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My Obsession with Spoon and Stable Begins

January 12, 2015

I don’t know if it’s just the wintertime (I kind of doubt it), but Steve and I are content to be homebodies much of the time. My home cooking skills keep getting better, and I’m increasingly disappointed with restaurant food from many of the standard downtown Stamford spots. I always find something lacking, or that I could have made for a third of the price at home while adding a new dish to my repertoire. My biggest complaint when eating out: underseasoning. Okay, maybe I do have a smoker’s penchant for salt, but the seasoning job in non-fancy restaurants rarely meets my approval, and I feel awkward asking for salt and pepper. So Friday date nights are more often spent at home with our own custom menu, Steve playing sommelier, and me happily sipping my wine over the stove for far longer than will actually be spent eating.

All that said, we make it a point to carefully select the venue when dining out for anything more momentous than a random weeknight. We build our list of restaurants to try months in advance. Farm-to-table or locally sourced restaurants are our favorites, for the sake of simple, whole ingredients prepared well and in interesting combinations. As we sat kitchen-side at Spoon and Stable just over a week ago on a frigid but bustling Sunday evening, we recollected our last memorable dinner out. It was at FT33 in Dallas, for Steve’s birthday back in October, so we were definitely due!

FT33 in Dallas

The trip back to the Minneapolis area for my sister’s wedding was crazy-fun-chaotic. I spent almost two weeks with Tor and my mom on details that get pushed to the last minute when the bride contracts strep throat three weeks before her big day, wiping out all plans for productivity in that critical last month. Hoping the dust would settle and we’d have one night to ourselves post-nuptials, though, Steve did some research and discovered Spoon and Stable. I have a few other favorite and “to try” spots on my Twin Cities list, but [Read more…]

Dallas Dining Guide

October 21, 2014

Before I start, this is a long post with detailed restaurant reviews and a fair amount of pictures. Use these links to jump to a specific establishment, otherwise keep reading!

Meso Maya (Tex Mex) | Senor Bean (Tex Mex) | Perry’s (Steakhouse)
Truluck’s (Steak and seafood) | FT33 (Farm to table) | E-Bar Tex-Mex (Tex Mex)
Idle Rich Pub (American/bar food) | Manny’s (Tex Mex) | Texas State Fair
Smoke (BBQ) | Meddlesome Moth (New American/brunch; critical review)

On my first real visit to Dallas, I was in Tex-Mex heaven. I got really confused when looking at Yelp and seeing pizza, American, or tapas restaurants in the area, because it’s just incomprehensible to me why anyone living here would ever want to eat anything besides a taco, enchilada, or chiles rellenos. I’m in love with Mexican flavors and food, and now that I’m back home I’d like to rededicate myself to learning about and learning to cook some authentic Mexican cuisine. Like the chiles rellenos I made back in the day for Steve (they’re his favorite). Or homemade corn tortillas, even though they’ll never be as good as the “real thing”. The real thing being making even the masa from scratch, which I don’t have the resources to do at the moment.

Go Sooners! [Read more…]

Buffalo Chicken and Garlic Quinoa Bowls

August 12, 2014

As I mentioned, things are getting crazy in August, and it all started a couple weeks back when Steve left for a brewery-touring Maine bachelor party. I want to go! To the Maine part, not the brewery part. Beer and me are no longer friends, which is unfortunate sometimes, because summer is punctuated by occasions on which an icy Bud Light Lime would be the perfect beverage. Luckily, it’s also punctuated by occasions which necessitate travel-friendly food–pot lucks, road trips, days at the beach or pool, and maybe even a picnic if you’re organized. That’s where this “salad” of sorts enters the picture.

Buffalo chicken bowl top angle

You have to admit, it’s darn near impossible to throw together a healthy, much less gluten-free, lunch or snack for the road. Steve and I have both been eating really well at home, and I wanted to at least give him the opportunity to balance out all that beer. So of course, I packed snacks! And lots of them. Yes, I was the girlfriend sending food to a bachelor party, [Read more…]

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Happy. Healthy. Homemade…

...my food philosophy in a nutshell. I'm Tessa, the comfort food lover, Minnesotan at heart, and home chef behind Natural Comfort Kitchen. Find out more about me, NCK, and my love for healthy, delicious food here.

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My food philosophy in a nutshell.

I'm Tessa, blogger and chef behind Natural Comfort Kitchen. Find out more about me, NCK, and my love for healthy, delicious food here.

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