Top Pot Hand-Forged Donuts

Seattle based, Top Pot Hand-Forged Donuts, has expanded into the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  The DFW area has no shortage of donut stores and coffee houses, but the donuts and coffee here are both highly praised by critics and foodies.  CityLine, a new development in Richardson, recently opened a location and I loaded up the whole family and  took them to breakfast there one morning so we could try out the donuts.  

Chocolate Bar

We tried several varieties of donuts and we really liked most of what we tried.  My two kids loved the chocolate ring donuts, which were about double the size of the average donut and had great chocolate icing.  The same chocolate icing was also used on the bar donut I had, but even the plain old fashioned donut was quite tasty. But of all the donuts we had, the blueberry fritter was the absolute best of the lot.  Apparently it is not on their regular menu, but I would order it again in a heartbeat.  

Blueberry Fritter

The coffee was also very good and had a rich flavor.  As good as the donuts were, the coffee was equally impressive.  For some reason, Top Pot reminds me of a Starbucks that serves donuts.  Although these weren't the best donuts I have ever had, I would certainly eat here again and would even make a special trip to do so if I knew they had the blueberry fritter available.  This donut shop receives a lot of hype and I think it is mostly warranted.  

Old Fashioned Donut

Top Pot Donuts
http://www.toppotdoughnuts.com
Livin the Good Life Rating= 3
 

Cafe Du Monde

Before we went to New Orleans, my wife informed me that we had to do two things:  eat breakfast at Cafe Du Monde and ride a trolley.  Both of those things had made an impression on her when she visited New Orleans as a child, so she insisted that we do them with our kids as well.  It just so happened that we had a trolley line close to our hotel that could take us directly to the Cafe Du Monde location at Jackson Square.  I love it when I can kill two birds with one stone while making my wife happy!

Beignets

I had read that this location of Cafe Du Monde could get very crowded on weekends, so I woke my family up at 6 a.m.  We were able to jump on a trolley and beat the crowds to Cafe Du Monde.  Despite it being really early for a Saturday morning, we took the last table available indoors.  We promptly ordered three orders of beignets, coffee for my wife and I, and milk for the kids.

Chicory Coffee

The beignets arrived covered in powdered sugar, so I was very glad that I had worn a white t-shirt.  All of us dug into the beignets and  enjoyed these donut-like treats.  I was expecting them to be light and fluffy, but they were much more dense than I had anticipated.  The flavor was very good and there was plenty of powdered sugar to go around for everyone.  They were definitely flavorful, but I didn't think they were the best beignets I have ever had.  While I usually don't put cream and sugar in my coffee, I was pleased with the restaurant's chicory coffee.

My youngest with her first bite of a beignet

The service is very quick and they seem to be experts at getting large numbers of people in and out.  By the time we left, there was a line thirty deep waiting to be seated.  We all enjoyed our experience at Cafe Du Monde, but it didn't live up to the hype my wife had been building up for a month before our arrival.  That being said, it was a decent enough breakfast and a fun place for families to go and get covered in powdered sugar.

Cafe Du Monde
http://www.cafedumonde.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

Jo's

The infamous Iced Turbo

While in Austin, a work colleague and I were craving breakfast and decided to go to Jo's.  This restaurant had been recommended to me by a couple of locals, so we thought we would give it a shot.  At Jo's, patrons order at the counter, take a number, and wait to have your meal delivered.

Menu board and dining area

The Iced Turbo is one item that was highly recommended to me by the locals.  I am usually not a big drinker of iced coffee and prefer hot coffee, but decided to give the Iced Turbo a chance.   This particular iced coffee had exceptional flavor and was strong.  The drink was sweet, but it wasn't too sweet for me.  Although I probably wouldn't want to replace this drink with my daily coffee, it would certainly be nice for a change of pace from my routine of drinking a pot of coffee a day.

Sourdough French Toast

For food, I ordered the Sourdough French Toast and a breakfast taco with bacon,cheese, and eggs.  The French Toast was very good and it had plenty of fresh berries on top.  The breakfast taco wasn't anything special and could have used more bacon, but the tortilla was fresh and the salsa was flavorful.  My colleague ordered the Huevos Rancheros.  Since he practically licked the plate clean, I am assuming he was liked his meal as well.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Taco

Jo's has a good sized breakfast menu, laudable food, and quick service.  If you are looking for a place in downtown Austin to grab breakfast, I suggest you give Jo's a chance.  When you go, make sure that you drink the Iced Turbo.  You can thank me later.

Huevos Rancheros

Jo's
http://www.joscoffee.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

The Fat Kid Field Trip and The Break for Dessert

La Duni's Coffee Studio

Recently my mom came to visit and volunteered to keep the the kids for the day.  My wife and I ended up having 10 kid-free hours to do whatever we wanted.  We decided to take a Fat Kid Field trip that started out with lunch at Maple and Motor and culminated with a dinner date at Sissy's Southern Kitchen.  In between these dining experiences, my wife also drug me on a shopping "adventure" to NorthPark Mall where she spent too much money and drug me to a chick flick.  Before going to see the movie, we decided to go for a cup of coffee and some dessert at La Duni.

A tasty cappuccino

Normally I wouldn't blog about a short dessert break, but this one was a truly memorable experience that caused me to have "sweet" dreams for a couple of days afterwards.  I have eaten at La Duni a couple of times and have always enjoyed the experience, but I have never been to their coffee studio or had dessert there.  We both ordered cappuccinos and ordered the first two items we saw on the dessert menu.  My wife ordered a slice of the the Cuatro Leches Cake, which was apparently made for those who think Tres Leches doesn't have enough leche in it.  I ordered a slice of the Venezuelan Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake.

Venezuelan Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake

Cuatro Leches Cake

We could not have been happier with our choices.  The coffee was fantastic, the Cuatro Leches Cake gave new meaning to the word sweet, and the Venezuelan Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake was the best chocolate cake I have had in some time.  I would rate both of these desserts a 4 on a scale of 5.  Although it was amazing, it was a little pricey.  Both desserts were fantastic and helped add to the 5000+ calories I consumed on the Fat Kid Field Trip!