HG SPLY CO. Nutriment & Spirits Part 1.

I thought their name said it all...the "HG" standing for "Hunt and Gather," one of the primary principals behind the paleo diet.  But it's really their slogan that says it even better "AFTER THE HUNT, WE GATHER."  There was a friendly buzz the moment we walked in the door from good conversation and laughter.  The décor itself was rustic and friendly, inviting you to sit and stay a while.  We moseyed on over to the bar so we could order a drink while we waited for our to-go order.  We had had a late lunch of monstrous proportions and weren't hungry enough to eat then, so we had called in a to-go order to take back to the hotel.  Upon drink menus being put into our hands and a glance at their drink specials board I was fairly certain I had died and gone to paleo heaven.  Let me pause briefly in my tale to say I know a lot of you have reached out to me with questions of how on earth do I (or you) eat out paleo? Now, if you're lucky enough to live in Dallas or another city with a restaurant such as this, I hate you...if not remember my previous post you about how you should do the best you can.  It's easier than you'd think and I shall share some of my tips and tricks in tomorrow's post. With that being said, back to HG SPLY CO.  The drink menu itself was enough to make my heart skip a beat as it had concoctions so named "KETTLE BELL" and "DOUBLE UNDER" (my Crossfit friends will appreciate this.) Their infusions are made FRESH AND ALL NATURAL in house.  Again, let me pause here...no, alcohol is not paleo but when I do drink I want choices like these! I want a restaurant that actually takes the time to make their own infusions.  Because chances are if they're doing it with their drinks, guess where else they are? Yup, that's right...their food.  Makes sense, right?  OK, back to the bar.  Some of the infusions on hand were Pineapple cinnamon thyme.  Then there was a beet tequila, which they were making into a yummy inspired skinny margarita of sorts...oh and not to mention the Habanero syrup.

Allow me just a moment to point out that this simple "back to the basic's" concept is the standard that we should be expecting from our food, restaurants and grocery stores.  You should be able to recognize the ingredients in the food you choose to buy, if you need to Google them then you probably shouldn't be putting it into your body.  It's that simple...back to the bar. I sat in complete and utter happiness as I watched (and yes, drooled) as plates came out of the kitchen: BLOOD ORANGE GLAZED PORK BELLY to my left, SLIDER DUO of duck confit & foie gras and chopped brisket with horseradish pickles and HG BBQ Sauce to my right.  I was thankful we had phoned our order in ahead of time, how on earth would I have ever picked?

...I'm going to leave you hanging here.  Stay tuned for tomorrow's post about what we actually ordered-I had to set the stage for ya, you'll thank me later :) I also successfully recreated the recipe in it's glory at home, I'll share that too. Until then... :)