D and I have been talking about going to dinner for quite some time. She's a loyal follower and is often sending me suggestions of places to go for WiDiDallas reviews. But, more than that, she was a friend that I didn't really know that well and wanted to get to know better. You see D is married to one of my best friend's husband's friends. So while we've known each other for years, hang out in groups occasionally, and have the same "guilty pleasure" television show that turns us into giddy, adolescent girls, we've never really hung out one on one together. But D had really been there for me when my mom was so sick earlier this year. She was always checking up on me and making sure I was doing okay. That kindness and caring made it very clear to me that D was definitely someone I wanted to get to know better. So I asked her to dinner, and we decided to check out Bolsa in Oak Cliff.
I had been to Bolsa several times before. My original supper club went there when it first opened and throughout the years, I've stopped by from time to time. I love to sit out on Bolsa's patio. It's large and covered so in the winter it's nice and warm and in the summer you aren't sitting on the face of the sun.
One of my favorite things to order at Bolsa is the bruschetta tasting. It's a fantastic dish for sharing as you get to taste 4 different bruschettas. Some with meat, some with veggies, some with fruit. But always delicious. I'm also a fan of their flatbreads. Try the "Twig & Branch" with arugula, chevre and grapes. So good.
Every Wednesday Bolsa has a Cocktail Challenge. They select a liquor and then ask their facebook friends to offer up suggestions for secret ingredients to make cocktails from. They select 5 ingredients and come up with 5 cocktails, which are sold for $5 each after 5 on Wednesday (wow, that's a lot of 5s). If they select your ingredient, you get a free drink (so like Bolsa on fb and select an ingredient). When we went, Grey Goose Vodka was the featured liquor and, well, they had selected my proposed ingredient -- ruby red grapefruit (yea, I know, not all that original) so FREE DRINK FOR ME!
When D and I arrived at Bolsa around 8pm, it was busy but not crazy busy. We were able to get a seat within 5 minutes. Of course that seat was in the corner, in the waaaaayyyy back of the restaurant but we had a table, so that was fine.
I told our waiter that I had suggested the secret ingredient and would like to order the grapefruit drink. D asked for the grapefruit drink by name -- the Ruby Rio (or something like that). When our waiter returned he had . . . two different drinks. Somehow my order got lost in translation and I got a grapefruit gibson instead off of the regular drink menu. I would have drank it but I don't drink gin (Gin is made out of juniper berries. Juniper berries are poisonous. Why would I drink poison, especially poison that smells and tastes like that?). The waiter happily took it back and brought me what I actually ordered. Glad he did; it was delicious.
Bolsa's market specials change weekly depending on the what the chef can find from local purveyors. So what we ordered, might not be on the menu when you go. D ordered the burger, which came with chips. D had to send her burger back the first time because it was a little more rare than the "medium to medium well, but closer to medium well" she ordered. No problem, a new burger was made and brought to our table without question. D really enjoyed it.
I ordered the Shiner Bock braised beef cheeks with "brussels sprout" gratin, which our server highly recommended (which you know made be happy, considering how much I love me some brussels sprouts). The beef cheeks were absolutely delicious. The meat was super tender (no knife needed) and the sauce was thick with a nice bock flavor, with almost like a hint of coffee. Excellent choice, server.
Now I bet you are wondering why I put the "brussels sprout" in quotations above. See, I'm not convinced there were actually any brussels sprouts in my gratin. I saw and I tasted . . . cauliflower, not brussels sprouts. It tasted great but it was still . . . cauliflower. Now maybe there were a few leaves of brussels sprouts mixed in with said cauliflower but cauliflower was definitely the featured veggie in that gratin I was served. When I brought it to my server's attention, he tried to explain to me that it was a brussels sprout gratin, not a cauliflower gratin, and the reason I couldn't taste (or see or feel) the brussels sprouts was because of the gratin and then he explained to me what a gratin was. Dude, I know what a gratin is. I also know what cauliflower is. And I guarantee you the predominant vegetable in my gratin was cauliflower. Maybe the chef ran out of brussels sprouts. Maybe he didn't have enough brussels sprouts to make full on brussels sprout gratin that day. Maybe my piece of gratin was cauliflower heavy and if I had gotten a spoonful of another part of the gratin it would have been brussels sprout crazy. Who knows. But would it have killed him to check with the chef and get an explanation rather than to be so dismissive of my concern? But, whatever, I still liked the gratin (but it would have rocked with brussels sprouts).
Despite that little hiccup, D and I had a great dinner and a great time getting to know each other better. We're already planning our next dinner in the OC. BEE Enchiladeria, here we come!
Cheers!
http://www.bolsadallas.com/
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