January 23, 2016 - Maple Leaf Diner, Dallas

Maple Leaf Diner - Yelp
 

Christine: The Maple Leaf is a small casual restaurant located in a strip mall on Preston & LBJ, run by a Canadian family from Windsor, Ontario, which explains the name of the restaurant and the collection of Canadian artifacts for sale at the counter.

The menu is an eclectric mix of classics with a Texas twist. Where else could you get Eggs Benedict with real Canadian bacon, smothered in white gravy?  All the food is made from scratch, as well as the breads; and a little bakery to the side holds more baked goods and sweets to go.

I opted for Potato Latkes with sour cream and fruit on the side. One of the owners stopped by our table to chat, and explained they have a few Jewish offerings on the menu to accommodate their Jewish neighbors in the immediate area. Service was so unhurried we had to strain our necks to find our waitress Elizabeth, but when we finally caught her attention, she came quickly by. The food was good and I would return, maybe for lunch next time. The restaurant had an interesting mix of neighborhood couples and families enjoying a home cooked meal.  

Vickey: Oh Canada....   That is right, if you are looking for a souvenir from Canada and you happen to be in Dallas, Texas I have found the place for you to go.  This wonderful little diner is the brainchild of a family from Canada who has re-located to the area.  They brought a little bit of home with them so if you are looking for a flag, a key chain, or a great cup of coffee be sure to stop by.

The place is very laid back with no rush to get in, eat and get out. It felt comfortable and like a lot of neighborhood friends and family were regulars.  A couple times I thought our waitress was a little too laid back when it came to getting us refills on our coffee.

They serve what they call traditional bacon served Canadian style.  It is not cut in a long strips, all of the fat has been trimmed off and it is rolled in Peasmeal (I think that is what it was called) before it was sliced and fried.  I was adventurous and tried it - not bad, different, but not bad.

For the rest of my meal let me start by saying, I am not a big egg eater, and when I eat out I will usually just have them scrambled "very well done."  I don't like anything runny in my egg.  On this particular day I decided to ask for my eggs to be fried. I had just spent the Christmas holidays in OR with family and for breakfast with each of my sisters, they fried eggs and they were perfect! I just had this craving for a fried egg. 

How do I like my fried eggs?  The yolk needs to be broken and beaten just a little, then the egg is simply fried for as long as it takes to get it as hard as you could get it.  I gave these instructions to our waitress, but I really don't think she believed me.  The eggs came out runny.  She took them back to the kitchen and when she brought the plate back she apologized for how they looked.   They were perfect!

As we left that morning I noticed the most unique way to display their cup collection, and as soon as I download the picture off my phone I will post it.

January 9, 2016 Los Amigos

Los Amigos - Yelp

Vickey: This morning breakfast was South of the Boarder Style.  This restaurant was a favorite of Christine and Mike.  We thought we would give it a try for breakfast.  Now when you sit down and they bring you a basket of chips and bowl of salsa before coffee for breakfast you know you are in a real Mexican restaurant. The wait staff was great.  I had lots of questions and they answered all them.

Christine had mentioned that she wanted to go to a bread store in downtown Grapevine.  What an incredible bakery she took be to.  The Bread Haus used to be located right one Main Street, but they built a larger new location just off the beaten path.  As I was waiting I read the newspaper articles framed on the wall that told the history of the bakery and everyone who worked there. Very authentic. I bought sourdough and cranberry pecan bread.  Both were very delicious  especially toasted with just a little butter and homemade jam.

Next stop was Main Street - we wandered in and out of all the shops up and down main street.  Leave it to pick one of the coldest and windiest days for walking outside.  I had never spent any time in Grapevine and really enjoyed myself even if it was cold.

To warm up at one point we stopped in a little spot right on Main Street for a cup of hot coffee. Of course we could not just have coffee.  A cranberry scone for me and pastry for Christine was just want we needed to give us enough "umph" to fight the wind back to the car.



Christine: This is one of my all-time favorite places for breakfast. The food is authentic Mexican and the salsa is made fresh daily and delicious. You get salsa and chips with every meal, including breakfast. I ordered the scrambled eggs with bacon (mixed into the eggs) with refried beans, potatoes, and heavenly Ranchero Sauce sitting on the plate between the eggs and the potatoes so you could mix it anyway you wanted. You definitely want to mix it with your eggs, but yummy with the potatoes too. Use sparingly or you will run out.

So good I started to eat before I remembered to take a picture!

The restaurant décor is as old as the concrete building - knotty pine walls decorated with faded framed prints of famous places in Mexico. A courtyard fountain sits in the entry way, permanently out of commission. The coffee was bold and plentiful, and I appreciated that on this bitter cold January morning.  

After breakfast we headed to the Bread Haus bakery to buy loaves of fresh bread baked in the German tradition of baking in brick ovens. I opted for a round loaf of Sour Dough Bread and a loaf of Jalapeño Corn Bread, both of which were a hit at the dinner I took them to.

Next we drove back to downtown Grapevine and explored Main Street, stopping at a couple gift shops and buying a few trinkets. Then we headed off to the Texas Peddler Antique Mall where I created some noise by knocking over a large piece of wood tenuously nestled in a small display stall. That gave us a chance to talk to the manager and strike up a friendship since nothing was broken, and he moved the wood piece to the back and assured me I was not the first to knock it over.

Working up a bit of an appetite fighting the frigid wind whirling down Main Street, we decided to stop at the Main Street Bistro and Bakery for some coffee - a Danish pastry for me, and a Cranberry Lemon Scone for Vickey.