This renowned restaurant may have just turned 20 years old but they also have at least 20 different worlds with multiple dining rooms available in their 25,000 square feet.   You may already know that 111 Forks serves some of the finest USDA Prime steaks in the country,  the best ocean fresh seafood and has outstanding service.   What I didn’t know was how flexible the restaurant was until we were given a tour of their facility.

Entryway

My husband and I recently attended a wine pairing event at 111 Forks in Dallas to help them celebrate their 20^th Anniversary.   The delectable food from Chef Chris Vogeli’s kitchen and wine from Oregon made it a delicious night and an informative one as well!  They have everything from your very own private jazz club with a stage upstairs to a New Orleans style courtyard downstairs.  They actually have over 16 fine dining rooms to choose from!  Large corporate boardroom style dining rooms are available for business meetings and there are smaller rooms for family and intimate social gatherings.   The focus of the restaurant of course is the unforgettable large dining room with an oversize fireplace, huge antler chandeliers and a ceiling mural depicting Dallas’ early history of trading posts and cowboys and Indians.

Upstairs/Promenade

Courtyard

I love that the dining rooms are named after notable Texas heroes who fought for Texas Independence.  It reinforces that eating at 111 Forks is more than just a dining experience it’s a true Texas  experience as will.   Add the live piano music, and their incredible wine selection and you have a dining experience that you will want to return to time and time again.

 Lafayette Room

Captain’s Room

Bonham and Lamar Room

 

111 Forks – Dallas is located at:

17776 Dallas Parkway

Dallas, TX 75287

Phone (972) 267-1776

www.3forks.com

 

 

Spring is here and so is Lazy Dog Restaurant’s new Spring menu!  The laid back lodge inspired restaurant has introduced a new, seasonally inspired and handcrafted menu that is infused with a variety of fresh and inspired ingredients.   Lazy Dog’s co-founder Gabe Caliendo, has created a new menu that offers something for everyone and will satisfy foodies everywhere.  He has hand crafted several very unique and flavorful dishes that will delight you with its freshness and authenticity. The menu includes 11 new menu items and five new beverages including some meatless, vegan, or gluten free options. 

The new Lazy Dog spring Menu includes:

 

Street Corn Wheels – A twist on street corn which includes fresh corn, char grilled with lime, garlic, queso blanco, cilantro and Tajin. These are very tasty and invoke summer memories of corn on the backyard gill.

 

Burrata + Roasted Beet Salad – Bright field greens, creamy burrata cheese, candied walnuts, heirloom tomatoes, crushed sweet peaches, and sea salt.  The freshness and sweetness that fills this salad will be calling me back to Lazy Dog. 

 

Burrata + Heirloom Tomato Crisp – Pomodoro sauce, pesto, creamy burrata cheese, parmesan, romano, balsamic reduction, chili oil, fresh basil.  Loved the combination of the pesto and Pomodoro sauce and the crust was crispy and flavorful.  

 

Housemade Veggie Burger Bowl – Tasty grilled salmon, served with housemade aioli, fresh tomato, a peanut sesame slaw, red onions, on  a brioche-style bun.  I’d never heard of a veggie burger bowl before but this is good stuff people!! 

 

Housemade BBQ Veggie Burger – A mouth-watering meatless option – made from scratch patty with black beans, ancient grains, beets and vegetables, topped with roasted garlic, housemade BBQ sauce, jack cheese, fried onions, pickle, and tomato.  I thought it was delicious and my meat loving husband said he would never have guessed it wasn’t meat – high praise! 

Grilled Lemon Chicken – Marinated and grilled chicken breast, cauliflower mash, sautéed green beans, and heirloom tomatoes with almond walnut crumble, and tahini.  I love everything included in this dish so this is a perfect choice for me.  The chicken was tasty and the cauliflower mash tasted just like mashed potatoes.  Mix in all the other fresh ingredients and this is a healthy food option.   

 Here come the new desserts:

 

Peach Raspberry Hand Pie –Made from scratch raspberry puree, sweet peaches, cinnamon and sugar, salted caramel sauce, served warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.  There’s nothing here not to like. 

 

Triple Layer Lemon Cake – For those who are gluten sensitive – lemon buttercream, almond flour vanilla cake, huckleberry sauce, lemon curd, and housemade whipped cream.  Light and delicious!

New Libations from the Bar Menu:  They’re all unique, fresh AND delicious!

 

Watermelon Margarita – Made with lunazul resposado tequila, watermelon, salted rim.  A perfect summer drink!

Honey Thyme Old Fashioned – Made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, Cointreau, Amaro Montenegro, honey, fresh thyme, garnished with an orange peel.

 Tincup Whiskey Sour – Made with Tincup Mountain whiskey, housemade sweet and sour, yuzu bitters, fresh rosemary, and meyer lemon foam.

 Huckberry Mule – made with born and bred American craft vodka, Acacia rose, grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, sugar cane, St. Germaine, and elderflower foam. 

 Non-alcoholic, lower calorie options are also available such as Ginger-Lime Sparkling Soda and Tropical-Orange Sparkling Soda.

Here’s the Lazy Dog Story:

While Lazy Dog’s founder Chris Simms was growing up, he and his family would vacation in the breathtaking Rocky Mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Whether it was skiing in the winter or fishing in the summer, Chris will tell you that even today it is the place he goes when he wants to get away and relax. When you are in any one of the Lazy Dog restaurants, you will see how Chris has tried to capture and recreate the feeling he gets when in Jackson Hole. He wants you to feel like you are walking into a place that is the perfect balance of warm and comfortable, yet full of excitement and positive energy. For Chris, the lodge represents vacations with family and friends.

Where did the Lazy Dog get its unique name? One snowy afternoon, walking back into the lodge after a long morning on the slopes, Chris noticed a dog lying by the toasty fireplace. Commenting to his buddies on how much he loved his time hanging out there, he told them he wished everyone could enjoy life as much as that “lazy dog’ by the fire and a concept was born!

 

Something that’s not changed is the warm, cozy, and rustic setting and the friendly service that we’ve always gotten at Lazy Dog.  And don’t forget about the awesome dog friendly patio (they have a dog menu too) and the best fire pit in town. Even if the weather hasn’t quite settled into spring (in Texas at least) Lazy Dog’s new spring menu will put you in the mood for longer and lazier warm summer days filled with fresh and homemade food just like your mother made but much much better!

 

I visited the Addison Lazy Dog which is located in Village at the Parkway, 5100 Belt Line Rd. but there are 25 locations throughout Texas, California, Colorado, Nevada.  For other locations and for more information go to:  www.lazydogrestaurants.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

My husband and I recently visited 3 Stacks Smoke & Tap House to experience their new menu and walked away extremely impressed and extremely full.  If you’ve haven’t visited the restaurant before , 3 Stacks Smoke & Tap House, is a great BBQ restaurant located in Frisco, Texas.    3 stacks has now taken it to another level by becoming a full service restaurant (they’ve gotten rid of the buffet line) and has combined their already terrific BBQ with a full menu that includes several new and creative selections of meats, appetizers, sides, and desserts.

Let’s start with the BBQ.  Even though 3 Stacks is stepping up their game with their new and creative menu their Pit Master Bryan Shanahan combines old school BBQ skills but leverages high quality smoking equipment to produce consistent and delicious  BBQ.   He oversees the three large smokers  himself and produces a competition level BBQ  that is as tasty as you can get. The USDA prime hickory smoked beef brisket is very moist and tender and has a great cap and smoke ring.

The St. Louis ribs were succulent and tender with a sweet finish.  They are some of the best I’ve had.  3 Stacks also prepares their sausage in house in their new sausage production viewing room.  That’s a unique approach,  restaurants usually don’t do that.

Most BBQ joints build their reputation based on their meats but they don’t try too hard on their sides or alternative BBQ choices.  For the most part they all have the same old tired and boring potato salad and beans but 3 Stacks has added some creative sides, appetizers, and desserts.  Chef Pete Rukes has taken southern staples and has infused them with a modern twist and added several new items to the menu.  I highly recommend the White Cheddar Mac and Cheese, and the “to die for” roasted garlic mashed potatoes.  We started the meal with fried green tomatoes with charred corn salsa and chipotle dressing (bet you never had them served this way) and buttermilk and bacon hushpuppies (yes I said bacon – yum).  The smokehouse flatbread is very unique and delicious.  It has a great combination of smoked meat flavors that you wouldn’t expect in a pizza.    Other new items to the menu include jalapeno-cheddar sausage corn dogs, Texas poutine with brisket chili, and a BLT with house cured pork belly (I will go back just to have this again).

Now let’s talk desserts.    Who doesn’t love the banana pudding that most BBQ places have?  Well Chef Rukes has gone one step further and has combined the banana flavor with my favorite dessert ever – Crème Brulee and has produced a new favorite, “Caramelized Banana Crème Brulee”.  He’s also taken another old dessert staple, bread pudding and has created a new decadent dessert called “Warm Doughnut and Maple Bread Pudding”.  Everything is made in house and it’s obvious in the quality and taste.

3 Stacks offers a wide array of craft beers if that’s your thing.  My vote for best cocktail goes to “Smoke Show”.  This is their version of a margarita and it is amazing!  It includes tequila, Cointreau, lime, agave and smoke (of course) sea salt!  Also of note is “The Ol’Barrel” which is a Manhattan style cocktail.  Not only is the whisky barrel-aged but the drink itself is aged in a barrel on site for an extra smooth cocktail.

3 Stacks gets it’s name from the three smoke stacks that greet you at the door to the restaurant and introduces you to what this restaurant is really all about – smoking BBQ.   Inside, the restaurant  has a large open floor plan with exposed brick walls which gives it a modern rustic ambiance.  This puts the restaurant a step above most other BBQ restaurants.  It also has several TV’s throughout the restaurant which makes it a great gathering place for game watching and family events.

My BBQ loving husband gave it two thumbs up and so did I!  I love BBQ but I also love that there are delicious non BBQ items to choose from too.  That alone makes this restaurant something special.  Anyone who loves BBQ and is ready for something different needs to put this restaurant at the top of their list!!

3 Stacks Smoke & Tap House is located at 4226 Preston Road in Frisco, Texas .  It’s open Sunday through Thursday from 11 am to 9 pm and Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 10 pm.

For more information, please visit:  www.3stacksbbq.com.