So, we made it to Odd Fellows and it was definitely worth the trip down from McKinney.
Although my friend said there's a place he knows in Frisco, I didn't get the name or have the opportunity to try it. McKinney was kind of a flop, in regards to espresso. we went to a restaurant called La Duni that has an attached coffee house called Dulce. Although the barista did a nice job frothing, their espresso fell short of acceptable, and certainly wasn't recommendable. They used preground Lavazza, which the scooped out of a can, dumped into the Pf basket and lightly tapped with a tamper about as fast as humanly possible. I didn't even see a grinder in the place, anywhere. Their "French hot chocolate" was not at all like anything I had in France at the gold standard (Angelina Cafe), and I wouldn't recomment it either. however, if you guys are looking for latin cuisine (Venezuelan-Columbian fusion) it's pretty darn good (my wife is Venezuelan)
Next time I'm up that way (possibly mid May), I'm going to get them to take us to the place in Frisco, and maybe one of the other places on the magazine list.
So, thanks again for the recommendation for Odd Fellows!
Posted Wed May 16, 2012, 12:00pm Subject: Re: Dallas-area coffee.
I have had two sour shots and one sour Americano at Oddfellows and that is enough. Their food is uninspired. There is much better food in Dallas. Also I took a pound of Cuvee decaf home with me and could not get rid of the sour taste using variations of my pourover technique. Several Texas baristas to whom I have talked agree with me that Cuvee roasting leaves a lot to be desired. Oak Cliff Roasters sells a good Yergacheffe and a good decaf (I forget the varietal). Pearl Cup (now two locations) served me a good shot about two months ago. Six months prior to that, a visit to them and to White Rock was not worth mentioning.
D magazine is famous in our household for warning us about places to stay away from: it is called the best of Dallas. There are some exceptions. Chocolate Secrets is the best chocolate outside of Manhattan (Dude, Sweet is good only for their excellent cocoa). Lucia is finally a great place to eat in Oak Cliff, if you can get reservations or sit at the four-seat bar. La Duni is good, but not any where near all of the hype that their marketing has generated. Their food is good and much better than Oddfellows. If you want authentic French pastries hand made by a genius, trained in Paris, who does very little by way of advertising - in other words a treasure such as you dream about stumbling upon on a very lucky day - then visit Rush Patisserie three doors down from Spiral, near the corner of Beckley and Zang in Oak Cliff. However, she does mostly commercial accounts and opens her shop only briefly on Friday evening, Saturday morning and Saturday evening with a break in between, and briefly on Sunday. Her croissants are the best in Texas. French macarons must be ordered ahead of time, but she may have some extras sitting around. She is not a coffee shop but will serve you French Press, if requested. Google rushpatisserie.com.
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,803 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Wed May 16, 2012, 1:50pm Subject: Re: Dallas-area coffee.
Buckley, thanks so much for that last post. I think I might find myself again in Dallas...well, McKinney...in the next couple of weeks, so I will definitely try to check out at lest one of the places you've mentioned.
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