District Pour House + Kitchen - Try an Infused Drink

Mr. Ref hear and it has been awhile since I have had the pleasure of my families company on a night with the Gasses.  It is always fun to get together every month and reminisce about the trials and tribulations of our everyday life.  It is especially nice to hear how the young one is doing and how the older, but still younger ones, are living their lives.  It keeps us, a little bit older ones, young and remembering all of the things we experienced over the years.
This month we went to the District Pour House + Kitchen and it was a really neat place.  Nothing fancy, but it was well thought out and was very comfortable.  The food was very good also, I had Fish & Chips, and I wasn't expecting much.  I thought I would get a few fish nuggets and some fries.  Instead, I was surprised by the large size catfish, that was not in nuggets, but a whole piece of fish.  The catfish was very tasty and the fries were some of the best I have had in this type of setting.  For me the fries were not too salty and did not have too much spices.  I almost forgot they specialize in infused liquors, so I tried vodka infused with apricot and it was really good.  We also had the crab dip and it was very good.  I really enjoyed District Pour House + Kitchen and would definitely go back for refills, I gave it a 4 out of 5.

The Gassies Discover the District

I wasn’t sure what to expect when my dear husband picked District Pour House + Kitchen for our March outing. We have been talking about trying this place ever since it opened in the building that used to be the Gaf, a neighborhood Irish pub.

I’ll give it extra points for being so close to our house: four and-a-half blocks, to be exact.

What a makeover: the dark wood closed-off corners of the Gaf were gone, replaced by a large, bright space with great style. It felt modern and hip but also welcoming, like a neighborhood place should be. We ate in the rear dining area, and I was very comfortable there with a two-year old who has just learned how to shriek for attention.

I’d say this place is similar to Beer Kitchen in Westport—great drink selection, fun vibe and delicious food. This ain’t your standard pub fare. 

I had the hazelnut-crusted salmon salad with pickled fennel. (The pickled fennel got me, and hazelnuts are also a favorite.) It was a tasty salad. I ordered a side of root vegetable hash (as with fennel, if there’s hash on the menu, I’m ordering it.), which was also really good. 

Their appetizer menu was filled with some things you don’t’ see everyday, like Artichokes Rockafeller. We had crab dip and hush puppies, which were great. My only critique of the overall menu is that there are only two vegetarian entrees (pasta and mac ‘n’ cheese) and no veggie sandwiches. Not the end of the world, but next time I would like to try a more adventurous meatfree dish (of course I compromised anyway for the salmon!).

Our waitress was helpful and very attentive to our large group.

I gave the place 4/5 stars, and will definitely be back. Give it a try!

Spanish for The Patron

Last month was Erin's pick, and she picked El Patron on Southwest Boulevard.  This modern Mexican restaurant had a very cool atmosphere with a bustling bar/dining area downstairs and a more laid back dining room upstairs. 

We end up dining upstairs, which was better for our group.  And as per usual, I owed appetizers.  Bummer, except....TWIST!  The appetizers were the bomb-diddly-bombaroo!  I ordered empanadas and they were great.  The empanada appetizer only comes with one empanada, but it is enough for two people to share as a starter (despite what the waiter tells you). 

Speaking of the waiter, the service at this place was bad.  Maybe it was just our waiter, but he was not attentive, and even after we asked for things 2 or 3 times, he still did not bring them.  And we always had to ask for stuff, he was never on top of it.  Very poor service.  And our reservation got mixed up.

Now that that unhappy business is out of the way, back to the food.  We also had nachos courtesy of another naughty non-blogger, and they were very good.  Luke especially liked them.

For my main dish, I had the skirt steak with cactus and a whole roasted onion.  The skirt steak was fantastic, perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, just terrific.  And the cactus was also superb.  I never had cactus before.  It is like a really tender pepper, but better.  Very, very good.  Wish I knew where I could by some to cook at home.  The whole cooked onion looked very appetizing and interesting on my plate, but I tried it, and it was still a little too strong, under cooked.  Maybe it was garnish, but it was on my plate and it was cooked so I ate it.  When in doubt, eat it, right Josh (see: summer sausage).  And I had a limeade which was good, not super sweet like most places.  I tasted the margarita - very strong.

And, I will say this: I like rice and beans.  I really, really like rice and beans.  But it was nice to eat at a Mexican restaurant where every dish is not bisecting a pond of rice and beans.  I will say that.

Overall  I thought it had a cool, modern atmosphere, the food was superb, the service was poor, and, as always, the company was great.  I give it a 3.6.

El Patron

This past GAS meeting it was my turn to pick.  I went back and forth on a genre of food and decided on Mexican, mainly because my past 2 picks have gotten low ratings from grandpa and I knew he would rank Mexican high no matter what! :)  I decided on El Patron based off of reviews and things I had read.  Josh and I arrived a little late and the group was waiting for a table.  I guess there was a miscommunication when I called and they thought I said 8:30 instead of 6:30.  After a short wait we were escorted upstairs to a cute little area which we had all to ourselves.  The area was great, just enough space and very personal.  Although I loved the environment the service was extremely poor.  I felt like it took forever to get drink orders then another long period of time for appetizers and then another long period of time to put in food orders.  Luckily, the margaritas were very tasty as well as the appetizers so we enjoyed those while we waited.  I really enjoyed the appetizers, especially the empanadas.  I had not had good empanadas since living in Argentina, and although these were very different they were very good.  The nachos were also delicious!  I ordered a steak burrito for dinner.  By the time I got it, I was already pretty full, so was able to have lunch the next day.  The burrito was very rich with a lot of cheese sauce on top (just the way I like it! :)). I thought overall the food was delicious, I really enjoyed the environment, however due to such poor service my rating drastically decreased.    My overall score is a 3.1/5.0.

Not your average Mexican joint

Last month Erin selected El Patron. To be honest I can't remember how many stars I gave it, but let's say 3.2 stars.

The restaurant is two stories, with a bar-like area on the ground level and nice dining area above. I liked the space very much: We were tucked off in a nearly private room with funky lighting and lovely decor.

There is a drawback to a private room, and that is the waitstaff wasn't as available as one would have liked. They were friendly enough and efficient when around, but over service was on the slower side.

The menu was full of options both light and heavy, from seafood soup to cheesy cheese burritos covered in cheese sauce. We started with lots of appetizers (truthfully, enough to make a complete meal), thanks to our non-blogging members from last month. I especially liked the empanadas, though the nachos were pretty epic. I drank a horchata which is the perfect foil to spicy Mexican food. Luke took a liking to the horchata too. Rice milk with cinnamon and sugar--what could be a more appealing beverage to a toddler?

I went with the Chicken Mole enchiladas. The mole wasn't the best I've had, but that still means it's a darn-tasty dish. The black beans--fresh, not refried--and rice were good too.

I would go back to El Patron. In fact, I am going to up my score to 3.7 stars.

El Patron

February we headed backed to Southwest Blvd for Mexican at El Patron.  The restaurant space was my favorite in the 2.5 years we have been doing dinner club.   The space was very conducive for larger parties like we have.   Down to the business of dining.  The service was terribly slow, definitely some of the slowest service we have dealt with.  The food was much better than the service, the appetizers were very good, as were the margaritas. The cheese dip served with the empanadas was one of the best I have had.  I ordered tacos, one beef and one fish.  The beef taco was very good, but he fish on the fish taco was a little fishy for my taste.   One of the true tests of a Mexican restaurant besides the margarita is the chips and salsa.  I have a split decision on those, the salsa was good, but the chips were below par.  All in all if the service had been better the score would have been higher, but I can only give El Patron a 3.3/5.

Margarita makes it "All Better"

When you're a little tyke and have some bumps in the road (or on your knee) a kiss and a bandaid from your Mom makes things all better.  Same thing happens when you grow up; bumps can be smoothed over by a hug, a smile, or maybe a kiss--not always from your Mom!
The GAS Club started off with a few bumps in February with a lost reservation, but all was rectified once the Margarita's started flowing!  El Patron was very busy Thursday night with a happy, energetic crowd.  We were able to finally score a table upstairs, and for our group this worked out well as we could hear each other talk in the more sedate atmosphere.
Took a while for the waiter to get us going with some appetizers, but honestly they were worth the wait!  Delicious nacho plates and mouth watering empanadas!  I'ld go back for that!  Always a sucker for a fish taco, I ordered a combo plate and got one shrimp, and one fish taco.  To be honest, the fish taco was sub-par as it was very fishy tasting (I know, I know  What can one expect from a fish taco?)  But the shrimp taco got stuffed into my tummy even though I was super-full from the appetizers.  By the next day, that fish taco was mild and quite delicious for my lunch. Mrs. Refs final score 4 of 5.