but these come in a hefty glass and you get your choice of regular, strawberry, or swirl (sadly, sangria swirls are extra).  Our bartender, DJ, was quite efficient and friendly but the other bartender working wasn’t much of either.  We ordered an appetizer and it arrive very quickly.

Now for the hitch: Chuy’s draw for happy hour isn’t so much their drink specials as it is their corvette trunk full of free chips and queso.  The dip and such usually are a great perk, but there were three people who had to wait 4-1/2 minutes for bowls for the queso.  A fellow happy hour-goer offered his thoughts on the matter.

“While the incident was regrettable, I’d say it didn’t affect my happy hour experience overall, but if you’re asking me to critique the service industry I would say they definitely failed in their attentiveness to the situation.  It would have been nice if someone was quicker to recognize people had assembled in front of their ‘appetizer buffet’ looking confused and bowlless.  I think it goes a long way if a server let’s you know they’re working on it and people probably wouldn’t care about waiting a few minutes in that situation.  It’s four and a half minutes of my life I’ll never get back.”

Thanks for your comments, Mark!  ;)

Overall, Chuy’s wasn’t a bad pick, just try to take your own bowl with you so you don’t have to leave your happy hour buddy all alone at the bar.

Drink strength: 3

Chuy’s
www.chuys.com
4544 Mckinney Ave | Dallas, TX 75205-4214
(214) 559-2489

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 4-7 p.m. | Fully loaded nacho car, $3.50 Margaritas, $6.75 house Texas martinis, $2.75 domestic beers

trece

I’ve heard about the ladies night at Trece but always seem to be busy on Thursdays. I finally made it in and it was quite interesting. Trece has always been a magnet for the lounge lizards of Dallas and the Thursday before Halloween was no exception. We rubbed elbows with Balloon Boy, pirate hookers, and a cute sailor who just happened to be our waiter.

My friend was running a bit late so I grabbed a booth in the bar area. No less than three waiters tried to serve me before she even got there. The ladies night blueberry mojito was really good (even though they haven’t changed the prices on their menu) but their frozen drink machines weren’t working.

The free quesadillas were pretty yummy even if it was a small portion. Our dinner (which we shared) was simple and quite good but a bit expensive.

Overall, it was a somewhat expensive night even though it was ladies night. Maybe try a Monday when they offer a free two-course meal (seriously).

Trece
www.trecerestaurant.com
4513 Travis St | Dallas, TX 75205-4126
(214) 780-1900

Specials:
Monday | free two-course meal (you must make a reservation, no more than 6 per party)
Thursday | 4-9 p.m. | ladies night - free quesadillas, $3 mojitos and margaritas, free valet parking
Sunday | family day - 3-course meal $15.95, kids 15 and under eat free

Sangria

The drink sangria comes in many forms: blended, straight up, sparkling, white, red, loaded with fruit, dry … but whomever decided that Sangria the tapas restaurant should exsist is straight up a genius. The drinks are strong enough to make the night worth the somewhat expensive bill that is sure to come from too many orders of mushroom croquettes and pitchers upon pitchers of white, red, or sparkling sangria (all of which are amazing, but the sparkling takes the cake).

Late night inexpensive martinis and cosmopolitains are a little-known feature of this personable restaurant. Your exotic, curly-mopped waiter will hop-to-it and get your drinks to you quickly leaving your with another glass of heaven and a suggestive smile. You can find all types here; there are the young SMU kids out for their splurge dinner of the week sitting next to a table of young professionals next to a cute couple on a date.

Sangria Tapas Y Bar
www.sangriatapasybar.com
4524 Cole Ave Dallas, TX 75205-4129 
(214) 520-4863

SPECIALS:
Monday - Friday 4 p.m.-7 p.m. | $3.00 Happy Hour on Selected Tapas & Drinks (Well drinks, House Wine, Sangrias, Martini of the Day)
Monday - Thursdsay 10 p.m.-11 p.m. & Friday - Saturday 10 p.m.-12 a.m. | $3.00 Happy Hour on Selected Tapas & Drinks (Well drinks, House Wine, Sangrias, Martini of the Day)
Monday | ½ Price Sangria Night (Pitchers Only)
Tuesday | ½ Price Bottle Wine Night
Wednesday | International Night with DJ Tony starting at 8:30pm with Tapas & Drink Specials
Thursday | Tour of Spain: Different Regional Tapas & Wine Specials of Spain Each Week
Friday Late Night | DJ Tony 10:00 pm with Reverse Happy Hour
Saturday Late Night: DJ Tony starting at 10:00 pm with Reverse Happy Hour
Saturday & Sunday Brunch $6.00 Bottomless Sangrias & Agua Valenciana (Spanish Mimosa)