Dallas Dining vs. Ft. Worth Dining

OK..so there is a little healthy competition going on between Dallas and Ft. Worth. Rightfully so...they are both very different and I am glad about that. In my opinion, Ft. Worth is more casual. Not that people don't get dressed up, or know what is nice, it is just more laid back. More City-Country. Now Dallas is definitely City-City all the way. Whenever we go out in Dallas I feel like I HAVE to get dressed up. I feel like people know where I got what I am wearing, I feel more pressure to order something chic to eat or drink, etc....I had the pleasure of eating out 2 nights in a row this week. Once in Dallas and once in Ft. Worth. Both places very representative of each city, I feel. Also....both comparative in price as well. Two totally different feels.

Dallas: On Tuesday night we went out with Charlie's family. We were celebrating his dad's belated birthday from February and his parent's 41st wedding anniversary. Yes, 41 years! So we treated them to a dinner at Neighborhood Services.

Rob (Charlie's brother) and his wife Nina, have been wanting us to go here for awhile. It is the type of place where the occasional celebrity sighting (ex: Jessica Simpson) is possible. It is packed on the weekends from what I have heard, but judging by the crowd the other night you would have thought it was a Saturday. We got there around 6:45 and had drinks at the bar. The atmosphere was hard to describe. Very chic, the staff is dressed very preppy with sweater vests and ties, pretty upscale feel, but not too "fine dining". Once we sat down we proceeded to order the following off the menu.

Starters

1. 2 orders of Roasted Green Chili Crab Dip - white corn tortilla chips
Very, Very good

2. Ricotta and Lobster Fritters
Very tasty, but tasted more cheese than lobster

3. Rob order the Beet Salad special and said it was fantastic

Main Courses

1. Nina and I ordered the Pork Tenderloin with Peach and Jalapeno salsa. Very tasty and the extra bonus is that it came with a side of their 3 Jack Mac! Yum-O!

2. Charlie's mom got the Berkshire Spare Ribs with Rings (black coffee and ancho chile glaze) I never heard her say anything about it, but the plate was clean when she handed it to the waitress, so I am guessing it was great!

3. The men all got the Steak and Frites (Bourbon spiked peppercorn sauce). I had some of Charlie's and it was VERY good, too.

La Crema Pinot Noir

Desserts

1. Charlie's parents split the apple crisp with ice cream.

2. Rob and Nina split their version of a "Ding Dong". Chocolate cupcake with cream filling. They were not overly impressed, although they ate most of it.

3. Charlie and I split the banana split with Butterfingers on top. It was SOOOO Good. We made the best selection!

Overall, this was a great place. I would go back in a heartbeat. There were so many good things on the menu, the staff was excellent, and it was a great evening.

Ft. Worth: So Wednesday night, Charlie and I had tickets to see Muse in Ft. Worth. I will probably post a separate post on Muse. (They were awesome) So we got a reservation at Reata in Ft. Worth.


Now Reata...is a Ft. Worth staple. It has been around forever it seems. The last time I ate there was back in college when it was on the top of one of the downtown skyscrapers. It was destroyed by a tornado in the late 1990's, so they have a new location in Sundance Square. It doesn't get more Ft. Worth than Reata. Very country, but upscale. But not so upscale that you can't wear jeans or anything. We had an early reservation, so it was not crowded, but it was busier than I thought it might be for a Wednesday evening at 5pm. This is what we feasted on.

Drinks at the bar: Happy Hour = Great Prices

Starters

We split the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with onion jam and cornmeal star

Main Courses

Charlie got the Carne Asada topped with Cheese Enchiladas
It also came with rice and beans
Loved it!

I got the Beef tenderloin in Port Wine Sauce and Lobster Tail
It also came with green beans and mashed potatoes
Loved it!

We couldn't resist a side of their bacon and jalapeno Mac and cheese.
It was good, but not great.

Dessert

We split the Homemade Banana Pudding
Excellent....highly recommend it!

So I did not have very high expectations going into this meal. It has become a more touristy spot and recently people who have gone said it was just OK, but I thought it was very, very good. I would go back in a second to this place, as well.

So all in all, I love that Dallas and Ft. Worth are so different, but equally as good. Not just in food, but other areas, as well. I just happen to be writing about food at the moment. Please go to these places if you ever get a chance.