Tag Archives: fancy

Grand Cercle: des Vines de Bordeaux (aka: a wholebunchawine)

I had the opportunity to attend an amazing wine tasting event hosted at The Tower at Cityplace: “Grand Cercle, des Vins de Bordeaux: From Barrel to Bottle”. As you may have guessed, this event featured wines from the Bordeaux region–34 wineries from the Left and Right banks were represented, to be precise. If you would like to learn more about the Bordeaux Region in France, and the fabulous wines it produces, here are some fabulous quick hits to bring you up to speed.

What made this event particularly unique was the fact that the wines we tasted were being poured not by their distributors, but by the winemakers or vineyard owners themselves, who came from France to be at the tasting. (Ooh, la la!) It made for a special opportunity to hear about what I was tasting directly from the vintner. While I certainly enjoy wine, the enthusiasm and expertise some of my fellow attendees appeared to bring to the table made me feel like a middle school kid who’d snuck into a high school dance. That said, I was fascinated listening to some of the super-fancy-pants Dallasites in attendance (some of whom donned an amazing array of bow ties, paisley suits, straw hats, and the likes) as they chatted up the super-fancy-pants French wine gurus.

Vintner

Yes, I may have been a fish out of water at this event, but I was such a happy fish. A warm, toasty, happy fish; nearly 150 varieties and vintages of wines were poured that evening, and I’m always oddly intimidated by the spittoon concept.  That said, it would be implausible for me to review more than a few of the wines I tasted (for several reasons…). While this event was definitely red-centric, I was pleased to see a handful of white Bordeauxs being poured throughout the evening. (After all, I’m a white girl…wait…I mean, I am a girl who enjoys white wines.) My favorite of the bunch may have been the 2011 Chateau Magrez Fombrauge Bordeaux Blanc, which was vibrant and lightly acidic, with hints of melon and citrus. It was perfectly drinkable. Maybe a little too drinkable. The 2010 Chateau Le Sartre Blanc was also lovely- medium bodied, with a juicy tropical citrus profile. That’s not to say I left this event without being blown away by an untold number of reds. Notably, I enjoyed the 2011 Chateau La Marzelle, which was rich yet soft and supple, with a hint of cherry and deep, peppery finish.

This event hosted a silent auction that took place throughout the evening, featuring a number of rare and hard to find bottles as well as limited releases. While I did not partake in the silent auction, I saw many guests enthusiastically scrawling down numbers that contained more digits than I personally have ever paid for a bottle of vino. What I did partake in was the tasty variety of hors de oeuvres that were made available throughout the evening, which were a vital component in maintaining the ability to walk in a straight line following this event.

This event gave me a new appreciation of wines from the Bordeaux region- excuse me, Vins de Bordeaux- and I’m pretty sure I’m like roughly 10-15% fancier now, having attended.

 

 

Bailey’s Prime (Closed)

Bailey’s, the Cedar Hill transplant that opened a couple years ago in the brand new Shops at Park Lane, is HANDS DOWN one of my new favorite fancy happy hour spots.  I’d say it’s right up there with Perry’s, only trumping it with its longer hours.

After visiting Bailey’s for a “working” lunch and Mother’s Day brunch, I was eager to try their famed all-night happy hour.  I was glad I finally made it in because my time there was one of the more fun nights I’ve had in a while.  (I’ll attribute that a little to the company and a little to the location.)

The whole staff seems to be there to make your experience amazing.  Perfect example: my mom invited me to meet her when I was walking out of the grocery with items that needed refrigeration.  On the way to the resto, I called and asked if they could free up some fridge space for my groceries and they gladly obliged.  The bartenders (Pedro and Kelly) will get you anything you want and will even take you for a swing on the dance floor if you so desire; on that note, Kelly is one of the better bartenders I’ve seen in Dallas from a service standpoint.

The drinks are delicious and STRONG.  Try some of their signature cocktails offered on the happy hour menu like the Cosmotini, Pomegranate Martini, or the bourbon-based, Forty Apples.  I enjoyed the VERY cucumber-y Cucumber Martini and would have died to try the French Seventy Five Martini – I didn’t want to venture into champagne on a school night.

The food is equally as good (and equally as discounted).  We got an order of their homemade chips and they were delicious as was their fresh-baked bread.  You know a restaurant is good when you see Kent Rathbun stop in for a bite!

Last word: Make sure you check in on Foursquare because they have one of the most generous check-ins specials I’ve seen – a free glass of their house Malbec, no strings attached.

Drink strength: 4
Overall: 4.5

Bailey’s Prime Plus
www.baileysprimeplus.com
8160 Park Lane #130 (Shops at Park Lane) | (214) 750-8100

Specials:
Monday-Thursday (4-7 p.m.) and Friday (4-11 p.m.)
$5 house wines, $6 signature cocktails, $2 domestic beer, $4 well drinks

Live bands:  Friday and Saturday nights

Dish

Each time I try a new place, I walk in with a flurry of excitement and my taste buds standing at attention.  My expectations are usually a little high, but with DISH they were matched.

On my first visit here, I was with a group of nine taking advantage of the Yelp! Eats deal ($25 for three courses à la KERA Restaurant Week – and yes, this was quite a while ago) and DISH was our restaurant of choice.  Dinner was at 6 p.m., Wicked was at 8 p.m. … and that apparently wasn’t a great plan.  After reminding our waitress multiple times and urging her to quicken her step, we still missed the first scene.  Despite the somewhat slow service, our waitress was very nice and suggested some great cocktails and food choices.

We all agreed on some flatbread for the table and that was the best choice we made all night!  The mushroom flatbread was to-die AND was half off – it doesn’t get better than that.  As for the salads, they are fresh and nicely presented but watch out for the juicy tomatoes … they may squirt and ruin your neighbor’s new, white shirt (sorry, Brando!).  The food menu has a wide range of options from pasta to short ribs that fall apart and will haunt your dreams they are so good.  It is their take on comfort food.

As for drinks, they have very inventive drinks that they have dubbed “culinary inspired drinks”.  If you’re looking for a sweet drink, try the Prairie Pomegranate Mojito, the Kiss & Tell, or the Strawberry Basil Margarita.  For more masculine options, go for a Manhattan becase the whole bar menu is skewed sweet.

The restaurant itself is very edgy.  The decore is quite innovative and, be prepared, the bathrooms are coed.  Most everyone there is interested in men anyway, so it doesn’t get awkward.  The wait staff is, on the whole, incredibly hospitable.  On my second visit, which was for a friend’s birthday, they brought a round of champagne for the table and a complimentary dessert.  Not too shabby.

Extra tip:  Parking is really difficult around the restaurant so definitely have a couple bucks so you can valet.

Go in with deep pockets and an appetite, you’ll need both.  Save room for dessert.

Drink strength: 4
Overall: 4.3

DISH
www.dish-dallas.com | @dish4123
4123 Cedar Springs Road | (214) 522-3474
8611 Hillcrest Avenue, Suite 100 | (214)363-3474

Specials:
Monday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. & Thursday, 9-11 p.m.
$2 off specialty cocktails, $4 calls, 1/2 price flatbread

Perry’s Steakhouse | Uptown Dallas

Let’s start with some education: the restaurant on Routh many Dallasites know of as Perry’s has changed its name to The Place at Perry’s.  Don’t be confused because they are both steakhouses – however, I am giving my thoughts only about the newly opened Perry’s on McKinney.  That being said, here we go!

My visit to Perry’s was one of the most enjoyable happy hours I’ve had in quite a while.  I have been back since my initial visit and loved it as much as I did the first time around – maybe even more actually.

Picture courtesy of Perry’s Steakhouse

From now on, you will be able to find me here most Fridays starting around 3:30 p.m. partaking in their Friday lunch special of Perry’s Famous Pork Chop served with whipped potatoes and homemade applesauce for only $13.95 before 4 p.m.  If a pork chop doesn’t tickle your fancy, take part in one (hell, two, three, or even four) of the Social Hour appetizer options.  My favorites were the fried asparagus with lump crab meat*, homemade Polish sausage, and the Kobe burger.  My friend Casey made the following comment after eating the Kobe burger: “THIS burger for is on happy hour?”*  Glances at girlfriend and says emphatically, “We’re comin’ back!”

After eating your fill, stay for a couple hours and enjoy the cocktail offerings they have for Bar 79 Social Hour.  There is a cocktail for everyone here.  If you can’t decide, try the flight of cocktails which includes three inventive concoctions in sippable sizes.  Their mojitos are the perfect drink for summer, hands down.  In addition they have a drink that is Perry’s take on a Manhattan that the men at the table thoroughly enjoyed (a few times over).  Their fruit is incredible and is prepared fresh daily; head chef Danny does fruit quality control daily to ensure it’s at its best.

Aside from the fantastic discounted food and drinks, the atmosphere is relaxing and inviting with live music to lighten the mood in the bar and entertain.  There is an air of sophisticated relaxation in the bar area and the patio boasts a giant inverted umbrella with plenty of seating.  If you want to catch a game without spending time at a dive bar, they have a TV behind the hand-etched glass bar (with hilarious quotes about drinking) so you can nosh on their brilliant food while watching.  If you can, try to get the middle table, though, you’ll feel like you’re in the VIP section!

The wait staff at Perry’s is unmatched; they offer VERY helpful suggestions, crack jokes, and are incredibly attentive.  Between Mark, Howard, Rich the bartender, Kennan, and Martin, our waiter, we were never in want for another drink or a even a napkin.

I’ll see all of you there on Friday!


Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille
www.perryssteakhouse.com
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
2000 McKinney Ave., Suite 100 | 214-855-5151

PERRY’S NOW HAS A LOCATION IN FRISCO, TX ALSO. CHECK OUT RACHEL’S REVIEW OF THE NEW SPOT!

Drink strength: 3.8
Overall: 4.4

Specials:

Social Hour | Monday-Friday, 4-6:30 p.m.
discounted seasonal cocktails, wines, and appetizers

Live Music | Monday-Thursday, 6-10 p.m.
Friday & Saturday | 6-11 p.m.

*Initial post written quite a while ago.  Pricing has been updated to reflect changes!

Eddie V’s

Since being into Eddie V’s, I have heard their advertisements on NPR quite a few times (yes, I am an avid listener and junkie), and each time I hear it, my mouth waters; it has to be a Pavlovian response.  Juicy steaks, ridiculously fresh seafood, fantastic live music, a touch of opulence, and inventive drinks … just a small taste of what the Austin transplant, Eddie V’s, has to offer.

Two of my man friends and I took an evening off from our hectic lives to relax and enjoy the V Lounge in the newly opened watering hole and eatery on Oak Lawn.  Right out of the gate, we knew we were in for a treat when we walked into the dimly-lit resto and were greeted by three friendly staffers and let into a beautifully decorated dining room with a large wrap-around bar.

We sat in the lounge so we could fully enjoy the live music from the band which boasted covers of my favorite genre: the Rat Pack, Frank, newer pop(py) songs … and they accept requests.  I got a “shout out” and it was definitely a highlight!

The service left nothing to be desired and the wait staff was fun, bantered with the table, and was quick to suggest the best of the best on the menu – both food and bar.  Our table had quite a few drinks and they were all incredibly creative and stout!  Their martini was perfectly dirty and just reading their list of mojitos and margaritas alone is enough to make your taste buds stand at attention – and they don’t disappoint.   As you can see below, the menu offers a plethora of happy hour drinks and half price appetizers at a great price.

As for food … while I am no foodie, my friend who has been to culinary school and makes food to curl your toes was just as impressed with the food as I was.  Their crispy cashew calamari is some of the best I’ve ever had.  The Maryland style all lump crab cake is a force with which to be reckoned and lives up to its name; it doesn’t mess around with its helping of crab.  At the prices during happy hour, try as many as you can fit in your stomach!

Bottom line: try out Eddie V’s.  It’s great for a nicer night when you want to ditch the flip flops and enjoy a more mature group at HH.  Their happy hour is an economical way to try the amazing offerings they have!

Drink strength: 3.8
Overall: 4


Eddie V’s Dallas
www.eddiev.com | @eddievsdallas
4023 Oak Lawn Ave | (214)890-1500

Specials:
Happy Hour Nightly | 4-7 pm | $5+ drinks below, $0.75-8 select appetizers
Martinis: Original, Jolly Rancher, Passiontini, green apple, mai tai-tini
Mojitos: original, raspberry, orange, citrus, dragon berry
Wines by the glass: Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet,
Hand crafted margaritas: Blood orange, passion fruit, pomegranate pink grapefruit

prime hour

The buzz around Ocean Prime in Dallas was palpable when it first opened.  The people of Dallas raved about it, but some critics weren’t didn’t feel the same about the new perfectly-located seafood restaurant.  My opinion:  don’t listen to the critics (except for me, of course), and make you own decision on this resto – I personally enjoyed myself the last couple of visits, as did my friends.

After all of my friends and I finally located the spot (it’s tough to find), we sat back to enjoy the two hour “Prime Hour” which boasts food and drink specials – most are about $4 or so off the regular prices.  Cocktails are $8 and apps start at $5.  The food is “shi shi” but still fills you up; definitely try the goat cheese ravioli and the fondue!  Also, eat as much of the popcorn as you can; at first you wonder why they would bring such weak sauce to the table – and then you try it … kaBOOM … the truffle garlic butter takes over and you can’t stop eating it.

For cocktails, there aren’t many choices on the Prime Hour menu, but they edited them well and there are some nice choices: the cucumber gimlet, the blood orange negroni, and the pineapple Finlandia martini.  Definitely try the aforementioned cucumber gimlet; the men at the table were sold on it after the first sip and couldn’t get enough of them.

The atmosphere is lively and the outside bar gets a little loud.  Inside you can enjoy live music and rub elbows with the businessmen from the Crescent and the *ahem* mature women (read: cougars) of Dallas.

Random additional comments:  they have extra large Sonic ice, the wait staff is très  attractive and sassy (in a good way), the bread basket is a must, ask for water refills, allow time for your drink to be made,  the bathroom doors need work so take a friend to guard it for you, don’t go in scrubby clothes, sit back and enjoy.

Drink strength: 3 
Overall: 4.3

Ocean Prime
dallas.ocean-prime.com | @oceanprimecmr
2101 Cedar Springs Road, Uptown | (214) 965-0440

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 4-6 p.m. | $5-8 select appetizers, $8 selectwines by the glass, $8 select cocktails

holler for a … palmer? (CLOSED)

New to the Dallas happy hour scene, Charlie Palmer is a gem.  Like some of the other upscale restaurants around our fair city, Charlie Palmer offers to-die-for drinks and sumptuous food to snack on at a good price compared to the usual prices.

The hotel (The Joule) is intriguing with somewhat out-of-place decor that seems to still work – site: the large wheel in the lobby (their bathrooms are pretty interesting, too).  The restaurant has a nice ambiance if it is a little close to the Downtown traffic – but it is very chill and the patio is laid back with really interesting people watching.  Sit back in their comfy chairs and watch the beautiful people checking into the hotel and the businessmen and women hustling around after work – just keep your eyes open for the guy on the street that may try to sell you poetry when you’re waiting for your car at valet.

Speaking of valet, it’s $10.  Try to park in the parking garage across the street and it’s only about $5.

The drinks … let’s talk about the drinks … they.are.a.ma.zing.  They are incredibly creative and quite delicious.  You have your choice of six fancy cocktails for half off along with the Charlie Palmer private label ISC Pinot Noir or single malt scotch. Try the Perfect Pear which is perfectly sweet or the Thin Mintini which will take you back to your days in the Girl Scouts (or at least it did for me!).  If you want to feel that you’ve done your part to save the planet for the day, get the Treetini; Live it Green and VeeV will plant a tree for each one sold.

Get a little snack to go along with your drink.  I recommend the fries; while they come in a trough (which is somewhat troubling if you think about it) but the bearnaise sauce makes up for any discomfort about the serving plate.  Also try the lobster corn dogs … yum.  Enjoy a taste of the incredible restaurant’s small bites menu for 1/2 off during happy hour!

Try Charlie Palmer for its happy hour – at least so you can try their amazing fare and drink!  I know I’ll be back for more.

Charlie Palmer at The Joule
www.charliepalmer.com | @thejoule
1530 Main Street | (214) 261-4600

Specials:
Thursday and Friday | 4-7 p.m. | 1/2 price small bites menu and selected drinks

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