Week 5: DW Bistro

What Teray Says...

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This week was my turn to pick and I wanted to change it up a bit. A friend of mine, Alana Castillo, owner of the fabulous Vanity Flair (like them on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/vanityflair) suggested that we visit DW Bistro. We decided to go to brunch after her recommendation. Brunch is my favorite meal of a day; it just reminds me of summer, fabulousness, and people who love to have fun. Plus, any meal in which you can have a Bloody Mary to accompany it, is great in my book.

Brett and I headed to DW, which is not too far from our house. I had checked out the menu online and commented to them on Facebook that we were excited to come in (like them on Facebook too: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/DW-Bistro/107408069295113). They responded back right away. I love when places have positive interactions with their future customers even before you enter the establishment.

Walking into DW Bistro, I immediately was impressed. The decor does not look like any other Vegas place. I literally felt like I was in a trendy NYC restaurant. Beautiful colors of orange, white, and brown and gorgeous paintings on the wall and well placed furniture. I just felt cool eating there. There is a bar up front, but the fabulous part about the bar upfront is that it has an area that blocks out the parking lot in which you don't even know it is in a common Vegas development of a strip mall. Every detail from the glasses that the drinks are served in to the modern white chairs screams that this is a hip establishment to eat with, but it has a cozy mentality. The staff was always checking on us and everyone was extremely friendly. As we were sitting there, I was plotting different occasions in my head in which I would invite my friends next time. They serve brunch, lunch, and dinner; so I have a lot of opportunities in mind. :)

As I mentioned before, I cannot have a brunch without a Bloody Mary or two. This had to be one of the best Bloody Mary drinks I have ever had! There was the perfect amount of spice, plus they have a pickle, a piece of bacon as well as olives and grapes within in. Delicious!

So good that I had to have two.





Coming down to the food, there were so many fabulous choices that I did not know what to pick. I think if it weren't summer and I weren't trying to keep fit in a bikini, I would have definitely ordered the basket of breakfast pastries in which you got these scones that looked delicious. My mouth was watering looking at the table next to us who had ordered them. I decided to take the waitress's suggestions and order the jerk chicken and waffles. Holy crow, what an amazing choice. You got really decent size waffles, and many pieces of jerk chicken. I had never had chicken and waffles. I joked to Brett that I had only heard about it in songs, but it was fantastic. I think the fact that it was jerk fried chicken and not regular fried chicken, the spice, made it so wonderful in combination with the sweetness of the maple syrup and the waffles. I purposely left some on the plate so that I could take it home and eat it as a snack later. One of the best brunch meals I have ever had by far.

Jerk Chicken and Waffles



They even had specials in which all sounded delicious. Brett ordered something in which he will tell you what it was, but it tasted delicious and it was something that you could eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have to say this was by far my favorite place that have visited so far. Everything from wonderful and I recommend it to anyone who wants to go to eat but feel like they are really out and having a fun experience.  The prices are so reasonable too; 7-16 dollars. I cannot wait to visit this place again. My rating is definitely a 5 out of 5.

What Brett Says...

So this week the wife chose DW Bistro, another strip mall find.  Think NYC meets Bay Area...but in a random strip mall in Las Vegas.  I had absolutely no idea what to expect, I had never seen or heard of the place.  Most of the time I know something going into it.  From the parking lot it looks like nothing special, a place you walk by a thousand times before you even peek in the window.  I was excited though because we were going for brunch instead of dinner.  Brunch is always a nice treat because I never really know what I'm in the mood for, with brunch you have a much more broad selection...do I want eggs or a BLT?  Apparently DW is on TV all the time and it is all the rave amoung people, the fact I have never heard of it goes to show more that I have lost touch with the "in," then anything about this place.  When you walk in you are met by a half height wall, to the right is the host stand.  We were immediately met by someone (I think it was an owner), he sat us at a typical table for two in the middle of the restaurant.  Once sat I realized what the wall by the door was, it was the back of the bar.  While most restaurants have the bar to the side or the back DW flips the interior around.  I have to say it worked out well.  Not only does it keep it from looking like every other food joint in town but it also prevents you from having to look out the window at a parking lot, it really helped them create a new atmosphere.  The capacity appears to be on the smaller size but not too small, they have a patio that adds more seating without the crunch.  They also have some amazing art on the walls, of course it is all for sale...cheapest I saw was $1200 and it looked to be at about a 7th grade level, but still nice and fitting to the decor.

Service is a whole topic at DW, I can just imagine the training that goes into working there.  As a former server/bus boy/every other front of the house position I can tell you that they drill their employees...to the point where lashings are handed out of every shift.  I say this as both a good thing and a bad thing.  We were sat immediately, water was brought quickly, and we were gretted fast.  When we ordered drinks they were brought the minute they were done being mixed...you can see the bar remember.  Our server was on top of things; she answered questions, took our order, and checked back at all the right intervals.  Now for the bad, well not bad but more annoying.  Knowing how restaurants run I can tell you this is the kind of place where employees, all of them, are responsible for making sure every table is good to go.  I know you are wondering why this is annoying; well, there was someone at our table on average every 2-3 minutes.  To the point where I would take a drink of water and the minute I set the glass down it was already refilled.  I would assume the only thing more timely would be assigning a person with a water pitcher to stand next to each table.  For me it almost became a game, I would drink water and then see how long it would take them to refill it...I was amused.  Don't get me wrong, I would much rather have this then having to wait 15 minutes to get a refill; but sometimes too much of a good thing is an annoying thing.  But overall their service was rediculously good.

Brett's meal: DW Bowl of New Mexican Style Slow Cooked Pork

Now for the part we all care about since it is why we go...the food.  I tossed around multiple ideas from the menu, everything sounded good.  Things sounded even better when our waitress told us the chef was a Jamaican who spent a bit of time in New Mexico.  Which I took as Carribean Jerk chicken with some salsa and tortillas, come to find out I wasn't too far off.  If you know Teray you know she is obsessed with spicy bloody marys, I had to try and I can tell you they were good and looked interesting (bacon, pickle, olives, baby onions).  We decided not to order an appetizer, although the scones at the next table looked good.  I ordered a New Mexico jerk pork with rice.  It was a large bowl with white rice at the bottom and pork, salsa, fried eggs on top, tortillas too.  I mixed the bowl together to get that blend in every bite; some I ate on tortillas some I just ate by the fork.  There was easily enough for 2-3 people, I pushed it and still had enough for later.  I would go as far to say that it was the ideal brunch food for someone that couldn't decide between the "br" or the "unch."  I would be happy eating that meal for any meal any day.  Teray opted for something unheard of, at least in Vegas...Chicken and Waffles.  Chicken and waffles is a staple in parts of the country, Vegas being the town of T and A not many people think of fried chicken as a staple of a gym rat diet.  But everyone knows that you have to have a cheat day and this was a nice take on a cheat.  Rather then regular fried chicken it was more of a crispy jerk fried chicken and well waffles are waffles.  I did steal a bite; remember whats mine is hers and hers is mine, so it wasn't really stealing.  All I can say off of one bite is that it was indeed good.  All in all I can say that it was a good representation of New Mexican Carribean brunch in Las Vegas.  I'm still confused and I came up with it.  Being completely full we buth nixed dessert, but we did have some cake later in the day for Trevor's birthday...Happy Birthday Trevor.

I'm not going to summarize, I went into enough detail, but I will tell you I will be back.  I give DW Bistro a 4.5 out of 5.  They lost 1/2 a point for the constant water service, the waitress not knowing the 3 specials off the top of her head, showing the price of the art (kinda tacky) and for not having a sign up that explains what New Mexican Carribean food is.  Call me critical but this is my review and they lose 1/2 point on my scale, if you don't like it start your own blog.

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week

Again, thank you to Patty and Juan of Patty's Closet for providing me with the cutest dress for our brunch this week. This dress is ruffly at the top and then flairs out at the bottom. The straps are adjustable, so you can fix them however you need it. It is a perfect dress for a summer time lunch or even cocktails at night.

This outfit is available at the Patty's Closet on Rainbow and Windmill

Thanks again to Patty's Closet for always making me and the girls of Las Vegas feel fabulous and fashionable. They have everything a girl would need.

Like them on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pattys-Closet-Fashion-Boutique/234474963398

Check out their website: http://ilovepattyscloset.com/