Liberty Burger - Lakewood

A good friend of mine recently recommended Liberty Burger for me to try. Now, I take recommendations based upon my impression as to how good a foodie they are. So kudos to jerry.
I am about to have to work my 4 months of the year, which there is no wandering off for dinner. I will be stuck within a mile or two of home. So this may be the last blog for a while.

So the wifey and me did the Bagurumba to Liberty Burger in Lakewood. So on the way we took a short tour of the Lakewood area. A few years ago, I went to Woodrow Wilson High School just blocks from Liberty Burger. So we swung by the old alma mater.

Liberty Burger is on Abrams, sandwiched between Old Abrams and New Abrams just south of Gaston.

The deco of the place is modern cool. Surely this place caters to Lakewood Yuppies more than a Redneck from the Grove. I would expect a burger place to be busy at lunch, but not so busy at dinner time. On a Tuesday night, it was pretty busy. That says a lot for the food.

I ordered the Wild West Burger. This is a good tasting patty, covered in a good BBQ sauce, pickles, onions, cheddar cheese and applewood smoked bacon. This is a very good burger. The BBQ sauce really sets it off. It also a little spicy hot.

We also ordered Large O onion rings. Normally I prefer a small onion, heavily coated in batter. But these large onions were coated in a batter that was very tasty. You can see the spices in the batter. Do not pass up these onion rings.

Overall, this is a good find. Lakewood is a fun area these days. If haven't been over there. Go check it out.

Givm a 8.00113.

(Note: I do prefer Twisted Root's Peppercorn Ranch Burger and onion straws, but you have to go downtown on Commerce to get it.)

Mitcho
©2015

Christmas Eve at the Waffle House - Mesquite

On Christmas Eve, our church CLIFE, has two Candlelight services. So we go to church around 3:30 and leave about 8:00. Now finding a place to eat at 8:00 on Christmas Eve can be a problem. So I decided we would try the Redneck Café (Waffle House) in Mesquite. I have been in here before and it has been tolerable. Boy this time, not so much. The staff was laughing and cutting up with each other and customers in a very loud manner (hollering). It bothered my mother in law and she had her hearing aid turned off.

The service tonight was bad. The waitress was far more interested in the goings on down at the other end of the counter than to provide us anything that resemble service. I guess if I was half drunk and lived in a trailer park and shouted everything I said, it might have been better.

The waffle is a good waffle and I like the hash browns here. But I don't know if I can take the atmosphere or service at this Waffle House. I have eaten in Waffle Houses' across the US and have never had this kind of experience. So just the Mesquite one at Hwy 80 and Belt Line is off my list.

Give'm a 1.5. The lowest score I have given to date.

Mitcho
©2015

Paradise Burger - Kaufman, TX

Today I had some bidness to tend to down in Kaufman. I have a very good friend that has a ranch down there. So we busted a move to Kaufman this morning. When we wrapped up our bidness, it was approaching lunch time. So we decided to inspect the culinary capabilities in Kaufman. Our son is on staff at CLife Church, which is about to open a location in Kaufman. So I figured he had eaten there a few times. So I texted him. Yeah I know how to text. He responded back Paradise Burger or a Mexican food place by Walmart that was just ok. So the decision was not real difficult.

Kaufman maybe the redneck capital of Texas. You better have some redneck going on when you drag into a place here.

So we did the bump and grind to Paradise Burger.

When we entered we were told to find a seat and they will come to take our order. Don't believe them. We are still waiting on someone to take our order. Finally, the wifey had to go to the counter to order. When we opened the menu I knew I was in trouble. At the top of the burger page it says "All burgers are 1/2 pound". Immediately I looked at the rest of the menu to find a smaller burger for the wifey. Cause otherwise I knew what was coming. The dreaded sharing. So the wifey informed me that we would be ordering a Hickory Burger and onion rings. This place has about 15 or 20 special burgers. There has to be one there to your liking.

The Hickory burger was loaded with a very good tasting bbq sauce and onions. This was a good burger. The onion rings were some of the best we have had in a while. This is some good eats rat here. If I get stranded in Kaufman again, I will bust a move to Paradise Burger.

Givem a 8.1.

Mitcho
©2015

Rick's Smokehouse BBQ - Garland

So being a proud redneck. I don't drive new cars. Where would you put the duck tape or bailing wire on a new car? I mean really!!! So once in a while I need an auto mechanic to work their wonder. I have the best auto mechanic in Mesquite!! However, recently he moved his shop to near Miller and Jupiter in Garland. So since my ride was marking its spot everywhere I went lately, it was time to reduce the amount of antifreeze I was leaving behind everywhere I parked. So off to my buddy Victor's to geter fixed.

As we turned onto the street Victor's shop is on, the wifey noticed a BBQ joint on the corner. So after dropping my lovely ride off, we slipped back up to Jupiter and Dividend and sauntered into Rick's Smokehouse BBQ. By the looks of this place, it has been here quite a while. Like about the beginning of time. The place was close to full of people, mostly men. You know any good BBQ joint is not going to have too many women folk at lunch time. Of course I had the wifey with me, so I violated my own rules.

So we slid through the line and got the usual, a two meat plate. We got sliced brisket and sausage. We also drug up some beans and onion rings. Topped it off with Texas toast.

The wifey said the brisket was pretty good, but not the best she has had. Not a bad report overall. The sausage had a good flavor, just need a good amount of black pepper to be real good. You know Mitcho likes it spicy.

The red beans were above average. This some pretty good grub here. The onion rings were pretty good also.

Overall, this was a pretty good lunch. The wifey got an atta girl.

Givem a 7.493

Of course if you are on Jupiter at lunch time, go to Kingsley and take it almost to Shiloh, to Zeke's Kitchen. Now this is some good grub you won't regret. Ask for the Mitcho special here, smaller portions for $1.00 more. (Just kidding Zeke!!!, you can't make your chef mad@)

Mitcho
©2015

Rockin Ricks Cajun Food Truck - Out of Forney Tx. CLife Rockwall first Worship Service

Yea, I go to CLife (Community Life Church) of Forney and Sunnyvale. About to be Rockwall and Kaufman also. New York City next, then Hong Kong, Tokyo and London. Our little church started with a handful of people 9 years ago and has to grown to 4 locations and probably more to come. I tell people our goal is to have a worship site within driving distance of every Walmart. So hang on!

Anyway I digress. To celebrate our first worship service in Rockwall, we had a special service at a home of one of our members in old Rockwall. Of course we don't do things halfway, so Rockin Ricks Cajun Food Truck was onsite for our culinary needs (that's grub for my Grove Rat buddies). Rockin Ricks has a pretty extensive menu normally, but tonight we had 3 choices: Cheeseburger, Pulled Pork Po-Boy or Shrimp Po-Boy. So Mitcho went for the Cheeseburger.

The Cheeseburger was larger than most, you know about Whataburger size. It had two meat patties, lettuce, onions, tomato, and a special sauce. Of course the first thing I did was drown the special sauce in Mustard. You know a red neck likes his mustard and onions. The bun fell apart through the meal, so they could improve on the bun. Otherwise this burger tasted fairly good. The wifey went for the Pulled Pork Po-boy sandwich and was not impressed. However, she is not much on Pulled Pork, so go figure. So if you pull up to a food truck gathering, you could do worse than Rockin Ricks.

Givem a 6.768

Now CLife does Rock. So Rock on with us in Rockwall.

Mitcho
©2015

Joe T Garcia's - Fort Worth

My church needed some equipment returned to a place in West Fort Worth on Monday. So when I heard about it, my first thought was Joe T Garcia's for lunch. So we did the two step to Fort Worth. We drove back streets from our stop on Jacksboro Hwy to Commerce St. We went through some really old neighborhoods, but they looked pretty good. On NW 21st we passed a school that is probably planning it's 100th anniversary. Can you say Historic. Many other buildings in the area are quite old. When you get to Joe T's, you are in the middle of North Side. Joe T's is in an old house that looks like my grand parents. The business started here  July 4, 1935. That's impressive. Over the years it has grown and taken in neighboring land. So it is pretty good size today.

There were cars parked everywhere, but when we went inside there were plenty of tables waiting for us. Talking Service, they had our drink order before we even sat down. In seconds, chips and salsa showed up. The chips were very good and the salsa had a nice spicy taste. The salsa is one of the best I have had. Going good here.

I ordered a cheese enchilada dinner and didn't really pay attention to what I would get. Man oh man, is Thanksgiving in Mexico today. I know I stuffed myself like Thanksgiving. The meal included two cheese enchiladas with a very tasty red sauce over them, rice, beans, two beef tacos, guacamole, two cheese nachos and corn tortillas. The enchiladas with the red sauce had a very good unique taste. The rice and beans were very good, but still rice is rice and beans are beans. The two tacos had plenty of lettuce and taco meat, but NO CHEESE. Did you hear me say NO CHEESE. This is TEX-MEX. The TEX means lots of cheese. Not here. This is my only knock on the place. The plate of guacamole was big enough for 3 or 4 people. I tried to be 3 or 4 people, but just ran out of room. The corn tortillas had a very good taste. The cheese nachos are on a crispy tortilla, the size of  a full tortilla. They were topped with a good amount of cheddar cheese and diced jalapenos. Some good stuff.

Over all, this is some real good grub. Of course the menu only has a handful of choices, but they are all very good. If you say you went to Fort Worth and did not eat at Joe T's, did you really go to Fort Worth???? If you are going to Fort Worth, call me, I will come up with a reason to go with you and swing by Joe T's for lunch. Also, you will need me to give you directions. This place is in a neighborhood. If you don't take me, use your GPS. I am more fun!!! I asked the wifey if we could go back for dinner.

Giv'em a 9.28

Mitcho
©2015
 

Eddie's Napoli's - Centerville in Garland

First of all, there are Napoli's all over North Texas, but there are only 5 in North Texas that are Eddie's. 2 on Centerville, Firewheel Mall, Mesquite and Frisco. There is also one in Amarillo (strange). Eddie is a very friendly guy and really Italian. His bio on the back of the menu says he was born in Naples, Italy and began cooking at 10. He went to a culinary college for Italian cooking in Italy. So his cooking is for real.

So the wifey said she didn't want to eat much tonight so she wanted to split something. I suggested Napolis because of one thing for sure. His entre's are HUGE and reasonably priced.. I knew that when we got there, the wifey was going to eat more than just a little.

So we did the Jitterbug to Napoli's.

We ordered a Stromboli to share. A Stromboli has sausage, pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, hamburger, and lots of cheese in a yummy crust. This Stromboli was about 1 1/2 feet long and 8 inches wide. I am talking redneck big. You also get a cup of Marinara sauce that is really good. To top it off you get a bowl of rolls with Marinara sauce. You could just make a meal of the rolls, they are some of the best at Italian restaurants (the rolls at Olive Garden rule this category).

So the wifey since she wasn't hungry took her full 1/2. I knew it. Of course I made up for it in the rolls basket. So no problem here. Overall this was some good eats with good service and a homey atmosphere. We have been here many times and will be back again and again.

Given em a 8.5.

Mitcho
©2015

Twisted t restaurant and sports bar - Amarillo

It is late October so it is time to do some west Texas canyon hiking. So we took off this morning to Amarillo. Of course at the end of the day dinner becomes a necessity. I have two restaurants in Amarillo that are clients. So no soul searching as to where we would be eating (the other is palios pizza cafe).

Twisted t is connected to western bowling, but this is not a snack bar. Being a good redneck I am at home in a bowling alley. If ET was a redneck, ET would phone the bowling alley.  The menu here has many different varieties. Any hungry person would be able to find something good to eat here. Wings, salads, burgers, entres, etc.

The wifey went for the chicken fried steak with mashed taters and green beans. The cfs was one of the thickest pieces of meat in a Cfs we have ever seen and one of the best quality pieces of meat. The mashed taters were an above average tater and the green beans has a sweet flavor. She gave it 8 thumbs up (only rednecks can do this).

I ordered enchiladas. One beef and one cheese. First of all, this meal came with chips and salsa. The chips were covered in their spicy t sauce. These chips had a very spicy flavor that stays with you. Not overwhelming, but tasty spicy. The beef enchilada had the special t spice in the meat and the chili. Good stuff here. The cheese enchilada had a good flavored cheese covered in the spicy chili. Another good to go. The beans and rice were covered in a good amount of cheese. When you add the extra chili and cheese these are better than most.

This is some good grub here. Mitcho does not speak with a forked tongue even if he does know the owner.

So if you are just west of Dallas and it is feed time, slide into the twisted t, you won't regret it.

Giv'em a 8.5

Mitch's
2015

Pei Wei - Casa Linda

The wifey came in at dinner time and announced we were heading to Pei Wei in Casa Linda. So the only right thing for me to do was to get my groove on and do the Cha Cha Cha to Pei Wei. I don't think Pei Wei has been here very long, but I am not sure. Casa Linda has a number of quality restaurants to pick from besides Pei Wei. You can choose from El Fenix, Chili's, Highland Park Cafeteria, Torchy's Taco, and the Alligator Café to name a few.

We don't go to Pei Wei much, so I struggle with the menu every time I go. Of course most places we slide into, we eat the same thing every time we go, so no real variety at all. So a little variety doesn't hurt, huh.

I chose the Caramel Chicken. Wow, this thing was caramel sweet, spicy and hot. This grubb has chili paste, pineapple, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, mint, rice sticks and Asian slaw. Talking about an explosion of tastes in your mouth. I will be grabbing this grubb again.

I also have the Chai Black Tea which also has cinnamon and vanilla. The tea was as interesting as the entre.

Overall, I enjoyed this meal. Gonna do it again soon.

Givn em an 8.518

Mitcho
©201

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour

Please attend church with me next Sunday. Where ever you are, go to the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwas2xFpEStMd06-59ggY7g5

Howard's Catfish Cafe - Pioneer Rd Mesquite

We decided we needed to eat in a new restaurant this evening to keep my blog readers entertained. So we settled on Howard's catfish. We have had several friends tell us how good the fish was here. So we did the Belly dance to Howard's.

When you walk in, you know you are in redneck heaven. The first thing you see is a pool table to the right and games to the left. I began wondering if there were tables to eat at. Sure enough if you go far enough to the back there are tables.

I missed the sign, but this place only accepts cash. So be prepared to deal presidents.

This may be the first restaurant that has a Coke vending machine next to where you order and you buy your drinks from the vending machine. Different.

So we inspected the menu and ordered a 4 piece fish dinner for us to share. We never could figure out what was supposed to come with the meal, so we wondered what we would get.

I also missed the sign at the front door that said it took 30 minutes for your meal to be cooked. No kidding, we waited at least 30 minutes. Now if my pool game was intact from my youthful years, I may have been able to win cash for dinner while waiting on my meal. However, since arthritis has taken over, all I can do is watch.

When dinner arrived, the 4 pieces of fish are very large. Underneath them was French fries, pickles and toast. NO HUSHPUPPIES.

I never got around to pickles, but the fries was a frozen French fry you can buy at the grocery store. The buttered toast was ok. The fish had a very nice batter and was ok. The fish was better than David Beard's has to offer. But for good fish Doe Belly's RULES.

After reviewing my take on this restaurant, I am wondering if I need to turn in my Redneck Card.
First of all, I didn't shoot any pool when I walked in. I don't like having to pay cash. A real redneck only has cash. He had a credit card until the credit card company determined that he never intended to make any payments. A redneck likes all things in vending machines or one armed bandits.

My only saving grace here is a real redneck would have pitched a fit not receiving any Hushpuppies.

So go to www.yourvotedoesn'tcount.com and vote your opinion.

So giving em a 5.0. That's the best I can do when you consider everything here.

Mitcho
©2015

Fuel City Tacos/Fried Pies

Finally, after trying for 3 days I got some tacos. Now Fuel City isn't just an ordinary Redneck Truck Stop hangout. Texas Monthly rates the tacos at Fuel City #1 in the state of Texas. Now that is some serious taco. This isn't your mama's taco by any means.

This is different, first all there is a window on the outside for you to order your tacos. Also, you can go in and order tacos at a counter. The line is bad in both places. The other item you need to prepare for, CASH ONLY.

So the wifey and me did the gassy taco to Fuel City.

You can choose either flour or corn tortillas. Stupid me was thinking corn meant a taco shell. Nope, a corn tortilla. Of course I like corn tortillas, so no worries.

So I ordered a Picadillo on corn, Beef Fajita on corn and Barbacoa on Flour. The Picadillo is ground beef with potatoes and green sauce. All of the tacos come with diced onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and hot sauce. Now you know Mitcho likes onion. These tacos have a heavy portion of onion, Ya boy. Then, I had a Beef Fajita, beef fajita meat with lots of onion and cilantro. Now your cooking. finally I had a Barbacoa, steamed roast beef and fixins. All three of these are very good, very tasty and not just an ordinary taco. When you go, look for me in line, I will be there getting more tacos.

To make things even better, they also have a Fried Pie section. I went for a Peach Pie. This thing was two hands big. Fried to perfection and very tasty Peach filling. Now you are talking to me.

This is here some good eats. Get your buddies together and make a move to Fuel City and get your taco on.

Given em a 8.85 (did I tell you that had home baked fried pies).

Mitcho
©2015

Four Winds - Wills Point, TX

We went to dinner tonight with long-time friends. We did the Tranky Doo to Wills Point. Four Winds was originally the home of Leroy Jordan, # 55 of the Dallas Cowboys. This was the 55 Ranch. He sold it a number of years ago and the buyers converted it to Four Winds. This is a 5 star restaurant with white table cloths, waiter standing over your shoulder to refill your tea, etc. High Cotton. This is where the rich eat. A good redneck thinks a rich person has a long double wide with 5 refrigerators on the front porch. Ice Cream/Liquid Refreshments/Frozen Pizza/Liquid Refreshments/Ice Cream.
So you know I am out of place here. I had to put long pants and shoes on for this meal. I don't think the waitress overly appreciated my redneck jokes.

The restaurant is on beautiful land. You could just come here and sit on the front porch for awhile and just whittle. The inside of the restaurant is also beautiful. This is first-class all the way.

You have to be careful reading the menu. Everything is ordered separate. No the entre does not come with a salad, baked potato, etc. You have to order everything.

I ordered a house salad, baked potato and Filet Mignon. The house salad was a mix of greens and lettuce with ranch dressing. This was some good salad.

The baked potato was fully loaded and very tasty to the bottom.

The Filet Mignon melted in my mouth. Now this is some tender fixins. These guys know how to make a piece taste like dessert. Yummy.

Notice the picture of the butter they brought out. It is almost the size of the plate. Now no need to ask for seconds on butter, this is enough for the next month.

Great restaurant, good times with friends and a great meal. This was a winner. If you come here, you better bring your brothers piggy bank, you know yours is empty anyway.

Givn em a 9.398

Mitcho
©

Catfish Village - Ore City, Texas

It was Labor Day weekend and we had a private redneck convention at Daingerfield State Park. Daingerfield is deep in East Texas piney woods. This is home to many a redneck. Food is a major part of a campin weekend. The most excitement we had this weekend was when the raccoons invaded our meet up camp site. Immediately the recipes started flowing, BBQ Raccoon, boiled Raccoon, Raccoon on a beer can, etc. etc. Some of it was gross, but very entertaining.

Over the years we go out to eat once during the gathering. This time we decided to head down to Ore City to Catfish Village. This is David Beard's original catfish restaurant. If you have eaten catfish in Texas, odds are you have been into at least one joint owned by David Beards. Now all of us these days prefer to catch our catfish fileted, breaded and deep fried. So all 16 of us paraded our redneck selves into the Village.

This is predominantly an all you can eat joint. So when you take your seat at the table, there is the setup there already. Here the setup is cold slaw and green tomatoes. NO BEANS. Did I mention that they do not serve BEANS!@!!!!!!

I ordered all you can eat filets, which come with French fries and hushpuppies. The fish was pretty good, but not outstanding. The tartar sauce left something to be desired, so I mixed green tomatoes into the tartar sauce. This helped, but did not make it good.

The green tomatoes were very good. The cold slaw was ordinary, ok, but nothing to brag about. The fries were very good. The best part of the meal was the hushpuppies. I could have eaten a basketful of them.

Did I mention that there were NO BEANS. This is totally unacceptable.

Givem a 7.00

Mitcho
©2015

Torchy's Taco - Casa Linda

I had decided that tonight after dinner we would go to White Rock Lake in Dallas to walk. If you haven't walked in the evening here, you should try it. Make sure you go to the West side. The East side is in the sun most of the way. So we needed to eat dinner in Casa Linda. So I suggested Torchy's Tacos, El Fenix or Highland Park Cafeteria. The wifey chose Torchy's Tacos. Now she had been here before, but it was a first for me. So we did the merengue to Torchy's Tacos.

I had to take a few minutes to study the menu. I finally settled on 3 tacos. So it is time to order. First I ordered a "Trailer Park" taco. She asked me if I wanted it "Trashy or not"? Say what. She really isn't asking a Redneck food Blogger if he wanted his Trailer Park taco trashy!!!!!! I couldn't script this any better. Of course I want it Trashy, whatever that means. The Trailer Park taco is a fried chicken breast, green chilies, lettuce, pico de gallo and cheese on a flour tortilla. The taco also came with a jalapeno ranch sauce, which I poured most of it on the taco. Wow, I didn't expect this taco to be that good. I will be eating more of these.

My second taco is the Republican and the third was a Democrat. It is kind of interesting the Democrat taco costs 75 cents more than the Republican. Of course the Democrats want to take from the rich and give to the non-working, big-screen watching poor to equalize income, so let's charge them more for everything. That's the American way.

Back to the Republican. This is a whole jalapeno sausage grilled, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, with poblano sauce on a flour tortilla. This sausage was as good as Razoo's and that's saying something. Along with the condiments, this was a very good taco. I'd VOTE for it.

Finally we are to the Democrat taco. I expected it to be taken from me before I got to eat it, but it was still there. The Democrat is shredded beef barbacoa topped with fresh avocado, queso fresco, cilantro, onions, wedge of lime, and tomtatillo sauce on a flour tortilla. This one just wasn't remarkable. It was OK, but not remarkable. I VOTE it out of office. Next time I will try something different.

Half-way through the meal, the Wifey decided that we needed dessert. So she ordered 3  Lil Nookies. Now this is redneck fair park faire. Deep fried chocolate chip cookies, dusted with powdered sugar and topped with cherries. I ate two of the three and half-way through the 2nd one, I began to develop the sugar sweats. Man this is some good fixin's rat here.

Overall, givem a 8.47921

Mitcho
©2015

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour

Please attend church with me next Sunday. Where ever you are, go to the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwas2xFpEStMd06-59ggY7g

Fish Net - Lake DeGray, Arkansas

Barely just east of Dallas County. The wifey and me had absolutely nutten to do this weekend. So it was time for a road trip. After a few minutes of thought, I came up with the idea to eat dinner at the Fish Net. We have been eating fish in this place for about 27 years. At one point, this was our favorite fish place. Of course that was before Doe Belly's. Just down the road from Fish Net is Lake DeGray state park. This is a beautiful park with a very nice lake. We have been coming here for years.

We ordered a small  catch each. This comes with a setup which is pinto beans, green tomatoes, hush puppies and cold slaw. The pinto beans have a nice flavor to them. Tonight they were a little salty, but very good. How can a redneck like green tomatoes, but not like regular tomatoes? One of the many mysteries of my life.  These are some good green tomatoes. You get a whole basket of hush puppies. I think at fish places from now on, the wifey will be referred to as Hushpuppy!!!, like she is chipper in Mexican restaurants. We ate the WHOLE basket of hush puppies. Man these are some good eats rat here. I was forced to eat cabbage as a kid, so as an adult I don't plan on eating any cabbage, which I believe cold slaw is made from. So not a fan of cold slaw, but I tasted this one just for your benefit. It was pretty good. I still won't eat because of my childhood trauma, but put that aside and it was good. So the setup gets a go.

The fish here is not as good as it has been. It had somewhat of a funny taste. The breading didn't taste like any breading I have ever had and that is not a good thing. Also, I would guess that the fish is from pretty large catfish. At Doe Belly's you basically get a side of a fish, not a small part of a large fish. I think size has an effect on taste. I may not be right, but that is my thought.

We have so many good memories here, I am sure we will be back.

Givem an 7.218.

Mitcho
©2015

Joe Willy's - Rockwall

Yesterday we kept some of the grands. Precious and Lil Bud. So at the end of the day we had to take Precious to a dance class. Now you know this redneck is really looking forward to tap, ballet, and jazz dance recitals. Of course if Precious likes it, I will be on the front row with my air horn, silly string, confetti and loud speaker. You know the routine.

Dance class was in Rockwall and we dropped Lil' Bud off in Rockwall so we had dinner in Rockwall. Rockwall is full of good restaurants, so this is not an easy decision for a simple brain. So we threw two options out each and Joe Willy's was in both of our options, so we did the Saunter over to Joe Willy's.

Joe Willy's is a hamburger joint. So you got it we ordered a hamburger each. Here you can choose between a 1/3 pound and 1/2 pound. I went for the 1/3 pound tonight.

This place let's you add the condiments of you choice from a bar. I like being in control of my burger.

The meat had a good flavor and I added plenty of mustard, onion!!!!, bread & butter pickles, lettuce, and bbq sauce. This was a good burger. We also ordered onion rings and they were very good. My favorites are the rings at Twisted Root, but these rank pretty high up there.

So grab your wife and few redneck buddies and get yourself on over to Joe Willy's, you won't regret it.

Given em a 7.968

Mitcho
©2015

Razzoos - Mesquite

Work has slowed down, so we have time to stretch our wings a little. So last night we drove 180 mile round trip for dinner. So I told the wifey that we need to go someplace out of our normal area just for variety. So after kicking around several suggestions including Judge Beans, we settled on Razzoos, which is one of the closest restaurants to our house. That is really stretching. (Judge Beans for you neophytes, was a hamburger joint on Northwest Hwy, close to Abrams which had some of the best beans we have ever grubbed on. It went out of business 25 years ago, oh well.) We really like Razzoos, but rarely go there. So go figure!

So we did the Cajun dance to Razzoos. "Sorry, I had to go get a few antacids". We decided on our order, while driving there. Fried pickles and Andoulle , Red Beanz and Rice. This just makes me hungry thinking about it.

In my mind, Razzoos is the founding fathers of fried pickles. This is the first place I ever had some and I have never found any better. This is the best fried pickles in this here parts of Redneckville.

We then went on to the Andoulle, Red Beanz and Rice. Now this is some great spicy sausage, cooked to perfection. Why don't I come here more often????? The red beans had a very nice flavor almost spicy and rice is rice.

I am telling you, this is some righteous good grub. Being an old man I have to overlook all of the teenage girl employees running around in Daisy Dukes. So not exactly a family atmosphere, but some good grub.

Givn em 8.483

Mitcho
©2015

Czech Stop Vs Slovacek - City of West, Texas

Czech stop on the left/Slocacek on the right.


A cold front blew through today and it cooled off to the mid 80's. So about 4:00 the wifey came in and asked if I wanted to put the top down on the convertible and polka down to West. Of course it took me less than 1 second to say let's polka. We have been going to the Czech Stop in West for about 25 years and it is a destination, not a stop on the way. About a year ago a new bakery was built across I-35 called Slovacek. I have a few friends that say I have to go to Slovacek's so since we are going that way this seemed like a good time to do a comparison of the two. I have never done this on the blog before, but it was a nice first.

So we hop into the convertible, put the top down and take off south. When we were about to get to West, it started raining. I told the wifey, don't slow down and it will be ok. You know if you run 80 mph in a hard rain, you won't get hardly wet. Of course you can't slow down for your exit.

We went to Slovacek's first. They obviously are trying to compete with BucEEs. Their store is only about two football fields short of a BucEEs. But it was a nice place. The bathroom here is much nicer than the one at the Czech Stop. But the bathroom is not the reason you stop here.

I had 90 miles to develop my plan for the comparison. So I decided the Hot Chubby with Cheese and a Fruit Kolache at each place. So I ordered a Hot sausage and cheese and Apricot Kolache at Slovacek. At Czech Stop it was a Hot Chubby with Cheese and an Apricot Kolache.

The bread is the main attraction to kolaches. The bread on the Hot Sausage and Cheese at Slovacek was mediocre at best. I can buy bread at Walmart that is just as good. The cheese was minimal and appeared to be similar to Kraft American, like you would put on a bologna sandwich. The spicy sausage was good, but not quite as spicy as the Hot Chubby.

Now for the big time. The bread on the Hot Chubby tasted like homemade bread, this is the reason you drive 90 miles for a meal. The cheese is a medium cheddar and plenty of it. The sausage is spicy!!!! Winner Winner Chubby Dinner.

Now for Apricot Kolaches. From Slovacek, the bread once again tasted very basic. The apricot was pretty good. However, the Czech Stop Apricot Kolache, the bread was a little sweet like a dessert item should be. The apricot filling was very tasty and just looked much better.

Overall, I would eat at Slovacek over the donut shop that I get my cinnamon roll in Mesquite. What the donut shop calls a kolache is a basic roll with store bought sausage link in it. Slovacek wins this contest with the donut shop, but across I-35 is The Czeck Stop. There just is no comparison. Czeck Stop wins this battle on all accounts.

When we drove up at Slovacek there were a couple of cars in the parking lot, but plenty of parking left. There were two other people ordering food when we were, no waiting. At Czech stop, we got the last parking place. We had to wait in a line to order our food. So the people have spoken, all accounts say Czech Stop rules.

By the way I looked at cinnamon rolls at Slovacek and they looked ok, but nothing special. The cinnamon rolls at Czech Stop look like they have 10 times more cinnamon and much more icing. I will tell you in the morning what they taste like.

Givn Czech Stop a 9.491
Slovacek gets a 8.002

Mitcho
©2015

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour

Please attend church with me next Sunday. Where ever you are, go to the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwas2xFpEStMd06-59ggY7g

Atheneos - Mesquite

Dinner time rolled around and the wifey and me kicked around several options, then the wifey decided we were going to Atheneos. That's how we roll. Why does she even ask me where I want to go? Oh well.

Atheneos is a Greek food restaurant in Mesquite run by a family that is from Greece and still has family there. I have to admit that the first time I went here I was very doubtful that I would like anything in the house. But I sacrifice my slim and trim body for my readers pleasure. Surprisingly I like everything I have eaten in this place. As the owner says, Greek food is simple food using the same ingredients Americans are used to, just a different batch of spices. So rock on.

Tonight I ordered a Gyro pita. This is a good size and thick pita filled with Gyro (beef), onions, tomatoes (I don't eat tomatoes, so I had them left off), and a tzatziki sauce (a creamy sauce). I also ordered fries because the wifey wanted fries. They are less fattening if they are on my plate.
Man this Gyro meat is really good and the red onion and sauce really add a nice extra to the flavor. You need to get you some of this here grub. Forget that you have never eaten Greek food, or for that matter anything other than chicken fried steak and mashed tators, and grab you some Greek food, post haste (fast). The fries had a little spice on them so they were a little better than most fries.

I learned my first Greek word tonight. I have no idea what it means, but I know when to use it. I spilled my tea into my plate about half way through the meal tonight. You know I roll that way. The owner came by to check on me and offered to fix me a new batch of fries, but the wifey had already eaten all she wanted. But it was a nice jester. He also asked if I yelled "Opa". Of course I didn't, but next time I go, I plan on spilling my tea again so I can yell "Opa".

Given em a 8.379

Mitcho
©2015

Five Guys - Mesquite

The wifey suggested we try Five Guys. How can I review about 130 restaurants and miss one less than a mile from Mitchoville. So we sashayed to Five Guys. Now I had heard that it was pricey for a hamburger and they were right.

I ordered a hamburger, the wifey ordered a Little Hamburger and a regular order of fries. $21. We can eat at Whataburger for $10!!!!

The regular burger came with two meat patties and they were very tasty. About as good as a Whataburger. The little burger came with one meat patty. You can add your choice of a wide variety of condiments to your burger. I like being able to easily make the burger like I want it.

The regular order of fries were very good. Their texture and taste reminded me of my home made fries and they hare yummy yummy. Also, the regular order was enough to feed 4 at least. We ate the spill over from the cup and never got to the fries in the cup. Next time a personal order of fries.

This was a good hamburger and fries, but not any better than Whataburger and $10 is better than $21.

Givem a 7.883

Mitcho
©2015

Buc-ee's - Terrell

Dinner time came and the wifey suggested we bust a move to Buc-ee's in Terrell to check out the new digs. We had been to Buc-ee's in New Braunfels, but oh my gosh, I haven't ever seen anything like this. Talking about redneck heaven. You could fully furnish and decorate your double wide and buy all of the gaudy clothes you would ever need here. And talking about junk food, there is every option known to man here in mass quantities. I am now going to change my retirement plans and just move in and live at Buc-ee's. They will never know. I would be able to visit with all my friends when they are passing through and make many new friends everyday. Beats the nursing home. Nobody is going to come see you there. I bet you could eat for a month and not eat the same thing twice. I didn't know there were that many versions of jerky. This place is the Super-Walmart of convenience stores. 2/3's of the way across the store, we changed time zones.

 

 

Buc-ee was out front just hanging so I had my picture taken with him. We look like twins don't you think. The only real draw back here is there are no tables inside our picnic tables outside. They assume you are going to gas up and eat on the run.

 

So I took a picture on the trunk of the wife's hot rod before we ate in the car. You could cop a squat outside, but since it was 104 degrees, it was way too hot for that option. So we ate in the car with the a/c running.

 

Tonight we opted for the Pepperjack & Sausage Kolache. Now this is some pretty good eats. If you haven't been to The Czeck Stop  in West then this would be a great Kolache. Of course The Czeck Stop is better, but short of driving 90 miles, this is a good Kolache. The wifey went for the Chocolate Bunt Cake for dessert and was disappointed. Now it must of not been very good, because she just doesn't dog chocolate. I went for a Cinnamon Roll. This was an above average Cinnamon Roll this side of West. Of course The Czeck Stop Cinnamon Roll is the best, bar none. Speaking of West, it is time for me to make a dinner run south.

 

Overall, this is an above average meal for a reasonable price. Giv'm a 7.834.

 

Mitcho

©2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olive Garden - Mesquite a recnecks delight

Dinner was an easy choice tonight. I had a $50 gift card to Red Lobster. Now if you have read the blog much you will know that the only fishy thing I go for is Catfish and the only Catfish I want is Doe Belly's. So needless to say I wasn't excited about going to Lobster. So we did the drag to Red Lobster. When we got in the parking lot, I decided to read the fine print on the gift card to make sure Red Lobster was my only choice. Well my lucky day, in fine print 3 lines down it indicates that it can also be used at Olive Garden, SCORE. It didn't take us but a second to do the Skidaddle over to Olive Garden.

So we sashayed in and was seated immediately. Things are looking up. Going in the door the wifey is already moaning about how big all of the entrees are and that she can't eat all of any of them. I been here before, we are splitting so there is no need for me to even look at the menu. So I suggested we go for the Taste of Italy. With 3 entrees on one plate, I can split and get full and sassy.

We ordered peach tea. This is the best peach tea in Texas. If you haven't tried it, you better get yourself over there and try it. Of course the garlic bread is very very good.

It is time for salad. I really like the OG salad. I am not sure what the dressing is, but I really like it.  Lettuce, onions, black olives, croutons, etc. This is some good stuff. When it came time to start my salad, I opened my silverware. Uh oh, Houston, we have a problem. 3 Forks. 3 Forks. Is this a family reunion?? I haven't seen this many forks since the last family reunion and 3 was the total for everyone. They also throw in a knife. Now I am a grove rat redneck. I have a pocket knife that is rusty and has notches on it. Why would I need a knife?? Seriously.

Then came the Italy tour. You pick 3 entrees from 9 choices. We (the wifey) chose fettuccini alfredo, chicken parmesan, and lasagna. Of course lasagna is one of my favorites, the fettuccini and parme chicken are very good. The total package here is good.

Givem a 8.29

Mitcho
©2015

Outback Steakhouse - Mesquite

Now according to the wifey it was time to celebrate 38 years of bliss. On the actual date, we will be in another land outside the fine country of Texas and will have CBoss with us.

I had accumulated a $50 gift card to Outback. Now the wifey really loves a steak from Outback. (Of course the Kensington Club at Steak N Ale is our all time favorite.) So time to score some friendly points. So we did the moonwalker to Outback.

Now Mitcho grew up poor and redneck. So steak came in a round tube with red rind around the outside. Now I still like tub steak fried to the crisp. Mitcho has a hard time digesting quality steak as I never experienced it growing up. So Mitcho ordered Firecracker Salmon. Now I don't know about you, but Firecracker means it's going to explode. This is something to look forward to. It also was covered in mangos. I also got a fully loaded bake potato, salad and of course bread.

The salad at Outback is one of the best we eat in the area. So we are off to a good start. Of course I eat way too many slices of bread (if there is such a thing as too many).

The salmon and potato arrive looking yummy. So I dive in. The Firecracker sauce was disappointing. It had a nice minor flavor and the mangos added a little flavor to the salmon, but nothing like I expected. There was a very small amount of burn, but I was expecting a 4th of July display. Not going to happen here. Salmon has a little flavor, but the additives give it the most flavor. This was ok, but not exciting. The bake potato was loaded nicely.

Finally, if you are going to celebrate, it needs to end with a Thunder from Down Under. This is whipped cream, ice cream and a fudge brownie. Yum Yum.

Overall, it was a pretty good meal and the wifey really enjoyed it.

Givm a 7.27 (remember I did have a Thunder from Down Under).

Mitcho
©2015

On the Border - North Garland

Now Mitcho and the fam spent last week hanging on the beach at Gulf Shores, Al. Now picture a real redneck on a beach. Yep, embarrassing to the rest of the fam.

In my opinion when you cross the Texas state line going any direction, except to Mexico, you are saying goodbye to Mexican food. Now I have eaten Mexican food in many states of this here somewhat great US of A and none of it qualifies as Mexican food. On the road home from this trip we stopped at a Taco Bell, but that doesn't count as Mexican food. So one of the first things you do is go straight to a Mexican restaurant and pig out. (No I didn't eat any pig!!!)

So part of the group did the Mexican Hat Dance to On The Border in North Garland. Now Darlin' and Sax Man/Bean Counter live in Sachse and there just isn't much in the way of choices for Mexican food, so we travel to North Garland for Mexican Food.

So at ordering time, Chipper suggested that we order 3 enchiladas and split them. So we ordered two cheese enchiladas and a beef enchilada. Chipper took one of the cheese enchiladas, which left me with a cheese enchilada and a beef enchilada. We also got charro beans and rice.

The chips here are much larger than other places, so you get two or three bites per chip. So be careful who you share salsa with because there will be some double dipping going on. The salsa was a pretty normal salsa, tasted pretty good, but could be a bit more spicy.

The cheese enchilada was pretty good and was covered by a cheese sauce. The beef enchilada was covered in chilli sauce. The beefer was also pretty good, not outstanding but better than anything in Alabama. You know the song is Sweet Home Alabama, not Spicey Home Alabama.

The charro beans had pretty good flavor. Now for the rice. They should be calling this rice and corn. On the Border is fanatic about putting lots of corn in their food. Being an old man, I have one of those old man diseases and can't eat corn. So I have to pick out all of the corn. Man this was a lot of work. Otherwise the rice was just rice.

Overall, this was a pretty good meal, givn em a 7.75.

Mitcho
©2015

Pizza Getti - the only real one on Buckner in Dallas

As I have indicated before, there are many Pizza Getti's on the East Side of Dallas, but there is only one real Pizza Getti that is awesome.

The wifey said she was not very hungary tonight so I could pick the place to eat. It didn't take me but about 3 seconds to figure out that I could get a Deluxe Pizza at The Getti and could eat all of it I wanted. So immediately I suggested Pizza Getti. This is one of the those places where I feel like Norm on Cheers. We walk in and everyone knows us. It feels like home eating here. I can promise you that if you eat there 3 or 4 times, you will become one of the family and it is a pretty good family.

So of course I ordered a Deluxe Pizza (see picture above). This pizza has every meat available at a pizza place and every vegetable. You can see all of the onion (and you know Mitcho luves his onion) and plenty of bell pepper. But mainly the great tasting sausage and pepperoni brings it on. Yum Yum. Remember to get silver ware, there is so much topping on this pizza that part of it is going to fall off. So you need a fork to scoop up the loose fall offs. This is one good kind of miserable.

Grab your pizza eating dog, family and friends and get yourself to Pizza Getti. You won't regret it.

Givn em a 10!!!!

Shout to Kyle and Karla, congratulations on the new little girl. We are looking forward to seeing her at the Getti.

Mitcho
©2015

Black Eyed Bean - Mesquite

It's Saturday night and I was takin the wifey out on the town tonight. We were going to see American Sniper at 7:00 and it was 6:00 when we made these executive decisions. You know Mitcho does not miss meals, so we had to eat at something close and fairly fast. After a short discussion we decided on Black Eyed Bean. So we did the Sarabande to the BEB.

Just as we thought, we walked in and was seated immediately. There were quite a few empty tables.

When it came time to order, I didn't even bother reading the menu because I knew the wifey was going to tell me what I was eating. After she did her deep analysis she decided we would split the Texas Sized Chicken Fried Steak. They were not kidding. This thang was the size of the plate. We split that baby in half and I couldn't eat all of my half. This puppy was breaded heavily, just like Mitcho likes it. The meat was a little greasy, but with so much crust it didn't matter. You can't go wrong here, this was a pretty good CFS.

The wifey ordered green beans and I ordered red beans and rice. They don't tell you that it is going to be loaded with sausage also.. The beans had a real good flavor and the sausage was real good. This was a definite plus.

The meal also came with rolls and corn bread. The rolls were almost as big as the CFS. So I never got to the corn bread, I could barely finish my roll. Oh by the way, it was yummy.

Now normally I don't go into much detail  about drinks. What can you say about unsweetened tea that nothing is put into it. Not exciting, unless you are a born and bread Texan and consider tea the national drink. Tonight we order Peach Tea. Oh my. Olive Garden has the best peach tea bar none. But this was the next best I have ever had. If you go to The Bean, get Peach Tea.
(NOTE: 4 days later we went back to the Bean and the Peach Tea had a definite peach taste, but it was really sour. How can it be so great one time, and so bad the next????)


Overall this was a good meal.

Givn em a 8.09.

American Sniper was a gory movie, but it did show the effects PTSD had on our servicemen and women. Also, all of the injuries they have to carry the rest of their lives. Of course we are thankful for Chris Kyle's service to our country and saddened by his unfortunate death. The earth is a better place because of men like Chris Kyle. The wifey said later that we (all Americans) should pay for his kids college education. My answer is that we should do a much better job of taking care of all of our servicemen. Remember this terrorist war is going to be fought. We can fight it in the middle east or we can fight here in the States. Just remember Garland a few weeks ago. Off the soapbox for now.

Mitcho
©2015

Cheesecake Factory - Allen

So CBoss was in the 3rd grade this year. So it was time to take the Starr test. Since we are a family of school teachers and teacher wanabe's, we take these things serious, which is a new experience for me.
In my time school was something you did if there were no sports to play or you couldn't play in the creek. So we spent many a night at Darlin's house helping CBoss with his homework to get ready for the Starr test. So he finally took the test a couple of weeks ago and we got his scores back this week. He passed with good scores. It's time to party. I think all of the adults suggested a party at the same moment. So it was on. After about 10 seconds of discussion we decided to hold the party at the Cheesecake Factory. We decided Allen was easier for us to get to than Northpark. We have been to Northpark a number of times, but we have never been to the one in Allen. So we did the skank dance to Allen.

First of all, we walked in and was seated immediately. That never happened at Northpark. So we are off to a good start. So the party was me, wifey, Sax Man/bean counter, Darlin', CBoss (of course), Lil Darlin', and Big Guy.

As we negotiated what we would have for dinner, I made it clear that I would share an entrée, but I was getting my own cheesecake. A man has to have priorities. So the wifey and me decided to share a Crusted Chicken Romano. This is a chicken breast in a romano-parmesan  cheese crust, served on pasta. The crusted chick is very good, you would almost go here just to eat dinner sans cheesecake. However, since this is the cheesecake capital of Texas, why? The pasta was very tasty also. The waiter brought us plenty of bread which was pretty tasty. So things are going real good here.

Finally it is time for cheesecake. The waiter asked me if I needed a menu. Nope, I walked in the door knowing what I wanted. I ordered Dulce de Leche Caramel Cheesecake. This is caramel cheesecake loaded heavily with whipped cream. Man oh man, I need a six pack of these. The meal just went from real good to out of this world. To make things better, wifey paid for the meal out of her slush fund. It is a little pricey here, but after you have had cheesecake, you don't seem to worry about minor issues like money.

So I recommend that you grab up your foodies and bust a move to The Factory. While you are there get me a Dulce de Leche to go.

Givn em a 8.75 (it's all about cheesecake)

Mitcho
©2015

Bodacious BBQ - Tyler

The last night in Tyler, the wifey and me were by our self and we survived it. We also survived a downpour of a rain. We were planning on cooking food bags in the fire, but with it raining heavily that was not an option. So we decided we needed to go find a place to eat. I was really concerned how much flooding we would run into, so we went to the first place from Tyler State Park. That happened to be Bodacious BBQ.

As usual at most BBQ joints, we ordered a two meat plate, sliced brisket and sausage. The sliced brisket had a nice flavor and was pretty lean. The sausage was another story. It was pretty greasy and fatty. Not what Mitcho wanted.

We also ordered potato salad and this had very little mustard and Mitcho likes his spices. So it was OK, but not exciting.

Finally, I get to the beans. Man, these were some of the best beans I have had outside of Zeke's. The beans had a good amount of chili powder in them and did I mention I like my spices.

Overall, you could do a lot worse, but it is not in my top 5.

Givn em a 6.24 (beans get bonus points, to get here).

MItcho
©2015

Rudy's Tyler

 A satisfied customer at Rudy's!!!!

So while campin at Tyler with our buds, we always go to dinner once during our campout. Since we were in Tyler the unanimous choice was Rudy's. Luves me some Rudy's. So we were planning on going to Rudy's on Sunday evening, but Bud called and his family was campin at Rusk and said they would drive over to Tyler for dinner if we went to Rudy's on Saturday evening. So brought yourself on. So besides all of the campin buds, we had our full crew, Wifey, Bud, Lefty, Precious, Lil' Bud, Darlin, Sax Man, CBoss, Big Guy and of course Lil' Darlin.

We ordered lean brisket and sausage, with potato salad and beans. The lean brisket has virtually no fat on it, which is how Mitcho likes it. Slap my mammy. This is flavored up nicely and you pour the best BBQ sauce in Texas and you got something rat there. The sausage is pretty good, but pretty much the standard fare. Of course with the BBQ sauce it is lip smacking good. The potato salad and beans are just ordinary, but you didn't come here for potato salad and beans. The main thing is the main thing, brisket. This is my favorite of all of the BBQ joints. You can have your Pecan Lodge, take me to Rudy's.

Great food, great company, all of the grands, you can't get any better.

Givn em a 9.35.

Mitcho
©2015

Mercado's - Tyler

It was Memorial Day holiday so it was time to get away and do some campin wit buds. So the wifey and me did the shake, rattle and roll to Tyler. We spent 5 nights there and in that time we ate at Mercado's twice. Not that we like it or anything. The original plan with our bud's was to eat out once and at another place which I will blog about tomorrow. So the wifey and me decided to go to Mercados on Thursday night. Well by Sunday night, it was still raining and cooking outside was not an option. So the gang made an executive decision to go to Mercado's. So twice. I have never done this before, but I am merging the two trips to one blog.

Mercado's is the training restaurant for the Posado's chain. We have eaten here many times over the years. It's food is basically Posado's, just the name is different. There are also Posado's restaurants in Tyler, but their seating is much smaller. When you have 16 in your party, that is an issue. So twice we did the Merengue to Mercado's.

First of all chips and salsa, The chips are pretty good. The salsa is another story. Both trips, the salsa was like vegetable soup. It was very runny and not much in the way of spices. I find that salsa at places that make it on-site is very inconsistent. You don't go to Mercado's/Posado's for salsa.

In the first trip I had a beef taco. The meat was full of grease and the taco shell was soggy. However, the meat was spiced up nicely and was very tasty.

I am back, had to go to the pantry for a Cocoa Crème (Little Debbie's version of Ding Dongs). Everything is better.

I also had a beef enchilada which was topped in chili sauce and was very spicy. But was greasy also.

The meal also came with a cheese enchilada. Filled with a tasty cheese and covered sufficiently with cheese. Yum, yum.

We also ordered cilantro and lime rice. Normally rice is rice, but man this was some good rice. You could really taste the lime in the rice. A nice touch.

Finally this meal had charro beans, which are pretty tasty.

The next trip we went for the combo fajitas. Both the beef and chicken meat were very tasty. I loaded them with sautéed onions, bell pepper, pico, sour cream and cheese. This is some good eats rat here.

Of course as usual the wifey got the butter sauce which I hear is out of this world.

More cilantro and lime rice and charro beans. More good eats.

This 2nd time there were 16 of us, and the waiter did a great job taking care of us.

Of course the meal ends with a free sopapilla. With plenty of butter and honey, this is a great finale.

Mercado's/Posado's is one of our favorite haunts.

Givn em an 7.9.

Mitcho
©2015

Cafe Del Rio - Mesquite

By 4:00 this afternoon I was starving. How can that be after eating BBQ for lunch. So the wifey and me started the negotiations over dinner. You can't talk about food too much you know. So we negotiated some, then the wifey took off to her office for a while. She came back saying she wanted to go to a Historic Mesquite Inc. presentation tonight so we needed to put dinner off a while so that we could go from dinner to the show. Not what you want to hear when you are starving. So I indicated that the dinner choice better have a lot of food. So it came down to Posado's and a free sopapilla or Café Del Rio and jalapeno ranch dip. Tonight Jalapeno ranch dip won out over sopapilla.

So we did the Hootchy Kootchy to Café Del Rio. We ordered combination fajitas for one with charro beans and rice.

The chips here are pretty normal Mexican restaurant chips. Which are pretty good. The chips come with regular salsa, hot salsa and jalapeno ranch dip. The jalapeno ranch is hot, but it sure is good. The jalapeno ranch is as good as Chuy's and that is saying something.

I like the taste of the tortillas. The chicken and beef fajita meat are flavored up nicely. Liking me some fajita meat here. They come with bell peppers, green pepper, onions, guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese and sour cream. Oh yea a butter sauce that is to die for, I here. The wifey takes the butter sauce every time. Rice is rice. The charro beans had plenty of spices, onions, etc. They were pretty good beans.

This is some good grub, with good service and an ice cream machine. I'm liking Del Rio.

givem an 7.99

Mitcho
©2015

Mesquite BBQ - Downtown Mesquite

So we finally got around to getting our burb inspected and license tag today. Our auto repair place of choice is Carter Automotive, which is conveniently one block walk to Mesquite BBQ. So I suggested to the wifey that just before lunch we take the burb to Carter's and then walk to Mesquite BBQ for lunch. Pretty good plan if a I say so myself. Mesquite BBQ has been in the same place about 50 years.

So we strut over to MBBQ and ordered the two meat special. We get brisket and sausage. Mitcho is a big fan of the sausage. Today I let the wifey choose sides and she chose pinto beans and baked potato casserole.

The brisket was pretty lean and very tasty, just like Mitcho likes. The sausage was an above average sausage with a pretty good flavor.

The pinto beans are pretty standard, not much taste. However, if you drown them in BBQ sauce, they are pretty good.

On to the baked potato casserole. Really???? Let's change this name to potato soup. Me and the wifey were expecting some tricked up potatos, you know chives, cheese, sour cream, bacon bits or bacon strips (you can always dream). We were not thinking potato soup. This stuff had some decent flavor, but not what I was wanting. NOTE to MBBQ, go to Dickey's and try their baked potato casserole. Now that is some good stuff.

The meal comes with two 1/2 slices of Texas toast, which is pretty good. However, they can't match rolls at SpringCreek BBQ. Come on MBBQ, pick up your game.

The meat is good here, don't get me wrong, but they need to work on the rest of the meal.

Givem a 7.23.

Mitcho
©2015

Zeke's Italian Sub - Kingsley & Shiloh

So the wifey today had one of those book clubs/brunch to go to. This predicament leaves me to eat lunch anywhere I want and I don't have to share, both very good things. In these situations it is very important to eat in a place the wifey has no desire to eat in. The wifey luves the food at Zeke's but she can make a meal at Zeke's last for 3 meals and the food is so good I am not real interested in sharing. These guys load you up with mass quantities of food. You probably can't tell from the picture above, but the bun is 8 inches and it is overflowing with meat, cheese and peppers.

I have been here a number of times and everything I have eaten is absolutely wonderful. These guys know how to cook!!! (I do have to admit that the owners are dear friends, but if you have to have someone to hang out with, it might as well be a great cook!!!) Today I ordered the Italian Sub which is probably my favorite, but the Incredible Burger is a very close 2nd and everything else on the menu is tied for 2nd.

As I mentioned the Italian sub comes on an 8" bun and it is heaping in meat. You will need the fork because 1/2 of the meat is going to fall out and you want to be sure you eat it. Several kinds of meat, cheese and peppers and a secret Italian sauce and it's time to slap your mammy.

The meal also comes with a side and I always choose the BBQ beans which are very tasty. Someday I should try the other sides just to be able to report on them. Maybe one day I will go in and just order sides. Figure that one out at the cash register.

The bottom line here is great food and very friendly staff, just don't let em know you know Mitcho. So tell the boss you are going to take a long lunch, gather up your buddies and boogy to Zeke's. Of course you will need the long lunch, because after eating you will take a 20 minute nap. No one can work after eating this much of this good of food. So get your boogy on!!!

Givem a 9.29


Mitcho
©2015

Snuffer's - Rockwall

The wifey and me spent the day babysitting the grands. We actually spent time with both sets. May be grands overload, but no one is complaining. So we ended the day in Rockwall. It was dinner time when we left and so we might as well eat in a Rockwall foodery. We kicked around several options that we don't have in Mesquite, actually most of the Rockwall foodery's do not have one in Skeeterville. So after great in depth analysis, we made the executive decision to go to Snuffers. There is one main reason to go to Snuffers CHEESE FRIES.

So we did the Manipuri to Snuffer's. Snuffer's is a hamburger joint, but it is also a watering hole. Most places we eat in, you don't really see much adult beverages being consumed, but at Snuffer's it apparently is as much a draw as the Cheese Fries. So I order my glass of tea and we pray.

We ordered the cheese burger and an order of cheese fries with bacon and chives. We had decided to split the burger and fries and it was good thing because the 1/2 lb burger was big. The burger meat had a very good flavor and was on a tasty bun. It also had all of the normal associates. This is a very good burger.

The cheese fries are the main draw. The fries if they had nothing on them would be ok, but when you load them heavily with cheddar cheese, bacon and chives. These are some very good fries. I think they are the best cheese fries we have had anywhere.

Giv'n em a 7.98.

Mitcho
©2015

Lamberts - Foley, Al

Earlier this week the wifey and I made a beach run to Gulf Shores, Al. Did some walks on the beach and some serious relaxing. One night while there we decided to eat dinner at Lamberts in Foley, AL. OMG!!!!! I have never seen a place like this.

First of all, regardless of what you order you get all you can eat of Throwed rolls, Macaromi & Tomatoes, Fried Potatoes & Onions, Black-Eyed Peas, Fried Okra, Apple Butter and Boiled Cabbage. ALL YOU CAN EAT. They have one person for each of these walking around with a huge pot and anytime you are running low, they fill you back up. They call these Pass Arounds. Unbelievable. You are supposed to order a meal which will come with mashed potatoes and two other vegetables, like you are going to need them.  You can elect to have the Pass Arounds for your meal.

We decided to go for a vegetable plate and one Pass Around meal. We ordered baked beans, cottage cheese, green beans and cold slaw.

The call them Throwed Rolls because they throw them at you! The rolls were very good and the 2nd one I put honey on it. Yum, Yum. I caught both of them.

The macaroni & tomatoes didn't sound too good to this none tomato eating redneck. However, the tomato was actually something close to spaghetti sauce. This was some pretty good macaroni.

The fried potatoes and onions was basically hash browns. They were pretty good.

The black-eyed peas were basic,

The fried okra was pretty decent okra.

I didn't ask for the Apple Butter or Molasses which were meant for the rolls. They had honey also and I went for the honey.

The baked beans were almost as good as Zeke's Kitchen which is saying they were very good.

The cottage cheese was normal. You can't do much with cottage cheese, unless you drown them with peaches.

The green beans were a basic green bean.

The cold slaw was pretty good.

Overall the food was very good and you can't eat it all, I guarantee.

Just for quantity and variety, given em a 8.821

Mitcho
©

El Fenix Downtown - AAC to see Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers (oh yea, The Who closed the show)

To make a short story long, being at my stage in life, I pretty much have everything I want and if I find something new that I want I go get it (of course after growing up poor, I don't want much). This is pretty tough on my kids at birthday and Christmas time because there is nothing I want. So one of my chilluns this year bought us tickets to the Who concert for Christmas. The concert was tonight.

I find that the biggest joy in life is being with my family!!!!

So since we were going to be downtown tonight I suggested that we eat dinner at El Fenix. The El Fenix's all of the Metromess are very good, but there is just something special about the downtown one which I believe is the original one. They have plenty of parking and most of the time you can walk right in and get seated at a table. The service here is pretty good also.

I think the chips at El Fenix are the best of all of the Mexican restaurants. The salsa has a nice spicy taste, not very hot but tasty. They need to work on the hot part.

I ordered the Saltillo dinner. This one does not have rice or beans., which I normally don't eat much of anyway. I got a beef taco, which is very full with a good spicy meat. Topped with lettuce and cheese. This is a good. Then there is the beef enchilada covered in chili. As I mentioned the beef has a good spicy taste and covered with a spicy chili. This is also a good. Finally there is a cheese enchilada and this is one of the best tasting cheese enchilada in these parts. I also asked for some flour tortillas which are good. Overall it's a good.

Given em an 8.0.

Then we went to the AAC to see the The Who. Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers opened. Apparently she has been rocking since the 80's. I had heard the name, but didn't know much beyond that. All of the old people around me were pretty excited to get to see her. So let's rock. Her first 5 or 6 songs, I had never heard, but they had a good driving beat with some good lead guitar work. This was some pretty good rock n roll. Finally they played several songs that I had heard and liked, that's always good. At the end, for the last two songs, Miley Cyrus came on stage and we saw way toooooo much of her. Buys some clothes that do a better job of covering your vital parts of your body. We were very thankful for a couple of stars in strategic places. Without Miley, Joan Jett gets a 7.5. The jury is out on how many points we have to take away because of Miley!!!@@!

Now for the real deal. The Who. I knew I liked some of their songs but wasn't sure just how many. Come to find out there are 8 or 9 that I have heard and liked. Most of the songs I hadn't heard were good rock songs that had my foot tapping. These guys are too interested in rock operas. Of course Tommy is full of some good stuff, but they played one they had done before Tommy and it worked out to be just enough time for a short nap. Did like Tommy, Pinball Wizard, and a number of the others. Overall, this was an enjoyable concert and good evening out with the wifey. Givn The Who an 8.75.

surfs up

Mitcho
©2015

Athenos - Mesquite

Writing the food blog has really expanded our horizon of eating. Once it was Mexican, pizza and hamburgers. Repeat. Over the last year we have eaten in and blogged about more than 100 different restaurants. However, I have never reviewed any greek food. The wifey had eaten lunch in Athenos a week or two ago and enjoyed whatever it was she had. She said that we needed to go back. So I was trying to think about something different for dinner tonight and Athenos came to mind. I suggested it to the wifey and she immediately liked that idea. So we did the Syrtos to Athenos.

Being a Grove Rat redneck, I can tell you for sure we didn't have any greek restaurants in the Grove. Based upon the clientele in the place tonight, rednecks don't hang out here. But Mitcho is expanding his horizons and waste line.

So how do you order when you have no idea what anything is on the menu. I will say the waitresses were very helpful and very patient. After studying for a few minutes and having no idea what to do, we decided to roll the dice and order a combination dinner that had a little of everything. So we ordered the Delphi Combination. All along my backup plan was a burger at Whataburger.

 

 

First of all my explanation is the best I understand it, so don't hold me too responsible here.





The Delphi came with Gyros meat. This is a thin sliced meat that is very lean and has a very

unique flavor. I can't describe it, but I will be eating this stuff again. Then there was Meat Dolmas.

This was similar to meat loaf and Mitcho is a big fan of meat loaf. It had a little different flavor and was covered in cheese. I could make a meal out of Meat Dolmas. So far so good.  the next item is Chicken souvlaki. This is chicken on a stick. This and the rice taste pretty much like American

food. Next was Moussake. Very interesting. This is meat and rice rolled up in in egg plant with a béchamel sauce. I was pretty concerned about this and even more when it came to the table and

looked like a jalapeno. But it had a very good flavor. The sauce gave it a twang that was unique

and tasty. The meal was served with a plate of pita bread. This was very good pita bread. Yummy.

 

 

So when you are adventuresome in life and wanting something different than pizza every night, grab you up some buds and head to Athenos. Note you will need some buds because there won't be any rednecks there.

 

Given em a 8.5.

 

Mitcho

©2015