Bumbershoot Barbecue (Argyle, TX)

I was helping someone move some shit in Roanoke (zip 76262). I figured while I was out there I'd see what barbecue restaurants they had to offer in the area. One that came up was Bumbershoot Barbecue. Bumbershoot's isn't actually in Roanoke but is 8.3 miles 'down the road' in Argyle.

It seemed like a worthy-enough choice as out of 138 reviews there were 3 two-stars and 2 one-stars. Or conversely, out of 138 reviews there are 121 4+ stars. Again, seemed like a decent option to try.

So first of all, this place is almost damn near in the country in my opinion. It's definitely more rural than urban although there is a 'big enough' city or two within a short driving distance. It's situated among a few other restaurants/businesses off a two-lane road/highway.

This place is a trailer, like a large airstream-type trailer. But that's not where they do the smoking, I think, as I did see a smokehouse behind the trailer. There is only outdoor seating at maybe half a dozen hexagon-shaped tables with patio umbrellas in each. There is a mostly white wooden fence around half the property that it seems can be used to finger/brush paint. There is a paint station near the seating area where we saw some kids loading up to do just that.

Based on the menu, there looked to be a fairly decent selection of meats. After pondering what to get aside from my norm of sliced brisket and ribs, we were ready to order.

I veered from my normal ordering habit of "just the meats" and ordered the three-meat meal which came with two sides. I really didn't order it for the sides but more for the fact that I didn't want to order a pound of meat(s), it sucks and then I'm stuck with 3/4 lb of meat(s).

Initially I wanted pulled pork but they were out. I then asked for turkey and initially they said they were out but then told me they had some left. My friend ordered sliced brisket, ribs and brisket sausage.

Yes, there were quite a few choices but I didn't want to go too wild and waste money on things I didn't like. I think partly it was because I was thrown off when they have this long list of meats and then they say, "Oh we're out." Not a huge deal normally, but they were not even close to being busy when we visited around 4 p.m on a Saturday.

So finally, what you see here is the three-meat meal of turkey, sliced brisket, and St Louis ribs with sides of slaw and tots. They also included some buttered(?) pickles as well as carrots with jalapenos for some reason but they are not on the menu.

My friend got the tots and potato salad and his too came with the same "secret-not-on-the-menu" pickles and carrots.

Enough jib jab. Let's get to the review:

• Slaw was the worst I've had. I'm more of a traditional slaw person. You know the kind with mayo not mayo and white, purple and orange cabbage. But I will give all foods a chance. This version of slaw is completely more like a salad with cucumber slices to boot. It had no innovation, no flavor, no taste. A complete waste of money.
• Tots are very basic and mostly flavorless. They could have been Ore-Ida tater tots but even those have more seasoning. They were just sad, crispyless and bland.
• Sliced Brisket was tender. However, just like the sides, it was flavorless. There was no smoke flavor and no charred outer rim.
• St Louis Ribs were tender as well. But fairly flavorless just like the brisket.
• Turkey was tender and juicy but, I hate to say it, mostly flavorless as well.

So to be fair, I did eat all the meats and most of the tots but with more barbecue sauce than I normally use. The sauce added a little more taste to it all, except for the slaw and carrots. There was no saving that nasty shit.

Also one thing to note, they place their barbecue sauces (regular and spicy) on a table out in the open between the trailer and the smokehouse. It sat in the sun the entire time we were there which was about two hours. I picked up a bottle of the regular sauce and it was like someone heated it in a microwave. Not overly hot but it was pretty damn warm. I'm not sure that's a good thing for a long period of time. The ice dispenser also sits in the sun a lot depending on the time of day. I think they need to invest in some pop-up canopies.

Overall, this place wasn't as good as I thought it would be based purely on my assumption. Would I go back? Probably not since I live in North Dallas and there are already very good tasting well-established barbecue joints there. I also heard that 407 BBQ is fairly decent and down the street from Bumbershoot so I'll have to give it a try next time I'm in the middle of B.F.E.!

The Double Wide at Torchy's Tacos - SMU Blvd (Dallas, TX)

What you see here is the Doublewide which is the taco of the month at Torchy's Tacos.

As described on their website, the Doublewide is "A dynamic, delectable combination of hand-battered chicken fried steak, bacon, Green Chile Queso, cotija cheese, and pico de gallo served on a flour tortilla."

I was starving like a madman but I tried to take my time eating this to savor it and try to experience the different flavor offerings from the ingredients. That lasted for about two bites!

Starting from one end of the taco with my first bit, I was able to get the chicken fried steak flavor. Although I haven't had a chicken fried steak in some time, the taste was pretty good and reminded me exactly what it should taste like.

The second bite, I was able to get a combination of the steak, some bacon, queso and cotija cheese. For a brief moment, I could taste the separate flavors, especially the cotija cheese as I think it has a strong flavor...thankfully.

I was able to get all of the ingredients in the third bite and it tasted mainly like crunchy queso with some pico flavor struggling to be noticed. It was all still good but the separation of flavors was harder to dissect.

Overall, it was a good taco to try. I am nowhere near disliking it but I didn't think to myself that I had to order it again on my next visit — like the Roscoe! Other people may be different. I certainly am not opposed to ordering it again if I feel the need. Or if someone said, "Hey, I have a Doublewide from Torchy's. Do you want it?" I'd be like hell yeah! There's just another taco that's available all year that satiates my need for anything chicken fried - the Trailer Park...trashy and sometimes hillbilly!

Velvet Taco visit #5 - Greenville Ave (Dallas, TX)

I think my wife has an addiction.

Since introducing us to the #3 Spicy tikka chicken, we have been back two more times. Once was for her birthday (visit #4) and today for Mother's Day.

I didn't get anything different on visit #4 but visit #5 I decided to try the #9 Korean pork. So I'll focus on that taco.

First of all, it's juicy. Maybe some would call greasy. Anyway, the juices from the meat were draining out of the tortilla, onto the wrapping paper and then to the table. Juicy!

Sad thing was that the juice provided hardly any, if any, flavor for the taco. Being called 'Korean' I expected the thing to be somewhat bursting with flavor. However, I don't recall any 'bursting' flavor. I was underwhelmed but maybe my expectations were too high.

All I can say is that I can mark this off my list to try at Velvet Taco. I'll eventually try all the items but I will surely stick with the ones I know I like: #3, #7, #11 and #18.

Velvet Taco visit #3 - Greenville Ave (Dallas, TX)

As the title states, I've been to Velvet Taco three times. I didn't write anything about my second visit because I basically had the same tacos as I did the first time...although I might have had the #1 Buffalo chicken taco but I didn't take a photo or anything to share. So the family and I went to Velvet Taco today for dinner. Mainly because someone told us about how good the spicy tikka chicken taco was and we do love our Indian tikka dishes.

This is the #3 Spicy tikka chicken taco. The menu describes it as "crisp tenders, spicy tikka sauce, buttered cilantro basmati rice, raita crema, Thai basil, flour tortilla." It's pretty good. I'm a bit of a wussy and it's just a tad spicy for my tastes although that will not keep me from eating it again and again. The wife like it a whole lot and says it's her new favorite. I enjoyed the entire taco...the rice, the chicken, the sauce...it was all pretty darn good.

This is the #18 Chicken and waffle. The menu describes it as "crisp tenders, peppered bacon, peppercorn gravy, green apple slaw, maple syrup, red chile aioli, chives, waffle tortilla." I liked the chicken and maple syrup on the waffle taco. I wanted a little more sweetness (maybe more syrup) to fried tenders ratio but it was still flavorful. Not quite the Roscoe from Torchy's but a good substitution until it comes back!

I will definitely return to try more options along with the sure things of the #3 and #18.

Bumblebee (2018)

Bumblebee (2018). In the words of what my wife would say, "It was a cute, little movie." Even though she didn't watch it with me, I'd have to agree with her.

This wasn't as adult-oriented as the other Transformer movies. There wasn't quite the extent of the constant explosions and robot violence. It reminded me a bit of the movie A-X-L which I recently watched but haven't typed a review for, yet. The story is kind of like this: a sad, bullied kid, has no friends but wants to fit in, smart and talented in either auto mechanics or computer technology, finds a space item, shit hits the fan, world saved...briefly.

That's about the gist.

FINAL VERDICT: Worth a cheap rental or sharing the rental of/with a friend. It's good entertainment with not too much over-the-top action and CGI.

Hunters Lodge (2016)

Hunters Lodge (2016). Once again I was picking movies randomly through my Amazon Prime Video and came across this gem. I use the term loosely as it was a shard of coal in the rough. Some of the comments were saying that this movie was made for like 20,000£. It looked and felt like it. I think this movie was made in some University film class.

Oh, and yes, I watched it all. I mean I wasn't ONLY watching the movie. I watched it at work and so I was multitasking. Damn good thing I was because I don't know if I would have fully 'watched' it.

The acting wasn't horribly painful but is was painful or horrible. It's a contrived plot, setting and set up. This genre has been done many times over but much, much better.

FINAL VERDICT: Most definitely pass on this title. It truly isn't worth the bandwith.

The Mule (2018)

The Mule (2018). Rented this movie from Redbox and watched it tonight. My first thought when it started was, "Fuck! Clint Eastwood is looking old." I IMDBed him and found that he was born in 1939. He'll be 89 years old in May this year. Yep, he IS old!!

Anyway, he played his character — an old, 90-yr-old to be exact, man — well enough. I mean he IS an 89-yr-old man! Was it 'award'-worthy? I'm not sure if he or the movie was up for any but I would say no, not really. It wasn't a character that any actor/actress would have to go above and beyond to portray. It was just a matter-of-fact no-nonsense role.

I guess the overall tone of the movie was somber but it did have some occasional happy and/or 'comedic' parts. Don't expect a whole lot of action and adventure but more of a decently told story.

FINAL VERDICT: It's worth a watch for a low rental fee or if it is being streamed on something for which you're already paying. Again, you may have difficulty staying focused if you're used to action, adventure and excitement but it is interesting enough to watch.