#74 - Winewood Grill - Grapevine, TX

As I mentioned in the previous post, there was a lot going on my birthday weekend.  Tony generously offered to drive me to the half marathon, and waited for me until I was done.  He was bummed that nobody was out there tailgating.  At the Redbud Run in OKC, it's a big social event for the families that live in Nicholls Hills, and they have their own tailgates set up in their front yards.  I think that's an awesome thing, and more neighborhoods should do that.  Running is so boring, and having people out there cheering you on is awesome... even if they're eating food and drinking champagne while they do it.

After the run we went back and got cleaned up, and went to the State Fair of Texas.  I had never been, but had always heard great things about it.  The down side is that it was about a million degrees plus humid.  I did a pretty good job of eating my weight in fried food.  The fried nutella was by far my favorite.  The fried Cuban sandwich and fried jambalaya were a close second.  Not a fan of the fried beer.  Between the fried food, regular beer, and run that morning, I crashed like a log as soon as we got back to the house.

I had thought about driving back on Sunday, but when I woke up I decided I didn't want to drive all that way on my birthday.  So of course we had to find a place for a birthday brunch. And we decided on Winewood Grill. It's in historic Grapevine.  The building reminds me of a very comfortable log cabin.  There's a big fireplace near the hostess stand and bar, and the restaurant itself is just very homey and welcoming.  We were seated at a big semi circle booth.  I've never really understood those booths.  I've sat in one on a date and it's very romantic.  But for a group of 5, it's not fun being the one in the  middle if you have to go to the bathroom.

The Sunday brunch at Winewood includes a jazz band that's really good.  Of course we had to get the bottomless mimosas.  For $10, that's not a bad deal considering they are pretty big.

Joni and I both went with the chicken fried chicken, and it comes with seasoned potatoes and fruit. 

This was absolutely delicious!  A lot of times the breading on chicken-fried anything is way too heavy so you're tasting more dough than the meat.  But this was breaded perfectly.  I'm not usually a big biscuits and gravy fan, but these were awesome. The biscuits were homemade, and who can resist hickory smoked bacon gravy??  I had requested roasted corn bean salad instead of the fruit.  The server didn't get it right, but quickly brought me the salad as well

This salad was really tasty!  It had very good flavor.

We had also ordered the gouda mac & cheese for the table

Absolutely delicious!  The smoked gouda provided a really wonderful earthy flavor and the bacon just added that extra touch.

Will I go back?  Definitely!  The food was delicious, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere.

#73 - Campania Pizza, Southlake TX

One of our bye weeks was my birthday weekend, and there also just happened to be a half marathon near Flower Mound.  And it was OU/Texas weekend and the state fair.  So I decided to go and spend the weekend down there.  When I signed up for the race in July I figured I would start in August, 12 weeks out, and be ready to go by race day.  That was really kind of dumb, because I know how crazy life is during August getting ready for football. And this year for some reason was even worse.  So I really didn't even start training until about 6 weeks before the run--NOT a smart move.  I power walked about 4 miles of it, and it was crazy humid, but still finished only 9 minutes slower than the OKC run.  So I was pretty happy.  I doubt I'll be crazy enough to sign up for another half during football season, but you just never know.

I always hear people talking about "carbing up" the night before a long run.  I just can't figure out how that works.  I can see a few hours before, but anything you eat that far before a run is going to be all gone.  But I decided to try it out, and we went to Campania Pizza in Southlake. 

The restaurant is really nice, and made up of several different seating options.  As soon as you walk in the door is indoor patio seating so you can people-watch the crowds walking by.  There are 2 floors of inside seating, and a few of the 2nd floor tables overlook the first floor.  And then there's a rooftop patio, covered with a pergola, that Joni said is an awesome experience.  I love the super high ceilings, and the Italian tile floor. It was a gorgeous night so we asked for the rooftop,  but they were having a private party up there so the entire rooftop was closed.

I started with the Caesar salad and you had the option to add anchovies.  I know there's anchovies in the dressing, and I know they're good for you, but I can't bring myself to eat a whole anchovy.

Just your basic Caesar salad, but it was really good.  The plate was ice cold, and that kept the salad cold while I ate it.  Definite plus.

They offer several pizzas that come with sauce, and others that don't.  I'm sure if you ask nicely they can either put sauce on or take it off if you wanted.  We went with the Doso pizza (no sauce), and added sausage

Mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, grape tomato, basil, crushed red pepper, garlic, sausage

This pizza is really delicious.  It's a thinner crust than I normally like, but not that paper thin crust that's like eating cardboard.  It still has good texture.  I think with this pizza not doing sauce allows the flavors of the toppings to shine through more.  Tony asked for a side of pizza sauce which I'm glad he did.  Because it is amazing.  Nothing compares to homemade.

Will I go back?  Definitely!  I really liked the pizza, and I want to check out the rooftop dining.  On a nice night it would be a great place to relax with a glass of wine and good food. And they have nutella pizza, which of course I must try.  Did the crab up thing work?  I honestly don't know. 

#72 - NEO Grill, Houston TX

After the game in Houston, we all went back to the hotel and were ready for a nap.  We also knew we didn't want to fight traffic and crowds to go to dinner, especially with a large group of us. So we agreed on a power nap, and then dinner at NOE Grill, which is in the hotel. 

We waited close to 90 minutes to be seated.  Don't know if they figured since the team had left they didn't need to staff up, but a lot of our fans were staying Saturday night so they still had a lot of people in the hotel.  And NOE was our only option for dinner in the hotel.  We were about to order some appetizers in the bar when our table was finally ready.  We walk in, and there were only about 4 tables even being used.  The rest of the restaurant was empty.  Absolutely ridiculous.  The server tried to be nice and thank us for our patience.  We were all annoyed, but it wasn't his fault they were so underprepared.

Joni ordered a glass of wine.  We realized after the bill was paid that it was $16...for a glass of Kim Crawford sauv Blanc.  Great wine, but certainly not worth that price.  And when I looked at the wine list I figure out how they get you.  They serve a 6-oz "splash" and a 9-oz "glass".  And instead of clarifying when she ordered, the server just brought her the glass.  Who the heck ever orders a "splash" of wine??  When you're ordering wine, you automatically just say a "glass". 

We were all hungry, so just decided to try and make the best of it.  I went with the "chicken fried" gulf oysters and the lobster & mascarpone mac & cheese

While I wish had been more adventurous the day before at breakfast, I wish I hadn't been quite so adventurous with this meal.  The oysters were just okay.  I've had much better.  The corn fritters were pretty good but room temperature.  So that was disappointing.  The sake & chili aioli was really very good, and helped the flavor of the oysters.  The mac and cheese had very good flavor, and I love that it was served in the little pot.  However, the lobster was overcooked and the whole dish had stayed in the oven too long.  Had it been cooked properly, it would have been awesome.

Everyone else said their food was decent, but nothing super exciting.

Will I go back?  Hmmm...I don't know.  I find it impossible to believe that any restaurant could survive with service like that, especially in a huge city like Houston and especially as the main restaurant in a large hotel.  So I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and try it again.  But, with all the restaurants in Houston, the chance of me going back there is pretty slim.  I guess if I'm there for several days and maybe try it at lunch.

#71 - Adair Kitchen, Houston TX

Friday morning in Houston I got up early and went running.  Well my plan was to run, but even at 8am that humidity was absolutely oppressive so it was more of a run/power walk combo.  The area where I went running had some incredibly beautiful and huge houses.  I was kind of hoping to see a rich, single guy to offer me some water, but no such luck.

After the workout it was time for breakfast. We had seen Adair Kitchen in the same strip mall as Ciao Bello, and my friend JJ said she had been there several times and it was good.  So we decided to try it out. 

It's a very bright and open concept restaurant, with high ceilings with exposed beams.  There's a ton of natural light, which I really like.  You order at the counter, take a seat, and then they bring the food to your table.  They have the menu listed on huge chalkboards above the register, but we opted for the paper menus. 

My mom was a little disappointed that there are no free refills on hot tea, and I have to agree with her.  I mean seriously... it's water and tea bags.  Regular coffee is always unlimited, so why not regular hot tea?   

It was mid morning when we arrived, but all of us still wanted breakfast.  The menu has lots of interesting and unique options.  But I wasn't feeling super adventurous so  I went the traditional route:  2 eggs, hash browns, wheat toast and bacon.

I asked for the eggs over easy and they were slightly overdone, which was a little disappointing.  The hash browns were good but creamier than I'm used to.  Almost like they used some mashed potatoes along with the shredded.  But I liked it.  The bacon was crispy and delicious. My meal was good, but in hindsight I probably should have gone with something a little more exciting. 

My parents both got the multigrain pancakes

My mom couldn't finish all of hers.  One bite, and I happily obliged helping her out.  The pancakes were light, fluffy and super yummy.  And the syrup was hot, which was fantastic.  I used some of it to dip my bacon in.  I mean, I didn't want it to go to waste.   The only negative with the syrup is that the container was scorching hot, and I'm guessing they microwaves it before bringing it to the table.  Our server warned us it was hot, but even after a few minutes I still had to use a napkin to pick it up. 

Will I go back?  Yes!  And next time I'll definitely be more adventurous with my choices.

#70 - Ciao Bello, Houston TX

The Cowboys kicked off the football season in Houston.  As soon as my mom found that out in early 2013, she decided they were going to the game.  Since my parents had both retired in the spring they had lots more free time.  They came to my house in mid-August, stayed 2 weeks, and then drove to Houston with me. I was glad to have them with me, because that 8 hour drive to Houston stinks. The drive there isn't bad, but the return trip is always killer, especially once we hit the halfway point in Dallas. All I want to do is stop and take a nap. Which I actually did, and had my mom take the wheel for a while.

We had arrived in Houston on Thursday night, which if course is a super busy restaurant night. We asked the concierge for recommendations and said a lot of places downtown would be really crowded and a reservation would probably be necessary.  But he also strongly recommended Ciao Bello, which is only about a mile from the hotel and they said it was delicious. 

I liked the place as soon as we walked in.  There's a small bar basically right at the door that wraps halfway around a huge floor-to-ceiling wall of wine and liquor bottles. I know they're maximizing space, but it's kind of crowded.  Especially because the hostess stand is just to the right.  The ceilings in the main dining room are super tall, going all the way up to the 2nd floor. The only exception is the right side, as that is upstairs seating.  I'd never seen anything like that before, but really like it.  I didn't see the upstairs so I can't speak to it, but I feel like the downstairs is the place to be.  The restaurant is on the end of a strip mall, so there's only one wall with windows--but they are huge and let in lots of light. 

Photo courtesy of Ciao Bello

We didn't have a reservation, but were still seated right away.  It wasn't the best table, as it was in the corner near to the kitchen.  But it was Thursday night, prime dinner time, and we didn't have to wait.  Sometimes you just have to make small sacrifices.

Our server was awesome.  I can't remember his name, but he was very friendly, and had so much personality.  He was born in Greece, raised in Italy, and has lived in the US for a few years.  Sometimes it was hard to understand everything he said, but that didn't detract one bit from the experience.

I started with a glass of Stephen Vincent sauvignon Blanc.  I had never heard of it, but it was reasonably priced and so that worked for me.  I love it!  Definitely found myself a new white.  It's almost got a little peppery bite, but it's absolutely delicious.

We started with an order of calamari.

Served with Calabrian Chiles ricotta crostini and crispy prosciutto

Love that it was served on a wood plank!  It comes with prosciutto, but my dad is vegetarian so we omitted it. My mom doesn't like calamari, so that just meant more for me and dad.  I usually don't like fried food that isn't crispy, but this dish was an exception to that.  The calamari was perfectly cooked, hot, and outstanding.  The chiles definitely added some heat, but the ricotta was the perfect thing to cool it down.  The ricotta was homemade, creamy and fantastic.  I could have easily eaten just a bowl of that.

As usual I was struggling with what to order.  Everything looked good, but I kind of wanted pasta.  I finally settled on the papardelle Bolognese

This has to be one of the best dishes I think I've ever had.  The pasta was homemade and you could tell the sauce had slow cooked for hours, and it was perfectly seasoned.  I was absolutely in heaven.  I still had sauce left after the pasta was done so I sopped it up with the bread.  And what I really liked is that it wasn't tons of food.  It was more than enough, but not a typical double-serving.

I wish I had room for dessert, but then I would have had to roll myself back to the hotel.  It was already close, with all the food we had eaten. 

Will I go back?  Absolutely no question.  The food, atmosphere and service were all outstanding.

Repeats with a Twist - Zio's Italian Grill, Tulsa OK

My parents came to town for 2 weeks in August, and then were going with me to the Kickoff Classic in Houston.  Yes, I know that seems like a long time, especially since I'm used to having the whole house to myself...but I was super busy with work, and so it was great to come home and decompress with people to talk to after insanely long days. 

We had spent one of the weekend days in Tulsa running errands, and doing that makes you hungry.  I couldn't really decide where I wanted to eat, so we drove around for a while, and I consulted GPS and TripAdvisor a few times.  But nothing really jumped out at me.  And eventually I was starving, and annoyed with driving, and the traffic was crazy.  So we decided to eat at Zio's Italian Grill, mainly because it was very close to where we were at that moment.  There's usually a long wait during the height of lunchtime, but by the time we got there it was about 1:30pm so we didn't have any wait at all. 

Zio's is almost always crowded, and it's definitely always loud.  But I think that's the vibe they're going for, and it works.  Because although the restaurant as a whole is loud, it's still easy to have a conversation with people sitting at your table...as long as it's a table of 4 or less.  We've eaten there numerous times, and the food is always good.  My mom likes Zio's because they have the paper tablecloths and there's crayons on the table, so she can draw stuff.  My dad and I like it because they bring you bread and olive oil that soaks in herbs. 

As usual, I was having a hard time deciding what to get.  The menu is large, which doesn't bode well for me.  But I also knew that I needed to try something new.  With the help of our server I finally settled on the Thai chicken pasta.  He said it was spicy, but that if I liked spice I would really like it.  And since my original thought had been Chinese for lunch, this was as close as I was going to get.

The funny thing is, I was always afraid of peanut sauce, and that it would taste like I was eating peanut butter.  And for the life of me I could never understand why anyone would do that.  But a few months ago I got adventurous and tried a dish with peanut sauce, and have never looked back.

Sliced grilled chicken sauteed with shredded carrots and green onions, tossed with penne pasta
in a spicy Thai peanut sauce and garnished with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro

This was outstanding!  It definitely had a kick, but it really wasn't overpowering.  The parmesan was added by the server at the table. You might think that parmesan is a weird thing to put on a Thai pasta, and I would never have even thought to do it at home.  But it worked, and I think it helped tone down the heat just a little. I just wish they (and most restaurants) offered smaller portions.  Because it's pretty much impossible to eat the whole dish. And since I don't do leftovers I made sure to eat all the veggies and chicken. So by the time I was done the only thing remaining was some pasta.   

My parents split the veggie pizza.  I forgot to take a picture, but they said it was delicious.

Of course I'll be going back.  Very possibly the next time I'm in Tulsa.

#69 - Astoria Caffe, Addison, TX

On the way back from the Houston caravan I stopped to spend the weekend with Joni.  I hadn't seen her since the spring, and wouldn't again until the first game weekend.  And since I had to pass her to get home anyways, I figured why not. 

We were meeting her friend Dion for lunch on Saturday, and decided on somewhere towards Addison.  I love Addison.  It's not too far from the hustle and bustle of the Dallas suburbs, but it's a little quieter.  It's got tons of restaurants, and is close to some great shopping. 

After some searching online we finally settled on Astoria Caffe, in Addison Circle.  What a great neighborhood!  Lots of big shade trees, beautiful apartments, and a huge park.  I could definitely see myself living there.  The restaurant is on the corner, with a small dog-friendly patio out front with about 10 tables.  We initially sat outside, but then moved inside.  It's a very eclectic and small café, with inside seating for no more than about 30, with a combination of tables, couches, and barstools. 

They have a surprisingly big wine list, so of course Joni and I started with a glass of white.  I decided to go with the mini chicken spinach pizza

Flat-bread pizza with organic baby spinach, chicken,mozzarella cheese, 

and our signature basil pesto & mayo spread

Sad to say, I was very disappointed in the pizza.  It tasted like a Boboli crust, and quite honestly the whole thing kinda tasted like it had been a frozen pizza that was heated up.  I can do a better pizza myself at home.  Dion had the chicken Caesar salad...the chicken arrived on a side plate, and Dion said you could tell it had been microwaved.  Joni said her turkey panini was average.

They have a big dessert display case, and everything looked so good I wanted to give one of them a try in hopes that the dessert would redeem the lunch.  As soon as I saw the nutella cheesecake I knew I had to try it out.

Oh my...this was phenomenal!!  It was rich, but not overpowering, and absolutely delicious.  I momentarily considered another piece of cheesecake, but decided that would be too much. Joni had a piece of the chocolate cake and said it was amazing as well. 

Obviously Astoria puts a lot of love and effort into their desserts, and the results speak for themselves.  They definitely need to do the same with their food.  It's like the food was an afterthought.  And if food is the afterthought, they need to scale back on the number of  menu items, pick just a few that are easy and they can do well, and focus on those. 

Will I go back?  Yes, but only for the wine and dessert--unless and until they improve on the food.

#68A - Sprinkles, Houston, TX

Why is this post 68A?  Well, it's a bakery, not a full restaurant.  I did the same thing on the first day of this blog when we were in Bartlesville for a caravan, so I figure I should continue that tradition.

I had heard lots of things about Sprinkles Cupcakes.  I had even driven by one when we were in Scottsdale for the Fiesta Bowl a couple years ago.  Mary and I had actually seen the Sprinkles on our way to Brio, and Mary insisted that we had to go after lunch.  It's located in Highland Village, only about a mile from the Galleria. 

I would say the biggest down side is the parking.  Maybe there's a garage somewhere that we didn't see, but because it's kind of in a strip mall (a nice one), you have to be very crafty--and not be driving a huge car--to park easily.  But of course I was in the Tahoe.  Luckily I was able to find a space with another space next to it so I could maneuver in.

Man, this place is tiny!  Seriously, you couldn't fit more than 25 people in the place at any one time, and I think that includes the staff.  But I guess that adds to the charm and atmosphere.  We hit it at the right time, because there were only 3 people ahead of us when we got there, which gave me time to make a decision.  And as we were eating, the line was out the door.  As soon as you walk in the door the heavenly smell of baked goods hits you like a rock.  And they've got all of the treats on full display of course. 

Prince George had just been born, so Sprinkles was celebrating and I decided to get into the festive mood as well, and went with a Prince of Cambridge cupcake.  I also got a dark chocolate one...didn't really need it, but the one cupcake would have looked so lonely in the box

I forgot to take a picture of the middle of the Prince of Cambridge cupcake, but thanks to Sprinkles' Facebook page, you can see they were filled with blue icing. 

  

Wow these were so delicious!  Very moist, great flavor, and rich, but not overpowering.  Mary and I decided that the second cupcake would be our treats after the caravan--great call.

I was going to just get a water when I happened to look down under the register and saw that they had Mexican coke!  I thought that was extremely random to have that in a bakery.  But, it is Houston and there's a very large Hispanic population.  Well played, Sprinkles.  Not sure what it is about Mexican coke, but it is so much better than the stuff made in the US.  I rarely drink soda, but when we were in Playa in May I couldn't stop drinking those.   So of course I had to get my fix.

I probably didn't need the additional sugar from the coke, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made.

Will I go back?  No question.  The prices are a little high, but the cupcakes are made fresh daily.  And, the shop started in Beverly Hills, which probably has something to do with the pricing.  But it's definitely worth it as an occasional treat.

#68 - Brio Tuscan Grille, Houston, TX

Once again, I've failed miserably on updating the food blog.  However, this time I have a valid excuse.  Once August hits, my life gets absolutely insanely nuts getting ready for football season.  And for some reason this year was worse.  It shouldn't have been, because we had 2 more weeks before the first home game....but yet it was.  I brought a little of it on myself, since there were a few things I procrastinated on and then had to race to finish.  But most of it I couldn't do ahead of time. 

Anyways, I'm back on the food blog, and getting back on track.  The day of the caravan in Houston, Mary and I had to run a few errands in town.  We ended up near CityCentre again, but since we had eaten the night before at Houston Texans Grille, and would be eating there again that night, we didn't want to eat there 3 times in a row.  It was good, but with zillions of other restaurants in Houston, we wanted to do something different.

We finally decided on Brio Tuscan Grille.  I had never eaten there, and Mary said she loved it.  We had to drive to find a parking spot, and ended up on the top floor of the garage at the far end of CityCentre.  As we were getting out of the truck a car drove past us, and we literally felt the whole garage floor shift.  We looked, and there was a huge crack in the cement, and just our body weight made it move a little too.  We were convinced we would come back to no car--and no garage--so we moved the car.  So note to anyone going to CityCentre--don't park in the garage at the back!

Brio has to be owned by the same company that owns Bravo Cucina in Oklahoma City.  The look and feel of the restaurant is very similar, and the websites look almost identical.  

We were seated immediately, ordered drinks, and the bread was delivered. We got a small loaf of bread, as well as a couple of pieces of crispy flatbread. 

Both breads were really good.  The flatbread had lots of herbs and spices, and definitely had a kick. 

I started with the Brio chopped salad

Chopped greens with tomatoes, olives, onions, cucumber, Feta and red wine vinaigrette

I love when salads are served on ice cold plates.  I'm not a fan of olives, and forgot to ask them not to put them in there.  But the rest of the salad was really good.  The dressing was light and delicious, and the flavors all worked really well together.  The only thing I would have preferred was more romaine instead of mainly iceberg lettuce.

For lunch I went with the Pasta Yandolino, one of their lunch specials:

Chicken, spinach, mushrooms, Feta, diced tomatoes, and rigatoni in a light bercy with pesto bread crumbs

Spicy BBQ sauce, Mozzarella, yellow tomatoes, green onions, Feta and cilantro pesto

I have to be honest.  At first glance, I was disappointed.  This is going to sound really weird, but I like the meat in dishes to have a deeper color.  To me, color means flavor.  And this dish didn't deliver on the color.  But I figured I had ordered it, so I was going to at least give it a shot. 

I'm very glad I did, because this dish was really good.  I had never heard of bercy sauce before...it's a white wine sauce with shallots and butter, and a few other things.  There was quite a bit of sauce, and the pasta and veggies just soaked it up.  The sauce was so good I used a little of the bread to sop it up.  The dish was light and healthy--well, except for the butter. 

Mary had the BBQ chicken pizza, and of course I had to try a piece.

This was so good!!  I  love all of the ingredients on it.  Even though it says spicy BBQ sauce, it really wasn't.  I think the other ingredients toned that down a little.  If I hadn't just wolfed down my whole dish I could definitely have eaten that whole pizza...

Will I go back?  Well, unfortunately there's no Brio's in Oklahoma. So it will have to be the next time I'm in Texas.  But it is 100% on my list of go-to restaurants whenever I head down south.



#67 - Houston Texans Grill, Houston TX

Most of our Cowboy Caravans are in Oklahoma, but we also do Tyler, Houston, and Dallas TX.  We haven't done Dallas in a couple years, but Houston is an annual event.  Mary and I made the drive down last week.  We used to drive halfway, stay the night in Dallas, and then drive the rest on the day of the event.  But this year we decided to just drive all the way to Houston the day before.  In hindsight that was a really good idea, because had we encountered any issues we would have had another day to fix them.  And, we had all day Wednesday, which worked out to be a great thing this year because I was able to take care of a lot of things to get ready for the Kickoff Classic at the end of August.

Tuesday evening we did a walk-through of the venue for the caravan, which was at Houston Texans Grille.  It's located in CITYCENTRE, an upscale shopping and dining area in downtown Houston near the Galleria area.  One thing to keep in mind if you're going there...make sure you park in one of the garages or in a surface lot.  If you park illegally, they'll tow you in a heartbeat.  We found a garage right across the street from the restaurant, which was perfect. They do offer valet, but it takes quite a while to get your car back. 

The restaurant is on the 2nd floor, and there's an escalator right behind the valet stand.  The whole place is decorated, no surprise, in Houston Texans from head to toe.  It's not owned by the Texans, but they do have an interest in it.  Just past the hostess stand is a large bar area with some pub seating to the left and a few couches to the right.  The main dining room is behind the bar, and it's set up in several different sections with air walls in between.  At first I thought that was kind of weird, but they do a lot of events and the air walls allow them to accommodate different-sized events while still remaining open for the public if the whole place isn't reserved.  There's also a really cool covered patio with a mix of pub tables and lounge seating.  Our event took up about 85% of the main dining room, as well as the patio. 

Mary and I were absolutely starving by the time we were done with the meeting, and decided to eat there.  We sat in the bar area and checked out the menu.  Our server greeted us immediately, and we both decided to have a drink.  We tried out a couple of the "specialty" drinks.  There was no price listed on the menu, which should have been a sign that they were going to be expensive...yep, $10 each.  I think they should have to list the prices on the menu.  I guess we could have asked, but to me that's still not right.  And it's not just this restaurant.  Many other restaurants do the same thing.

As usual, I had a hard time deciding what to eat.  I finally went with the Bangkok burger

Ground pork, sweet and spicy Asian sauce, fried potato straws,

avocado, wasabi mayo

This burger was HUGE!  I had to smoosh the bread down to take a bite.  But it was fantastic.  The Asian sauce had wonderful sweet/spicy flavor, without being overpowering.  The pork was cooked perfectly and still moist.  The fries were good, just your basic restaurant fries.  The only down side is that the bottom patty got really soggy and was falling apart, which I guess is a good thing cause that's all flavor.  And the patty did fall apart a little, so I just ditched the top bun and ate it with my fork & knife.

We were very disappointed with the service though.  Our server started out well, taking our drink order quickly. He took a little longer to take our food order.  And we never saw him again.  We finally flagged down another server and asked for our check.  She said she would find our original guy.  A few minutes later a different guy brought out the check.  We liked the last guy the best, because he was very friendly, fast and efficient.  I realize it was late in the evening and there were only about 2 other tables in the bar area.  But that's no excuse for the lack of attention to service. 

At the caravan the next night we had sliders, wings, and quesadillas.  They were all good, but the wings were definitely my favorite.  The were really big and meaty.  The first couple batches were spicy, but towards the end the new batches of wings were just regular.  I'm guessing they probably ran out of the spicy.  The service at the caravan was really good.  We had tons of servers, they took and served drink orders quickly, and never let the buffet pans run out. 

Will I go back?  Definitely!  The food was good, it has a great atmosphere, and I really like their event manager Matt.  We got along really well and he did a great job of running the event.

We'll be back in Houston at the end of the month for the Kickoff Classic, and Houston Texans Grille will be one of our "official party headquarters".  So I'll definitely make sure to go there.



  

#66 - The Jerk Pit, College Park, MD

Whenever I go back to Maryland to visit family, I always go to lunch with my friend Heather at least once during the trip.  Early in the week we went to Marathon Deli, one of our favorite places right off campus.  Our friend Kevin often goes with us too, but he couldn't that week.  So I met him Friday for lunch.

Kevin played FB at Maryland, was one of Barry Sanders' linemen at the Lions, was a sports agent, got out of that dirty business, and came back to work at Maryland Football.  Before he came back to Maryland I knew him only as a letterman who came back and played in the annual golf outing.  But once we worked together, and spent almost every day together during football season, we became really close.  He listens, doesn't judge, gives good advice, and I know I can tell him anything in confidence.  That's the mark of a great guy. 

Kevin said he goes to The Jerk Pit with friends quite often on Fridays because they have a great buffet.  I don't remember if it was there when I worked on campus.  But I do remember seeing it a few times when I was back in town. 

It's located on Route 1, about a mile North of campus, just off Greenbelt Road.  It's in a house, and you park around in the back.  It doesn't look like much from the outside, but I was confident Kevin wouldn't lead me astray.  And besides, if he eats there regularly, it's got to be good.

There's no question this is a Jamaican restaurant, besides the obvious name.  There's Reggae music playing in the background, all the staff has a very strong Jamaican accent, and the colors of the sign outside are of the Jamaican flag.  The restaurant is separated into several smaller dining rooms.   You walk through one room to get to the counter to order.  They have a few barstools there so you can eat right there too.  Across from the counter is where the buffet is set up.  It's 2 8' tables with footed chafing dishes on it.  They use disposable plates and utensils which is quite convenient.  They really need a larger trash can because I noticed the staff kept having to empty it because it wasn't very big. 

Kevin suggested that I check out the buffet and see if I would want that or something off the menu.  The second dish I uncovered was baked mac & cheese...that's all I needed to see.  Sold.  They have drinks in a stand-up cooler behind the counter, and those are your only choices, and the water bottles are small.  I wish they would invest in a fountain machine or at a minimum offer free water refills.

The AC wasn't working, which was a big negative considering Maryland was in the middle of a major heat wave.  I'm not sure if they even have AC or not.  They do have ceiling fans in each space so that helps a little bit.  With how hot it got in there I felt like I had to ration my water to make it last my whole meal. 

For my first plate I got rice with veggies, peas & rice, mac & cheese, and saltfish fritters.

I've had saltfish before, but never done as a fritter.  It's basically a fried salted cod cake, and I love cod.  It was really good.  Both rices were delicious, but the mac & cheese was definitely the star of that plate.  Growing up my mom always made baked mac & cheese.  Pretty sure I've only ever had the boxed kind once or twice in my whole life. My mom's theory was it takes the same time to cook the macaroni, so you might as well use real cheese.  The baked version does take more time so I don't make it a lot, but it's well worth the effort.

For my second plate I got more mac & cheese, fried chicken, jerk chicken, and escovitch fish and chicken. 

The fried chicken was outstanding.  The jerk chicken was very good, but my piece was a little dry, which is very odd considering it was a leg.  It had a little kick, but not too bad.  Kevin said his pieces had more spice, and his  mouth was burning.  I had never had escovitch anything, so I was fully unprepared for the super tartness.  Apparently the marinade is vinegar, allspice, onions & chile peppers.  You know when you bite into a sweet tart or a really sour candy and your mouth gets all puckered up?  That's what it was like after one bite.  The meat and/or fish that it's served with is fried.  So I'm wondering if it gets marinated first for a while and then fried.  Regardless, I liked them better than the veggies, because I think the frying toned down the tart slightly.  On the plus side for the veggies, they were tender crisp.

When we had arrived the place wasn't very crowded, with maybe about 10 people.  By the time we were leaving, the line was almost to the door.  So clearly we picked a good time to get there. 

Will I go back?  Of course!  It's definitely on my to-do list whenever I go back to Maryland.  The food was excellent, and the place has a great atmosphere...well, except for the lack of AC.

#65 - The Shark on the Harbor, Ocean City, MD

Denise is another one of my friends I've known absolutely forever.  We first met when she was a student of my mom's at community college.  We were more just acquaintances at that time, but once I was working at Maryland we became friends and over the years have become very close friends.  Her kids are like my own, and I've really watched her youngest son, Sam, grow up before my eyes. 

Denise has a beach house in Ocean City, MD.  I spent countless summer weekends there while I was working at Maryland.  I would leave work about noon on Friday to miss traffic, spend the weekend, and then head back to reality on Sunday evening.  I don't have enough time to tell you about all the stuff we did, and I probably shouldn't anyways...suffice it to say, we've had a blast.

Since I moved to Oklahoma I've only gotten to visit her at the beach a couple of times, and happily this trip was one of them.  Back in the day, the couch in the living room was my bed.  Not bad, considering I could wake up to a gorgeous view of the bay from the back patio sliding glass doors.  But now that they've renovated the house, I got my own awesome room.  Kinda makes me wish I was back in Maryland so I could go more often!

I had driven down Tuesday morning, and my only 2 requests for Denise were the thick cut fries, and crabs. We took care of the crabs Tuesday night with a crab feast on the back deck.  We tore through about a dozen each, and it was awesome.  Tuesday for lunch I got a burger and fries at Alaska Stand, which is right near where we always hang out on the beach.  Wednesday afternoon before I left we shared a tub of Thrasher's fries, the best on the beach.  Denise kind of went overboard with the vinegar, but they were still so delish.

But I digress...Wednesday morning, after a great run on the boardwalk, it was time for some lunch.  After some back and forth we decided to go The Shark on the Harbor.  We went with her dad Vinnie, her middle son Pat, and her nephew Sean. 

Located in West Ocean City, The Shark is a very cool restaurant right on the harbor.  Denise warned me that the wait can be long.  Sam didn't go with us for that very reason.  As we pulled up there was a large group that walked in right ahead of us.  That turned out to be a bad omen. 

It's not a very big restaurant, maybe 25 tables.  And there's a big bar in the middle and you can sit at the bar to eat/drink as well.  We were seated at a table in the corner.  Normally I wouldn't like that, but the restaurant has huge windows on all sides of the restaurant to take in the great view.

I really like that they offer $5.99 daily lunch specials, and they also have Sunday NFL specials during football season.  They have a variety of items on the lunch menu, and it all looked really  good.  After lots of thinking, I went with the fish tostadas with homecooked chips

Blackened mahi mahi/crunchy corn tortillas/shredded cabbage/cheese/

tomato salsa/salsa blanca

This was absolutely phenomenal!  The fish was so fresh...obviously, since they probably pulled it straight from the harbor!  The blackening was a little spicy but really not too bad.  Both salsas were excellent, and the salsa blanca added so much flavor and wasn't heavy at all.  The chips were really good as well.

Denise shared a grilled cheese and the fish tostadas with her son Pat.  The grilled cheese was disappointing because it was supposed to be a combination of cheeses, but there was more bacon and lettuce than anything, and hardly any gouda on it.  Pat also had a cheesesteak and I had a bite and it was delicious.  I can't remember what Vinnie and Sean had.

We did have to wait about 30 minutes for our meal.  Our waitress was very nice, but she seemed to get distracted pretty quickly.  We had planned to place our order when she brought back the drinks, but then Denise started talking to her, and another table needed something, and it was another 10 minutes before she came back.  I really don't get it.  I understand that they cook everything fresh and to order, and I know there was a group of 8 just ahead of us but that's no excuse for why it should take that long to be served.  But then another group of 4 came in about 30 minutes after we did, and were served their food within 10 minutes.  Very crazy.

It took me quite a while to track down the lunch menu, because The Shark changes its specials frequently.  So, note to self...take pictures of the menu items so I don't have to spend so much time trying to dig it up.

Will I go back?  Next summer it's definitely on the to-do list.

#64 - Black's Bar & Kitchen, Bethesda, MD

Emily and I have been friends for a long time.  We met when she was a student working at the football office at Maryland.  We became fast friends, and did all kinds of fun stuff together over the years.  She helps to run the NFL summer youth camps across the country, but it has always worked out that she's in town for at least a couple days of my trips to Maryland.  This trip was no different. 

We decided to do a Sunday Funday brunch in Bethesda.  Emily suggested Black's Bar and Kitchen and said the food is amazing and they have great mimosas.  It's pricey, but the mimosas are unlimited, they have a big raw bar, and it is Bethesda.  Nothing is cheap there. 

Black's is right in the heart of the Bethesda "social scene", with a good-sized patio out front, a bar and bar seating on the left and the main dining room on the right.  We first went to seat ourselves in the bar area, but I didn't like any of the open tables. So we were seated in the main dining room. 

They do offer a la carte brunch menu items, but why do that when you can gorge on the buffet?  The brunch buffet is huge and varied.  We started with the raw bar, filling up on oysters, shrimp cocktail, shrimp salad, smoked salmon, as well as cured meats, breads and cheeses.  I tried a piece of this thing that looked like a sardine that Emily said is really good for you.  One bite was more than enough for me to disagree. I cant' remember exactly what it's called, but that's okay because I'm never ordering it.

The good thing about the raw bar is that it's really hard to get full from it.  After a couple plates of the raw, we moved to the hot food, where we filled up with bacon, potato hash, prime rib, cheese grits, and salad.   And after we'd had our fill of the hot food, we got a couple of the desserts to try.

I didn't take a picture of the other plates, but all of the food was excellent.  With the first plate of each the cold and hot food I took a little of everything, and went back for more of what I really liked. I had one piece of bread and a little cheese. I was tempted to get more, but didn't want to get filled up on that. Of course I only eat oysters on the East Coast.  I kind of went overboard on them, but I had no idea when I would get them again so I wasn't ashamed. The shrimp salad was delicious and had lots of flavor, and the shrimp cocktail were huge.  I'm not normally a fan of smoked salmon, but it was really good.  The cheese grits were fantastic, and I went back and got another helping. The prime rib was cooked perfectly.  By the time we were at dessert we were pretty full so we just tried a couple of items. I really like that all the desserts are bite sized, so you can try different things and just get a taste of each. 

In between all the plates of food we of course had mimosas.  Since they were included, why not take advantage?  The Champagne Sangria (peach schnapps, simple syrup, OJ, fresh fruit) was okay, but didn't really have much of a kick.  The Bellini (white peach nectar & champagne) was pretty good.  The Pointsettia (cranberry juice & champagne) was okay.  The Kir Royale (Crème De Casis & champagne) was my absolute favorite.  I don't know what Crème de Casis is, but I like it. 

After lots of food and mimosas, we were stuffed.  And very happy. 

Will I go back?  I think that's a yes!  I could definitely do another brunch there, and I'm sure it's a good place for happy hour too.
 

Repeats with a Twist - Ledo's, College Park, MD

Ledo's is one of those places that's been around forever.  The original location was about a 5-minute drive from the Maryland campus.  I lost count about 10 years ago of how many times I've eaten there, mainly carryout but also a few times in the main dining room.  The biggest problem about Ledo's was the cigarette smoke in the bar area.  The carryout waiting area separated the bar from the main dining room, and thankfully the smoke didn't leak into that waiting area.  You could literally see the smoke hanging in the air inside the bar, and within 2 minutes you would stink for the rest of the day.  A couple years ago Ledo's moved to the other side of campus, just off Route 1.  Definitely a good thing I wasn't still living in CP, or that could have been dangerous.  It's about 3 times the size of the original, with a large airy bar area and a good-sized main dining room.  The whole place is bright, there's TVs all throughout the restaurant, and they've got floor-to-ceiling glass on the street side.  Over the years a few other locations have opened throughout the state. I've never been anywhere but the original location, but friends have told me its the best one.

Ledo's is most known for pizza.  For a long time I didn't even know they had other kind of food.  I tried a couple other menu items over the years, but the pizza is hands down the best thing there. The crust is thin, and the slices are square.  It can sometimes be greasy, but it's still always really good.  One of my favorite toppings is the thick-cut pepperoni.  My other favorite is the pre-cooked bacon.  The mini pizza is round, but all the other sizes are square.  My parents often get Ledo's to go on their way home from Maryland basketball games.  For about 4 years while I worked at Maryland, one of our donors brought a dozen pizzas with all different kinds of toppings to the office every week during football season.  He did it for one game, and when we won he decided it was fate so it was a weekly treat.  I can promise you nobody in the office complained. And as time went on the coaches would ask weekly which day Joe was coming with the pizza.

I always have to go to Ledo's once whenever I go back to Maryland.  On this trip, it was the first night that I arrived.  My mom wasn't hungry that night, so it was just me and my dad.  We were seated in the bar area which I wasn't too fired up about because it's tables & chairs rather than a comfy booth, but the main dining room was very crowded. 

We started with calamari

It came with peppers and capers, which kind of reminded me of the appetizer at Perry's Steakhouse.  The calamari was perfectly cooked and super hot.   Have to admit it wasn't quite as good as Perry's, but not much calamari is.  I don't like capers, but the peppers were tender crisp and delicious.  My dad tasted the capers and wasn't really a fan either.

My dad got the veggie lovers pizza, and I got the mini spinach, green pepper, onion, and pre-cooked bacon. Its what I have ordered for years, so why mess with what works. I did notice that they have a butter garlic sauce as an option, and decided to try that instead of the red sauce.  

You can see my dad's pizza in the top left hand corner of the picture. He got the medium so he and my mom could have leftovers for a couple of days, which is what they usually do when they go. I never thought I would ever say this, but there was too much bacon for the little pizza.  I guess I shouldn't complain, because it could have been the other way around.  I ended up taking some off and having it the next morning for breakfast with my eggs.  The pizza was awesome though!  The server told me they just started offering the garlic butter sauce recently when they created the Pizza Bianco.  The sauce was absolutely delicious, and added a whole different flavor to the pizza. 

I can't wait to go back to Maryland to get my Ledo's fix!

#63 - Joey's Cafe, Oklahoma City OK

I usually fly Southwest Airlines to go back to Maryland, because they have a direct flight from OKC to BWI, there's no bag fees, and they don't charge stupid "guaranteed standby" fees like American Airlines does.  But it took me longer than normal to pick dates for my trip so by the time I finally did it, American was my only option.  Gripe #2...  My mom tried to gift me miles, but that was going to cost over $300.  So we booked the flight under her account, using my name.  I'm sure they will close that loophole soon too.  Absolutely ridiculous. 

My flight was scheduled for 7AM. Waking up at 3:30AM to make the flight is no fun, but I get to Maryland by noon so I get another half day there.  As I reached Edmond I just happened to notice that I had a voice mail.  It was from American Airlines, that my flight had been canceled.  I guess I appreciate the service, but the call came at 1AM when of course I was sound asleep.  They got me on another flight, but it wasn't until 10:30AM.  Gripe #3... since the new flight was on United I had to pay a bag fee (you don't pay it when you fly with miles on American).  They canceled the flight and put me on United, so I shouldn't have had to pay it. 

So I was stuck in OKC with nothing to do for about 2 hours.  And I was hungry.  And annoyed.

I don't know much about breakfast spots in OKC, so I went onto TripAdvisor and decided to try Joey's Café.  It's located in a strip mall just down the street from Northpark Mall.  It had gotten good reviews so I figured why not.

The sign outside the restaurant and their website are very modern looking, but the inside of the restaurant looks very dated.  The upholstery on some of the booths are ripped, and a lot of the furniture just looks kind of old.  Not bad, just in need of a serious update.  And I can't tell what kind of look they're going for.  It's kind of a mix between an Italian café and a diner.  Odd combination, but it's the food that's important.

The menu isn't huge, but I couldn't decide what to eat.  My server was very patient as I contemplated all the choices, and tried to help me make decisions.  I thought about the pancakes, because I'd read a few good reviews on them, but she said they were huge.  And I didn't want the "colossal" omelet for the same reason.  So I went old school, with the 2 egg breakfast with bacon.  All the egg dishes come with home fries or fruit, plus a choice of toast, biscuits, pancakes or an English muffin.  Again that was too much food, so I just did hash browns and fruit.

For some reason my camera kept taking fuzzy pictures, so it's pointless to post it here. 

My eggs were cooked over easy, just the way I wanted.  The 3 strips of bacon were crisp and delicious.  There was a ton of hash browns--much more than I expected, but they were hot and perfectly browned on top.  In hindsight I should have gotten wheat toast to eat with the eggs, but I love hash browns.  I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more of the fruit. The strawberries and oranges were fresh and good, but the pineapple was just average.  But I'm also very picky about pineapple.

Will I go back?  Yes!  My server was very friendly, kept my coffee filled and helped me decide what to eat.  And the food was good and came out very fast, which is the way it should be for breakfast.

Repeats with a Twist - Pappadeaux, Dallas TX

My flight from Orlando was scheduled to depart at 4PM.  Not really sure why I did such a late flight, but at the time I booked it, that seemed like a good idea.  I re-evaluated once I got to Orlando, and planned to just fly stand-by.  However, when I got to the airport for the 9:30AM flight, I was told that because of the code of ticket I bought, I had to pay $75...seriously??? Pay $75 to fly standby???  What a racket.  I paid it, because I was already at the airport, I wanted to get home, and I didn't want to sit in the airport all day.  And to make things even worse, there were at least 10 empty seats on the plane.  The gate agent tried to be nice and make it up to me by waiving my bag fee.  But since work pays for that, it really didn't help me at all.

I had a 3-hour layover in Dallas, and was spending the whole time in the A terminal.  Win for me, because that's where Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen is.  With such a long layover I would have gone regardless of what terminal I was in, but this was just a  bonus.  Absolutely love that place, and I've never had to wait to be seated at the airport location.  On the other hand, at the locations in town there's been times the wait has been over an hour, especially on Friday or Saturday evening. But you can have drinks at the bar in the meantime, and the food is worth it.  The seafood is always so fresh, the garlic bread is to die for, and I've never had anything on the menu that I didn't like.  This is one of the very few restaurants in Oklahoma or Texas where I will even order seafood.  The only thing I don't like about Pappadeaux is the prices, as they are a little high.  They have a couple of items on the lunch menu, but everything I always want isn't on it.

Apparently you don't get the delicious garlic bread at lunch at the airport location.  Very sad, but oh well.  After all the food & drinks I had during my conference, not gorging on bread was probably a good thing. The server told me that they now have a lunch buffet, so I checked it out first.  It looked just okay, but there are too many good things on the regular menu. And it looked like it had been sitting there for a little while, which doesn't surprise me because it was well after the lunch rush. I really like buffets, but only just before or during the rush when you know the food is really fresh.  I decided to go with the Crispy salmon, jumbo crab & shrimp. I had seen the picture on the sign upstairs, and it looked really good.  And I'll be honest, it was the smokey bacon & sweet corn that sold me.

crisp, spicy, seared salmon with jumbo lump crab & shrimp,

over sweet corn & smokey bacon in a lemon butter sauce

OMG this was absolutely amazing!  And it was quite a large piece of salmon for a lunch.  But I don't think they have a lunch portion of this item. The server said the salmon is usually served medium rare, and I asked him to cook it to medium.  Bad move, because it was a little overcooked.  But that was the only negative.  The salmon had outstanding flavor.  It had a little more kick than I was expecting, but it wasn't too much and the corn really toned it down.  The lump crab tasted like what you'd get on the east coast.  I was full about 2/3 through, but it was so good that I forced myself to eat the whole dish.

Even though I had to pay the ridiculous $75 and had a long layover, in the end it worked out because my original flight from DFW to OKC was cancelled and I wouldn't have gotten home until almost midnight.  And, the airport is always amazing people watching.