Chicken wraps from Shumaila Chauhan on Vimeo.

I am a sucker for subscription boxes. I love them. Curated artisanal ingredients packaged in boxes and sent to your doorstep- sign me up!

In the past, I have subscribed to many subscription boxes and am always on the lookout for new ones. Recently, Talya, who is part of the This Table team, got in touch with me and asked if I was interested in checking out their new gourmet subscription boxes. Of course I was.

Operating from Canada, This Table curates artisan food from local herbalists to olive farmers to creators of hand-picked berry jams. The packaging of the bottles and its contents does remind me of the Eat.Feed.Love boxes, probably because both of them are Canadian companies and curate from the same local artisans.

This Table Gourmet Subscription Box

Similarities aside, I do like how This Table gives recipe cards, along with a little information about the artisans’ story. The ingredients included are something that I would definitely use in my cooking, along with certain ingredients that will push me to be creative, like their lemongrass mint balsamic vinegar. Each monthly box carries a theme and the one that I received was centered around a gourmet picnic- so the recipes in the box were all recipes that can be easily transported and good to eat cold. The box also carried a letter with ideas for meals that you could prepare for a lunch in the park for 2 or 4, using recipes that were given in the box.

Besides the ingredients shown in the picture above, the box also contained 13 recipe cards.  Each recipe given uses the ingredients in the box sent. For the review, I decided to try their Cali Chicken wraps which uses the olive oil sent in the box; the herby potato salad, the dressing for which is made from the basil pesto bottle in the box; and the dark chocolate espresso cookies that uses the 2nd Crack Coffee beans. While I made a few changes to each recipe, all of them turned out great, and something I would definitely make again.

Read More →

I live two minutes from HopDoddy Burger Bar and have eaten many times there, so its strange that its taken me so long to post about it on the blog. I have tried different burgers there but the el Diablo is my favorite burger there and with habaneros and serranos its one helluva spicy burger.  V always gets the vegetarian patty in his burger, while I go for the classic. Make sure to get their parmesan truffle fries with your order. Their beer selection is good too and its one place we love to go to and hang out.

El Diablo @ Hop Doddy

The El Diablo from HopDoddy Burger Bar

I am not sharing the next Dallas eat destination just because I shoot for them, but even D Magazine voted Empire Baking Company as the best bakery for bread and it is well deserved. They have been making European style  artisanal bread for more than 20 years using the best quality ingredients. At the moment they have a Back To School Sandwich Contest going on and they are accepting recipes until 11.59pm CT August 19. You can check more details on the link here and try your luck at $100 gift card and your sandwich being featured in their bakery.

They have an extensive menu of breads. I love their Hippie Health and Jalapeno Cheddar, but they make a pretty good banana bread and the almond croissants that they only sell on Fridays are absolutely delicious. A must if you are in the neighborhood.

Red jelly and pimento sandwich at Empire Baking Company

The Pimento cheese and red pepper jelly sandwich at Empire Baking Company

Read More →

Its the weekend and I could not be happier. This week has been tough- my energy levels have been low. Both V and I struggled with sleep this whole week, and we both struggled with our respective work. I did not cook much, was not even inspired to which is weird for me. Nor did I get much exercise done- probably why I felt even more lazy. I am hoping next week changes and feel more motivated.

Last week I was invited by  Cafe Salsera, in Deep Ellum, to sample their new revised menu. We don’t eat mexican when we go out too often probably because when we were in Morenci we had only one restaurant to go to and it was mexican. After 6 years to be limited to one mexican restaurant we are more than happy to explore other cuisines. But I still love mexican food, I guess because it reminds me a little of Indian food, and Salsera’s food did just that. We started off our meal with some drinks and the flautas from the new menu. Deep fried anything is always good but when you serve it with avocado mousse and salsa and crema on the side, it just makes everything even better. So good. We also got to sample the ceviche with shrimp which of course V did not touch while I throughly enjoyed. I highly recommend the Hibiscus mojito when you go there. Also the camarones a la diabla which the chef was kind enough to make with chicken since V does not eat shrimp and we both loved it. I got the mole and while the chicken was cooked well, I realized I am not a fan of mole sauce. I did love the beans that came with the dish. I would go back just for the beans. Overall we had a good time, and if you are ever in the neighbourhood especially on a Tuesday evening I would recommend you to try Salsera out. Every Tuesdays they have free salsa lessons from 6-10p and you might just find me there learning salsa and sipping on my Hibiscus mojito.

For more information on Salsera, check their site out.

Flautas at Salsera

Flautas with avocado mousse and salsa at Cafe Salsera

el diablo with chicken at Salsera

 Camarones a la diabla with chicken at Cafe Salsera

Last week we also brunched at Ida Claire. Heads up, if you plan to go there make a reservation the wait on weekends can be crazy. Once you enter the place you know why everyone wants to brunch here. From the crockery to the decor (hanging antique bird cages and walls decorated to southern memorabilia) all made me swoon over the place. We went with friends and between us tried the chicken and waffles, apple crisp french toast and nashville hot fried chicken. While I always go for chicken and waffles, this is one place where I would highly recommend you to try the nashville hot fried chicken. Crispy, juicy with enough spice to give it flavor but not burn your mouth. I loved it and was kicking myself that it was not the dish that I ordered, although the french toast that I ate wasn’t too bad either.

For more information on Ida Claire, check their site out.

Southern Fried Chicken at Ida Claire

Nashville Hot Fried Chicken at Ida Claire

Chicken and waffles at Ida Claire

Chicken and waffles at Ida Claire

French toast at ida claire

Apple crisp french toast

Read More →