Food Feedback Friday

Posted on March 18th, 2011 9:00am by Nancy Nichols
Filed under Food Feedback Friday, Reviews

Hey, Dishers. Where did you eat this week? Did you find something fabulous? Did you find something foul? We’d love to hear your thoughts on your latest restaurant experiences. Here’s what you reported last week.

20 comments

  1. I still can’t get over the burnt ends from Pecan Lodge Restaurant and catering or the biscuit from Ava Resturant..both omg’s.oh and my daughter loved her chicken tenders from Maple and Motor this week..

    @ 9:08 am on March 18, 2011

  2. Have you tried the burger at Taco Diner? It really is amazing! The fries are good too and it is pretty cheap! Oh, and don’t forget the Mambo Taxi!!

    @ 9:10 am on March 18, 2011

  3. BST Delux and a Franconia Wheat on Wednesday night. I could have the pizza at Bryan Street for a meal every day of the week.

    @ 9:36 am on March 18, 2011

  4. My wife and I had a gluttonous couple of weeks, and I finally get to weigh in on some of the buzz-brewing favorites.

    Il Cane Rosso – While the welcome and overall feel of our visit was a bit sterile (empty restaurant, inexperienced server, uninterested hostess), there’s no denying that pizza. It’s delicious! My wife’s “Zoli” had a generous mini-mountain of Jimmy’s Sausage (yum!), but it was my “Delia” with spicy bacon marmalade that we both agree stole the show. The crust was a bit limp for me – I prefer it cracker-crisp from center to circumference – but it had great flavor. I’d rank Il Cane Rosso above my other 2nd-tier favorites like Zanata or Cavalli’s, but a hair under Urban Crust or Fireside Pies. We’ll be back!

    Crossroads Diner – Breakfast is my least favorite thing to order in a restaurant, because it all seems so easy to do at home. It wasn’t until I read Kim Pierce’s DMN review that I learned about the “Breakfast Schnitzel”: creamy polenta, braised spinach, pork schnitzel, poached egg, hollandaise, and one dropped jaw. Hate to say the results didn’t meet potential – the schnitzel was a bit tough and lacked seasoning, the egg was overcooked and everything else, while not bad, was unremarkable. Plus, for $12, it was an embarrassingly small plate of food. I could put away three of them easy. My wife’s pan-fried chicken fried steak was plenty big, but we both had the same reaction: “It’s okay.” Probably won’t be back.

    Lockhart Smokehouse – Reading the many opinions of this place over the last few weeks, it seemed its biggest problem was consistency. I’m happy to say, Lockhart Smokehouse was on its game last Sunday. This was probably the best meal I’ve had in 2011 so far. We built us a smorgasbord: brisket, shoulder clod, and both regular and jalapeno sausage. The clod was deeply smoky, if a bit dry, and everything else was simply divine. Brisket was fall-apart tender, well seasoned and fatty in the best way. It gives Pecan Lodge a fight. Better still was the original Kreuz sausage, which was “Best I’ve Ever Had” good. The flavor was porky, salty perfection, but it’s the astounding texture that really sets it apart. The satisfying snap of the casing gives way to a smooth, almost creamy emulsion of meat and fat, with just enough chew to remind you what’s what. Yeah, it’s a little pricey, but I tasted the difference. I will dream about this place until I get back.

    Bistro Babusan – Not “trendy” or anything, but it is a cool little place in The Villages at Fairview. If you take the concept of Masala Wok and give it the execution of Pei Wei, that’s Bistro Babusan. Everything we had was good to great, and you get a fair portion for the price. They have some logistical things to work out: it looks like a counter service place, but they actual do seated service (which means you have to tip, so that’s a bummer). And, the menu on the wall that you see coming in isn’t really the menu any more. The one they hand out is very different. So, it’s a somewhat confusing experience, but the food is good, the value is nice, and that’s what counts. We’ll be back.

    @ 9:37 am on March 18, 2011

  5. I’m hooked on Cane Rosso! I’ve driven over from Cow Town several times now and am never disappointed. Food is stellar and it seems they are working out the kinks with the service staff. Bella Mella is not to be missed. OMG good!

    @ 9:57 am on March 18, 2011

  6. Stay away from McKinney Ave Tavern — preformed, undercooked burgers, horrible fries. I’ll never go back.

    @ 1:23 pm on March 18, 2011

  7. My girlfriends and I made our way to Alma last night.

    Overpriced.
    Over salted.
    Underwhelmed.

    Never going back. Miss Cuba Libre. Such a shame.

    @ 2:41 pm on March 18, 2011

  8. Not sold on Komali. Want to like it and will return, but I don’t like the physical space at all, the dining room is so cramped with the 8ish four tops in the middle. The waiters’ butts kept hitting me as they passed my table. And it’s so loud! Food was very good though – nice fresh fish, albondigas, apps. But as good as the food is, the experience isn’t great. Sorry, Abraham.

    @ 2:59 pm on March 18, 2011

  9. A late lunch at Komali was very disappointing. Nothing had any taste from the melted cheese with chorizo to the meat balls it was all very bland. Service was fine but the restaurant was empty! I was very underwhelmed and probably won’t go back. Doesn’t sound like Alma is any better.

    @ 3:28 pm on March 18, 2011

  10. I’ve been to Il Cane Rosso about six times now, half of which have been for lunch since I work in the area. There’s no denying that the pizza is truly divine. The Che Cazzo (sp?) has been a most recent favorite among friends. And the crust is perfect to me. I never feel heavy after eating there, which I should probably start to feel skeptical about.

    My only complaint: it’s the Caesar Salad that’s got me going bonkers. I love a Caesar Salad, and I’m hard pressed to find one that I love and that’s accessible whenever I’m in the mood for one. Sometimes the Caesar at Cane Rosso comes out medium-sized, sometimes it comes out so big the romaine is almost spilling off the plate. Sometimes the dressing is heavily and evenly coated on and through all the leaves (how it should be, IMHO), and sometimes there are dry and wet patches. I might eat a whole forkful with nary a taste of Caesar. One time it came without the white anchovies, other times I’ve been asked if I want white anchovies. It ALWAYS needs more parmesan and lemon…and they might as well get in the habit of putting more dressing on always. That’s what makes a Caesar and Caesar, my friends. So if someone over there is reading this, get consistent with the Caesar folks, and you’ll be one inch closer to perfection!

    @ 3:50 pm on March 18, 2011

  11. Ate at Cane Rosso for the first time. Great service, huge fresh Mista salad, perfectly dressed, but would have liked a bit more shaved Parmigiano, but then I can never get enough good Parm. Had the Cappricciosa and Paulie Gee pizzas, both good, nice charred crusts, a little soft in the middle, but edges were perfect. Paulie Gee was the waiter’s favorite and it was delicious – nice and spicy. We’ll be back.

    @ 4:50 pm on March 18, 2011

  12. We’re tweaking the caesar dressing…I promise! But thanks all for coming in. I think it needs more lemon too. We’re now doing white anchovies on request as most people just throw them out!

    @ 5:44 pm on March 18, 2011

  13. Loved the Cane Rosso caesar salad. Keep it as is.

    @ 5:50 pm on March 18, 2011

  14. Great food:
    De Rice Thai Cuisine in Richardson! We devoured the red snapper–on the menu, it’s the 1st red snapper listed.

    Salsa Fuego in Ft. Worth. Delicious Mexican food.

    Bad food:
    Cooper’s Barbecue in Ft. Worth

    Really, really bad food (and dirty!)
    Pasand Indian Cuisine in Richardson

    @ 8:28 pm on March 18, 2011

  15. Oops–one more to add to the above (we’ve been celebrating not teaching this week!)
    Campania Pizza. They were swamped because of St. Patrick’s Day, so service to our table was particularly bad, but what I love about this restaurant is that the food is consistently prepared with care, and it’s delicious.

    @ 8:32 pm on March 18, 2011

  16. Hi CM, thanks for the feedback! Glad you consistently enjoy our food! Please accept our apologies for the slow service. We’re working tirelessly to make the necessary changes to get our service as perfect as the food! Keep coming in, and you’ll see we’ll just keep getting better and better!

    @ 9:49 pm on March 18, 2011

  17. Last night a friend and I ate at First Chinese BBQ in Richardson. We ordered the Peking Duck special dinner.
    This comes with duck soup made from the meaty bones and include tofu and mustard greens. Delicious!
    The Peking duck was fantastic with zero fat on the tasty, crispy skin pieces and lovely pieces of skin loaded with rich duck meat. We were in “duck heaven” as we loaded pieces of skin and duck into steamed buns with Hoisin sauce and bits of scallions.
    This Peking duck dinner is not on the printed menu so, be sure to ask for it. Total cost for two: $32.95 plus tax.

    @ 12:25 pm on March 19, 2011

  18. [...] you find something foul? We’d love to hear your thoughts on your latest restaurant experiences. Here’s what you reported last week. tweetmeme_url = 'http://sidedish.wpengine.com/2011/03/25/food-feedback-friday-26/'; [...]

    @ 9:44 am on March 25, 2011

  19. The 1.5 month old Cedar’s Woodfire Grill in Plano.

    A tasty, cheap, and overall good lunch place.

    @ 9:56 am on March 25, 2011

  20. [...] Food Feedback Friday Hey, Dishers. Where did you eat this week? Did you find something fabulous? Did you find something foul? We’d love to hear your thoughts on your latest restaurant experiences. Here’s what you reported last week. [...]

    @ 8:39 am on March 27, 2011