Heim BBQ

Heim BBQ is our second stamp in our BBQ Passport! We visited over our Anniversary week, and had a yummy lunch!

I got the Big Cat Sandwich again, yum!! Hubby got Brisket, Sausage, Potato Salad, & Green Chile Mac & Cheese. I tried a bite of his potato salad, it was creamy and delish. Of course the mac & cheese is always a great option! We shared the Bacon Burnt Ends, oh my, those flavorful smoky pieces of bacon will bring you back for more!

Thank you Texas Monthly for our BBQ Passport & for planning our meals for a while ;)

Top BBQ

Our BBQ loving friend informed Hubby & I that Texas Monthly had a Top 50 BBQ in Texas issue out!

& that there was a passport to document each of the 50 you check out! So of course I went and bought said magazine!

Tonight we got our first stickers in our passports! Top 5 BBQ! Of course they are one of the Top 50 in Texas! We went with our BBQ loving friend & his wife, so we decided to split their Top 50 Experience. Half a pound of Brisket, Sausage, Pulled Pork (which they were out of so we got more brisket), & Ribs & 4 sides. With 4 of us eating til we were stuffed, there were still leftovers! It was all so good! We have been here several times since I wrote that first post, & I would like to retract my statement about their brisket. It is now my favorite meat there! It has a great bark on it with a great rub!

So go get your Passport & start eating your way around Texas!

Dinners and Shows

We were going to see a play in Fort Worth, and Hubby said we had to try this BBQ place he had been to.

Heim BBQ

Goodness, was he right! All 4 of us (Hubby, me, and our moms) got the Big Cat Sandwich. Chopped Brisket on a Jalapeno Bun topped with a scoop of Green Chili Mac & Cheese. When mine & Hubby's came out on the same tray, Hubby threatened to eat them both! Fortunately, he decided to let me have one ;) This brisket was full of flavor and needed no sauce! We will be back (Grandma, we have to make plans to meet you!)

Then it was time for our play at Amphibian Stage.

We saw Northside Hollow, about a man who was trapped in a mine.

These are working headlamps, we were asked to be part of the lighting crew! :) This was a very well done play! And I'm not just saying that because we were on crew ;)

Our second night of dinner and a show, actually started with the show. Cirque Du Soleil Kurios, a Steampunk themed show. It was extraordinary! The acts had you in disbelief!

After the show we went to Trinity Grove in Dallas, and decided to eat at Beto & Son. I got the Stuffed Chile Relleno Noodle Bowl. A roasted chile relleno stuffed with shredded chicken and topped with cheese, laid on top of a bed of noodles & veggies. It was very tasty!

If you couldn't tell, we really enjoy trying new dishes, and new places to eat! I hope you have some fun trying new things too! Let us know about places we need to be checking out!

Valentine's BBQ

Happy Valentine's Day!! We were trying to find a casual place that wouldn't be packed today, so I turned to my D Magazine BBQ issue.

There it was, Top 5 BBQ, #8 on D Magazine's top 20 BBQ joints in Dallas. Even better, it was only 15 minutes from our home!

This is a tiny place with only a couple tables, so we decided to bring our Valentine's dinner home and eat it while watching Mad Max, one of my Christmas gifts from Hubby :)

Our reviews:

First of all these are some of the nicest guys! We were asking about their sauce options (regular, hot, and atomic) and they had us come over and try each. Telling us what made them special, and then telling us about their different sausages. These guys are passionate about BBQ!

Both of us agreed that the sausage was the best, and the ribs were also amazing. I love dry ribs! The brisket was good, but not better than the ribs or sausage. I was not a fan of the pulled pork, but I've never had pulled pork that I was a fan of. I'm pretty much ready to quit wasting stomach space trying pulled pork ;) Hubby, who is in the pulled pork is good camp, really liked this pulled pork :) so I would listen to him! The mac & cheese had a sharpness to it that I can't put my finger on, but really liked! The cabbage tasted like it came from Grandma's house :) The potato salad was tangy with mustard, and the beans were a little spicy and a little sweet, but not quite cooked long enough. These sauces though, ya'll, I would eat a shoe coated in their sauce! This is coming from someone who rarely likes BBQ sauce, their hot and their atomic are smokey, spicy, and tasty! And if you are on the side of there should be more cookies in pudding then you need to try their banana pudding. It has no bananas, just thick banana flavored pudding with a box of cookies in every bowl ;)

We thoroughly enjoyed our Valentine's dinner! Now excuse us as we go watch our movie :)

We are BBQ Judges

I have to share with you our latest food-related fun! We love BBQ! When my brother found out we could take a class to become BBQ judges (and we got to try BBQ in the class!) We were all over it!

My Brother is lame, and didn't want to be in the picture :)*

Here we are, official BBQ Judges! I'm very much looking forward to going out and trying new BBQ places with my new-found knowledge! & I'm really looking forward to signing up to judge a BBQ competition!

If you are also a fan of BBQ, see if they are offering a class near you! They have competitions all over the country, and some all over the world! Maybe we will see each other across the judging table! Just don't judge my sauce covered fingers ;)

Eating, Eating, & Eating Some More!

Well I've been eating, which means I need to get to writing! :) These are actually a little old, but here I am getting caught up!

Hubby & I headed out to Addison to see a play & pulled in here for dinner beforehand. The outside & the inside do not match, at all! From "Cafe & Grill" we were expecting a fast casual dinner. When we walked in I expected Chef Robert Irvine from Restaurant Impossible to follow us in! The walls were painted pink with matching pink tablecloths. Each place setting was set for an elegant meal. It seemed very dated & very fancy. To top it off we had 2 different people, one of which we are pretty sure was the owner, come by & ask us how we heard of the place & if we were from around there. It made it seem like they don't get new diners very often.

However, all our feelings of the setting were completely opposite from our feelings of the food! Their Caprese Salad was made with housemade mozzarella, which was so creamy you could spread it with a butter knife. It did come with capers on top, which I have never been a fan of, but I just scooted them to the side & thoroughly enjoyed my salad :)

I ordered the Ravioli, which was a cheese ravioli in alfredo sauce with baby shrimp. The ravioli & the shrimp were cooked perfectly, It also had a drizzle of tomato sauce over the top which I think really made the dish!

Hubby ordered Lasagna al Forno, which he said was the best lasagna he had eaten in awhile! We were almost late to our play because this was not the quick dinner we were expecting. So if you are ever in Addison & want a nice non rushed meal, surrounded by pink decor ;) Andiamo is your place. I do hope someone goes in & helps them with their decor & marketing, because the food is worth it!

On our way to Shakespeare in the Park, we were looking for another quick dinner place (see a pattern here?) & we chose La Acapulquena mainly because they had parking :)

I ordered Tacos al Carbon, which was 3 beef fajita tacos with the most amazingly seasoned beef! It was served with queso to dip them in along with sour cream, guac, pico, & refried beans. Everyone was very happy with their meals. This will become a regular spot on our Shakespeare nights!

Recently, my Sister introduced my mom & I to Cupcake Co in Cedar Hill. It is off the beaten path, & I may have never found it myself!

It is in the cutest little building!

We originally went because they have snow cones, but when I saw the cupcake options I knew that's what I wanted! This was the moistest softest cupcake you can imagine! The frosting was so sweet & creamy. I need to go back! Today! :)

On our way to Rockwall to visit Woodcreek Brewing, we stopped at Bakers Ribs for lunch.

I got the ribs, which were cooked with a dry rub. I love dry rub ribs! When ribs don't need sauce, that's when they have been cooked perfectly & that is the case with Bakers Ribs! Their sides were also very yummy, anyone who puts bacon in their green beans is someone I can be friends with ;)

Next time we go I will have to try one of their fried pies! They looked so yummy, but we were about to go try several beers, didn't need pie on top of it! Have you had their fried pie? They had sweet & savory! I don't know which to try first! :)

Going Out

We have been out & about, which means I have some recommendations for you!

We met our friends a couple weeks ago in Bishop Arts for dinner. We decided to try Eno's Pizza.

I got the Heirloom Spinach Ricotta White Pie, which came on a wafer thin crust. Everything on it was super fresh!

We also ordered the Pig Smiley which had honey, ham, sausage, & pepperoni. Hubby was not a big fan of their sausage seasonings, but it was a good pizza overall.

They have a rotating tap selection, which they print on their weekly menu. That's a great idea except when you run out of them before the week is over. It seemed every beer we ordered was out, but our waiter saved the day with his knowledge of in stock options that were comparable to our wants :) I got to try Mokah Southern Tier, which is a chocolate stout that I could drink all day! Very chocolaty, very dark, just lovely!

After dinner we introduced our friends to the reason we eat in Bishop Arts, Emporium Pies!

Because you can never have enough chocolate, we decided to stop in at Dude, Sweet Chocolate.

They have quite the selection of out of the ordinary chocolates! We decided on their Vietnamese Coffee House Style Fudge & a piece of chocolate covered bacon to bring home. That fudge! Oh my, it has a very strong coffee flavor, perfectly paired with sweet, dark, creamy fudge. Definitely a to be savored chocolate.

I have been wanting to try Pecan Lodge since they were still in the Dallas Farmer's Market! Hubby & I finally got the chance to go & our moms joined us :)

Pictured: The "Hot Mess" (a sweet potato stuffed with barbacoa, bbq sauce, chipotle cream, cheese, butter, & green onions), fried okra, The "Pitmaster (Brisket, Pulled Pork, sausage, slaw, bbq sauce, & fresh jalapenos on a bun), & bacon mac & cheese

Not Pictured: Southern Fried Chicken

Let me just start out by saying that our cashier colored our entire dining experience because we left not really wanting to return, but now looking at this pic I would like to try the food again.

Having said that... Hubby & I did not care for the Hot Mess, I thought BBQ sauce on a sweet potato was weird. Hubby did not care for their barbacoa & wished it had come with brisket of sausage instead. Hubby's mom liked the Hot Mess :)

The pitmaster was very tasty & large! I split the ingredients into 2 open faced sandwiches & then only ate one of them. Hubby said the sausage from the Pitmaster was the best thing on our plates! Next time he just wants sausage :)

The fried okra was perfect! The bacon mac & cheese had green chilies mixed into the cheese & it was scrumptious!

Hubby claimed the Fried Chicken was the best he has ever eaten! I had some with their bbq sauce on it & that was really good! Their bbq sauce is not thick like most, it is a sweet & spicy liquid mixture that I could eat on anything (except a sweet potato, that really was just weird!)!

Overall I think we did enjoy our food, but first impressions are everything, & the aloof I would rather talk to my coworkers & play on my phone than help this line of people attitude, was not a good one.

For Hubby & my anniversary breakfast we decided to try Cafe Brazil in Bishop Arts.

I ordered the Brazillian Breakfast, which is 2 eggs (I substituted the hasbrown casserole because I'm allergic to eggs, which makes going out for breakfast very difficult!), a chorizo empanada topped with spicy cream sauce, rosemary potatoes, a jalapeno, & grilled homemade white bread. 

Hubby ordered the classic breakfast, 2 eggs, bacon, & pancakes.

Sitting at the table we were already talking about coming back so I could get their pancakes! So fluffy & tasty! Hubby & I both loved the hashbrown casserole! The rosemary potatoes were cooked perfectly, but could have used more rosemary & maybe some garlic, but then again I overseason ;) & that homemade grilled bread! It was a thick dense bread & held up well to lots of jelly :)

My empanada though was disappointing. It was very bready & felt baked rather than fried. I love crispy empanadas & this was soft & doughy. Also, the chorizo in it was bland, which I didn't even think was possible.

We will be going back & ordering the biggest stack of pancakes they have! :)

For Independence Day this year & last year we went to Lake Carolyn in Las Colinas to see their fireworks show & eat at some yummy food trucks! NVN Burgers knows their burgers! :) I got the Diablo Burger & Hubby got the BBQ Burger. They both required a stack of napkins! But we talked about those burgers all night! You can check their Facebook page to see where they will be so you too can cover your face in a burger :)

As soon as we saw that YimYam was back this year, we knew we needed an order of their Flaming Sweet Potato Fries! They cover them in spicy seasoning & then drizzle a spicy mayo over the top. They are YimYam Yummy! ;)

The Gourmet Bread Pudding Company works out of the Dallas Farmers Market we found out, so we will be finding them again out there! They had blueberry bread pudding, peach bread pudding, & white chocolate bread pudding, & we tried them all! The peach was my favorite, the white chocolate seemed to be everyone else's favorite. However, my most favorite thing was that they didn't put raisins in any of them! I really really hate raisins, & raisins are always in bread pudding! I once read that you can make anything with raisins better if you switch the raisins for chocolate chips... I completely agree!

Well there you have it, go out & have some great meals! Then come back & let us know what you tried!