Articles about cheap eats
Good Asian Grub: Lion City Chinese Cafe in Plano
Hainanese chicken (photos by Carol Shih)
I hesitate to add Lion City Chinese Cafe to this “Good Asian Grub” series, but this Chinese/Singaporean restaurant is so undeniably tasty… to leave it off would feel almost wrong. The truth is, the service here is not great. By “not great,” what I really mean is “so terrible, it’s pretty much nonexistent.”
That’s not to say you shouldn’t go here.
In fact, you should. Just not when it’s busy.
I first heard of Lion City when my Singaporean friend, Jason, was blowing by Dallas on his grand Southern tour. “There’s a really good Singaporean restaurant here,” he said. “Better than the ones I’ve had in LA.”
“No way,” I responded, incredulous. Dallas? Better than Los Angeles when it comes to Asian food? Rarely. (I love you, Dallas, but the truth hurts.)
Continue reading "Good Asian Grub: Lion City Chinese Cafe in Plano"
Now You Can Get Donut Burgers at Twisted Root
Blame it on Paula Deen. She popularized the donut burger trend (meat patty squashed between two donuts), and now Twisted Root is taking it a step further. For the month of February, TR is featuring the “If This is Wrong… I Don’t Want to be Right” burger for $9.99. It’s a cheddar burger with a fried egg and two strips of bacon snuggled up inside two donuts.
If you’ve given up desserts for Lent (like me), this may be the perfect way to get around it…
…but then that would defeat the purpose of Lent. Crud.
Somebody Help These Poor Girls: Hungry, Broke, and in New York
I asked a Dallas restaurant consultant who eats in NYC for R&D for some advice. He sent the list below the jump. Need some great cheap good eats for two gals at Lex and 49th. What do you think of his list?
Continue reading "Somebody Help These Poor Girls: Hungry, Broke, and in New York"
10 Comments »Happy National Cheeseburger Day! Where Are You Going to Celebrate?
Off-Site’s stock cheeseburger (photo by Kevin Marple)
National _____ Days get kind of annoying unless it’s National Labor Day – a holiday I thoroughly enjoy with every fiber of my couch. (I hope you guys don’t take that the wrong way.) Anyways, it’s Cheeseburger Day today. You better go to your favorite burger joint and snarf one down like there’s no calorie count. Or, if you’re a cheapo, here are some specials deals you can find around town:
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The Stand on McKinney Will Deliver Beer and Cigarettes With Your Order
Vices! Getcha vices! Vices all with one call! The Stand, the upscale concession style restaurant on McKinney Avenue is now offering cigarettes and beer with your delivery order. They claim: “Date night just got more convenient and safer.” I’m asking: “How long do I have to wait for a Mac Daddy Dog, carton of Camels, six pack of Coors Lite, and a date?” That would be more convenient for me.
Cedars Food Park is a Food Truck Lover’s Heaven
Rockn' Rick's scrumptious pulled pork po' boy will make a believer out of any food truck skeptic.
I write to you today as a former food truck skeptic. I’d eat every doubtful word that ever crossed my lips if there were any room left in my stomach after my Saturday night chow-down at the grand opening of the Cedars Food Park at Dallas Heritage Village.
Eighteen of the city’s most popular food trucks gathered in the clearing in Dallas’ first city park to feed hundreds of hungry patrons, most of whom were already avid food truck diners. Folk band The Sicklies played tunes best enjoyed from one of the many rocking chairs on front porches of 19th century homes. I chose to enjoy them from the front porch of the saloon, staffed by the bartenders of Lee Harvey’s, with a pilsner from Deep Ellum Brewing Company in one hand and a pulled pork po’ boy from Rockn’ Rick’s in the other. The classic combination of tender pulled pork flavored by a tangy, sweet barbecue sauce and dill pickle chips in a buttery toasted roll changed the way I will think of mobile cuisine. I won’t say it was the best pulled pork I’ve had in Dallas, but it was one tasty sandwich.
Jump if you love mobile munchies.
Continue reading "Cedars Food Park is a Food Truck Lover’s Heaven"
6 Comments »Empa Mundo is an Empanada Gem in Irving
One thing that Irving residents know and do a darn good job of concealing from the rest of us is this: The town is patchwork quilt of ethnic culinary gems. From Indian markets to authentic Peruvian, and from Mexican tacquerias (with more choices of taco than you ever thought possible) to Honduran favorites – the choices are endless. If you want credible white tablecloth dining, head to the Four Seasons. But if you want a cornucopia of ethnic delights, start just one mile south on Belt Line Road.
Jump for a taste of empanada. Continue reading "Empa Mundo is an Empanada Gem in Irving"
‘Burbalicious: What I Ate in Euless
Tom Kha soup with rice noodles, tomatoes, onions, and chicken (photos by Carol Shih)
To gear you guys up for July’s Best Suburbs issue, I’m traveling to ten different ‘burbs in the DFW area for a semi-weird cross-city food tour. I’ll be documenting all my finds in these ‘Burbalicious posts that’ll be peppered throughout June and July. If you feel like your suburb deserves a shot at some SideDish love, email me and I’ll ask my Magic 8 ball if I should go. Last week, I ventured to the Russian Banya in Carrollton.
Euless, Euless, Euless. I honestly know nothing about you except that you lie in that hazy gray area between Dallas and Ft. Worth, and your name sounds a teensy bit like the word “useless”… but let’s not go there. I don’t feel like making 51,277 Eulessian enemies today. And, clearly, you aren’t because you offered my stomach something good to eat. How surprising and kind of you.
When I asked my friend Suzanne what to eat around her ‘hood, she suggested Thai Papaya Garden in Euless because “they have the best Tom Kha chicken noodle soup around.” Continue reading "‘Burbalicious: What I Ate in Euless"
‘Burbalicious: Where I Ate in Lewisville
Shrimp po boy from Bayou Market (photos by Carol Shih)
To gear you guys up for July’s Best Suburbs issue, I’m traveling to ten different ‘burbs in the DFW area for a semi-weird cross-city food tour. I’ll be documenting all my finds in these ‘Burbalicious posts that’ll be peppered throughout June and July. If you feel like your suburb deserves a shot at some SideDish love, email me and I’ll ask my Magic 8 ball if I should go.
Let’s be honest. Nobody really travels to Lewisville for the food. If they do, they travel along 121 only to get stuck in the congestion that clogs up Vista Ridge Mall on weekends. Or maybe they have a thing for the Talbot’s Outlet Store on East Round Grove Road (like my mother). The parking lot at the Applebee’s in that area is always maddeningly full.
I made it my mission to find a place where non-Lewisville people could potentially travel to eat – a place that wasn’t even in our restaurant listings yet. That’s when I whipped out my Google search skills and found the Bayou Market, an “Authentic Cajun Kitchen.”
Continue reading "‘Burbalicious: Where I Ate in Lewisville"
Dear Flippin’ Out Crepes, Please Stop Torturing Me.
This morning's breakfast crepe (from Flippin' Out Crepes' Facebook page)
I guess I brought the torture upon myself when I “liked” Flippin’ Out Crepes’ Facebook page a week ago. It all started when I caught sight of its mom’s triple chocolate bundt cake crepe with fresh raspberry sauce on my newsfeed on May 11. The crepe laid innocently in a plastic container, ready to be gorged down. Then, yesterday, a philly crepe with cheese bursting out from its sides made its photo debut on my homepage. Great. Thanks, Flippin’ Out. You’re making it really hard for me to heed Mark Bittman’s advice on consuming less meat. All I want is to bury my teeth in that brown glob of dead cow, let cheese dangle from the lips of my mouth, pat my balloon belly, and take a fat nap afterwards. Forget about work. The thing is, I was ready to ignore your tempting offerings and go back to my crepe-less life, but then you posted a breakfast crepe with fluffy egg and bacon about an hour ago. Why??? And how in the world did you know I was already thinking about you?
I think it’s time for me to dislike you on Facebook. It’s been a tough decision for me, but I’ve decided it’s best that we break up this newsfeed relationship for the sake of my sanity.
Driftwood’s Residents Day, Take Two
Tuesday’s Residents Day at Driftwood was so popular they are doing it again. Here’s the deal:
Tuesday’s for the month on May ONLY. Offer good for Patio and Bar ONLY. ALL food is discounted 25%. We will have a featured bottle of white and red wine for $25. Good for ALL Oak Cliff residents (just bring in any proof). No reservations, first come – first serve (seating is limited). For ALL non-Oak Cliff “Like Us” on FaceBook and get the same royal treatment
Huh? What? We can all become groovy OC residents just by clicking Facebook!? It’s a Christmas miracle!
1 Comment »Chef Tracy Miller of Local to Open Rosemont in Dallas
A quick email exchange with chef Tracy Miller of Local confirms she is opening Restaurant Rosemont at 2912 Elm Street (@Malcom X). The kitchen will serve breakfast, lunch, and brunch. The fare is “simple American.” She hopes to be open in mid-May. “I’m working on the menu now,” Miller says. “There will be nothing over the top – very simple. And hopefully refreshing in every way!” She also says there is a huge parking lot adjacent to building that is for Rosemont’s guests only. No parking meters! Outdoor seating! Beer, wine, and Champagne!
Hours, etc. below.
UPDATE: Sorry, the name is Rosemont not Restaurant Rosemont. Continue reading "Chef Tracy Miller of Local to Open Rosemont in Dallas"
Eat This Now: 48-Hr Cracked Pepper Brisket Sandwich at Off-Site Kitchen in Dallas
48-Hr Cracked Pepper Brisket Sandwich at Off-Site Kitchen
Few restaurants have received as much pre-opening buzz as Nick Badovinus‘ highly anticipated Off-Site Kitchen. As a fan of his work at the Neighborhood Services ventures, I’m not ashamed to admit that I was as giddy as a school girl every time a shred of news regarding its opening surfaced. Naturally, when Off-Site Kitchen did open, 98% of the blogosphere rushed to see what kind of magic Badovinus and crew had been brewing up for all those months, and appropriately, nearly every food writer got right to work gushing about it all over the internet. And honestly, it deserved every bit of praise that has been thrown at it.
Now that some of the early chatter has started to simmer down a bit, it seems only appropriate to express my love for the humble, working-man’s menu at Off-Site Kitchen, particularly through praise of one of my favorite items on the menu board, the 48-hr cracked pepper brisket sandwich. It took a few visits to be able to mentally pry myself away from their excessively delicious burgers, but when I was finally able to take the plunge into non-burger territory, my efforts were so handsomely rewarded, I no longer fear to stray.
Continue reading "Eat This Now: 48-Hr Cracked Pepper Brisket Sandwich at Off-Site Kitchen in Dallas"
Eat This Now: Pork Guisado from La Nueva Fresh and Hot in Dallas
I’ve done a decent amount of travel around Dallas as part of my own personal taco crusade. But unfortunately, my taco radar is pretty much dark across the taco dense region just east of Harry Hines and north of Northwest Highway. A few establishments have crossed my path in this area, but one experience in particular which involved a tiny, no-name roadside taqueria, lack of electricity and refrigeration and a putrid, spoiled pork barbacoa taco, has left such a sour taste in my mouth that I rarely adventure there these days.
Luckily, I was redirected back to the area by the highly respected taco tycoon, Jose Ralat-Maldonado of Taco Trail fame. When this dude tells you to make a trip somewhere, it’s best not to question his authority. This particular outing brought me to a previously unheard of joint called La Nueva Fresh and Hot. I am a sucker for fresh, I’m a sucker for hot, I’m even a sucker for neuva. How could I go wrong? I couldn’t.
Read on amigos…
Continue reading "Eat This Now: Pork Guisado from La Nueva Fresh and Hot in Dallas"
1 Comment »Eat This Now: Kor-BQ in Plano
While the Korean-Mexican fusion concept is far from novel at this point, this doesn’t mean it is not every bit as delicious as it was when people were going absolutely batty over the idea of a Korean taco. Now that this multicultural mish-mashing seems to be slowing down a bit, perhaps it is safe for me to declare my personal favorite, an honor which I bestow upon Kor-BQ in Plano.
I first sampled Kor-BQ shortly after they opened in late 2010. At the time, whisperings of the taco fusion movement from the West Coast, particularly L.A.’s Kogi food truck, were just barely reaching the ears of North Texans. It was an exciting time for everyone, and I’m sure I was not the only taco lover excited to sample the intriguing flavor profiles of “East meets West.” Kor-BQ was the first of its kind to hit the Dallas area dining scene. Many others have followed, but I still find myself trekking up to Plano anytime I need to fulfill my cravings for a sweet and spicy Korean short rib taco.
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Say What? Kids Eat Free on Presidents Day
Beware of George. (photo provided by Highland Park Cafeteria)
Nothing beats stuffing your face with mashed potatoes and cherry pie while Abe Lincoln – that serious Civil War hottie – stares down at your plate.
Thankfully, Highland Park Cafeteria is making all your dreams come true with live patriotic piano music, fresh-baked pies, and decorated cookies between the hours of 11 AM to 8 PM today. Kids under ten eat free with the purchase of an adult meal for TODAY only.
What does Presidents Day have to do with kids eating free? No idea, but free food is never a bad thing. Plus, all the Presidents and their First Ladies will be there, eyeing you from their wall.
1200 N. Buckner Blvd.
214-324-5000
Pouting Over Poutine
Poutine from the Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland OH (photo from Columbus Underground @ www.columbusunderground.com)
A couple of weeks ago I gushed about my love for the burgers at Kenny’s Burger Joint. One of our Sidedishers, “Kirk,” commented that they offered “the closest facsimile of poutine in the DFW area.” When I heard this, it was not long until I found my way back to sample the Kenny’s version. As you likely know, “poutine” is a classic Canadian dish, traditionally composed of crispy French fries, cheese curds, and a brown gravy. The most successful variations of poutine are able to serve the fries thick and crisp, the cheese curd soft but not so completely melted that they lose all their texture, and the gravy incorporated into each bite, but not so much as to turn the whole thing into a soup or make the fries overly soggy. However, this dish is incredibly hard to find in Dallas. I don’t understand why this is so. Perhaps it’s our distance from our neighbors to the North? Perhaps there are not enough Canadians here in the Lone Star State? It really is a travesty.
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14 Comments »Eat This Now: Black and Blue Burger from Kenny’s Burger Joint in Frisco
When do you know that you have started to become a little too familiar with a restaurant? Well, if you pull into Kenny’s Burger Joint and your kid starts cheering, “Yay! Uncle Kenny.” And no, I’m not related to Kenny Bowers…and my kid hardly even recognizes his grandparents. Perhaps this familiarity could be seen as a problem in a city that offers so many burger options, but to be honest, its easy to get underwhelmed by the consistent stream of the newly minted burger joints. Seems like there are about 2 new openings a week, la-dee-frickin-da. These days, I can count on one hand the number of places I will actually patronize to in order to obtain a truly exceptional burger. Kenny’s has been doing things right since the beginning.
Kenny will tell you that he originally got such excellent feedback from his “Sterling Silver Burger” at Kenny’s Wood Fired Grill, that it was only natural to create a burger-centric restaurant. And we are all blessed because of it. Sure, it’s a bit of a pain for many to trek out to Frisco, but when quality and consistency intersect, the results can be something so enticing that nearly anyone can bust out of the north-of-635 bubble.
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Eat This Now: Bacon Tomato Grilled Cheese at Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe
We all know that making a decent grilled cheese doesn’t require a membership in Mensa. I mean, I was making them at 7 years old…sure they were more often burnt to a black crisp than a nice golden brown, but I just called it “extra toasty.” A number of joints around the country have popped up, determined to push the grilled cheese sandwich where it has never been before, including places like Cleveland’s Melt Bar and Grilled, Austin’s Chedd, and NYC’s Melt Shop. So when I first heard about Ruthie’s Rolling Café, one of Dallas’ freshest food trucks dedicated to the humble grilled cheese, I was intrigued. Personally, I love the idea of dedicated cuisine. If you do one thing, do it right, I always say…okay, I don’t actually say that very often, but if you are only doing one thing and you suck at it, you may want to reconsider the direction your life is heading. I digress. I hoped that with Ruthie’s, this would not only be the beginning of a long, fruitful relationship between me and some beautiful sandwiches, but that Ruthie would pave the way for a grilled cheese revolution.
I am happy to report that Ruthie’s makes a mean grilled cheese. Perhaps you have been reluctant to jump on the food truck bandwagon. I know I have been, as I typically prefer, you know, chairs, air conditioning, and tables, but I can put all those niceties out of mind for some Ruthie’s. Even if I had to eat her sandwiches in a dark alley behind the Wal-Mart while lying on a bed of nails inside a dumpster, I would have no complaints.
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2 Comments »Win Free Food From Wild Salsa for a Year
I’m pretty excited for this Saturday’s festivities downtown. City Lights kicks off. I’ve been watching more than 3,000 lights be strung, orbs be placed, and tubes be constructed in the Neiman windows for the past couple weeks. I’m just waiting for all of it to light up. After you watch the tree be lit, Santa make his appearance, and the finale at AT&T, support some of the restaurants downtown. A lot of them are offering some discounts. And then there’s Wild Salsa, which is giving 30 prizes of free food for a year. Winners get $25 a week for 52 weeks to spend on food. (Trust me, you can go to Wild Salsa and get dinner for two for that much. I suggest the Ensalada Mexicana.) Send an email to ilovedowntowndallas@drgconcepts.com and explain why you love downtown. (If you don’t have any ideas, I can give you a few.) Include your name, number, and email. They’ll randomly draw the winners.
Other discounts for Saturday only:
* Wild Salsa, Dallas Chop House, Dallas Fish Market: 20 percent off food
* Iron Cactus: $5 hot chocolate infused with Rumpleminz
* Ravenna: Children under 10 get a free pasta dish; accompanying adult must purchase entrée
* The Joule: complimentary hot chocolate, hot cider, popcorn, and cookies
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