Tag Archives: Texas Tuesday

Neighborhood Services, Dallas

Up until last Friday, I had never heard of Neighborhood Services in Dallas. It’s surprising I even ventured to that side of the metroplex, I’m a Fort Worth kind of gal. “Neighborhood Services” doesn’t exactly sound like the name to a restaurant but I’ll tell you right now, it’s one hell of a place. No wonder it was voted D Magazine’s #1 Restaurant for 2013.

Nick Badovinus is owner / chef to a few restaurant’s in the Dallas area. Many of you may be more familiar with him than myself. From what I gathered on Friday evening, this man prides himself greatly on what he is presenting. The menu selection at NS is varied. Pork, veal, chicken, steak, seafood galore made with only the freshest ingredients. Each night, there are various new specials on the menu, which is what people go for and smart people they are! Whatever suits your fancy you will find here, just be prepared for a wait and to pay a higher price.

As mentioned, I really wasn’t sure what to expect except that “this place is phenomenal”. We walked in and the place was packed… and an hour wait (at least). That’s fine. We headed to the bar. The bar needs a little more space. Tight fit, we ran into some really nice people and one not so nice person that elbowed one of my friends in the head, then when we pointed it out he said “You know how people get elbowed… they walk into elbows.” This is why some people in Dallas get a bad name… moving on.

The Bar. A PBR draft will cost you $7. So will a Shiner draft. (A PBR draft in Ft. Worth will cost $1.50… just saying). My immediate thought, this food better be damn delicious and I don’t want another beer. On the other hand, they serve microbrews and that’s a love that I enjoy.

(I apologize for iPhone photos… I wasn’t prepared.)

Finally seated, we ordered a couple appetizers. Roasted Green Chile and Jonah Crab dip. Both dips were savory and delicious although I will say I favored the Jonah Crab dip…huge chunks of crab meat!

050Butchers Meatballs in a voodoo peppercorn sauce. The meatballs fell apart as soon as you tried to lift them off the toothpick and then melted in your mouth.

051Entrees. It was my birthday last week, I had the “go big or go home” mentality. The waiter also found out about my love of seafood and how I had never had swordfish and talked me into one of the specials of the evening. Let me introduce you to one of the best meals I’ve had…

Swordfish topped with Dungeness crab seated on top of mashed potatoes with grilled asparagus.

Holy mother. Best, meal, ever. Hands down / hands up – however we do it. Savor it! Savor it!

053We also decided to split macaroni and cheese among the table. Baked mac and cheese?! The noodles were just floating in cheese goodness.

059I’m not really sure why we decided to do this because I don’t think any of us had room for dessert (we were already set to roll right out of there) but here came dessert. We couldn’t pick one or two options, for five of us ladies, we picked three.

Butterscotch goodness. Slightly thicker than pudding but two bites of this and you’ll be delighted with your sweet tooth.

I think the next was Key Lime Tres Leches. Yum! Savory Tres Leches cake with a hint of key lime.

Lastly, a chocolate ding-dong with chocolate ganache topping.

070Needless to say, we had to roll ourselves out of the restaurant. Now that I look back on the experience, this also explains why they have valet for vehicles…

If you’re looking to treat yourself to a well deserved evening, set some time aside for a good 3-4 hour meal and enjoy a bit from each course. It’s well worth it. Your belly will thank you!

Fredericksburg – Food, Beer and Wine

Fredericksburg is a great little town and a tourist hot spot. It shouldn’t be any surprise as there’s plenty to do in town. One of the great things is if you are into trying lots of need food and drinks… this is a pretty good place to go.

Candy shops. There seems to be a lot of them but don’t be “good” and pass them up. They literally have everything. I grabbed a couple chocolate truffles at one and it was so worth it!

Chocolate covered everything. Pickles…. I’m not so sure…

Fredericksburg is known for wine. Coming into town, you will notice a ton of vineyards. If you have a chance (or enough time really) be sure to stop by one. If not, head into town and check out a tasting room. I stopped by Grape Creek Vineyards on Main Street. Head on in and try out six different wines, learn a bit about each of them and you get to keep a very large wine glass. I’ve only done a few wine tastings but this one was great. One on one, I learned quite a bit about the wine and the best part, it was very savory!
Wine came before dinner while I was in Fredericksburg. Once I was done the wine tasting, I headed next door to the Fredericksburg Brewery. There couldn’t have been a better choice. The atmosphere was great, beer was phenomenal and the spinach artichoke pizza with grilled chicken was out of this world. I even had someone come up to me and ask me what I was eating so he could order it.
Have you had a chance to swing by Fredericksburg? What’s your favorite vineyard or place to eat in town?
Masons Mama

Let’s Go Antiquing!

Just south of the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex, you will find yourself in the little town of Venus. I mean, it’s little, not small, little. I found myself looking at the water tower that hovered over the police station, overlooking the park and the one and a half blocks of buildings that surrounded it. A restaurant, hardware store and an antique store. I couldn’t have been happier to have found the antique store… I’ve been searching for just the right piece of furniture to call my own!

In the above building, you will find Grandma Had One Antique and Once in a Blue Moon Antique Sale. Essentially, the store is split up into two sections. The section on the far left is filled to the brim with books. Thousands and thousands of books!

The section on the right, well, anything and everything else. Furniture, books, window panes, horse shoes, cookware, odds and ends, chairs, tables and everything else.

For the curious and crafty mind, you might as well bring a trailer for your goods. You’ll be overwhelmed with ideas from all of those great HGTV shows. For others who are just looking for a good piece of furniture to pick up and bring home, well there’s plenty for you as well! If I had a house, I would’ve taken the below piece home.

Instead, what I took home was this little table (below). Super cute and very reasonably priced. I just had to dust it off a bit and I was able to check getting a piece of Texas furniture off my bucket list! Plus, the color is perfect!

If you happen to be in the market for furniture, refurbishing or even just looking for a drive thru a little ole Texas country town, here’s one you can check off your list!

Masons Mama