jackmack65's Profile
Help! Any decent delivery in Keller, TX?
A colleague of mine has a house full of sick family members and we'd like to send her a decent dinner. Anyone have a suggestion for good delivery food in the Keller area?
Many thanks!
North Dallas Gazpacho?
It's a hot week. Where do I take the overheated for a good gazpacho?
Anyone been to "Texas Best Smokehouse" in Italy TX?
Apparently it's inside a Shell station right off of 35E, about 15 miles or so south of Waxahachie. My wife stopped there on her way north after a trip to Austin and brought home some jerky. Pretty good jerky; she mentioned they have bbq in the joint as well. Wondering if any 'hounds have scoped it out and what you think of it. Seems promising based on one taste of jerky, anyway.
DFW: Pappas Bros Steaks, and then?
Taking my lovely wife out for a kid-free night tomorrow. Was thinking of going to Pappas Bros. Steaks which I've heard is good but haven't visited yet (we're still new to the area and on a steakhouse tour; so far Chamberlain's has been our favorite out of many efforts, most of which have been good).
But, then what? I don't really know much about Dallas yet. Where can we go to find a lively scene, perhaps with live music, suitable for folks in their 30s? All suggestions welcomed... Thanks!
J
Beef Jerky
Well, my reply has nothing to do with Texas so accept my apologies in advance. Meadow Farms Smoked Meats in Bishop, CA (heart of the Eastern Sierras; a really beautiful spot) makes and ships all manner of really wonderful jerkies. I used to drive through there a few times a year and I would ALWAYS make a Meadow Farms hit on the way up and back. Check 'em out here: http://www.smokedmeats.com/info.html
Again, apologies for the non-TX reference.
Best Sandwich in Dallas
Seconded. I work on the other side of Coit a few blocks down from this place and it is a serious threat to my waistline. I have yet to be disappointed with any of the sandwiches in the place.
Lawry's The Place for Prime Rib (review)
Although I am much more of a bone-in ribeye guy, my mother in-law swears that the prime rib at Chamberlain's in Addison was absolutely divine. I've learned to accept her advice on these matters largely at face-value. Gnome sane?
Dallas Party-planning noob needs some help
Great suggestions - thanks! The Woman's Club looks perfect... I'll go check it out. This would require some trickery since it will be a surprise party and I'll want to maintain the surprise. Thanks for the tip on Melody, too.
Anybody else?
Dallas Party-planning noob needs some help
... It's a long way off but I'm going to throw my wife a surprise birthday party. I am thinking about possibly doing this at the Dallas Arboretum, a lovely setting. I've called for costs but am clueless about what this might set me back.
As a relative newcomer to the DFW area I am at least equally clueless about other possible places for a reasonably nice party. I'd rather have cocktails and heavy hors d'oeuvres than a sit-down meal, I think, though I'm open to a sit-down dinner at the right place and price.
We live in Plano. Thus far the restaurant that seems the best balance of nice spot, good food, and reasonable pricing is Mignon, but I'm not sure I could take over their patio. Since my wife loves to dance, I'm thinking about hiring a DJ and I don't know if that's gonna happen there either. I have thought about a hotel (Frisco's Westin and the Legacy Park Marriott are close by) but something about that feels a little too... I don't know, vanilla, I suppose.
So, finally, here are my questions: what suggestions do you have for interesting, attractive party locations around Dallas, North Dallas, and/or Plano and environs? Secondly, how much cash should I be looking to stash to fund this littlepalooza assuming I have about 45 guests? I know, costs will vary a lot depending on multiple factors, but if you can help with thoughts about venue and food costs (roughly - like I said, I know...), I would be grateful.
Fine, have a little fun at my expense. I told you I was a noob.
Jewish/Deli Food in Dallas?
I had a surprisingly good pastrami sandwich at Deli News at Campbell & Preston a few weeks ago. There's a place called Bagelsteins at Arapaho & Coit (IIRC) that had less interesting food but in a strange way, a more interesting scene for a recently transplanted Jew like me... it seemed to be a family-owned joint and the owner was absolutely busting on his daughters when I was in there in a way that, perhaps sad to say, only a kid raised in a Jewish home could appreciate. So, I guess if you're looking just for food, I'd have to say Deli News. If you're looking for a different kind of experience I might take a crack at Bagelsteins.
So I stopped For BBQ in Calera, OK...
... At a place called "Angus Pit Stop" and I have to tell you, if you life in North TX you owe it to yourself to check it out. You walk in and order meat sliced right out of the pit - they have Brisket, Chicken, Sausage, Beef Ribs, and Tri-Tip, which is pretty unusual to find outside of CA. I tried the brisket and tri-tip and found both to be just outstanding. Tri-tip is a dense cut with a thick fat cap and lean interior; it's easy to have this come off the pit very dry and tough. This was succulent, richly smoked but not over-smoked in the least (they smoke over mesquite charcoal only, no wood). The brisket was phenomenal - nearly falling apart tender but still with just a little tooth to it. Beautiful smoke ring and a simple rub of mainly cracked black pepper rounded it out. Sauces are available; there's a mild and hot version, both of which are solid though not remarkable. Sides are mostly cold except the beans, which were seasoned lightly and cooked with plenty of the various meats available off the pit.
This place was just sensational - better than anything I've found yet in the DFW area (though I will confess my sample size is quite small, so take that with a few grains of salt). If you're driving to or from Tulsa, or if you're going up to Lake Texoma, this place is pretty convenient - about 10 miles north of the Red River on 69. It's only open Thursday through Sunday. You've gotta go!
They have a web site - www.anguspitstop.com
So, I just went to Chamberlain's in Addison
Thanks for the tip on Silver Fox. I've driven by Sullivan's but haven't been yet. I have a colleague named Sullivan and as tacky as it is to say this, I figured I'd take him there. Because I'm a dork. That's why.
So, I just went to Chamberlain's in Addison
Wow... "severe intestinal discomfort" does not sound like the way to follow an expensive dinner out... or any dinner out, for that matter. I will be passing on Kirby's, and thank you all very much for the tips!
Suggestions?
Would it be completely insane to recommend La Hacienda Ranch? I've eaten at one on Preston twice and found it to be reasonably priced and also reasonably tasty. I understand it's kind of a local chain. Maybe it's considered horribly tacky or just plain horrible, but my experience there has been pretty good so far...
So, I just went to Chamberlain's in Addison
As a part of my continuing quest for a really nice steakhouse in the Dallas area. Now, keep in mind I'm just moving here and my experience is really limited. I've been to Bob's in Plano and III Forks in North Dallas and liked them both, and to Steve Field's and found it disappointing for the dollar. I haven't yet made it to Kirby's, which people tell me is great. I've also been to some more value-oriented places like Saltgrass, which I think is just fine though it doesn't have the steakhouse vibe that I enjoy (no knock on the food, which I think is really quite good for a moderately-priced chain steakhouse).
Chamberlain's impressed from the outset, with a professional and quite friendly host who's clearly been around the restaurant business for a while. I opted for a seat at the bar as I'm a solo diner for the next little while, and was poured a generous cocktail by a friendly bartender. I figured I'd try the standard caesar salad and NY strip with broccoli for a good basis of comparison.
Soon enough a waiter delivered a pile of grotesquely overdressed romaine to my setting... but the funny thing was, this dressing was spot-on delicious. Within a few seconds I simply didn't care that the lettuce was nothing more than a vehicle for this bright, lemony, garlicky stuff... I just wanted to shovel more of it into my gullet. Even the few, smallish croutons snuggled in-between basted leaves were perfectly-sized morsels of crunchy carrier for this dressing. I couldn't believe I was loving this "salad," but clearly... I was. An anchovy or two wouldn't have bothered me but I didn't really care about their absence, either.
I'm not a big garlic mashed potato fan (steaks here come stock with these or with parmesan-truffle grits, which sounded a little heavier than what I was after) so I asked for the broccoli with hollandaise on the side, which turns out to be their standard service. My steak arrived and looked like a beautiful piece of meat. The broc was perfectly-just-undercooked with nice tooth and the hollandaise, while lacking the lemon-infused zip that I prefer, was a nicely creamy complement to the broc. It was good to have it in a little ramekin on the side as dipping the broc was perfect.
Let me tell you about this steak, though. Holy cow, what a nice slice of steer. This was a simply-seasoned, perfectly-cooked strip with a wonderfully charred exterior and a precisely-cooked medium-rare interior that gave up lots of juicy flavor. This was certainly one of the better restaurant steaks I've had in some time, prepared simply and with straightforward precision.
I liked the whole experience at this place quite a bit and plan to go back. The atmosphere is nice with pleasantly-spaced tables and a clubby, masculine steakhouse feel without either the red banquettes or a lot of oppressive staff. It's spacious but feels cozy, and it's light enough to read a book or look in your date's eye, but dark enough to let you have an intimate feel at the table. I didn't see a lot of great values on the wine list but I also didn't look it over carefully and I know there's at least one or two, so I think you can probably pick some winners there, too.
I'm really hoping to find some more places just as good as this but I felt Iike Chamberlain's set a pretty high bar. Now, fellow Chowhounds, I ask you to tell me that I'm crazy (or not) and send me out looking for more places just as good or even better. I've gotten great advice on the board here and I'm really grateful for it (someone suggested banana leaf for Thai and I though it was just great), so I'm looking forward to your thoughts about this...
Thanks!
J
Review of Steve Fields in Plano
Hey, cool suggestions. Turns out I will be living kinda in the neighborhood, at least temporarily, and I've driven by Obzeet's which looks really zany and fun. I would love to find that place - and I know it's out there - that has a great steak for a really good price - and in the meantime, I'm certainly going to enjoy exploring the area. It doesn't take all that long to see that there's quite a lot out here beyond the chains, and that's a great thing. Thanks to everyone for the tips. I'd be thrilled to see some more!
Review of Steve Fields in Plano
So, here I am new to town, staying in a hotel at Preston & Plano Parkway while I try to find a temporary living situation and after a week of being sick I'm finally feeling good and dammit, I'm in Texas now so I want a steak. I briefly considered going to Bob's on Legacy or going to III Forks, but I happened across Steve Fields at Park & Preston and figured, "what the heck."
Let me tell you something: go to Bob's or III Forks.
The fourteen year-old, bleached-out prosti-tot working the hostess station shuffled me to a table and made way for a waitress who was friendly and good-humored facing solo-dining middle-aged schlumpy me. She brought me a generous cocktail and let me hang with the menu for a while. It's a simple one; basic apps that I didn't give a second glance (think fried calamari, etc - really, you're not coming here for an appetizer), a few salad choices (lettuce wedge, caesar, etc), lobster, several different filet options (including a bone-on filet, which is odd), a couple "prime steaks," some roast prime rib options, and that's about it. After she told me about the specials, which included surf-n-turf options involving filets & lobster tails, I remembered the tank at the front of the house with the pile of comatose sea-roaches lolling by the bubbler. And then I smelled it: dead fish. Oh well, I came for a steak. So I order a Caesar ($7) and a New York Strip ($39) medium, subbing broccoli for the baked spud, and munch away on maybe one more piece of the house-made foccacia while I'm waiting. They bring this bread - and it's not bad at all - with a slurry of garlic & peppers in olive oil for dipping. Fine as it goes. The caesar salad comes and the only thing cheesier in the place is the godawful lounge singer who's brutalizing the Lynyrd Skynyrd catalog with a tunerville-trolley medley of "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Gimme Three Steps" before he segues into Frank Sinatra, who I promise you is gonna rise from the dead to whack this guy if there's any justice in the world at all. I mean, really, they're piping this guy all over their restaurant and frankly, he oughta be charged with a crime, not hired for more gigs.
So, I dispense with the salad and I've taken a random stab at ordering a glass of the only Rhone wine on the menu, something I've never heard of, but what the heck - I like Rhones and I'm willing to gamble. My plate comes and it looks pretty impressive; it's a nicely-broiled strip with a monster side of broccoli and I figure to let the slab of steer rest for a minute while I nibble on the greens. They're nice and fresh and maybe a little underdone which in my view is exactly the mistake to make if you're going to make one, so I'm good there. Then the glass of wine shows up. It's ghastly. Now look, I've never in my life sent a bottle or glass of wine back - if I made a mistake and it's not that great, well hell, I ordered it and I ought to know what I'm doing. This thing tasted like it had been stored in an open bottle hung from the skylight above the dryer vents in a hospital laundry room. I've eaten foreign coins that tasted better than this wine. Back it goes.
To the joint's credit, the waitron brought me a new glass with a smile and an apology - and to mine, I'm actually a hell of a lot more polite than this review would make you think, and I was reluctant to send the wine back, but holy cow was it bad.
Okay, so the steak. The steak was... well, it was just ordinary. This was advertised as a prime steak, but I don't believe for a second this was anything better than decent Choice meat. This was not the steak you go home raving about. It was nicely trimmed and nicely cooked, but by no means was this something to remember.
In the end I dropped $80 on this meal - just me, remember - with one cocktail, one glass of wine, a salad and an entree - which is about what I would expect to pay for a high-end steakhouse dinner. I would say on the whole, this was a really poor value. The waitstaff, while friendly, wasn't knowledgeable or involved in the food. The lounge singer was literally painful to listen to. And I won't be back, much as I love a good steakhouse.
Now, I've said a lot... so I'd love for other steak lovers in North Dallas to tell me I'm wrong, or to tell me I'm right and I should've gone to...
St. Louis Lunch
Thanks for these suggestions. Something in walking distance to the Arch is a great idea and I very well may do that.
Everyone who responded has my gratitude. I think I will either do one of these three "walking distance" suggestions or go to O'Connell's, which seems to have something of a consensus behind it.
Thanks again, everyone. See you in St. Louis.
St. Louis Lunch
Excellent - thanks for the tips. Sounds like exactly what I'll be looking for!
St. Louis Lunch
In a couple weeks I'll be driving from the Chicago area all the way to Texas and I'll stop on my first day for a lunch and a break in St. Louis. I've never been. Obviously, I'd like to visit the Gateway Arch, and I suppose I'd like to have lunch somewhere around there or not too terribly far out of the way as I'll be heading out of town southwest on I-44 toward Springfield later in the day.
Any suggestions appreciated. I'd be looking for something with some local flavor - if there's good regional cuisine or the kind of casual fare that St. Louis is really known for (BBQ, for example) and you think it's particularly good, I'd love to have that suggestion.
By the way, dinner either in Springfield or on the way there... those suggestions would be appreciated too!
Any Good Food In Jackson Hole Wyoming?
Snake River Grill is spendy, trendy, overbooked, and I've never had a bad meal there. Don't know if the Blue Lion is still in business but if it is, get the Elk loin there and you'll have something really worth talking about. The Granary is also a really nice spot and has a gorgeous view.
