SWEET HUT Bakery & Café (Plano) 

There’s a little place off Coit Road where a group of like-minded individuals can come together to chew on great ideas and great food. Like the coffeehouses of yore, the finest minds of our generation congregate here. I’m talking, of course, about SWEET HUT Bakery & Café in Plano. From the moment you open the door, you are greeted with pleasant smells and a friendly atmosphere. To your right is the bakery section, full of tasty treats. Take your pick from the expansive bubble tea menu, and make sure to grab your favorite baked treats as well. I love the refrigerated desserts behind the counter, especially the red velvet cake ($4.95) pictured here. If you’re feeling something a little more substantial, try the salty chicken nuggets. After your drinks come out, take a seat and grab one of their board games to play with your friends. The hours will fly by, but fear not, SWEET HUT Bakery and Café is open until midnight. 

SWEET HUT has hosted some of the very best times I’ve had with my friends, and I hold it dear in my heart. 5 stars and two thumbs up, thanks Gabe! 

Bistro B 

Bistro B pleasantly surprised me time after time. The first thing you need to know about the eatery is that it is designed to handle eating as a communal affair. The experience is not only about the food eaten there but also about the vibe, the conversations around the table, the atmosphere, and the memories of the people you eat with. All the tables are circular and have at least six chairs. This facilitates the erasure of dinner as a collection of individuals eating their own meals but as a crew, a team eating together. This image is upheld by the fried spring rolls and vegetables ($10) everybody shared as an appetizer. 

The second thing is that there is something on the menu for everybody. Seriously. The menu is 30 pages long and has items numbered 1 to 706. Complete with images, the Bistro’s tome of cuisine seems to have more chapters than Don Quixote, with page-long sections dedicated to Phở, Rice Dishes, Chicken, Seafood, Specials, and more. An entire page is devoted to Salmon. I settled on 164. Mì Xào Mềm ($13), soft egg noodle wok tossed with veggies — otherwise known as lo mein. The portion sizes were large. The meal was steaming hot and delicious. The noodles, proteins, and especially the vegetables were all cooked to perfection. The group I ate with were likewise pleased with their meals. 

I’d recommend everyone eat here sometime, and in the words of Douglas MacArthur, “I shall return.”