I'm doing it too!

I've thought about starting a blog for a while now. The thoughts got stronger and stronger since starting a new job where I (sometimes) have a little more downtime at work. They block facebook. They block gmail. So I started reading numerous blogs to pass the time. Now I finally gave in and created my own. With the help of my super amazing sister at http://abushelandapeckfamily.blogspot.com/, I got a pretty background and header, and now I'm all set! But what to write??? When I first called my blog Matthews, Table for Two, it didn't even occur to me that it kinda sounded like a restaurant/bar review blog. Then when I whined (via email) to my sis that I didn't have anything to blog about, she said "I think a DINK in Dallas blog with reviews of all the places y'all go and eat and stuff would be fun to read." And I think that's a pretty good idea. I mean, we're not hoity-toity, high flying, Dallasites, but we do like to have a good time. And we love to go out to eat or for drinks at new places that we've heard about. So sometimes I'm going to write about the places that we go and what we thought about them. And sometimes, I'm going to write really random things and share pictures (if I ever start using my camera) because it's my blog, and I can use it however I please! That's the beauty of a blog! You own it (kinda).





The other cool thing about my blog name is that it can grow with us. Hopefully, someday I'll be able to change it to "Matthews, Table for Two and a Highchair." Then "Matthews, Table for Two and a Booster Seat. Then, well you see where I'm going with this. It will grow with us all the way up to "Matthews, Table for 30" when it's filled with kids, grandparents, sons/daughters-in-law, cousins, great grandparents, etc. Now that's a long, long way off, but it kind of makes me feel all sentimental and silly thinking about that.





But really no matter where we go (Spain! more on that later) or what we're doing, we'll always be the Matthews. We'll always be a team. We'll always be together. And most times, we'll ask for a table for two. Nonsmoking. Now on to my first review. :)





Last weekend, we got up early and went to bootcamp at 8 on Saturday morning. After the camp, we bought a bottle of champagne (to undo the workout we'd just completed) and headed to a BYOB place called EClaire Texas Cafe http://www.eclairetexascafe.com/. Luke had eaten there several times at lunch with co-workers and wanted me to try it. Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered that they're no longer open on the weekends so we headed off to find something new. We decided to go to the Bishop Arts District, which is one of our favorite little neighborhoods in Dallas. We stumbled upon Oddfellows http://oddfellowsdallas.com/, and it was ah-mazing. Just like every other restaurant in BAD, it was so uniquely, rusticly decorated. Oddfellows had kind of an old farm house feel to it, and I loved it! The restaurant was also "open air" and right next to the entrance, there was the cutest little bar where you could sit outside and order and eat at the counter. And we were right in front of where they make the coffee so we got to watch how they make it, which sounds really boring but they weren't just using the typical, automated coffee maker. They had a special, manual way of brewing it. In fact, there was one guy completely devoted to making coffee. Luke made some random joke about how he must get tired of making coffee. And then repeated it over and over the whole meal. (Love you, Luke!) There was also a bright yellow piano right behind us in an area that they plan to turn into a patio soon. It was really cool looking, and we got to enjoy a few tunes when a fellow restaurant patron started tickling the ivories. One more detail I loved. As you walked towards the restrooms, there was this huge curtain they'd hung to cover the entrance to a supply room, but it was so cool. It was HUGE and made of old potato sacks, burlap, bandanas and other rustic-y fabrics all sewn together. So neat!

On to the food. We were starving (remember the bootcamp!) so we started with the Avocado and Salmon Stacks. They were so fresh and yummy and huge. It came with two stacks consisting of a half an english muffin, a ton of avocado, a school of smoked salmon and a few raw red peppers. It was so good, but I couldn't finish mine because I knew I wouldn't have room for anything else, so Luke got to enjoy 1.5 stacks. Then I ordered the White Omelettte made with egg whites, tomato, spinach and squash. I was a little worried I wouldn't like the squash in an omelette, but I was too lazy to make my own omelette or ask for a substitution so I just went with it. Turns out, I made the right decision. When it came out, it kind of looked like a little pizza because it was baked. The baking gave it a little crunch that was delightful and gave it a little extra oomph because sometimes an egg white omelet just leaves you wishing you'd ordered something else. The spinach, tomatoes and squash were plentiful and fresh, and definitely helped me up my number of veggie/fruit servings that day. Also, I noticed there was no cheese on it but really it wasn't missed (and neither were the calories that cheese would have added). Luke ordered two breakfast tacos with potato, sausage, egg and cheese. The tacos were a lot bigger than we'd expected and after his 1.5 stacks from above, he could only finish one of the two. So we took the extra home, and when he ate it later that afternoon, he thought it was even better than the first time. Two quick things to note. Right now, they're only serving breakfast, brunch and lunch, but a new dinner menu is just around the corner. Also, I noticed they didn't have any alcohol on the menu yet. I'm thinking that will probably change once they start serving dinner and get all settled in with a liquor license and what not. All in all we were really pleased and loved our experience. Cheers to Oddfellows for a job well done!

I guess I picked up the hang of blogging fairly quickly because this turned out to be a really long post. I wanted to make it 2 separate posts, but after I had it all typed, I couldn't figure how to cut and paste into a separate post. Oh the learning curve of blogging! Anyway, check back soon because I plan to review Saint Anne Restaurant and Bar http://www.saintanndallas.com/. Best patio over. I just got told to go home, so I'm out of here. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend filled with sunshine and Spring-y things!