Any Dallas resident knows that quite a few of the establishments along McKinney Ave frequently change. A recent addition to McKinney Ave is Tate’s Craft Cocktails of Dallas. Tate’s is catty-corner to Avanti , located in a repurposed single family home with an expansive porch.

Tate’s does offer food but the food choices are very limited as their main focus is cocktails. In fact their drink menu is so extensive it is easy to over look the food menu. So, while I was there I focused on the cocktails as well. However when I saw they had Pigs in a Blanket stuffed with jalapeno and cheese I couldn’t resist, and they did not disappoint! These were delicious!

There are so many interesting and delicious sounding cocktails on the menu, I know I will be making a few trips back to Tate’s! I started with the Front Porch Lemonade, it consists of Smirnoff Citrus Vodka, Cranberry Juice, Lemon, Ginger Syrup and Ginger Ale, it was AMAZING!

If there hadn’t been so many other amazing options on the menu I probably would have just stopped with this drink, but instead I ventured on to the Eternal Flame.  Beth had gone to Tate’s awhile back and tried this drink and loved it, so of course I had to try it!  It has strawberry-jalapeno infused tequila, a genius combination, along with Patron Citronge, lime and ginger beer.  This drink did not disapoint either, but it was quite spicy, so don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Next I decided to try the Cuba Libre, they make their own homemade cola for this beverage and while it was good, it just made me miss the frozen Cuba Libre’s at Cuba Libre on Henderson that is no more.  This drink wasn’t made badly, nor can I really complain about it, other than it really wasn’t my cup of tea.  But it might be yours!

I’m already working on my list of drinks for my next visit to Tate’s!  If you happen to stop in there, be sure and ask for Kirsten, she makes the best cocktails.  Trust me you will not be sorry!

Oh and if you want to check out Tate’s Cocktail Menu, click here.

Josephine’s Italian Bistro is another gem in Frisco Square.  Remember a few weeks back when I talked about Sake Toro?  Well this place is just down a little and across the square.

I headed up there with the ladies from Life is a Run and our friend Ashley for a little catch up time and to hear about the marathon Ashley ran in Rome plus it was Wine Wednesday.

First of all, let me say they have some great specials at Josephine’s.  Happy Hour is 4-7 pm Monday through Friday, Monday is ladies night – ALL NIGHT and Wednesday you can get $5 glasses of wine all night.  On top of that all of the food, at least that I’ve had, is great!

We started with the Spinaci Carciofi Dip (or Spinach and Artichoke Dip).  I loved the two types of bread that it came with, both were delicious.  I’m pretty sure we scraped the dish clean!  I hate when a dip like this is runny, messy and hard to eat.  That was definitely not the case with this dip.

A bit later we decided to order a few more things and share it all.

Teal recommended the Insalata alla Caprese.  This is definitely not a salad I would normally pick because I am not a tomato fan.  I love tomato flavored things but just not actual big chunks of tomato.  I know it’s weird.

I loved the presentation of this salad.  Maybe other restaurants serve it like this, but I’d never seen it.  The dressing that was drizzled all over it was amazing!  I stuck with the mozarella and I’ve got no complaints about this salad.  If you are a Caprese salad fan I definitely think you’ll enjoy this one.

We also got a pizza and because I mentioned last time the Barbecue Chicken Pizza was really good the bartender offered to have that made for us.  When I had previously tried it, the pizza came with blue cheese which was good, but it was equally good without the blue cheese.

Last but definitely not least, at the recommendation of our neighbors at the bar, we also ordered the Macaroni and Cheese.  They make it in a very untraditional way that it is amazing!  I KNOW there was not a bit of that left when we finished eating.

Believe it or not, I actually don’t get up to Frisco Square all that often.  But when I do I’m never disapointed.  Both trips to Josephine’s Italian Bistro have been delicious!

If you live in Dallas and haven’t heard of Cane Rosso….I am just sad for you! Cane Rosso is located in Deep Ellum and has just expanded it’s location. It has been awhile since I had been Cane Rosso and was excited to get back. Did you know on Wednesdays it’s BYOB? I love that!

We had entirely too much food and all left stuffed because it was so good! We started out with the Focacia. It is the perfect mix of flavors on warm pizza crust with a drizzle of olive oil on top.  I loved the flavor the Rosemary added to it!

Next we got started on the pizza!  The problem at Cane Rosso, is trying to decide which pizza(s) to order!  We got 3…I know what you’re thinking, “DANG!”  But if you’ve tried their pizza, you’ll understand!

After hearing the waitress describe the Seasonal White Pie, we had to try that one.  It had cripsy proscuitto, mushrooms and peppers.  It was SO good!  It had the perfect amount of spice.

We also started with the Proscuitto e Rucola.  This is one of my favorite pies.  It consists of fresh mozarella with garlic, prosciutto crudo, arugula and extra virgin olive oil.  With the arugula on top of the pizza, there is a freshness to this pizza that is delicious!

After we got this pizza there was a bit of a break before we ordered yet another pizza.  This time we got the Luana.  This pie has italian tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, Jimmy’s sausage (I have no idea who Jimmy is…), hot soppresta and mushrooms.

Despite not being a big mushroom fan, this pizza is still fabulous. Again I love the spice to this one.

Last but not least, we ordered the S’mores Calzone.  This was mainly at my request because I wanted to try one of their desserts.  I keep hearing people talk about how amazing their desserts were.  Despite being delicious, I was entirely too full to really enjoy this dessert.

On a side note…while at dinner, I kept staring at this woman, trying to figure out who she was….and then I realized it was Real Posh Mom! So fun to finally meet her in real life.  And I totally crashed their planning meeting for Chefs for Farmers. The event is Saturday May 6th from 1-5pm at Lee Park and looks awesome! I’m going to be out of town that weekend but if I can get back in time I plan to go, what about you??

I have been hearing about Trailercakes for weeks, scratch that, for months on twitter but had yet to be in the same spot as their trailer “Bubbles.”  There were times we’d literally missed each other by minutes.

When I knew they were only going to be a block away from me on Saint Patrick’s day there was NO way I was going to miss them.  At 2:00 on the dot we walked the block and I finally saw Bubbles!

I am so happy to say that Trailercakes lived up to all the hype…they make some tasty cupcakes!!

They had quite a selection at this event and I loved that they were mini cupcakes, it made it way easier to try the different flavors.  At the request of my friend Robbie we got 2 of everything!

Since it was St. Patrick’s Day they had some special cupcakes, Tanked & Lucky Charms.

But my favorites were some of the cakes they offer all the time!

The “Cookie Monster” in the back right corner is DIVINE!  Everything about it was amazing, including the surprise of crushed oreos at the bottom of the cake!

The PB&J in the middle row has a surprise of jelly in the middle…you have got to try it!

“Hitched” is the one with the flower on top, loved! I am all about these kinds of cupcakes and Trailercakes’ wedding cake was delicious and did not disappoint!

“Slap Your Mother Chocolate” on the right…I really don’t even have words for.  I’m not a chocoholic…but I loved this cupcake!

Needless to say, if you see Trailercakes stop by and get some cakes, you’ll thank me later, I promise.  I really don’t think you could go wrong with any choice you make on their cakes.  Follow Trailercakes on Facebook and Twitter to see where Bubbles is parked.  You can also stop by their Richardson office to get cakes.

I can’t wait for my next Trailercakes experience!

If you’re like me, you’ve never heard of Mr Mesero.  At this point they’ve been open right at 100 days and I had absolutely NO clue!  I was even at Kozy not that long ago and it’s across the street.

I have yet to find anyone here in Dallas that has never been to MiCocina or Taco Diner.  I even have family members that have to go to MiCocina every time they come in town.  Despite the notoriety of these restaurants I had no clue their founder, Mico was no longer a part of those restaurants.

Friday I was hanging out with some friends watching some basketball and catching up at Knox Street Pub when we decided we needed to figure out what to do for dinner.  I looked up and thought…I wonder what Mr Mesero is.  I pulled out my trusty iPad and pulled up the menu.  After passing the menu around we were all sold and settled up our tabs and headed across the street.

We had a friend to wait on and decided we’d start out with a margarita.  Next thing we knew Mico appeared at our table and it felt like he was welcoming us into his home. Our first question was…did you bring the Mambo Taxi with you to Mr Mesero?  And he told us the El Santo was better. It was delicious!  The guys went with a less pink drink and tried the La Dona (and I did too. It was good, but my favorite was the El Santo).

While we waited we snacked on what else but chips and salsa; I absolutely loved the presentation.  The salsa was nice and spicy, so make sure you’ve got water before you start eating.  Out of nowhere Mico surprised us by walking around our table and serving each one of us a a chip covered in his rather unique queso.

The Queso Mesero was a brilliant combination of spinach, queso, artichokes and roasted poblano.  I absolutely LOVED the poblano.

We also decided to try out the guacamole.  It was good, we ordered the spicy version, the classico with serrano, but you didn’t really get to the serrano until the bottom.  Once I discovered that it won me over.

Once it was time to order, it was so hard to decide what to have, check out the menu and you’ll understand why.  I went with Combo Cuatro so I could try the brisket tacos and try an enchilada.

I used to think Mia’s made my favorite brisket tacos….but it has no met it’s match.  Not to mention the green rice..delicious!!  We couldn’t get enough of it.

Amber got the Quekas “La Guera” so we decided to split our meals (I have to apologize this picture isn’t better) .

I’m not even sure what to compare the “quekas” to.  They were similar to tostados but really weren’t at all alike, the base was a corn cake.  Helpful, yes, I know!  There were 3 different quekas: one brisket, one cheese and one roasted chicken. I’m not sure I had a favorite.  They were all so different and so good.

I’m not a mole person, but my friend Bill is and he said the mole was great on his chicken enchiladas, I believe he ordered the Oaxaquenas.  

Get on over to Mr Mesero and give it a try, I promise you’ll thank me later!  But bes sure to get there early.  The restaurant is actually pretty small so it fills up fast.  But they do have both outdoor and indoor seating.

I’ve been wanting to try Townhouse Kitchen + Bar at the Galleria in Dallas for awhile and finally got the opportunity to. There were so many things that looked good on the menu that I wish there’d been more than just two of us so that I could have tried more things.

At the recommendation of our waiter we started with the Smokin’ Presidente, it was good but I expected these giant slices of jalapeno would make it spicy…but it didn’t.

We started with the Loaded Blue Cheese Chips.  I like blue cheese when it’s mild.  Despite being a cheese fan, too much blue cheese can be a problem.  But these chips had very mild blue cheese and were quite good.  They came with chives and bacon and some other seasoning that I am not a professional enough foodie to recognize.

For dinner we decided to try a couple sides and split an entree.  Apparently the theme of dinner was Bacon.

But before dinner Jamie ordered  a Blood Orange Margarita that he liked better than the Presidente.  The black salt was an interesting touch on the drinks.  It didn’t really have a taste to it but it looked cool.

Dinner started with Mac and cheese, we added Bacon.  It was amazing.  Bacon is the perfect addition to mac and cheese in case you were wondering.  I also liked that it was shells instead of elbow pasta.

Our other side was the Hashbrowns with…of course bacon.  These weren’t nearly as good as the Mac and Cheese but that was mainly because of the sauce.  I couldn’t figure out what was, but I think it had horseradish in it and I’m not really a fan of horseradish.  But they were still tasty.

The main course was the Townhouse burger.  It had a slice of Gouda and some Bacon, it also came with fries.  The burger was really good!  Overall I think we made some good choices.

I want to go back and try some of the other menu items.  I can’t find their menu online to share, they still have an “under construction” website but you can go like them on Facebook, they seem to have some great specials.  I got a free appetizer for checking in on Facebook.

Oh and I also tried the sangria.  I always love sangria!

Sake Toro sushi, is located in Frisco Square in Frisco, Tx.  This just might be one of the best kept secrets in Frisco Square.  They have a hugh list of sushi roll options and the names they’ve given them are hilarious!  You kind of want to order the rolls just for the names.

This is the Japanese Lasagna.  Of course we had to try it.  It is crab meat and avocado topped with cream cheese and then baked.

It was delicious.  In that picture there are actually 6 pieces.  It is heavy on the cream cheese, but not light on the flavor.  I really liked the baked effect of this roll.

Next up was the Stuffed Tomato.  Now I have to confess I didn’t try it and here is why.  It is spicy crab and shrimp wrapped in fresh salmon.  Aka, lots of raw fish….but doesn’t it look pretty?  I was also told by my sisters that it was delicious!

My sister in law ordered this, the Ex-Wife.  It had spicy crab, avocado and cream cheese topped with smoked salmon and jalapeno.  I gave this one a try despite the raw salmon and it was good.  It had a nice spice to it and there was just the right amount of mango.

Next we got this giant plate of rolls and I have to say I was impressed with how big the rolls were.  All of them were around $13 and I really feel like you get your money’s worth; which is not typical at sushi restaurants.

My rolls were the two on the right, the Mexican Roll and the Ex-Boyfriend.  I liked them both but my favorite was the Ex-Boyfriend.

The Mexican Roll is of course the roll on the right with the jalapenos.  Of course the jalapenos are what reeled me in on this one.  This one consisted of spicy crab, avocado and cream cheese topped with smoked salmon and jalapeno.  It was really spicy which I liked but it was a little too raw for me.

Then to the left of it, was the Ex-Boyfriend, which was amazing!  This one had shrimp tempura, avocado and spicy mayo.  I really want to head back there again soon!

The two rolls on the left side were Beth’s one was the Sex on the Beach and we can’t remember the name of the other one.  I was so full from my rolls and trying everyone else’s rolls that I didn’t try these.  Plus the fact that the were pretty raw didn’t help out the situation

If you’re looking for a good sushi experience and you don’t mind making a trek north to Frisco, then Sake Toro is for you!

Matador Tapas is a relatively new restaurant in Dallas located on Lower Greenville. They have an amazing selection of Authentic Spanish Tapas.

Once a month I have brunch with a group of people and since this has been going on for well over a year now we have gotten to know our waiter, that we adore, Mike!

When he told us he had another gig, at Matador Tapas, we HAD to stop in and see him!  Sadly we were slackers and it took us forever to get our butts down there.

We figured we should probably go on a night they had a special, Tuesdays it’s 1/2 price food night and Thursdays are 1/2 price bottle of wine night.  So we naturally went in on Thursday night.

I should go ahead and apologize now that I don’t have better pictures, but I literally had to smack people’s hands out of the way so that I could get pictures before the food was devoured!

We started off with the Spanish Hummus

and the meat and cheese plate

it had the best combination of spanish cheeses.  There wasn’t a bad one on the plate!  Though let’s be honest I have yet to meet a cheese plate I don’t like…

Before we even discovered them on the menu, Mike went ahead and ordered us the Stuffed Piquillo Peppers.

The peppers are stuffed with manchego, oregano and thyme.

My favorite was the Jamon and Chicken Croquets.  I am not sure what all is in them but they were AMAZING.  I’m assuming jamon and chicken are inside, and most likely there is cheese.  All I know is you need to try them!

We sat at the bar for dinner and after some wine we started putting Mike to the test and having him make us all sorts of drinks.

I tried the Berry Sangria

It was good but, not as good as the gin bloody mary Mike made:

I am not really a gin fan…but this was amazing and spicy and perfect!

If you’re looking for a new tapas place to try, go check out Matador Tapas and tell Mike, Kate sent you!