MacBeth (2015)

Macbeth (2015). I went to a free screening to see this movie on December 7^th at the Angelika Film Center Dallas.

I know of Macbeth. I remember reading the play in junior high or high school. I saw the trailer to this movie and thought, "That looks like a good movie."

However, it was...interesting. At times, it was like watching a Chinese movie without subtitles. If I didn't sort of remember the story, I'd probably have walked out because I would have been very lost, confused and frustrated. The preview showed more action, not so much.

Oh well...'What's done is done.'

FINAL VERDICT: So, my opinion is that unless you're a huge Shakespeare fan, you can probably skip this rendition. To me, it's essentially the play we've all seen before but with a little bit of useless Hollywood flash.

Pecan Lodge - Dallas (Deep Ellum)

What you see in the photo is called The Trough from Pecan Lodge in Deep Ellum. It's described on their menu as "1 beef rib, 1 lb of pork ribs, 1 lb brisket, 1/2 lb of pulled pork and 3 sausage links." It serves 4-5 and costs $75.00 — with tax it's about $82.00.

I ordered this for me and the family (4 of us).

It's the first time I've been to Pecan Lodge. It's been around for a while and a few of my friends have visited without me (bastards!) but I've just never gotten around to checking it out for whatever reason. Finally, I decided this day I would have the intent to go to Pecan Lodge and depending on what the line looked like as I've heard it's always busy and the line is long, I would stop in and order something.

I did look online at the menu before heading that way just to have an idea of their offerings so I wasn't some idiot holding up the line. I wasn't sure what I wanted to get but thought at least the brisket and pork ribs would be good options. I read the description of The Trough but words do not describe well enough what it actually looks like. I did see some photos of it on Yelp which kind of made me lean towards it as it's essentially a sampler of their barbecue offerings.

So let's get to the assessment.

• Beef rib: It is big. The meat on it is probable the same amount as three of the pork ribs. The outside of the rib (the char, I guess) is way salty. Too salty for my tastes. I did get through it to reach the meat which was very good. The meat was very tender and mostly fell off the bone. After the first little bite, I decided to use a fork or two to scrap the char off and just eat the meat.
• Pork ribs: One pound of pork ribs isn't a lot, to me anyway. It also doesn't look like a lot and at Pecan Lodge, it's about five ribs. Although seemingly short on quantity, they do not lack in quality. The smoke flavor was good and the tenderness just right. The char was much less and not even close to as salty as the beef rib. These were a hit with the entire family.
• Brisket: It's pretty tasty. Has a good smoke flavor and very tender. We all enjoyed the brisket very much. I wish there were more than a few slices given.
• Pulled pork: The pulled pork is pretty good, flavorful and tender like the rest. It has a pretty good crust within the pull parts which added to the flavor. It looks like it was scooped by a spoon and placed in the foil dish but I can overlook that. The family liked it but they liked the brisket and pork ribs better.
• Sausage link: Out of all the meats, this was the least favorite. It wasn't as flavorful as the others and it tasted just alright. It didn't have the smoky flavor like the other meats. It really just tasted like any other plain sausage I've had at other places or even from the grocery store. I was the only one that ate it and it was the last thing left after the second day. I probably ate it slowly over 3-4 days.

Overall, The Trough was pretty good. Was it worth $82.00? I'm not sure. I mean I'm not a foodie expert but I know what I like and at what cost that I like to pay. That being said, I like the taste and cost of North Main BBQ. However, Pecan Lodge's pork ribs and beef brisket were a couple of notches above North Main BBQ but a little higher cost when I can get North Main as a buffet. Will I try Pecan Lodge again? Yeah, probably at least once more if I'm paying. If I can mooch off a friend, then maybe more than once.

North Main BBQ - Euless (North Main St)

I visited North Main BBQ this past Saturday. It's been a year or more since the last time I've eaten there and I thought it was time to visit again.

What you see in the image is the slice brisket and pork ribs. I could eat this shit all day! The brisket is still pretty tender and the meat on the ribs pretty much just falls off the bone. After this initial plate, I had a bit of the pulled pork and chopped brisket but then decided to stick with the sliced brisket and pork ribs after.

North Main BBQ still offers sides of cole slaw and baked beans but I consider these as unnecessary. Sure these two things are pretty good if your grilling and barbecuing at home but not if it takes way from my ability to truly eat all I can of the meats available at a restaurant.

What's funny is it's only been a couple of days since I ate there but I can't recall for the life of me how much I paid. It is still a buffet but also offers a sandwich plate. I know I had a twenty dollar bill that I paid with but I can't remember the change I received. I'm sure the buffet costs somewhere between $15 and $18.

I tried to actually pay attention to the tastes and flavoring of the meats this time around. While the meat is tender and flavorful, I did realize that it was pretty salty (for this time) particularly the pork ribs. The sliced brisket wasn't nearly as salty but the crusting of the meats (brisket and ribs) was mainly where the saltiness could be tasted.

Even with the saltiness, I will return to have more barbecue buffet at North Main BBQ. I probably will visit once or twice a year just because but maybe not more than that.

Masala Wok - Dallas (Preston Center)

The wife and youngest kid were in the mood for something different, something Indian for dinner. We've previously ordered via GrubHub from Roti Grill but thought we'd give another place a try.

Enter Masala Wok - Preston Center on Luther Lane.

The total cost of Masala Wok for pickup was $40.59. The Roti Grill tab was $49.00 but included delivery fee and a tip to the driver. So, they are probably fairly comparable in price minus the delivery fee and tip.

One thing about Masala Wok is that they not only have Indian food but also have Asian cuisine, particularly Thai. It was kind of nice to be able to get both in one location.

In the images, you'll see that I ordered two Indian entrees and one Thai entree. They were all pretty good. The Kung Pao Chicken was good but it wasn't "wow-fully" seasoned to make me say it was any better than anywhere else, except for sure maybe Panda Express. I mean it is what it is: Kung Pao Chicken and that's what it tasted like. The Chicken Butter Masala was very good as was the Chicken Mughlai. I have no idea what they are supposed to taste like, if anything different than they do, but they were very, very tasty. I'd definitely have them again whereas the Kung Pao Chicken I feel like I can pass on since I know it tastes just like it should (if that makes sense).

The veggie spring rolls were pretty good but just like the Kung Pao Chicken, they didn't taste much different than those from some other "higher-scale-than-Panda-Express" Asian restaurant.

The one thing I was not a fan of but bought so much of because I thought my wife and kid were fans, is the samosa. It's just not something that I was impressed by nor would I order again. It wasn't bad. I just now know that it isn't something that I would order in the future because the other stuff is SO much better.

One thing to know about Masala Wok is that there is no beef/steak. The closest thing to it would be lamb.

Kung Pao Chicken

 

 

Chicken Mughlai

 

 

Chicken Butter Masala

Samosa & Vegetable Spring Rolls

Burger House - Dallas (Hillcrest Ave)

This is the triple chili cheeseburger from Burger House on Hillcrest. It's a burger of wonderful death by food coma.

The family was craving some burgers. I didn't want to eat such a "healthy" burger but it just called to me when I got to the order window. Food does that to me some times.

At Burger House, my standard is the Zoe's Chicken because it comes with fries versus ordering a burger and having to order fries as a side. And I like it. However, the Zoe's used to be a cheaper option but I don't think it is as much anymore.

Anyway, this triple chili cheesburger was messy. The chili was dripping and pooping out the burger with every bite I took. It tasted pretty good too. I've had a double chili cheeseburger from Keller's Drive-in (or here). It's been a while but if I recall correctly, they both are pretty darn good with the Keller's version slightly better.

These are basic burgers. Nothing spectacular but also nothing disappointing. It's pretty tough to screw up a burger but it takes a lot to jazz up the taste of one enough to make me say, "Daaaaaamn!"

This Burger House burger was pretty tasty. Better than a basic burger like from Sonic or McDonald's but not a "Daaaaaamn!" kind of tasty. I'd probably have it again next time but I still like a Zoe's Chicken, so it may be tough to decide.

Snappee Auto Care (Dallas, TX)

I'm just getting around to writing about this but a few months ago I needed to get my vehicle inspected. It's been out for a few months and I've been able to wait since in Texas (I'm assuming it's just in Texas) they have combined the vehicle registration and inspection into one sticker. Essentially, if you have a registration sticker, you had to have had your vehicle inspected before getting it.

Anyway, I just haven't had time to take it. I was also trying to decide where to take it because I just needed an inspection and did not want to be upsold on anything like a freaking air filter, chassis lube or transmission/radiator flush which is what the typical Jiffy Lube, Kwik Kar Lube & Tune or the plethora of other automotive service centers tend to do.

I JUST WANT THE INSPECTION!

My vehicle is a 2000 and a current lube or flush is not going to do anything new that one of those a few years ago didn't already handle. My vehicle runs fairly well [knock on wood] for being 15 years old and heavily used as it has been. It's been a great vehicle and I just want to maintain it for as long as I can. It's more in the reactive maintenance zone than the preventive maintenance zone.

So, I opened up Google on my phone and did a generic search for oil change venues near my location. Kwik Kar was one of the first in the results. There are quite a few around the DFW Metroplex but the one closest to me was not favorably rated. I've been there before some years ago but I think more recently more people have had a less than stellar experience. The reviews mentioned the upselling, the over-charging and the problem-causing where they go in for just an oil change and then the vehicle starts to shake, rattle and roll when it never did before service. There was one in the Forth Worth, maybe Keller, area that was highest rated and seemd to have ownership which took pride and care in everything they do. However, I wasn't driving way the hell out to Keller for an oil change!

At any rate, I saw a pretty highly-rated place on Yelp listed as Snappee Auto Care & Lube. It only has four reviews: 1 in 2012, 2 in 2013 and the last in March 2014, but they are all 5 STARS. I figured it was fairly close to where I am and it was worth a try since I am only getting an oil change and inspection.

I took the picture below as I was waiting for service because I knew I wanted to share my "review" on Yelp and/or on my blog. The building is painted yellow. Probably could be considered bright yellow. However, I missed it on my first drive by and had to make a U-turn because it sits back a bit from the road. I drive by this place at least once if not twice a week, have for months/years, but have never really seen or paid too much attention to this building. I guess if you are looking for it you don't see it although again, I should have seen it and thought, "Damn, that's a yellow building!"

As you can see from the above photo, it's a pretty non-descript place. The inside (photo below) is even less glamorous. It reminds me a lot of Quix State Inspection which I typically get my inspection done but I needed the oil change they Quix only does inspection.

So, the oil change charges are pretty straight forward. There are two types/prices laid out on the front of the counter to be easily seen, read and understood. I just needed the basic. I spoke to the owner who is the guy in the middle of the guys in the photo on the company's home page. He seemed to be a very nice guy. I chatted with him a bit and he said that there was someone before me so it'd be like twenty minutes. I told him, "No problem."

I'd chat with him off and on as he came back in the office to do paperwork on the current customer. I asked how long he'd been there—only a few years in this location. I told him that I found him on Yelp and he had very good reviews. I pulled it up on my phone and showed him. He was like, "And I don't even advertise!" I said, "With reviews like these, I guess there's no real reason to."

So, before I get too much more long-winded on this post, I will probably give Snappee Auto Care a try if I have auto repair needs. I can't give an opinion on anything other than the oil change and inspection. I'm assuming the oil change went well as I haven't had any problems with a leak or such. My van passed inspection so I can't rate the inspection process any lower than top-rated. He reminded me to keep the receipt of the inspection for my records because they might ask for it when I get my registration done. I actually think it's supposed to show in some governmental database that it has been inspected but it was good of him to recommend keeping because we all know how well the government is with maintaining records.

A few other things to note:

1. He's one guy/mechanic who hires other mechanics for weekend work. If you can't leave your vehicle for more than a few hours, then you might want to go elsewhere. He told me that he's lost customers because they don't want to leave the vehicle for more than a day or so. He said he can't fully assess all problems unless they want to leave the vehicle plus the majority of the "big" work is done over the weekends when the part-time mechanics can work.
2. He's tried to hire some weekday workers but they just didn't cut it or live up to his standards. So, again, he loses customers but I'd say it speaks to the integrity of his work and business.
3. He plays Christian radio in the office. I commend him for sticking to what he believes in and is willing to play his music, which may or may not be liked by all. He's not shoving his Christian beliefs in my face but I respect his playing of his music and not what the majority may like/prefer. Again, for me, it speaks to his integrity of sticking to his guns.

There you have it. A "brief" review of Snappee Auto Care.

Aloha BBQ Grill - Lubbock, TX

This is the stir fry noodles Asian-style dish from Aloha BBQ Grill in Lubbock, TX. While in Lubbock, I wanted to try some different places other than the staples of like McDonald's, Chick fil A and Chipotle. However, while exploring the area via Google maps, I saw Aloha BBQ Grill come up as a recommended place. Although it's sounded similar to Aloha Hawaiian BBQ in Dallas, I figured it might be at least a little different because I think Aloha Hawaiian is owned and operated by Koreans whereas Aloha BBQ Grill is owned and operated by Japanese. Race matters not but it does in the area of taste buds and sometimes in the actual cooking process.

Anyway, the family was starving and we passed a Chipotle but I decided to try Aloha BBQ Grill. I didn't fully realize that the distance from our hotel (Overton Hotel & Conference Center) to Aloha was not 1.5 miles like I thought. It was actually 10 miles away more in a residential area in a corner strip shopping center.

Our hunger grew as the drive got longer. About seven minutes in, we thought about just driving back to the Chipotle which was right around the corner from the hotel but seven minutes back would be the same as seven minutes forward to our destination. We probably would have been better off getting Chipotle.

The food wasn't bad at Aloha BBQ Grill. It just wasn't really good or worth the roughly fifteen-minute drive or ten to twelve-minute wait for them to serve our food. As you can see in the image, the food is quite dark. Most aloha food isn't dark like this. What this tells me is that they used too much soy sauce in the cooking of this entree.

If you like dark, salty food then this place might be for you. I do not like my food cooked this way. I love to eat but I can tell you that I had almost half of the food left and did not eat the leftovers before leaving Lubbock. I can't speak for all the entrees prepared at Aloha BBQ Grill in Lubbock but since this one wasn't even close to my expectations, I cannot recommend to anyone nor will I visit this place if I visit Lubbock again.