Restaurant Week 2011

Restaurant Week, or restaurant couple of weeks, extended from the end of August to the first week of September this year. Ryan and I were able to go to our choice of restaurants for two of the three weekends it ran. The first week we were in Colorado so we weren't able to go anywhere.

Two weeks ago we went to Pappa's Bros. Steakhouse in Dallas. We had been there once before, although it has been about three years back. The service was excellent, but the restaurant was packed, so it was a bit noisy. I had the cesar salad, fillet and key lime pie. Ryan had the house salad, fillet and  chocolate peanut butter cake. We both had a glass of wine and Ryan ordered a desert wine. The desert wine was supposed to taste a lot like grape jelly which should, of course, go well with a peanut butter cake. It was simply disgusting. It tasted like cough syrup laden with granulated sugar. All in all, though, the food was 9/10, the service was 10/10 and the ambiance was 6/10. Last time, when it wasn't crazy busy Restaurant Week, Pappas would have gotten a 9/10 ambiance.

Yesterday, Ryan and I went to The Oceanaire, a seafood restaurant located in the Westin Hotel at the Galleria Mall. Neither of us had been before, but we were both impressed from start to finish. I had the Texas bibb salad, lemon butter sole and bread pudding. Ryan had the clam chowder, black and bleu redfish and bananas foster split. We also each had an oyster as an appetizer just to try. I had never had oysters before, so it was quite the experience for me. I like the oyster okay, but I guess I don't really get what all the hubbub is about. They also brought complimentary sourdough bread and fresh pickled veggies that included pickles, radishes, carrots, cucumbers, black olives, celery and banana peppers. I tried all of the veggies except for the peppers. Ryan said they were fairly spicy, so I wasn't interested. Overall it was one of my favorite restaurants I have been to in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. The food was a 10/10, the service was an 10/10 and the ambiance was a 9/10. The only reason ambiance didn't get a 10/10 was because of a slightly annoying family next to us that acted as though they had never been to a restaurant before. They spoke very loudly and constantly took pictures. Anyway, The Oceanaire is a place I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a great seafood restaurant.

As you can see, we had a nice time in a cozy, romantic booth at The Oceanaire. We can't wait for Restaurant Week 2012!