Love and Food in the Big D

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Weekend Visitors.. :)

"I love those days that just evolve into something great..." - Yvette ;)   

The beauty of living in a major city is that, for the most part, people come to visit you.  For whatever reason they may have...birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, sporting events, concerts, conventions...whatever.  I love the fact that a lot of times, we become part of their visit.  For that..I'm grateful to live in this city.  It allows Chad and I to catch up with long lost friends...see family members and a lot of times, play tour guide.  :) 

About a week ago I got a somewhat surprising call from my good friend Renee that I hadn't seen or talked to in a VEEEERRRY long time. (I love those calls that feel like no time has gone by since you last talked...)  It was great to hear that she and her hubs were heading up to Dallas for their five year anniversary and wanted to TREAT US?!?! to the musical Billy Elliot showing at the Winspear (Otherwise known as the AT&T Performing Arts Center).  How AWESOME ...and incredibly generous of them to be treating US on THEIR special weekend!  :) How could we say no??  :) 

After enjoying a leisurely lunch..chit chatting and catching up at the Gaylord Texan (where they were staying) ... we started our condensed tour of what Dallas had to offer on this Sunday afternoon. 

Our agenda for the day:  2pm showing of Billy Elliot at the Winspear then the JFK Sixth Floor Museum before picking up our mutual friend Selin (who just so happened to be in town for a convention ;) for our 8pm reservations at Nobu.  :)  Mmmmm... dreaming of all that yummy goodness now... Oh AND we even had time to throw in a somewhat unexpected trip to The Moth for a late night beer and some ice cream.  :)  It was a fabulous day. 

Billy Elliot: The Musical (book and lyrics by Lee Hall; music by Elton John) is set in a small mining town the U.K. in 1984. The story follows Billy as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class, discovering a surprising talent for dance that inspires his family and his whole community, and changes his life forever.

On our way out after the show...
Check out the night shots I took the last time we were at the Winspear on this February blog post...

Only having an hour to spare before the JFK Sixth Floor Museum was set to close, we ran out as quickly as we could...hoping to beat the rush to our car.  (Hence the limited number of photos I was able to take as we walked out) :) 




Part of me is sad that this city I now call home was involved in such a tragic time in history.  So unfortunate, yet so interesting all at the same time (if that makes sense).  In the 5 years since Chad and I moved to Dallas (separately and not yet knowing eachother), I've actually only been to this Museum once before... and Chad never at all...so we were both really glad to have the opportunity to take in and RE-learn some tid bits of our city's unfortunate past. (We only have 50 minutes here kiddies...GO..GO...GO... ;)  

After all was said and done..audio guides returned and souvenirs purchased...we found that we definitely had enough time to grasp a good understanding of how that day unfolded..

Next Stop:  The Hyatt Regency Hotel Bar ;) to wait for Selin to finish checking in before heading to dinner.  Chad and I always feel a bit nostalgic about this place...(We actually visited on our first date hoping to take a ride up to the Reunion Tower Observation Deck...which was unfortunately under construction at the time (and STILL is today)...

Not one of my pictures..but pretty none the less.. ;)

Next up:  Ahhhh... Nobu.  Few words can adequately describe just how incredible the food is here.  Melt in your mouth, fresh, quality flavors that make you want to shamelessly lick your plate just so the sauce doesn't feel unappreciated.  ;)  Set to his own devices, and by eager direction from our adventurous guests, Chad was in charge of selecting our meal for the evening.  And let me just say...Chad and I have indulged in more than a few great restaurants before... but most of the time, it's been just the two of us...so this time, Chad was beyond estatic to be amongst friends that were eager and very willing to trust his suggestions with whatever came up next.  

**Side Note:  It was way too dark and we were WAAAYY too involved in our conversation and food to really stop for pictures so I'll just give you a quick teaser list of all that we ordered this evening.  It was pretty freakin' amazing.. I'm not going to lie.. you should be jealous.  Be very, very jealous.... ;) 

- Lobster Ceviche
- Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno
- Seared Salmon Sashimi with Karashi SuMiso
- New Style - Australian Wagyu Beef Seared in Hot Sesame & Olive Oil with Yuzu Soy
- Steamed Chilean Sea Bass with Black Bean Sauce
- Tobanyaki Tofu
- Tempura Corn Kakiage, Shiitaki Mushroom, Sweet Potato
- Spicy Tuna Roll
- Shrimp Tempura Roll
- Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce

And for drinks around the table... A bottle of Caymus Conundrum, California '08 and a few bottles of beers I can't remember the names of. 

(All the following pictures are from the Nobu website...visit now, visit often.  ;)   

Nobu Dining Room


View into the bar..

After finally calling it quits... feeling extremely satisfied with not only the food but the service and of course the incredible atmosphere, we thought it only fitting to end the night showing them where Chad calls his second home...The Moth. 

A Texas Sample Flight

You don't have to tell Chad twice that you like ice cream... especially when you have the best ice-cream in Dallas at your disposal.  Two seconds after the group mentioned that ice-cream sounded like the perfect end to this luxurious evening... he came back from the kitchen with THIS MONSTER sundae!  Chef Chad Kelley, always eager to please.  :) 


Dessert Destruction in less than twenty minutes.  We even used the ice cream to make beer floats! 
Well Selin did...Chad suggested she try it and I watched.  :)

(looking back at these photos I'm kinda embarrassed at the shear MESS we made!! Holy dirty plates!!  My goodness...who RAISED US?!?!  :) lol... It was so good we hardly noticed..

I think the look on Selin's face tells it all. :)