Kenny's Burger Joint

The Taste Buds decided that finding a good burger in Dallas seemed to be in order for our next adventure. We talked about good burgers we have had in Dallas, our usual go-to being Snuffer’s. After doing some research online and talking with friends, we decided to take the plunge. We also decided we wanted to go somewhere in a different area, to accommodate some of our followers. Having eaten at Kenny’s Woodfire Grill and Kenny’s Italian Kitchen, we were eager to check out his burger restaurant. Saturday afternoon we headed up North to Frisco to try out Kenny’s Burger Joint, which was recommended to us by two followers and friends.

We started out with bacon wrapped jalapenos stuffed with cheese.  The jalapenos were HUGE, and very fresh. They came with some form of barbeque sauce and ranch for dipping. They were really tasty and a bit spicy after awhile. Luckily, the waitress noticed Sara’s watery eyes and brought us some cherry tomatoes to cut the spice.

I, Haley, ordered the Black and Blue, which was Cajun spiced with blue cheese dressing. The “dressing” was actually blue cheese crumbles. All of the burgers come on ciabatta buns, which are made locally in Addison. The burger was a nice size, but not too much that you knew that you wouldn’t be able to move after eating. The buns are delicious and the burger was cooked perfectly. The blue cheese was tasty and the meat was juicy. If you are not a fan of blue cheese, steer clear of this burger as that is the overwhelming taste. I finished the entire burger and was very satisfied.

Sara had the Mushroom Burger, which comes with brie and sautéed mushrooms. Sara is a huge fan of brie, and was happy to dig in. She ordered her burger medium, however it came out well done. She said that it was still juicy, but it just wasn’t cooked the way she had asked. She raved about the brie and I snuck a bite myself.  Overall, she said she really enjoyed her burger.

A guest star who joined in on the fun, ordered the one that I was torn between when I placed my order, the Bacon and Egg burger with béarnaise, fried egg, white American and bacon. The egg was cooked perfectly and the bacon appeared to be crispy enough for my liking. The review was definitely two thumbs up and I soon regretted not trying it out myself. I definitely will be going back for that burger in the near future.

Ben, strayed from the group had the Steak bomb, Kenny’s take on the philly cheese steak. Ben seemed to enjoy it and ate most of it, however did not seem to point out anything particularly special about this sandwich.

We also ordered one side of fries (they are not included) to share. They were really an afterthought to me, as the burger was so good and that is what I focused on. They weren’t bad, and Sara claimed they tasted like the fried batter at Long John’s Silver, which is totally a compliment in her book. I laughed and agreed they were good, but again they were definitely an understudy to the burgers.

The prices are very reasonable at Kenny’s, with burgers ranging from $6.49-8.99. The service was good, the atmosphere casual and the burgers are really, really good. I would quickly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to try a burger somewhere new. I know I will be back again, to enjoy the Bacon and Egg burger, maybe catch a day game and drink a few cold ones. I may even forgo a burger to make enough room to try one of their “adult milkshakes” they offer.

 Kenny's Burger Joint

Follower Favorite: Best Mexican in Dallas

Our Mexican Foodie Adventure was all about your recommendations for the best Mexican food in Dallas. As promised, we decided to hit up foodie follower recommendation (and old childhood favorite), Hererra’s.

Haley, Diana and I all headed to Maple Ave. to one of the quintessential Hererra’s locations. We were greeted by a multitude of cute and traditional Mexican decorations, which reminded me of actually being in Mexico. The chips were crispy and the salsa was spicy – a great start to a good, old fashioned Tex-Mex meal.

After a long look at the looong menu, we decided on our meals. Diana got the fish tacos, Haley got the #8 (cheese taco, cheese enchilada and tamale), and I got the Larry (1 Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada, 1 Cheese Enchilada with Chili, 1 Green Enchilada). But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The real star of any Hererra’s meal is obviously the complimentary bean soup before each entrée is delivered. Bacony and starchy – if you haven’t tried it, you probably should.

Diana’s fish tacos were really interesting. The tortillas were skewered shut with the fish inside and then fried. The end result was a crispy little fish present. Diana said they were really good, but that it was pretty difficult to get any lettuce, tomato or avocado inside.

Haley’s #8 was yummy. Extremely cheesy and the tamale was just right. It was exactly what she was looking for.

My Larry combo was good too. I got the green enchilada with beef, so I’d have chicken, cheese AND beef. It was all good, could have been a little more flavorful though. I guess I have to issue a big qualifier: I am an admitted Mi Cocina snob. I haven’t found much out there that I like more than Mico. But in all actuality, Hererra’s is on a different level. It more authentic Tex-Mex, and I do appreciate that. I'll keep my biases at bay!

After all these enormous meals, we were STUFFED. The kind of stuffed that has you groaning for a few hours. We had a great time and loved the authentic atmosphere and cuisine.  Of course we will go back, and think you should check it out, too! Thanks for the recommendation, Jeff Hunter!

http://herrerascafe.com/

Tillman's Roadhouse: Till Death Do Us Part

Thank goodness for Restaurant Week, the one time of the year that we otherwise frugal foodies can enjoy more pricey restaurants. Trying to keep along with our mission, we chose a place that was not one of the obvious go-to restaurant week picks. We chose Tillman’s Roadhouse located in Oak Cliff in the Bishop Arts District. There is also a location in Fort Worth. Both Sara and I have recently become great fans of the area that was unbeknownst to us a few months ago. It is a truly unique part of Dallas and has a great amount of character, as well as a plethora of fine dining options. We looked up several in the area and decided on Tillman’s Roadhouse, which takes classic comfort food and kicks it up a notch using unexpected ingredients.

We arrived at Tillman’s at 7pm for our Sunday reservation. We arrived and observed the décor that mixed rustic roadhouse with fancy chandeliers. The space is very inviting, there are pillows placed on the bench seats and lots of fun decorations. The atmosphere really goes perfectly with the cuisine that they serve at Tillman’s, upscale-comfort without ever getting close to pretentious.

The meal starts with some complimentary truffle oil and black pepper dusted popcorn served in a rustic ladle. The popcorn is a great starter and much less messy than the peanut route most roadhouses opt for. For the first course, I had the Texas Farms Baby Lettuce Salad with goat cheese, mandarin oranges, roasted beets, candied pecans, and orange-basil vinaigrette.  Sara had the Southwest Caesar Salad with romaine, cherry tomatoes, roasted corn, black beans, poblanos, cotija, cilantro and crispy huarache.  Both salads were tasty, however we preferred mine. The orange-basil vinaigrette and the candied pecans were a great balance with the goat cheese.

We ordered our main entrées as well as a side of goat cheese tater tots that we had heard great things about. I ordered the Post Oak Smoked Pork Ribs with house barbeque sauce and bacon-cheddar mac and cheese. Sara ordered the Chicken Fried Steak with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, poblano cream gravy, bacon lardons, haricot vert and cherry tomatoes. The goat cheese tater tots were surprisingly delectable (and addicting). Even though I had my entrée in front of me, I could not help but keep going back for more tots. I actually joked to Sara that I wanted to take the last few with me and pull a “Napoleon Dynamite.”

The ribs were good, they were very sweet on their own and the sauce helped to add a little tang. They were very tender and the meat came easily off the bone. The bacon cheddar mac and cheese was also really tasty.  However, Sara easily won the entrée round. The chicken fried steak came out as two very round steaks that were lightly crusted and drizzled with gravy. The meat actually tasted like real steak, and we were curious as to what type of meat they use. The chicken fried steak is hands down the best either of us have ever tasted. Usually there is too much batter, or the meat isn’t that great. There is neither problem with Tillman’s dish. It is absolutely mouth watering. The mashed potatoes are superb and so were the bacon lardon green beans.  We split the dishes down the middle so we got to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Then we got dessert, yes more food! Sara had the S’more with a maple homemade marshmallow with chocolate bark and a cinnamon graham. I ordered the Banana Bread Pudding with malt crème anglaise and peanut tuille. Sara won again! The S’more was delicious and was a perfect little bite to finish the meal. The marshmallow was toasted perfectly and the graham cracker was exceptional. The bread pudding was too dense and I could not really eat much of it. I love banana bread typically, but this did not translate well for me. We also couldn’t help but notice the other tables around us getting the S’more dessert as featured on the main menu, which is served tableside for the whole group. It looked incredible.

After our meal, even though I could hardly move, I proclaimed Tillman’s to be my new favorite Dallas restaurant. It is just my style, the good ol’ home cooked food but with an interesting twist. I absolutely love comfort food, but I also like trying new ingredients and flavors that I am not used to. Tillman’s combines both of these flawlessly. The regular priced menu is a little out of my usual budget, the Chicken Fried Steak usually runs $25, but honestly, it is so worth it. They also have a menu of handcrafted drinks that sounded awesome. I will absolutely return, and cannot wait to try the tableside S’mores and stuff my face with those glorious goat cheese tater tots.

Tillman's

BBQ Adventure - Thanks for all the recommendations!

Mike Anderson’s BBQ has been recommended to us over and over. So, when it came time for a BBQ foodie adventure, the decision was made pretty quickly. Mike Anderson’s is only open for lunch and is also closed on Sundays. If you ask me, any restaurant that can get away with being open 50% of the time its competitors are open and still gets rave reviews must be worth its salt. Thus, we trekked out to the medical district Saturday afternoon to see for ourselves.

The building looks just like you’d expect for authentic, country BBQ. It looks mildly rickety and has bright neon words painted on all the windows. Delightfully hole-in-the-wall chic. There is a menu on the wall and a stack of trays at the beginning of a long counter when you walk in. Step 1: tell the man what meat situation you want. We got the smoked ribs, sliced brisket sandwich and turkey sandwich. Step 2: Do you want a baked potato or are you going down the line? We all opted to go “down the line” which allowed self-service to all their sides. Each entrée came with two sides. We opted for green beans, potato wedges, dill potato salad, BBQ baked beans, fried okra, and cheesy cornbread bake, respectively. Step 3: Do you want a drink? Water is by the FREE soft serve ice cream machine J. Step 4: Grab your sandwich accoutrements and additional BBQ sauce, find a seat and chow down.

  

After assessing our own meals, we all started sampling each other’s choices. We needed to get the full experience, of course. As we were eating, we couldn’t help but notice there were several people eating the largest BBQ baked potatoes we have literally ever come across. In fact, there were so many people digging in to the world’s largest baked potatoes that I felt slightly like I may have ordered the wrong thing!

So what did we think of our Mike Anderson’s experience? Well, Haley said her turkey sandwich was really smoky and flavorful and she liked it better than Dickey’s Turkey (which we all love). Her fried okra was by far the crispiest we have had and had a yummy seasoning on it. Her cheesy cornbread bake was a favorite amongst Haley and Ben; however I am just simply not a cornbread fan…so sue me! My sliced brisket sandwich was on par with my expectations. My socks weren’t blown off, but I was pleased. My dill potato salad was fine, but those BBQ baked beans were so sickeningly sweet that none of us wanted to eat them. Ben’s smoked ribs were good, but tasted like liquid smoke was used in the recipe, which resulted in an unpleasant, lingering after-taste. The potato edges were on par, but the green beans weren’t anything to write home about. I would also like to mention that they have both regular BBQ sauce, as well as jalapeño BBQ sauce. Ben loved the jalapeño because it was more vinegary and Haley liked the traditional. Me? I am a sucker for the sweet BBQ sauce that is so true to Texas.

 Our overall experience at Mike Anderson’s lead to a very philosophical discussion about what really makes the “best BBQ ever”. None of us could really pin it down. We all have differences of opinions on sauce, meat choice, and sides we consider a necessity. I guess the “best BBQ ever” is up to each individual! Don’t worry though, Readers – we will not stop sampling Dallas BBQ hot spots and we are excited to try all your other recommendations! 


http://www.mikeandersonsbbq.com/

Friend or Foe? The Groupon hits Cafe Izmir

I read that Café Izmir located on Lower Greenville was known for “Dallas’ Best Hummus.” Being such fans of hummus and having it regularly in our fridge, we had to see what all the fuss was about. Café Izmir is a Mediterranean Tapas and Family style restaurant with dishes coming from Greek, Turkish, Lebanese and Persian cuisines. Sara, Diana and I decided that it seemed like a great place for us to catch up and share a number of dishes and some wine.

We arrived around 7:30 on a Monday night, to a very small restaurant and an extremely busy crowd. We looked around and couldn’t believe what a wait there was for a random Monday, when we overheard someone say that this was the last day that a Groupon could be used there. We knew we had an interesting night ahead of us. I love Groupon and have gotten many great deals, however not having it and being in the mix of a long wait made for a very impatient and frustrating beginning to our meal. We finally were seated about an hour later and it took about 10 minutes to even get our water. Again, I understand that the night we chose probably skews this review; however knowing that it would be busier we could not understand why one waiter was given twelve tables in our section.

The waiter gives you a piece of paper similar to sushi restaurants in which you can check how many of what plates you would like. We ordered an order of hummus with garlic (you can get no garlic if you prefer), pita bread, a chicken kabob, piroshki, veggie dolmas and a lamb roll. We got the hummus and pita bread pretty quickly and were eager to try “the best hummus in Dallas.” We dug in and were all very impressed. This hummus is uniquely spicy, due to the fact that they use raw garlic instead of roasted, which Sara so keenly pointed out. It is much creamier than other hummus that I have tried. The pita bread was delicious, very warm and fluffy and a great companion to the hummus. Sara noted that this was her second favorite hummus in Dallas and Diana and I both agreed it was very good, but could not come to the decisive conclusion that it was in fact the best. However, I am already craving some more.

We then received our other plates and began to start dividing up the food and digging in. The Lamb Roll that consisted of slow roasted shredded leg of lamb and pico de gallo wrapped in a hot tortilla was named Diana and Sara’s favorite. The portions of the plates are small, and we could have easily finished off another order of this plate. My favorite was the Piroshki which contained spiced beef, vegetables and goat cheese wrapped in sautéed bread. I absolutely loved the contrast of the goat cheese with the beef and the vegetables all wrapped in the crispy bread. I deemed it a “Middle Eastern egg roll” and loved every bite. The others enjoyed it as well.

The chicken kabob was tasty, but wasn’t anything completely different that we hadn’t tasted before. However, the chicken had a great smoky flavor and was cooked superbly. Our least favorite of the plates were definitely the veggie dolmas. They were very soggy and were lack luster in flavor, without having any meat in them. I have had much better dolmas before. The only thing left on the plates at the end of the meal was one straggling dolma that no one cared to finish off.

Since we shared a number of small plates, and had waited for such a long time, we actually felt like we had room for dessert and decided on the Izmir Special Dessert which came out in a glorious sundae dish filled with baklava, butter pound cake quarters, strawberries, vanilla ice cream, Frangelico sauce and whipped cream. This made the lack of attentive service and exceptionally long wait a little more tolerable. We dug in and cleaned the dish. It was absolutely delectable and Diana even said that it was the first time she actually enjoyed baklava. Sara pointed out that the baklava had a very distinct and unique flavor that she had never tasted before when trying the dish. I couldn’t make any brilliant observations, as I was too busy stuffing my face.

Another issue of service came up when we were waiting for our check and realized our dinner had turned into a 2 hour production. Luckily, our neighbor next to us “Jose G” offered us his extra Groupon, saving us $20 on our ticket! It definitely made the pain and frustration of waiting for so long for our meal more worth it.  Overall, I think that Café Izmir has a number of things to offer. It is a great place to catch up with people and share a variety of dishes. The food is good, particularly the hummus, dessert and our two favorite dishes. I would love to go back to meet a friend for a drink and some tapas. So often we eat a meal and feel overly stuffed and uncomfortable, where this was the perfect amount of food where you can actually enjoy eating a dessert.  I would be interested to hear about the service from other people who have been on regular nights, thinking maybe we just were unlucky. Some wise words to our followers: out of respect to fellow diners, use your Groupon before the last day it expires!!!

Crepe Expectations

There have been a few different restaurants over the years in the little hut type establishment  located strangely in the middle of the Jason’s Deli parking lot on Beltline in Addison. However, none had sparked our interest as much as when we saw advertisements for “Flippin Out” crepes and coffee. I read up on yelp to see some suggestions and even though it had only been open for a week or two, there were already several very positive reviews.

The crepes that I have ordered in the past are pretty plain and simple. This is definitely a new take on crepes, almost making them almost into wraps using the crepe as the bread. These crepes are satisfying for any meal of the day. The place is small and you can either go in or use the drive thru. We went for brunch and opted on going through the drive thru to avoid battling the miserable heat.

I ordered the “Tyson Chandler” that consisted of chicken, mushrooms, spinach and a bacon cheese sauce. I know anyone that reads our blog consistently is very surprised my choice. The crepe is wrapped up around all the goodies inside, which makes it much easier to eat. The bacon cheese sauce was really delicious and came on the side, so you can add as much as you would like. I really enjoyed my crepe; however it was very, very salty. Sara did not enjoy it as much and said it was too salty for her.  I happen to have an extremely salty palette, so even though it was very salty I did not mind. Especially after the type of night I had the previous day, if you can read between the lines.

Sara had the “Lemon Chicken” crepe with chicken, herb crusted asparagus and parmesan and lemon sauce.  Again, her biggest complaint was that there was a bit too much salt in the crepe. She said it was nowhere near as salty as mine, however she would have preferred much less. We both agreed that it was probably the chicken, and that maybe another day it would be less salty. Neither of us saw any reviews mentioning too much salt.

Ben, who is privileged enough to accompany us on a great number of these outings, had the “Philly Cheesesteak” crepe, with a steak, mushrooms and peppers stuffed in a crepe. It was really, really good. Sara said that it was her favorite and Ben finished every bite. I snagged a bite and agreed that it really was tasty. There was no complaint of salt on this one either.  Each crepe comes with some chips that are much like the “terra chips” you can buy at the store. They were a good compliment to the crepes, since they are not salty.

Each of us had a Palmer Grey to drink (frozen lemonade and tea) that was really perfect for a hot summer’s day. I really wanted to try the coffee, but it was so hot that I just was not in the mood. There were a number of other items that looked awesome including breakfast style crepes, a “Caprese” crepe and dessert crepes featuring a “Nutella” crepe. All of us agreed that it was worth another trip in the near future to try some different options. So even if our first trip was a little salty, I would definitely still recommend it to our readers as it is such a different idea that is truly unique here in Dallas.

Flippin Out Crepes

Keep on Food Truckin': Gandolfo's New York Deli

Sara told me about a food truck that we needed to check out called Gandolfo's New York Deli, which serves deli sandwiches in different locations in Dallas. We both decided to "like" them on Facebook so we could see where they were each day. Looking at their posts, it seems as though they spend most of their time in the Arts District and Downtown areas of Dallas.Much to my surprise and excitement, one day I logged on and saw that they were coming to Lewisville for lunch (where I work). I recruited my co worker Jeff, a self-proclaimed Reuben connoisseurof sorts, and we headed out to get some food on wheels.

We got to the food truck location at a business parking lot off Corporate and I-35 and waited in a short line for our sandwiches. They had a lot of options including Hot and Cold choices depending on your taste. They also had options for half size sandwiches that are smaller (and cheaper) than the full size. We quickly browsed the menu and decided on what to order. It took only a few minutes and our sandwiches were handed to us through the mobile kitchen's window.

I ordered the half size of the "New Yorker" that came on a hoagie with roast beef, banana peppers, onions, tomatoes, feta cheese and oil and vinegar. It comes with mayo as well, but I am not a fan so opted out. The sandwich was absolutely delicious. Even though we had a picnic in the car because it was over 100 out, I still ate every bite of the hot sandwich. The hoagie roll wasn't too tough, the roast beef was tender and the combination of the banana peppers with the feta cheese really made the sandwich unique and interesting. When I go back, it will be hard for me to make a choice to try something else.



Jeff had the full size of the Reuben Sandwich and got it with the classic "Russian dressing" instead of spicy mustard. Having eaten some pretty good Reubens in his day, at first he was skeptical of how the sandwich from a truck would hold up. He ate the whole sandwich and praised how much meat they put on their Reuben. His only complaint was that there wasn't as much sauerkraut as he would have cared for in the sandwich. Overall, he said it was a really good sandwich and would be glad to go back with me when they come back to Lewisville. Sara actually went to the food truck the next day in Downtown Dallas and had half a Reuben as well and gave me great feedback, especially how full she was!

I am so excited that we are seeing more and more food trucks in Dallas and I can't wait to find new ones as well as go back to Gandolfo's! Follow them on Facebook to see when they will be by you, and go grab yourself a sandwich. I honestly believe food just tastes better from a truck!

FOLLOW GANDOLFO'S ON FACEBOOK!



So much more than pizza...

I was first made aware of Il Cane Rosso in Deep Ellum at the 1^st Annual Iron Fork Competition. There was something like 100 Dallas restaurants that set up stations and were handing out tastings of a representative dish from their menu. Diana (frequent guest star) and I were wandering around gathering samples and drinking wine when toward the end of the event, I stumbled upon Cane Rosso’s station and decided to try their caprese skewer. It was a cherry tomato, a large basil leaf a chunk of freshly handmade mozzarella and a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette. I swear to you, out of all the 20 or so restaurant tastings we tried, this was my absolute favorite! I had 4 skewers. The most impressive part was the mozzarella. I’ve had freshly made mozzarella before that was bland (blasphemy!). This was the most flavorful mozzarella I have ever encountered. I asked if I could just buy some cheese from the restaurant and the guy gave me a weird look…he said maybe.

Anyway, cut to a few months later, Haley, a new guest star cleverly nicknamed “The Bonz” and I decided to trek out to Deep Ellum and enjoy a delightful lunch. I forcefully required that everyone share the caprese salad with me to start and then we decided on 2 delicious sounding pizzas. Before I forget, I should note that this restaurant is devoted to creating authentic Neapolitan pizza made according to the strict guidelines of the Associazone Verace Pizza Napoletana and actually began as a food truck (hooray!!). The salad was delightful and the mozz was just as good as I remembered. 

Our pizzas were excellent too! We ordered the Delia: fresh mozzarella, roasted grape tomatoes, spicy bacon marmalade and arugula and the seasonal pizza: goat cheese, fresh mozzarella, pesto and sun dried tomatoes. My favorite was the seasonal, but I think the others preferred the Delia due to the spicy bacon marmalade (I thought it was a tad sweet). One thing we all agreed on? That pizza crust was quite literally the best crust ever! They make their dough in-house from imported, all natural “Double Zero” Italian flour. I thought I knew all there was to know about pizza, but suddenly I was both surprised and educated. This is what pizza crust is supposed to taste like. I get it now. Consider it my pizza a-ha moment. 

In addition to the delectable caprese salad and pizzas, I also brought dessert back to my office. I asked my co-worker what I should get and she requested the Zeppole: fried dough, powdered sugar and chocolate sauce. I admit, I was skeptical due to past experiences with Italian places trying to take on the beignet, but I decided to just roll with it. Boy was I surprised! The fried dough balls were nothing like beignets, nor did they try to be. They were soft, moist, doughy and slightly cakey with a crispy crust, and the chocolate sauce was like a cross between chocolate mousse, chocolate pudding and chocolate sauce. I never thought I'd be so obsessed with fried dough dipped in chocolate....oh well, could be worse!

Moral of the story, Il Cane Rosso is now my favorite Dallas pizza destination. What’s yours? We’re dying to know!

http://www.ilcanerosso.com/

What does Dallas taste like? Deliciousness.

The Taste Buds decided to get a whirlwind foodie experience this past weekend when we set out for Taste of Dallas. The festival featured over 60 local restaurants and a lot of interesting vendors from across the state. All tastings were much like "samples" of the restaurant's cuisine and ranged from $1-3. We arrived hungry and truly ready to find out what Dallas tastes like.

The first tent we stopped by was Farmers Branch's "Nuevo Leon." The samplings offered both brisket tacos and tamales. We had one of each and dug in. The brisket taco was extremely juicy and we added pico, onions and salsa to really give it that extra kick. The tamale was tender inside and absolutely one of the best tamales I have ever tasted. We definitely noted that this is a restaurant we want to go to for a full feature. Let us know if you have been here, and what we must try!

Next we headed inside a very much needed air conditioned pavillion where there were loads of local vendors selling everything from olive oil, hot sauce, jams, soups, nuts and alcohol. We were drawn to the Texas Toffee tent where we were given a free sample of chocolate pecan toffee. Sara's favorite type of candy actually is toffee. We tried the tiny sample and were immediately in heaven. This was love at first taste for Sara. She even kept sending our other friends over to the tent to steal their free samples. The owner told us that he works out of Plano and has a website and will ship anywhere.

The pavillion also had a stand that featured a local version of "skinny margaritas." Instead of being a mix including the alcohol, this mix does not have alcohol in it. It only has 5 calories per serving, making it a 100 calorie drink when you mix in whatever tequila you choose. We each tried a marg and thought it was pretty good. I personally prefer the original version by Bethenny, but Sara stated that she enjoyed this one more and that it was sweeter. It is nice that you can use the mix how you see fit, making it stronger or weaker accordingly.

Both of us have heard nothing short of how amazing the BBQ is at Lockhart's Smokehouse, so we were ecstatic to see they had a tent at the festival. We tried one order of brisket and sausage and split. Both meats had an extremely smoky flavor that was mouthwatering. I preferred the sausage, while Sara preferred the brisket. Both tastings were small, leaving us interested in checking out the restaurant for a full meal.

Lastly, we tried the Woodfire by Kirby tent, featuring beef tenderloin with loaded mashed potatoes. The dish was served on flatbread and the beef tenderloin was well seasoned and flavorful. However, the real star of this dish were the loaded mashed potatoes. I would go visit this restaurant located on Lower Greenville just so I could eat those bad boys.

Overall, the experience at Taste of Dallas was great. We tasted food from several different restaurants that we will take a trip to check out. Also, I now know where I will be ordering Sara's next gift from. Have you eaten at any of these places? Let us know what we need to try!

Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks in Texas? Yes, please.

I have never been to Philadelphia, so I would definitely caution that I am no cheesesteak connoisseur.  However, in college sometimes nothing sounded better after a rowdy night than a big, cheesy, greasy cheesesteak from Texadelphia. Sara is also a huge fan of Texadelphia and typically chooses to go there when she is in the mood for a cheesesteak. Now, Texadelphia is always pretty good, but I know it is a far cry from a real “authentic” cheesesteak. 

My dad is one of my favorite foodie leads, since he is always traveling around the metroplex for work and trying whatever random place he can find. He told me about a place called Fred’s Downtown Philly Cheesesteaks in Carrollton near my parent’s house. I put it on our foodie list, but it was not until I saw the original location in Plano spotlighted on “Foodies DFW” that I thought we should really check it out.  The feature mentioned that Fred is originally from Philadelphia and is really true to the authenticity of his steaks. It also mentioned that he even gets the bread sent down from Philadelphia.

We went to the Fred’s in Carrollton on a quest to see how the sandwiches held up. Fred’s is small, the air conditioner was hardly operating and Sara looked around thinking “where the heck did you bring me?” However, we continued forward with our adventure. I ordered the Mushroom Cheesesteak with steak, mushrooms, onions and cheese. Sara ordered the Broadstreet Cheesesteak with steak, jalapenos, onions, peppers, mushrooms and cheese. Both of our sandwiches were around $5.  There are regular and large size options, depending on how hungry you are. I also noted some authentic “Utz” chips from Philly, which are crab flavored. Say what? Something in me wanted to try them, but I did not.  If you have tried these bad boys out, please leave a comment as I am highly intrigued.

Sara and I sat down and waited for our cheesy goodness to be prepared. Sara was a little put off on the “shady” aspect of the location and the fact that you could see into the kitchen from our seats. However, shortly after, both sandwiches came out hot, fresh and looked delicious. The sandwiches were just as they looked, incredibly tasty. The amount of food was perfect; we were extremely satisfied but not overly full. I could tell that these were much more like the authentic style of cheesesteaks than I had been accustomed to, yet I was not let down. The steak was well seasoned, thin and juicy while the cheese was gooey and not overpowering.  I also really liked the bread that they used and it did not get soggy.

Fred’s is the perfect place to grab a quick bite for lunch or a fast dinner. It is quick and cheap and there are several locations in the metroplex. I am excited to go back and try another sandwich or even check out the chicken cheesesteak. Maybe this time I will be in a more adventurous mood and even order some crab chips!

Fred's Website

The Search for the Best Fried Chicken Continues

Most people that know me know that I do not really “accept” my Southern roots and believe I am destined to live somewhere far from home. However, there is something Southern about me that I cannot deny: my taste buds. My grandparents were from Mississippi, meaning no family get together was short of fried chicken, fried okra, cornbread, turnip greens, sweet potato casserole and peanut brittle. If my grandma was still alive, I would actually just stop blogging about restaurants altogether and focus on all of her masterpieces.  Thus, fried chicken and I go together like two peas in a pod. My college roommate actually used to say, “If you are what you eat, then Haley is fried chicken.”

When I saw the Food Network Special “Best Thing I Ever Ate: Fried Chicken”, I plopped down on my couch and thoroughly enjoyed the mouth watering 30 minutes of TV (judge me if you want). There were several restaurants featured, however the one that caught my eye was Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken in Mason, TN. Claire Robinson went on and on that this was hands down the best fried chicken she had ever had. She was adamant to try the original in Mason instead of the better known franchise in Memphis. Having planned a road trip to Bonnaroo this summer, I mapped out the location and saw that it was only about 20 miles out of the way and decided I had to take the plunge. After eating Willie Mae’s “best fried chicken in the nation” voted by the Travel Channel and Food Network (see earlier post), I had to see if it could measure up.

Mason, TN is the quintessential small town, if you can even call it that. There are about three sketchy looking gas stations, a car wash and a court room. Yes, a court room, as there is no need for a whole house.  We arrived to Gus’s a bit early, it opens at 11am. We met another gentleman waiting outside for it to open as well. He stated that he was from Nashville and was in town on business. He said that he always stops by Gus’s when he can as it is “legit.” The storefront even claims, “If you haven’t eaten at Gus’s, you haven’t eaten fried chicken.”

We went into the small, old house of Gus’s. This is truly a family run business and the white board even paid homage to the original founder by saying “R.I.P Gus.” You could tell that this fried chicken was made from love.  There are newspaper articles and pictures from magazines like “GQ” featuring this chicken. We each ordered a plate of three pieces of chicken that came with baked beans, white bread and coleslaw. I had a side of potato salad and Jarred tried the fried rice. The chicken at Gus’s is “spicy fried chicken” and considering my need of a spicy chicken biscuit intervention, I was excited to see what it was all about.

The chicken came out hot and fresh and rather quickly. We all started digging in. The chicken is good, really good. There is the right amount of spice in this chicken and the skin is golden and crunchy. The chicken itself is also very juicy. But I kept waiting for that life changing moment I had when I ate at Willie Mae’s. Unfortunately, it never happened. The sides were really delicious, the baked beans were my favorite and Jarred enjoyed the coleslaw. Jonathan and Jarred cleaned their plates, but I was stuffed after my 2 pieces.  Jonathan stated that it was the best chicken he had ever had, and Jarred was still up in the air about how he felt. He found that the three pieces of chicken were all seasoned differently.

I would definitely recommend checking out Gus’s if you are ever in Tennessee. However, I think next time we will forego the detour and go to the one in Memphis. The one in Memphis has a greater amount of sides and it would be interesting to see how it compares to the original. Willie Mae’s Scotch House in New Orleans may still have my heart, but I may cheat on her from time to time with Gus’s spicy chicken whenever I’m in Tennessee.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-best-thing-i-ever-ate/the-best-thing-i-ever-atefried-chicken/index.html

http://www.gussofms.com/