Archive for September, 2006
Saturday, September 30th, 2006
It’s that time of year again when people all across the state gather together at the annual State Fair of Texas held right here in Dallas. You will find many things to keep you occupied, and this year’s no different. It’s also home to the Texas-OU game, one of the biggest rivalry matchups in the nation.
But those are not the real reasons why you’ll go to the state fair, are they? Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. You go to the state fair every year for the food! Those deep fried, finger licking, and artery clogging treasures of the fair that earned them the title “Fried Food Capital of Texas.” Among staples like the turkey leg and funnel cake, here are some of the new items this year that are sure to give you a quick trip to the hospital.
Deep Fried Cosmopolitan - Contest Finalist – A delicious fried pastry is filled with rich cheesecake and topped with a sweet & tangy cranberry glaze and a lime wedge. Served on a stick. (Desperados – Nimitz Dr.)
Donkey Tails - Contest Finalist – Large all-beef franks, slit on one side and generously stuffed with sharp cheddar cheese, are wrapped tightly in a large flour tortilla and fried until golden brown. Served with mustard, chili, or Ruth’s salsa. (Ruth’s Tamale House – Cotton Bowl Plaza & Nimitz Dr.)
Fernie’s Fried Chicken n’ Waffle – A toasted 7″ round waffle, brushed with melted butter and topped with three extra-crunchy honey-battered chicken breast tenders. Served with syrup or white cream gravy. Sweet and salty. (The Dock – Embarcadero Building)
Fernie’s Fried Choco-rito - Contest Finalist – A flour tortilla – stuffed with marshmallows, coconut, candy bar pieces, caramel morsels and cinnamon – is dipped in pancake batter and deep fried to a crispy, crunchy outside and sweet, gooey inside. Drizzled with honey and topped with whipped cream. (The Dock – Embarcadero Building)
Fernie’s Fried Mac ‘n Cheese - Contest Finalist – Texas-sized bites of macaroni & cheese, covered with a layer of garlic & herb-flavored bread crumbs, are deep fried until crispy outside and hot & cheesy inside. Served on a stick with a side of dipping sauces. (The Dock – Embarcadero Building)
Fried Coke - Contest Finalist – Smooth spheres of Coca-Cola-flavored batter are deep fried, drizzled with pure Coke fountain syrup, topped with whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry. Served in souvenir contoured glasses. (Vandalay Industries – Nimitz Dr. and Midway)
Fried Pancake Sundae – Tasty country sausage bites wrapped in a light pancake batter, deep fried to perfection , topped with whipped cream, lightly glazed with hot fudge sauce and finished with a cherry on top. Pineapple and strawberry glaze options available. (Smokey John’s BBQ – Cotton Bowl Plaza & Midway)
Fried Praline Perfection - Contest Finalist – Guaranteed to melt in your mouth. Plump coconut and pecan pralines, battered and fried to a rich golden crust. Served warm with powdered sugar. (Shirley London & Sons – Midway near Texas Star)
These and other new offerings can be found here. With items like these, is it any wonder why there’s an obesity problem in the U.S.?
The State Fair of Texas is open daily from Sept. 29 to Oct. 22. General admission is $13.
State Fair of Texas
3921 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75210
Phone: 214-565-9931
Tags: Texas State Fair, Big Tex, fried food
Posted in Eating Out, Food Events | No Comments »
Friday, September 29th, 2006
If you’re a fan of McGriddles, Egg McMuffins, Deluxe Breakfasts, and other McDonald’s breakfast items, you’re no doubt aware of McDonald’s strict policy on breakfast hours (if you get there at 10:31 AM, you’ll probably be eating a Big Mac instead of a McMuffin). But you may be glad to know that McDonald’s may soon be serving breakfast all day long. Due to a new system the restaurant is implementing, it will be able to serve breakfast throughout the day. The bad news: this won’t do much to help the obesity problem. One Deluxe Breakfast has 1220 calories and 61 grams of fat, according to the nutrition calculator on McDonald’s website.
Tags: McDonald’s, breakfast
Posted in Food News, Miscellaneous | No Comments »
Thursday, September 28th, 2006
Ben & Jerry’s is quite an unique ice cream restaurant. While I was perusing the flavors and that fake spilt ice cream cup on their counter, I couldn’t help but feel as if I was 5 years old again and frolicking in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. It seemed almost surreal if only for a minute. It was truly a unique feeling. In any event, this was my first time actually walking inside one of their scoop stores so I was excited to try out their ice cream.
We got a couple of banana split sundaes. Basically each one came with 2 scoops. And since there were four of us, each one of us chose one flavor. For my sundae, I chose the Dublin Mudslide and the other scoop was Bananas On The Rum. Add walnuts and oreo cookies and VOILA!! As far as my Mudslide went, it was delicious. The names of their flavors are so unique. I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a link to their menu. Go through their flavors.. you’ll be blown away at the quirky names and detailed descriptions.
The place itself was pretty small as expected. Service was all right I guess. When we went, it looked like the manager was training the entire staff. They had a lot of people working that day too (like 5 or 6).. most of which were in the back of the kitchen working on some huge order. I heard one of them talk about some 300 pint order or something. Perhaps I misheard.
Normal price is a bit on the hefty side too. We tried this place equipped with a buy one get one free coupon. I think the ice cream itself is worth it though. But if you’re frugal and would rather stick with blander flavors, then my suggestion is to stick with Braum’s.
Ben & Jerry’s
1501 Preston Road, Suite 400
Plano, TX 75093
Phone: 972-380-2697
Website: http://www.benjerry.com/plano
Ambiance: 5.7
Food: 6.7
Service: 6.0
Cleaniness: 5.3
Value: 4.0
Overall: 5.8
Tags: Ben & Jerry’s, ice cream
Posted in Eating Out, Restaurant Reviews | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
Six Flags Over Texas is offering a free Flash Pass (which will allow you to go to the front of the line on many of the most popular rides) if you eat a live roach — a huge 3 inch long Madagascar hissing cockroach. According to a Six Flags spokesperson, “it tastes just like chicken.” Read the story here.
Apparently, the people over at PETA are not too happy about this promotion.
Tags: Six Flags, cockroach
Posted in Food News, Miscellaneous | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
I remember back when I used to live in Austin for a couple of years, the supermarket of choice was HEB. Well, that company also has an offshoot supermarket called Central Market which is basically the Lexus to your Toyota. If you’ve ever been to Central Market, you know what I’m talking about. Everything’s higher quality.. much more health related products.. fresh.. refined.. just high class overall.
Well a few years ago, HEB announced that it’d start expanding and Dallas was on its radar. They brought in Central Market during that time. I’ve probably been to the place about 5 times since it’s arrival since there are just so many options here in Dallas. But I never knew that Central Market held culinary classes. Though.. I’m not surprised. Very fascinating.. probably one of my other DiningInDallas.com colleagues would be interested in checking out. Here’s the link.
http://www.centralmarket.com/cm/cmClasses.jsp
Tags: culinary, cooking, central market
Posted in Cooking | No Comments »
Monday, September 25th, 2006
Check it out. An actual culinary program at an institute here in Dallas. I’ve included the description of what you’ll learn in the culinary arts program. Sounds interesting and something probably someone you know might consider doing if they’re interested in the details and skill in creating food.
Because becoming a truly great culinary artist demands practice and precision, when you enter the Associate of Applied Science degree program in Culinary Arts at The Art Institute of Dallas you’ll be cooking alongside fellow students and faculty in a real-life kitchen environment. You’ll get your start with fundamental cooking and knife skills classes, then progress to lessons in sanitation and safety, as well as baking and pastry courses. Soon, you’ll advance to specialized classes, learning about garde manger, regional and international cuisines, and purchasing and cost control. In your final quarter you’ll put it all together by learning how to professionally assemble your résumé. This is when you will see just how far you’ve come – from first-quarter novice to culinary professional!
You can get an Associate of Applied Science degree in this trade!! They have a class in Baking. Wow.. talk about pursuing your passion right? Cooking is a science after all.
Tags: art institute of dallas, culinary school, cooking
Posted in Cooking | No Comments »
Sunday, September 24th, 2006
With all the fried fast food options out there, it’s nice to know that places like Charo Chicken exists. It’s essentially a healthy version of KFC, Churches, and Popeye’s because the chicken’s grilled instead of fried. Unfortunately, healthy isn’t always the most tasty, as we were about to find out.
We got a Mama Charo combo meal that came with two pieces of dark meat chicken, two sides, corn tortillas, and a drink. We also got a chicken quesadilla combo that had only the quesadilla and a drink. Both were $5.75, but you get a lot more in the Mama Charo combo.
Dark meat is the way to go. These weren’t too dry, and flavor was mild. I think the chicken would’ve turned out better if they were brined or marinated longer before grilling to infuse more juice and flavor into the meat. Luckily I didn’t get white meat because they were probably way too dry.
These corn tortillas were too dry. I took one bite and gave up on it.
The charo rice needed some work because, again, they tasted dry. The cole slaw was a little better, and it was a welcomed contrast to the other dry items in the combo.
The quesadilla combo was the tastier of the two. It helped that the quesadillas were made with flour tortilla and loaded with cheese.
Charo Chicken
2304 Coit Road, Suite 620
Plano, TX 75075
Phone: 972-312-8889
Website: www.charochicken.com
Tags: Charo Chicken, fire grilled
Posted in Eating Out, American | No Comments »
