It's crazy hot in Dallas, but the cool kids over at Hotel Palomar have THE BIG FLIPPIN' DEAL! Temps outside go up, but the rates take a nose dive for fall temperatures. BOOK NOW and use rate code BFD for $75.00 rates on www.hotelpalomar-dallas.com
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Date Night Deal: Celebration Restaurant for only $35
This one is from the Cut & Paste via Travelzoo Division, but I'm thinking of getting this one for a nice laid back date night with the Sig-O. Check out this deal:
Experience the traditional Southern flavors of Celebration Restaurant, just off Lovers Lane in Greenway Parks. Southern Living says the restaurant serves some of the "tastiest" food in the city, and the magazine names Celebration Restaurant to its Secrets of the South's Best Diners list. With this deal, two people can select any two entrees, two desserts and two glasses of wine for $35.
Normally $69, this meal includes generously portioned Southern cuisine influenced by Texas flavors. All of the entrees includehomemade bread, three fresh vegetables served family style and a choice of homemade soup, salad or fresh fruit. Choose from the following:
• Any two entrees, such as the grilled salmon with fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic and olive oil; or pot roast cooked with carrots and onions and then served with horseradish sauce
• Any two desserts, like banana pudding with fresh whipped cream or a homemade brownie sundae with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and walnuts
• Any two glasses of wine from the restaurant's list
Celebration Restaurant features an expansive patio with a wood-burning fireplace; outdoor dining is available year-round. Snag this one before it's gone!
Experience the traditional Southern flavors of Celebration Restaurant, just off Lovers Lane in Greenway Parks. Southern Living says the restaurant serves some of the "tastiest" food in the city, and the magazine names Celebration Restaurant to its Secrets of the South's Best Diners list. With this deal, two people can select any two entrees, two desserts and two glasses of wine for $35.
Normally $69, this meal includes generously portioned Southern cuisine influenced by Texas flavors. All of the entrees includehomemade bread, three fresh vegetables served family style and a choice of homemade soup, salad or fresh fruit. Choose from the following:
• Any two entrees, such as the grilled salmon with fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic and olive oil; or pot roast cooked with carrots and onions and then served with horseradish sauce
• Any two desserts, like banana pudding with fresh whipped cream or a homemade brownie sundae with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and walnuts
• Any two glasses of wine from the restaurant's list
Celebration Restaurant features an expansive patio with a wood-burning fireplace; outdoor dining is available year-round. Snag this one before it's gone!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Your Next B&B Vacation Staycation - Hattie May Inn for only $89!
From the Cut & Paste via Living Social Division:
This week's Escape starts at the romantic Hattie May Inn, a Fort Worth bed and breakfast bedecked in antiques and intricate Victorian details.
You and a guest will get one night at this registered Texas landmark, plus a country breakfast for two and the ever-romantic trio of wine, chocolates, and flowers upon arrival ($89).
What makes the Hattie May a landmark property? Maybe it's the open turret, the upstairs parlor filled with games, or the wraparound porch.
Or maybe it's the inn's place in Texas history. More specifically, the history of the Wild West. The inn is also known as the Maxwell-Liston House, site of a 1917 heist that claimed the life of its saloon-owning resident, James Liston—and the bullet holes remain to prove it.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
My 36-Hour Summer Vacation: Next Stops - More Wine and a B&B
Ok, I finally found the time to share my next installment of the 36-hour summer vacation, in between working and researching which members of the cast of Most Eligible Dallas I know (none) and which said cast members are really as important as they pretend to be (also none.)
So, where was I? Oh yes, the lovely people at Pilot Knob advised us to visit the Vineyard at Florence where there are two wineries that share a parking lot. "A TWOFER!" I screamed in my head, hell to the yes. Sig-O and I finished up, thanked them and headed over to our next stop. When I (yes, I usually drive, the Sig-O is a fine driver if you like driving slower, thus I drive on all roadtrips) pulled into the parking lot and decided to hit Inwood Estates first. Inwood Estates is actually in Dallas too, in case you didn't know. They're part of the oh so cool Dallas Wine Trail, so I was happy to visit them where they grow these yummy grapes. The winemaker at Inwood Estates is serious about his wine, our new wine pouring friend Courtney told us. He's been at it for 31 years, so it was no surprise that they produced some very, very good wines. Not just Texas good, but like for real deal good. Dubious? Keep reading about the amazing grape juice we got to enjoy. They have the Estate Level, Limited Production and Segundo (second-label) wines. Since they're in Dallas, I'm going to tell you to go try these wines for yourself rather than telling you about each and every one.
But I have to tell you about the very surprising Texas Palomino-Chardonnay. First, it was good. That's important. Second, it's grown in Dallas. Seriously, City of Dallas in Dallas County, apparently just a mile or so away from mi casa. Sig-O and I may have to hunt down where this is grown (will post pics if we find it). The other wines are produced in the Texas high plains, think Lubbock/near the New Mexico border. The Inwood Estates Cornelius, Magellan and Tempranillo are all beautiful wines. Tempranillo grows very well in Texas. If you haven't tried it, you should. Come on, go local already. And, in the same paragraph, I'm now going to tell you about the Segundo wines (second label), which aren't entirely Texas wines, but are a blend of Texas grapes and some others from around the country. Don't hate on them for this. Rather than waste the grapes not good enough for the estate wines, they combine them with other American grapes and make some excellent wine, at a lower price point. They have a Segundo White, Red and Port-style. The Sig-O is a fan of port (look for how my port was stolen from me at RW at Bijoux) and reported that it was quite good. What I really have to rave about is the Segundo Red. It's a blend of several grape varietals and it is freaking great. I dubbed it the Segundo Mutt and the Sig-O kindly indulged me by buying a bottle for us to take home after I agreed to make a really good steak to go with it.
We were planning to head across the parking lot to the Vineyard at Florence, but looked at our watches and realized that it was almost 5 p.m. and we should go check in at our lovely Bed & Breakfast - The Gold Coat Inn. Off we went, thanks again to the Google map from the Pilot Knob dude.
Gold Coat Inn was easy to find and we were warmly greeted by Inn owner Jo. We went over the necessary paperwork (don't mess up the house, duh) and were taken to the lovely Summer Garden Suite. It's a wonderful room, with lovely decorations, including an antique Singer sewing machine that's been in the family for generations (how cool!) After settling in, we headed down to the pool to enjoy the last bits of daylight and the fact is wasn't 109 degrees. They've got a saltwater pool, which is great b/c it doesn't leave you smelling like chlorine and won't turn your hair green. Jo even brought out pool towels to the pool for us! After a relaxing dip in the pool, Sig-O and I realized we were hungry since we hadn't eaten since West and it was approaching 7:30 p.m, so we headed into Georgetown to grab dinner.
There went our planned excursion to the Georgetown Winery since they closed at 8, but we did find ourselves at Wildfire on the Georgetown Square. With a Texas/Southwestern theme, this is a dinner spot I'd recommend. Stars for the evening included the Duck Quesadillas for a starter (they have a number of duck options on the menu and do them very well) and the Bananas Wildfire for dessert (think bananas foster with a wildfire twist). Entrees were enjoyable, but the start and finish really shined. The wine list featured a number of Texas wines, and the bar looks to make a solid martini, as I saw more of those than I did bottles of wine.
Apologies for the length of this post, I'll try to shorten the 3rd installment. Back to work!
So, where was I? Oh yes, the lovely people at Pilot Knob advised us to visit the Vineyard at Florence where there are two wineries that share a parking lot. "A TWOFER!" I screamed in my head, hell to the yes. Sig-O and I finished up, thanked them and headed over to our next stop. When I (yes, I usually drive, the Sig-O is a fine driver if you like driving slower, thus I drive on all roadtrips) pulled into the parking lot and decided to hit Inwood Estates first. Inwood Estates is actually in Dallas too, in case you didn't know. They're part of the oh so cool Dallas Wine Trail, so I was happy to visit them where they grow these yummy grapes. The winemaker at Inwood Estates is serious about his wine, our new wine pouring friend Courtney told us. He's been at it for 31 years, so it was no surprise that they produced some very, very good wines. Not just Texas good, but like for real deal good. Dubious? Keep reading about the amazing grape juice we got to enjoy. They have the Estate Level, Limited Production and Segundo (second-label) wines. Since they're in Dallas, I'm going to tell you to go try these wines for yourself rather than telling you about each and every one.
But I have to tell you about the very surprising Texas Palomino-Chardonnay. First, it was good. That's important. Second, it's grown in Dallas. Seriously, City of Dallas in Dallas County, apparently just a mile or so away from mi casa. Sig-O and I may have to hunt down where this is grown (will post pics if we find it). The other wines are produced in the Texas high plains, think Lubbock/near the New Mexico border. The Inwood Estates Cornelius, Magellan and Tempranillo are all beautiful wines. Tempranillo grows very well in Texas. If you haven't tried it, you should. Come on, go local already. And, in the same paragraph, I'm now going to tell you about the Segundo wines (second label), which aren't entirely Texas wines, but are a blend of Texas grapes and some others from around the country. Don't hate on them for this. Rather than waste the grapes not good enough for the estate wines, they combine them with other American grapes and make some excellent wine, at a lower price point. They have a Segundo White, Red and Port-style. The Sig-O is a fan of port (look for how my port was stolen from me at RW at Bijoux) and reported that it was quite good. What I really have to rave about is the Segundo Red. It's a blend of several grape varietals and it is freaking great. I dubbed it the Segundo Mutt and the Sig-O kindly indulged me by buying a bottle for us to take home after I agreed to make a really good steak to go with it.
We were planning to head across the parking lot to the Vineyard at Florence, but looked at our watches and realized that it was almost 5 p.m. and we should go check in at our lovely Bed & Breakfast - The Gold Coat Inn. Off we went, thanks again to the Google map from the Pilot Knob dude.
Gold Coat Inn was easy to find and we were warmly greeted by Inn owner Jo. We went over the necessary paperwork (don't mess up the house, duh) and were taken to the lovely Summer Garden Suite. It's a wonderful room, with lovely decorations, including an antique Singer sewing machine that's been in the family for generations (how cool!) After settling in, we headed down to the pool to enjoy the last bits of daylight and the fact is wasn't 109 degrees. They've got a saltwater pool, which is great b/c it doesn't leave you smelling like chlorine and won't turn your hair green. Jo even brought out pool towels to the pool for us! After a relaxing dip in the pool, Sig-O and I realized we were hungry since we hadn't eaten since West and it was approaching 7:30 p.m, so we headed into Georgetown to grab dinner.
There went our planned excursion to the Georgetown Winery since they closed at 8, but we did find ourselves at Wildfire on the Georgetown Square. With a Texas/Southwestern theme, this is a dinner spot I'd recommend. Stars for the evening included the Duck Quesadillas for a starter (they have a number of duck options on the menu and do them very well) and the Bananas Wildfire for dessert (think bananas foster with a wildfire twist). Entrees were enjoyable, but the start and finish really shined. The wine list featured a number of Texas wines, and the bar looks to make a solid martini, as I saw more of those than I did bottles of wine.
Apologies for the length of this post, I'll try to shorten the 3rd installment. Back to work!
Free Food at Cafe Brazil in Bishop Arts
In honor of the third anniversary of their Bishop Arts location, Cafe Brazil feeding us for free! Just stop by this Wednesday (17th) between 6:30 am and 6:30 pm for a free order of chicken crepes, pasta de tigre (not to be confused with cougar), pumpkin pancakes, or the wine country salad. Save room for the free slice of red velvet cake or banana cheesecake. Extend your good fortune by wearing a Cafe Brazil t-shirt; do so and your drink will be on the house as well.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Rum Sale at Sigel's to Celebrate National Rum Day on Tuesday!
In case you did not know it, Tuesday, August 16 is National Rum Day. There will be no parade, no nationally televised fireworks, no speech from the White House or Capital, and frankly, you will be left to celebrate this holiday on your own. Well Sigel's is here to help. Sigel's shelves are stocked with over 200 fantastic Rums. Many of these Rums are already on sale from our everyday low prices and on National Rum Day (8/16) we will mark down the remaining Rums 15% off!
My 36-Hour Summer Vacation: First Stops - Kolaches and Wine
So, the Sig-O and I have been enjoying what we call "36-hour vacations" lately. We were in Fort Worth a few weeks ago to celebrate the BIG 4-0 with a Fabulous Fort Worth Getaway weekend, complete with margs at Joe T's, beer at Rahr Brewery, dinner at Brownstone in West 7th, and golf at the Marriott at Champions (you can see TMS from your room). It was a great one, so, in the interest of taking more vacations, we headed down I-35(worst, highway EVER) to visit the hill country.
First stop, Czech Bakery in West. I've lived in Texas my whole life(including college) and had never made it there to get kolaches. Seriously, as much as I love my Dallas donut shops, they will now pale in comparison to the kolaches in West. Hell, these things are so good that they made the Texas Monthly Texas Bucket List. Normally, I'm a basic sausage and cheese kolache kind of gal, but the Sig-O was in charge of choosing, so we threw in some others for variety. Thank goodness we did. They were all really, REALLY good, but the ones that stood out for me were the jalapeno sausage and cheese (real sliced jalapenos, none of the namby pamby spicy sausage, that's the hot chubbie), the ham and cheese (I drooled remembering it), and the cream cheese (my IT people will not be happy with the amount of drool now). Point is, if you're near West, get your kolaches there.
Sig-O and I continued our trek down south. It happened to be the one day it was not sunny and 100, which made our pool plans less enticing. So, what's a girl to do? Drink wine! Through the miracle we call Google, we found several wineries that weren't terribly far from the B&B we were staying at. First stop - Pilot Knob Winery (yes, I giggled at the name and the Sig-O did an eye roll at me.) The folks at this winery were uber-friendly and greeted us very warmly. They even had a bridal trunk show going on at the winery and invited us to check it out and sample the cupcakes (yum). After the Sig-O convinced me to walk through and my hives for fear of commitment and all things wedding, we got to taste the wines of Pilot Knob. The whites were slightly sweet, with the Viognier winning medals at several competitions. I'm not a big rose drinker, but could certainly see how one could enjoy it on a hot summer day, particularly poolside. The Franco-Rojo was a delightful Tempranillo-Merlot blend with the body and depth of a nice pinot and a flavor all of its own. We could have stayed and enjoyed a glass of that, but knew we had other wineries to visit, so best to not drink all you can at the first. The bonus of Pilot Knob was that they were very, very friendly and helpful. When we told them we were making our own wine tour, they had several suggestions and were even kind enough to print out a Google map for us! Love that hospitality. These are great people who are working hard at a young vineyard and have a passion for their wine. I definitely recommend visiting them.
Instead of making this a marathon post, I'm breaking it up. Check back later for the next installment of my vacation. And now you see why the Sig-O is exhausted after our relaxing vacays.
First stop, Czech Bakery in West. I've lived in Texas my whole life(including college) and had never made it there to get kolaches. Seriously, as much as I love my Dallas donut shops, they will now pale in comparison to the kolaches in West. Hell, these things are so good that they made the Texas Monthly Texas Bucket List. Normally, I'm a basic sausage and cheese kolache kind of gal, but the Sig-O was in charge of choosing, so we threw in some others for variety. Thank goodness we did. They were all really, REALLY good, but the ones that stood out for me were the jalapeno sausage and cheese (real sliced jalapenos, none of the namby pamby spicy sausage, that's the hot chubbie), the ham and cheese (I drooled remembering it), and the cream cheese (my IT people will not be happy with the amount of drool now). Point is, if you're near West, get your kolaches there.
Sig-O and I continued our trek down south. It happened to be the one day it was not sunny and 100, which made our pool plans less enticing. So, what's a girl to do? Drink wine! Through the miracle we call Google, we found several wineries that weren't terribly far from the B&B we were staying at. First stop - Pilot Knob Winery (yes, I giggled at the name and the Sig-O did an eye roll at me.) The folks at this winery were uber-friendly and greeted us very warmly. They even had a bridal trunk show going on at the winery and invited us to check it out and sample the cupcakes (yum). After the Sig-O convinced me to walk through and my hives for fear of commitment and all things wedding, we got to taste the wines of Pilot Knob. The whites were slightly sweet, with the Viognier winning medals at several competitions. I'm not a big rose drinker, but could certainly see how one could enjoy it on a hot summer day, particularly poolside. The Franco-Rojo was a delightful Tempranillo-Merlot blend with the body and depth of a nice pinot and a flavor all of its own. We could have stayed and enjoyed a glass of that, but knew we had other wineries to visit, so best to not drink all you can at the first. The bonus of Pilot Knob was that they were very, very friendly and helpful. When we told them we were making our own wine tour, they had several suggestions and were even kind enough to print out a Google map for us! Love that hospitality. These are great people who are working hard at a young vineyard and have a passion for their wine. I definitely recommend visiting them.
Instead of making this a marathon post, I'm breaking it up. Check back later for the next installment of my vacation. And now you see why the Sig-O is exhausted after our relaxing vacays.
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