Bodacious BBQ - I-20 & Hwy 14 East of Tyler

As usual dinner time came and it was time to strap on the feed bag. We had already decided that one of our nights out would be at Bodacious BBQ. So we hippety hopped to Bodacious. We usually see this place with a good number of customers on the parking lot, but not tonight. Also, this is a stop for truck drivers and there were two rigs here tonight. Bodacious is not a chain of BBQ restaurants in the Texas area. They say they are the real one!!

 The wifey and me ordered the two meat plate or as I call it the Bloggers Special. We got brisket, hot link, pinto beans and potato salad.

The brisket was a fairly lean cut of meat and that is good because Mitcho does not like much fat on his meat. The brisket had a nice taste to it and the BBQ sauce had a good spicy twang. So it was pretty good BBQ, now it won’t compete with Franklin’s, but whose BBQ will? The hot link was a little fatty and was short on hot, but it was ok. No  real complaints here.

The real story here is the pinto beans. These beans had plenty of chili spice in them. There was a definite chili taste to these beans. Mitcho luves chili on his beans. This is a big plus here. I may be back to get some beans to go.

The potato salad was run of the mill, it tasted ok, but no real pluses or minuses.

Overall, given Bodacious a non-Bodacious 7.1.

NOTE: Tyler has a Rudy’s BBQ on the North side of the loop. Mitcho is a big fan of Rudy’s.

Mitcho

○2014

Buttermilk's - Canton

So the wifey and me slipped off down to Tyler State Park for some well deserved R & R. TSP happens to be one of our favorite state parks and probably is our Texas favorite. So when dinner time came we started discussing our options and we settled on Buttermilks in Canton. First of all, you guys of Facebook effect us in many ways. Our friends GB and KB post pictures of the food they order at Buttermilks and it makes me lust.  I had been wanting to try Buttermilks for a month or two. Several of my associates had heard about this place also. So the word is getting out. The other thing is, I thought that Canton was close to Tyler. Turns out it is about ½ way between Mesquiterville and Tyler. So we did the snake to Canton to try Buttermilks.

Buttermilks is located just off of the square on Hwy 64 in a very old building. They have fixed the place up very nicely. It is a pretty cute restaurant. It is small and by the time we left it was very crowded. I chuckled at the end a couple came in the front door and one of the waitresses yelled out “sit anywhere you want to”. However, there was only one table left.

Now our main mission here was dessert. The pies and cobblers I have seen looked very yummy. So we decided to split a meal and go after dessert like we were on a mission. We decided to order the large portion of chicken friend steak, with mashed taters and fried okra. The chicken fried steak was the full size of the plate. I kid not. It was huge. How can 1 person eat that much??? You couldn’t see the mashed taters, because they were underneath the cfs.

The chicken fried steak was breaded very nicely, very tasty and the meat was very tender. This is one of the best chicken fried steaks I have ever laid my chopps on. Wow that was good!!!!

The mashed taters had the peelings chopped up and included along with a number of spices. I very rarely get much excited about taters, but these here taters were very tasty. A definite plus here.

The okra came in a bowl the size I would use at home to eat ice cream in, which means it is the largest bowl in the house. The okra was breaded very nicely, fried to a nice crispness and tasted pretty good. My only issue here was most of the okra was very large. Mitcho likes smaller fried okra pods. Just saying!!

Now down to the real reason we are here. I ordered peach cobbler and the wifey ordered chocolate chess pie. The wifey says the chocolate pie was good, but not great. Of course she plowed through it so fast that I wasn’t able to get a taste of it. My peach cobbler came is the same size bowl the okra came in, HUGE!!!!! This is a real plus for Mitcho. The cobbler has a good amount of cobbler crust that was very sweet, a very good peach juice, and of course tasty peaches. This is a Mitcho gotta have it.

Overall, Mitcho gives Buttermilk an 8.9!!! If you happen to be in Canton around meal time, slither on into Buttermilks and get miserable. Of course it is a really good miserable you won’t regret too terribly much.

Mitcho

○2014

 

 

 

 

Mesquite Grill & Seafood - Galloway Ave near Kearney

Well as usual lunch time came around. It seems like it happens everyday and thank goodness it does, because I spend all morning looking forward to lunch. So after much discussion the wifey and me decided to do the Cajun Waltz to Mesquite Grill & Seafood. Now this site has been a number of restaurants, most notably Long John Silvers for a lot of years. However, over the last couple of years several restaurants have opened and closed here. So recently the Mesquite Grill & Seafood opened. Of course for your benefit we needed to try it. So here we go.

I ordered the Mesquite Burger (I think that is what it was called) and onion rings. The wifey ordered a piece of fish. Now she has a good taste for fish, so she was a good source for the fish here. The fish looked battered nicely and seem to be well fried. The wifey said it was OK, she would rather have Long John Silvers fish. Now I have to tell you that is not a high recommendation. She also said it was nowhere near as good as Doe Belly's, but nobody else's is either.

The burger was a good size burger, cooked thoroughly (Mitcho does not like seeing any red!!!) It came with all of the usual associates, lettuce, onion, pickles, etc. One point that Mitcho thinks is very important, this is a Mayo on the burger place. Now a true redneck doesn't want sissy Mayo, we want MUSTARD. Of course they were nice enough to substitute Mustard. However, there are plenty of hamburger places that serve Mustard burgers automatically. So minus a point for even thinking about Mayo. The burger was pretty good, no real complaints here. The onion rings were a good and tasty ring.

One point to consider, this is NOT fast food. When we ordered, we were told it would be 7 minutes before it would be ready.

Overall Mesquite Grill & Seafood gets a 6.5 here (of course that is after the Mayo deduction). If you are up in Mesquite at lunch time, this place is as good as any of the other possibilities.

Mitcho
©2014

Zeke's Kitchen - Incredi-Burger

So at lunch today the wifey and her mother had some bidness to tend to in Richardson, so they decided to eat lunch at LaMad!! Now no self-respecting redneck would ever be seen in a LaMad!!!! So I was on my own for lunch. Now the story turns to Facebook. I was planning to eat somewhere close to the office for a fast lunch. However, about mid-morning I look on Facebook and Zeke's had posted today's special, the Incredi-Burger. You should see this thing. It is incredible. After seeing it, I immediately changed my lunch plans. I always hate to admit that advertising works on me, but this time I am guilty.

Also on Sunday, part of the sermon at church was about the 10 commandments and the preacher spent too much time on lusting. So I have to confess that I immediately lusted over this burger. It looked so good. Now the hard part is that I have no intentions of repenting of this particular sin because I do plan on lusting after it again and again.

So at lunch time, I did the Electric Slide over to Kingsley and Shiloh to Zeke's Kitchen. I ordered the Cardiac Burger (aka Incredi-Burger). This thing is amazing. Of course it has the burger, fixins and mustard. It also had several strips of BACON. Can I hear a chorus of BACON!!!! It also had two large slices of Sausage. And I mean good sausage. You could choose either chili over it or BBQ sauce. I can't imagine how good this thing would be with chili, so I got the BBQ. My cholesterol went up 300 points just looking at this thing. It was huge!!! Of course being a died in the wool Grove Rat Redneck, what's a few hundred points on your cholesterol count??? I had trouble eating this burger because it was so big, I couldn't get a full bite. But man oh man, this is some good luvin'. I am talking all of the good tastes, good tasting burger, bacon, mustard, BBQ sauce, sausage, etc. I went after this burger like a man on a mission. It was yummy to the last bite. The burger also came with the world's best bbq beans.

I am givin the Cardiac (Incredi-Burger) Burger a hearty 9.62.

Mitcho
©2014

Doe Belly's - 5th Anniversary Party

About dinner time we remembered that Doe Belly's was having  a 5th Anniversary Party tonight. They had The Michael Lee Band there to play from 6:00 to 9:00. The band is advertised as a Texas Soul band. Actually they are a combination soul, blues and rock and roll.  One really extra is the music in Doe Belly's on a regular basis. They play a mix of soul and blues. I always enjoy the music here. Tonight it was even better.

So we busted a move to Doe Belly's and was there shortly after 6:00. We immediately ordered our batch of fish. This fish is spicy. My oh my is it good!! This is the best fish we have eaten in these here United States, bar none. We also ordered okra tonight instead of fries. We do enjoy the fries here, they have some spice on them similar to the fish, but it doesn't hurt to have a change of pace. The okra was breaded nicely and fried to perfection. Yum, yum.

We enjoyed the music so much that we stayed until about 9:15 and the band was still playing. This was a very enjoyable meal and entertainment.

The owners of Doe Belly's are very nice and friendly people. They are very concerned with the customers enjoying their food. A lot of the time we find an extra piece of fish in our order. These guys are good people.

Tonight Doe Belly's thanks to a bonus 1/2 point for the music get a 10.5!!!!

Rock On

Mitcho
©2014

El Fenix - Mesquite

Well we had some Friday afternoon bidness to do downtown Dallas, so it was our plan to eat downtown while we are there. So tonight we decided to bump and grind to El Fenix Downtown. I have been here many times and have many good memories here. Also, their chips are different from everyone else's. However, upon arrival there were a good number of cars circling the parking lot for a parking space. Seems something called Aerosmith was doing a concert at the AAC which is only 3 or 4 blocks from here. So I am guessing all 20,000 that are going to the concert, went to El Fenix first. After circling for 5 or 10 minutes, we gave up and decided to head east. After Chipper (aka Wifey) suggested we go to El Fenix Casa Linda, I suggested we just go to the one in Mesquite. So we did the Bunny Hop over to the Mesquite El Fenix. This restaurant was plenty busy but they were able to seat us immediately, of course it was in the bar right up against the bar. No worries, we are only going to drink the real Redneck Texan drink, Iced Tea. And I do mean Ice Tea. This may have effected our level service which I will discuss further later.

After a little wait a waiter came and took our drink orders. Of course when we ordered tea instead of some more expensive libation, he took off to do other things. So we had to wait a while for our drinks and chips and hot sauce. Their chips have a different texture to them from any other Mexican restaurant. They also have a good distinctive flavor and seem to be very light. Giving the chips a 7.518.

The salsa tonight was a little weak. I don't really understand it, but salsa can vary from day to day at the same Mexican Food Restaurant. The last time I reviewed El Fenix, the salsa was very tasty. But tonight it was weak. It had all of the pureed tomatoes you could want and there some green stuff in there, but it had very limited taste. Givin the chips a 6.25

Tonight I ordered the Saltillo plate. This comes with a meat taco, cheese enchilada and soft cheese taco (another cheese enchilada). The meat taco was pretty good size, had a good amount of meat. The meat had a little spicy taste, but not all that much. It also had plenty of lettuce and cheese. Overall the taco tasted pretty good. The two cheese enchiladas have a better tasting cheese than most. One had a chili sauce over it that was very spicy and one had nacho cheese sauce over it and it tasted pretty good. Overall the enchiladas get a 7.5.

The service was slow at every step tonight. I believe not ordering drinks from the bar may have effected the service, but they put me there without asking if I would be drinking any libations. So they should be prepared for a tea totaller!!! So givin service a 5.


Tonight El Fenix Mesquite gets a 6.5. Get to work on that salsa and provide service at every table in the restaurant!!!!

Mitcho
©2014

Scotty P's - Firewheel Mall - New Mexico Hatch Green Chile Burger

Well daycare was closed this afternoon, so I had to keep Big Guy and Lil' Darlin. So by dinner time I was ready to pass them off to the parents. So after much debating we decided to meet the rest of the gang, Darlin', Sax Man and CBoss at Scotty P's.  So we did the bossa nova to Firewheel.

When you go into the door, they have a sign advertising their New Mexico Hatch Green Chile Burger. I have heard a lot about the New Mexico Green Hatch Chile, but I have never eaten one. So this seemed like a decent chance to try it out. So I ordered one. This burger comes with meat,  swiss cheese, the chiles, and onion strings. The girls ordered cardiac fries-loaded so I was advised not to order fries.

When the burger was ready, it was the tallest burger I have ever had. When they said there would be onion strings on the burger, I expected 3 or 4 onion strings, not a whole helping. I scraped the onion strings off the burger and had a plate full of them. My gosh I never expected so many. The burger had a very good taste. However, I could taste the green chile's to some extent but there was nothing special there! I really couldn't tell the difference from normal canned green chile's and the Hatch variety. But I have had one now. One more thing off my bucket list.

The cardiac fries came loaded with cheese, chives, bacon, and jalapenos. Now the girlies did not go after the jalapeno's so once I finished my onion strings, I dove into the fries. Load em with cheese and jalapenos and you got some good food for Mitcho. I ate fries till I was miserable and we still had 1/3 of them left. I didn't get them to go, but I have done that in the past and warm them in the oven and they are not that bad.

Givin Scotty P's a hearty 7.5.

Mitcho
©2014

Zeke's Kitchen - Pulled Pork Tacos Kingsley & Shiloh

A friend of mine for over 30 years came by today to do some lunch. He has an office in the Garland area close to 635 in the same area Zeke's is. So I suggested we give it a whirl. We had a good visit hashing over 30 years of friendship and now grandkids dominate our lives.

The special today was pulled pork tacos and a side. They always include one side which I always select the BBQ beans which are very spicy and tasty. These are some of the best BBQ beans I have eaten anywhere in these here United States, bar none. Getya some BBQ beans, you won't regret it, at least not until later. The tacos had a very nice bbq taste on a soft taco with cheese. Of course everything I have eaten here was great, but I was surprised at how good they were. I will be going back on pulled pork taco day.

The service is always fast and friendly. This is a family owned and operated kitchen and everyone here is treated like family. Like my friend pointed out going in today that the parking lot full of service trucks is a good indication how good the restaurant is.

Givin the pulled pork tacos an 8.1.

Mitcho
©2014

Luby's - Rockwall I-30 and Hwy 205

It is amazing how the wifey and me are on the same wave channel so much. I was thinking about dinner and wanting some vegetables so I was thinking of going to either Luby's or Boston Market. So the Wifey comes in and says she wants to go to Luby's in Rockwall. Sounds good to me. Of course if you read my review of Luby's in Mesquite, it is NOT good. So we decided to fight the traffic to Rockwall, which wasn't all that bad tonight.

This is a brand new Luby's in the Costco parking lot. It is very nice inside and much different from the one in Mesquite.

I ordered the vegetable plate, which included a salad, pinto beans and fried okra, which also comes with a roll.

The salad had good fresh lettuce, onions (you know Mitcho luves onion), bell peppers, cheese and honey mustard dressing. This was a pretty good salad.

The pinto beans had a very good taste. You can tell they tried to make the beans tasty.

My fried okra was from the bottom of the pan and were a little mushy. Wifey's was more crisp and they both tasted very good.

The wheat roll had a good flavor also.

Of course you go to Luby's for pie. So when we got to the pie, we were going to split a slice. The wifey goes for the Low Sugar/Low Fat pie. They should also say Low Taste. Now you know there is a concern about the pie, when we had to debate what flavor of pie it was. I think it was a poor stab at Coconut and the Wifey thought it was Lemon. The whipped cream on top had a good taste and the crust was pretty good crust. Of course I warned the wifey in advance and she got the pie anyway. So the pie will not count in my score as the wifey asked for no taste pie.

Overall, I give this meal a 7.

Mitcho
©2014

Cafe Del Rio - Mesqsuite next to AMC Theatres

On Saturday evening after keeping Lil' Bud and Precious for  1 and 1/2 days it was time to celebrate. Several of our friends had recommended Cafe Del Rio, which is next to the AMC Theatres. This location has been several other restaurants and have failed because it is a tough location. To get here you have to drive past On the Border, Joe's Crab Shack, Texas Roadhouse, and Cheddars. Our informants indicated that the manager and a number of the waiters from our favorite, Posados, now works at Cafe Del Rio. Until our last trip to Posados, their service has been the best of all restaurants. However, our last visit we noticed that the manager was new and all employees were new. The service was not as good as it had been. So we are open to considering a change.

So Chipper (aka wifey) and me did the boogie-woogie to Cafe Del Rio. First of all the parking lot was full and it was raining at the time. This restaurant has a lot of tables and most of them were occupied. We were able to be seated immediatly. Our waitress brought us teas, chips and 3 hot salsas. The chips were pretty normal Mexican Restaurant chips, so they get a 7.

The salsa is happening here. You get 3 choices, house salsa, firehouse salsa and habanaro ranch salsa.  The house salsa has a nice flavor with plenty of spice and some heat. It's a good. The firehouse salsa is spicier and hotter, it's a real good. The habanero ranch salsa is very tasty with an afterburn that will get your attention. Overall the salsa is a big plus here. Givin it a 8.25.

We ordered chicken fajita's, with Charro Beans and rice.

The chicken fajita's came with a large portion of chicken even though the order was for 1. The chicken was grilled nicely and had a good taste. The tortilla's were larger than most places and had a very good taste. Large tortillas is a definite plus. The fajita's came with sour cream, cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, and mexican butter sauce. Now Chipper is a big fan of the butter sauce, so that was scooped up immediately, so I can't give a report, but it must be very good. All of the other condiments were tasty except for the pico de gallo. This pico was nothing but small chunks of tomatoes. Normally pico will have onions and some spices, but not here. Since Mitcho is not  a big fan of tomatoes by themselves, this is a negative here. Overall, the chicken fajitas get an 8.

The service was fast, efficient and friendly. Service gets an 8.

The charro beans had a very good flavor. The Charro beans and rice compare to Posados well.



In my comparison to Posado's, Cafe Del Rio wins the salsa war easily, but it does not give a sopapilla free at the end of  the meal and the pico is lacking. Cafe Del Rio was about $1,00 cheaper, so money is not a real issue here. Cafe Del Rio's service is far better than our last time to Posados.

Overall I give Cafe Del Rio an 8.

Mitcho
©2014

Chick-Fil-A - Mesquite

Chick-Fil-A is a Christian company run on Christian values. They also will take a stand for their Christian Values. Mitcho likes this alot. The local Chick-Fil-A is owned and operated by a great family in our community. This Chick-Fil-A is unbelivable at lunch time. First of all when you drive up and look out in the mall parking lot, there are about 30 cars parked for employees. That is a strong commitment to service. They have two drive thru lanes and they are packed at lunch, but they move pretty good. Inside it is crazy, the line is to the door most of the time and it moves fast. Obviously they are cooking chicken in advance of orders to be able to serve so fast. I take my hat off to this operation.

This Friday, Bud and Lefty dropped Lil Bud and Precious off for two days. Now Lefty takes them to Chick-Fil-A regularly so the kids eat their food good. When I am buying food, I might as well buy them something they will eat.

We order the chicken nuggets and fries. That way we can pass them around to who is eating the most. The chicken nuggets have a good chicken flavor and the batter crust is very tasty. Get some good dippin sauce and you got some good eats. The fries are a waffle fries which is not in many other places. I think I like regular fries better, but the waffle fries are a change of pace. They do taste good. Overall givin Chick-Fil-A an 8 (7 for the food and 1 bonus point for their Christian values). So scedaddle on over and grab you up some Chicken.

Mitcho
©2014

Zeke's Kitchen - Italian Sub

Today the wifey went to a brunch with the bunch and was not going to eat lunch. (See what I did there, it was an accident to be sure). So lunch was all about Mitcho today, so you know I am going to be bad. There was only one real choice so we did the "skip to my lou darling" to Zeke's Kitchen. As you know this is not my first visit or my first Italian Sub and it will not be my last either.

The special today was the Italian Sub, which is not on the regular menu, so you have to go on Wednesdays!!!! (mark your calendar) This Sub was HUGE. It came in a very large basket and it filled the basket end to end. I don't know how one fat man can eat all of that. Of course I did!!! This is one tasty sub, it has several meats and it is stuffed with meat. I dare you try to eat one without meat falling out of it. It also has bell peppers and a very tasty Italian dressing. They also include one side which I always select the BBQ beans which are very spicy and tasty. These are some of the best BBQ beans I have eaten anywhere in these here United States, bar none. Getya some BBQ beans, you won't regret it, at least not until later.

Overall this meal gets a 9.45.

NOTE: Everything I have eaten in this restaurant has been one of the best I have ever had. You can't go wrong here. I will be looking for you around noon next Wednesday.

Mitcho
©2014

Eddie's Napolis - Gus Thomasson

Well as it usually does, dinner time rolled around. The wifey and me began our normal evening negotiation over where we are going to eat dinner. She started with going to Joe's Pizza to split a Stromboli. Now I have had a Stromboli at Joe's and they are tasty, however, the word SPLIT is in the previous sentence. The Stromboli at Eddie's Napolis is twice the size of Joe's Pizza, so I pushed for Napolis and I was very convincing. So we did the tango to Eddie's Napolis.

Upon arrival we were the only customers in the restaurant. It stayed this way throughout the entire meal. So I don't see how this place stays in business. Oh well, I guess that isn't my worry.

We ordered the Stromboli for us to split.

Once we ordered the waitress brought us our teas and rolls with marinara sauce. The rolls were a little stale, probably left over from lunch. They were tasty but a little stale. Givin the rolls a 4.85.

The Stromboli did not disappoint us. It was HUGE! When we cut that thing in 1/2 we still got a full dinner. The Stromboli was full of sausage, pepperoni, and canadian bacon and plenty of cheese. It tasted very good. The marinara sauce for dipping was pretty tasteless, it could use some more flavor. Overall it was pretty good. Givin the Stromboli at 7.

Overall, the meal is a 6.85. If you are going to split a Stromboli, this is the place to go. NOTE: There are at least 4 locations for Eddie's Napolis. We have eaten in the one in Firewheel Mall and the one on Centerville just down from 635. They are all pretty much the same, other than the other two have a lot more customers.

Mitcho
©2014

Martinez - Gross Rd Mesquite

Now, I won't say I have eaten here much, but a few years ago we calculated that I have probably spent more than $27,000 in this one restaurant. So this is like going home. Of course I had a gift certificate from a friend that made it even better.

We had the whole redneck family together tonight, Darlin, Sax Man, Bud, Lefty, CBoss, Lil Darlin, Big Guy, Precious, Lil Bud and of course Chipper. There was no special event other than dad was paying for dinner, of course Chipper decided we needed to celebrate anyway so there was a Cookie cake from Albertsons involved.

The chips here are pretty much identical to chips in most Mexican restaurants. Givin the chips a 6.

The salsa is a different story. It seems like the last few Mexican restaurants I have eaten in had bad salsa issues. Not the case here. The salsa is very spicy and hot. It does tend to vary from trip to trip, sometimes it is hotter than others.Tonight it was a nice combination of spicy and hot. Givin the salsa an 8.

Me and Chipper ordered beef fajitas for dinner. The beef had a nice lightly spiced flavor and came with bell peppers and onions. You now get to cheese two condiments for the fajitas. So we had cheese and sour cream. All the ingredients in a flour tortilla and you got some pretty good luvin. Givin the Beef fajitas an 7.75.

Dinner was a good visit until the kids had overstayed their limit and became rowdy. When you have 3 3-year olds and a 20 month old, it can get rowdy pretty fast. So we had to retreat to the hacienda where chaos really erupted.

Overall Martinez gets a 7.75 tonight.

Mitcho
©2014

La Caretta - Nacogdoches, TX

The wifey and me had bidness in southeast Texas, so we ended the day at Nacogdoches so we could eat at La Caretta. Darlin, our oldest had gone to college at SFA, so we have spent a lot of time there. We have eaten at La Caretta many times and have many fond memories there. Of course our credit card has been there even more times because Darlin and her roommate ate there many times with my credit card (thank you daddy).

First of all, they brought us chips and salsa. The chips are normal mexican restaurant chips, there really aren't many restaurants that either stand out as different good or bad. Chips are chips. Givin the chips a 6.5. They are drug down by the salsa.

In the past the salsa was brought to the table in a bottle and an individual bowl was given to each person. You could refill your bowl as many times as you wanted. And you would refill your bowl because the salsa was spicy and tasty. Well, things change and sometimes not for the better. Tonight the salsa was very watery/runny. It had very little taste. A 4 is about as high as I can go here.

I ordered a soft taco, beef enchilada, chili cheese enchilada and rice and beans. The soft taco was good size, plenty of lettuce and cheese and the beef was plenty spicy. This was a good taco. The beef enchilada had the same spicy beef which was very tasty. The enchilada was covered in a chili sauce that was very very spicy. Man this was a good enchilada. The chili cheese enchilada had limited cheese and I never could really get a good read on the taste, mainly because it was topped with the chili sauce same as the beef enchilada. This sauce was so spicy you couldn't find the cheese taste.

There was plenty of extra chili sauce that I mixed with the rice and beans which made them very tasty also.

Givin the entre a 7.75.

I thought I remembered that they gave you a sopapilla at the end of the meal and on the table was honey and butter further reinforcing my expectation of a sopapilla. No sopapilla was coming so minus 1/2 point for setting an expectation and not fulfilling it.

Overall, this meal is a 6.5 after reduction. This is good eats. If you are in the area, you should consider eating here.

Mitcho
©2014

TX Burger - Crockett Tx

Me and the Wifey had some important campin bidness in Fairfield and then at Ratcliff Lake. In between the two, we went through Crockett at lunch time. We were cruising the loop and most of the possibilities were chain hamburger joints and we prefer locally owned restaurants. So when we saw the TX Burger, we slid in.

This place makes a really big deal about serving Nolan Ryan beef. Now anything Nolan Ryan is going to get attention in Texas (hello, Jon Daniel).

So Mitcho ordered the Tx Burger combo. This was a TX Burger and seasoned fries. As I mentioned earlier they make a big deal about the burger having Nolan Ryan beef. I paid attention to the taste of the beef and I couldn't tell any difference between this burger and a DQ or Whataburger. Shhhhh, don't tell Nolan, he might come after me. Givin the burger a 6.

Now when you make a big deal of something on the meun, Mitcho expects it to be a big deal. They really played up the seasoned fries. First of all, the meal came in this huge basket with the burger on one end and about 12 fries scattered on the bottom of the basket. Now if the fries would have come in a container like Whataburger, they might have filled the container and it would not have been a big deal. But the meal came in this over sized basket which was mostly empty!!!! Bad impression. Also, the fries looked a yellow orange like seasoned fries look like. However, they just tasted like fries. I couldn't detect any seasoned taste on the fries. These fries if marketed as regular fries and came in a container the correct size for the amount they give you would have scored a much higher score. However, serving them in a huge basket and marketing them as seasoned fries is a big mistake. Givin the fries a 3.5.

Overall this meal gets a 4.75.

Mitcho
©2014

San Miguel Grill - Hwy 380 McKinney

Had some bidness to tend to with a client in McKinney so I "Busted a Move" to San Miguel Grill in McKinney. I have eaten here a number of times over the years. This was once one of the busiest restaurants in McKinney. However, it sits about 3 miles east of Hwy 75. These days there are so many restaurants along Hwy 75 that the restaurants that aren't on 75 aren't doing so well. They had a decent lunch crowd today, but nothing like it once was. What's hard to believe is, it is very good Mexican food. Good for Mitcho, not so good for San Miguel.

Today, I still have some feelings from Monday when I was puny, so I am watching what I eat. Yeah right, watching what I eat in a Mexican Restaurant. How's that working for you. So I only had a few chips, but their chips seem a little different that most Mexican restaurants. The chips are almost an El Fenix chip which I like quite a bit. So givin the chips a 7.

The salsa is a good spicy salsa with a lot of flavor. I only had a few bites of salsa, mainly to give a report on it, but it was good. Givin the salsa a 7.5.

I ordered cheese enchilada's today. I didn't think about the enchilada's being smothered in large quantities of chili. My bad. I ate it any way. These cheese enchilada's were some of the best tasting cheese I have had in a long time. Givin the cheese enchilada's an 8.

The rice and beans, were rice and beans.

Overall givin San Miguel an 8 and a hearty recommendation. If you are in McKinney for lunch or dinner and want Mexican, you can't go wrong at San Miguel.

Mitcho
©2014

Souper Salad - Mesquite

Dinner time again, so what are we going to do??? I guess we better grab some grub!! I gave the wifey about 5 options for dinner and she chose Souper Salad. Supposedly we eat healthy here. Yeah, right!! So we did the Electric Slide to Souper Salad.

First of all, give me a 15 yard penalty for piling on. This is a buffet, all you can stand. So Mitcho is a big believer in loading er up.

I like the variety of items you can put on your salad. The lettuce tonight looked very fresh and not much of the stems from the bottom of a head of lettuce. So Mitcho was pleased with the lettuce. I also piled on radish, onion, bell peppers, celery, carrots, broccoli, pepperoni, cheese and honey mustard dressing. Overall, this is a pretty good salad.

I also get two of their gingerbread squares and two of the blueberry muffins. Load em with plenty of butter and this is the highlight of the meal.

Tonight, I skipped the ice cream and went for peaches, cottage cheese with whipped cream. The cottage cheese had a good taste to it. The whipped cream was semi-sweet, so it added to the flavor. The peaches obviously were not in a sweetened syrup. They tasted a little like peaches but that is about it. The whipped cream made this dish.

Overall, givin SS a 6.85.

Mitcho
©2014

A & W - Polar Swirl Ice Cream

This evening we did the Slide to Jason's for our meal, but we had a coupon for a free Mini Polar Swirl so we slid by A & W (Long John Silvers) on the way home. First of all, the coupon said a free Mini Polar Swirl with the purchase of any Polar Swirl. Now I read that as any size of Polar Swirl. However, apparently a Mini Polar Swirl is not a Polar Swirl so you have to purchase a regular Polar Swirl to get the free one. Very misleading. So I am unhappy already. Finally I get to my Swirl and talking about disappointing. The ice cream had absolutely no taste and was very watery. Now Mitcho knows ice cream, my ice cream exploits are famous across Texas. This is NOT ICE CREAM. Buyer be ware!!!!

Givin the Polar Swirl at A & W a MINUS 1. This is the first time I have gone below zero, but it is necessary here.

Mitcho
©2014

Jason's Deli - Town East Meataballa

It was dinner time and I am still eating non spicy foods for another day or two. So we decide to do the Slide to Jason's Deli. We eat here fairly regular but I usually get a Taco Salad with Chilli sauce which I like pretty good, however, it is spicy. So I had to ratchet it down to a Meataballa. This is a sandwich that even has a good name. It sounds like you are in Italy someplace. The Meataballa is on a white bread bun similar to what you get at Subway. The bread is ok, not outstanding. The Meataballa has six, yes count em, six meat balls. The meat ball is lightly flavored, but it has a good flavor. It is lightly covered with an italian sauce and lots of mozzarella cheese. Overall, if you like meatballs (and I do), you will like this sandwich.

Of course at Jason's you get a free pass to the ice cream machine, so I finished the meal with a small bowl of chocolate/vanilla swirl ice cream.

Overall givin Jason's a 7. You can't go too wrong here.

Mitcho
©2014

Boston Market - Town East Blvd

It was dinner time and Mitcho had felt a little puny all day, so it was time to get some bland food, not that Mitcho is big on bland food. The wifey and me did a waltz to Boston Market. My usual mashed tater and macarena & cheese place is Luby's but if you read about my last meal there you understand that is no longer a choice. So Boston Market it is.

I ordered mashed taters, macarena & cheese and fried apples.

They loaded my plate with a big scoop of mashed taters. Most of the time you get a one dip ice cream scoop, but these guys gave me a Mitcho scoop of taters. The taters tasted pretty good before I loaded them with salt and pepper. After the S & P treatment, they were good to go. Givin the taters a 6.75 (they are just taters!!)

They gave me a good size bowl of macarena & cheese. They had a very cheesy flavor and tasted good. Once again it is pretty hard to mess up M & C. Givin them a 6.5

They also gave me a good size bowl of fried apples. The fried apples had a very sweet syrup on them that was tasty. Of course I prefer more cinnamon but you don't get everything in life. They were good. Gvin the apples a 6.5.

Top it off with some raspberry tea and it was a pretty good meal.

Overall they get a 6.7.

Mitcho
©2014

Joe Willy's Rockwall - NW Corner of I-30 & Hwy 205

Went to Rockwall to visit with our campin buds. A short visit turned into an all afternoon affair. Or course it came to dinner time and you know Mitcho does not miss meals. Since our campin buds are country as country can be, we did the Texas Two Step to Joe Willy's to grab some grub. Joe Willy's is a locally owned hamburger joint in a strip shopping center. It does a very good business. You can count on there being a group of motorcycle riders in there almost all the time. We have been here before and find it to be pretty good.

Tonight I ordered the 1/3 pound burger with cheddar cheese. Ahh cheddar cheese. Mitcho luves some cheese. At Joe Willy's they bring you the bun, meat and cheese. Then you go to the condiments bar to load er up. The bar has at least three variations of onion and you know Mitcho loves onion. It also has two kinds of pickles, two or three kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, pickle relish, pico de gallo, jalapeno's, ranch sauce, bbq sauce, gravy, mushroom sauce. If you don't find the condiments you want on your burger here, it is your own fault. I loaded mine with white onions, bread & butter pickles, lettuce, BBQ sauce, and mustard. Yum Yum. This is a good burger, givin it a 7.25

We also ordered a basket of  fries and onion rings. The fries were a basic french fry, they were good, but nothing special here. The onion rings were near perfect, especially after last nights rings. They were breaded nicely, not oily, cooked to a perfect consistency and a good taste. Because of the rings, the rings/fries get a 7.7.

Overall, this was a good meal with good friends and lots of old times. Givin Joe Willy's a 7.475.

Mitcho
©2014

Scrumbscious Pie Company - Between Davis and East Glen just West of Pioneer

It is Saturday night and we had a filling meal at Pizza Getti for lunch. So we decided after some consideration to have pie for dinner. I have to tell you a banana split at Braum's was a very close second. So we did "The Streak" to Scumbscious Pie Company. This is a family owned business on the East side of Mesquite.

When the wifey and me got there, we decided to split a burger and onion rings, then have a piece of pie each. Sounds like a very solid plan.

The burger had the special Scrumbscious sauce on it. Basically this is Thousand Island dressing, but it was a pretty good taste on the burger. The burger also had massive amount of onion. Now you know Mitcho likes onion. Overall, this was a pretty good burger. Givin it 6.75.

The onion rings looked like they may have been home made which is a plus. Of course frozen ones are more consistent in the outcome. These were extremely greasy. I wanted to drain the grease and change the oil on my car. The breading had a good flavor, but they had been overcooked some and the breading was falling off pretty bad. If you get over the electric shock of massive grease, the rings tasted good. Givin em a 6.5.

Now it is pie time. Of course since they are a Pie Co., I had high expectations. This is going to cost them. If this was the Scrumbscious Burger Co, their overall rating would be higher for the same meal. But they say they are a pie company. When I go to a Pie Co. I am expecting some Meringue or Whip Cream that is to die for. I also expect a crust that is flaky and tasty. Wrong on all accounts here. The topping on my coconut pie was some coconut sprinkled on top of the filling. No Meringue or whip cream, come on what are they thinking. The filling did have a coconut taste and would have been acceptable if the topping and crust were good. The crust was soggy and not a great flavor. The wifey got chocolate pie which had not topping at all, the chocolate had minimal taste and soggy crust. So it didn't score points either.
Givin the pie a 4.5.

Overall, S crumbs gets a 5.5.

Next time I will get the banana split.

Mitch
©2014