Each year KRLD is responsible for bringing together some of Dallas’ most exclusive restaurants in an effort to provide a chance for you to get a great meal while helping to raise funds for the North Texas Food Bank. Not only is this a great cause; it’s also a great opportunity for the diner as the pricing is fixed at $35 for a 3 and sometimes 4 course meal (which in most cases is well below what a typical meal will cost at these establishments). So imagine what this type of event does for a food loving citizen of Dallas such as myself!

When I got this year’s list restaurants participating in the KRLD restaurant week I couldn’t wait to hit a couple of Dallas’ crème de la crème restaurants! As I ran through the list like a little kid opening his Christmas present early I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Al Biernat’s at the top of the list!

Al Biernat’s (for those of you who don’t live in Dallas) has become one of Dallas’ seen and be seen restaurants. With Dallas celebrities ranging from Aikman to Dirk and many other VIP’s Al Biernat’s has become known as a hot spot in this city. Their menu also reflects their rise to stardom as well with entrees alone ranging from $24 – $47.

I quickly made reservations for my wife and I and counted down the days with a large X on my calendar every day in anticipation of our special event.

When we arrived at Al Biernat’s I was already under the impression that we had possibly come on a bad night. The place was packed (the line for the valet was about 10 cars deep). While this could be seen as an indication that this place really lives up to the hype it could also mean that it wouldn’t be the quite and intimate dinner my wife and I were expecting.

Upon entering Al Biernat’s we were immediately greeted by a sports bar. Two large TV’s are posted on each side of a bar that was packed with people waiting for their tables. I must admit I was a little put off by how loud it was. Even after being seated you knew whenever Oklahoma scored a touchdown as the place erupted with cheers and sneers.

We had reservations for 8:30 (thank goodness because I don’t think we would have gotten in otherwise). After a few moments wait we got our table at 8:50 which was no big deal to me. I’m use to restaurant running late with reservations.

As we were whisked through the dining room by our host something immediately occurred to me, the tables were much closer then what we were expecting. When I visited the website I saw a picture of the restaurant that shows some tables evenly distributed throughout the dining room allowing guests to have a quite and intimate dinner.

However, this was not the case, a bunch more tables had been added to the room in a fashion that left guests sitting on top of each other. How close were we? Well let’s just say it reminds me of a touristy Italian restaurant where you can hear the conversations of your neighbors more then the conversation in which you are participating. Don’t believe me? Well our diners to the left were a young couple from SMU on their first date. I could tell the guy was a little nervous as he started each sentence with “So…” Our fellow diners to the right were a couple that had been out on a few dates, the gentleman was a big investor in commodities and had been working some late hours as of lately and was looking forward to a vacation he had coming shortly. Ambiance aside my wife and I were really here for the food.

I was going to post a link to the menu for this article but they unfortunately took it down at the end of the restaurant week. There were quite a few choices to choose from which I liked seeing as how many of the restaurants participating in the KRLD restaurant week had a pretty limited scope.

I decided to go with the Prawns in a cilantro lime and habanero sauce as my appetizer. While the combinations of flavor were pretty good, I liked how the spiciness of the sauce was contrasted by the cooling effects of cilantro and lime, I must confess that I have been to Australia and had jumbo prawns before. These were not jumbo prawns; in fact the size was closer to that of regular shrimp that had been relaxed to appear a little larger then what they really were. I had brought my camera in hopes of capturing pictures of our evening however, the lighting was such that all of them pretty much looked like pictures they were taken at night and pretty much indistinguishable. The dish to me was okay. The flavors were unique yet I was still left craving more as the size was petite. Something that is completely okay in my book as it is an appetizer and is not meant to be extremely filling.

Everywhere I read stated that Al Biernat’s was more then a steakhouse. Seeing as how I have had my fair share of Dallas steakhouses (they are overkill here in Dallas as you can imagine). I chose to go off the beaten trail (as they suggest) and ordered the salmon. What it was topped with I cannot exactly say anymore (as again they took down the menu), which is I guess okay in that what I would say about it is that it wasn’t really anything that stood out as a wow food. It was cooked well but really, how hard is that?

The dessert was the Grand Marnier Crème Brulee. Both my wife and I got this and were equally impressed. It really made up some ground work on the meal. The flavor of the Grand Marnier really stood out and the Brulee was perfectly caramelized.

In all I would say that our experience at Al Biernat’s was a little disappointing, which is hard for me to say seeing as how I like to visit an establishment a couple of times before I really make a decision about it.

For the price I was expecting a little more intimate dining experience with food that really stood out. Maybe it was the fact that we were picking form the KRLD menu, maybe it was just an off night because it was a packed joint however, Al Biernat’s really didn’t stand out as a place that was exemplary of what we had heard before. If you’re a person that is a seen and be seen type of diner then this is definitely the place for you as you will definitely be seen. However, if you’re in the search of great food for the price you might want to keep looking.

*Contest update/clarification – To enter this contest you only have to post a comment in order to win. If you want more then one entry to the contest then follow ANY of the other steps and the amount of entries to win is shown accordingly.

*This contest is now closed. Winners will be announced shortly.

With all of the drink recipes I shared with you last month I thought that it might be fun to share with you what I will sometimes use for cocktails when I don’t have a ton of time to prepare my party drinks (hey not everyone is perfect). To me Stirrings cocktail mixers are definitely a cut above all other cocktail mixers out there!

For starters, Stirrings continues to create new flavors to keep up with the contemporary bar scene while still holding onto the classics. What’s so great about this you ask? Well not only do they make mixing complicated drinks simple, Stirrings only uses the finest sugar, the freshest juice, and triple filtered water ( a little overkill if you ask me) to produce their mixers. Compare this to their competitors who use artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and corn syrup (don’t even get me started on that stuff) and it’s easy to see why I find this to be my go to drink mix.

Finally, for each cocktail mixer they create they also create a glass rimmer to go with it. The rimmers use either sugar or salt and have been flavored to match the cocktail mixer they were created for! Crushed peppermint for their chocolate peppermintini, sugar and graham crackers for their blueberry mixer (sort of a blueberry pie in a drink), and much much more!

Their passion for quality drinks is evident and has certainly been turning heads ever since they began turning out their mixers. If you haven’t had a chance to give these a try I suggest you enter my give away! What?! Yeah I bet you didn’t see that one coming. That’s right! I’m going to be giving away some of my favorite cosmopolitian drink mixers and rimmers gift sets to 3 of my lucky readers.

To enter this contest simply do any of the following:

1. Leave a comment about your favorite cocktail (1 entry)

and/or

2. Re-tweet this contest on twitter and post a comment about your favorite cocktail and twitter user name. “RT @GourmetFoodie a little giveaway for Stirrings Cocktail Mixers – http://tinyurl.com/d4b4wv” (2 entries)

and/or

3. Post a trackback link to this blog post and leave a comment about your favorite cocktail. (3 entries)

and/or

4. Do each of the above and get an extra 5 entries! (only need 1 comment letting me know you did them all)

Contest ends Monday May 11th midnight pacific time –
Contest is for U.S. residents only! If you would like to enter and are from another country but have someone who you want it shipped to here in the U.S. feel free to enter (Sorry, in the past I have found shipping food product outside the U.S. is pretty much impossible!).

Special thanks to Gourmet Indulgence for making this giveaway possible. So if you don’t want to leave your next cocktail to chance drop on by and get some today.

When a franchise sub shop claims to be “gourmet” I can’t help but feel the word is being a little bastardized. Now don’t get me wrong, I by no means feel this term should be as exclusive as some people would have it. The true “gourmets” would have the term used only by individuals who have seemingly endless budgets and time to eat only the finest of fair ever invented and would never do it for nourishment.

I guess that is why I choose the name for my blog. While the technical definition of “gourmet” is a person with refined or discriminating taste or is knowledgeable in the art of food and food preparation. I would say that I have a pretty refined pallet and have a robust knowledge about the art of food. The second term “foodie” is someone who happens to be a food amateur of sorts. A foodie simply loves food for consumption, study and preparation. Since I fully believe that there is no person on this earth that can truly consider themselves 100% knowledgeable on anything. I believe the term fits as we all should continue to study and learn everything we are passionate about. Since typing out “A refined pallet and robust knowledge about the art of food who is also an amateur who loves the consumption and study of food blog” is a pain in the butt. I chose to go with Gourmet Foodie Blog as it has a little nicer ring to it (plus it’s easier to remember)!

For me companies should only use the word gourmet if they use only the finest of ingredients with their food preparation. There are many a restaurants that fit this description. They are well known around the world and usually tote 5 star ratings. Their ingredients range from exotic salts such as fleur de sel to foods such as foie gras. While I think the first person to truly use these types of ingredients in a fast food sub shop might actually be on to something, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches is not that place.

As I perused their menu the other day I definitely saw some ingredients that you typically wouldn’t find on a normal sub sandwich but nothing that would give them the true designation of “gourmet”. That day I choose their Italian sub. I don’t really know why (I guess I was just in an Italian mood). The first thing that I loved about this sandwich was the bread. They use a homemade French bread which I think had a great flavor to it! It definitely was not the same bread you get at subway. The rest of the sub for the most part was that of a typical Italian sub. Salami, capicola, ham, and provolone cheese all topped with Italian vinaigrette. If you’re feeling daring you can get the hot peppers on it as I did and it really spiced things up!

Overall I really loved this sub; the bread and ingredients within complimented each other nicely. The sub also happened to be pared up some Jimmy John’s BBQ chips. These chips are fantastic! Their kettle style chips had a great crunch to them and the BBQ flavor was tangy and delicious.

In all I would have to say that they have definitely beat the pants off of any other sub shop I have visited in recent years, but to say they are gourmet however; well I leave that for you to decide.

As I set out the other day in a quest to finish a long list of errands that have been piling up since last year (as they seem to do every year) I didn’t really make any plans for lunch that day. I knew that I would be pressed for time and figured that I would just stop at whatever place seemed like it might have something edible; little did I know I was about to stumble upon Dallas’s greatest burger house!

I’m completely smitten!

In a well willed effort to make it through one of my lists (I think I have around 200 of them) I rushed out the door that morning without taking time to eat breakfast. I was finally starting to make a small dent in what seemed like a titanic sized list of errands when the hunger from within forced me to my knees (similar to that of a professional wrestler).

As luck would have it I was forced off the road at the corner of 75 and Campbell to finish off one quick list item. As I pulled into the shopping center my stomach growled and I knew this would be the last errand I could complete before my stomach began to eat me from the inside out. I started to seek out a parking spot when I noticed a big white banner that read “Grand Opening!” and much to my surprise it was a new Twisted Root!

“How lucky was that?” I thought. I can grab something to eat and possibly knock out another burger review at the same time (I remember hearing from a friend who lived down town that I really needed to check Twisted Root out if I wanted to find the best burger in Dallas). The only problem with that is I live about an hour north of downtown and it’s a pain to trek all the way down there during a lunch hour. But this new one happens to only be 30 minutes from my house.

Little did I know that I was about to enter the greatest burger house ever created by man. Twisted Root is everything I think a true burger house should represent. It will be the gold standard to which all other burger serving establishments will be judged!

I am so in love with this place I don’t know where to start. When you walk in you immediately realize the owner’s sense of humor as they have written things like “Get your butt in here” written all over the walls. In addition to that, instead of handing you a number when you place your order, they hand you a little piece of paper with a name on it. Mine happened to be “Mr. Tambourine Man”; others included the likes of Bruce Wayne, Mr. Anderson, Homer Simpson and so on. It definitely gives the place a fun and friendly atmosphere.

The atmosphere however, is not the only thing that makes a great burger house, a great burger house. They have to have a burger menu that puts all others to shame. Twisted Root happens to have just that. Their menu contains burgers ranging from the normal hamburger and cheddar burger to the wildly exotic burgers such as Elk, Venison and Ostrich and the burger of my choice that fateful afternoon; The “REAL Buffalo Burger”. They even have a black bean burger (pictured below) for the vegetarian in your life or a Turkey Burger for those keeping to their New Year’s resolutions. My wife opted for the Black Bean Burger (for a healthier choice) which she said was equally as good.

Every burger is handmade to perfection. My real buffalo burger came perfectly cooked with all the toppings one would expect to find on a great burger. What I really love about this joint is they make everything from scratch, from the barbeque sauce to the ice cream to the root beer; it has all been made by hand.

When I took my first bite I damn near fell out of my chair it was so good. The real buffalo meat combined in perfect harmony with the fresh barbeque sauce and veggies to create the best burger I have ever tasted! So good in fact that this will be the burger I order when I’m on death row enjoying my last meal (not saying that I’m going to be on death row, but you know, if I was going to be, that would be what I would order). As if the great atmosphere, and awesome burger weren’t enough on their own, they also decided to switch up the way they do chips and fries. Instead of getting the traditional chip fair I opted for their sweet potato chips. They were perfect! Sweet and crispy with a great flavor structure to them.

I know this post is getting way long but I couldn’t really help it (like I said. “I’m Smitten”). In my final words I will say this, if it wasn’t for the fact that this place only exists 30 minutes to an hour from my house I would eat there damn near every day (No joke). So the only request I have is for Twisted Root to hurry it’s ass up to North Dallas because I’m getting hungry!

Well the other week I started my hunt for the greatest gourmet burgers in the Big D. My first trip to Chip’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers yielded good results so my hopes were high as I visited the second stop on my list, Jakes Old Fashioned Hamburgers.

My first impression of Jakes was a good one. It is a family restaurant with table service and two bar areas with large Plasma screen TVs. I must admit though, I don’t count this as 100% burger house. Anywhere you have a waiter or waitress isn’t really a true “burger house” in my point of view. However, despite this fact the best part of this joint is definitely the burgers!

When I sat down and started to go over the menu I was overwhelmed with the variety of burger choices. They even had a burger of the month; which is a burger creation that isn’t on the list of already great choices! Wanting to judge based on consistency I again opted for the Mushroom Swiss Burger. When it arrived I couldn’t help but notice that the burger had been cooked with the mushrooms stuffed in between two patties with a generous helping of cheese! The poppy seed bun was not too thick and allowed for the greasy tastiness of the mushroom stuffed burger patties to fully envelop my taste buds! The burger was cooked similar to that of Chuck’s however, this one was not dried out, which is probably due to the result of being cooked with cheese and mushrooms stuffed inside. I again like the way the burger was stacked with shredded lettuce as I think that this allows for the full flavor of the burger to shine though. This burger is by far one of the best burgers I have had in a long time!

So if you’re in the Dallas area any time soon definitely make time to stop at Jakes Old Fashioned Hamburgers as it’s one of the better burger houses in Dallas!

I love birthdays! What better excuse to get together with friends who are close to you to enjoy some of the finer things in life? What I don’t understand is why it takes something as “special” as a birthday to get everyone together. Why isn’t it the standard for every weekend? Well unless you have the stamina of a college student you need some rest! After having a couple of nice and restful weekends we had the pleasure of being invited to a good friend’s birthday. Her destination of choice? Vino 100 for a wine and cheese tasting extravaganza! What could possibly make this better? How about an unusually warm streak of weather here in the Dallas area? With the weather a comfortable 65 degrees it was a perfect night to taste some fantastic cheeses, wine and conversation with friends on the patio!

The Vino 100 concept to bring limited production, artisan crafted wines at affordable prices is a great one. The walls are literally lined with a fantastic selection of red and white wines that range from fruit to dry, light to bold. Their Wine Barometer as they call it allows even a wine novice to pick a wine to their liking with very little effort.

When we arrived we decided on their Formaggio della Casa selection of cheeses. This selection was a tasting of Asiago, Havarti and Sage Derby cheeses with assorted crackers. While our cheese selection was on its way we dropped in and picked up a bottle of Kyos a fantastic Sauvignon Blanc. Unfortunately, lost in the moment of the occasion I was not able to get a good picture of the bottle and therefore, have lost the details as to its origin and other fun facts. However, I can tell you this. I did find it to be greatly in line with what you would expect from a good Sauvignon Blanc. I believe that this complimented the smooth sharp cheddar flavor of the Asiago cheese perfectly!

We also picked up a bottle of Morgan Chardonnay a fruity wine from the Napa Valley region. Our selection of this wine was to be paired with the mild and creamy flavors of the New Zealand experiment that is Havarti. The helpful staff at Vino 100 couldn’t have been more right. They definitely pointed us to a combination that could be consumed for hours and hours until you have died from a serendipitous experience.

After a few hours of drinking and dining with friends, a little birthday cake (hey your never too old for birthday cake) it was time to retire to our estate to get some shut eye. I would like to leave this post on this note. Next time your wondering what to do for your next birthday, or other special event, take a trip to Vino 100 and you will be setting the scene for a perfect night of eating, drinking and conversation with friends about the mysteries and complexities of the world and this funny thing we call life.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to take my wife on a romantic dinner for two at the historical Bob’s Steak & Chop House. Nestled in the whimsical shops at legacy town center, Bob’s Steak & Chop house is located a few minutes north of Dallas. I was hoping to indulge in a quite dinner for two with my wife that was representative of a $150 dollar meal. As we entered the establishment, Bob’s Steak & Chop house resembled that of most Texas steak houses, which is mainly comprised of dark brownish colors and Texas décor look. I personally love this look especially when it is paired with low lighting as it can create the perfect ambiance. However, the noise level completely destroys that. We made our visit on a Tuesday evening as we know that any restaurant on the weekend can be noisy. The noise level that night was a bit noisy but not overwhelmingly bad. With that said we did visit there on weekday and wouldn’t want to know what it sounded like if we were there on the weekend. However, noise to me is not a deal breaker as I am more interested in the food and service then the people around me.

The staff however, needs some work. Our waitress, who will remain nameless as she didn’t even present it to us, pretty much assumed that we were a young couple who were not worthy of conversation. The menus were presented and questions were hardly answered to completion. I am a bit of a wine novice and have been working to perfect my pairings as I begin to explore the wonderful world of wine. When asked what wine she would suggest to compliment our meal we were presented with the simple answer cabernet and left with that. Now at an Olive Garden type of restaurant this would have passed as run of the mill service however, I was hoping at an establishment such as this she could narrow down the selection to one or two of the 8 different types of cabernet on the menu. I would also have understood the brief and un welcoming responses if the restaurant was busy and she was in the weeds because as a former waiter I know that sometimes you are not able to provide the 5 star service you would like to because you have 10 tables all of which are running behind but the place was pretty dead and she seemed more interested in flirting with the other waiters then guiding us through our meal.

The food on the other hand was delicious! As an appetizer we ordered the Maryland – Style Crab Cake. Initially there was a hint of sticker shock as a single crab cake ran $15. However, the crab cake which as far as I can tell because the waitress didn’t really know contained crab as well as red peppers and other tasty tidbits and was served with a decadent honey mustard sauce that eliminated any initial sticker shock. I have enjoyed many a crab cakes over the past few years and this by far was the best “one” pun intended I have had yet! For my entree I ordered the COTE de BOEUF a 22 oz bone in ribeye steak that was cooked to perfection. I devoured every bite! The melding of the seasoning with the flavor of the meat couldn’t have been better. My wife enjoyed the rack of lamb as well which came with a fantastic mint sauce. The mint sauce complimented the flavor of the meat perfectly creating a delicious combination.

In my final thoughts I will say this, the food is fantastic. So much so that I will one day again visit Bob’s Steak & Chop house. However, will I be making this trip for a special occasion in which we are seeking a quiet and enjoyable meal? No.