Eat Nation

Bacon Waffle

2011-11-09T23:58:00.001-06:00

Heaven Beef at Zenna

2011-05-13T12:26:00.000-05:00

Garlic Crab Fried Rice at JS Chen

2011-05-13T12:24:00.000-05:00

Cafe on the Green in the Four Seasons in Irving

2011-05-13T12:22:00.001-05:00

Lunch at Cindi's

2011-05-13T12:18:00.000-05:00

Blue Fish

2010-07-06T12:49:00.000-05:00

Jasper's

2010-06-25T13:34:00.001-05:00

They said that Jasper's have the best prime rib in town. Well, I didn't believe them so I had to order it and try it for myself. I am now a believer! It is by far the best prime rib I have had. Well, maybe it is due to the fact that I don't order that many prime ribs because I usually go for the New York strip.

DQ Greatness

2010-06-21T12:02:00.001-05:00

So it dawn on me that DQ have two of the greatest dessert inventions: the Blizzard® (particularly the Oreo®Blizzard®) and the Chocolate Dipped Cones. And yet, have no one thought of putting these two together?

So I set out to my local DQ Country and asked the cashier if she could do something special for me. Make me an Oreo®Blizzard® and ladle some of that awesome harden on contact chocolate right on top. Lo and behold, the greatest inventions have now transcend time and space. The new concoction leaves your palate sated and shocked.

Mango's Noodle House

2009-08-12T15:54:00.001-05:00

This higher end Vietnamese restaurant is worth the price. I paid a little more but I got clean tables, chairs, and utensils. :)

The combination wrap dish is very good. You can pick different types of wrap and they serve it to you on one plate.

The fried fish wrap has very subtle flavors but good. Don’t dip in the sauce too much though, the flavors would run together and you won’t get to enjoy each of the different wraps.

Russo's New York Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen

2009-05-16T12:14:00.000-05:00

When I dream of pizzas I dream of this place. They have real coal burning ovens where they cook the pizzas. The pizzas themselves come out a big black from the coal but the taste is incredible. This one is located on Central Expressway just south of the George Bush Turnpike. When I look into the kitchen, I can see the fiery red of the coal as my pizza is sitting cooking to perfection. And just a small walk away is the Twisted Roots burger joint. Since you are in the neighborhood, try that place out too.

Selim's

2009-05-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

A small Mediterranean fast food on Beltline in Addison. If you are there, get the Doner wrap. It’s like a gyro but better. I think it has very good flavor and full of spices. Not expensive either.

Chocolate Turtle Empanadas @ On The Border in Plano

2009-03-16T18:01:00.001-05:00

Next time you are at "On The Border”, order this. They are empanadas fried to golden brown and stuffed with chocolate and caramel. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle to help cool down the freshly fried goodness.

Can’t go wrong. You can even share if that makes you happy.

Bic's

2009-01-18T23:35:00.002-06:00

The ultimate waffle combo. This is it. This is the breakfast of breakfast. I need to go get my heart check afterwards but who cares. The waffle was golden and crispy. The sausage worked great with eggs and syrup. And to finish it off, the most awesome beer biscuits and gravy. If you have not been to Bic’s, then you need to. It’s a quaint little diner on Keller Springs and Midway.

Brooklyn's Pizza at the Firewheel Town Center in Garland

2009-01-18T23:33:00.000-06:00

This a bit expensive pizza was pretty good. But since I don’t dream about doing back to this place I don’t think it was all that. I do like the fact that they know how to load their pizzas though.

Nothing really special folks. Please move along.

Sweet Tomatoes

2009-01-18T23:30:00.000-06:00

You may be thinking why would I pay an arm and a leg to go and eat salad. I’m a carnivore myself. But on days like this that they have a Chicken Pot Pie Stew, it makes it all worth while to sit and admire all those veggie people out there trying to be slim and fit. While they are doing that, I am getting extra helpings of this stew that should be available everyday of the week.

I mean, how can you go wrong? The stuff in the chicken pot pies are already pretty much like stew right? Just put it all in a pot and eat it. Seems natural to me.

The Blue Canyon Restaurant

2008-12-12T16:45:00.000-06:00

This is a pretty good fusion restaurant. It's a nice place if you want a higher class meal but not quite paying $80 per person. This should should not run you more than $100 for two. This night I had the all you can eat pre-sliced king crab legs. And believe me I had all I can eat. It only costed me $18 for this meal. Might be on the high side but trust me, I got my money's worth. The medallion duck dish was also very good. The duck was cooked to perfection and it was encased in crispy parmesan. Felt like eating sweet and salty cripsy duck. Can't go wrong with that. It was served on a bed of mashed potatoes and veggies. It's located all the way in Rockwall but it's worth the drive for a nice dinner.

Link: http://www.bluecanyonrestaurant.com/locations/rockwall/

The Cookie Monster at Cheddar's

2008-12-12T16:37:00.001-06:00

This was our dessert at Cheddar's.

Ok, do I really need to say anything more?

Best Fish and Chips in Skagway

2008-09-17T22:40:00.001-05:00

Ok, maybe it's the only Fish and Chips place in Skagway, Alaska but it's darn good. The fish came out extra crispy and not fishy at all. The cod was tender and delicious.

Flying Fish at Firewheel Town Center

2008-08-18T23:14:00.000-05:00

Flying Fish is a quaint seafood restaurant that had the same look and feel as a restaurant off of a wharf in San Francisco or San Diego. It's definitely a Chip and Fish feel. This particular establishment is located in Garland at the Firewheel Town Center. There's actually several good restaurants here so it's a good place to go to try out different types of food. So what does the food look and taste like?

Let's start with the Cons. I didn't care for the fried catfish that much. The batter was very crispy and tastes great but the fish was well, fishy. Let's just say I thought Long John's Silver was less fishy. Now the Pros. What was surprising was that the Chicken Strip was awesome. Also, the hush puppies was very good. Breaking the hush puppies open, it had a good density and pieces of corn can be seen. Of course it is not that good that a fish and chip place doesn't have that good of a fish but I will have to give them another chance. I will still need to try the crawfish chowder and maybe a basket of chicken strips next time I show up. Would I recommend this place? Not just yet. Stay tune for an update in the next couple of weeks or so.

UPDATE: So we went back and ordered Chicken Strips, Shrimp, Grilled Catfish Baskets, and Crawfish Chowder. The chicken strips and shrimp were good as usual. The grilled catfish fillet was good and tasted better than the fried catfish last time. It was moist and flavorful. The crawfish chowder was also very tasty but it was hard to find the crawfish itself. The chowder was very creamy and had the right amount of spice in it very much like Tabasco sauce.

Abacus - Asian Fusion at its Finest

2008-08-15T23:16:00.000-05:00

The following was what we ordered from the Menu. Sounds like a lot? Well, it was.

Appetizer
- Apple Smoked Bacon - Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Chive - Lemon Butter Sauce
- Wood Roasted Beef Filet, Jasmine Fried Rice, Pineapple - Ginger Sake Sauce
Main Course
- Grilled Pork Loin Chop, Roasted Garlic Potatoes, Mixed Baby Vegetables
- Pan Seared Chatham Cod, Parsnip Puree, Crispy Artichoke, Tomato Butter Sauce
- Applewood Smoked Bacon "Mac and Cheese"
Dessert
- Fresh Mint - Shaved Chocolate Ice Cream Puffs Valrhona Chocolate Glaze
- Madagascar Vanilla Creme Fraiche Parfait Chilled Strawberry - Champagne Soup
- Dulce De Leche Banana Bread Pudding Myers Rum Sabayon
- Chocolate Brownie Pecan Tart Espresso Caramel, Mascarpone Cream

The atmosphere was very modern and nice. Not half as loud as Nobu was. I especially liked the earth tone. The wait staff was kind and courteous. We had one mix up though. When the main entree came, the server that was not our waiter actually put it on the table next to ours. Luckily for them we were not very picky and didn't mind them just handing it over to us. I can imagine that other people might be put off by this and demand a new entree. Of course they would just take it back and bring it right back out to you anyhow. The Crab Cake was delicious but the Wood Roasted Beef Filet stole the night. It was better than the entrees. The Filet was melt in your mouth good. Don't get the Pork Loin, it's too normal. And a little too mild on the flavor for us. Also don't bother with the "Mac and Cheese". Nothing special about that either. However, everything else was very good. The dessert sounds like a lot but it came out as bite size desserts arranged for two. All in all it was worth it coming here. I'm looking forward to going back and ordering some sort of filet as an entree.

Nobu Restaurant - Japanese at a High Price

2008-08-12T23:15:00.000-05:00

It was restaurant week and we picked Nobu to be one of the restaurant to visit. If you never heard of restaurant week, then you are losing out. See this post for more information.

Nobu had a modern Asian feel. The atmosphere was nice but it does tend to get loud near the center of the restaurant. We ordered Seared Salmon with AntiCucho Sauce and Tenderloin Beef with Wasabi Pepper Sauce for the entrées, California Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll for the sides, and Chocolate Royale and Lemon Tofu Cake for dessert. The salmon was seared to perfection but I found the sauce to not be a good compliment. The beef tenderloin was awesome though. The beef was so soft we could cut it with a fork. The wasabi sauce enhanced the flavor of the beef. The California roll was normal but the spicy tuna roll was excellent. The tuna had the right amount of spice and a smooth texture. But we agreed that the chocolate royale was a great dismount to the performance of the night. It was creamy, rich, and flavorful. The sensation it left on my tongue was exquisite. I almost didn't want to swallow. All in all it was totally worth it to go for restaurant week but I don't think the price would be right for any other normal dinner. I did feel that the waiter was not too happy about us newbies eating at his restaurant for the fixed price dinner though. We didn't get that welcome feeling like we normally do at high class restaurant. The rest of the staff was awesome though and we felt welcome by them. Maybe it was just a bad day for him. So would we go back? Probably but in a couple of years. Or maybe next restaurant week.

Restaurant Week is Almost Here in Dallas

2008-07-24T17:22:00.001-05:00

Looks like this year's Restaurant Week for Dallas will be from August 11 to August 17. Check out this link for more information: http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m=20&ref=2513&pid=121

The following excerpt is from the website:

Dallas KRLD Restaurant Week
August 11 - August 17

Enjoy special three-course, prix-fixe dinners at some of the city's best restaurants. Proceeds from KRLD Restaurant Week benefits Lena Pope Home and the North Texas Food Bank.

Duration: August 11 - August 17, 2008
Pricing: $35 dinners at select restaurants; prices are per person and do not include beverages, tax, or gratuity
Participating Restaurants: See list below.

Also, from August 8 to 10, select restaurants will serve their 3-course prix fixe dinner along with a drink made with 10 Cane Rum and an optional Central Market Fourth course. See participating Preview restaurants.

If your plans change, be sure to cancel your reservation. Please ask for the official Restaurant Week menu when you are seated.

**Note: Not all restaurants on OpenTable.com are participating in the Dallas Restaurant Week. Please refer to the list below for participating restaurants and their specific meal offerings.

Prestonwood Country Club

2008-06-27T22:31:00.001-05:00

So I went and had lunch at the Prestonwood Country Club because my friend was a member there. The atmosphere was rich and elegant. And the food was pretty good. I was impressed that they had a buffet going. So I grabbed the Chicken Cordon Bleu, Blacked Catfish, and Tenderloin soaked in gravy. I also got some tuna salad. I did sprinkle the world's best seasoning on it though, bacon. The chicken and fish was ok but the tenderloin was good. I had seconds of the tenderloin and tuna salad with bacon. Their dessert was also good. I ended the meal with a creamy rich chocolate mousse cake with a dallop of homemade whip cream. Needless to say that was very good.

Japan House

2008-06-18T23:02:00.000-05:00

Japan House is located near the Collin Creek Mall. I find this Japanese Sushi Buffet to be either better or on par with Tokyo One in Addison and Osaka in Plano. They serve the usual kind of food in a sushi buffet but it is the only one left that still carries the eel roll that I like so much. The sushi was decent as buffet goes and I would definitely recommend this place if you like buffet style sushi. They even have a little conveyor belt that carries small plates with sushi on them. It's a gimmick but still cool. Don't forget to ask for a scoop of green tea ice cream after you have finished your meal. It comes with it after all. The price runs about $18 during lunch and 30 something during dinner.

Dinner at Cheddar's

2008-06-13T19:00:00.001-05:00

I ordered the Grilled Tilapia with Mango Salsa. A side of loaded baked potato and Cheese Broccoli Casserole was also included for about $8. The tilapia tasted great with the mango salsa adding the perfect tang and sweet to the dish. I had no idea the food here was this good. That explained the number of people waiting to get a table. The appetizer of onion rings came in a huge plate piled high with super crispy onion rings that almost shatter with every bite. It was totally worth the $4 we spent on it. Unfortunately the Baked Spasagna (Spaghetti Lasagna) was just so so. Sounded like a good dish though except the meat sauce was not integrated into the baked spaghetti like we thought it would which left the brick of spaghetti somewhat flavorless. However, we had a side of buttered croissant that was totally awesome. It was moist and more like a well baked dinner roll than a croissant. I would definitely recommend this home cooking restaurant.

Gloria's at Firewheel Town Center

2008-06-13T13:06:00.001-05:00

MasterGrill Brazilian Buffet

2008-06-05T23:45:00.001-05:00

Went to eat at the MasterGrill at the Firewheel Town Center last night and frankly I was a little disappointed. Even though it had 16 different cuts of meat to choose from, the meat themselves were mostly over cooked and even more salty than Fogo de Chao or Rafain. They had the usual sets of meat but the most notable are the bacon wrap filet mignon, garlic picanha, and sweet beef. Of course my favorite is the sweet beef. Sweet beef are tender beef cubes marinated in a juicy brown sauce and brushed with a honey like glaze. The price for dinner runs about $34 with 18% tip. That's actually not bad compared to Fogo de Chao at close to $50.

Would I recommend this Brazilian steak house? Probably not as long as Rafain is still around. Just writing this makes me want to go back to Rafain for their lunch meat buffet.

Google Maps

The Porkchop at Carrabba's

2008-06-05T23:44:00.003-05:00

This happen to be the special of the day at Carrabba's Italian restaurant. What is it you may ask? It's an exquisite piece of pork chop served with sweet wine sauce and fried zucchinis on the side. The pork chop took quite some time to cook so you must be patient. But trust me, it pays off in the end. The 1 1/2 inch thick meat is incredibly juicy and cooked to perfection. The only bad thing is that I was not able to find this special ever again.

Carrabba's on Google Maps

Da Won vs. Chef Hsu

2008-06-05T23:44:00.001-05:00

And the winner is... Sorry, it's a tie. Maybe because Chef Hsu is not a full fledge Chinese restaurant. It's owned by Koreans after all. Each of these restaurants serve different menus so it was hard to judge. In the end, I ended up ordering from both. I ordered Kalbi (short-ribs) and Kimchi soup from Da Won and Cha-Jang Myun (Korean black bean noodles) from Chef Hsu. I think the Kalbi was better than the Korean Garden on Coit and Park. But I still like the Kimchi soup at Korean Garden more than Da Won. The Cha-Jang Myun was very good. The black bean was rich in flavor and the noodles were very fresh. It also had stewed beef in the black bean sauce. As for the Kalbi, the meat was thick and juicy and easily falls of the bones. In the future, I will try out the Sweet and Sour Beef by Chef Hsu.

Da Won and Chef Hsu is located in the new Korean Grocery Store on the Southeast corner of Spring Creek Parkway and Custer Rd.

Update: The sweet and sour beef from Chef Hsu is not bad at all. I ask them to separate the sweet and sour sauce though because that tends to cause the crispy beef to get soggy. The sweet and sour beef was on the pricier side at $10 but I think it is worth it for the amount they give you and how good it tastes. Last time I ordered this, the meat was tender with a crispy shell. I bought my own sweet and sour dipping sauce which made this entree totally awesome.

Google Maps

Chill out at Shilla

2008-06-05T23:43:00.001-05:00

Shilla is a Korean restaurant located near the heart of Austin, Texas. This is actually a pretty authentic restaurant but if you don't speak Korean, then you may have some problems with their service. It took a while before we were able to place our orders and took some more time to get our food. But the marinated ribs (Bulgalbi) was very delicious. We didn't opt to cook it ourselves but have them cook it in the kitchen.

Shilla on Google Maps