Archive for the 'Restaurant Reviews' Category
Sunday, August 12th, 2007
We’ve eaten at Texas Land and Cattle before but I recently had a chance to go for a second visit. The first experience wasn’t too memorable so my expectations were not very high. However, the restaurant has definitely made some improvements and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and service this time around. The ribeye steak I ordered was cooked perfectly to order and was flavorful and tender. Service was quite good also and the food was served fairly quickly even during the bustling lunch hour. It turned out to be a nice meal and I left satisfied.
Complimentary bread
Seasoned onion strings served with barbecue sauce on the side
Ribeye steak with a side of garlic mashed potatoes
Texas Land and Cattle
3945 Central Expressway
Plano, Texas 75023
Phone: (972) 578-8707
Website: http://www.texaslandandcattle.com
Ambiance: 7
Food: 7
Service: 7
Health: 4
Cleanliness: 8
Value: 7
Overall: 6.8
Tags: Texas Land and Cattle
Posted in Steak | No Comments »
Sunday, July 1st, 2007
Naan is yet another upscale restaurant in the Shops at Legacy in Plano, but it manages to distinguish itself by offering a unique menu that combines both Korean and Japanese cuisine. We visited Naan for lunch this past weekend and enjoyed our meal thoroughly. The fairly small lunch menu features a selection of bento boxes, rice bowls, and salads, as well as a separate menu for sushis. The sushis were quite expensive so we went the safe route and just tried the bento boxes. There are several bento boxes to choose from, including Spicy Barbecue Chicken or Pork, Bulgogi (Shredded Ribeye Steak), Prime Short Rib, and Chicken Teriyaki. We ordered the Executive Bento which gives you a choice of two meats. Every item in the bento box was delicious, and the meats in particular were prepared perfectly. Portions were just right and we left full and satisfied. Service was generally good except for a slight hiccup where our server mixed up our orders, but other than that there’s not much to complain about.
Miso soup
Executive Bento ($11) with Chicken Teriyaki and Bulgogi
Naan
7161 Bishop Rd #G2
Plano, TX 75024
Phone: (972) 943-9288
Website: http://www.naan-restaurant.com
Ambiance: 8
Food: 8
Service: 6
Health: 6
Cleaniness: 8
Value: 6
Overall: 7
Tags: Naan, bento
Posted in Restaurant Reviews, Japanese, Korean | No Comments »
Sunday, February 25th, 2007
Just when we thought we had finally found our highest rated restaurant here in Dallas, I got news recently that it closed. The closing of Smith & Wollensky came as a shock to me. I was halfway through with my review for it, too. So instead of a review, I’ll make it a tribute.
Here it goes…
The ambiance of Smith & Wollensky was mysteriously inviting. The restaurant itself looked like a mansion or some government building. Basically it didn’t look like a restaurant at all. Even inside it didn’t look like a place to eat until we were led to the dining area. The service was excellent. One server took care of the entire dining area, and he was pretty knowledgable about the food when we asked questions.
The food was excellent. We chose their “pay your age” special dinner where you pay your age in price for a full three course meal. Minimum was $25. Obviously the closer to 25 you are the better the value. Usually at a fine dining establishment like this you expect to pay high prices for quality not quantity. Smith & Wollensky splits it down the middle at a happy medium. The quality is there, but the quantity was unexpected.
Cleaniness is beyond belief, a first for us. I took a trip to the washroom to wash up before dessert, and it was perhaps the cleanest public restroom I have ever seen in my life. It’s more like something you would find at a private residence. Instead of paper towels, they had actual towels for you to dry your hands with. Scented candles made the experiences even more memorable.
The bronze head of a bull over the entrance doors.
Our table.
Pay your age dinner menu. Simple to follow. One of us was over 25, but our server decided to charge us all the minimum. Nice.
We got a variety in our bread basket. The large flat bread stood out, and it tasted more like a large baked chip. One I particularly liked was the sweet corn bread stick. The others were good as well, soft on the inside and sturdy on the outside. With help from a little butter we emptied the basket within minutes.
Salad was perfectly dressed. There was no overrun of dressing at the bottom of the bowl. The bacon came in huge chunks and were pretty intense.
The pizza took us by surprise because was bigger than we thought. It was probably bigger than some of the medium pizzas you’d find elsewhere, and it’s just the appetizer.
Very rich and creamy pea soup. No incidents this time. Whew.
Best calamari I’ve had in a long time. Most restaurants don’t use the tentacles of the squid which I don’t understand because it’s just as tasty and offers a different texture. Hard to say which appetizer I liked best because they were all so good, but if push comes to shove I’d pick the calamari.
The tuna steak was seared on the outside but was medium to medium rare on the inside. With the vegetables it was a pretty healthy dish.
This NY strip steak was cooked to a perfect medium. Nothing else came on this plate because the meat itself needed no complements.
The filet mignon was unbelieveably tender and juicy. It was almost as tender as the tuna steak.
The lamb was served with a slightly sweet sauce. Also cooked medium, it was tender, savory, and somewhat fun to eat because some of the best tasting meat is right next to the bones.
I actually enjoyed eating this cheesecake, and I’m not a cheesecake guy.
Trust me when I say that this chocolate cake was HUMONGOUS. This picture doesn’t do it justice. The four of us barely made a dent in it.
Custard sitting on top of a sweet and sour raspberry sauce.
Three flavors of creme brulee. On the right had coconut shavings on top. The middle tasted like mocha, but my fav is still the original on the left.
There you have it. Our review for Smith & Wollensky that unfortunately doesn’t exist here in Dallas anymore. But if you ever come across it I highly recommend that you give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Smith & Wollensky
Website: www.smithandwollensky.com
Ambiance: 9
Food: 9
Service: 9
Cleaniness: 9
Value: 9
Overall: 9
Tags: Smith & Wollensky, steak, pay your age, closed
Posted in Eating Out, Restaurant Reviews, Steak | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 20th, 2007
Found a nice little spot for some down-to-earth barbeque. Wherever there’s BBQ it means there are ribs to be had, which happens to be another one of my favs next to buffalo wings. I also found their logo to be quite unique…a pair of pigs wearing dark sunglasses playing guitars. Sums up the theme of RED Hot & Blue quite nicely, I’d say.
Bright neon signs spelling out RED HOT & BLUE pointed us in the right direction.
The pigs jazzing it up on the front cover of their menu.
I thought these were interesting. Each of us got a mini pitcher of water.
We got the dry rubbed ribs, and they were dry indeed. Luckily we had an assortment of sauces to eat them with. Loved the baked sweet potato and the potato salad. The sweet cinnamon butter worked well with the biscuits.
Four barbeque sauces to choose from. We tried all 4 on the ribs.
The nachos were loaded with pulled pork, jalepeños, the works. Very tasty.
Got a catfish sandwich to try their seafood. As expected, the catfish was very tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
Red Hot & Blue
5017 W. Plano Pkwy. #100 @ Preston Road
Plano, TX 75093
Phone: (972) 248-3866
Website: http://www.redhotandblue.com
Ambiance: 6
Food: 7
Service: 7
Cleaniness: 6
Value: 8
Health: 5
Overall: 6.6
Tags: Red Hot & Blue, barbeque, BBQ, ribs
Posted in Eating Out, Restaurant Reviews, Barbecue | No Comments »
Sunday, February 18th, 2007
A new restaurant just opened up recently in the Chinatown square in Richardson on the East side of Greenville between Arapaho and Beltline. We decided to give it a shot. I was skeptical at first because there was another Japanese restaurant in the same square so I wasn’t sure what Ajisen could offer to compete with it. Turned out better than I thought.
The inside decor of the restaurant was very nice. I think they’re trying to create an upscale atmosphere in contrast to the other restaurants around it. The servers to customers ratio was high, so service was very good. The food was somewhat unique, but having been to Japan and tasted the more authentic dishes over there, it’s hard not to compare. Cleaniness gets a fairly high mark because the restaurant was actually newly built so everything looked new and clean. We even got a hot towel to wipe our hands clean with.
Ajisen served up a rather healthy fare compared to many restaurants out there. Japanese cuisine is usually that way. But they do come at a cost. Each of our ramen bowls were $9 each. I remembered paying the same price, maybe even less, for a bowl of ramen in Japan. You have to understand that prices in Japan are at least 20-30% higher than prices here. Plus the ramen in Japan tasted tons better too. Not to say the ones at Ajisen weren’t good, they just couldn’t compare.
The “Casual” refers more to the food than to the decor…
…as you can see.
Many items on the menu are tailored to eat with beer. This style of cuisine is more for the “salaryman” who after a long day’s work decides to go out drinking with some beer snacks on the side as fillers. Because of this, I think, many of the dishes are on the salty side.
We sat literally next to the kitchen. Only thing separating us from the chefs a couple of feet away is a wall of glass.
Cajun roll made of fried crawfish, spicy mayo, and avacado. Pretty good.
A traditional ramen. Portion looked rather small though, so if you’re a big eater opt for something else on the side. Oh, and don’t let the soup go to waste because it’s the main ingredient in true authentic ramen.
There was actually a pretty good selection of ramen on the menu. This one had chicken karage, basically fried chicken.
This one immediately caught my eye because I’ve not seen anything like this before served here in the US. It’s a rather plain combo plate in Japan though, but here it deserves some attention. I like the combination of rice, curry, and fried chicken cutlet. Could be better if the curry was spicer though.
Ajisen
Ambiance: 7
Food: 6
Service: 8
Cleaniness: 7
Health: 6
Value: 4
Overall: 6.5
Tags: Ajisen, grand opening, Japanese, casual dining, ramen, curry rice
Posted in Eating Out, Restaurant Reviews, Japanese | No Comments »
Friday, February 16th, 2007
All you can eat salad for the win. Our resident master of salad at his best.
Turkey burger.. as healthy as it’ll get after the salad bar of course.
Their signature mini-burgers.. and yes those are onion rings sticking out of the burger!
FYI. If you’re smart, get the mini-burger or turkey burger with salad bar deal. It’s somewhere in middle of menu. You definitely get the most bang for your buck with that. Think about it.. that’s about 9 bucks per person. Now if you just get the all you can eat salad bar.. that’s 8 bucks right there. So one more buck gets you a full entree. You do the math =P
Ruby Tuesday
2901 S. Central Expressway
McKinney, TX 75070
Phone: (972) 540-9330
Website: http://www.rubytuesday.com
Ambiance: 7
Food: 7
Service: 7
Cleaniness: 6
Health: 7
Value: 7
Overall: 6.8
Tags: Ruby Tuesday, McKinney
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Sunday, February 11th, 2007
If there’s really such a thing as authentic “Texan” food, you’ll find it at Love and War In Texas. From the more-than-generous food portions to the friendly hosts wearing Lone Star emblem shirts, everything at this restaurant is thoroughly Texan.
Items on the menu are categorized by various regions in the state
A blown up copy of the cover of the Texas Monthly is the type of decor you’ll find inside
Seasoned onion rings with a tasty dipping sauce in the middle
Nachos topped with fresh beef and chicken
Chicken fried chicken with a delicious corn on the cob on the side
Hamburger served with (slightly spicy) beans and fried potatoes
Love And War In Texas
Ambiance: 7
Food: 7
Service: 8
Cleanliness: 8
Health: 4
Value: 7
Overall: 7
http://www.loveandwarintexas.com
Tags: Texas, restaurant, food
Posted in Restaurant Reviews, American, Steak | No Comments »