Knocked Off 3--Down to 1400

I hope someone appreciates all my sacrifice and dedication towards this goal. I've suffered more bad Mexican food than anyone should have to in a lifetime. In the past two weeks, I've had two rather horrendous meals and one that was great.

February 16, 2012
Tino's Too (Never trust a restaurant that doesn't have a website)
Plano, Texas

The BEST thing about my meal was the NEGRO MODELO. Had to have two in rapid succession. I bought 2 groupons for this restaurant, not bothering to read the fine print. $20 for $40 of food. Fine print--can't use for alcohol and only one  Groupon per table/per visit. I will now "GIFT" my other groupon to someone who is not as picky as I am.

I thought that a family-owned restaurant "Serving the Plano Community Since 1976" was a good sign. An even better sign was this review by Dr. Joe F. found on urban spoon. My favorite Mexican food place in Collin County.  The service is excellent and very friendly. The food is very good.  Also, their salsa is very, very good.  They give it to you with generous amounts as well as keeping the chips flowing.

This could not be further from the truth. My salsa looked anemic. The tomatoes did not even resemble red. They weren't green either. The salsa was a light orange color and tasted like unripe, watery, oniony blah. Chips were heavy.

Guac--So much lemon that the avocado taste was lost. Also it arrived so chilled that my first bite immediately caused a brain freeze. Ok--that's an exaggeration, but it did make my crown ache. Hint to sous chef--sub-arctic temperatures kill the avocado taste.

I ordered a ceviche and cup of tortilla soup. After I removed the huge chunks of carrots and celery (clearly the sous-chef is too lazy to chop the veggies into edible bites), I had about 2 bites of broth and chicken left in my cup. The broth was bland, almost tasteless. No spices, no richness. My ceviche resembled tabouleh. It did not taste like any ceviche that I had ever had, but thanks to the generous amount of lime, it was edible.

My son ordered a quesadilla. The teenaged bottomless pit couldn't even eat half of it, pronouncing the cheese rubbery and the flour tortilla hard. He's going to give up his role as my food review partner if we  don't have a good meal soon.

Service--the waiter was efficient, but not friendly. He didn't ask me how I liked or didn't like my meal. He didn't ask if I wanted dessert. He didn't thank me.

February 13, 2012

Taco Diner

West Village, Dallas, Texas

This is part of a larger restaurant group that owns Mi Cocina. No surprise that it was fabulous. The two times I dined at Mi Cocina have been among the best of my food experiences.

It didn't hurt that I had AMAZING company for dinner including one of my best artist friends and two visiting New York artists. When they heard about my food blog, they were very interested in how I rated the guac. While we didn't have tableside prepared guac, the PRE-prepared guac was fresh and lightly spiced with onions, lime and cilantro. The salsa was deliciously smoked.

I ordered the fish tacos. I couldn't quite identify the marinade, but the fish was tender and full of flavor. Small dishes of cilantro, onions and salsa are served as toppings. One 

friend ordered veggie tacos. She proclaimed that all the veggies were fresh and lightly spiced/salted as she requested. My other friend ordered chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce and he gave the thumbs up as well. Service was fast, if not overly friendly. 

February 4, 2012

Posados

Frisco, Texas

The best part of this meal was the friendly, if overly earnest and attentive waiter. The chain boasts numerous locations throughout Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. They have three in the Dallas area. My meal was loaded with lard. I felt like I had a rock in my stomach after eating only half of my meal.

When I inquired about the possibility of spinach enchiladas, the young waiter asked the manager to come over and speak to me about my dietary restrictions. He wanted me to know that the beans were cooked with pork and that there was even some meat or broth in the rice. I thanked him for his concern and instead of bolting for the door, I told him that I was no longer a food nazi and would happily have the spinach ench dinner with rice and beans. 

Yuck salsa served with yuck heavy chips. Bland guac, not recently made. The ranchero sauce was rather bland and there was too much cheese and not enough spinach in my ench's. My son's black bean and cheese burrito was bland and had a yuck cheeze-whiz type of queso on top. Note to sous-chefs--actually cheese does not come in bright orange. 

I completely overtipped, even though the waiter tried to get me to drink a half-price margarita made with HOUSE BRAND TEQUILA. I felt so bad for the young waiter, who was clearly new and had no other customers. 

1418--1403 Left to Go!

 La Hacienda Ranch
Frisco, Tx

This is the perfect restaurant for anyone who likes Cowboy kitsch, smelling like a mesquite fire (for at least 2 days) and eating dead cows. The host/hostesses all wear black cowboy hats, white snap cowboy shirts, jeans, boots and belt buckles. Here's the thing. I'm not sure that they know they are cowboy kitsch. That is part of the fun. They take it seriously.

My friend gave me her punch card which allowed my son and I to have a free entree. She recommended the tortilla soup and said they had the best fajitas around. The service was very friendly and attentive. We had tableside guac with perfectly ripened avocados. Delish. Also smoked salsa was a nice alternative to the regular fare.

Son got a heaping plate of fajitas. Lots of tender beef. He gave it the big thumbs up and left stuffed. Surprising for a guy who is usually a bottomless pit.

I got the tortilla soup. The broth was very rich--different from most chicken broth. I could have sworn that it was a combo beef/chicken broth, but the server swore that it was just the spices that made the taste. Unlike most other tortilla soups, there were chunks of veggies--carrots, celery, peppers. Not too much cheese and lots of broth.

Monday night is 1/2 price skinny margaritas and while I normally don't imbibe (with tequila that is), I tried one and it was tasty without knocking my socks off.

The smoky smell might be a turn-on for some, but after an hour, I felt kind of nauseous and now need to wash all of my clothes, since the smell permeated everything. Kind of reminded me of ChiChi's Mexican Restaurant. No matter how many times I washed my uniform, it always smelled.

The restaurant really caters to cow eaters, so not much in veggie fare. But those of you who like to ride kiddy horses (you know the kind where you put in a quarter and the horse moves back and forth a few times?), the restaurant has 4 of those.

One bit of trivia--the owner is best known for the 1st frozen margarita machine in 1971.

notice the faux-cowhide table cloths

this was a study/lounge area. not sure who the mural subject is. 

another kitschy mural with a bison head staring at all the patrons

notice the fake hieroglyphic/symbol couch pattern

the huge grizzly was in the lobby. freaked me right out

1418--1404 to go!

Freebirds

 Fairview, Texas

For the most part, I've been leaving out to-go chains like Taco Bueno, Chipotle, On the Border, etc.. However Cole and I made an exception last week. We had been hearing about Freebirds Monster burritos and given that it's difficult to find burritos at Tex Mex joints, I thought we'd check it out. Very funky decor. Upon first glance, I thought that it was a green alien riding a chopper, but it was Lady Liberty. Patrons made aluminum foil sculptures from their burrito wrappings and the place was decorated with "unique" foil art.

We arrived around 7pm and the place looked a bit trashed. Clearly they had been swamped and hadn't had time to clean up yet.
Cole had a monster black bean and cheese burrito.
Since he is a purist and doesn't like any other toppings, I was impressed that they didn't charge us the full monster price. The guys behind the counter were very friendly and patient. Not surprising that I had to special order. They were more than happy to make me a special salad--field greens, avocado, cheese, salsa and lime. They also had negro modelo on draft!!

I was also impressed with the company's commitment to community. They have a program called World Works and each location partners with a local charity organization.

The salad was fresh, salsa homemade. The best part??? Dinner for the two of us with my beer was only $15. We would definitely go back.

1418--only 1405 left to go

So I made up for my lack of Mexican food consumption in November by binging in December. 5 restaurants in 3 weeks. Sadly two don't really count, since one was a chain in Pittsburgh--Don Pablos and one was Mi Cocina, albeit a different location--this time in Highland Park Village. Foo Foo & Swanky. Who wears Donna Karan and Prada to eat Mexican food. I mean really. Cool upscale interior. Didn't take pics. It was too crowded.

I only had guac and tortilla soup. Guac was fresh, but bland. Tortilla soup had a nice broth--not too heavy, with big chunks of chicken, avocado slices & subtle flavors of cilantro. My son's new Mexican staple is steak fajitas. Although as a teenager who is constantly hungry, I'm not sure he has the most discerning palette. However, he did not leave anything on his plate and said the skirt steak was tender.
The best part of the meal was seeing my cousins--Dion, Philip & their daughter Lili.

1418--GAME IS ON, BUT WAVERING

Week ??? Restaurant 12
Cabo Grande, Ft. Worth

My cousin who lives outside of Ft. Worth has been reading my blog. He knows my frustration with eating mediocre Tex-Mex. He suggested this place in downtown--voted the city's best Tex-Mex. We started with guac prepared tableside. Whenever possible, this is the way to go. It's always double the price of regular guac, but the freshness factor is worth the extra $$. Perfectly seasoned to enhance the avocado. Not too limey or spicy.

My cousin ordered Brazilian alligator. Last time I ate alligator might have been in the Florida Keys. All I recall is that it tasted like a cross between veal and a belt. This alligator was tender--no it didn't taste like chicken, but it definitely tasted better than a belt.

My son ordered steak fajitas. Many times skirt steak is dried out or chewy, but he said it had nice flavor and was tender. I ordered the grilled fish tacos. Tilapia doesn't have much of a taste, so as long as the fish is fresh, the key to a tasty taco is the sauce. The menu said Chipotle sauce, but it resembled more of a thickened sweet soy sauce. I ditched the sauce and put extra lime on my tacos. They were fine, but would have been better with a creamy, cilantro lime sauce with a dash or two of chipotle.

 I had a red sangria, which wasn't very good. The wine was a bit sour and the drink lacked overall pizazz. Next I ordered a mojito. I am a mojito snob, and most places do not take the time to make the labor-intensive drink correctly. This mojito was EXCELLENT. The mint was fresh and the drink had a perfect balance of tart and sweetness. 

Service was efficient and patient--especially with our boisterous crew.

1418--GAME IS ON, BUT I'M LOSING

 Week??? I realized I totally missed November. Too busy eating Indian food. My friend Erin is a Ft. Worther and suggested this fun-new-hip family-owned eatery on 7th St. Gotta love the name--REVOLVER TACO LOUNGE. The menu is different--serving antojitos. When I asked what that was--the server replied that it consisted of traditional dishes served at street fairs or weddings or funerals.

My son ventured out of his black bean and burrito
comfort zone and ordered duck breast tacos. He pronounced them delicious. Erin and I both had Ahi Tuna Ceviche (see pic below, courtesy of Erin) served on mini tostadas. The tuna was delicately spiced with lime and cilantro and served with some diced tomatoes. Not overpowering--just enough to enhance the flavor of the tuna.

Unfortunately the guac's spices overpowered the avocado flavor. We made the mistake of ordering spicy guac, so perhaps the regular guac wouldn't have suffered this same fate. The chips were homemade, but heavy. I tend to favor the light, airy chips.

Beautiful decor and presentation. Only 1 server at lunch and he was very personable, but swamped, so service wasn't speedy. But luckily we weren't in a hurry. My son had queso cake for dessert and didn't leave a crumb on his plate.

I would definitely go back and sample some more ceviche.

Week 12 (really week 16)--December 6, 2011


If I was sticking to my plan of 1 Mexican restaurant/week, it would take me approximately 27 years to eat at all of the restaurants in DFW area. At the rate I'm going (which is averaging 1/month), I will be 164 years old before I finish.

I debated whether to include Fuzzy's Taco Shop or not. It's a chain, but that hasn't stopped me before. It is a landmark eatery across the street from TCU campus and I was told that college students love it. I was a bit skeptical when looking on their website. Their logo is a fish that says EAT me. And under the menu it says--nutritional information coming soon. I think that translates into--IT'S SO BAD, WE CAN'T PRINT IT WITHOUT RISK OF LAWSUITS.

After eating there, I determined that DRUNK college students whose taste buds are impaired must make up the prime clientele. To be fair, I didn't get a taco. And I was berated. How can you go to Fuzzy's and not eat a TACO? I ate the tortilla soup. It had the consistency of stick-to-your-ribs chili. Which if you are a starving college kid, might not be such a bad thing. I tend to like my tortilla soup on the thinner side, without globs of cheese hanging from my spoon.

For those of you who read my blog, you know I'm a guac SNOB. So much so that Fuzzy's guac cannot even be considered in the official guac category. I won't go as far as to say that it was WORSE than Taco Bell's guac, but close.

What I love about google is the weird stuff that comes up. So when I googled images of Fuzzy's, this bizarre picture of the man and lion shows up on page 11. It links to someone's blog called bagofnothing.com (because that's all he has to offer) I couldn't make this stuff up--it's too good.