Abacus has a new chef … but the same amazing drinks.

With the recent departure of prominent Dallas chef and original Abacus chef, Kent Rathbun, a new face has stepped up to take over the kitchen.  Chef Chris Patrick has kept the longtime high standard of Abacus and has created some new (and quite impressive) options to delight diners.  One thing that has remained constant–the cocktails.

Their cocktail program offers classic cocktails done very well along with some intriguing, new mixology and seasonal offerings.  Look for unique cocktails like the Smoke on the Water (shishito pepper-infused Roca Patrón Silver Tequila, Yellow Chartreuse, Aperol, and lime), delightfully smoky without being overwhelmingly so.  Also, a seasonal option, the Slingin’ Smoke (apple wood smoked Absolut Elyx Vodka, Cherry Heering, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, pineapple, lime, mint, angostura bitters) is a complex cocktail served in an Absolut Elyx copper pineapple, smoked (literally served smoking) and meant for two.

The food at Abacus has always been extraordinary.  (If you’ve never had one of their Lobster Shooters, make that happen soon.)  At this dinner we were given the chance to try some of the newer dishes from Chef Patrick.  He created new dishes like Seared Diver Scallops with a blue crab and English pea crepe, a Roasted Duck Breast with bing cherries and sasparilla-pecan granola, a Bacon-Wrapped Pork Chop with stone fruit and a blackberry-bourbon gastique, and Hickory Grilled Beef Tenderloin with a Guiso-spinach empanada.

Dessert was presented by a different Chris, their pastry chef, Chris McCord.  The Strawberries & Cream was absolutely as delightful with strawberries served four different ways–in a sorbet, in a sauce, fresh, and … some other delicious way.  The light angel food cake and lemon tart were the perfect addition to balance out the sweetness of the other elements.

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Abacus will continue to serve up quality steaks, seafood, and sushi, but expect great things from Chef Chris Patrick.

ABACUS
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
abacus-restaurant.com
4511 McKinney Ave
(214) 559-3111

Baileys Almande Yoga with a Twist

Written by: Jamie Javor

Yoga. Brunch. Take those two beautiful words, tie them together with a cute little bow, and you get the perfection that was the Baileys Almande Yoga with a Twist event this past weekend. The action unfolded on the 7th floor of The Jordan apartment building, on the pool deck overlooking the city. (After all the rain we have been experiencing lately, the weather gods smiled down and gave us some much needed sunshine.)

Stephanie with V12 Yoga led the class while Rahim Quazi played the guitar. (V12 yoga has regular scheduled classes, but they also organize free yoga at different locations throughout the city.)

Yoga

So about this Baileys Almande … Ah. Mazing. Served with Vita Coco Coconut Water, blended as a frappe or on the rocks. (Recipes below.) While this new Baileys is of course alcoholic, it’s very difficult to tell because the liqueur is so light. The flavor isn’t too thick, or too thin, and has the perfect amount of sweetness. Definitely not too overbearing. The taste isn’t quite as potent as the original Baileys. The almond and vanilla flavors help make this drink uber refreshing and easy to drink on ice. Baileys are certainly improving their flavours of choice when it comes to their drinks. We’ve gone from an original Baileys to a Red Velvet Cupcake Baileys and now we have a Baileys Almande – and we have to tell you that it is delicious!

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Call me crazy, but I think it would be great in coffee too. It’s made with almond milk and is gluten and dairy free. Check out some recipes here or below.

State & Allen catered the vegan brunch that included fresh fruit, vegan granola, vegan sausage, and quiche. They don’t just do catering though. State & Allen has a brick and mortar and prides itself on being “Dallas’ first GREEN CERTIFIED restaurant”.

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Picture courtesy of Baileys

Us drinking yogis had a great, little workout and delicious vegan brunch with drinks … all in all, not a bad way to kick off Sunday.

Namaste.


Baileys Almande
Almondmilk Liqueur
www.baileys.com/en-us/baileys-almande.html
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST

ALCOHOL CONTENT: 13% alc/vol
NOSE: almond, vanilla
FLAVOR: light, clean, refreshing
CREATED WITH: almond oil, almond essence, cane sugar, purified water, and vanilla — GLUTEN FREE. DAIRY FREE.
SIPPING SUGGESTIONS: over ice
PRICE: $24.99 (750 mL)


Aloha Almande (Created by Mixologist Leann Berry)
1 3/4 oz Baileys Almande
3/4 oz Ketel One Vodka
1 3/4 oz Vita Coco
2 pieces Fresh Pineapple
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1 cup Ice
Pineapple Slice for Garnish

Combine Baileys Almande, vodka, Vita Coco, fresh pineapple, pineapple juice, and ice into a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour contents into a Collins glass.

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Picture courtesy of Baileys

 

Very Berry Almande (Created by Mixologist Leann Berry)
3 oz Baileys Almande
2 oz Vita Coco
2 Blackberries
1 cup Ice
Blackberry and Lemon Twist for Garnish

Combine Baileys Almande, Vita Coco, blackberries, and ice into a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour contents into a Collins glass. Garnish with blackberry and lemon twist.

Dallas B2B_4

Picture courtesy of Baileys

 

THE SDD TEAM WAS INVITED TO ATTEND THIS EVENT FREE OF CHARGE.

 

 

Chefs For Farmers Mix-Off/Yes Chef! Event

This past Sunday I had the honor of being a judge for the Chefs For Farmers‘ sold-out Mix-Off/Yes Chef! event at Design District’s event space, DEC on Dragon. What did that entail, you ask? Well, I got a wear a big ol’ fancy sash that read, “CFF JUDGE” as I walked from table to table, sampling food bites and cocktails from some of the city’s best restaurants and bars.

Small Brewpub, FT33, The Joule, The Grape Restaurant, Patina Green Home and Market, Independent Bar & Kitchen, Uchi Dallas, and The Blind Butcher all had sous chefs in attendance to battle it out for best food. As for the cocktails, bartenders from Top Knot, Armoury, D.E., Parliament, The Theodore, Filament, Henry’s Majestic, Midnight Rambler, and Rapscallion came armed and ready with tins, spirits, syrups, and garnishes to wow the crowds and the judges … even this one who got caught picking pepper out of her teeth by an event photographer. Why am I so awkward?

My life sounds hard sometimes … I know. Especially when I showed up at 5PM really hungry. I think I sampled offerings from half  of the the competing chefs before the event’s moderator, Jimmy Contreras, came up to me smiling and said, “You know you have to try all of the dishes at the Judges’ Table upstairs at 6pm, right?” *Blink blink* “Well, I do now!”

Luckily, I made sure to attend the event in a flowy dress that allowed for over-consumption. With my newly gained knowledge I set aside my dishes in-hand and went to the rooftop to focus on more important things–the cocktails. The temperature was in the high 80s, so I was really looking forward to some icy concoctions featuring sponsored spirits, Patrón and Makers 46. I managed to sample half of the cocktails before being sitting down for the official judging portion of the event. (This is one situation where “slow and steady wins the race” isn’t a thing.)

(At this point, I am thinking that maybe I shouldn’t have had so many samples before sitting down. Oops.) When all of the samples of food and cocktails were assembled on the table in front of me, it all looked a bit daunting, but obviously I kept my cool.

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Or not.

I attacked the cocktails first as it was a hot day and all iced drinks were diluting at a rapid pace, and any drinks that did not feature ice was warming up just as quickly. You know my priority: SALVAGE THE DRINKS. Once I marked down my cocktail vote, I forged onward with the food bites and hoped that none of the many photographers crowded around the table would catch an unsavory photo of my chipmunk cheeks stuffed with food.

Winners were announced at the end of the event. (You didn’t think I was going to say who I voted for, did you?)

  • Returning champion, Brian Bell from The Blind Butcher, took People’s Choice Sous Chef again with his sausage and bone marrow BBQ dish
  • Sarah Green from the Joule took home Judge’s Choice for her Frito Hand Pie
  • Ryan Frederick from Henry’s Majestic won for Best Makers 46 cocktail
  • Jesse Powell from Parliament won both Best Patrón cocktail and overall People’s Choice Bartender

All winners’ dishes and cocktails will be featured at the three-day Chefs For Farmers 2016 festival, September 23-25. Tickets for the main event go on sale soon. Check the CFF Facebook page or website for more information as it is released.

Chefs For Farmers 2016
www.chefsforfarmers.com
September 23-25

Father’s Day 2016

COOK HALL
Offering: Texas Burger (candied peppercorn bacon, fried egg, avocado, butter lettuce and ghost pepper jack cheese)
Cost: $15
Date/Time: June 19
Location: Dallas – Victory Park

FEARING’S
Offering: brunch
Cost: $85 for three courses (Excludes beverage/tax/gratuity)
$30 for children 12 and under
Date/Time: Sunday, June 19, 2016, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Dallas – Uptown
Reservations: 214-922-4848

III FORKS STEAKHOUSE
Offering: USDA Prime Bone-In Ribeye
Extra Perks: New Cocktail, available now, limited time: Hickory Pineapple Margarita (Espolon Reposado Tequila, fresh lime, hickory smoke syrup and pineapple Juice, $12)
Cost: $33 (usually $53)
Date/Time: June 19
Location: North Dallas – 17776 Dallas Parkway
Reservations: 972-267-1776

IVY KITCHEN
Offering: brunch
Cost: individually priced per menu
Date/Time: June 19, 11am-3pm
Location: Addison

LAZY DOG
Offering: $3 drafts all day, limited edition pint glasses for dads
Date/Time: June 19, while supplies last
Location: Addison

PINSTACK
Offering: all day happy hour – $1 off drafts beers, $5 house wines, $5 margaritas
Date/Time: June 19, 11am-midnight
Location: Plano

PLUCKER’S WING BAR
Offering: DADS EAT FREE! (complimentary entree, side, and non-alcoholic beverage (up to a $15 value)) when they post a photo of their family at the restaurant to any social media channel with the hashtag #Pluckers
Date/Time: June 19
Location: all locations

THE RANCH AT LAS COLINAS
Offering: BBQ brunch
Extra Perks: an 11-station buffet
Cost: $44.95 for adults, $18.95 for kids 9-13, $10.95 for kids 5-8, free for 4 and under
Date/Time: June 19, 10am-3pm
Location: Las Colinas

TEN50BBQ
Perk: one free beer for Dads, while supplies last
Dates/Time: 6/19
Location: Richardson

Y.O. RANCH STEAKHOUSE
Offering: brunch
Extra Perks: Dads receive a FREE BEER courtesy of Texas Ale Project and a Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse beer mug to take home
Cost: $42
Date/Time: brunch, 6/19
Location: Dallas – West End
Reservations: REQUIRED – Open Table or 214-744-3287

Maker’s Mark #TrifectaChallenge: The Belmont Jewel

Last year I put a little (read: very little) spin on the Mint Julep for a Maker’s Mark Trifecta Challenge.  This year, they asked the #TrifectaChallenge participants to put our twist on the Belmont Stakes’ signature drink, The Belmont Jewel.  The traditional Belmont Jewel is quite simple–bourbon, lemonade, and pomegranate juice.  A bit of a yawn, no?  Needless to say, I was eager to spice this cocktail up a bit; and I went for the daily double.

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THE JELLIED BELMONT JEWEL
1.5 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whiskey
2 oz lavender lemonade
1 egg white
Jellied pomegranate wine*
Dried Lavender
Lemon curl

Combine the Maker’s Mark, lemonade, and egg white in a sturdy shaker.  Shake vigorously for one minute, then add ice and shake for another minute.  Strain into a chilled julep cup, drizzle jellied pomegranate wine on top, then garnish with dried lavender and a lemon curl.

*Jellied Pomegranate Wine
1.5 cups pomegranate wine
0.75 cup fresh lemon juice
1 oz gelatin
0.5 cup white sugar

Combine wine, lemon juice, and gelatin in a pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a hearty boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

While we can’t drink this from the August Belmont Memorial Cup (which happens to be cast in silver and made by Tiffany & Co.), you can still shake one up at home.   If it sounds like too much effort, go for the traditional Belmont Jewel.

THE BELMONT JEWEL
1.5 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whiskey
2 oz lemonade
1 oz pomegranate juice
Lemon curl

June 1, through midnight on June 3, stop by Maker’s Mark’s Instagram account and LIKE AND COMMENT on my recipe to help me win a trip to the distillery.  Pretty please?

 

I received these a bottle of Maker’s Mark to try out some recipes without payment.

Camp Our Way

I sit on my couch covered in aloe vera on my sunburnt bits and hydrocortisone cream on my mosquito bitten bits, the faint whir of my dryer working on the second of three loads of bonfire-scented laundry waiting for Uber Eats to arrive with a juicy bacon cheeseburger reflecting on the incredible weekend I just experienced with Camp Our Way. The idea of returning to summer camp as an adult made me equally excited and trepidatious–outdoor activities, s’mores, new friends, bonfires, and other fun, but with booze and a touch of freedom, it got me so excited I’m thinking of looking into other camps such as this Summer Camp in Maine or others to get the most out of my summer! Yes, it’d be a blast … but would 15 years of aging since my last camp experience prove to be a damper on the camp highs that I previously experienced? I was a great camper back in the day–I had the towels with my name embroidered, wrote the ‘rents postcards, played the part of “Susie Camper”, and always seemed to find a camp romance. Well … it turns out that not much has changed.

Camp Our Way held its first public adult summer camp this past weekend just outside of Austin. Tiffany, one of my contributors, and I headed down south (in a tricked out, lifted Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro … a beauty of a tank if I’ve ever seen one), taking our time and making an experiencing of the 35 road trip–Czech Stop, Pokey O’s Waco, Coffee Bean, the whole nine.

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Campers are invited to drive on their own (and surrender their keys upon arrival) or hop on the camp bus from their originating city. Since we were traveling from Dallas and not San Antonio or Austin, we got to camp a bit late; and let’s just say that the party bus must have been an actual party. We arrived and were already behind, but we did our best to catch up.

COW is working finding just the right camp to host–enough freedom to let the adults do their thing, but enough structure to make the camp experience fully immersive. You could say that they’re doing a damn good impression of Goldilocks right now.

The venue for this past session was Camp Young Judea, a Jewish (children’s) camp complete with a kosher cafeteria and brightly colored Semitic murals adorning the cabins and set on a quiet river. (Oh, and the cafeteria is kosher so we had to observe certain rules; only kosher items were allowed in the cafeteria, so we quickly learned that Lone Star Beer is kosher. Boom. And hence the bacon cheeseburger upon my return to Dallas.) We found the lodging itself to be perfect–the cabins were clean, bug-free, and allowed for enough privacy for everyone to be comfortable. If only I could afford to buy something like this as a holiday home myself, so I could re-live the camp experience whenever I wanted, but for now I’ll have to settle for a caravan which I’m just as excited to purchase. I was worried about the cost at first but then I heard about Auto Finance Online and how they can help you break it down into more manageable chunks. So now I have so many of these trips to look forward to. We unpacked, made our beds, and then headed to the party. The awkward “hey, where are you from, why are you here?” conversation started slowly and was egged on with drinks poured by the badass head counselor, Justin.

Each day campers were invited to take advantage of various activities–a high ropes course, zip lines, a giant swing, archery, etc. The beauty of this concept, though, is the freedom to do them only if you want to. Don’t want to break a sweat playing dodgeball? Sweat it out at the pool while working on your tan. Too lazy to do yoga? Do corpse pose in a hammock for a couple hours. Just don’t feel like being an adult? Head to the river and slide down the giant water chute. Just want to hang out? Stop by the treehouse with a beer or three. (Each camp will offer different activities, and the Dallas camp promises a lake, complete with a blob!)

So yeah … activities are fun, but doing them with a beer in-hand kind of makes them more fun. The entire weekend we had access to adult beverages. One of the “activities” was the chance to do a wine tasting with Flat Creek Estate, learn how to make Justin’s killer margaritas, and enjoy some hand-dipped root beer floats with Not Your Father’s (boozy) Root Beer.

Like I said … I’m knackered from all the fun (my memory foam bed was truly worth every penny I paid for it when I starfished on it last night), but it was a pretty fantastic weekend and I’m already missing the fun, people, and activities … and having a bit of trouble adulting.

That said … COW will be hosting other camps throughout the summer, including one for Dallas residents on Lake Trinity. I’ll be there–either as a counselor (if they’ll have me) or a camper–so come party with me at camp!

SAVE 10% ON THE DALLAS CAMP WITH CODE SUSIEDRINKS


CAMP OUR WAY
campourway.com
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Tropical Smoothie Cafe

I am a Native Floridian (though this year will mark my 10th living in Texas … at what point does one become a Naturalized citizen?), and I am nothing short of delighted to discover that one of my favorite Florida lunch spots finally made its way to Dallas. In fact, Tropical Smoothie Cafe now has three locations in the Metroplex; one in Dallas, one in Frisco, and one Fort Worth along with new locations coming soon to Plano and Lewisville.

The name “Tropical Smoothie Cafe” might lead one to believe that this spot specializes in smoothies- and well, you’d be right about that. But, In addition to more than 25 smoothie creations- with an assortment of 16 supplements and add-ons you can choose to add to your sippable masterpiece- Tropical Smoothie also features a pretty awesome food menu. How they manage to do both I have no idea! They must be taking advantage of some sort of mobile app development tools to enable such efficiency. If they aren’t, it might be something for them to consider. Tropical Smoothie’s Dallas location gave us a sneak peek to check out some new menu additions- and I was relieved to find many of my old favorites remain on the menu, as well. Whew.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe has always offered a great variety of sandwiches, wraps, and salads. Their ingredients are chef-inspired and far from mundane; for instance, wrap options include a Thai Chicken variety, with wontons, carrots, sesame seeds cilantro, scallions, and Thai peanut dressing, and a Jamaican Jerk Chicken variety, prepared with southwestern rice, corn, black, beans, asparagus, read onions, mozzarella cheese, and of course, a zesty Jamaican Jerk sauce (each $6.99). Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s best selling sandwich is the Rustic Turkey & Apple Club, which consists of turkey, cheddar, gorgonzola, bacon, dijon honey mustard, and house-made kale and apple slaw piled high on a thinly sliced seedlicious bread ($6.99).

New menu offerings include a lineup of Tacos with creative varieties that include Korean BBQ Steak (steak, house-made cucumber & kale slaw, sweet and spicy Asian BBQ sauce) and Smoked Jalapeño Chicken (grilled chicken, bacon, cabbage, tomatoes, red onions, smoked jalapeño spread; 2 for $5.49 or 3 for $7.99). Also new to the menu are a lineup of toasted flatbreads with offerings like the Tzatziki Steak (steak, red onions, sliced tomatoes, romaine, cucumbers, tzatziki sauce) and the Chicken Pesto (grilled chicken, tomatoes, parmesan, mozzarella, pesto; $4.49).

Yes, the food menu at Tropical Smoothie Cafe is greatness, but, I can’t possibly go on without saying a bit more about the smoothies they’re serving up. TSC’s smoothie lineup includes a variety of classics (the Jetty Punch– strawberry & banana, and the Sunrise Sunset– strawberries, pineapple, mango, & OJ are two guest favorites), “Superfood” options (ingredients like açai juice, goji berries, pomegranate, kale and ginger), and “supercharged” options featuring added boosts of functional ingredients like protein, fat burner, or energizer. (Smoothies range from $4.49 to $5.49; all smoothies are 24 oz.) TSC sweetens their creations with Turbinado (a raw sugar) unless otherwise noted, and sugar substitutes are available on request.

Tropical Smoothies Cafe4

My favorite part about Tropical Smoothie Cafe is the variety of supplements and add-ins you can toss into your smoothie creation for a small up-charge. Feel like you’re coming down with a cold? No problem; Add a shot of Vitamin C immune to your smoothie. Not enough time to sit down and eat a real lunch? Toss in a shot of whey protein, and suddenly you have a well-balanced, sippable lunch. Most importantly, I asked owner Robert Causey what he would recommend to nurse me back to health after a long night of, well, Drinking Dallas. He recommended an antioxidant rich Superfoods Smoothie like the Acai Berry Boost (acai, pomegranate, banana, blueberries, strawberries), with a shot of naturally energizing Vitamin B-12, for good measure. I will definitely be trying out his recommendation…probably sooner, than later! Health conscious eateries have become quite prominent in recent times, reflecting an evolving desire of the consumer. If you feel that you could be a part of a growing market, then you should consider whether it is something you could do. It is by no means an easy feat, with a high number of costs. One of these costs is utility bills such as energy and electricity. You can research and compare energy plans at Simply Switch. Research is integral before you commit to opening your own cafe.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe features a “Happy Hour” of their very own, with half-price smoothies from 6:00 AM-9:00 AM and 6:00 PM-8:00 PM.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe – Dallas
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
4560 W. Mockingbird Ln., Suite 118, Dallas
(214) 351-7037

A great big thanks to Robert Causey and Tropical Smoothie Cafe for having me out. I’m so glad to see a little slice of Florida here in Texas!

French Quarter Chicken & Waffles

Brunch at The Eberhard

If you are a twenty (or thirty)-something living in Dallas right now, you’ve heard of The Eberhard. (If you haven’t … it’s one of the more recently opened unst unst scene places on Knox/Henderson.) I guess they finally figured out that being the cool new kid on the block is fleeting, so it seems they’re stepping up their food game–starting with brunch.  (Because, Dallas.)

65-Foot Bar

The space itself is unique and versatile with two giant areas of living room-style seating and plenty of room, both inside and outside on their wraparound porch. The DJ booth, located up a spiral staircase, keeps the party going all night, and they offer a Mezzanine overlooking the rest of the space for private events … or “VIPs”. Oh … and the sixty-five-foot bar eliminates the wait time (relatively).

The Eberhard Mimosa

For their brunch, they have, of course, your go-to standard Mimosa. (#ProTip: If you go in before the end of May, they’re only $2!) They also have three signature sangrias to choose from along with signature brunch cocktails. Their Coco Colada (coconut vodka, Coco Real, and pineapple juice) is sweet and fresh. My personal favorite was the Eber’s King Julep (bourbon, honey ginger syrup, peach bitters and mint ), because … ’tis the season.

 

 

The cocktails are amazing, but they aren’t to be undercut by the brunch food menu. Their chef provides some brunch staples taken to the next level. The Eggs Benedicto and Buttermilk Biscuits & Gravy don’t just look amazing. The French Quarter Chicken & Waffles paired perfectly with my Eber’s King Julep.  They have an off-menu item that is a Breakfast BLT. Who doesn’t love banana nut bread? The Eberhard has taken a great American breakfast food and reinvented it. The Banana Nut French Toast served with Bourbon Brown Sugar Syrup and a fruit parfait.

 

While we all can begrudgingly agree that The Eberhard will continue to be a go-to place on weekend nights … it has now become what will be the new “it” place for brunch on Saturday and Sundays. Get in there before the end of May and take advantage of their $2 mimosas! You won’t be disappointed.


The Eberhard
www.theeberhard.com
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
2107 N. Henderson Ave.