Buzzbrews - 4 reasons this place rocks:

1. Open 24-hours/day
2. Serves breakfast 24-hours/day (and actually tastes good)
3. All you can drink coffee (tastes damn good, too)
4. Free wi-fi

Need I say more?

Buzzbrews is a “pop art Mecca” for people in need of caffeine and a low-key atmosphere. Menu items that stick out: Hare Krishna Stuffed Crepe, Breakfast Stuffed Nopales, and my favorite, Banana Nut Pancakes. Don’t go in a large group; the diner is small, cozy, and why piss off the other people by backing up the kitchen line.

Kidding. Sort of.

Garden Cafe sounds too good to be true for a place like Dallas, TX. But once you get there you’re not surprised that a place like this is hidden in the Lakewood area.

Enter through the back gate and make your way through the lovely garden. Basil, rosemary, some other herbs I don’t know the name of, and peppers fill the entire back area. A small 5-table seating area is parted down the middle.  (The back area reminded me of the pink flamingo nursery in Austin - without the cafe, of course.)

Inside was very casual, cheery, and quick to order. The walls showcased local artists’ selling their framed or print photography (some really beautiful work - all very countryside.)

Breakfast is served all day, and their feta omelet was the second best I’ve had (Meli cafe still holds the bid for number 1.) The food is friendly for everyone, vegans & meat-lovers.

I look forward to taking anyone who has an appreciation for gardens or home cooked food made with fresh ingredients, which will probably be my mother the next time she is in Dallas.

Photo originally uploaded from gardencafe.net

Garden Cafe
5310 Junius St.
Dallas, Texas 75214
tel: 214/887-8330

Open Tuesday through Sunday.
8am – 2pm for breakfast and lunch.
Breakfast served all day.

User Reviews:
on Yelp
and on Citysearch

When you’re done with Uptown, or never even tried to pretend, check out The Grape - a classy, humble joint on Greenville Ave.

Stop by after work or on the weekend and you’ll never feel over or under dressed. The place has been on Greenville for the last 35 years and framed articles cover the brick hallway’s like fancy patterned wallpaper.

The wine list offers a variety of selections but nothing to the extent that you are choosing between the ‘73 and ‘82 Bordeaux. We’re on Greenville, not in Uptown. As for me, any place that carries Sauvingon Blanc from New Zealand and serves it by the glass is fine (Audrey Heburn not Florence Nightingale fine.)

The bar area is fairly empty for the most part (on a weekday), set with tiny tiled Greek tables and a long bench along the wall; perfect if you want to enjoy an evening alone without feeling “alone” (eh hem, that’s where you will find me with a book and a drink.)

The place was comforting and that’s what I liked about it.

It’s like a secret hangout with dive and class …and no one knew you were ever there.

…that is, unless you blog about it or something.

The Grape Restaurant
2808 Greenville Ave
Dallas, Texas 75206
Ph: 214/828-1981

Hours
Dinner nightly from 5:30pm
Happy Hour M-F 4:30-7pm
Sunday Brunch 10:30-2pm
Make reservations using opentable.com or call 214/828-1981.

Events this month
On August 31st, The Grape is offering a three-course wine paired meal for $45. Call to make reservations.

Two places in Chicago that you should know about if you ever visit (or are lucky enough to live there).

Meli Cafe & Juice Bar, 301-305 S. Halsted, Chicago, IL 60661, tel: 312/454-0748
www.melicafe.com

Meli’s is located in the Greek district, a little off the beaten path, about a 5 minute cab ride from downtown. This place is small (quaint) with people packed on the inside and busy with people waiting on the outside. Worth the trip, worth the wait.I could have ordered anything on that menu and probably not have been disappointed. How good does this sound?

Brie Omelete, Ham, Asparagus & Mozzarella Frittatas, Stuffed Strawberry French Toast (held together by a layer of marscarpone), Banana & Cocoa-hazelnut Crepe

… this goes on, I’m just listing what I think sounds good.

Of course here’s a picture of what I ate - Feta Scrambler (made with Eggland’s Best organic eggs).

All their marmalade is freshly made from natural ingredients and for sale.

If you don’t order anything with marscarpone, ask for a sample of it. Not too sweet, creamy and mixed with honey.

Meli Cafe & Juice Bar is open daily from 6am to 4pm. Breakfast is served all day and lunch is served after 11am. Kitchen closes at 3pm.

Moving on.

Into the 2nd best bookstore I have ever been in. The first was an American bookstore in Prague, inside a coffee shop and through a narrow hallway back into a tiny room; it was like a hidden treasure of books only the locals knew about about.

Quimby’s had art magazines, books, comics (most of them drawn by hand, some were copied pages stapled together), political materials, poetry books. It’s all the stuff you don’t talk about on the pop-culture mix.

An opinion is not manufactured in a store like this. You’re free to roam.

I could have spent hours in there. Instead I had 20 minutes to browse art magazines and pick out the ones I could possibly use later. And by use, I mean be inspired by… maybe. We’ll see.

Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave., Chicago, IL 60622, tel. 773/342-0910
www.quimbys.com

Yesterday a couple of us from the office went to eat at the Hari Krishna Temple.

There is a restaurant inside the Temple called Kalachandji’s, acclaimed by D Magazine and by our intern Macy. It’s strictly vegan (with dairy and non-dairy items) and the menu changes everyday for lunch and dinner.Check the website for today’s menu.

The restaurant is buffet style with soup, salad, and bread bar, tofu everything, and dessert is served at the end.

They only serve water and Tamarind tea, but it is acceptable if you want to bring an outside beverage (non-alcoholic, I presume.)

The outside seating area was beautiful with trees flowing over like a canopy and a fountain in the middle, and the music made the experience truly authentic. If you go at dinner time you can hear the service from the Temple during your meal. Now that would be cool.

The buffet is reasonably priced ($7/pp) so even if you leave with the empty stomach you arrived on, at least you paid for an experience.

Kalachandji’s is located at 5430 Gurley Avenue, Dallas, TX, 75223.

Restaurant hours:
Lunch: Tuesday thru Friday 11:30am - 2:00pm; Saturday and Sunday 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Dinner: Tuesday thru Sunday 5:30pm - 9:00pm
Closed Sundays.