Table Seven

My husband and I hit up Table Seven on a Tuesday night. Turns out that was a great decision, because all bottles of wine are half price on Mondays and Tuesdays. Yes, you read that right. That's an amazing deal, and I have no idea why this place wasn't packed, but it wasn't.

The atmosphere at Table Seven can best be described as jazzy -- cranberry red walls, modern art, and pretty chandeliers. Our server was competent and sweet, though very young and a little green. He made good suggestions, though, particularly on the dessert (but more about that later).

We started with the Spinach and Artichoke dip, which was 1/2 price during happy hour. The dip itself was pretty standard stuff, but the little toasted squares of naan it was served with elevated it from a TGI Friday's quality appetizer to something much better. The portion was perfect for an appetizer too -- it was enough to get us excited about eating more, but not enough to leave us full.



Since the flatbread was so tasty with the appetizer, I decided to make a meal out of it and ordered a buffalo flatbread. Patties of ground buffalo meat, lettuce, onion and some kind of sauce arrived stuffed into the very good bread. Although it was all yummy, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. For some reason I thought it would taste more like a gyro than a burger, so I was a little disappointed. The ingredients were all good individually, and the fries on the side were nice, but it isn't something I would likely order again, if for no other reason than it wasn't exactly what I wanted in that moment.



Our waiter suggested we have a brownie with caramel ice cream for dessert. I liked the idea of caramel ice cream. Turns out, I also liked the way it tasted. The brownie was nothing special, but the ice cream made the dessert. I would eat a pint of this stuff, right now. Seriously.



Our entire meal, including our amazing half-price bottle of wine, was only $68. That is an exceptional value considering the amount and quality of the food we ate. I simply cannot understand why the restaurant was less than half full with prices like that. My husband has been to Table Seven for lunch before and said that service was slow, but that wasn't an issue the night we had dinner; everything was delivered promptly and our waiter was friendly as could be. PLEASE go to Table Seven. I do not want to see this place go under, if for no other reason than the caramel ice cream.

Please people. Think of the ice cream.

Special Out of Town Edition: Caffe Capri

This weekend was our friend Ramblin' Stew's birthday, so we headed up to College Station and had a nice meal at Caffe Capri. I thought that maybe some readers will be travelling to, or through, BCS for the holiday this week, so this trip and this review might be timely.

Caffe Capri is located downtown. The space is small, but it doesn't feel crowded, just cozy. We waited about 20 minutes for a table, which was very manageable, considering we showed up without reservations on a Friday night (and were told we would have to wait an hour by the borderline-incompetent hostess). Our waitress was a sweet college-age girl with a high tolerance for our rowdiness.

The birthday boy handled the wine selection, since he knows a lot about such things. We ended up with two nice bottles of white wine off of their very user-friendly list. We also had some very good calimari, which I would absolutely recommend.

I went with the seafood ravioli. I wish I could say more, but the wine was working at that point. I know the food was good, because I ate most of it. There was plenty of crabmeat and lobster in it, and a thick cream sauce, which is always a good thing. I can't say I would recommend it (since I can't 100% remember it) but I can't say I didn't like it either.

We told the waitress is was Stew's birthday, so she brought out a dessert. She didn't tell us what it was, but looking at the menu, I think it was the chocolate toffee mousse with kahlua. It was very good -- creamy, rich and perfect for sharing. Much better than a plain old piece of birthday cake.

We had a good experience at Caffe Capri. A lot of it has to do with the company we had and the occasion (not to mention the bottles of wine). However, the food -- or what I can remember of the food -- was very good, and the atmosphere was lovely. If you're headed that way this weekend, give it a try. And let me know how it goes -- maybe it'll trigger my memory.

Special Out-of-Town Edition: Cowboy Chow

Cowboy Chow in Dallas, Texas is an amazing place. Its decor is best summed up as "modern Western fun." Above the bar/"wedding chapel" there are a pair of stuffed buffalo heads, appropriately dressed as a bride and groom. The check is delivered to the table folded into an empty playing card box. Even the bathroom sports some Old West charm: there's a hog's head in the ladies room that looks cool, but is a little uncomfortable to urinate next to.

I have been to Cowboy Chow a handful of times, and every time I get the same thing. This meal is perfect so I don't feel the need to experiment. I always start with a carafe of watermelon sweet tea, which is not-too-sweet and delicately flavored, like the end of a perfect summer's day. Then I move on to a Navajo fry bread appetizer.



The spicy and piping-hot fried tortilla is served with sweet honey and mashed black beans for dipping. The contrast between the saltiness of the bread and beans and the sweetness of the honey is very appealing, and there is always more than enough bread to share. This is a very unique appetizer that should not be missed.

For my meal, I always get a cowboy parfait. The parfait is layers of mashed potatoes, brisket, corn, tortilla strips and shredded cheese, all served in a glass jar. Meaty, savory, satisfying and fun, this is the kind of food that will fill you up for the trail ahead -- even if that trail is just a highway headed back to Houston.



Cowboy Chow is a fun, funky little place in the Deep Ellum section of Dallas. There's really no way to categorize the food and the experience except as enjoyable. If you are travelling to or through Dallas for Thanksgiving, or any time of the year, try it. You won't be disappointed.

Pappas Brothers

We all know that Pappas is a huge chain; the company owns Pappasito's, Pappadeaux's,Yia Yia Mary's and lots of other restaurants all over Texas. However, there are only two Pappas Bros. Steakhouses (one in Houston and one in Dallas). We had a WONDERFUL meal at the Houston steakhouse this weekend, and I feel compelled to write about it, corporate chain or not.

Let's talk about ambiance and service first. Both are exemplary. Pappas is modeled after a 1940s steakhouse, with dark wood paneling and waiters in black ties. In the front there's a piano bar, where we enjoyed drinks as we waited for our table. Everyone -- the bartenders, the hostesses, and especially our waiter -- was friendly and professional. We were in a good mood when we sat down.

Our waiter suggested we try the chef's special appetizer, braised bone marrow. I've never had bone marrow before, but what we got was very special: savory, salty and totally satisfying. Our waiter claims that the waitstaff convinced the chef to try that recipe. If that's true, the chef should be listening to his servers a lot more, because this was delicious.

For dinner, I had the filet duo: two filets, one topped with red wine sauce and a shrimp and the other topped with cracked crab. The filets were wonderfully tender. The seafood was tasty, although my shrimp was a bit overcooked. We had two family style sides: mashed potatoes and mac and cheese with crab. We didn't actually order the mac and cheese (my husband is allergic to shellfish) but the waiter brought it out accidentally and let us keep it for free. We were happy to have it. Both sides were fantastic.

At the end of the meal we declined dessert, as our stomachs were seconds from popping. Our sneaky waiter asked us what we had been thinking of, and then brought it up out to us for free for my husband's birthday. It's little things like that which make a meal special. And the creme brulee we got was one of the best desserts I've ever had. Creamy, cool, rich and fantastic. Get it, even though you'll probably have to pay for it.

Pappas is a special-occasion place. Our meal took 3 hours and cost us over $200. That's not a bad thing. It's nice to have a great meal every once in a while. And everything about Pappas was great -- the service, the atmosphere, the food and wine. If you have a special event coming up, give Pappas a try. Don't let the corporation behind the place scare you off; Pappas is special.

Recipe: Better Than Almost Anything Cake

Since it's looking like I may not go to a restaurant this week, I thought I would post a recipe instead. This cake really is better than almost anything. I believe this recipe came from my mother-in-law, Miss Rana Ball, but I'm not 100% sure.

Ingredients:

Box of chocolate cake mix (cheap is fine b/c we're going to dress it up)
Small can of sweetened condensed milk
Jar of caramel ice cream topping
Cool Whip
Bag of Heath Bar pieces

Directions:

1) Bake cake according to recipe on box.

2) Remove cake from oven and using the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes in the hot cake.

3) Pour the milk and caramel topping over the cake. They will soak into it as the cake cools.

4) When the cake is completely cool, frost using the Cool Whip. Pour Heath pieces on top.*

5) Refrigerate and enjoy!

Makes about 10 servings.

* There will come a point when you wonder, is this too many Heath pieces? No, it's not. That's because you can NEVER have too many Heath pieces. Pour the whole bag on there!