Cedar Creek meets Taverna Rossa

In my family you know Wednesday as Clinic Night, which means mom will be out saving lives and won't be home for dinner. So when my my dad told me about this beer pairing dinner on a Wednesday night, I didn't hesitate to replace my mom as his date. 

At first I was just excited for a little daddy-daughter date with some brewskies and good food, and then I found out that the beers were from Cedar Creek Brewery.  If you didn't read about CCB before, it is the brewery at Cedar Creek lake, that my dad helps out with. (Dave wanting to spend his retired days at a brewery...shocker). So Dave and I headed through the puddles of rain back up to good ol' Plano and over to Taverna Rossa. 

first course: "Patio Pounder" Pale Lager with a heirloom tomato/watermelon/feta/mint vinaigrette 

The pale lager is a great starter beer that was very refreshing with more floral tone. This brew paired perfectly with the light fruit/veggie salad. Dave and I were thinking how we can mimic this salad, while all the other men at the table were shocked at how delicious vegetables and fruit could be. 

second course: "Lawn Ranger" Cream Ale with fish&chips and "mushy peas"

The cream ale went from velvety to a little more hoppy. The hops counteracted with the fried cod and the creamy yet spicy chipotle tartar sauce. The fish was cooked perfectly and the batter was light and airy without neglecting the beer battered flavor. Dave is the king of fish&chips and these passed the test with flying colors. 

third course: "Dankosaurus" India Pale Ale with adult grilled cheese and beer tomato basil soup

This wasn't my first time to try the "Dank", however slowly progressing through the other beers to this one really brought out the hoppiness without it being overwhelming. These pieces of Texas toast were stuffed with Havarti cheese, bacon and caramelized onions. We were all shocked by the full portions, however that didn't stop me from eating it all with an occasional dunk in the creamy basil tomato soup. 

fourth course: "Gone-A-Rye" Double Rye IPA with baby back ribs, coleslaw, and veggie succotash

I'm not a huge Double IPA girl, but this was actually really good. It definitely kept up the bitter and hoppiness without being too heavy. At this point, we were already so full from clearing out the 3rd course that Dave and I went splitskies on the ribs and took the rest home for Mom. The ribs were good, however with Dave as my dad, I will never order ribs at a restaurant again in my life. (The man can do ribs like nobody's business). 

fifth course: "Spinning Mule" Coffee Porter with brownie & Henry's vanilla bean ice cream

I'm not going to lie, I was beyond full at this point so a porter did not sound so appealing...until I tasted it. This was by far my favorite beer, it has such refreshing and creamy undertones and wasn't heavy like other porters I have had in the past. A bite of the brownie was enough for me, however it was delicious and beyond chocolatey. Don't worry I ate all of my vanilla bean ice cream. I mean it would have been rude since Henry of Henry's ice cream was there himself! If anybody is in Plano, head over to Henry's to try some amazing homemade ice cream. 

*Apologies for the blurry brownie. After 5 full beers things start getting a little hazy, but still delicious. 

Overall a great event filled with many flavors, great beers, and too much food. Check out Cedar Creek Brewery at local Specs, Whole Foods, Central Market and Total Wine!

Foodie Flash

Wow...I can't believe its been over three months since I have posted! I have had a pretty busy past couple months filled with friendly faces visiting Dallas as well as a couple of trips outside of the LoneStar state.

Quick flash through of the past couple adventures my stomach has been on since December.

Take me to brunch

Nick & Sams

Breadwinners

Put on some Hozier and gimme a veggie egg white omelette and I'm golden. Football shaped eggs, little cubes of carbs, an occasionally buttery cake and a mandatory cup of Jo does me in for a brunch. Breadwinners will always be a winner for me with their starter zucchini and assorted breads...I could just sit there sippin some coffee and constant refills of bread. None of the brunch bites disappointed, but Id rank 1. Breadwinners 2. N&S 3. So&So's. So & So's was killing the game with an awesome acoustic musician playing during our brunch...may have even sang a Hozier song or two.                                  

So & So's

Homemade cakes with the famous Renee's recipe

Truffle Butter

The amount of truffle fries I've eaten in the past month is probably repulsive...just not that kind of truffle butter. Actually, I've just eaten out a lot lately, from finger licking bbq to light and tangy brussel sprout salad. 

Ribs, fried ribs, brisket, mac & fried okra @ Pecan Lodge

Brussel Sprout salad with chicken @ Origin
We have adopted this brussel sprout salad and has become a staple in the Bedell house.

The Stodg Burger @ The Porch
(accompanied with bacon, onions, cheddar and an oozy egg)

Sisig +30hop (Iowa City appearance!)
Pork belly with a fried egg and that wittle togo box has white rice.

Guacamole @ La Duni 

Trio salad @ La Duni (balsamic vinaigrette rice with chicken and sweet plantains)
I've had this salad pretty much every other week. 

Uptown Drunk

When you work full time in a start up, the weekend dranks to get a little funky is a must Problem is, I usually am a little pre-occupied drinking that I don't get a pic. 

 

Deep Ellum IPA.
This brewery is a go to on a sunny day in D-town

"Texas" watermelon margs ironically in Iowa City.
*side note, these were 3 bucks. #collegelife

Hold on, We're Going Home

Fried sweet potato gnoche, turkey,
stuffing..and my food comma has
me in memory loss

Dave's smoked salmon, herb pancakes
& Siracha greek dipping sauce

Now I'm not always out drinking and eating my bank account away. I am lucky enough to have some rents that love to cook a good meal...having a bored recent retiree father doesn't hurt either. Bring on the home cooked meals!!  

Beef & Squash stew with pumpkin seeds 

Sugar

Because who doesn't want dessert 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week. 

I am first to jump on the milkshake train.
Hopdoddy's is all the rage and I went with
classic Oreo, I'd say really good...but nothing obscenely amazing

Homemade lucky charms trail mix.
First time to try these colorful gems...
NOT disappointed. 

Now to the only Heaven I wanna go to, Krumpets. Don't y'all worry, I'll have another Krumpets post here with all of the amazing treats I have received from Renee herself. Here is a glimpse at the most recent homemade treats I have received. 

sea salt caramels

truffles on truffles on truffles.
PB truffle, White chocolate raspberry, toffee, caramel to name a few

No exaggeration...the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. Toffee chocolate cake.
I'll let the picture speak for itself. 

My beautiful birthday cake. It was a sponge cake layered with multiple layers consisting of white ganache, nutella, and toffee cream. So decadent, sweet, and absolutely beautiful. Thank goodness everyone was around to eat this cake so I was forced to share with friends.

If you haven't rushed to your kitchen yet to fulfill your nagging hunger from looking at these pictures than you have more will power than I do...obviously. 

But lets be real, what fun is will power anyways? 

Bedell Sugar Factory

The Bedell sister clan gets together every year a little shy of Christmas to surround ourselves with with some sugar, flour and endless chocolate chips, to make the latest amazing holiday treats. This year was different from any years past: none of us were coming home from college, we don't have the Plano house anymore (no double ovens), and no Dave commentary...or cleaning skills. But we did have a sister addition with our friend, Megan-she filled in for Dave's commentary and cleaning seamlessly. 

Enough commentary lets get to the sugar. Per usual we picked our own recipes (I stayed away from anything looking too complicated) and we were off. I got a little too busy snapchatting all the delicious goods that I forgot to save them to my phone, so unless you were some of the lucky few that tapped on my snap story this is what I got for ya. 

Dark Chocolate Salted Almond Toffee

I am not against snatching the last piece of toffee from someone's hands, and this one makes no exceptions. Not only is it festive and pretty for the holidays, but its delicious too. The recipe looks intimidating (key as to why I passed it on to Lyndsy), but don't be scared away-other than the 30 minutes of stirring the sugar. Just make sure to have some good company...and a glass of wine or two. 

 

Campfire Cookies

These festive gems are anyone's winter dream come true. Chocolate and marshmallows homed by a graham cracker crust is an s'mores lover's dream. Definitely make sure to listen to the instructions and don't over cook them, let the doneness be prefaced by the mallows not the dough. 

*best served warm and gooey...straight out of the oven is preferred

Note to self: Marshmallow will melt onto the cookie sheet, have no fear...get a thin spatula and scoop that mess straight into your mouth. 

Well thats all I got in terms of close-ups. 

But here is the overview shot of what the sugar factory came up with this weekend. 

From top left clockwise: Chai Spice Snickerdoodle, Rolo Cookie Bars, Pretzel Salted Caramel Brownies, Campfire Cookies, Almond Toffee, Peppermint Cups. 

Feasting Frenzy

Now that I have moved back to Dallas, there are literally endless of places to go to get those tastebuds excited. 

Every time I am in Dallas, my friend Hunter and I always meet up for lunch to catch up on everything that had happened over the past couple months. This time we decided to go for breakfast at Coffee House Cafe. I hadn't been yet but only heard great things about their cozy atmosphere, coffee, and food. 

Hunter and I both got the house latte, which has notes of vanilla and caramel. 

I went with an egg white veggie omelette and breakfast potatoes. Now I probably have had an egg white veggie omelette at every breakfast place I've been to. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good omelette but nothing out of the ordinary. The potatoes though...they were strongly seasoned with rosemary and garlic. I am not the biggest breaky potato fan, but I could have gone for two more plates of these guys. 

Next Adventure

(disclaimer: this was that same day...I told y'all girl can eat)

 One of my good friends from Iowa had a layover in Dallas so we decided to hit the food scene. We started off at urban taco, which I surprisingly have never been to as common as they are.

I went with the urban taco trio and got: Potato zucchini, Chicken al carbon, and Carnitas DF with my sides being the mango jicama slaw and roasted corn con lime creme. Everything was light and refreshing but has so much flavor. The toppings and sauces to the tacos complimented each main item. The star of dinner had to have been the roasted corn though, I don't know what they did but I was licking that bowl clean.

...Talking about licking clean. For some reason we decided to get dessert and just a glance at the menu and we knew what we wanted. The churros. Really no explanation needed to make these look appealing to anybody but I'll continue. The churros were fried with crystallized sugar and a light chocolate sauce drizzled over them, but then you bite into them and there is a light dulce de leche sauce in the middle. Honestly, probably one of THE best things I've ever tasted. 

Now believe it or not, but we woke up the next morning and decided to grab brunch. So we headed to the other part of town to check out Smoke. 

We couldn't decide so we went halfsies with each other. He ordered the Pulled Whole Hog BBQ Eggs Benedict" and I got the "Heavy Handed Blueberry Pancakes" ...with vanilla poached apricots and cream. oh...and we also got a side of "Thick cut pork belly bacon". Now those names by themselves make even a vegetarian's mouth water. Everything was very decadent and rich but just enough. This had to have been the best bacon I've ever had in my life-it was so thick and you could taste all the pork fat (gross but oh so good). The fat in the eggs benedict was juxtaposed with the eggs and hollandaise sauce so it wasn't too much. The pancakes were out least favorite-but its hard to win with no meat. But when you got a bite of everything and made sure to soak up the cake in the apricot juice at the bottom of the plate...it became a close call. 

Next Adventure: 

One of my best friends lives in NYC as a professional dancer, so she is rarely ever in Dally. The day of her flight her family and the girl group of the four of us decided to grab brunch at a downtown spot called Sissy's Southern Kitchen and Bar. 

Since a celebration was to be had we started off with two crafts of mimosas. I'd never seen it done this way but thought it was interesting, you got a bottle of champagne and got to choose 3 out of the 4 options for juice: OJ, Grapefruit, Pineapple, and Cranberry. (we opted out of cran). This was a fun way to try new flavor combinations...and drink lots of champagne. 

So as a southern kitchen goes you know they have to have chicken & waffles on the menu. My friend and I knew we both wanted it but couldn't put that much sacrifice on our waistlines so we decide to split...thank goodness we did. The full portion is a full belgian waffle with two massive pieces of fried chicken. You spread a little butter on the waffle, cut off a piece of chicken, drizzle a little syrup and there you have it. the single best bite of your life. If you have never had chicken & waffles and are in the area, hit up the brunch at Sissy's. 

Next Adventure: 

So college volleyball season started and I was lucky enough that the Hawkeyes were scheduled to play in a tournament at A&M. Now I usually swear off College Station, but this was a great exception. My mom remembered this small mexican place that she wanted to go to again, but couldn't remember the name, so going off of a recommendation from my good friend we went to Blackwater Draw Brewing Co.  Funny enough, this brewery took over the mexican place my mom was thinking of! 

We started off with some of their craft beers and the Nemo Nachos appetizer. Anything that has sashimi tuna I am game for-(thanks Blackstone for getting me addicted) with cucumber and avocado tossed on top of fried wonton wrappers and a wasabi sauce drizzled over. Ma and I didn't finish alllll of the wontons, but were just pretty close. 

I don't know if its my attempt to eat healthy (funny I know) or just because other things looked better, but I haven't ordered a burger in forever so I thought I'd give it a shot. My mom ended up getting the short rib sliders. Both things were really good, but weren't anything out of the ordinary. I have come to realize that I am so harsh on college town restaurants because Iowa City has so many impeccable ones. But for a late night or big group this spot is great to grab a beer and get some tasty eats. 

Well thats all of the food frenzy for now, but don't you worry I am sure there will be more soon but I need to take a hiatus from the foodie scene to get together because I am going back to Iowa City in a week!! I am sure there will be updates from there because as you all know, I am obsessed with the food (and everything else) there! 

Just outside the border

Its like opening the floodgates with me once I start posting, they just keep coming. But here we go... 

I was able to take a trip to Chicago the weekend before I left Iowa City and on the way there made a little detour to Fulton, Illinois (right outside the border of Iowa…get it?) to Krumpets. 

This is an absolutely amazing restaurant and bakery and another bonus is it is my good friend’s mom’s place. Krumpets is on the corner in this little town and the atmosphere fits perfectly, right when you walk in you feel like you are in a classed up version of grandma’s café. It has exposed brick around the entrance (which I am obsessed with), followed by really interesting art pieces along the walls; there are also a few armoires with very intricate antique trinkets. You just immediately feel at home. Okay, so let me start off with there was a lot of hype going here, I mean A LOT. My friend and his friends have ranted and raved about his mom’s cooking so being the foodie that I am was pumped to try it first hand.

One thing I left out about the décor of the place is this huge glass case of pasties, pies, other desserts and then on top of the case are this jars filled with cookies, cinnamon rolls, coffee cake…you name it, she has it. So after I pried myself off of the case of heaven it was time to figure out what we wanted to eat. 

Looking at the menu there was no way that I would be able to pick what to get so I made them make the decision for me. We ended up splitting both the cheeseburger and his off the menu turkey sandwich (the perks of being the son of the owner/maker). I literally cannot make words to express the deliciousness of this meal. You know how you walk into a restaurant and you say “yeah that was good/really good”, but that does not begin to describe this. 

Everything was simple but no fanciness needed-everything spoke for itself. The burger was just a perfectly cooked patty layered with two slices of cheese and placed between a homemade potato roll. That roll was definitely the kicker, I literally could not get over this burger. 

The sandwich was a turkey sandwich with lettuce and cucumber, once again on that unreal potato roll that had an aioli spread on it. This once again was just a perfect combination…I can easily see why this was his go to. Seriously those homemade potato rolls are everything. 

The meal didn’t stop there. Our arms were twisted into getting a dessert…they had to try really hard. We went with the legendary Krumpet bar. I am disappointed in myself that I didn’t get a picture, but there was no time…this thing needed to be eaten devoured. It consisted of a thin brownie layer, a thin white chocolate cheesecake layer, a thin layer of fudge like chocolate topped with caramel and nuts. There was a debate between his mom and his cousin whether this needed to be eaten cold or nuked a little so we did half and half, and I honestly couldn’t make a decision. The cold version let the chocolate fudge and brownie shine where as the warm version really highlighted the cheesecake and caramel…so it was a tie. With the lack of Krumpet bar picture, I give you these massive cinnamon rolls. 

I guess you could say I am biased, but I truly truly believe this place is everything it is cracked up to be, and his mom is a god to the kitchen. They are open 6-4 Monday-Friday, and 8-2 on Saturdays so make sure to get into there before they close! Not in the mood for a full meal? Like I said, there is assortment of goodies so either stop in for breakfast or an afternoon pick me up and pick your poison! Did I mention they have an elaborate coffee/espresso/etc. station?! 

So wipe that drool from your mouth (if you aren't drooling you have serious problems) and try it out! 

Last bits and bites of IC

So I know I have been majorly MIA lately, but the job hunt has gotten the best of me. This summer was filled with so many delicious bites and I tried to try as many different things as possible-but I can’t make any promises, it’s just so easy to go back to the comfort food.

I think I have beat into yall’s brain enough about the different assortment of amazing food that is in the heart of Iowa City. Although it was so hard for me to have to leave Iowa City this Summer to come back home, I definitely capitalized on that excuse to eat everything in IC.

Now if you’ve read this blog you know I am a pizza connoisseur. I have eaten at many places that have great pizza such as: Backpocket Brewery, Monica’s, Basta…but there was more to discover.

Disclaimer: These aren’t all necessary nice “clean” pizzas-it gets nasty and dirty in the greasiest most delicious kind of way.

First up: Taco Pizza from Happy Joes 

Although I am usually against the delivery pizza, this is an exception. This pizza was simply put a massive detailed taco piled on top of a pizza crust. The pizza is loaded with refried beans, taco-seasoned beef and sausage topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and as you can see a mound of their own taco chips. There is also little packets of Spicy Joe’s taco sauce along the box…which just added a little bit of a kick.  It truly tasted like a taco, just in a perfect triangle platform. But don’t think for a second that this may be easier/less messy to eat than a taco…you’ll definitely need a stack of napkins by your side. (this is not an eating in bed type of Za).

Next up: Casey’sBreakfast Sausage Pizza 

So this is probably the nastiest best pizza I’ve ever had in my life. This pizza comes from a Casey’s general store gas station…yes a gas station. When my friend told me I HAD to try this gas station breakfast pizza I kept avoiding the situation until one morning we woke up and just needed it-so we went ahead ad ordered it and I in no way was disappointed. The pizza is a medium size crust, layered with a cheddar cheese sauce (the consistency of nacho cheese sauce…but the most delicious kind), scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage and then topped with shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese. There are no words-this in no way is a diet friendly pizza but boy is it worth it. So you Midwesterners give your closest Casey’s a call, wait 10 minutes and then open the box to heaven…you're welcome in advance.

Yet another pizza: Pagliais 

Let’s start off with a little lesson. Pagliais is pronounced: Paw-lee-eyes not Pag-lee-eyes…I was corrected quickly. This is yet another late night pizza place open until 11 every day, and the quality doesn’t slack either. This is another one of Iowa City’s must haves and I waited until my last few weeks to give it a shot, I am a little disappointed in myself there. The crust is super thin, the kind that you can crack but is super flaky. My pizza eating partner (also opened my eyes up to the other two recently noted pizzas) and I got half sausage and half cheese. The thing about Pagliais is there is nothing specific that is completely stand out but all of the little combinations together just make everything work. They don’t mess with fancy toppings or crazy combinations-they know what they do is good and they stick with it.

The Last Za plus more: Big Grove Brewery 

My friend from Blackstone and I wanted to try yet another sister restaurant of Bstone’s so we headed out to Solon to visit Big Grove Brewery. The Blackstone family continued to kill it as we struggled to decide what to order. We knew we wanted to get one of their brick stone oven pizzas and then went with a lighter salad to split both.

The star of the show, the White Sausage. It was a perfectly brick stone oven crust (which is my absolute favorite) covered in crème fraiche with housemade fennel pork sausage crumbled amongst the pizza, then the fresh mozzarella layered on top with red onion, scallion, marinated tomato, and fennel pollen sprinkled on top. The crème fraiche and fresh mozzarella made the pizza so light and gooey to offset the crispy crust and then the delicious fat/grease of the fennel pork sausage completed it perfectly.

We also got a beet and goat cheese salad. We knew we wanted a salad but had a difficult decision with which one until we spotted goat cheese…we are both obsessed so it was an easy choice. The salad was a light greens with a hefty serving of beets, goat cheese, clementines, and grain throughout the salad. It was nice refresher to the pizza and of course our beer.

Another outing: Share Wine Lounge 

I always thought Share was just the Sheraton’s eating, which it is their restaurant but it is its own world. Share has a very complex menu that brings twists to very simple dishes.

One of my best girlfriends and I decided to try it out, we kicked off the meal with a cocktail shaker. Another cool thing about Share is that you can order a shaker that is about 3-4 drinks inside and bonus the shaker is so pretty!

We decided to go splitskies on some things and then get some stuff on our own. My friend is a vegetarian so we went with the falafel sliders, truffle fries, and I went with a goat cheese (shocker) garden salad, and she got veggie minestrone soup. Everything was completely fresh and light—even the fries had the grease from truffle oil and parmesan shreds but was still light. 

The atmosphere was great as well, Share is just smack dab in the center of the ped-mall by the playground and fountain so it’s a perfect people watching outing. 

That's a good wrap-up of little bites of my last little bit of Iowa City for the Summer. But don't you worry, that is not the last bit of the bites in Iowa City. 

The other day my friend was giving me a hard time because every post I put is some variation of the best thing I ever had. My response? Why would I tell people about anything just mediocre or bad and even more importantly why would I waste my time (and calories) eating at those places!!