Burgers in North Oak Cliff

Balmoral Bites is back. We have never been particularly good at posting to the blog on a regular basis. Weeks and sometimes months would pass between posts, but this is a record: it has been one year since our last post! And, what a year it has been. Sometimes we feel as if we have lived an entire lifetime in the past year. We moved back to Texas last summer and are now writing from Lawndale Drive in Dallas rather than Balmoral Avenue in Chicago. Scott returned to his alma mater and former employer, the University of North Texas, as the Manager of High Performance Computing. I am now a Gallery Teacher at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. We settled into Oak Cliff, a community just across the river from downtown Dallas, and began exploring the local restaurants and joined Urban Acres, an organic market with co-op style produce. Even though we were surrounded with an abundance of new blogging opportunities, it began to seem that Balmoral Bites was at its end. It also began to seem that our 15-year relationship was coming to an end. Scott moved out in December and we were separated for 4 months. That may sound brief, but it felt like the longest and most difficult period of our lives. Then, about two months ago, reconciliation began and we are now trying to build a new relationship and start a new journey together. After a little more time and reflection, we hope to share some of our experiences of the past year.

Burger at Smoke

Posted in May 2010, our last entry was written about the burger joint at the end of our block in Chicago, Hamburger Mary’s. We thought it fitting to restart the blog with another burger post, so we set out to find the best burger in North Oak Cliff. Instead of discovering one burger that was the overall best in OC, we found that every restaurant had their own unique approach to a good burger. We started with the EB&D Loaded Up and Truckin’ Burger at Smoke. This burger is served with sharp cheddar, two slices of thick bacon, a farm egg fritter, and the other usual burger fixins. Absolutely delicious. While we aren’t officially naming a winner, this is the burger I would personally go back for again and again. Of everything we tried, this was definitely the most gourmet and the most expensive at $14 for the burger and one side. With one extra salad, though, the burger was plenty of food for the two of us to share. And, as a side note, I also highly recommend their cedar wood infused tequila.

Burger at Eno's

Next, we made our way to Eno’s Pizza Tavern on an unusually chilly Sunday afternoon in April. We decided to split a burger and pizza since their daily special was a hamburger pie with basil, tomato, and ricotta cheese. The Tavern Burger is made with local grass fed beef and served on a toasted bun. It came with the usual burger fixins as well – tomato, white onion, pickle, greens, and mayo. I don’t typically eat mayo, but this was actually good – homemade, I assume – and didn’t take away from my burger experience. Eno’s burger was quite simple, and yet it exceeded all the other burgers with the quality and flavor of meat. The burger is served alone for $6, but chips, soups, and salads are also available as sides.

Local Pie with Hamburger at Eno's

On Cinco de Mayo, we headed to Oddfellows for dinner. No splitting here – it was late and we were starving so we both ordered our own cheeseburger. We had heard that Oddfellow’s burger was better than Eno’s, so we had high hopes that this might be the winner. The Oddfellow’s Cheeseburger was a large (probably 1/2-pound) burger served with a heaping pile of thin-cut french fries for $9.99. The burger did not wow us, but it certainly had a good charbroiled flavor with a crispy crust on the patty.

To finish up our OC burger adventure, we visited Bolsa. We had some delicious cocktails while waiting for our table, but after being seated, we realized they were not serving burgers that evening. Bolsa’s menu changes daily based on the availability of fresh and local ingredients. While we like that approach, we were a little frustrated and disappointed about not getting to add their burger to our blog. Next time I get a craving for a good burger, I may head to Bolsa to give it another try. Or, the Kessler Theater, whose burger just won the Backyard Burger Throwdown at the annual Brew Riot. Or, my very own backyard… Scott and I used to make burgers about once a week, but our grill hasn’t been fired up since we moved back to Texas. So, not only has it been a year since our last blog post, it has also been a year since I enjoyed a burger a la Scott. It may not sound like much, but I really missed those burgers! I guess I didn’t need to go far to find the best burger in OC. So glad my husband is home!

~Lauren

Oven-Roasted Parsnips

Oven-Roasted Parsnips

During our recent trip to England, we were lucky to be hosted by a wonderful family from the church where Scott’s band was playing music. They helped us figure out the train system, gave us information about the towns we were visiting outside of London, and fed us warm, comforting home-cooked meals. We were spoiled with desserts at almost every meal and I am determined to give this one a shot: Baked Apple and Almond Pudding. The one dish I have already tried here at home is the oven-roasted parnips they served with a Sunday lamb roast. I didn’t grow up eating parsnips (a root vegetable related to the carrot) and had only recently tried them at home in a parsnip & carrot soup. I wasn’t all that impressed with the soup and didn’t plan on adding parsnips to my grocery list again anytime soon… Until I had the oven-roasted parsnips across the pond. The parsnips have a subtle sweetness and when combined with the crispness from oven-roasting, I feel as if I’m eating something more like sweet potato fries than a roasted root vegetable! There may be fancier and tastier ways to prepare this veggie, but this simple recipe has me convinced that I like parsnips.

~ Lauren

Ingredients

• Parsnips, peeled and cut in quarters
• Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper
• Vegetable Oil

Boil the quartered parsnips for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a tray with a few spoonfuls of vegetable oil in a hot oven. Drain the parsnips. Spread  parsnips onto the tray of hot oil and add salt & freshly ground pepper. Roast parsnips for about 45 minutes. If needed, turn on oven broiler for the last few minutes to help brown and crisp the parsnips, but watch carefully to avoid burning.

Peeling the Parsnips

Parsnips in Olive Oil

Oven-Roasted Parsnips with Spinach Salad and Ham

English Pubs

Based on this post, you might get the impression that we were intoxicated the entire ten days we recently spent in England. Not true. We didn’t actually spend all of our time in pubs – we saw a few sights as well. During a wet, cold February visit, the local pubs provided a great place to warm up and rest our feet in between all of the museums and cathedrals…and they provided a few good brews and meals too.

Here’s a few of our favorites:

London

• The Bear and Staff. Scott went to this pub the last time he was in London and we decided to seek it out again when we were in Leicester Square. On our first visit, we discovered they had several good brews, so we actually returned for lunch later in the week when we were back in the area. Leicester Square was not our favorite neighborhood – it was a little too commercial with lots of movie theaters and Burger Kings – but The Bear and Staff is near the Tube station and also within walking distance of Covent Garden.
• The Market Porter. The Market Porter was a great, unexpected find in Borough. We had just finished our second lunchtime visit to Borough Market and our feet were too tired to head straight to the Tate Modern, so we found the nearest pub, of course! The place was bustling since it was a Saturday afternoon and we were lucky to find a seat. They had a large selection of beers and best of all we got to hear live music. A small, three-piece band setup right in the middle of the pub and started playing Irish music. The music was great and it was a welcome change from all of the bad 90s music we were hearing in most bars and restaurants. I guess the British really love Michael Bolton & Celine Dion because I can’t tell you how many times we heard their music. (I have since learned this pub was transformed into the Third Hand Book Emporium for a Harry Potter film and the area has been used in other films such as Bridget Jones’s Diary.)

The Market Porter in London

The Market Porter in London

Oxford

• The Bear. Recommended by a friend, this was a great little pub that was off the beaten path in Oxford. It is apparently one of the oldest pubs in England, dating back to the mid-13th century. It was a charming place with a small bar, very low ceilings, fireplace, and a quirky collection of neck ties that patrons have exchanged for pints of beer over the years. And, while there wasn’t anything especially memorable about the brews at The Bear (like most English beers, unfortunately), we would definitely return to this spot.
• The Eagle and Child. One of the friends we were traveling with in Oxford is a big C.S. Lewis fan, and it turns out this pub was his first stop on a walking tour of Lewis-related sites in Oxford. We decided to join him for this portion of his tour! The Eagle and Child was often the site of weekly Tuesday meetings of the literary discussion group, the Inklings, whose members included Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. And, again, the beer and fish & chips weren’t remarkable, but the you can’t beat that history!

Canterbury

• The Bishop’s Finger. We actually stopped into this pub twice because it was right next door to our hotel, The Falstaff. They served a good selection of beers from Shepherd Neame, the local brewery in the South East region of England. We enjoyed the Late Red Autumn Hop Ale and the Bishop’s Finger Kentish Strong Ale – the latter being a whopping 5.4% alcohol. I guess that is considered “strong” in England when the average ales are around 3.5%.
• The Cricketer. This pub also served beers from the local Shepherd Neame brewery and we had the Spitfire Premiun Kentish Ale. The fish and chips were some of the best we had on our trip. The fish had a beer-batter, giving it better flavor than what we had elsewhere. And their onion rings – made with red onions – were light, crispy, and so delicious!

The Cricketer Pub in Canterbury

Fish & Chips at The Cricketer

Delicious Onion Rings (and an okay sandwich) at The Cricketer

The Bishop's Finger in Canterbury