What can I say? Eaten there a couple of times on different sides of the metroplex, and Bueno is just OK. The service is fast. I prefer Taco Time to Bueno- it's a lot tastier.
If you want good Mexican food go to a Ma & Pa Mexican joints or the El Fenix chain is really good.
Monday, January 26, 2009
McCarthur's Restaurant Crowne Hotel next to Galleria
Ate their a couple times during a conference. First of all NICE hotel. Had a very comfortable lounge area, close to Addison attractions but not in the middle of chaos.
As far as the food, they put up a buffet for our group. The price (around $15) was a little much I thought. the food was tasty, good salad bar, but not a real extensive selection of menu items.
Would I eat there again? Probably if I was staying there and wanted to save time and effort by not leaving the hotel. But there are a lot of excellent restaurants a block or two away and for comparable price.
As far as the food, they put up a buffet for our group. The price (around $15) was a little much I thought. the food was tasty, good salad bar, but not a real extensive selection of menu items.
Would I eat there again? Probably if I was staying there and wanted to save time and effort by not leaving the hotel. But there are a lot of excellent restaurants a block or two away and for comparable price.
Sonny Bryan's Fort Worth
Sonny Bryan Barbecue is a Dallas original. I visited the Fort Worth Location close to Cabelas. This particular location was packed with people, so many people that the line went nearly out the door (we ate their for lunch on a Friday).
Sonny's BBQ meats were great and the sauce original, but the sides weren't anything special. I had a chicken fried chicken steak (which was decent), but the fries with it were soggy.
If I were to pick a BBQ joint I would still recommend Spring Creek or Dickey's over Sonny Bryans. At spring creek you get all you can eat on the sides and hot bread. Spring creek has a very good peach cobbler as well.
Sonny's BBQ meats were great and the sauce original, but the sides weren't anything special. I had a chicken fried chicken steak (which was decent), but the fries with it were soggy.
If I were to pick a BBQ joint I would still recommend Spring Creek or Dickey's over Sonny Bryans. At spring creek you get all you can eat on the sides and hot bread. Spring creek has a very good peach cobbler as well.
Texas De Brazil
Never had a bad meal at Texas De Brazil. Always excellent
Parking is tight, but not an issue because of their free valet parking.
All of the food was excellent. The service was supreme, they were prompt and kept us well stocked with water.
Be prepared to come hungry. The salad bar is huge. Many hot sides and nearley a dozen varieties of meat brought around to your table.
I dined there on a this past weekend and had an excellent experience.
The meal was not cheap I paid a little over $50 including tip and only had water to drink. For those who are budget conscience, lunch is less expensive and they offer special discounts and half priced nights via an email list.
Parking is tight, but not an issue because of their free valet parking.
All of the food was excellent. The service was supreme, they were prompt and kept us well stocked with water.
Be prepared to come hungry. The salad bar is huge. Many hot sides and nearley a dozen varieties of meat brought around to your table.
I dined there on a this past weekend and had an excellent experience.
The meal was not cheap I paid a little over $50 including tip and only had water to drink. For those who are budget conscience, lunch is less expensive and they offer special discounts and half priced nights via an email list.
Flavors Indian Restaurant- Beltline Addison
I visited this restaurant on a Sunday. Saw many native families enjoying dinner together. Very extensive selection of Indian food. Food from and North and South of India I was told.
I would recommend this restaurant very much. $10.99 for Sunday buffet. I very much liked the saag and the mango custard. Mmmm...
I would recommend this restaurant very much. $10.99 for Sunday buffet. I very much liked the saag and the mango custard. Mmmm...
Friday, January 9, 2009
Eating Out
Isn't eating out great. being waited on. Being able to have a wider selection of choices than you might have at home and eating something completely opposite to what others are eating at your table. Americans work hard for their money. When did people settle for these heat and serve meals from dining establishments? This is understandable for fast food burger joints, but for sit down meals? What's up with covering things up with sugar, with salt, what happened to cooking things just right? To fresh ingredients; food not smothered needlessly in butter. If we're going to suffer heart disease that steak should be cooked to perfection! Those fries should be fresh, crispy and perfect!
When you stand up from the dinner table pull out your wallet and pay the bill there's really only one question be asked, "Was It worth it?"
It doesn't matter if it's the .99 meal at McDonald's or Wendy's or a hundred dollar dinner! A diner will return if the meal is presented properly! A restaurant must at least meet, if not exceed, expectations it must deliver value over deliver. If it doesn't a diner feels ripped off and reluctant to return.
Atmosphere is nice and poor service can be tolerated, but if the food is poor a restaurants only survival must be due to one time suckers or those of poor memory. Or do people actually like their food? For me it's all about the food quality, cleanliness and price given.
When you stand up from the dinner table pull out your wallet and pay the bill there's really only one question be asked, "Was It worth it?"
It doesn't matter if it's the .99 meal at McDonald's or Wendy's or a hundred dollar dinner! A diner will return if the meal is presented properly! A restaurant must at least meet, if not exceed, expectations it must deliver value over deliver. If it doesn't a diner feels ripped off and reluctant to return.
Atmosphere is nice and poor service can be tolerated, but if the food is poor a restaurants only survival must be due to one time suckers or those of poor memory. Or do people actually like their food? For me it's all about the food quality, cleanliness and price given.
Jack in the box
Avoid it! You're wasting your money. Wendy's is much tastier. And I've never been to a Jack in the box that was clean...never. The only thing to go here for is smoothies and crisp tacos....
Springcreek BBQ
This has to be my favorite BBQ joint. Hot fresh rolls, all you can eat vegetables, tasty smoked meat. Oh yeah, the green beans are juicy... the nice flat southern variety too, a completely different experience then the normal string beans. Dickeys is good, but this is a better value for the money. And the peach cobbler with blue bell ice cream for dessert is awesome!!
Mi Ranchito
This has to be my favorite restaurants discovered! This of course is a Mexican restaurant- bet you couldn't figure that out- in kind of a small not very prominent building next to a pawn shop on Fort Worth drive in Denton. They have $5 lunch specials and the food is excellent. You start out with a basket of nice, crisp, yellow corn chips and awesome salsa (lots of tomatoes, peppers and cilantro) perfectly pureed. You're also treated to a little bowl of hot pinto beans cooked with just a little bit of pork or bacon.
Then the meal comes everything has a really good flavor, never had a bad meal at this place; guisada, fajitas, carne asada, sour cream enchiladas they're all good. The service is quick and the waiters are attentive as well. I've never been when this place hasn't been packed, yet we've always been seated quickly!
Indian Restaurant close to UNT
This place is a diamond in the rough; Indian Food in the corner of an old gas station! The have a kitchen in the back and cook up a hot fresh menu everyday or something made to order. They have the little dumplings, yogurt and the shredded cabbage mix that's similar to coleslaw. I should have paid better attention to the names of the dishes and of the restaurant, but it's really tasty. Their rice is perfect; fluffy and great flavor. You can either take it out or sit in the back by the beer coolers where they have an Indian music internet channel projected on a screen. This food is fairly priced and very tasty...a must if you like Indian!
Frilly's
We've eaten here a several times and have really enjoyed it. Now with it's new location it makes it even more convenient and offers a little classier dinning atmosphere. Frilly's serves up tasty seafood Cajun style- shrimp, catfish, salmon, and alligator. The alligator is my favorite, the fish tacos are my wife's! Their dirty rice and fries are good. Frilly's isn't necessarily cheap, but the food is good and very much worth the price.
Cracker Barrel
What finally got me going tonight was an experience we had at Cracker Barrel. I just don't get it!?
The place is packed. The atmosphere is fine, except for the fact that we sat a table away from the smoking section (after we specified NO SMOKING) and watched the smoke drift past our table. The waiter was a little to eager to serve; visiting our table every two minutes until an order was placed, then trying to prematurely take our plates and leaving a bill swiftly, perhaps he was simply enthusiastic about his job? It's the food that's important.
We vote with our dollars each time we patronize a business and based on the experience I had I don't know what draws people to Cracker Barrel. Okay, there were four of us: my wife and two children, 5 and 3. First we had the corn muffins and biscuits. The biscuits were fine, floury soft not hot not cold, and the corn muffins lacked any flavor at all. Tasted like they'd been baked hours previous. They were bland and grainy- horse feed.
Next came the meals. My wife had an $8 salad which was OK. The lettuce was crisp. Eggs were dry. Turkey was good. But mostly it was an $8 head of lettuce. My sons meal was the best dish on our table; my thoughts. It was grilled chicken- grilled perfectly. Enough time to be cooked, but not to much time to be dried out only the mashed potatoes seemed par. My daughter enjoyed the mash potatoes immensely smothered in gravy but her cheeseburger she took one bite of turned her nose up and went looking for more mashed potatoes.
Lastly, my meal tasted truly reminiscent of childhood TV dinners. You know the ones that have a piece of chicken soaked in lard that tastes like it was cooked at least two times and then reheated, instead of a nice fluffy golden battered chicken fried chicken patty it had a thin brown cooked and then re-thrown in the fryer taste, not the floury breading I had hoped for.
The fries were near the same. Tasted like they hadn't waited for the grease to heat up fully so they were yummy lard sticks. Coleslaw was OK, but a little sweet, and the cooked apples were OK.
This is my fourth dinning experience in a little over a year at Cracker barrel. First experience was fair, but not worth writing home about (dinner with family, their choice). Another experience was take out which I thought actually was pretty good (convenience) Things had a good flavor didn't drown me in butter, yet not a low fat meal, but I felt our meal was worth it.
The third dining experience was when my sister was in town (her eager suggestion). We ate their one evening and I don't think any of us were happy with our meals; nothing tasted fresh it was like reheated left- overs. How do people frequent this place? Is it people passing through from Oklahoma. Must be the gift shop or perhaps they're like me and chose to use the gift card they received for Christmas?
The place is packed. The atmosphere is fine, except for the fact that we sat a table away from the smoking section (after we specified NO SMOKING) and watched the smoke drift past our table. The waiter was a little to eager to serve; visiting our table every two minutes until an order was placed, then trying to prematurely take our plates and leaving a bill swiftly, perhaps he was simply enthusiastic about his job? It's the food that's important.
We vote with our dollars each time we patronize a business and based on the experience I had I don't know what draws people to Cracker Barrel. Okay, there were four of us: my wife and two children, 5 and 3. First we had the corn muffins and biscuits. The biscuits were fine, floury soft not hot not cold, and the corn muffins lacked any flavor at all. Tasted like they'd been baked hours previous. They were bland and grainy- horse feed.
Next came the meals. My wife had an $8 salad which was OK. The lettuce was crisp. Eggs were dry. Turkey was good. But mostly it was an $8 head of lettuce. My sons meal was the best dish on our table; my thoughts. It was grilled chicken- grilled perfectly. Enough time to be cooked, but not to much time to be dried out only the mashed potatoes seemed par. My daughter enjoyed the mash potatoes immensely smothered in gravy but her cheeseburger she took one bite of turned her nose up and went looking for more mashed potatoes.
Lastly, my meal tasted truly reminiscent of childhood TV dinners. You know the ones that have a piece of chicken soaked in lard that tastes like it was cooked at least two times and then reheated, instead of a nice fluffy golden battered chicken fried chicken patty it had a thin brown cooked and then re-thrown in the fryer taste, not the floury breading I had hoped for.
The fries were near the same. Tasted like they hadn't waited for the grease to heat up fully so they were yummy lard sticks. Coleslaw was OK, but a little sweet, and the cooked apples were OK.
This is my fourth dinning experience in a little over a year at Cracker barrel. First experience was fair, but not worth writing home about (dinner with family, their choice). Another experience was take out which I thought actually was pretty good (convenience) Things had a good flavor didn't drown me in butter, yet not a low fat meal, but I felt our meal was worth it.
The third dining experience was when my sister was in town (her eager suggestion). We ate their one evening and I don't think any of us were happy with our meals; nothing tasted fresh it was like reheated left- overs. How do people frequent this place? Is it people passing through from Oklahoma. Must be the gift shop or perhaps they're like me and chose to use the gift card they received for Christmas?
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