Cretia’s. The weird clubby place. Acme F&B. Now Henry’s Majestic.
The owners of Bread Winners Cafe & Bakery have taken over to try their luck with the space at the corner of McKinney and Monticello. I’ll just say this: since their opening on October 21, Henry’s Majestic has some serious promise.
Their menu has something for everyone — oysters with pancetta to chocolate stout pudding. The bf and I settled in for what I was told would be an awesome meal … and they weren’t lying. We started with drinks (because … duh) and I opted to start out with an Old Fashioned (rye, orange oils, bitters, chile spiked maple). It was strong and well balanced with just enough bite from the chile spiked maple to give it a bit of an edge.
After a few bites of their delicious food, I went for the Headless Manhattan (pumpkin infused whiskey, sweet vermouth, amaro, bitters, toasted pumpkin seed rim) and it was a nice surprise. The pumpkin was incredibly subtle and the pumpkin seed rim was a fun touch. (Who doesn’t love pumpkin and whiskey together, though!??!?!)
The last drink I went for was the suggestion of the bartender, the Dusk Till Dawn (mescal, banana, lemon, cilantro pineapple vanilla syrup, egg white). It wasn’t for the faint of palate thanks to the mescal which gave it a serious kick of smokiness which is mellowed out by the fruit. Thanks to the egg white, the texture is light to offset the robust flavors.
The drink menu offers a selection of seasonal cocktails–both custom and on tap–by Alex Fletcher, formerly of Victor Tangos. The beer list offers a nice mix between locals and some of the usuals on their 24 taps and a few bottles and cans. The wine list is well thought out and apparently put together by the owners who are “winos” according to our waitress. They’ll be changing out their drink menu each season, including their beer selections.
The rest of the evening we enjoyed some delicious food items from Chef Roe DiLeo (who you may see on Season 13 of ”Hell’s Kitchen”), including:
- Housemade Onion Dip | I actually wrote it my notes “holy f**k, I could bathe in this.” While that’s probably not recommended, dipping their fresh cut potato chips in it totally is.
- Oysters Majestic | The bf and I were split on these. I’m weird about textures, so that was probably my weirdness here.
- Maple Bourbon Meatballs | Yes … yes … yes. You better get two orders, because these are kind of like crack. The bourbon isn’t a shrinking violet in this dish … it’ll smack you in the face (in the best way possible) and it compliments the maple beautifully.
- Roasted Mushroom Arancini | These were delicious, but you have to make sure to utilize the vermouth cream that it comes with … it’s pivotal.
- Crystal Creek Rotisserie Half Chicken | This was the bf’s choice, and he chose well. It was juice and tender, but had bones so it’s not a passive entree.
- Henry’s Morrow Spiked Burger | This burger … smells.like.heaven. It’s juicy and flavorful and the bacon on it is perfectly crispy balancing out the texture and commanding attention that bacon sometimes loses on a pile of meat and toppings.
- Chocolate Stout Pudding with bourbon whipped cream | this may or may not have caused a little squabble between me and the bf over one of us getting carried away and eating more than our half. (I won’t say which of us was going to town. We’ll call it Stout Pudding Anonymous.) The texture was velvety but substantial.
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- Henry’s Majestic Housemade Onion Dip
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- Henry’s Majestic Chocolate Stout Pudding with bourbon whipped cream
Henry’s Majestic has two bars, one at the front and one in the back by the patio, which are open until 2am on weekends … because one bar just isn’t enough. Since they will be rolling out a late night menu soon, that’s a damn good thing. 
The giant patio not only offers pool, plenty of TVs, and a gorgeous fireplace, but is also very dog friendly. (You can even stop by the hostess stand and grab your furry friend a “Sole Mate Dog Treat”.)
The ambiance of HM was kind of found industrial chic decor — some old stuff, plenty of metal, and some cool taxidermy. (Can you tell that there’s a reason that I’m not an interior decorator?) I really liked the music … I mean, they were playing “Riders on the Storm” at one point, which I happen to have a strange fascination with.
I’m kind of dying for their late night menu to come out so this can be my go-to late night spot. Oh, and brunch … they have a “sparkling bar” … forget yo’ bloody mary bar!
I really enjoyed my visit and suggest stopping in to try it out. I think you’ll like it as much as I did … and we won’t even hold it against them for taking the space before The Look could get in there.
HENRY’S MAJESTIC
4900 McKinney Ave at Monticello
henrysmajestic.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Dinner and brunch, lunch (Tu-F 11am-4pm)
Huge dog friendly patio!
I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to sample the new menu at NYLO’s restaurant and lounge, LOCL. Before I get into the highlights of the evening (food and booze, duh), I would be remiss in not mentioning how hip and unique this NYLO property truly is. Upon entering the lobby, I forgot that I was in Plano after about two seconds. The decor is modern minimalist, with dim lighting and geometric shapes and colors that give the lobby an art deco feel (hello, suspended egg chair). LOCL is NYLO’s indoor restaurant and lounge area, where the minimalist vibe continues, as evidenced by polished concrete floors and exposed ducting. Polished silver antlers adorn the chandeliers, giving you a subtle reminder that you are, in fact, still in Texas. The LOCL menu tasting event took place outside, on NYLO’s amazing terrace. I’m not really sure what NYLO could have done to make their courtyard (read: event space) any more awesome. The courtyard features a good-sized gazebo with a bar area, and beyond that lies a sleek lap pool, flanked with a giant, kick-ass fireplace. Just beyond the terrace, a large event tent beckons you to partake in a night of clumsy, drunken dancing at a wedding or office Christmas party.
Now, onto LOCL. I had the opportunity to sample four of LOCL’s fresh and inventive cocktails during this event:
General Manager Joe Massar (a most gracious host, I might add) explained that Chef Anthony “Tony” Knight set forth to “step outside the box,” regarding the marriage of flavors and textures in his menu additions. An excellent example of this would be my favorite of the four appetizers we sampled, the “Green Apple Guac“. This was pretty much exactly what it sounds like: your traditional guacamole recipe, blended with small bits of crisp green apple. This at-first surprising flavor combination lent itself to a marriage of zesty and sweet; crunchy and creamy. In addition to the expected side of traditional corn tortilla chips, the guac was served with an assortment of fresh veggie slices, and yes, crisp green apple slices. This appetizer seemed to be a crowd favorite. Other tasty starters, or “Big Boards,” if you will, included “Shrimp Summer Rolls” with cashew cucumber sauce, the fresh and tasty “Ode to Acapulco Shrimp Cocktail” with zesty tomato and avocado, and “The Big Cheese,” a beautiful cheeseboard, featuring 5 farmstead cheeses, local honeycomb, dried fruit, and nutty bread (all “Big Boards” are $12 and feed 3-4 people). 
We sampled three salads, including my personal preference, the gorgeous “Chop Chop,” which consisted of baby kale, mountains of crunchy vegetables, chopped egg, and a light, fresh vinegar based dressing. Fresh mint really popped in this salad. Also delicious were the “Toasted Haloumi Cheese” salad, featuring arugula, two kinds of tomatoes, generous chunks of cheese, and a hint of mint, and the “NYLO Caeser,“a deconstructed take on the traditional Caeser featuring parmesan cheese, anchovy filets, and DEEP FRIED ARTICHOKE HEARTS…yes, you read that right (All salads are $9; salads are large enough to share).
About the Event: There was no twisting my arm needed to get my RSVP. So on August 19th, I happily dashed up the Tollway to their Addison location.