Restaurant Week 2012

I absolutely love Restaurant Week! The $35 price tag for three courses at some of the nicest restaurants in Dallas makes for a great way to try out new places, and a portion of the proceeds goes to charity. So, we have made it a tradition to schedule several dinners each year. 

This year, I enjoyed three Restaurant Week meals...a girls' night, a couples' night, and a date night with the hubs. 

For our girls' night, Jill, Sarah, Rachel, Laura, and I went to Whiskey Cake in Plano. We got there early to have a couple cocktails before dinner, and I'm glad we did. The bar was great, and many of the drinks are made with fresh, muddled fruit. I ordered a French 75, and while it was not as good as Victor Tango's, it was pretty darn close. 

I ordered the Dips and Spreads with three kinds of hummus, the Farm House Salad, the Prime Top Sirloin, and the famous Whiskey Cake. We also ordered grits and mac n' cheese for the table, which were both excellent. Everything was good, but the Whiskey Cake was definitely the star!

My only complaint about the evening was the fact that the hostess didn't warn us that they would text me when our table was ready. As a result, I didn't see the text for a while, and they had given our table away. They got us seated not too long after that, but it was still annoying. 

I didn't manage to get any pictures of our dinner, but we had a great time! If the restaurant wasn't so far away, I would definitely be back more often. 

Last weekend, my Mom came in town and graciously babysat both nights so Josh and I could enjoy two nights out. The first was our couples' dinner at The Landmark with Laura and Mike, Jill and Steven, and Sarah and Derek. The restaurant is in the Warwick Melrose Hotel, which is a super cool old hotel that was built in the 1920s. 

Again, we got there early to visit the bar (you will see that this is a trend), because we had heard good things about "The Library" bar...that is in no way related to the Library bar in Fort Worth where I ordered way too many $2 Long Island Iced Teas in college :). Rather, this bar is a classy joint that "smells of rich mahogany" and serves up a host of classic cocktails. 

This French 75 was no where close to VT's, but still good. 

Here are some pics taken in the bar (all of them are a little dark and blurry)...

I thought the meal was really good, but the appetizer and main course portions were a little small. I ordered the Caesar Salad, Boneless Short Rib, and Banana Creme Brûlée.

I only managed to get pictures of the various desserts...

the Banana Creme Brûlée,

the Texas Peach Napoleon, 

and the Charred Strawberry Tower with a chocolate Godiva sponge cake. 

We had so much fun, and most of us had quite a few glasses of wine at dinner...as evidenced by the pictures taken at the end of the night...

And you know I have had a few cocktails when I attempt (poorly) to take a picture of my husband's butt. 

Note that the other good thing about my Mom coming in town is that Josh and I were able to sleep in the next morning...so we were ready to go again the next night. 

For our date night, we went to The Capital Grille. And, you guessed it, we got there early to enjoy some drinks at the bar. 

I ordered one of their famed "Stoli Doli" martinis, which is basically just straight-up pineapple-infused vodka. 

It. Was. Delicious. 

In addition to the Restaurant Week special, the restaurant was also running their annual "Generous Pour" wine tasting event. For $25/person, you could taste up to nine different wines. And the name was not deceiving...you basically got a glass of each wine you wanted to try. We knew this going in, so we took a cab :). 

I took pics of all the wine descriptions that I tried for future reference (but some I will likely never have again since they are more than $100/bottle). I especially loved the pinot noir, and it was cool to try a wine from Slovenia...who knew they had good wine?

I didn't get a picture of the dessert wine description, but I'm not much of a dessert wine fan. 

Our waiter was beyond fantastic (shout out to Van...request him if you can!), and he was great about pairing the wines with what we ordered. 

And speaking of our orders, I got the Caesar Salad, Filet Mignon, and Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake. We also each added the lobster tail, and they brought mashed potatoes and creamed spinach for the table. 

Oh. My. Goodness. Can you tell how much I liked my meal?!

The chocolate cake was ridiculously decadent...and it was worth every calorie!!

 Not only was everything delicious, they didn't skimp on the portions just because it was Restaurant Week. They even packed up extra mashed potatoes and spinach with my leftover steak. 

This was definitely one of the best, if not THE best, meal of our lives. I think we might have to make The Capital Grille a Restaurant Week tradition. 

 Now please excuse me while I attempt to start a post-Restaurant-Week workout routine. Maybe.