Lockhart Smokehouse

I think that liking BBQ is just part of growing up in Texas. Everyone has their favorite dish and favorite sauce, but everybody likes it! The quest for finding the best BBQ around is on-going for Ryan and in that spirit, we tried the downtown Plano location of Lockhart Smokehouse, which has been featured in the Texas Monthly list of best BBQ Joints in Texas.

The city of Lockhart, TX is famous for it's BBQ - we stopped at Kreuz's market on our way to San Antonio last year to try it for ourselves. Lockhart Smokehouse has brought the famous fare of Lockhart, TX to Plano and the Bishop Arts District of Dallas. They even use sausages from Kreuz's. The Plano location is on the main road of downtown Plano. It's a small, two story restaurant. When you walk in, you see the food counter, a large bar with a pretty good craft beer selection, and a few tables. It's very casual, just like a BBQ restaurant should be!

Ryan and I split brisket and turkey, and had mac&cheese and potato salad for our sides. You order at the counter and are given your food wrapped in paper or in foam containers.

Yuuummmmmm

Turkey and white bread. A BBQ match made in heaven.

This was some good BBQ. What surprised me is that I actually preferred the smoked turkey to the brisket. I almost always like brisket the best when it comes to BBQ restaurants. It was REALLY tasty - juicy and flavorful!

I liked the mac and cheese, but I wasn't crazy about the potato salad. It had something in it that made it really spicy. It just wasn't for me.

It was another successful MoFF! I definitely encourage you to try Lockhart Smokehouse if you are in the mood for BBQ!

Ozona Grill and Bar

A few weeks back we had a birthday MoFF at Ozona Grill and Bar on Greenville Ave. Ozona offers an eclectic mix of tex-mex, burgers, and southern cooking. They also have a great drink selection, especially margaritas. But the best part is the huge patio! I've been to Ozona a couple of times, and I very much prefer to sit outside, even if it's hot. Most of the patio is covered with awnings or huge trees, so there is plenty of shade. Check out their website for pictures!

I started out with a skinny margarita. It was really good! I do have to warn you - Ozona's drinks are pretty serious. They are large and strong! Take your time when drinking these.

Just look at the size of that glass!

For dinner, I had the chicken quesadillas from the appetizer menu. I had eaten about 1000 chips by the time we ordered, so I went for a small portion. These quesadillas are pretty much your standard fare - except that they have BACON in them. It's really true, bacon makes everything better!

I always get my pico de gallo on the side, but that is just my preference!

We have gone back to Ozona a few times because the food is good, the drinks are really good, and the patio is GREAT! Awesome place for a leisurely dinner or happy hour. I hear that brunch is good too, but I haven't tried it myself.

After dinner, we ventured out to the Quarter Bar in uptown. Quarter Bar is actually attached the Breadwinners Cafe. It's rare for Ryan and I to go bar hopping like we used to do in college, but it's fun once in a while! Some of the uptown bars are a little too pretentious for me. The whole "Dallas $30,000 millionaire scene" doesn't work for me and I hate that our of towners think that everyone who lives in DFW lives like that. The Quarter Bar is a little more relaxed, and I've had fun every time. It helped that we got their early and got to sit on the patio for a bit before it got too crowded!

Around Dallas: FC Dallas Game at Toyota Stadium

It's been way to long since I posted an update on Meal of Food Friday! As usual, life has gotten in the way of blogging, but I'm back from my hiatus!

I have lived in the Dallas area for most of my life and this blog has been a fun way to share our experiences in Dallas food, but I've realized that Ryan and I do some pretty fun things around town outside of eating dinner on Friday night. So I've decided to expand my scope a little and share more of the adventures that we get into around town!

First up was our trip a month or so ago to see our first FC Dallas game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. FC Dallas is our Major League Soccer team and they have a great facility! Even if you are not into soccer, I think the stadium atmosphere is fun.

We had the opportunity to go with our good friend Jon DeLord, who just happens to have connections with FC Dallas through his job. Thanks to him, we got access to the River Club inside the stadium for an early dinner before the game! The club is open to season ticket holders, suite holders, etc. You can find out more about it here.

 The club had an amazing buffet and a full bar. Plus, it's air conditioned! I tried a little of everything. They have a great salad bar complete with chef to mix your salad for you, a carving station, and a selection of entrees. This is not a great picture (sorry!) but I have to tell you that the mac and cheese was wonderful, as well as the chicken. And most importantly, the yummy selection of desserts!

I wish I had a photo that did better justice to this delicious food!

After our great meal and a couple of beers, we headed out to our seats for the game - but not before getting a picture with the team mascot!

Our new friend the FC Dallas longhorn!

We had a lot of fun at our first MLS game. The only downside was that FC Dallas lost :(

I can see this being a fun activity for a group or family. You get all the action and the stadium experience of pro sports, but in a smaller facility - even in the cheap seats, you are pretty close to the field. I think we will go back again! Thanks for introducing us to Toyota Stadium Delord!

Potbelly Flats!

So, the point of this blog is to share experiences at new restaurants around town, not to visit chains. I stand by this mission.....until someone offers me free stuff.

I was recently invited to a blogger party to try the new Flats at Potbelly! I brought my mom along, and we tried several varieties of the new sandwiches. The idea is that you can now order any Potbelly sandwich as a regular sub, or as a flat. The flats come on flabread (duh) and have fewer calories than the traditional subs.

I am still partial to the regular subs, but the flats were really good! The Wreck and the Italian were my favorite varieties. We also got to try the frozen raspberry lemonade, which was tasty!

It was really fun to try the new items from Potbelly! Stop in and try them!

NOTE: These opinions are entirely my own.

FM Smokehouse

I'm continuing on my mission to catch up on the last few missed blog posts! A few weeks ago, we tried out FM Smokehouse in Irving. It's a BBQ restaurant with a great bar and beer selection. We went on one of the first nice nights of the spring and got to sit outside. The patio is pretty small, but we made it work!

Ryan and I got there a little early for happy hour, and I tried the (512) Wit and the Community Wit. I liked both, but preferred the Community variety.

For dinner, I had the Brisket Sandwich with the White Cheddar Mac and Cheese. The sandwich was good but certainly not the best brisket that I've eaten. The Mac and Cheese was amazing. Like some of the best that I've ever had. Overall, I must admit that there are much better BBQ options around town, but the food at FM smokehouse was still good. The beer selection definitely helps! This place is like a traditional restaurant then a BBQ joint. I usually think of a really good BBQ place as having picnic tables and plastic ware.

Check out that creamy delicious mac and cheese!

If you live in the area and you need a good beer and some solid BBQ, stop by FM smokehouse! If you are looking for something similar but maybe a little fancier, try Smoke. It's amazing!

Mangiamo Italian Restaurant

Sorry for the long delay in posts! This month has been a little crazy (but when are things not crazy, am i right?). Now that school is done for the semester, I'm catching up on everything else! These next couple posts will be short and sweet.

A few weeks ago, we went to Mangiamo in Dallas, and I loved it! It's a cute little restaurant with great food and it's BYOB!

We started out with toasted ravioli. Ravioli is not my favorite dish, but the friedness made this appetizer pretty tasty.

Ryan and I split an amazing pizza! They let us do the toppings half and half. I got garlic, red bell peppers, and mushrooms on my half. Super delicious!

Doesn't this look good?!?

Our fellow diners tried pasta dishes and reported that they were very good too! This is definitely a great spot, especially when you can bring your own beer. Do note that there is a small fee wine glasses - still worth it though!

Gotta love Rahr Blonde!

Mesa

Hello again Dallas restaurant goers!

Last week, Meal of Food Friday was at Mesa, a Mexican restaurant in Oak Cliff. I originally thought that we would be heading to the Bishop Arts district, but Mesa is actually a bit hidden in Oak Cliff a little way off of IH 35. The restaurant is small, but has a large bar with stools and a big enclosed patio, which is where we sat. You can tell that the place is fairly new, and the decor is modern and tasteful.

Unlike most places in DFW, Mesa is a Mexican restaurant rather than a Tex-Mex place. That means that they use more traditional ingredients and shy away from more Americanized dishes. I personally like both traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex food, and the more traditional fare was a nice change of pace!

I tried the Mesa Rita, which is essentially a skinny margarita. It's made with fresh lime juice, agave nectar, and tequilla. It was very tasty and pretty strong! One was plenty for me.

There is no better summer drink thank a margarita on the rocks with salt.

We had the guacamole as a starter, and I have to tell you, it was some of the best guacamole that I've ever eaten. It was creamy and delicious! The chips were good too - they are thicker than regular tortilla chips, so they did not break off in the guac.

I could have just eaten this for dinner and been perfectly content.

Because it is still Lent, I decided to order the Enchiladas Vegetarianas. As you can probably guess, this was veggie enchiladas. They came carrots, mushrooms, onions, and other veggies in two tortillas covered in mole (pronounce mo-lay) sauce. If you aren't familiar, mole is a type of Mexican sauce made from chili peppers, spices, and a little bit of chocolate. I like mole sauce.....but a little bit goes a long way as far as I'm concerned. I liked my dinner well enough, but probably would not order it again. There was a pork dish and a carne asada option that both looked really good. If we ever go back I will give one of them a try!

The drinks and guacamole were hands down the best part of the meal. If you ever go, I strongly encourage you to try them!

I liked this restaurant, but I felt that the entrees were a little pricey. The cheapest entree (which is the one that I ordered because it was one of the only meat free options) was $15.95. The drinks and appetizers seem pretty on par with other places around town. I'm cheap (or maybe I should say frugal? does that sound better or worse?) and this just seemed a little expensive for veggies wrapped in tortillas. I don't know that we will go back, but I'm glad that we tried it!

Truck Yard and Easy Slider

Once again, life has gotten in the way of Meal of Food Friday and the blog! No more, hopefully.

This past week, we enjoyed the unseasonable nice weather at The Truck Yard, and outdoor bar on lower Greenville. We were not the only ones who had this idea, and we fought lines to get a drink at the bar, but the casual atmosphere and perfect temperature made up for the wait!

The Truck Yard has a small indoor bar area, but it's mostly an outdoor venue decorated with recycled tires, records, license plates, etc. The name comes from the collection of food trucks that assemble in the yard area, along side the outdoor and a small live music stage. The indoor bar featured a wall of craft beers on tap, including my favorite Franconia Wheat! Set up wise, it reminded me of Chicken Scratch, which I reviewed a while back.

The food trucks in attendance vary, and Truck Yard has a google calendar of what trucks will be there on what day. We had sliders from Easy Slider.  our order got mixed up with another customer's, so we ended up with a "Sweet and Lowdown" (burger patty, bacon, goat cheese, and strawberry jam), a "Nutty Pig" (burger patty, peanut butter, lettuce, tomato, onions, and bacon), and two "Roadsides" (bacon, bbq sauce, jalapenos, cheese, french fried onion, on aburger patty) with a couple bags of Zapp's potato chips. I was surprised how much I liked the Sweet and Lowdown - I think the goat cheese really helped. So that one was a happy accident. I did not care for the Nutty Pig. The peanut butter with the burger was not good for me. The Roadside was good, but not my favorite. Our fellow diners tried the Classic Cheeseburger and liked it a lot. Overall, I would recommend trying Easy Slider.

Feast your eyes on the Sweet and Lowdown and the Nutty Pig!

I wish that I had taken some photos of the bar itself. It was definitely a great place to be on a night with nice weather! It was open air and lots of people brought their dogs. Had I known, I probably would have dragged Robin Sparkles along. She usually behaves pretty well at places like that....

This is from another patio that we brought her to a while back. I know I'm biased, but how cute is she?!

I will most certainly go back to the truck yard to try out another food truck option. My only advice is to be ready to wait for food and drinks, and possibly a seat. This is not an eat in a hurry type place - it's a hang out and have a few beers place! Luckily, there is a good amount of shade, so even in summer, this would be a fun place to try!

Caribbean Cafe

It's a new year! That means it's time to get back to this whole blogging thing! I was off work for a couple of wonderful weeks over the holidays and I got out of all of my good blogging habits :(

But things are back to normal now, Meal of Food Friday included. Last Friday, we tried a hidden gem called Caribbean Cafe. It's an authentic Cuban restaurant in Carrollton. It's in a small strip shopping center, and you might not notice it much from the street, but it's nice on the inside. It's actually right around the corner from Coconut Thai, which we tried a while back. The restaurant is pretty small, but we were able to get a table for 8 without a reservation. I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't call ahead, but we lucked out and didn't have to wait.

Photo credit: http://caribbeancafecuba.com/home.html

Ryan and I started out with beef empanadas, which were very tasty. Empanadas are basically pastry filled with seasoned meat, fruit, or other filling. We had a similar dish at Casa Vieja, a Colombian restaurant also in Carrollton.

who can say no to a flaky, buttery pastry?

I tried the Vaca Frita, which is fried shredded beef with onions, served with white rice and red or black beans. Ryan went for the Chicken Cordon Blue - Cuban Style! It had seasoned chicken and ham with swiss cheese and came with rice and fried plantains. We both enjoyed our meals a lot. I like Caribbean/South American/ Latin American food because the flavors are strong and interesting. They use quite a bit of onions, peppers, citrus, etc.

The Vaca Frita with double order of rice (hold the beans). I used the complementary bread to make a sandwich of sorts. Very yummy!

Ryan's Chicken Cordon Blue.

I liked this restaurant a lot. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's cozy and welcoming on the inside. The prices are reasonable - entrees run from $12 - $15 (my entree was enough for two meals) and sandwiches run around $8. Our waitress was friendly and attentive, and they had a great selection of food and drinks. Finding these great, authentic, off-the-beaten-path restaurants is one of my favorite parts of MoFF.