Ida Claire

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My husband came home several months ago totally jazzed about a restaurant he had discovered during a work lunch that he couldn't wait to take me to. We went together shortly before I launched this blog and I vowed to go back soon to review it.

Ida Claire is gourmet southern cooking at its finest. The ambiance and decor are upcycled hipster paradise, with the most notable feature being the open trailer seating option on the patio.

Ida Claire offers a deluxe variety of craft beers and beverages to pair with its rich, comforting fare.

For an appetizer, we ordered the biscuits and bacon gravy:

The biscuits were fresh, crumbly and layered, and came not only with a meaty bacon gravy, but also an in-house-made huckleberry & something else jam, and a black pepper & sorghum butter spread. The butter changed my life. I have worked maybe once with sorghum before, but showcased as the star in a simple butter spread, I was entranced with the floral, citrus-zest flavor that's derived from a grass!

The first time I ate at Ida Claire, my husband urged me to try the Chicken and Waffles dish. Upon returning, it took all my willpower to order something else so that I could do a varied review, but I was able to get a photo of our friend's order of the chicken and waffles. When I tried it, I was there with my family, and my mom also ordered it at my husband's recommendation. We were both hesitant to trust that the eggs in the dish would be properly cooked, because so often sunny side up eggs come out with more than the yolks raw. Still, we decided to trust the chef and didn't change the eggs to over-medium. As AMAZING as this dish was, both of our eggs were too raw, with clear, gooey whites surrounding the yolks beneath the top layer of cooked white. All in all, however, don't let this deter you from trying this exceptional dish- I just recommend you ask for your eggs to be cooked to medium.

The waffle is actually made from a batter into which bacon bits have been folded, then it is drizzled with a coffee syrup, the runny eggs, perfectly fried pieces of white meat chicken, and finished off with a generous serving of the signature Ida Claire gravy.

All in all, Ida Claire's chef did an amazing job of mingling and blending the textural and flavoring elements of this dish, giving you that hit of crunch, bread, soft eggs, fatty yolks, rich gravy, sweet syrup, and chewy bacon bits.

My husband ordered the Braised Beef Short Rib, which I stole a few bites of. The sauce in this dish was so well developed and complex, it married the bitter broccolini, acidic tomatoes, the sweet carrots, and the savory, tender meat perfectly together to make this heavy red meat & gravy dish easy to polish off.

I went out on a limb (for you my readers) and ordered the Fish n' Chips Biscuit with a side of the cheesy grits, even though my heart was still calling out for the chicken & waffles. Had I been feeling more flush that evening, I would have loved to have tried the shrimp and grits dish; I have many strong opinions too wordy to include in this blog about the price of a decent plate of shrimp & grits in this town, but I may have to make some sometime and post a recipe blog if anyone is interested.

Anyway, the biscuit arrived in a glorious tower of shredded, raw Brussels sprouts, rich house-made tartar sauce, 2 large, thick pieces of perfectly breaded and fried fish, and I suspect some kind of peppered butter on the biscuit itself. My memory fails me at the moment, but I believe there was also some of the same black pepper gravy on the dish that is on the chicken and waffles. The meal was enormous and excellent, though it did require some deconstruction. The "sandwich" was probably over 6 inches tall fully assembled. The creamy, tangy tartar sauce and hot fish were a perfect marriage with the cold, bitter Brussels sprouts, but the entire dish begged for some kind of acid to provide relief from the weight and richness of fried/tartar sauce/biscuit/maybe-gravy intensity. I'm aware I didn't help myself in ordering the richest, heaviest side dish Ida Claire offers, but it still would have benefited immensely from some fresh lemon juice.

The grits were PERFECT. They balanced the cheese and a bit of garlic well, not losing the flavor or texture of the grits themselves, and I actually didn't even mind the chives, even though I often find them to be an obnoxious, overused garnish that people seem to add too often without considering the intense flavor they add to a dish.

My conclusions about Ida Claire are as follows: They're charming, and a very special place to go for brunch. Expect a wait, however, as their excellence is no secret. Try the Chicken and Waffles, it's still my favorite dish, but if you're picky about your eggs, don't be afraid to change the way they're cooked- it's not one of those times when you're dramatically changing the intention of the dish by making a change like that. The braised meat dishes are also outtasite, and overall it's a great place for a hearty brunch. Just make sure you go good and hungry. I'll also point out that this place has a reasonable price point that's about double most of the places I review, so consider this a bit of a nicer option.

Main St. Bakery & Bistro

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I have been having a weekly lunch with my grandma for over 8 years. Last week, we were shopping in Grapevine and decided to patronize Main St. Bakery & Bistro.

The first thing you see when you walk in the door at Main St. Bakery is the gorgeous display case of French confections.

You are forced to stare at these delicious pastries as you wait in line to place your lunch order, eroding away at your will power like licks on a Tootsie Pop.

After placing your order, you can either eat at a table on the bakery side, or make your way over to the beautiful dining room.

My grandma ordered a Croque-Monsieur, which is a ham and cheese sandwich as only the French can do it. This broiled, gooey sandwich is stuffed with sliced ham and cheese, topped with Gruyere cheese over a thin layer of a garlicky creme sauce, similar to an aioli. Ordinarily one sees this sandwich with a darker, crispier top crust of cheese, but the chef instructors at my culinary school would just call this an "American" version of properly cooked, because Americans tend to prefer things on the paler side as compared to European sensibilities. 

I ordered the Beef Tenderloin sandwich when I saw that it would be served on a home-made black pepper brioche bread. If you follow me for long, you may come to learn that not only am I always going to select the homemade bread, but cracked black pepper is one of my weaknesses.

The sandwich featured hearty, tender slices of beef tenderloin, Gruyere cheese, tomatoes, caramelized onions, and a balsamic reduction. This balance of herbacious meat, sweet, savory onions, unctuous cheese, and bright vinegar and tomatoes was only enhanced by the slightly sweet, peppery bread. 

My grandma and I opted to leave after lunch and walk around Main St. for a bit before coming back to get a bite of dessert. My grandmother had a children's book she wrote published a few years ago, and the little shop down the street has decided to sell it, so we did a little business, too. (One grandmother a published author and the other a wedding cake baker- you can see where I get it!)

I ogled the iced cookies but settled for a little sample, and selected an eclair and a "creme brulee mousse bomb" for us to split. I like to get eclairs at specialty bakeries, because an in-house made eclair is a rare thing, and a really good one is nearly extinct.

I found that while the pate a choux (eclair dough) was perfect and the filling was delicious, the frosting on top reminded me a little too much of doughnut icing. Upon tasting the mousse dessert, I concluded that I think the eclair would be an even greater success if they glazed it with the ganache that enrobed the bomb.

I was wary of anything called a "creme brulee" that did not have any hard, caramelized sugar on top, because- and I know this is super snobby, but French Patisserie is my specialty as a chef- the use of popular, fancy sounding french culinary terms that every day consumers are familiar with enough to recognize but not enough to know if it's accurate is appallingly common. Creme brulee is a cream-based custard dessert that is trademark for the "burnt sugar" hard crack caramel layer on top. People can do all kinds of variations on this dish, but if you'll pardon the term it's a bastardization to stick custard, even custard and caramel, into a dish and call it creme brulee if there isn't any crunchy burned sugar on top. If the caramel is a sauce or just a flavoring element, it's closer to flan, or in french creme caramel.

Anyway, that rant over, Main St. Bakery delivered a delicious dessert with a layer of custard between the chocolate mousse and the soft crust below. I will even give them a nod for including a layer of some kind of wafer that reminded me of the crunch on a creme brulee, which redeemed this dish enough to not technically classify as having been mis-labeled, though just barely. Still, in all fairness it was a delicious dessert and a brilliant fresh spin on two classic desserts.

So go check it out for yourself! Save room for dessert! And let me know in the comments what your favorite thing from Main St. Bakery & Bistro is.

Wild About Harry's

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Wild About Harry's is an uptown Dallas institution. I ate there for the first time after my sister moved to Knox St about 7 years ago, & it's been a part of my personal geography of the best of Dallas ever since.

The friendly giant hot dog and bright colors force you to leave your serious work and worries outside and just take a moment for a great hot dog and some custard.

This restaurant has endeared itself further to me recently, though, and I am excited to share this little bonus story before I give a brief review of Harry's excellent fare.

My husband and I were walking along Knox St and we met a young homeless man there who asked us for something to eat. We bought him some lunch and sat down to eat with him, & after telling us his story, he mentioned that he has always been drawn to Knox St. because "Mr. Harry" of Wild About Harry's was always kind and generous to him, making sure he had something to eat, and talking to him about his life. He said that even after Mr. Harry died, his employees had continued to show him kindness. 

That elevated Harry's even higher in my book, and I find myself proud to patronize and promote this ethical and top quality franchise that started here in Dallas.

I went this time with my husband and best schoolmate, and I ordered the Texas with sauerkraut instead of onions and a side of relish, (famous at Harry's due to its vibrant color). My friend ordered the Knox Street without kraut, and my Husband ordered the Chicago. 

My dog was excellent, and even with the abundance of toppings including sloppy chili, I was able to eat it with my hands, as God intended, without making a total mess. The top quality hot dog and poppyseed bun elevate the sandwich (yes, sandwich- ask Alton Brown) and answer the question, "can you really improve on a hot dog?" with an abrupt slap to the face.

The onion rings were a thing of beauty, piping hot and perfectly breaded, achieving a practiced thickness that highlights the onion flavor while keeping the vegetable firmly in its place.

My friend recently moved to Dallas, and had not experienced the awesomeness of Wild About Harry's before, and she thoroughly approved.

In fact, she liked it so much she was texting me about it several days later:

Harry's also features one of my favorite things, local sodas:

My regular readers have probably picked up on my enthusiasm for unique beverages and local sodas, but you may wonder why I am so particularly excitable about this. I don't drink alcohol, and I've always been a bit jealous of the regional versions and varieties of beer and wine, not to mention the fun local element of microbreweries. So whenever I see opportunity for us dry foodies to partake in the culture of specialty beverages, I get really excited.

Finally, I mustn't forget the custard. My friend got the chocolate custard with bits of waffle cone, and I got the chocolate custard sundae with chopped peanut butter cup and rainbow sprinkles. It is excellent quality custard, and a perfect match for a hearty hot dog.

So go! Check them out! Support this local, ethical, top quality, no nonsense (ok some nonsense, but only the best kind) restaurant and spend your money there! You'll be glad you did.

Modern Market

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A super fitness-focused friend of mine recommended I join her at Modern Market for lunch some time to consider for review. I had seen it several times before, as it is across from a grocery store I frequent, but I admit at first glance I had thought based on the neighborhood that it was probably outside my everyday lunch price range.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Modern Market is not only very fairly priced, it features unbelievably fresh and seasonal menu items that rotate with the availability of produce.

They also touched on my personal weakness, unique local beverage selections:

My friend and I decided to share a signature salad and a pizza, which were completely original recipes.

The champagne dressing was outstanding, and the portion was exceedingly generous. They considerately offered the dressing on the side, allowing the option to take half of the salad home without it wilting from the dressing- this is always a pleasant bonus for me. 

I selected the pizza, and was seriously impressed with the freshness and quality of the ingredients, as well as the excellent crust. Modern Market has expertly struck a balance between a thin crust pizza and a soft outer crust. Too often a thin crust pizza is basically just a cracker with toppings- not so at Modern market.

The "pizza sauce" was actually a fresh garlic puree and I was amazed to find that it was somehow not overwhelming, but instead punched up and highlighted the flavors of the toppings.

About a week later, I suggested to my husband that we pick up something from Modern Market to-go for an easy dinner. I was surprised, and I admit not a little disappointed to find that I had discovered the restaurant at the very end of a menu season, and I couldn't order the Bianco I had so enjoyed the week before. The cashier was very patient if perhaps a little aggressive in selling me on the new menu, but I have to hand it to him, he sold the crap out of this menu- it was already about an hour and a half later than I usually ate dinner and my hanger was not making it an easy task.

He ultimately talked me into the new Sausage Pesto pizza, a Blueberry Pesto sandwich (yes, you read that right), and a side of Rosemary Sweet Potato Mash for my husband.

While I admit that most of my lack of enthusiasm for the Sausage Pesto pizza was a result of my disappointment that my new favorite pizza was already off the menu, and that fresh pureed garlic had left flavor promises to my palate that would be difficult to fulfill, I found the Sausage Pesto Pizza ok. I expected a stronger pesto flavor, and I found no pesto flavor at all. It was a fairly bland, creamy sauce with whole cloves of roasted garlic that surprised my husband because until he bit into one he actually thought they were chicken. Still, the idea behind the pizza was good, and I actually suspect they forgot to add the pesto, which would absolutely have made a huge difference in the deliciousness of this dish. Also, the sausage was excellent, and tasted as though it had been made in house, and that crust could redeem almost any topping mistakes.

I mostly ordered the Blueberry Pesto sandwich out of morbid curiosity, and because it came so enthusiastically recommended by the cashier. It really sounded like a novelty sandwich that was constructed for the sake of uniqueness, though I could see how blueberries could take the place of tomatoes as a sweet and tart element in the classic combination of tomatoes and basil.

...It actually wasn't bad! It wasn't a mind blowing new combination that changed the way I looked at the ingredients and created a completely new flavor sensation, the way combining say cinnamon and chocolate might do that, but it was a pretty good meatless sandwich. I was correct in my guess that the blueberry spread acted in the role of the sweet acidic balance that one typically looks to a tomato for, but it didn't really contribute something more than a tomato would. Still, as a novel twist on a classic it was successful in that Modern Market took a flavor combination I really did not expect to succeed and made a pretty darn good sandwich.

The rosemary sweet potato mash was, understandably, basically baby food, but dadgum it was good! Well balanced and delicious, this is an excellent side item for any of the healthy fare offered by Modern Market.

All in all, I highly recommend you go check out Modern Market. You're guaranteed to feel both virtuous and satiated, and you won't feel that conflict between healthy choices, flavor, quality, and wallet. Just enter with an open mind and wait to see what their seasonal menu has to offer you, because I think I sabotaged my own experience the second time by priming my taste buds for a specific menu item.