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OCHO Kitchen + Cocktails is the new Southwest restaurant in Preston Center. I made it in last week to try some of their offerings with some other media folks (I felt fancy). The vibe is somewhat unexpected. The hostess didn’t seem interested in speaking to us when we walked in which put a bad taste in our mouths from the start. Luckily, once we met the amazing Michael (our waiter for the evening), we felt a completely attended to in terms of service.
There are two floors, the main floor is a more traditional dining area, and the second has a giant bar, gorgeous private room, sumptuous leather sofas, and expansive patio seating area overlooking Preston, dubbed 8-Bar. Our only complaint about the second floor was the high noise level. Odd art adorned the walls and the decor of the entire place was quite eclectic.
A variety of appetizers were paraded out to us, from lobster shooters to ancho roasted chicken flautas to shrimp ceviche. Everything we tasted was delicious. I had an edge over some of the other taste testers because my sister recently moved to Albuquerque, so I’ve tried and enjoyed many of the flavors that were showcased in Ocho’s food.
The drinks that our amazing waiter, Michael, kept on a’bringin’ were unique and potent. I started with a jalapeño margarita (note: I hate margaritas, but love spicy drinks) and actually enjoyed it. Some of the other guests said it wasn’t spicy enough, but I thought it had just enough bite.
Oh Hey Dallas joined me at the event, and ordered a Berry Woodie Smash (Woodford Reserve, simple syrup, blackberries, lemon, mint), and lucky me, didn’t realize it was bourbon based, so I got to drink it. It was very good, but could have used a bit more sweetness since that’s what it’s trying to go for with the berries and syrup.
Another drink we tried was the Cosmo “Drank” (gin, peach liqueur, white peach cranberry juice, lemon juice) which was tasty, but nothing incredibly memorable. The Skinny Cougar (vodka, watermelon juice, lime juice, grenadine, soda water) was a recommendation from our water, but I’d rather splurge on the other delicious normal-calorie drinks.
Overall, I enjoyed my time at Ocho (the company helped!) and am looking forward to visiting again soon to try the Hatch Chile Smoke Tequila Cocktail (tequila, lemon juice, agave nectar, green chile powder).
Notes:
- Specialty cocktails are around $10
- Complimentary valet (make sure you’re going south on Preston to get in the parking lot)
- Green chile is delicious
- Ask for Michael
- 8Bar opens at 3pm daily
- They stock around 50 tequilas for your tasting pleasure
Ocho Kitchen + Cocktails
8411 Preston Road Suite 132 | (214) 217-0888
www.och8.com | facebook.com/likeocho | @ocho_dallas
Fall Drink Recipes
(Note: I have not made these myself so they are not SDD certified (yet) … but they do sound delicious!) Don’t forget about these great recipes that are SDD approved from last Fall … remember that time I was on TV?
If you’re looking to start your fall in th right way and leave a nice warm feeling in your belly, these cocktails might be perfect. Whether you want to have a cocktail with liquer in, one that’s heavy on the booze, or just something to keep you warm – there are some perfect options for you here:
CîROC Holiday Spice (pictured on right)
1.5 oz 1 oz CÎROC Coconut?.
0.5oz coconut cream
0.25oz pineapple juice
1 oz Whole Milk?
1 egg white
2 Dash cinnamon
2 Dash nutmeg
2 Dash all spice
Sprinkled with Coconut shavings
1.5 oz 1 oz CÎROC Coconut?.
0.5oz coconut cream
0.25oz pineapple juice
1 oz Whole Milk?
1 egg white
2 Dash cinnamon
2 Dash nutmeg
2 Dash all spice
Sprinkled with Coconut shavings
DRAMBUIE® Orange Crush Cosmo
In a mixing tin half-filled with ice, add:
½ oz. DRAMBUIE®
1 oz. GREY GOOSE® L’Orange Flavored Vodka
Juice of ½ Orange
Shake until tin is frosted, strain into a martini glass.
DRAMBUIE® Zombie
In a mixing tin half-filled with ice, add:
1 oz DRAMBUIE®
1 oz Bacardi Silver Light rum
½ oz Bacardi Gold rum
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz orange juice
1 oz lime juice
Shake until frothy, strain into a hurricane glass over fresh ice, drizzle:
¼ oz Bacardi 151 rum
¼ oz grenadine
Serve with a straw.
The DramBOOie
1 part – Pumpkin Liquer
1 part – Apple Pucker
1 ¼ part – Drambuie
1 part – Pineapple Juice
Shake with ice and strained into martini glass garnished with cinnamon stick and whipped cream.
Ginger Brewsky
1 part Monkey Shoulder
0.75 parts Ginger syrup
0.75 parts Fresh lemon juice
Top with Beer
Add all ingredients other than beer to shaker, shake well with ice. Strain into beer glass and top with beer.
Maple Sage Bourbon (Recipe courtesy of Kim Haasarud, founder of Liquid Architecture LLC)
2 sage leaves, plus additional for garnish
0.75 parts. dark amber maple syrup
0.75 parts lemon juice
1 egg white
2.5 parts Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey
Muddle the two sage leaves with the maple syrup and lemon juice. Add the egg white. Dry shake (without ice) until the egg white is emulsified. Add the Bourbon. Top with ice and shake hard for 10 seconds. Strain the cocktail into a lowball glass filled with new ice. Garnish with the remaining sage.
Montelobos Mezcal Joven
2 parts Montelobos Mezcal Joven, served neat
1 orange wedge
Sal de Gusano (Available from The Meadow)
Coat orange slice with sal de gusano. Take a long sip of Montelobos, followed by a bite of the orange slice.
DEWAR’S ROB ROY
2 parts DEWAR’S WHITE LABEL Blended Scotch Whisky
1 part MARTINI Rosso
1 dashes bitters
1 cherry
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir well. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.
DEWAR’S SCOTCH & GINGER
1 part DEWAR’S WHITE LABEL Blended Scotch Whisky
3 parts ginger beer or ale
Orange wedge
Fill pint glass with ice and add DEWAR’S WHITE LABEL. Top with ginger and garnish with an orange wedge.
DEWAR’S Signature Neat
The best way to enjoy the superior quality and complex character of DEWAR’S Signature.
The Speyside Cocktail
2 parts Glenfiddich 12 Year Old
1/2 part Dolin blanc vermouth
4 dashes of peach bitters
Combine ingredients in an Old-Fashioned glass, add ice and stir. Garnish with a lemon peel, squeezed to express oils.
Young Variety, an organization that raises money and awareness for kids with special needs, is hosting a BYOB outdoor movie at The Shops at Park Lane on Oct. 30. $10 at the “door”
PSST – there’s a new kid in town. Revolver Brewing is opening in Granbury, TX next Saturday! See some of their information below.
Why not make a weekend out of it? See what the CVB has to offer!
FROM REVOLVER:
The grand opening will include tours of the brewery and free beer tastings. The Agave Tamale Company, The Rib Shack, and Geppeto’s Pizza Truck, will have food available for purchase. Fish Fry Bingo will perform and there will be games and other family activities. Admission is free.
Saturday, October 20, 2012 | High Noon to 4 pm.
Ribbon Cutting at 1:30 PM.
5650 Matlock Road; Granbury, TX 76049
ABOUT REVOLVER BREWING
Revolver Brewing is the first craft brewery to be built in Hood County, Texas. The brewery is housed in a 6,000-square-foot new construction building and holds a 30-barrel brew house, fermentation tanks and packaging equipment.
The father and son team of Ron and Rhett Keisler has teamed up with Grant Wood, who returned to Texas after 16 years as brewmaster for the Samuel Adams brand.
Revolver’s beers are available in craft beer loving restaurants and pubs in Granbury and the Metroplex. A full list of locations is available at www.revolverbrewing.com.
ABOUT THE EVENT
Once in a blue moon, I attend an event that changes my outlook on Dallas. I feel like I know and “get” my city, and then I find out that I really don’t. Case in point: I was invited to an event celebrating Giving Through Growing, in which they celebrated a community garden in Dallas, the Woodbridge Giving Garden, sponsored by Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi. After this event, it occurred to me that there is so much of Dallas that I have yet to discover. As for my personal life changes, I made a decision to cook with more fresh ingredients and get my butt to the Farmer’s Market more often. Why go frozen when you can get fresh?
The cooking demonstration was at DUO (Inwood and Lovers) and was hosted by the effervescent Giving Through Growing National Ambassador, Candice Kumai (more about Candice below). An overview of the program explained that Woodbridge sponsors five gardens throughout the US, and Dallas was home to one. The Woodbridge team spent the afternoon in the garden, the Live Oak Community Garden, picking produce for our dinner (no kidding), and then spent the evening with bloggers, press, etc. over a fresh and extremely delicious meal and Woodbridge wine. We were even treated to a cooking demonstration by Candice (picture above).
Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi’s program gives a grant of $8,000 to five gardens across the U.S. The money given to the gardens is meant to facilitate the production of more food, all of which is to be donated to local food banks. More on Giving Through Growing.
ABOUT THE GARDEN
The Dallas garden employs about 10 families living in Dallas, mainly from Cambodia, Vietnam, and other Asian nations. The garden’s produce is sold at the Dallas Farmer’s Market, and the garden itself is open to the public — the addresses and contact information are listed below. The garden produces about 7,000 pounds of produce per year right now, and with the grant from Woodbridge, will produce more than 9.000 pounds a year and will employ more than 30 families.
Live Oak Community Garden
Find them on Facebook
4819 Live Oak (corner of Live Oak and Fitzhugh)
Contact: Don Lambert | 972 231-3565
ABOUT THE AMBASSADOR (and all-time coolest chef)
Now, a bit about one of my new favorite people, Candice Kumai. Dubbed “The Stilhetto Chef”, she is a “Top Chef” alumnus and author of two cookbooks that bring healthy recipes using fresh food to the “normal person’s kitchen” (my words) … not to mention she’s hilarious and incredibly nice.
Candice’s recipes aren’t extremely complicated and they don’t require ingredients that you’ll buy once and will sit in your pantry. Her first cookbook, Pretty Delicious, has gotten a workout in my kitchen since it arrived on my doorstep. Her newer cookbook, Cook Yourself Sexy, is on its way (it was released October 2, 2012 and it makes a great gift)! Get your own copy of Cook Yourself Sexy
Something poignant Candice said during the demonstration is, “Food is like men… You have to keep the ones you get something good from.” Amen, sister.
