#32 - Anamia's Tex Mex, Flower Mound, TX

Last week I had to go to Dallas for a site visit for the bowl game.  Our meetings were beginning on Thursday afternoon, but I needed to get there earlier to check out a few bars for our "official party headquarters" so I drove down Wednesday evening. I stayed with Joni and Tony in Flower Mound TX, about 30 minutes north of Dallas. I had never been to Flower Mound before, but it's a great city. Lots of shopping, restaurants, and residential areas, without the big-city feel of Dallas.

We went to dinner at Anamia's Tex-Mex, their favorite Mexican restaurant in town. Before moving to Oklahoma I rarely ever ate Mexican food. I'm not sure why not, because there's a lot of authentic Mexican in Maryland, particularly near where my parents live. We went out for Mexican food my first week in town. At first I didn't understand all the hoopla, but we also went to an average chain. As we went to better Mexican places I understood. And now I'm hooked.

There are 4 Anamia's locations in the DFW metro area. The Flower Mound location is in a strip mall, and if you're not paying attention you'll drive right past it. As you enter the restaurant there's a bar area straight ahead, a good-sized outdoor covered patio on the left, and a main dining area to the right. It was pretty crowded when we got there, but there was an open table in the bar area so we grabbed it.  Good thing, because they were showing the OSU basketball game so we got to watch the first half.

I ordered a skinny margarita, made even more appealing when the waiter said it was made with real lime juice, and Tony said I would really like it

Fresh lime juice makes a HUGE difference!  I guess that makes sense, since it does the same thing to food. And these margaritas pack a serious punch. So delicious.

We started with an order of tableside guacamole

Tony ordered it medium heat, and I could feel the kick with the first bite.  But it was absolutely amazing.  I will always pay more for tableside guacamole rather than stuff that's been pre-made and sitting around all day.  Again, there's no comparison.  Besides, it's cool to watch them make it at your table. The chips were also really good and fresh.

Finally it was time to order dinner.  The menu is big, which I don't do well with.  Tony recommended the Tacos a la Mexicana.  Since he hadn't steered me wrong yet, I went with it

Three flour tortillas filled with slow-roasted brisket, sauteed poblano peppers and onions
Served with bean soup and rice

The brisket was amazingly tender. They brought us some sauce to pour over it, and that just added to the flavor. I only ate one of the tortillas. They were really good, but I needed to save space.  The bean soup was awesome.  The rice was good, and I really liked that the salad had big slices of avocado in it.

Will I go back?  No question.  I absolutely understand why this is one of their favorite restaurants, and after one meal it's one of mine as well.

#31 - Cafe 501, Oklahoma City, OK

Last weekend I went to Edmond to run some errands and get my Christmas tree.  The tree was the last errand on my list, since I have to drive home slower with the big old tree hanging out of my trunk, and it's on my way home.   I've always had real trees, and will never get a fake one.  I know the fake ones are easier, and create much less mess when it's time to take them down, but it's just not the same.  Besides, I love the way my house (and car) smells when I get the real thing. Last year I found Sorghum Mill, a great tree farm in Edmond.  Of course the trees are more expensive than the ones I was getting at Lowe's, but they are bigger and last longer. 

I'm really trying to eat someplace new every time I go to Edmond/OKC, which is about every 4-6 weeks. There's tons of places I've never tried so the options are wide open.  Since I also needed to stop at Whole Foods, I decided to try out Cafe 501.  It's located in Classen Curve, a trendy shopping/dining area in Oklahoma City, near the mall and Chesapeake Energy.

There's a beautiful outdoor lounge seating and waterfall wall just outside the main door of Cafe 501, and I'm sure in the early evenings that's a hot-spot.  I was seated immediately at a small table in the corner.  I should have asked for a booth, but they were all occupied and I would have had to wait, and since I was really hungry that wasn't a good option.

I'm not sure if my server was bored, tired, or counting the minutes until her shift was over, but I just didn't get a very good vibe from her.  At first I thought it was just me because I was by myself, but I got the same sense from listening to her with her other tables.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but I wasn't impressed. 

I decided to go with the Hot Brown:

Toasted French Country, Grilled Boar’s Head Turkey, Parmesan Béchamel, Swiss, Grilled Tomato, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese

Yes, I realize it's a little rich, but I didn't eat breakfast so I figured it was okay.  It was really delicious.  The turkey was very moist and had excellent flavor, the bechamel wasn't too heavy, and the bacon was cooked perfectly.  I'm not usually a fan of cooked whole tomatoes, but the flavor definitely went really well with the sandwich. 

I was disappointed that it didn't come with some sort of side, even though the sandwich itself was quite large and more than satisfying.  They have salads on the menu, but I didn't see a side salad option, and the other salads were entree sized.  I heard the server tell the table behind me that they could get a small house salad.  If that's an option, then it should be listed on the menu.  I would have definitely gotten it, had I known.  The brunch "signature plates" come with seasoned potatoes, so I'm not sure why the sandwiches are a la carte.  And in looking at their online menus, only their dinner menu offers a la carte sides.  Doesn't make any sense to me, but maybe that's the "upscale" way of doing things.

Will I go back?  Yes, because I want to give it another shot.  The food was delicious and it's got a great atmosphere.  I'm hoping that I just had the misfortune of catching them on a bad day.  Maybe next time I'll try the Edmond location. 

My Chef's Hat - Kung Pao Chicken

For a long time I was not a fan of cooking with peanuts, or really any nuts for that matter.  I always had a really hard time understanding how that combination could possibly be a good thing.  But then I became a fan of pad thai.  I still didn't use the peanuts when I cooked it at home, but one night I forgot to request no peanuts when I ordered it at a restaurant, and was immediately hooked.  I think the saltiness adds just the right flavor.

I'm a big fan of making Asian recipes at home, to cut down on the sodium and oil.  I've had really good luck so far on the ones I've tried, and so when I saw a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken I knew I had to try it.  There's tons of different recipes for it, and they all call for the same basic ingredients, with a few minor variations here and there.

Here is the official recipe version:

And here's my version:

So yummy!  The recipe called for red pepper flakes, but a couple weeks ago I bought a big bag of dried red chiles so I went with those instead.  I kinda went a little overboard with the chiles and didn't take them out until it was time to eat, so it was pretty spicy, but it didn't overpower the dish.  When you order kung pao at a restaurant it's usually got peppers and onions.  I added the yellow pepper, but forgot about the onions until I was writing the blog...next time.  The sauce was really good, and added an amazing depth of flavor to the chicken. 


Recipe found on Food & Wine

My Chef's Hat - Saucy Herbed Shrimp

Another day, another shrimp recipe.  I don't need to tell you again how much I like shrimp, so I'll just cut straight to the chase.  The other day I was on Pinterest and found a recipe for Saucy Herbed Shrimp.  It looked like a pretty easy recipe, and the reviews said it had lots of flavor, so I decided to give it a shot.

Here's the official recipe version:

And here's my version:

It was really delicious.  The recipe called for the beans to be added at the same time as the peppers.  The beans were perfect, but the peppers were just a little over-done.  Next time I'll cook the beans by themselves a little bit first so all the veggies cook the same.  I didn't  have orange peppers, but I really don't think the colors matter and I had yellow, green and red on hand so I used all 3 of them to make the dish more colorful.  The tomatoes also got a little too soft, so next time I may just add them once the dish is done so they maintain their texture.  The shrimp had really good flavor with the combination of herbs.  I just shook some red pepper flakes into the dish without measuring, and I really didn't taste much heat.  Next time I'll be a little more heavy-handed, or maybe actually just measure the amount instead of guessing. I served the shrimp mixture over whole grain linguine for a complete meal.


Recipe found on Food.com

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#30 - George's, Waco, TX

I made my first trip to Waco, TX over the weekend for the Baylor football game.  The game didn't turn out well, and the hotel leaves a lot to be desired, but overall I had a great time with friends.  Friday night we went to George's for dinner and a few beverages.  It's one of those hole-in-the-wall places that a lot of people--me included--would just drive by if we didn't know about it.  But it was only about a mile from the team hotel and I had heard great things, so we decided to give it a shot. 

We got there just after 7, and it was packed...very good sign.  A couple friends were already there, and there were a few fried mushrooms left from their order.  I tried one, and proceeded to eat the rest of them.  They were absolutely awesome.  Not sure what it was that made them so good, but I could have eaten another whole basket. 

George's is known for their Big "O" schooner...18-ounce beers served in big goblets.  I'm not really a big beer drinker, but just about everyone in the whole place was drinking them, so I didn't want to seem out of place.  After a while the waitress came over and brought a Dos-a-Rita that had been made at the bar but not claimed.  I took the opportunity to try something different, and was very happy that I did.  Even though the ice had melted some, the drink was really good and really strong.

George's has won lots of "Best of Waco" awards, and their onion rings were one of them.  So we got an order.  They were beer battered, which are not my favorite, but they were also thin-cut, and really delicious.  As you can see, Kevin was very impatient and didn't bother to wait until I had taken the picture before he dug in.  The onion rings didn't last very long at the table.

Finally it was time to order dinner.  Another thing George's is known for is their chicken fried steak.  I have to admit, I never ate it before I moved to Oklahoma, and even since then I've only had it a few times.  George's offers both a half-portion and a full portion.  I decided to show a little restraint and only order the half, especially because it comes with 2 sides.  We all had a good laugh that they offer a fruit cup as one of their sides.  I mean there's very little healthy on the menu, so I guess that's one of their attempts.  I went with the mac & cheese and the steamed veggies. 

The mac & cheese was just okay, and it tasted more like the boxed kind than anything homemade.  I was disappointed, but I survived.  The veggie were super hot and cooked to a perfect tender-crisp.  I was very pleasantly surprised, because you just never know with a large order at the same time and a crowded restaurant.  I really liked the chicken fried steak, and I liked even more that they put the gravy on the side instead of drowning it.  I was very happy that I only got the half-order, because it was huge.  I can't even imagine getting the full.  Joni and Tony both said it was just okay, but Joni also said that it wasn't nearly as good as hers.  Again, I very rarely ever eat it so I was happy.

Another thing I like about George's is that they do a huge tent on gameday, across the street from the stadium, where they sell beers, margaritas, bloody marys, and burgers.  It's a great gig, with tons of space, a band, tables/chairs and TV's under the tent.  Joni, Tony and I had burgers at halftime and they were really good. 

Will I go back?  Well, we'll be back in Waco in 2 years for football, so I definitely plan to.  The food was good, the beers were cold, and the restaurant was still packed, and getting more crowded, when we left at about 10.