First Look: Carpenters Hall

Oh computer. I had written an entire blog post on Carpenters Hall at Carpenter Hotel (400 Josephine Street) and the computer ate it. So here's the abbreviated version.

I liked the lunch I had, but I didn't love it; I think the brunch menu interests me more. For a weekday lunch, clientele didn't seem all that diverse. Lots of millennial ladies who lunch, including lifestyle blogger Camille Styles. Loved the decor. Had a great waiter.

Restaurant interior. Love the bench seating and they kept the old union hall banner.

The kitchen

Corn nuts and what they call mole salami. Which when I asked the waiter about it when ordering, I understood it to be salami with a mole sauce. No, it's salami with a chile oil with some mole-like flavors. Hmmmm.

Beautiful grains bowl, but honestly, not all that interesting.

Double burger with some of the most amazing fries I have had anywhere. I would go back just for these. 

Coffee shop in lobby area.

Large and delicious salted chocolate chip cookie. 

What's been your experience at Carpenter's Hall? What dishes did you have? Would you go back? Anyone stayed at the hotel? What are the rooms like?

Billie Jean's Burger Pub

** Editor's note: CLOSED in 2016**

A couple weeks ago, I met a friend for happy hour at the relatively new Billie Jean's Burger Pub. They opened at the end of May, and were barely a blip on my radar until I saw another friend post their huge wedge salad on Facebook. Can I let you in on a secret? I think they are a hidden gem, literally hidden behind the road construction at 6501 South Congress just north of the light at William Cannon.

Walking in at 5 pm, there was little business at Billie Jean's, but it gave me a moment to take in the space, which is light-filled thanks to huge windows. There's a bank of booth seating to the right, four-top tables in the middle, and a nice-sized bar on the left.  I plopped down at the bar where the only other patrons in the whole place were also seated. The friendly female bartender brought me menus, and my friend arrived shortly thereafter. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday, and I had their hard lemonade, which was fairly hard (no complaints!).

We split a basket of Rosie's Fries, which quite basically, were amazing. Hand cut fries with caramelized onions, goat cheese, bacon, and sriracha. I've been singing their praises and dying for these ever since. The name I would guess is a nod to their Rosie the Riveter-inspired logo, and the two women who started Billie Jean's as a food trailer. Nicely done, ladies!

Another friend came and joined us, and he wanted onion rings, so we ordered those. They were good, but not as much to my liking as the fries. Funny, I had two people say to me, as I was showing them the food pics on my phone, "I don't like tempura style onion rings." And they're right, that's exactly what these were, and I definitely missed all the little crunchy bits on onion rings that fall off everywhere. These weren't bad at all, just a style preference.

So now being fairly well-stuffed on fries and rings, none of us were particularly hungry, but I didn't feel that we should pass up the opportunity to try their burgers. We had seen some HUGE burgers come out of the kitchen, and the place was starting to fill up. They do have a slider option on the menu, where you get three sliders with your choice of two meaty toppings; we picked corned beef and bacon. It was a tasty burger though a bit dry (but that's often the case with sliders), and the side of harissa was particularly yummy. Their burgers are always made fresh from Angus beef, and never frozen. I would like to go back and try one of their regular burgers, and I am hearing a lot of buzz about their Moroccan. And that wedge salad still tempts me! Heck, even the tofu black bean burger sounds good!

People are able to find Billie Jean's through the ongoing road construction, as there was a good crowd when we left. Great addition to that part of town, and really look forward to going back!