Noodles Ave.

Our Korean student took one look at her stone bowl and said with a smile, “My mom makes this…” After disappointment in the “Korean” dish at Pei Wei, she was pleasantly surprised and has eaten every bite every time we’ve gone. Noodles Ave. features mostly Thai food, with Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and other regional Asian items. A fairly new sushi bar adds some fun and variety to the menu. My personal favorite is the “Bento Box,” which features a soup course and a daily choice from the menu with rice, a few pieces of sushi, salad, and some dumplings for a chance to try a little of everything. Check out Noodles Ave. on the north side of Park just east of Midway in Plano. Pleasant, quiet, genuine food.

Rosemeade Market & Greenhouse

I just discovered a new place for house and yard plants, farmers’ market produce, eggs and more, gourmet foods, and the kind of decor that gets you excited about the season. Rosemeade Market is a delightful place. Right now it’s all decked out for fall with pumpkins, gourds, cute fall yard art, peppers, and cool-weather bedding plants. They encourage you to photograph your kids among the fall vignettes. It won’t be there for long, but hurry over with the children to play in the hay-bale maze and paint pumpkins while you shop. The fall decor will soon make way for Christmas and I look forward to seeing how they decorate.  The produce looks good and they have great selections of organic and specialty foods like gluten-free products and local honey. The plants for indoor and out would look great with their wide selection of colorful Mexican pottery. Located on Rosemeade Parkway between Marsh and Midway.

Farm-fresh eggs

Mandevillea vines and pumpkins

 

Hay-bale maze for children

Healthy Me

This cafe had a slow start, but it’s turned into a nice place for a bite to eat. The first time I went, it was just a market for take-out and they held classes, and you felt like if you weren’t already a member of the club, you didn’t belong. So I didn’t go back for a while. But my daughter worked nearby and picked up lunches there as they expanded their menu and she loved the food. So I recently braved Healthy Me again and found the market has been converted to a charming cafe with great menu selections, comfortable booths, and fun local art on the walls. The food is healthy and actually tasty and satisfying; you can eat in or take it home or to the office carefully packed for later. I understand they even deliver school lunches to participating schools and would love to see a review of how that works. My mother and I split a salad and a sandwich and it was yummy. With takeout cases and some gift items, Healthy Me Cafe has evolved into a very friendly place! 240 N. Denton Tap Road in Coppell.

The Long Summer

I’ve been a slacker this summer. I must admit that when the extreme heat hits, it’s a little less tempting to get out and maybe even a little harder to brag on Dallas. But when the “cold front” arrived yesterday and I realized that the State Fair is right around the corner, I started thinking of what to feature next. We also have a new house guest, an exchange student from Korea. Suddenly I’m seeing things through the eyes of a teenager who is new not just to Dallas, but to the country. Should give me some new perspectives!

Here’s where I need the help of my readers. Suggestions? Recommendations? I would love to check out the places that you find to be unique to this area, and to hear why. And I’d love to know what you think are the best places to show off to someone entirely new to the country and the area!

(P.S. Can’t they just call them “less-hot fronts”?)

Best Firefly Watching

(Or are they lightning bugs?) My favorite place to watch is Andy Brown Park East in Coppell between the east-most pond and the creek. Second favorite is at Haggard Park in Plano. They’re only around our area from about mid-May to mid-June and the best time for watching is just at dusk. Hurry out – the season is almost over!

DFW Attractions Pass

I have suggested this for a long time and it’s now available! For one price, you can buy a 2- or 3-day pass to seven Dallas Fort Worth area attractions and get discounts on even more. (I’m breaking my no-Ft. Worth rule here, but it’s a great package.) You can visit places you know you want to see and check out some that you might not otherwise try. Dallas Museum of Art, the Dallas Zoo, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, Southfork Ranch of Dallas TV fame, plus 3 major attractions in Arlington and Fort Worth all for $29-$59. You also receive discounts for the Grapevine Vintage Railroad, Tussaud’s/Ripley’s, and the National Scouting Museum in Irving. Take a local vacation this summer or entertain out-of-town guests at the best places on both sides of the Metroplex! Order yours here. Where else can you get art, elephants, bowling and cowboys all for one ticket?

Coppell Home Decor

Right across the street from the Farmers Market in Coppell is a cute gift shop where I almost always buy wedding gifts (unless I get practical and go with a bride’s registry). They have beautiful glassware, including the increasingly elusive Blenko glass. Other art and accessories for walls and tables, lighting, and some very collectible jewelry items make for fun shopping. The owner always greets me with cold bottle of water and packages the purchase so beautifully that I take it right to the wedding or shower without wrapping. The shop is in an old house at 456 W. Bethel Road in Old Town Coppell.

Coppell Farmers Market

The Coppell Farmers Market‘s season is in full swing! It always takes a few weeks for the good produce to show up and all the vendors to start coming out. Here are a couple of pictures from last Saturday. The produce is looking great and their vendors carry a variety of items in addition to the produce and plants, such as baked goods (right – try the chocolate croissant…), tamales, seafood, flowers, spices, teas, and more. Come out Saturdays from 8 until sellout!

Rainbow Grill

Continuing with the hamburger theme, check out Sid’s Rainbow Grill on the Carrollton Square near Belt Line and 35E. With DART rail coming to the neighborhood soon more people will discover this place, but they do a brisk business now. (In fact parking can be a challenge.) The menu has other kinds of sandwiches, but the burgers are the best. The jalapeno burger is my favorite because they use just the right kind of peppers (equal parts flavor and heat) and they’re generous with them. Don’t miss the potato chips. House made with a mix of white and sweet potatoes – worth the trip all by themselves. For a summer treat, take the kids to Rainbow for ice cream or a soda. The bar has old-fashioned spinning stools so take the time to enjoy it there. A fun and nostalgic stop; the square is also charming and has several shops and restaurants that are worth a visit.

Anamia’s

Having just eaten there, Anamia’s has to be my post for tonight.  I’ve been eating at their Tex-Mex restaurant since they opened their original location in Coppell in 1996.  Although the Dallas area boasts a lot of good Mexican food, Anamia’s provides consistently good fare, usually good service, and a very laid-back environment – all in all a pleasant place to spend an evening.  We meet my sister and her family there often.  They love the table-side guacamole.  I’m not such a guacamole fan, but the salsa and chips are great and I’ve tried all kinds of offerings from the menu and never been disappointed.  Still family-owned, Anamia’s now has locations in Flower Mound and Southlake, although I still prefer the original neighborhood in Coppell even though they’ve moved “uptown” a few blocks.  You’ll probably have to wait for a table in the bar or among the soccer-uniformed kids and their families, but you’ll enjoy the food and the conversational atmosphere.  Anamia’s is located on the northeast corner of Denton Tap Road and Sandy Lake Road in Coppell.