Category Archives: Burgers

Oddfellows: a hip yet cozy spot for any meal

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Oddfellows

What: comfort food

Where: Bishop Arts District (Dallas)

After having driven past Oddfellows once or twice in the Bishop Arts District, the outside of the building was enough to get me to want to come in. With a cute wrap around bar seating area on the outside and the painted wood with the quaint awning, it just screams cozy. Add a bike rack to it, and it’s hip.

The inside was no different. Comortable as can be, the lighting is just right and you feel like you’re at home. Perfect for a romantic date and even for a big group of friends, Oddfellows is great for any type of meal and outing.

The number of Four Square check-ins at Oddfellows was shocking. So were the number of tips (37 of them). To me, this means it’s a great restaurant, especially for the hip and trendy. And there were plenty of hipster patrons–from the red puffy vest with the tag still on it (is that cool now?) to the dapper-looking flannel clad young father and his family, holding his phone up to “Shazam” what song was playing at that moment. But no worries if you don’t feel “cool”, the waiters and waitresses are extremely accommodating and very friendly to all.


(my apologies for the poor quality of the food photo)

I’ve heard the brunch at Oddfellows is awesome. I saw their extensive coffee list and gigantic coffee brewer, so I’m sure it’s a treat. We went in for dinner, and after a night of drinking, the menu was drool-worthy. I got the shroom burger with fries, a panko crusted portabella mushroom sandwich with their Oddfellows sauce and veggies. It was sort of odd the way it was fried…I guess I didn’t read the entire description when I read the menu. I was expecting a grilled portabella burger. The fries were awesome though.

Other menu items that caught my eye were the summer grilled vegetable pasta, the fish and chips and the grilled veggie sandwich press. Oh, and the open-faced ice cream sandwich–I’ll be back for you.

All in all it was a great experience. I won’t be ordering the shroom burger again, but the coziness of the place is well worth the drive from the SMU bubble. Can’t wait to try their brunch.

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

Char-Pit, back to school and what’s to come

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Good morning, foodies!

I’m up pretty early this morning in preparation for today: back to school. It’s a bittersweet time, my very last first day of school. That’s right, it’s the beginning of my senior year in college. Sad. But I think I’m ready. With school comes a bit of reading, homework, you know the usual. That being said, I want to be sure I have time to keep you all updated with the best restaurants around Dallas and keep up my blog posts for you all. I will be posting on a new schedule: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and most likely one day of the weekend. So be looking out for the new posts on those days and thank you so much for all your support and readership!

Alright, now on to my last Lake Tahoe post. (Then it’s back to Dallas!)

Char-Pit

What: burgers

Where: North Lake Tahoe

A tiny little dive restaurant that looks like it should be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I couldn’t wait to try the much-talked-about Char-Pit. I’d heard it was good (from our host Steven) and it definitely lived up to its hype.

Although I didn’t order a burger, I got to try a bite of one. The patties are tender, juicy and cooked to perfection. I love how they had the classics like cheeseburgers, chicken tenders and hot dogs, but they also got creative with burgers like the “Tiki Burger” with teriyaki sauce and grilled pineapple.

And if you’re not into red meat, they have plenty of alternatives. Pictured above is their chicken sandwich, and they also have gyros, grilled portabella sandwiches, veggie burgers, turkey burgers and more. And don’t forget dessert! They have frosties, ice cream cones, banana splits, malts—you name it. Just don’t go here on a diet.

My favorite part about this fun burger shop was the homemade feel. After you place your order, you take a seat on one of their picnic tables and wait to hear your name being called through a speaker resting on the ground near the door. When a restaurant keeps things simple and original, you have to appreciate their main focus: the delicious food.

Again, if you’re ever around Tahoe, give this place a try. It’s great for big groups, and definitely won’t break the bank.

Please become a fan of That Foodie Girl on Facebook, and follow @thatfoodiegrl on Twitter for updates and fun foodie tips.

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

Ketchup Burger Bar doesn’t make the cut

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Ketchup Burger Bar

What: burgers

Where: Uptown Dallas

You know the feeling of really enjoying a meal while you’re eating it, and then a couple days later you look back with not-so-fond memories?

That’s what happened with Ketchup and me. I probably made the mistake of ordering the manliest item on the menu—The Roadhouse burger. A giant burger with heaping amounts of gruyere, smoked bacon, onion rings, garlic mayo and tomato on a baked Brioche bun. Ok, might sound good to you now…but it was loaded with fat and I only have memories of nausea afterwards. That icky feeling of being way too full after a meal.

Roadhouse burger

We ordered the fry trio with their house fries, sweet potato fries and white truffle parmesan fries. We were given a little basket with the three types of fries dumped in. Ok, I don’t know if I’m spoiled from awesome restaurants, but this restaurant looked trendy and fun enough to at least give a better presentation than that. I expected a cool dish to come out and really enhance the fact that they have so many types of fries to choose from. Our favorite was the sweet potato. The white truffle parmesan fries were good, but they didn’t live up to my expectations. The parmesan fell off at every bite, so you hardly even got tastes of parmesan.

The other burgers we tried were the Ketchup burger and the Memphis BBQ burger. Both were just alright. Everyone agreed the food wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. When I had my first bites of my Roadhouse burger, I was pleased with the consistency of the patty. It was nice and juicy, but it ended up making me feel sick later that evening.

The inside was trendy and modern, with plenty of TV screens on the walls and a bar at the front entrance. It almost seemed like a copy of Village Burger Bar—the long bar area and then the whole burger thing. One thing I have to give Ketchup props for is, well, their innovative ketchups. They have their own name brand ketchup with flavors ranging from green tomato to chipotle. Those were pretty tasty.

Ketchup burger

Now, this place is brand new and I never want to be unfair to a place that might still have potential. But, when I dined there on a Saturday evening, we were the only ones there. It was 8pm, a pretty normal time to eat dinner on the weekend, not to mention it is in such a bustling area (on the corner of McKinney Avenue and Hall Street). I don’t know if people just don’t know about it since it’s kind of tucked around the corner from all the popular spots like Quarter Bar, Primo’s and Breadwinners, but it didn’t seem to be doing too well when we popped in.

Memphis BBQ

I left Ketchup satisfied, but knowing I wouldn’t go back there for a looking for a great burger. Here in Dallas, there are so many options for an awesome burger, and Ketchup just didn’t make the cut. Maybe it’ll get better with time.

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

Shake Shack > In-N-Out

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Shake Shack

What: burgers
Where: Upper West Side

I went there. Although I could’ve been slightly biased because of my high level of hunger at the time, I think it’s safe to say Shake Shack. was. delicious. Better than In-N-Out (which I stood in line for an hour just to get my burger at one of the new DFW locations).

We went to the Upper West Side location, which is right on the west edge of Central Park. With all of the pretty greenery around and a significantly quieter area of Manhattan (a good thing), it was only natural to want to sit down for a burger and a shake on a sunny Friday afternoon.

I had the Shack Burger (burger with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and Shack Sauce). It was love at first bite. The patty was juicy, flavorful, and reminded me of a home cooked burger. It was like eating a burger right off the grill at a backyard grill-out. As a side, we ordered their fries. They were perfect and crispy as well.

We ordered shakes too–it was too much to handle for lunch. I got the chocolate shake–it was really good, but I might need to save that as a dessert option.

Only downside? It’s really crowded and there’s limited seating. My suggestion would be to order it to go and take it to the park! Good thing this place is far from my apartment…

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

Santa Monica eateries

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To begin, I went to the LA area with my family for Easter and to celebrate my little sister’s birthday a few weekends ago. For my family and me, we’re always wondering where we’re going to eat our next meal. In such a vibrant city, we had millions of options sure to please any foodie. So here we begin:

Umami Burger

Like I’ve said before, I’m not the burger connoisseur, but I know an awesome burger when I taste one. Although this may seem bold, I’d go as far as to say my Umami burger was the best burger I’ve had in all my 21 years of life. Located inside a Fred Segal in Santa Monica, it’s small, cozy, and the waitstaff is super friendly. We had to wait outside for about 20 minutes before being seated, but with a nice beer to choose from their list, great weather, we couldn’t care less. Not to mention the burgers were worth waiting a lot longer for.

So what’s Umami? The fifth taste after sweet, bitter, sour and salty. Umami means “pleasant savory taste” in Japanese, and it became recognized as one of the five official tastes by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda in Hawaii in 1985. But if you haven’t noticed all the tv ads displaying umami and what it is–the Western world has really started to adapt to the flavor.

Anyway, the picture at the top (which, these photos weren’t taken by me…should’ve thought to take some while I was there, but I was way too hungry and involved with my food to stop) is of the homemade cheesy tater tots. DELICIOUS. They were quite large and umami (ha) so I shared them with the rest of the family. Although they weren’t on the menu, I found it on the “secret menu” on Four Square and simply asked for them… You’re welcome for the secret menu item! On the side is the garlic aioli dipping sauce which was so yummy and perfect for dipping fries and/or tater tots.

This is the official Umami Burger. All of the burgers are cooked to perfection and have a nice juiciness to them, not to mention the slightly browned bun–all cooked into a wonderfully sized burger (not too small, not too big). I can’t remember everything that comes with the Umami Burger, but they say “Umami x6″ on the menu, so there’s 6 indulgent items including the parmesan crisp you can see in the photo.

I ordered the truffle burger, which came with housemade truffle cheese and a truffle glaze. I’m a huuuge truffle fan. I think it really gives food a sort of value unlike any other ingredient. So, if you like truffle, this burger is so good, I find myself dreaming about it.

And finally, the sweet potato fries were really good, nothing too too special, but goes great with any of the burgers.

The French Crepe Co.

At the beginning of the trip, we stopped by The Grove to do some shopping and to grab lunch. I had never been before and when we entered the Farmer’s Market, it was unlike any other farmer’s market I’ve ever been to. On top of the fresh produce and millions of boutiques and stands selling everything from trinkets to hats and scarves, there were BILLION restaurants/food booths. And a lot of them were Zagat rated! What was I supposed to do? Everything looked so good and I walked up and down the football field sized area packed with delicious little eateries, so stressed out not knowing what to eat. I finally decided on The French Crepe Co. As you can see in the photo, I ordered a savory crepe called La Normandie. It was stuffed with melt in your mouth roasted chicken, button mushrooms, carrots, green beans in a creamy white dijon sauce. It was really good, but there was no way I could finish it.

Fraiche Restaurant

(Photos by Natalie Blankenship)

And what Easter is really Easter without mimosas? The whole family enjoyed brunch at Fraiche in Santa Monica for a great Easter brunch. The atmosphere was nice and open with wood tables, candles and lots of natural sunlight. I ordered the veggie hash which had a poached egg, grilled veggies and a balsamic glaze. It was really yummy and light.

My favorite part of the meal: the Chocolate Purse. It was super rich, with a candied hazelnut, chocolatey almost fudge-like texture, wrapped in what we think was filo. On the side is a vanilla gelato. Mmmmm.

Other restaurants we went to worth mentioning: Border Grill & Yummy Cupcakes

Until next time!

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl