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