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Daily Dose Reviews

Meal Prep for the Busy Law Student

Usually, I meal prep on Sunday. However, I was quite disenchanted with the mere thought of cooking then, and the kitchen passion didn’t quite hit me Tuesday, or today either, hence – I continued to procrastinate. [law school daze, right]

Put if off until tomorrow…I was happy with this decision.
Until I opened the fridge in the morning to pack my lunch and realized – I didn’t have lunch! Well, damn. Joke’s on me.

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What was I expecting?

With assignments, study groups, reading, and trying to have a semblance of a social life (let’s face it – this one is definitely on the back burner right now) – time quickly passes. I chose to be law school lazy. My couch called my name, the dogs begged for tummy rubs, and I simply refused to cook.

Here I am, Wednesday evening, running on a cup of coffee, a bagel, and a pack of plain m&ms…the tummy grumblings arrived.
You know all too well how difficult it is to study on an empty stomach.
Sometimes it’s easier to pick up a meal on the way home; that option (for three adults) racks up a pretty penny, and fast!

Most weeks, I meal prep. Our pantry is stocked with everyday basics: rice, beans, pasta, risotto, polenta, cereal, Triscuit, bread, tuna….the list goes on with pretty much any canned or dried good you can imagine (even baby corn – yep, I make sure we have it in case a stir-fry craving hits)! But Finals are upon us – which means I’m in study mode and too nervous/busy/panicked/tired to spend that much time in the kitchen (aside from sress baking, of course)!

Thank goodness for meal prep services!
Last week, we opted to give FRESHLY a try!
We got to pick 12 meals, FRESHLY cooked and pre-packaged them, then delivered them directly to our front door.

Is this unbelievably convenient? YES.
Will we splurge on this every week? Likely, no.

However if the meals are good – then we can order them for busy weeks!

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Tonight we tried two of the meals: [Jerk Chicken] & [Southwest Chipotle Bowl]

Pros: The food was not disgusting. I’ll be honest, I was terrified it was going to be awful. Then, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the plated meal. I was not over-the-moon about my meal option, but I’m glad I tried it.

Cons: The meals are drastically different in calorie count. :/ This was a major bummer. The meal I chose (Southwest Bowl) was 740 calories, while Angel’s Jerk Chicken meal came in at 500 calories. What. The. Heck?!

I ended up storing half my meal for lunch tomorrow, which means there’s a little bit of a “pro” in the “con.”

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The mango salsa was a nice touch
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Adding Cilantro to a dish does not make it “Southwestern-style”
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Not a “pretty” dish, but still tasty.

 

Overall, this first round was not half-bad. I’m excited to try the rest of the meals we ordered. I truly appreciate the convenience of this delivery service, but I’m not completely sold on the flavors or the price. Further recon necessary.

Have a great week!

Categories
Daily Dose

Brunch is still Legal…I think

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After all these Executive Orders, I’m happy to report on a happier topic.
The Bestie & I tried a new (to us, anyhow) brunch spot in Dallas.

Sissy’s Southern Kitchen is a kitzschy country kitchen on Knox-Henderson. We’ve visited twice and, with a bit of help from family, tried all (but one) recipes on the menu. Since brunch is basically my favorite meal, I believe I found my happiest place in Dallas. Which, let me be clear, is an amazing feat! I mean, this glorious little once-was house, tucked away behind a few trees and their own Valet stand, rivals bookstores and my own kitchen.
Color me impressed.

If you’re ever in Dallas and need to loosen your belt a few notches, stop by Sissy’s. They’ll be more than happy to whip up a lil’ something for you to nosh on.

These squash puppies are accompanied by whipped butter and a house-made jalapeno jam. Honestly, I could deal without the puppies, but this jam needs to be in my life. It is sweet, with a surprising bite of spice and sass that battles taste buds.

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I’d never tried Fried Green Tomatoes – nor have I read the book – but my Mimi said I was missing out. So we just had to order them. Cut to this interesting take on tomatoes landing in front of us. They’re moderately thick tomatoes, evenly sliced, and generously coated in a cornmeal batter; fried to perfection, accompanied by a shrimp remoulade, green peas, and scallions. Did I say, perfection already?

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The short rib hash is basically a pot roast, diced potatoes, and sunny side up eggs. I wanted to be more impressed, but this just was not among my top favorites. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still quite tasty, but this hash is simply not Sissy’s best effort here. This dish left me feeling underwhelmed.

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Do you see all that buttah? Butter is an essential need to this brunch menu and it’s probably why I love Sissy’s so damn much. The bacon arrived sizzling and introduced the waffles quite nicely.

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This. This here. The crab cake mac and cheese has been a Sissy’s special for a few weeks now. I must say, the chef makes a glorious mac and cheese. Don’t believe me, watch the video below. It’ll make your tummy tingly in all the best places.

 

Now, we were pretty full (jeans unbuttoned) by this point. Then the waitress said they made the best chocolate cake in Dallas. The reigning champ, in case you’re wondering, is the Cheesecake Factory’s Linda’s Fudge Cake. I had no choice but to order dessert.

Sadly, they looked better than they tasted. Good, but not nearly impressive enough.

 

I hope you have a chance to brunch here. You’ll thank me for the suggestion.

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Reviews

PhDs – A Bishop Arts Brunch

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Let me start by saying this place has $2 MIMOSAS!!!!!

Holy crepes, right?

PhDs is a quaint little pub in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas.
1300 West Davis Street, Dallas, TX 75208

There are some amazing eateries around here, and I think I found a new fave! The service was pretty great, except when they brought our check. We waited on it for about 20 minutes. No big deal, since we were hanging out with friends.
This little dive brings out menus on clip boards, has friendly servers and, some dorky arcade games. What more could you ask for?

Angel ordered the chilaquiles, which he LURVED. He actually didn’t even share, come to think of it. Rude.
I ordered the BLTAE. Just feast your lovely ojos on the sandwich pictured above. Paired with the super-garlicky (and extra yummy) skillet potatoes – this meal was spot-on!

PhDs was super tasty. Go check it out!

Much love,
CerebellumChef

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Reviews

La Ventana

The beau’s parents came to visit!Per usual, we went out to enjoy some amazing food (mostly).

Today, we tried a new pop-stand.

La Ventana
1611 McKinney Ave.
214-484-6555

I got duped into thinking we were heading to Meso Maya, but we landed at the window here – right behind Meso Maya.

Now, I judge a Mexican food establishment on several factors, but my main three are:
1. Chips & Salsa
2. Tacos
3. Authenticity of the flavors

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Since this fitchick is trying to shed the unruly pounds that managed to suck themselves back on my sassy self, I decided to munch a salad. The menu stated “mixed greens, choose the meat.” Ok. Awesome.

NO.
Not awesome.

We had to order and pay for chips and a few ounces of salsa. No joke, here. These chips are made in-house at Meso Maya (Delish? Totes!) but…they’re FREE. As all chips & salsa should be at Latin-food restaurants. Seriously, what are they trying to play at here?

Strike one.

Apparently, mixed greens means shredded ice berg lettuce. Certainly not this kitchen cook’s favorite. I chose bistek (steak, according to the window menu) and ended up with a sloppy salad in a dog bowl. The bistek was chewy, mostly fat and kinda burned. The steamed rice added to the bowl pushed it further into life support and the black beans, surely there to stick to the roof of my mouth…were nothing to alert the media over. Definitely not ok.

Strike two.

According to the beau, the tacos were ok. But they’re not great.
For $40, the 8 corn tortillas with slim fillings (plus my pathetic salad) were not worth this moo-lah.
Overpriced Mexican food, we’re pretty used to that in DFW – so I can’t strike them out here. They’re on par with other sub-par locations. I’ve gotta give them that. They know their market. Too bad they can’t reach a wider demographic.

I was quite disappointed with this Meso Maya sibling.
“Total bummer” might begin to describe it.

Hoping for a turn-around at this taco joint,
CerebellumChef

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Daily Dose

Rave Review of a Dallas Fave

Rave Review of a Dallas Fave

I absolutely luurve The Porch! This fitchick loves all things pancake, eggy and homestyle. Thankfully, I found a restaurant to meet these needs, and they do so with a pure love of food!
The Porch offers some amazing, scrumptious, chop-licking, knock-yer-socks-off dishes that will instantly bring a smile to your taste buds. They put a new twist on traditional dishes from around the world. The menu is bold and delicious. Their “Big Board” offers weekly specials that you wish they’d add to their permanent menu. You’re guaranteed to love any dish they smack down in front of you and it’d be a challenge not to gobble up every ounce of that blissful flavor.
Enjoy!

 

XO, Sarah