Hypnotic Donuts

Dallas has fallen under the spell of Hypnotic Donuts in Casa Linda. At 9.45am on a Saturday morning, our line was busting out the door as they tortured us with the beckoning aromas of donuts mixed with fried chicken. The cult following started in 2010 when Hypnotic Donuts shared a space with The Pizza Guy on weekends. This year, the Hypnotic hyppies finally found a home just down the street from the Dallas Arboretum on Garland Road.

Sushi Sake in Richardson

Having eaten sushi since he was 18 months old, my 6 year old, Pikelet has become quite the connoisseur of raw fish. He especially loves octopus and clams and he knows just where to get some of the best in Dallas. His favorite is Sushi Sake.

If you don’t happen to live in Richardson or Plano, heading up to the no-reservations Sushi Sake takes a little planning especially on weekends. Try on a Friday night a little after 6.30pm and the waits for a table are grueling. But one look at the Japanese sushi chefs behind the sushi bar and one instinctively expects mastery.

Carbone’s Fine Food and Wine at The Shops of Highland Park

Julian Barsotti’s new Italian-American eatery, Carbone’s is as hot as the meatballs he serves right now. Carbone’s joins the popular dining row at The Shops of Highland Park  next to La Duni Latin Kitchen & Baking Studio, Nosh and Asian Mint on Oaklawn. We’re fans of Barsotti’s first venture, Nonna and when we heard, he was opening a casual over-the-counter Italian cafe, Ittybittyfoodies visited in the first week (twice).

DaLat – Vietnamese Comfort Food late at night

Before we had kids, Beefcake and I would think nothing of eating at all hours of the night. A souvlaki perhaps after a night of clubbing or a midnight bowl of pho. But after the kids were born, we had midnight feeds of another kind which makes DaLat attractive if you’re still breastfeeding an infant. DaLat, the new Vietnamese joint on Fitzhugh is in it’s soft opening stages and opened nightly from 10pm to 2am.

Chicken Scratch in Oak Cliff

 

Chicken Scratch at dusk

It’s 6.30pm on a Saturday night when we spontaneously decided to head down to Chicken Scratch in Oak Cliff. We called to ask if we needed to book a table but the voice on the phone said almost prophetically, “There’s no reservations but there’s tables right now but who knows… there might be a line out the door in 15 minutes time”.

Good 2 Go Taco in Casa Linda

“This tastes delightfully strange,” comments Beefcake as he bites into the fried chicken “Hotlanta” taco from Good 2 Go Taco. The well seasoned waffle-battered chicken breast crunched and gave way to devilishly succulent meat.  Warm sweet potatoes in honey butter lay underneath and the whole concoction is wrapped in a warm springy taco.

The busy Casa Linda taco shop shares a space with Cultivar Coffee run by passionate tattooed baristas with cool, thick black rimmed glasses.

Bolsa Mercado in Oak Cliff

Sometimes (well.. most times) we want our food fast but we don’t want fast food. So we go to Bolsa Mercado which is a few doors away from the Bolsa the restaurant which had a 45 minute wait on Sunday morning.

Bolsa Mercado which opened December 2011,  is more than a market, it’s also a coffee bar and mini deli which serves house-made kolaches, breakfast muffins, pastries, salads and sandwiches.

Kalachandji’s Restaurant

Kalachandji’s Restaurant is not your typical Dallas dining experience, it is housed inside the Sri Sri Radna Mandir Hare Krisna Temple. As you wander in, diners are transported to a private oasis. A cosy sunlit courtyard surrounded by lush greenery and the sound of babbling water eases all the day’s woes away. We didn’t know what to expect and were pleased to see several families already seated.

Nosh Euro Bistro

Nosh Euro Bistro, owned by award wining Chef Avner Samuel, is one of those places that most people never think of taking their kids to. Maybe because Nosh sounds a bit like ‘posh’ or the word ‘Euro’ has fancy connotations but it is surprisingly kid friendly. They even have high chairs to prop up your ittybittyfoodies as they munch on classic French style escargot done with lots of butter, herbs and garlic served with a nub of crusty bread.

Dim Sum – the point & eat food

traditional dim sum

In honor of the Lunar New Year, we wanted to share one of our favorite Chinese meals – Dim Sum. Pikelet and Lollo love dim sum – the traditional Chinese brunch food and we like to frequent Kirin Court Chinese Restaurant in Richardson. The crowd is mainly Asian (always a good sign) but the staff speak enough English to get by.  The most fun part of dim sum is in the ordering. Servers wheel carts filled with steam dumpling and little plates and present them to you at the table. All you need to do is point to what you’d like and they serve it immediately. It’s so easy, no Chinese required and even the kids get in on the action. I liken it to online shopping and for us, dim sum is our ultimate ’point and click’ meal. 

Gimme some dough – Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

A picture says a thousand words and this picture taken by amazing photographer, Carissa Byers for Modern Luxury, told me to go get me some of that Dough. Dough Pizzeria Napoletana, the new pizzeria at Preston and Forest just by Little Gym and Emler Swim School is the perfect locale for families. Except my own. Pikelet & Lollo hate cheese which makes eating Italian cuisine slightly challenging.

Last call for Cakeballs Giveaway from Toni Rivard Bakery!

enter the giveaway!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a bit of a ditz – in my excitement to post the Toni Rivard Cakeball Giveaway, I forgot to put down what time the giveaway ended. I shall be drawing out one lucky winner’s name at 3pm CST on Friday 28th October, after I pick up Pikelet & Lollo from school. The winner will receive 1 dozen cakeballs (choose from 30 flavors!) from the new Toni Rivard bakery in NorthPark Center.

Also I made the giveaway rules a little wordy and a whole bunch of you guys ‘Liked’ me on Facebook but forgot to put it in the comments below. So here’s your chance to drop me a comment here to enter the giveaway. Remember you can either put a comment on IttyBittyFoodies or at CraveDFW.

And if you don’t win you can always, drop by the grand opening at Toni Rivard this Saturday October 29th for some free samples and a draw of 6 months of free cakeballs!

Till our next Happy Meal!

Tei-An (with kids…gasp!)

One Arts Plaza

Pikelet would sooner have a platter of sushi than a tray of cupcakes. For his 6th birthday we did the unthinkable. On a whim we decided to whisk the whole family off to Tei-An at One Arts Plaza, on a busy Saturday night without a reservation! We were playing with fire taking kids to a place we only reserve for date night.

Better than cupcakes!

Upon arrival, we sheepishly told the hostess we didn’t have a reservation but Pikelet just had to have their stellar sushi for his birthday dinner.

Pho Colonial

Spring Rolls & Egg rolls - yum

The opening of Pho Colonial Vietnamese Diner is a welcomed addition to downtown Dallas which is speckled with great but expensive restaurants like Charlie Palmer at The Joule or greasy spoons and pizza joints. Pho Colonial, located just opposite the flagship Neiman Marcus store on the corner of Main and Ervay provides the population with a fresh alternative, great food at a mid range price point.

Oddfellows in Oak Cliff

We have a love hate relationship with Oddfellows in the Bishop Arts District. We love the food but hate the long waits. But they have this wonderful fried tomato sandwich that beckons me and as a result, I’ve subjected my IttyBittyFoodies to the brutal waits – three times. On a fine day, diners can wait outside sipping coffee or hot chocolate made with their super expensive La Marzocco Strada Espresso coffee machine and the kids just wander about and playing with the piano outside.