Restaurant thread.

[Murphy3]

Worst Mexican Food...

Chevy's and Mexican Inn....terrible tomato paste type sauce on their enchiladas. At Chevy's, it tasted more like Ragu than anything Mexican.

[untitled]

I just moved into a loft in Deep Ellum several months ago and have found several good places to grub at, all within walking distance:

Omega's Tex-Mex is great! They just raised their prices, so it's not really cheap anymore, but you get free queso and dessert with your meal (along with chips and salsa, of course - and the salsa is awesome!) and they are even giving away free margaritas through Cinco de Mayo as long as you come in during the dinner hours. They are family owned and operated with great service in a tiny little spot that only has about a dozen tables. All their entrees are great too - they include 3 items on all plates instead of 2 (i.e., the enchilada plate comes with 3, with either spinach, chicken, beef, or cheese inside and either ranchero, verde, cheese, or chili sauce). Don't go from 3-6 though, since they close each day for three hours for a siesta! Also, they are closed all day on Sundays and stay closed on Monday after 3 o'clock.

Pepe's & Mito's - Only been once, but I found it to be generally solid, although not spectacular. Slightly upscale compared to the average mexican joint - but after finding Omega's I haven't been back.

Angry Dog - I'm sure many of you have been here at least once. Great burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, wings, dogs, and fries! They have a full bar with around 2 dozen beers on tap too. Jukebox is filled with quality stuff and they have great service to boot. Quite a popular place during the weekends and lunch hours, so don't go during those times if you are looking for something low key.

St. Pete's Dancing Marlin - hit or miss depending on what you order. A tiny seafood menu that vexes me and my buddies considering the name and decor. But the pasta and sandwiches are actually pretty good. Atmosphere is friendly and just a tad bit formal compared to most everything else in Deep Ellum. Still, it's a comfortable place and always struck me as a good place, for me at least, to bring a date without spending too much while maintaining a sense of "class".

Baker's Ribs - Wow! This location is a hell of a lot better than their lower Greenville one! I still wish they would expand their fixins menu, but the meat tasted much better and cleaner than what I remember from the Greenville location. BBQ sauce isn't the best by any means, but it's good enough when combined with their meats. Overall, a solid BBQ joint.

There's several more places that I'll add later, as well as some places that I became familiar with when I lived on lower Greenville near the Granada.

[Evilmav2]

Good post, untitled. I also think that the Angry Dog is one of the best, most underrated restraunts in Big D. Good wings, good burgers, good beer selection, good prices, and a boomingly great atmosphere on the weekends... the Dog is a great place indeed...

[raefformvp]

Worst mexican food in my opinion is El Campo Verde in Arlington. My husband's family LOVES the place, so I have to endure it every once in awhile. The "queso" isn't even made of cheese. It's gravy mix and food coloring (I know this because the best man in our wedding once worked for a place that supplied Campo with loads of gravy mix. He once asked, "Hey, why all the gravy mix?" The reply of the manager, "Oh, it is used to make our queso. That and food coloring!") Yuck. The enchiladas are edible, but I don't care for anything else. You can tell the tortillas are bought down the street at Walmart. The one cool thing about the place is the way they decorate at Christmas. So many lights! Very pretty.

[Some Guy]

Originally Posted by madape

barbacoa huh? Do you know what you just ate?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbacoa

Barbacoa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Barbacoa generally refers to meats slow cooked over an open fire. Barbacoa de cabeza is a specialty of slow-cooked cow head.

Not to be confused with barbecue, barbacoa is a dish traditional to Mexico, that has subsequently been adopted in South Texas, made from meat byproducts from a cow's head and other parts. Traditionally, it was prepared by digging a hole in the ground, placing the head in the hole and slow-cooking it with hot coals. The meat separates from the bones and is served on corn or flour tortillas. More contemporary recipes for barbacoa often use lamb and are prepared in steamers.

Barbacoa is also one of the most popular meats being served at Chipotle, the increasingly popular mexican fast food joint.

"Barbacoa" at Chipotle isn't real barbacoa. http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2...ing/toque.html

"In Texas, making barbacoa means slow-cooking a cow head. At Chipotle, barbacoa is made from a beef shoulder clod, a huge cut that weighs around 30 pounds. It is marinated in a spice mix that includes cumin, garlic and adobo, sealed in Cryovac and then slow-cooked for seven or eight hours in a 185-degree water bath."

[aexchange]

best sushi restaurant
midori's off mcarthur and 183.

by far.

[chumdawg]

For those new to sushi, AEX, what do you recommend having?

[kg_veteran]

Originally Posted by raefformvp

Worst mexican food in my opinion is El Campo Verde in Arlington. My husband's family LOVES the place, so I have to endure it every once in awhile. The "queso" isn't even made of cheese. It's gravy mix and food coloring (I know this because the best man in our wedding once worked for a place that supplied Campo with loads of gravy mix. He once asked, "Hey, why all the gravy mix?" The reply of the manager, "Oh, it is used to make our queso. That and food coloring!") Yuck. The enchiladas are edible, but I don't care for anything else. You can tell the tortillas are bought down the street at Walmart. The one cool thing about the place is the way they decorate at Christmas. So many lights! Very pretty.

I have to agree. It is pretty awful. What's up with those weird seasoned chips?

Ugh.

[raefformvp]

Originally Posted by kg_veteran

I have to agree. It is pretty awful. What's up with those weird seasoned chips?

Ugh.

I know! They are awful. I think they have like paprika or chili powder on them or something. Yuck. So basically you are eating chips with some spice all over them and gravy. I want to throw up just thinking about it!

[Murphy3]

I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but if you're in the Lewisville area and you're in the mood for chicken strips...go to Raising Canes off of Hebron, I believe...over by the Target. It's a relatively small chain that's just making it's way here from Louisiana. No, it's not cajun at all. The chicken strips are solid, but their Raising Cane's sauce is spectacular.. Plus, good toast and fries and great tea.... I've been there no fewer than 25-30 times...

This is how good it is... I was in south Dallas today. Well, I live in Fort Worth... But, I went to Lewisville WAY out of my way to go to this place. It's good stuff.

[mary]

Ugh..I brag about Cheddars...and on my very next visit they suck.

Partially my fault...I never order chicken fried steak, but for some reason the mood struck me last night. It just wasn't good.

I also ended up with an overly tricked up drink. Its called a Cheddar's Painkiller. Its rum, coconut cream, pineapple juice, and orange juice. Basically it was a Pina Colada with orange juice served on the rocks. The drink itself wasn't bad.

But they rolled the glass in honey and toasted coconut, sprinkled cinammon and/or nutmeg all over the top and garnished it with a giant chunk of pineapple. I was embarassed to drink it. I would've been more embarassed to serve it.

[Murphy3]

Their chicken fried steak is mediocre...a little bland

[Rhylan]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but if you're in the Lewisville area and you're in the mood for chicken strips...go to Raising Canes off of Hebron, I believe...over by the Target. It's a relatively small chain that's just making it's way here from Louisiana. No, it's not cajun at all. The chicken strips are solid, but their Raising Cane's sauce is spectacular.. Plus, good toast and fries and great tea.... I've been there no fewer than 25-30 times...

This is how good it is... I was in south Dallas today. Well, I live in Fort Worth... But, I went to Lewisville WAY out of my way to go to this place. It's good stuff.

I ate lunch at that very place today.

The sauce is damn good. There's a place called Layne's in College Station that's basically a copycat. But, it's been around a long time. Best I can figure, someone ported the Raising Canes idea some years ago to CS as Layne's before Canes was in Texas.

Anyway, really good place.

[aexchange]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

For those new to sushi, AEX, what do you recommend having?

hrmm, if you want to be on the safe side, you can always stick with the rolls.

some of the ones i'd recommend are the rainbow roll (not to be confused with the rainbow coalition), the eel roll (cooked), and the soft shell crab roll. some of the other ones i enjoy are the spicy tuna, yellow tail, and spicy salmon.

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by Rhylan

I ate lunch at that very place today.

The sauce is damn good. There's a place called Layne's in College Station that's basically a copycat. But, it's been around a long time. Best I can figure, someone ported the Raising Canes idea some years ago to CS as Layne's before Canes was in Texas.

Anyway, really good place.

Yeah..I was there around 1:30 or so..

[MavsMandy]

Originally Posted by Evilmav2

Good post, untitled. I also think that the Angry Dog is one of the best, most underrated restraunts in Big D. Good wings, good burgers, good beer selection, good prices, and a boomingly great atmosphere on the weekends... the Dog is a great place indeed...

wow, haven't been around much, but randomly stepped in this thread and saw this...gotta say, i'm a big fan of the angry dog, seeing as i waitressed there the last two summers. they definitely have great service, untitled.

seriously, though, i love that place, and i'm glad to hear that it's appreciated by a few people on the board...

unfortunately, i won't be back working there this summer (i actually had to suck it up and get a "real" job this summer) but maybe i'll see y'all there eating some time. i also just turned 21, so i'm looking forward to dropping by and drinking a beer or two when i get back to dallas...

[MavKikiNYC]

Originally Posted by capitalcity

Socioeconomically.

First Thursday has turned south congress into SoCo.

Yuppification has enveloped the entire area. The south Austin of MTV's "austin stories" and Linklater's "slacker" will soon be gone forever.

I hope your mom & pop restaurants survive the skyrocketing property values - many have not.

I loved living in Austin, but this is the kind of thing that annoys me all to hell and back---these pinheads whining in favor of a 2nd-rate TexMex joint, to the probable detriment of a development that will produce far more jobs and far more tax revenues.

NEWSFLASH: I used to go to Las Manitas and it ain't all that. Shut up, pack up, and move on. Austin is a great place to live, but it is not "unique" or "special" because of places like Las Manitas.

Grow the hell up, Austin.

DOWNTOWN AUSTIN
3 council members seek changes to hotel project to save Las Manitas

Three call for coexistence of new development, old Austin charm.

By Kate Alexander, Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, September 29, 2006
Three Austin City Council members have asked Marriott International Inc. to revise plans for a Congress Avenue hotel project so that three small businesses don't have to move.
The letter noted that the project will require "several City Council approvals" and asks that Marriott come up with a revised plan by Oct. 31.
"To clear up any ambiguity: Las Manitas, Escuelita del Alma, and Tesoros are revered local institutions which have significant cultural and historic value to our community," wrote Council Members Lee Leffingwell, Mike Martinez and Brewster McCracken in a letter sent Thursday. "These businesses are — and they are representative of — what makes Austin a unique and special place. Losing them is simply a losing proposition for everyone involved."
White Lodging Services Corp., a development company, has proposed a $185 million complex that will add 1,000 rooms in three Marriott hotels on the 200 block of Congress Avenue.
The project will displace the popular Las Manitas Avenue Cafe, Escuelita del Alma, a bilingual day care center and the Tesoros Trading Co. folk art store.
Negotiations between White Lodging and the Perez sisters who own the restaurant appear to be stalemated.
The developer had offered to give Las Manitas and the daycare center a lease extension and free rent through August 2007 and pay moving expenses. The sisters say they don't need free rent but want their lease extended until June 2008 — just a year before the hotels are scheduled to open.
The leases for Las Manitas and the daycare expire in December. Tesoros' lease expires a month later.
White Lodging, which chose the location, has not submitted official plans to the city. But the project appears to require council approval to close an alley and a height limit variance.
McCracken said the developers need to "go back to the drawing board" and craft something the community and its leaders can embrace.
Leffingwell said the letter should not be perceived as a threat. Instead, he said, it is meant to advise the companies to seek a solution in order to avoid a bruising public battle.
"We're trying to find some way for both parties to come together and make an agreement to preserve three iconic business on Congress Avenue," Leffingwell said.
Austin must find a way for economic development and the city's unique character to coexist, Martinez said.
"We can't forsake one over the other," he said, adding that a solution is possible if both sides are willing to talk.
The head of the hotel chain, J.W. Marriott Jr., said last week that the businesses should move so that the hotels, which will create 900 jobs and tax revenue for the city, can move forward. On Tuesday, he sent an apology letter to the Perez sisters, saying that he had overlooked the restaurant's long history.
Marriott was not available for comment. Jeff Flaherty, a spokesman for the company, said the apology "clearly states what his feelings are."
White Lodging officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

[capitalcity]

Smelly hippies.

[nashtymavsfan13]

My fav places right now are Rio Adobe and El Pollo Loco.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by u2sarajevo

The one in Flower Mound (out in the middle of nowhere) is about 2 miles from my Dad's house, it's the original one. And it was not called Cristina's originally it was Angelina's. But it's the same family owned restaurant(s).

The story why the name changed was a bit soap opera-ish.... And I can't remember all the details but had something to do with a daughter and a Mother. Angelina the Mom, and Cristina the daughter. My Dad knows the story, but it obviously gives me tired head, much like I'm probably giving you tired head right now reading this.

I like Christinas and Angelinas....Anamias is right down the street from where my parents live...and it's ok. I dont know if I would call it "real mexican food"

All these places around here pale in comparison to just about any mexican food restaurant in Phoenix, however.


Tell you what though, there is a FANTASTIC Columbian restaurant, in Carollton in the shopping center on the corner of Josey and Belt Line. It's called "Casa Vieja", and it is really really good. And depending on the day, good luck going in there without speaking any spanish. but the food is freaking awesome.

[Murphy3]

Mexican food in Phoenix is sooo overrated. Phoenix itself is overrated.

[Windmill360]

i like the fired calamari in soho's in addison on belt line.

[Rhylan]

Originally Posted by Rhylan

I ate lunch at that very place today.

The sauce is damn good. There's a place called Layne's in College Station that's basically a copycat. But, it's been around a long time. Best I can figure, someone ported the Raising Canes idea some years ago to CS as Layne's before Canes was in Texas.

Anyway, really good place.

Update on this... one day at work we called Layne's in College Station... my buddy goes, "Yeah, have you heard of Cane's?" Girl on the other line says, "Yeah, and you're probably wondering, we came first. 1994 vs. 1996."

So.. Cane's lovers and Aggies, there's your answer.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I like Christinas and Angelinas....Anamias is right down the street from where my parents live...and it's ok. I dont know if I would call it "real mexican food"

All these places around here pale in comparison to just about any mexican food restaurant in Phoenix, however.


Tell you what though, there is a FANTASTIC Columbian restaurant, in Carollton in the shopping center on the corner of Josey and Belt Line. It's called "Casa Vieja", and it is really really good. And depending on the day, good luck going in there without speaking any spanish. but the food is freaking awesome.

I went there once, Flaco. Probably didn't know what to order, though. I remember the fried plantain being too sweet for my taste.

But Tierra Caliente, in that same shopping center? Oh, yeah, boy. I love me a place where the waitresses don't speak English--or see any need to.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

I went there once, Flaco. Probably didn't know what to order, though. I remember the fried plantain being too sweet for my taste.

But Tierra Caliente, in that same shopping center? Oh, yeah, boy. I love me a place where the waitresses don't speak English--or see any need to.

Yeah thats good too.!

I also like the asian noodle soup place next to it

[chumdawg]

Never been to the noodle place. When I'm in that neighborhood I usually just stop down for some carne guisada at Tierra Caliente. But I might check it out!

What's good to order at the Columbian place? Honestly, I went there thinking it was Mexican. I had no clue.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Never been to the noodle place. When I'm in that neighborhood I usually just stop down for some carne guisada at Tierra Caliente. But I might check it out!

What's good to order at the Columbian place? Honestly, I went there thinking it was Mexican. I had no clue.

"Carne con Papas choreadas" is my favorite...

mostly everything there is a thin grilled flank steak, topped with something. They come with some great rice, they have fried plantains....topped with an egg....with a potatoes in a great creole sauce, they have a couple of chicken dishes I think.....

And their Empanadas are fantastic.

mmmmm columbian food.....

[MavKikiNYC]

More Austin a$$-hattery when it comes to restaurants....



'Meat Lady' is gutting Tarrytown


Sunday, January 07, 2007A friend of mine joked that it wouldn't hurt his feelings if Tarrytown Shopping Center owner Jeanne Daniels got eaten by a bear.

Now there's an irony I'm sure many people living in Tarrytown would like to see on Animal Planet.
Daniels — aka The Meat Lady — is the draconian veghead owner of the mall in West Austin who keeps running off beloved businesses in her mall for selling animal-based products, while showing no regard for the feelings of the neighbors or small-business people.

If she was doing the same thing to, say, Joe's Bakery in East Austin, people would be marching in front of City Hall. But since Tarrytown is mostly white and wealthy, she can get away with it.

Businesses that Daniels has run out of her mall include Texas French Bread (guilty of chicken sandwiches), the Grocery (deli products) and Formosa (kung pao chicken). She made the liquor store stop selling caviar because they're fish eggs.

This is not to say Daniels has always been this strong in her convictions. I have a photo of her from a 1975 People Weekly magazine showing her with what appears to be a fur around her neck. I suppose it could be fake. Either way, the fur appears to be dead. This fur is not up for adoption, so to speak.

The occasion was a fashion photo shoot outside a high-dollar ladies' apparel shop in Salado.

"There's Jeanne with a gray fox draped around her neck," said Austin arts philanthropist Jane Sibley, who was at the shoot and appeared in the same photo. She amended that to say the fur Daniels wore was a silver fox. Gray, silver, who cares? The hounds had lost interest in this booger long before this picture was taken.

Wonder what ever happened to that fur? These days, Daniels is probably trying to give it mouth to mouth and take it for a walk.

What's remarkable about this photo is that it has elicited the first comment I've been able to get out of Daniels since I began covering this story eight years ago.

I have left business cards at her office in her Tarrytown mall. I have left messages on her phone. I even sent her a chatty registered letter. It was returned unopened with the word "refused" written on it. I did everything but disguise myself in a German shepherd suit and walk up and down in front of her Houston home.

But when I got word to her that I had a photo of her in a fur, she finally decided to respond. Here's part of her e-mail explaining the fur. (You can read the whole thing on statesman .com.)

"I first became aware of the innate cruelty involved in the slaughter of animals for their furs in 1986. I have not purchased or worn any fur from any animal since that time. . . . If you find the thought of wearing dog or cat fur unacceptable, it should only make sense that you wouldn't want to wear the fur of any animal."

I appreciate Daniels' seeing the light on furs. I guess it's kinda like me quitting smoking. I haven't smoked a cigarette since 1988, and she hasn't worn a fur since at least 1986. And I've never worn a fur. Too darned itchy.

But while Daniels looks out for the four-leggeds, she continues to decimate her mall and mess with the two-leggeds whose livelihoods depend on it.

We can't say for sure what her problem was with the beloved Bill Broaddus Tarrytown Chevron gas station, which will close down soon after 60 years of business. Maybe it was those coupons for burgers Broaddus gave out a few years ago for an oil change.

Either way, Broaddus says he's hanging it up because he says the new lease Daniels is offering him is substantially different from his old lease.

Oh, almost forgot the punch line: Broaddus says the Meat Lady hasn't allowed him to sell candy at his filling station for a few years because it has milk in it.

The thing that's annoyed me about this movement is Daniels' disregard for the neighborhood. Local business owners like Daniels have a moral responsibility to the community. Her mall has been a community center of sorts since the place started up.

Broaddus says the mall has been there about 60 years, just like his station. And many of the neighbors have a lifelong connection with some of these businesses Daniels has axed.

Lord knows how many little old ladies living in the neighborhood gathered over the years to chew the fat and enjoy lunch at the now-defunct Holiday House, another of Daniels' victims.

Or how many Tarrytown little old men stopped at Broaddus's gas station to jaw with Leroy Hernandez, who has worked at the filling station since serving at Iwo Jima.

No, Ms. Daniels, Iwo Jima is not a kind of toy Japanese dog.

I guess the good news is that when Daniels has finally done in her own mall, and there's nothing left but stubble, it will be a good place to set the neighborhood stray cats free.

Heck, I'm sure she'd be glad to take care of 'em.

[alexamenos]

a few that may not have been mentioned....

Babes -- fried chicken, mashed potoes, creamed corn and green beans, followed by angioplasty. The green beans are basically just a receptacle for bacon grease. Most highly recommended provided you can take an extended nap after dining <<$10

Popeyes fried chicken, many places...the red beans and rice are killer, in more ways than one. cheap

Hook Line 'n' Sinker, McKinney and Lemmon....catfish and such...<<$10

Casa Navarro, Marsh and Forest Lane....great bean soup, chips and salsa served by little old mexican women.

[Murphy3]

Babes is solid..

Had Checkers down in florida a couple of times this weekend...solid also.

[Male30Dan]

Funny this thread is back up on top... I don't have time to read through this entire thread, but I thought I would ask what Thai restaurants are highly recommended for Dallas as I will be going this weekend and I want to get a good curry or flat noodle dish. Try to keep per person under $30ish dollars.

Thanks in advance!

[Murphy3]

What's curry?

[Male30Dan]

Here ya go!

[Murphy3]

Hmm, yeah... I had that once. I can honestly tell you that there is no good place to get it on the face of the earth.

[Male30Dan]

Hahahaha... That is NOT true... There is a tremendous place in little ol Waco TX for it.... But I am looking for help in Dallas.

[Mavdog]

Chow Thai Restaurant
5290 Belt Line Rd Ste 144
Dallas, TX 75254

Phone: 972-960-2999

[Male30Dan]

Thanks a lot mavdog!

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by MavKikiNYC

More Austin a$$-hattery when it comes to restaurants....



'Meat Lady' is gutting Tarrytown

keep austin weird, man, keep austin weird. If she's owner of the shopping center that she's controlling, then I'm all for it (I just scanned the article). Meat isn't covered under any equal protection act, is it? If she paid for it, then let her run her little section of the world like she wants. Who cares if its in the economic best interest of her or anyone else?

For anyone driving through Austin on I35, Hoovers is a couple blocks east on Manor road. Great comfort food. I've not had anything there not worth eating.

Tony's Southern Comfort is a block or so east on 6th street, and is very good also. If your grandparents cook a lot and haven't redecorated their kitchen or dining room in 40 years,then Tony's will remind you of your gramma's.

There's a Texican Cafe here in South Austin. I never knew what mole sauce was supposed to be til I ate there.

[alexamenos]

Manny's -- west side of Midway just south of Beltline.

really good texmex - brisket tacos are killer. not too expensive ... <<$10. (there may be a manny's uptown as well.)

[MissNU]

I love me some Chipotle!