Louie King BBQ - Dallas (Lower Greenville)

I read about Louie King BBQ a week or so ago in a Dallas Observer article here. I think it's only been open for around a month and the Observer article said it has potential.

I was heading out for lunch today from work and thought I'd take the drive down Greenville and if the place was [too] busy, then I would just keep on trucking. Otherwise, I'd give the place a try. I drove by initially and it looked like just a few people inside so I circled back and parked. I walked around the block from the parking lot to the building and entered. It was a little hard to make out the menu as it's kind of squenched together on a chalk board. It looks like they are still settling in as the dining area was slightly organized but crowded...if that makes any sense.

I was greeted by a very friendly gentleman behind the counter who asked what I would like. I said I'd just have a pound of the brisket and a Diet Coke (which is in a can in the cooler/refrigerator). He asked if I wanted fatty or lean and of course, I chose fatty as I assumed it was interchangeable with the term moist as used at other bbq joints. He also asked if I wanted bread. I said yes although I rarely get filler foods, i.e. bread, beans, cole slaw, etc. Before I got all my sauce and pickles at the 'condiment bar', another guy brought my tray of food.

In the dimmer light of the restaurant the meat looked good. I decided to sit outside at one of their bistro tables in front of the restaurant since the weather was pretty darn perfect around 1 p.m. Once I could see the slices of brisket more clear, it wasn't as mouth-watering as I would have liked.

As you can see, the brisket meat looks pretty good itself but then there is this half inch to three-quarter inch line of fat. I'm assuming that this is what was meant by fatty (not moist) versus lean.

Now I'm not one to hate on fatty as long as it serves a purpose and has good flavor. This fat was just fat. There was a nice thin line of crispness on the edge but that was it. It did not add anything to the meat other than a whole heck of a lot of greasiness that you can see on the butcher paper. That's where the plain slices of bread played it's part. They gave me four slices but the bottom two you nearly soaked with grease. I did use the top two to make a sliced brisket sandwich with the pickle slices and barbecue sauce. I did have to trim some, a lot, of the fat off the meat as it was just too much.

I thought that part of having/leaving fat on meat is to maintain the juiciness of the meat during cooking/smoking. However, this brisket was not as tender as I would have thought with so much fat. It wasn't tough but it also wasn't fork-slicing tender like other places.

So, that's my first experience. I may visit another time to try other meat items but I wouldn't revisit for the brisket or recommend it to anyone. The Observer mentioned the shaved pork loin so that might be something to try next time. This place did essentially just open so I'm sure it'll take some time to get everything 'right' so I'll keep a look out for other articles on any improvements. Or I may just randomly try the brisket at some future time to see if it's gotten any better. I hope it does as this place is very convenient for my lunch hour.

Ferris Wheelers Backyard & BBQ - Dallas visit #2

This is the second time I've been to Ferris Wheelers Backyard & BBQ. Not because it's not good but because it's all the way across town from where I live. It's about a 20 minute drive without traffic.

Anyway, my visit last night was to take advantage of their advertisement deal of $25-all-you-can-eat going on for the Monday Night Football game of Cowboys vs Titans...although the deal was available all day.

The weather was great and it was actually more comfortable to sit outside than inside because it was really chilly inside. It wasn't too busy at the time of my arrival of around 6 p.m. as I thought it would be especialy with the AYCE deal.

I waited for a few friends to arrive before sitting and ordering. Once seated, our waitress (Sofie, I believe) took our drink order and then our dinner order. I was there strictly for the AYCE deal but my friends took a little while to decide before finally opting for the AYCE as well.

As advertised, the AYCE deal started out with three meats, two sides, a dessert and a drink. Which looking at the menu would run about the $25 if not more of the AYCE deal.

I ordered the brisket, pulled pork, ribs, fried okra, mac-n-cheese, banana pudding and a Diet Coke. When they brought my food to the table, the sides were plenty but the meat was sparse: two brisket slices, two ribs and maybe an ice cream scoop of pulled pork.

The mac-n-cheese was just like I remembered it although the bbq Lays crumbs weren't as much as before and so their flavor didn't mix with the mac-n-cheese as much. Essentially, the mac-n-cheese is nothing spectacular and could be just Kraft or Velveeta mac-n-cheese.

The fried okra was pretty tasty if a bit salty. I'm not a a huge fried okra/okra fan but I figured this would be a side that I wouldn't eat as much of which would leave room for more meat. I ended up taking 90% of the fried okra home.

The brisket wasn't very moist but was still tender. I guess I forgot my own advice from my previous review about having to specify moist versus lean/chef cut. I did remember though that the brisket was better with the house barbecue sauce versus plain.

The ribs looked a little smaller...punier...than I remember from my first visit. They were still pretty tasty and almost more moist than the brisket.

The pulled pork was okay. It was my first taste of it here. I did find that it seemed better with the house sauce than plain like the brisket. I just didn't find myself saying, "Man, this is really good pulled pork." It was more like, "I could eat it." Which is what I did.

The banana pudding was pretty darn good. In fact, it is the type of banana pudding that SHOULD be served at ALL barbecue joints. I'm not saying it was spectacular but it had the right taste, texture and vanilla wafers (okay they could have more) that a banana pudding should at least be. I'm not a dessert guy at bbq joints but when I do partake, it should be at least worthy of being served. I've been to a Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ joint that did not have good at all banana pudding. Anyway...

I put in my order for the second round of meats and Sofie returned with another sparse serving of two slices of brisket and two ribs. The brisket this time around was more moist and flavorful. The two new ribs were just as tasty as the first two and just as small.

I just felt like they were nickel and diming us on the servings. I mean I know they want to make their money and people waste food but I would NEVER EVER WASTE GOOD or GOOD ENOUGH BBQ and I would typically eat more meat than the cost of the AYCE so I felt like I got my monies worth. That being said, I did not order a third round as my companions were ready to leave. Even though I could have and should have stayed, I didn't because I was battling a headache. I am a bit disappointed in myself that I did not take full advantage of getting a few more servings of the two by two meats. I'll know better next time.

The only issue I did have with the entire adventure was the extra cost we were not made aware of for ordering ribs. While I believe on the everyday menu, it says that if you want a two meat meal and one of the meats is ribs, it costs $4.00 extra for a half rack. The AYCE was $25 and they added $4 for ribs. This not mentioned ANYWHERE in their AYCE advertising! So, if you didn't order another round of meats including the ribs, you will have paid $4.00 for just two puny ribs! It's bad enough that I only got four puny ribs. If I would have known beforehand, I would have either not gotten ribs or ordered many more rounds. Some people may think $4 for 2-4 ribs isn't bad but I couldn't fill a sandwich with the meat off the four ribs much less two ribs. I'm not totally dogging the ribs. I'm just saying if I was made aware of the added costs, I would have either ordered some other meat or, like I said, made sure I ordered more ribs.

Overall, the food was good and the atmosphere was very enjoyable. Now that I know what I know about the AYCE deal, when they have it again and I decide to partake, I will make better choices and make sure I'm not pressed for time or anything so I can draw out AYCE experience.

   

Meso Maya - Dallas (Mockingbird Ln)

The family was originally planning a drive to Fort Worth for some tasty barbecue at Heim BBQ but plans got changed. We still wanted to go somewhere different and seemingly good food and ended up going to Meso Maya (Dallas) since it's close to home.

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Image one is the Carne Asada. Menu description is "wood-fired marinated steak, homemade sweet corn tamal, crema mexicana, charred salsa, queso fresco, black beans." The steak was good, pretty good. It wasn't really anything better than many other places I've had it (or similar style) like On The Border, Chili's, Matt's, Chuy's, etc. For today, it hit the spot because I was craving red meat that was properly cooked. The sweet corn tamal was pretty awesome. I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a side or a dessert. Either way, I could've eaten six, ten or even more. The beans were good too. I'm more of a refried bean kind of guy but these black beans didn't disappoint.

Image two is the Herradura Salmon. Menu description is "tamarind-glazed scottish salmon, charred brussel sprouts, crushed piquin, chile guero-chayote puree." My wife had this dish. She really liked the salmon and brussel sprouts. I tasted the salmon and thought it was good but nothing overwhelming and exciting for my tastes. I'm not a huge brussel sprouts fan either but these were done well.

Image three is Pastel de Chocolate. Menu description is "moist oaxacan dark chocolate cake with fresh corn ice cream, warm chocolate rum sauce." This dessert was damn near awesome! I could've eaten the entire thing myself but alas I had to share it with four other people. What could have made this awesome was being filled with warm chocolate sauce akin to those lava cake types. However, get this if you want dessert here.

Image four is Pastel de Moras. Menu description is "skillet baked blueberry cake with mexican vanilla ice cream, blueberry drizzle." This dessert is passable. It looked and sounded way better than it tasted. The flavor could have been better and the cake was pretty soggy. It almost seemed like it was undercooked. None of us were fighting for the last bite of this dessert.

Now onto the restaurant and service. We were served by a server-in-training and her trainer. She was very nice but wasn't fully informed on everything about the menu. Not a big deal. I know learning the menu takes time. She was very personable and what she didn't know, her trainer was more than welcome to "highly recommend one of his favorites" from the menu. The only problem we really had was the attentiveness to our table in the sense of drink refills. I'm a drinker. I don't drink alcohol but I do chug my Diet Coke like drinking water. I like to have a refill pretty close to being almost done and DEFINITELY before I start having to chew on the ice! My other guests had to wait as well for their simple drinks of water and tea. This is unacceptable and I tend to base the server's tip on how well they keep 'the drink' flowing, at least partially. I'm also aware of how busy the restaurant is and allow some leeway. However, we were eating around 2 p.m. and the restaurant wasn't that busy at all. She still got a pretty good tip (20%) from me because that's the kind of patron I am.

The only really negative thing that was bothersome was a about fifteen minutes before we left. A family, maybe multi-family, with young children sat in the booth next to us and then next to it. Their five kids sat in the booth next to us and were loud and obnoxious. They yelled, stood in the booth and reached across the table all while their parents just fucking sat in the other booth. They were so loud sometimes that we could barely hear our own conversations at our table. If Meso Maya wants to be a higher-end restaurant like they seem to want to be, I would fucking rein that shit in but not a single manager was around to proactively settle the little heathens. If we weren't leaving, I definitely would have said something to the management and parents. I felt like when I've been to the local Cici's and the parental figures there allow their little fucks to run around the restaurant like they're at a fucking playground. Management doesn't want to say anything there because they'd probably get shot. Anyway...

FINAL VERDICT: It's worth a try. They have some variety on the menu and we will probably go back to try a few more things. I'm in no rush to do so because I just wasn't overwhelmingly awed but it definitely has some respectable taste and flavors with the food that if I can't decide anywhere else, I could hit this place up again.

SushiFork of Dallas (SMU Blvd)

First time trying Sushi Fork. My kids have been here once or twice and said it was good. One has had the Three Amigos and the other did a create-your-own.

This time around, my wife and one child each got the Three Amigos ($13.00 each). The other child got a CYO Seaweed with Tempura Shrimp, Sprouts, Lettuce, Carrot, Sesame Seeds, Tempura Crunch, Cilantro, Mango and Sweet Soy (Eel) Sauce and then the entire roll was deep fried ($8.00).

But this is not their story...mostly.

I ordered the Tempura Shrimp Roll ($5.00) and the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ($5.50). I place my order online through their website and I went to pick it up at the time it listed on my order confirmation.

Upon arrival, I noticed there were only two pint-sized females in the restaurant and no one else but the employees. However, my order was not ready by the time it said it would be. It took about 7-10 minutes more after arriving at the door. Not a good start.

When done, I get the food home quickly as it's only about a five minute drive. I'm very hungry and I waste no time getting the food out of the bag once I get to my dining room table.

I first try a piece of the Tempura Shrimp Roll. It's kind of luke warm and kind of crumbles apart. I think this is because the rice isn't rolled well enough or sticky enough and they placed this roll in with my kids deep-fried CYO which made for a bit of moisture within the to-go box.

I then tried the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Based on the description from the menu for the KKBB, I expected more...a lot more. There was no kiss and definitely no bang. In fact, I don't think I even tasted or felt one pop rock! That was the main reason I got it was I wanted to see what the pop rocks would do to the taste of the roll, if anything. Unfortunately the only thing that I could really taste was the cream cheese with a hint of sweet soy sauce. This roll too would crumble because the rice wasn't sticky enough or some other reason. Although both fell apart, the only difference with the KKBB and the TSR is that the KKBB was in a box by itself.

The other part of the story is the CYO. It did not have some of the ingredients my kid specifically selected as part of the CYO order. It was missing the sprouts, mango and sweet soy (eel) sauce. Of course, we didn't find this out until we are already home. All the items were listed on the print out of my receipt which I'm sure also were on the print out for the restaurant to follow when building the CYO. It's very simple to follow the list and they still failed.

I guess one positive was that the wife and other kid said the Three Amigos was good but I'm not sure it's worth $13.00.

So, my first experience was overall not a positive one at Sushi Fork. I would expect some possibility of failure to produce a quality product if the place was extremely busy but the lack of time and effort to make sure the finished product did not fall apart or had all the ingredients requested when the restaurant is basically dead is unacceptable to me.

That's my take on Sushi Fork. Although it is conveniently located, I'm not sure I'll eat here again because there are other places (like Sushi Kyoto II) that have already impressed me at similar or better cost but definitely with better quality and taste.

Meat U Anywhere BBQ (Grapevine, TX)

Visited Meat U Anywhere BBQ in Grapveine, Texas. I happened to be near the area because of tennis and remember reading something about this place so thought I would give it a try.

Ordered a pound of moist brisket and a pound of St Louis cut ribs. Service was very friendly and fairly fast. Brisket was $19/lb and ribs were $17/lb. Tab was about $39 w/tax.

Brisket was not as moist as I thought it would be. Could be the slicer did not hear my order because I felt like the brisket I could see looked more moist than what I was given. The bark contained the most flavor. Brisket itself was not very smoky-tasting. It was not as tender as I hoped either. You could probably cut it with a fork but it did not just pull apart with ease.

St Louis cut ribs were good but also lacked any real flavoring. They were a little chewier than other ribs I have had.

I found myself dipping the meats in the sauce more often than not. This tells me that the meats themselves are not very flavorful. Sauce to me should enhance the flavor already there and not be the flavor.

What is weird is I could smell the smokeyness when unwrapping the meats. As mentioned, I just could not get much of a taste from the meats.

FINAL VERDICT: I was already in the area and knew about this place so thought I would try it. I would not make a drive from Dallas to Grapevine just for this and more than likely will not be back as it is just not my preference. It was not horrible so other people may like it.

Hat Creek Burger Company - Dallas (Walnut Hill Ln)

Visited Hat Creek Burger Co - Dallas (Walnut Hill Ln) today. I forgot to take photos of my food. Bummer.

Anyway, I decided to try the turkey burger (double) with cheddar cheese and all the regular fixings. Also ordered a side of sweet potato fries.

Turkey burger was good. It wasn't overly flavorful but it also wasn't tasteless. I took the bottom bun off to see the size of the turkey patties. It was indeed two patties but one was a bit larger than the other. Not a big deal just...interesting. The lettuce (not diced which is the way I mostly prefer it), tomatoes, red onions and pickles weren't chincy...as in you could see them as well as tell that you are biting into them.

The sweet potato fries were okay. I expected more because of the other places I've had sweet potato fries. Hat Creek's weren't anything exciting. The first one I pulled from the bag was actually around room temperature. They weren't very crispy or crunchy. They were kind of flaccid.

To add some taste to the fries, I tried the Hat Sauce, Happy Sauce and Fry Sauce. This added some flavoring so I did eat all the sweet potato fries by dipping each bite/fry in a different sauce each time. I think it was the Hat Sauce that reminded me of Cane's sauce.

My entire meal with a Diet Coke came to $14.14. A little higher than I like to spend but that's almost the going rate these days even at the "faster food" restaurants.

I will give Hat Creek another try...or two. Probably get a hamburger one time and a chicken sandwich another. Oh and probably try the tater tots or fresh cut fries.

I went around 12:30 pm and the place was busy. A lot of mom's and kids, dad's and kids, or mom, dad and kids. Luckily, the kid families were interested in the playground so most sat outside. The inside is limited four-people sitting but we were lucky enough to get one. I'm sure during the school year it won't be quite as 'kid' busy during the business lunch hour.

Place was pretty clean, even with all the kiddos. The employees were all very friendly and pleasant to interact with.

FINAL VERDICT: It was good enough/good so I will try it again.

Sushi Zushi - Dallas (McKinney Ave)

The office wanted to have a group lunch outing today. I normally don't hang with the entire office at lunch because that's my time to get away from them all. Ha!

I'm not totally antisocial as I do occasionally go to lunch with one or two coworkers whom I deem worthy of sharing my lunch hour. But today I agreed to go along with the group strictly because of the restaurant suggested: Sushi Zushi in Dallas. I'm always up for trying new places and new sushi places are high on the list.

What you see here is the Chirashi Bowl. The menu describes it as:

"Sashimi cuts of fish served over a bed of sushi rice in a traditional Japanese bowl: Tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, octopus, albacore, bonito, mackerel, kanikama crab, eel, tamago, ikura, shiitake mushrooms, and kampyo.*

I will say that it was fairly good. The cuts were okay-sized. The overall flavors were good. I'm not sure it's worthy twenty bucks but there are many foods that I don't think are worth the somewhat-inflated cost.

As far as the ambiance of the restaurant, it was nice. It's weird like it felt snooty but somewhat laid back at the same time. Our waiter was pretty good and knowledgeable of the various food items.

I'll probably go back and try something different but I think it would run its course of interest with me after another visit or two. Mainly because there are good/very good sushi/sashimi places closer to my area. If I lived by Zushi Sushi I would probably continue to occasionally visit.