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.

Kor-BQ's Bulgogi Kuesadilla

Kor-BQ’s menu is filled with some of the usual offerings one would expect from a Korean taco joint.  Tacos are offered with a choice of four meats: galbi (marinated short ribs), bulgogi (marinated ribeye), dweji (spicy marinated pork) and dak (spicy marinated chicken).  Customers are then able to choose their style of condiments which include a cilantro and onion mix or a lettuce slaw and soy vinaigrette mixture with a sprinkle of sesame seed.

A personal favorite of mine is their wonderful “kuesadillas,” which take freshly grilled flour tortillas, your choice of meat (mine is usually the bulgogi ribeye), shredded cheese, with a side of their Korean salsa and sour cream.  When all the components combine, it is a hot and altogether blissful experience.  The combination of the sweet and spicy ribeye with the rich melted cheese is a unique profile of flavor and texture which helps keep Kor-BQ at the top of my list.

Beef and Glass Noodle Egg Rolls

Other crowd pleasers include their hearty rice bowls, beef and glass noodle filled Korean egg rolls, and loaded Korean fries with choice of meat, cheese, sour cream, salsa, and their house blended “special sauce.”  Every dish I have tried is fantastic.  Their meats are truly a cut above the rest, always fresh and dripping with flavor

Kor-BQ operates more like a stationary indoor food truck than a typical restaurant.  There is no seating in the restaurant and customers line up along a standing-height counter to devour their tacos and other goods served in small paper baskets. While this allows them to function in the tight confines of their strip mall location, it also avoids some of the weather issues which complicate the lives of food truck owners. It works for them, and I’d probably still eat here if they made me do it while laying on a bed of nails.

With its close proximity to Plano’s Willowbend Mall, Kor-BQ is the silver lining to my wife’s current obsession with H&M.  While skulking around the mall is generally never my idea of a good time, I have found that on a good day, I can slip out of the mall just long enough, while my wife is oogling over leather boots and knit-scarves, to grab some Korean tacos and get back before she even notices I am missing (assuming the I can avoid taco juice stains on my shirt from spoiling the getaway). No matter the risk, Kor-BQ is worth the adventure.

Kor-BQ

6505 W. Park Blvd. #314, Plano TX

Our BBQ guy, Daniel Vaughn

Anthony Bourdain’s a smart man for selecting Daniel Vaughn, BBQ Snob and the genius behind “Full Custom Gospel BBQ”, to write one of the three titles for his new line of books published under Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Our favorite BBQ correspondent (who did his first print story with us) will be writing Prophets of Smoked Meat, a full-color tour of the best Texas barbeque joints he’s visited since he first got hooked on the ‘cue. The book will feature recipes of smoked classics and sides, and shed some light on some of the people whose passion drive the Texas BBQ food scene.

“Tony Bourdain and I are long lost brothers in meat. To have his support in writing a book about Texas Barbecue really just feels like an overdue family reunion,” says Vaughn.

Bourdain recognizes Vaughn as “the Yoda of Barbecue, a man of impeccable smoked meat credentials, known most notoriously as the guy upon whose tireless quest for slow-cooked meat-related wisdom mainstream media shamelessly piggybacks. With this book, we hope, he shall finally get his due as the undisputed, argument ending source of all knowledge.”

The first title under the Ecco line belongs to co-founder of the Kogi BBQ food trucks in Los Angeles, Roy Choi, while the third goes to Mark Miller, a kickboxing champion who struggled with addiction. Daniel Vaughn has the second title. Sidedishers, it looks like our BBQ Snob has made it to the big leagues! Go eat some BBQ to celebrate and do a jiggity-jig-jig.

Slow-cooked pork covered with caramelized onions and peppers.

Nick Badovinus and chef Dan Riley have been hunkered down for over a year developing the menu and creating all kinds of delicious roasted meats for Off-Site Kitchen. Today he is finally opening the doors!

Now, hold your horses. The dining room is tiny. Off-Site Kitchen is basically a take-out restaurant with a few stools inside and some picnic tables outside. Here are some pictures of what you can expect. The food, inspired by “what line cooks eat,” is basically simple sandwiches and breakfast burritos made from quality roasted meats. Roll the Badovinus quote of the year:

“It’s light industrial food,” he said. “It’s the kind of food you want to eat before you go solder something.”

Off-Site Kitchen will be open for lunch only from 10:30AM until 3PM for the next two weeks. Then the breakfast menu will kick in and they will begin serving at 7AM and will remain open until 7PM. “After we hit our stride, we’ll start rolling out the meat-by-the-pound program,” Badovinus said. “I’m so excited. This place is a real man cave.”

The original date for OSK’s opening was February 14, 2011. After Badovinus missed his mark, he decided to workshop the place and open on Valentine’s Day this year. “You see how many financial sacrifices I made to pay for my original vision,” Badovinus said. “I mean I’ve got a wheelbarrow of pork rinds down here. Who doesn’t love that?”

Badovinus was only half-joking about the Valentine’s Day opening. He and chef Dan Riley have used the Off-Site Kitchen space to tweak the menus of Badovinus’ other restaurants (Neighborhood Services, Neighborhood Services Tavern, and Neighborhood Services Bar & Grill). They also use the huge kitchen as a commissary for the other restaurants. The receive, portion, and distribute all of the meat and seafood at Off-Site Kitchen.

SOLDER, EAT, REPORT. No call-in orders. Plan to show up and wait.

[Also, Neighborhood Services Bar & Grill in Preston Royal will open for lunch in two weeks.]

The menu and photos are below.

Wheelbarrow of pork rinds.

Cherry cola pie.

Green chile cheeseburger.

First customer.

A few years ago, when I first came to Dallas, I was quickly told I had to try Cavalli Pizza.  Indeed, Cavalli may have been the first restaurant I ever ate at in Texas.  It was both a blessing and a curse.  A blessing, for I dreamed and envisioned the entire Dallas pizza scene to be equal to Cavalli in quality and flavor. A curse, for I quickly realized that, for the most part, Cavalli was an anomaly in the pizza world.  My standards were set high, and there was no way I was lowering the bar for the strings of tasteless pizza garbage many other pizza joints presented. Most people know that they were the first in Dallas to throw around the term “VPN certified”, an accolade which at first meant little more to me than a Citysearch recommendation, but which I have now come to associate with quality and a strict attention to detail.

Jump for more.Luckily, over the years, Dallas has blossomed into quite the safe haven for good pizza.  A detailed history of the success of the Dallas pizza scene is surely not necessary at this point, but suffice it to say, Dallas diners need not look (or drive) far to get their hands on a quality pie.  Yet to this day, Cavalli remains a special place to me, and not simply for nostalgic reasons.  I have yet, to this day, had a disappointing meal from the dough slingers at Cavalli, and I have perhaps eaten more pizza here than any other joint in the city.

After plowing my way through a very large percentage of the menu at Cavalli, I feel the need to share with you a pie that truly stands out in my mind, the exquisite “Salami e Funghi.”  It would be easy to dismiss this pie as little more than its rather simple yet descriptive name, but this beauty is far more than just salami and fungus.  Read on, my friends.

The basic anatomy of this exquisite pie is something you have likely come to expect from a certified Neapolitan pie. You know, simply crafted dough from imported Italian flour, yeast, water and salt.  San Marzano tomatoes, simply seasoned with salt and pepper. Quick bake time in an 800+ degree woodfired oven, leaving a good deal of flame kissed blisters on the supple crust. They continue with a spicy salami, mushrooms with sprigs of fresh basil.  But what sets this pie apart is the blissful combination of smoked mozzarella and crushed garlic.  It’s a wonderful blend that tickles the taste buds and arouses the senses.  Whoever decided to first smoke the mozzarella was really brilliant.  I mean, I’ve tried smoking a lot of things in my days, and mozzarella never even crossed my mind.  Let’s just leave that one alone.

While Cavalli is generally a bit of a drive for most Dallasites, it is no less than a culinary savior to the chain infested suburbs around north Dallas and Irving.  And while the entire menu at Cavalli is chock full of delightful dishes, the Salami e Funghi is surely one of the best on the board.

Oh yeah, it's for real.

We’re suckers for any press release that contains the following sentences:

• Yes, this is really real.
• Don’t you judge us; we all knew it would end up here someday.
• And yeah, your right we probably did go too far this time.
• Sorry, Mom.

It seems a couple well-intentioned entrepreneurs have teamed up with J&D’s Foods to create a little something they’re calling baconlube—the world’s first bacon-flavored, water-based, American-made, personal lubricant.

Billing itself as the “gold standard of meat-flavored massage oils” (natch) baconlube, they say, is like the McRib of sex: it’s delicious, makes men crazy, is here for a limited time, and is in short supply.

If you’re thinking “stocking stuffer!” (let’s stay on track here), we’re right behind you. But the boys only made 3,000 bottles of this pork-flavored nectar. It hit the interwebs yesterday at www.baconlube.com. How much, you ask, for a product that promises such a satisfying holiday season? Only $11.99.

you know you want more. jump for it…Still on the fence? Here’s a little rationalization.

FACT – People are passionate about bacon.  According to a recent survey of Canadians by Maple Leaf Foods, Canada’s market leader in the bacon category, when asked to choose between bacon and sex, more than four in 10 (43%) chose bacon.  Thanks to baconlube, Canadians will never have to choose between two of life’s greatest pleasures again.  So you’re welcome Canada, you’re welcome – we’ve got your back.

Need I mention, we’ve requested a sample?