The best way I can describe Ida Claire to y’all is this: It’s like going to your grandma’s house, but only if your grandma is a hipster. I mean, we all know that only grandmas can use mason jars, blue china, and hanging empty birdcages….UNironically. I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I’m like 5 seconds away from slapping that hand-pressed organic soy latte made with conflict-free cinnamon outta some lightly-bearded-lumbersexual-wearing Timberland-Chukkas hand right now.
I may have made up that part about conflict-free cinnamon, but you guys were totally buying it.
Ida Claire has mixed that vintage vibe with some truly amazing culinary dishes. The decor is crazy hipster – but in a good way. They have an Airstream trailer in the patio – with some tables set up inside. If you’re looking for an awesome place to have a brunch – this is freakin’ cool. Be sure to call in advance to reserve it. The restaurant is one huge room – which you would think would be loud – but it’s not. Yeah. Weird, right? But the room is set up with some solid wooden tables – and plenty of aisle space. Ain’t nothing worse, than trying to get your grub on and being elbow-to-elbow with some hungover folks who can’t understand what an “inside voice” is. They have some pretty funky decor – from about 50 wooden bird cages to vintage books on the wall to the school library book menus. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill style – and makes for a cozy environment….that you could take your grandma….see what I did there?
We’re having a resurgence of southern-fusion restaurants – you could say they are having “a moment.” I’d like to have a moment for their drink menu. They make all their juices fresh and it really makes the drinks damn good. The full bar has everything – so if you call your liquor, they can accommodate. We tried the Air Mail cocktail, which is outrageously delicious.
The Appetizers:
We started with a couple of appetizers – the fried green tomatoes and the mini biscuits. Let’s talk about these biscuits – they were mini and flaky and buttery as all get out. AND they came with a raspberry jam, a honey butter and pepper-gravy. What? What? This was the trifecta of dippers. The fried green tomatoes were crunchy and well seasoned – which is good, because sometimes, you get a wilty one – and that can be a texture nightmare in your mouth. You know what I’m talking about. These, however, were superb. It comes with an pistou aioli (that’s foodie talk for “tasty green dip”). Get some of these. Put them in your mouth.
The Entrees:
The Nashville Hot Fried Chicken is slap-your-mama good and a ♥Snitch Favorite♥. It’s got some kick – so make sure you’re prepared for its greatness. It comes with a pimento-spread grilled bread, which sounds kooky, but really plays off well because the bread is so crispy.
We also tried the Catfish Po’boy sandwich. It comes with Sweet Potato Chips, but I opted out of those. I’m not really a sweet potato kinda snitch. I feel like I’m cheating on regular potatoes. And we have a good thing going. I’m not ready to throw that away. But let’s get back to this sandwich. It’s monstrous. I mean, they really should sell it in half-sizes. I could get through about a 1/3 of it – packed full with crunchy cole slaw, slices of pickles and a sauce that brought it all home. Good eating, but come hungry or split this one with a friend.
You got to get a couple of sides – the red beans and rice is savory and nicely spiced, and the macaroni and cheese is creamy (not baked) – which actually surprised me – and went down so fast, you knew you’d be 3 pounds heavier by the next day.
And because I can’t just have ONE dessert, we ordered TWO
The Vice Cake basically puts all your vices into one big gooey awesome mess – it’s chocolate cake made with stout beer and a hint of tobacco simple syrup (yes), then they swipe a few layers of coffee buttercream between (yes), and then cover this entire thing in a dark chocolate ganache (oh, yeah)….and then drop a few pieces of smoke-candied bacon (oh hell yeah).
We also tried the seasonal pie because we can’t turn down a good fruit pie. This one has a downright decadent buttery crust and was a cherry pie. But not your average cherry pie. The cherries were soaked in coconut milk before baking. This make it less tart and more savory. Then they topped it with coconut ice cream. I know. I know. So good. So good.
Ida Claire was a fun outing and we left full and smiling. Kind of like going to grandma’s. But without the mothball smell and the furniture covered in plastic.
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Ida Claire
5001 Beltline Road
Addison, TX 75254
ida-claire.com
Comments by CitySnitch