Dating in Dallas. Toulouse

Guys I am back with another post for my Dating in Dallas series! This week the hubs and I decided to check out a place I had been eyeballing for a while but never actually got around to trying. We all have those restaurants right? Like you notice it, think it’d be fun to give it a try and then forget about it the moment you’re asked the dreaded question… “where do we want to go to dinner?” is there any other question that deletes the contents of your brain that quickly? Really hoping its not just me who feels this way haha.

Well all that being said Dane and I finally decided to try out the adorable French Bistro Toulouse. Like any reputable bistro there is patio seating but since its Texas there is still air conditioning Hallelujah! The interior is definitely Parisian inspired without looking gimmicky, and they play soft French music in the background which I was a massive fan of. All in the all the ambience was very romantic without being intimidatingly upscale. So if you’re looking to knock the socks off of your date without having to worry about which fork to use this is the place. My scrunched faced cutie.

Like any date we started off with drinks, Dane got an old fashioned which according to him was good but nothing to write home about, I tried it but since I don’ t like whiskey my opinion means nothing. I ordered the Chanel No. 6 which was a nice light champagne cocktail that I’d 100% order again.

Then for a few small bites we ordered their Petite Gougere (cheese puffs with truffle oil) each bite was fluffy and beyond flavorful. The perfect balance of delicate texture and sinfully rich flavours.

You guys *contented sigh* Toulouse makes some of the best escargot I’ve ever had! I was honestly worried that I’d be disappointed. One of my favorite restaurants in Austin makes delish escargot and I was afraid toulouse would let me down…but they’ve actually dethroned my beloved Austin spot. Toulouse makes some of the most garlicky, decadent, and tender escargot this girl has ever had! If you’re weirded out by the idea of eating snails, don’t be. Please be adventurous and just give it a try, you will not regret it!

 The perfect ending to our meal of appetizers haha (you wanna try a little bit of everything am I right?) Beignets with cappucino pot de creme! If any desert could turn me into a non food sharer this would be it. I decided to be a good person and share but goodness me I could’ve polished this dish off myself. 10/10 perfect dessert!

Dane and I loved our experience at Toulouse and would definitely recommend you check it out, the ambience was romantic, the food delicious, and the waitstaff was super friendly but didn’t overwhelm by coming by every 5 minutes. Toulouse is the perfect little date spot for changing up the everyday pace of dinner and movie. Try something out of your food comfort zone, sip a cocktail, and pretend you’re in Paris with your gorgeous date!

Dating in Dallas

Hello my lovely followers, I want to thank you for sticking with me even though I rarely post these days. Life has been a whirlwind, after getting married, moving, and other life realness blogging got pushed to the back burner.

I have to admit I’ve missed blogging terribly, I’ve missed the routine and creativity and the ability to interact with all of you fine folk. So in an attempt to be more diligent about posting I figured I would start blogging about date days/nights. Since those are my favorite days. Dane and I share quite a love for food and drink, so I have a feeling this blog will pretty much write itself.

To start off the series I figured we’d start with the most important meal of the day: Breakfast! In order to break up routine the hubs and I have decided to try one new restaurant every other date. We decided to do a breakfast date at Yolk.  We’d been eyeballing this place for a while and finally took the plunge today. my handsome husband’s second love is coffee and yolk got this snob’s slurp of approval

I’m boring so it was just water for me. But how cute is that carafe?Dane’s meal was The Yolk All Star Combo that he upgraded the pancakes to have the Nutty Monkey Pancakes. The eggs were cooked exactly how Dane likes them, bacon was crisp, the sausage was well seasoned and didnt look like a skimpy dog treat (a common occurrence at many a breakfast joints) the maple syrup had been warmed which is always a nice bonus and the pancakes were fluffy and packed full of peanut butter, banana, and chocolatey goodness. No complaints to be had here.

The Yolk’s Chicken and waffles. A bacon waffle, fried chicken, and sausage gravy…Does it get any more southern than this? Well if the chicken had been better yes. Now I thought the waffle was perfect, crispy outside and cloud like fluffiness inside, the sausage gravy was good, but my biggest complaint was against the chicken, the breading wasn’t quite crispy enough to hold up to gravy (a true southern sin) and the seasoning fell a little bit flat. As a Texan I can be bit snooty when it comes to southern staples like fried chicken. All in all I enjoyed my meal, but next time I’d probably just order the waffle sans chicken.

Dane and I certainly enjoyed Yolk, the waitstaff is friendly and attentive, but doesn’t come by your table every two seconds, the interior was fun and hip, and the servings are large so if you wanted to split an entree it could easily be done. I would say Yolk would be an excellent casual breakfast date spot. You don’t feel the need to get too dressed up but if you want to impress your date and wear something a little nicer you absolutely could. The environment isn’t romantic so its very much a no pressure date. Which can be needed sometimes.

So will Dane and I be going back? Yes we will. We enjoyed our time there and the food was pretty good, we’re excited to explore the rest of the menu and see how that stacks up against what we ordered originally.

Again thank you guys for sticking it out and bearing with my dry blogging spell. Let me know if this is a series you’d like to keep seeing. If you’re familiar with the Dallas region be sure to share what recommendations you might have. We’re always looking for more Date night ideas. Cheers!

 

Redmond Goodies!

Well folks we are in the middle of “Holiday Tango” as I like to call it, we just finished with Thanksgiving and might still be living off of leftovers and we’re prepping for Christmas, the most wonderful/stressful time of the year. With all that stress and craziness happening might I suggest Redmond to help calm your nerves?

I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with the incredible company that knows being natural and organic doesn’t mean sacrifice. In fact they have some of the most luxurious products around.

Let’s start with their personal care products, the mud based toothpaste may sound less than appetizing but it leaves your teeth fresh from the dentist fresh and the flavor is stellar, I know the lemon is probably meant for the kiddies but why let the kids have all the fun ya? Seriously this stuff tastes like lemon drops. But if you like a more classic minty flavor the wintergreen is perfectly invigorating. The facial mud far surpasses any conventional face mask I’ve ever used, the hand and body soap isn’t drying but you can definitely tell your hands are clean. The bath salts are well incredible. I mean what beats a nice long soak in the tub this time of year? And Redmond has a wonderful raw clay powder that can be taken supplementary as well as used in making your own face masks, or if you’re amazing like my mother toothpastes, soaps, deodorants, etc… So when it comes to personal care Redmond has got you covered.

Now on to my first love, the creative outlet I always come back to, and get obscenely excited about…Food. I love food and cooking  (most days) and nothing makes cooking more exciting than having wonderful seasonings. I have already been enjoying the heck out of my Redmond seasonings. Salt is an obvious staple for any cook, but what sets this brand apart is that they provide you with a pure salt, no anti clumping agents that are actually Cyanide (kind of scary what a little research uncovers). Oh and now that Christmas is right around the corner you’ll probably be hosting dinner parties, or attending potlucks, and the seasoning salt, garlic salt, and onion salt really add a whole new life to your run of the mill dishes. I’ve especially been loving the garlic salt on popcorn, its so good!So whether you’re in need of a little pampering or want to add some variety to your cooking I highly suggest you check out Redmond, and when it comes to gift giving I’ve never known anyone to dislike gifts that are practical and luxurious, and to help with the gift giving Redmond has variety packs to choose from.

Hope I was able to help you get through the Holiday tango with a little brand recommendation, and I’ll try to get some fun recipes on the blog for you to use too. Cheers and Happy Holidays!