Tag Archives: steak

TGI Friday’s Releases Its New Fire-Grilled Meats and Two New Cocktails

With their competition reinventing their menus with less items, there’s a new fire under TGIF’s behind. Their answer: do what they do, just better and for less cost to the consumer.

Friday’s is overhauling their entire menu, meaning new apps, entrees, sides, drinks, and more. TGI Friday’s new Choose Two menu dropped today and it’s all about fire-grilled meats … and good ones, at that. There are 15 different combinations for you to try, each for just $14.99.

First up: Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls and the Philly Cheesesteak Burger. We have yet to find someone who doesn’t love egg rolls (we held a poll in the tasting to prove ourselves right), so it only makes sense to American-ize them into a Philly Cheese-take (pun intended) appetizer.  The burger’s patty is juicy and topped with a cheesy pepper concoction that you’ll fork off the plate after it falls off the burger. Don’t worry – if you order the burger, you get an egg roll on top. (Because burgers are better with an appetizer on top.)

As for the new Grilled Meats menu … all of Friday’s meats are grilled fresh on the fire and never frozen, and they’re moving to higher quality cuts that give the guest a nicer amount of meat with less effort cutting around the less desirable bits. We won’t go through all the different meat and side combinations you can get—they’re all pretty damn good, so just pick your favorite(s). We will, however, tell you about all the juicy, fire-grilled meats you can now get …

Premium Center Cut Sirloin: 6oz seasoned with hickory smoked sea salt, topped with parmesan butter.
Dragon Glazed Salmon: Atlantic salmon fillet brushed with sweet and spicy Korean BBQ sauce, topped with mango pico de gallo.
Big Ribs: 30% meatier, bolder, tastier premium pork back ribs, cooked low and slow in house. (The new ribs launched in October and have been a hit.)
Parmesan Crusted Chicken: topped with a white poblano queso and toasted with crispy parmesan bread crumbs.
Bacon-Wrapped Grilled Shrimp: two skewers of three large jumbo shrimp, wrapped in hardwood smoked bacon and brushed with parmesan butter sauce.
14-ounce Bone-In New York Strip: this cut is ridiculously juicy and flavorful … not to be missed. It’ll give some steakhouses a run for their money.

New sides were also recently introduced to accompany these delicious meats—crispy Brussel sprouts, baked mac & cheese and giant onion rings. All of which were equally “souped-up” recently. Their standard mashed potatoes aren’t anything to shy away from, though … they fold in cheese to make them rich and they’re nearly impossible to hold yourself back from eating the whole pile.

The important thing to remember here is your eyes may be hungrier than your stomach, but that’s okay because they have to-go boxes for you to take things home.

Along with the new entree options, they’ve released two new cocktails, the Magic Lemon Drop Martini and their take on a Hurricane. They’ve been making efforts to move their bar to a “clean bar” concept—no fake colors or ingredients, just good, clean, quality ingredients.

The Magic Lemon Drop is cool on many fronts—visually, because of it’s greatly contrasting purple and yellow colors; experientially, because you get to be your own mixologist with the garnish by dropping it in and watching the color change; and Boomerang-worthy, because they use butterfly pea tea extract. The BPT extract is a new, trendy cocktail ingredient that makes a cocktail blue, and then changes color when some ingredients are added—purple with acidic ingredients, pink with a high pH ingredient. Less new, but still a stunner, their take on the traditional hurricane is fresh and delicious, made so partly because of the fresh passion fruit puree they use.

TGIF’s is stepping up it’s game again, y’all.


TGI FRIDAY’S
tgifridays.com
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Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse is one of the staple steakhouses not just in the Dallas area, but in the country.  Its longstanding ranking among the best steakhouses made tonight’s visit to the flagship location pretty exciting for me.

The night of excess started with an Old Fashioned in true Susie fashion (Knob Creek Bourbon, muddled cherry, orange, sugar & bitters).  It was quite standard (as I’m super spoiled when it comes to OFs) and nothing too extraordinary, but you could actually taste the bourbon used and it wasn’t too diluted, which gave it a really delightful flavor.  (Because … ya know … I love bourbon.)  Luckily, the rest of the drinks were much more unique.

If you’re in for just one drink, make it Del’s Manhattan (Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Dolin Rouge Sweet Vermouth, bitters, Luxardo cherry).  It’s as smooth as a baby’s rump and as strong as Arnold back in the day.  They actually have barrels of Maker’s Mark in the upstairs office that they use (no, I wasn’t allowed to visit them), and the Manhattan is make with Luxardo cherries (because are there any others?).

Next up was the Pomegranate Martini (360 Vodka, PAMA Pomegranate liquor, splash of cranberry), which was quite sweet and reminded me of a drink my favorite cocktail creator/roommate, Sam, would make me after a long day of classes (and before my night classes) back in the day.  PAMA gives any cocktail an incredibly rich flavor —- and it makes it healthy, right?

Last up was the Blackberry Ginger Cocktail (Woodford Reserve Bourbon, fresh blackberries, fresh lemon juice, mint, splash of ginger beer).  It sounds like a girly little drink, huh?  WRONG.  It’s a powerful and flavorful little libation with a perfect splash of ginger beer to give it a little tingle and bubble.

As for food, we started with crab cakes (holy awesome … no filler here!) and onion rings (double awesome … they’re as big as my hand), and then proceeded to entrees.  I couldn’t resist the “feature” of three 4oz steaks with different sauces on each (fois gras butter, port wine, and peppercorn … I think*).  The steaks were tender, juicy, and amazingly savory.  Dessert was pretty incredible (lemon cake and cheesecake).  Their cheesecake is whipped, not baked, which makes it so light that it’s completely irresistible.  Like seriously … I’m meant to be on a diet and I definitely partook in (and took home leftovers of) most of it.  The crust is made with pecans, so if you have a nut allergy, you’re shit outta luck.  (Whatever, dude, more for me.)

Last note: Don’t expect to park your own car here … go ahead and resign yourself to the fact that you’re going to valet.  Even on a Monday night there wasn’t a parking space to be found.  No cash to tip?  No worries … they’ll let you charge a card to get some cash at the bar!

Del Frisco’s has already released their Valentine’s Day menu and are accepting reservations, so (for the guys out there), get a move on and make your girl’s day by having a plan for the night.  (And don’t forget the flowers and lingerie.)

*I’m not a food blogger … I do drinks.

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
delfriscos.com | @del_friscos | Facebook.com/DelFrisco
5251 Spring Valley Road
(972) 490-9000

****I was invited to join Del Frisco’s for a meal this evening and my meal was on the house.****

Asador at the Renaissance Hotel

Never heard of it?  Understandable, but now you know better.  Asador is the high-end-but-casual restaurant inside the Renaissance Hotel over on I-35 — you know, the brown one that’s a gigantic oval?  There ya go.

I was very excited to try Asador and was even more excited when I sat down at the bar and began looking through the delicious victuals that they offer.  Grab a tissue, because your mouth is about to water — smoked duck sliders, candied bacon lollipops, grilled Texas quail … and those are only a few of the bar snacks!  They offer a full chef-driven menu of delightfully-prepared foods made with fresh ingredients, all from within 100 miles of Dallas (except for the fish … but that’s because we’re pretty landlocked).  Fresh isn’t an understatement here, so much so that they print new menus almost everyday.  Steaks that are cooked to perfection and fish that cuts like butta’ using nothing but a fork.

I think one of the best parts of the experience was dessert (duh).  Asador makes their ice cream in-house.  OMG – I never wanted the sweet potato ice cream to end but while attempting to make it last, a bit melted.  BLAST.  Their pumpkin crème brulee was also one of the highlights of the pumpkin season this year (right up there with the pumpkin souffles I made for Thanksgiving!).

Their cocktails are made with the same fresh ingredients as the food and are mixed thoughtfully with a flare for the unique.  They have the usuals but add a twist to each.  To give their cocktails depth, they infuse liquors with some unexpected items.  For your consideration: bacon bourbon, grilled jalapeño tequila, maple-Belgium waffle vodka (believe it), pomegranate gin, and more.  Changed often, creative, and tempting, they’ll serve you a shot of one of their seasonal infusions for only $5.

My absolute favorite item of the evening was the harvest margarita – a margarita made with pumpkin puree and apple cider and finished off with a brown sugar spice rim.  It.was.amazing.  Being one who doesn’t like margaritas, I have never in my life had a margarita that I didn’t want to end … except for this one.

My other favorite cocktails from the evening were the Blossom Margatini, the Orange Twist, and the Posh Cosmo (pictured above in the same order).  The Blossom Margatini is tequila, rose nectar, St. Germain, citrus juices, and an edible flower (I wish I’d known that sooner b/c I would have eaten it).  It reminded me of some of my favorite drinks from Paris; light and sweet but quite potent.  The Orange Twist was pomegranate juice, port, orange juice, and rum — talk about a refreshing drink, I could have downed three.  Lastly, the Posh Cosmo was what you’d expect from any Cosmopolitan with some interesting additions, they added Gran Marnier jam (yes, like jelly) and Pimms —- heavvvven.

In addition to their specialty cocktails, they have 100+ tequilas arranged on a wall (complete with ladder, pictured above) that you can try individually or in a flight.  The bartenders really know their stuff and are very friendly and helpful so you can just ask and they’ll serve you up something you’ll love.  Ask for Tyler (girl) or James – they’re both fantastic.

The bottom line: Specialty cocktails are $7-10, bar snacks are $4-9, entrees are $4-38.  They have a full bar, exotic beers, a great wine list, steaks, seafood, and some more slightly casual bites.  If you’re bored, you can watch your game on one of the flat screens or play pool in the back room — but with food this good, why would you be bored?

Asador
asadorrestaurant.com | @asador_dallas
2222 N Stemmons Fwy (in the Renaissance Hotel)
(214)631-2222

Specials:
Happy Hour | Monday-Friday 4-7 p.m.
$4 draft beer / $6 house wine and specialty cocktails
$1 appetizers and 1/2 price all snacks

Reverse Happy Hour | Monday 9-11 p.m.
$4 draft beer / $6 house wine and specialty cocktails
1/2 price all snacks

Hospitality Night | Wednesday 5pm-10 p.m.
$4 draft beer / $6 house wine and specialty cocktails
1/2 price all snacks and garden items

Power Hour

When you think of power hour, do shivers shoot down your spine as your are taken back to the days at the frat house downing luke-warm shots of Natural Light on the minute mark?  Shiver no more, my friend, for power hour will soon take on a new, more comforting (and decidedly classier) memory for you.

Morton’s, the long-time Dallas mainstay for a delicious steak and a to-die-for lobster has upped the ante for happy hour.  Offering drinks and apps for a song (at least relative to other Morton’s prices) in the bar, Power Hour at Morton’s has quickly become a main contender in the “Best HH in Dallas” contest for me.

We’re talking quality HH here, people.  Take a seat in the bar and order a dirty martini and their crab cake sliders and you’ll be forever in love.  The wait staff is so incredibly friendly that you wonder if they mistook you for a celebrity and the laid-back luxury of the place makes you feel like one.

The drinks are pretty darn strong and you can down them like water (though I don’t recommend that).  Order one of the Mortinis or a cocktail and see (double) what I mean after two.  The service is quick so don’t bother ordering before you’re done with your previous drink.

Drink strength: 4.0
Overall: 4.6 

Specials – in the bar Sunday-Friday:
open-6:30 p.m., 9 p.m.-close
| bar bites (below)
all day | $5 beers, $6 wines by the glass, $7 Mortinis and cocktails

 

Bar Bites:$5: Iceberg Wedge Bites | Blue Cheese Steak Fries | Chicken Goujonettes

$6: Mini Crab Cake BLT’s | Smoked Salmon Pizza | Three Prime Cheeseburgers | Four Petite Filet Mignon Sandwiches

Oysters on the Half Shell and Colossal Shrimp Cocktail also available