#103 - Inzo Italian Kitchen, Roanoake, TX

After lunch at Farinas we went to Arlington to check out a couple of things for the Florida State game, and then it was time to head back for a  nap.  The combination of 5AM wake up, 4-hour drive, and 2 glasses of wine did me in and I was out for about 3 hours.  Then I was refreshed and revived, and ready for the evening.  We decided to go to Inzo Italian Kitchen. I had never been there, or Roanoke, before.  It's a very cute, tiny town about 15 minutes from their house.  In reality, the restaurants and shops is what makes Roanoke more than just neighborhood housing.

Inzo has large floor to ceiling windows that open to the sidewalk patio, and the patio has 3 tall tables and 3 short tables.  There are about 20 tables inside.  Because it was such a beautiful night, we sat on the patio.  Our waitress was very friendly, and turns out she's from Baltimore.  She's in school at TCU.  

I couldn't decide what wine to get.  I wanted to stick with malbec, or at least something red, since that's what I had at lunch.  The server suggested a Querceto chianti that wasn't on the menu. It was $12 per glass, but she said it was worth it.  She brought me a taste, and it definitely was. So smooth and delicious.  I've got to find this stuff.

The server brought us rolls to start

Huge, flaky, warm, and delicious.  We then split the spinach salad between the 3 of us

Baby spinach, mushrooms, caramelized onion, crisp pancetta & goat cheese in Inzo house dressing

The salad was delicious.  The onions were warm, and lent a great flavor and sweetness to the salad.  If we were just going for drinks and apps, I could have done the chianti and salad and been happy. 

Joni and Tony split the special, which was a pasta with a vodka cream sauce.  I can't remember exactly what it was called, but that's close enough.  I completely forgot to take a picture, but I tasted it and it was excellent.  At the server's suggestion I got the penne chicken pesto.  I was hesitant because it has creamy pesto, and after my negative experience at the place in Tulsa I didn't want to be disappointed.  She assured me it was very good and really green.

Roasted chicken, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and creamy pesto sauce

So glad I took her advice, as this was excellent.  The penne was cooked a perfect al dente. Honestly, I usually cook mine longer until its soft, but this is the "official" way to do it.  The pesto was creamy, but not heavy at all.  Very good and fresh, and you could taste the basil. The sundried tomatoes added a great flavor. The chicken was cut into small pieces which kind of took me by surprise, but I guess that helps cook it faster.  Like the place in Tulsa, my pasta wasn't very hot on top.  But a couple bites in, and you could see the steam coming up.  

When we were ordering we had seen nutella cheesecake on the specials board.  I mean how can you pass up nutella cheesecake?  On Joni's birthday weekend? On a beautiful night on the patio?

Oh my, this was heaven.  It was so rich and creamy and delicious, but at the same time not overly heavy.  Thank goodness we shared, because as good as it was I don't think I could have finished it.

Will I go back?  Definitely.   The food and wine were delicious, and it there's lots of other items on the menu that I would like to try.

#102 - Farinas Winery & Cafe, Grapevine, TX

Last weekend I went to visit Joni & Tony one last time before football season.  I had planned to leave Thursday afternoon, but we had tons of rain Wednesday & Thursday. Enough to cause flooding in some areas, including part of I-35 in north Texas.  The last thing I wanted to do was drive in the rain all the way down there, especially when roads were closed.  The last time I drove from Dallas in the rain I wrecked my car.  So I really didn't want a repeat of that.  So I got up super early and left my house about 6am.  My plan was to take a nap when I arrived, but Joni and I started chatting, and next thing you know it was time for lunch. We were planning to go over to Arlington after lunch, so figured it made sense to eat in Grapevine.  

We decided on Farina's Winery & Cafe in downtown on Main Street.  It's a very cute place, right in the middle of downtown Grapevine.  We wanted to sit on the patio since it had finally stopped raining.  To get to the patio we had to walk through the restaurant, through the antique shop next door, and through the kitchen.  Very long winded route to get there, but worth it.  They do also have a back entrance, and as we sat there we saw a few people enter from the back.  They do have a sign saying that if you enter from the back you're supposed to go to the hostess stand first.  But who's going to do that?  By the time you get all the way up front and then back again, you're exhausted. It's a big, very nice patio with wrought iron tables & chairs, tile flooring, a large full bar, a large fountain, and a fireplace.  I had never seen tile floors on a restaurant patio, but it worked really well with the decor.  It was so nice to sit outside after 2 straight days of rain.

I started with the Sensual malbec.   Honestly, it was the name that sold me.  How could I pass up a brand called Sensual??  It was very delicious, but quite a bite.  As I drank I looked at the drink menu and saw they have Sawbuck Malbec, which is my favorite malbec.  I drank it second, and enjoyed it more than the Sensual.  It's much smoother.

I started with a house salad with the creamy homemade Italian dressing

Mixed field greens, pepperoni, green olives, artichokes, kalamata olives, pepperoncini peppers and Italian cheese served with Farina’s homemade creamy Italian dressing

I've never seen so many olives on a tiny salad in my life!  I tasted one of each, just to be sure that my taste buds hadn't changed.  Nope, still not a fan of olives, so I took them all off. The rest of the salad was delicious, as was the dressing. 

For lunch I had the Italian sausage sandwich and fries

Grilled homemade Italian sausage served on a toasted baguette with a blend of Italian cheeses, grilled onions, mushrooms, and topped with Farina's famous marinara

This sandwich was fantastic. One bite and you could tell the sausage was homemade.  I don't normally like caraway seeds because they are so strong.  But they worked really well in the sausage, and was very subtle.  The marinara was really good as well, and was enhanced by the blended cheeses, and the baguette was toasted and crispy.  The whole sandwich was so flavorful.   The fries were fresh, crisp and hot.

Will I go back?  Definitely.  I really enjoyed the patio atmosphere, the food was delicious, and they have one of my favorite wines.

#101 - Manna Wok, Wichita, KS

I seem to always have really good luck with restaurants in Wichita.  I've yet to be disappointed, and TripAdvisor has never led me astray.  Wichita is the perfect place to stop for lunch on my way home from Kansas City, and I try to hit there right around lunchtime. I came across Manna Wok, and it looked very interesting and got great reviews.  The one thing they all did say was to not let the neighborhood or the outside of the restaurant stop you from going.  And as I pulled up, I understood why.  The neighborhood was sketchy at best, and the building itself looked like it was completely closed.  I seriously considered finding someplace else, but read the reviews again, and decided to be adventurous.  I just hoped my car would still be there when I got done.

Manna Wok is TINY.  There are maybe 8 tables.  And they are packed together tight. Every inch of wall space is covered by pictures of patrons in the restaurant, and then at each table there's photo books with more pictures.  They've also got tons of just random stuff on the counters and in the entrance.  I swear it could be a museum.

It's owned by a couple; the husband cooks, while the wife runs the front of the house. They both still have a REALLY strong accent, and we did a lot of pointing to help me decide what to eat.  I started with the Kim Bab.  It's like sushi, but with no fish

It was just like sushi!  Thinly sliced beef and veggies with rice, wrapped in seaweed.  I was very surprised how much it was for just an appetizer. It was savory and absolutely delicious.  The flavors worked really well together. 

For lunch, I started with a salad 

They use that same dressing as I had in the sushi buffet in Lewisville, the stuff that looks like pureed baby food.  But it was still really good.

Then I got the beef bulgogi.  I had read that they make it at your table, but I think that's when it's more than one person, and also just at dinner.

Wow, this was amazing.  The marinated beef was perfectly cooked and delicious.  I had never tasted kimchee before.  I had seen it tons of times in Asian markets, but never was adventurous enough to try it.  Boy have I been missing out.  The kimchee was really, really good.  Tons of flavor, and I'm definitely glad I got medium spice because the hot would have been too much for me.  The rice was the same sticky rice used in sushi, and was delicious.  And it helped tone down the kick of the kimchee.

As I was eating, the owners came out and ate their lunch too.  And as I was finishing, they struck up a conversation.  They were so friendly, and very excited when I told them I'd found them on TripAdvisor and was just driving through. 

Will I go back?  Well, I promised the owners I would be back next time I'm in Wichita. And I can't go back on my word.  Besides, the food was amazing, and next time I want my picture to go on the wall!

#100 - Ingredient, Kansas City, MO

I've finally hit 100 restaurants! My original plan was to reach this milestone in 18 months. It took just over 2 years, but that's okay.  This has been such a fun journey.  I've branched out and tried new food, found lots of great new restaurants that I really love, found new items at old favorite restaurants, and have had a great time doing it.  A couple months ago I started tweeting the posts to the restaurants, and getting retweets and favorites from them has been really exciting as well.

Sometimes people still look at me kinda weird when I'm taking pictures of my food, but I don't even pay attention.  I also furiously take notes on my phone from start to finish so I don't have to rely on memory.  That has helped tremendously.  And just because I'm at #100 doesn't mean I'm stopping...just the opposite.  I plan to keep this up for at least another 100!

The morning after my conference ended I got up and went running, and by the time I got packed and ready to go I was hungry.  A couple mornings during the week I had gone to Cosentino's, a little gourmet shop a couple blocks from the hotel.  But I wanted something different.  Kathy had suggested Ingredient Restaurant, and said it was really good.

It's located in downtown KC, just about 2 blocks from the hotel.  They've got about 8 other locations in Kansas and Colorado.  I honestly almost didn't go there, because when I first walked in it was completely empty and I really thought it was closed.  I walked back out and across the street to another place, but it was more just coffee and danish, so I went back to Ingredient.  By then there were a couple other people inside.  

At Ingredient you order at the counter and they bring the food to you.  It's a very typical downtown eatery that's probably packed when they first open with people on their way to work, and then again at lunchtime.  It reminds me a lot of a diner, and kind of like train station diner.  But that's not a bad thing.  Large open kitchen in the middle, seating on 3 sides of the kitchen, about 75 tables in all.  The tables are a mix of booths and regular tables. I sat at a 2-person booth.  

I ordered a bacon cheddar sandwich on wheat English muffin, and all of the sandwiches come with skillet potatoes

Two griddled eggs, smoked apple wood or crisp turkey bacon, and cheddar
on a sourdough, wheat English muffin or biscuit

I love that you get a ceramic coffee cup instead of styrofoam.  I'm sure I could have requested one to take the coffee to go.  The coffee urn was empty when I first got some, and I mentioned it to the lady at the counter.  By the time I picked up utensils and put my stuff down at the table, there was a new, fresh urn of coffee.  Perfect.

My food came out super fast.  I mean, within 5 minutes.  I'm sure when it's packed the wait is quite a bit longer.  But even though it was fast, the food was very fresh.  The breakfast potatoes were really crisp and delicious.  A little too much salt for my taste, but not too bad.  I got the wheat English muffin and it was really good.  Not sure what made it different than the ones from the store, but I really enjoyed the flavor.  When I picked up the sandwich the eggs immediately started falling out.  So I ate the top of the muffin by itself, and made the rest of the sandwich a knife-and-fork deal.  The cheddar had a delicious smoky flavor that I really liked.  I didn't think about it until after I had started eating, but I should have ordered the eggs over medium because they were cooked a little more than I would normally like.

Will I go back?  No doubt.  The food was fresh, hot, and very good. And I was in and out of there within 30 minutes.  And it's an inexpensive meal.

#99 - Drunken Fish Sushi Restaurant & Lounge, Kansas City, MO

After our big lunch at Oklahoma Joe's, Kerrie and I dropped everyone at the airport, took the rental car back, talked to a few friends in the hotel lobby, and then it was high time for a nap.  I absolutely love the Marriott beds. They are so plush and comfortable.  I was trying to figure out how to sneak it out of the hotel, but I think security would catch me. And that wouldn't be a good situation.  After my nap I finished watching soccer, and was then getting hungry.  

The one thing I hadn't eaten all week was sushi.  And I love sushi.  And there are 2 sushi choices at Power & Light.  Well, one of the food stops at our last venue tour of the conference at Sporting KC did have sushi and I had a couple of pieces.  I can't remember what it was called, but it was really good.  Dick's explanation was "a Chinese taco".  I thought about Kobe Steak & Seafood but as I walked by I just wasn't feeling it.  So I continued on to Drunken Fish Sushi Restaurant & Lounge.  

It was a beautiful night, so I sat on the patio.  I was only inside long enough to stop at the hostess stand and ask to sit outside, but the inside did look cool.  I had planned to go in to the restroom at some point and check out the whole restaurant, but never made it. The patio isn't large, but it's the whole length of the restaurant and can seat about 50 out there.  

My server was in training, but she still did a pretty good job.  I really like that when she first arrived she dropped off a card that had all their contact info and social media presences, and the other locations on it.  And a space for the server name, so you can ask for them specifically next time.  Very smart.  

I focused mainly on water, but the specialty drinks were calling my name and had very fun names.  I decided to go with the Mr. Miyagi.  

Vodka, blue curacao, melon liqueur, amaretto, pineapple juice, splash of sour

It was very good!  I kinda felt like I was in Maui, with the great colors and fruity garnishes. But sadly, I wasn't.   I really hungry, so decided to try an appetizer while I thought about what sushi to get.  I thought about gyoza, but you can get that anywhere.  The sticky fries sounded good, but a little too sweet.  And since my drink was pretty sweet that would be too much.  I eventually settled on drunken tofu.  I'm not usually a fan of tofu, but I'm trying to develop a taste for it.  And in the trade show on the first night they had a tofu pad Thai station, and it was really good.   So I decided to be adventurous 

Lightly fried tofu, topped with grated ginger, shiso, scallions, daikon, sweet soy dressing

Wow, this was really good.  They weren't kidding about lightly fried either.  It was like they barely dipped the tofu in breading before frying it, and it broke apart as soon as I cut into it. The dressing was so light and flavorful, and the tofu absorbed it really well.  It did have a lot more ginger than I was expecting, but it was still delicious.  

After a lot of deciding and contemplating, I finally decided on the spicy eskimo roll. 

Crab, cucumber, cream cheese, topped with smoked salmon, yuzo sauce, garlic mayo,
jalapeno slices, and black tobiko

These rolls were awesome!  The jalapeno added a serious kick, even though the slices were very thin.  The kick was probably heightened since I always mix wasabi with my soy sauce. The cream cheese added a very nice creamy texture to the rolls.  I had no idea what black tobiko was and when the server said roe eggs, I passed.   

I was still hungry, so I then ordered the spicy calamari roll

Tempura-fried calamari and asparagus, topped with spicy mayo, masago, and sesame seeds

These were absolutely delicious.  The calamari was warm and perfectly cooked, and the spicy mayo had a really good kick.  I could have seriously eaten another one, but I was getting really full.  I never get masago on my rolls.  I think those are different roe eggs.

I momentarily thought about dessert, but realized that would be a little overboard at that point.

Will I go back?  No question.  The food and the atmosphere were great, and I would love to try out some different sushi.

My Chef's Hat - Spring Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

I've badly neglected the "Chef's Hat" portion of this blog, where I post new recipes I've made.  My original goal was to make one new recipe per week, for the same reason as the new restuarants...I'm a creature of habit and end up rotating about 15 recipes around.  That wouldn't be so bad if I didn't cook at home 99% of the time for lunch and dinner.  And as much as I enjoy eating out, it gets expensive really fast and can easily be unhealthy.  I've done quite a few new recipes over the last several months, but just haven't posted them.  Time to change that.

About 18 months ago I tried quinoa for the first time.  Jack and Betty raved about it, and one evening when I was at their house they gave me a little dry quinoa to take home.  The first time I cooked it in water.  One bite, and I vowed never to eat it again.  It was bland, flavorless, and tasted like wallpaper paste.  A couple months later I decided to give it another shot, if for no other reason than it's very good for you.  This time I cooked it in vegetable broth...and was sold.  Both chicken and veggie broth add tons of flavor with just a couple of calories.  So I've found and made many quinoa recipes, and have enjoyed all of them.

I found a recipe on Pinterest for Spring Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette.  It was full of stuff that I liked, and it sounded good, so I tried it out.

Here's the official picture

And here's my version

It was really good!  I added too much lemon so it was really tart, but that's an easy fix.  I also felt like it needed a little crunch.  I made it again last week and added asparagus, and also threw in some sundried tomatoes.  The asparagus took care of the crunch, and the tomatoes added a wonderful sweetness.  I've kind of become obsessed with sundried tomatoes lately, ,so I add them wherever I can.  It's funny because for a long time I wouldn't eat peas.  I ate them all the time as a kid, but then stopped for probably 20 years.  And just started back about 2 years ago.  I don't eat them plain, but they're a quick and easy add to a lot of dishes.

Will I make this again?  Definitely!  The second time I made it I toned down the lemon, but can still do it a little more.  And I'll definitely continue to use the asparagus and sundried tomatoes.



Recipe found on Pinch of Yum

#98 - Oklahoma Joe's, Kansas City, KS

A couple years ago we created the name CD4L for our college division crew at ALSD (Association of Luxury Suite Directors). Members of the other leagues are so tight-knit, and we had become that way, so we wanted to make it official.  Our group has dwindled a little, as Jessica left OU, and Krista couldn't make it to ALSD this year, so Blair, Jared and I had to branch out some. Kerrie and I have become friends over the past 2 years since she first came to ALSD. She works for the Dallas Cowboys, and was super helpful to me when we were at the Cotton Bowl in December. Bruce, Laura & Kathy are with the San Jose Sharks, Mike owns his own company, and Dick does a lot of our tickets and my wristbands.  I'm not really sure how it all started, but Monday night after the venue tour we started talking about fun facts...little bits of information that everyone would appreciate.  By Tuesday morning we officially named our group #teamfunfact. Unfortunately Monday night we also learned some NOT fun facts about a specific person that will haunt us for the rest of our lives.

I'm so glad we formed this group.  We share very similar personalities, had lots of fun and laughs, and pretty sure there are a couple of #teamfunfact field trips in the works.

The conference ended early Wednesday afternoon.  Bruce was moderating a late morning session so we all went to that.  Everyone had talked about going to Oklahoma Joe's, and we decided it would be the perfect way to finish out the week. Kerrie was originally going to stay for the last session and miss out, but changed her mind and joined the party. Mike rented a car so we could drop him and the San Jose crew off at the airport after lunch. Kerrie wasn't flying out until later that evening, and I was staying another night.  

I had heard of Oklahoma Joe's, but had never been there.  Everyone gave it rave reviews, and it's basically required to eat BBQ while in Kansas City.  We settled on the original location, since it's closest to the airport.  After looking at the other locations on the website, I'm so happy we did.  The original is in a gas station...can't beat that for atmosphere.  The other ones are in modern buildings, and that just wouldn't be the same.

I've heard of people waiting up to 2 1/2 hours to get through the line.  When we arrived the line was wrapped around the inside, all the way to the door, but we made it through in about 30 minutes.  You're not supposed to save tables.  But we're rebels.  We saw a couple of guys from the conference who were finishing up, so we sat with them. And they gave us the rest of their fries.  So we weren't really saving, we were eating fries...

The menu is pretty basic.  BBQ and sides.  I ended up with Bruce & Mike in line when we were ordering.  We rattled off the list to the guy, who rattled it back to us and then back to the kitchen twice.  And never got anything wrong.  Honestly we weren't even sure if it was wrong or not, but everything came out perfectly.  We were amazed and impressed.

We each got a sandwich, plus we split a rack of ribs, potato salad, cole slaw, onion rings, and fries.  3 of us got the Z man, 3 got the Carolina Pulled Pork.  

Z Man sandwich - slow smoked beef brisket, smoked provolone cheese, 

two crispy onion rings, kaiser roll

Carolina Pulled Pork - pulled pork on toasted bun, topped with spicy cole slaw and Bubba's sauce

I had the Z Man, and it was fantastic.  The brisket was so tender, the provolone was delicious, and the onion rings gave it a great crunch.  The Carolina pulled pork also got rave reviews.  Kerrie said the spicy cole slaw was really spicy, so we went with the creamy.  For some reason Mike thought it was a good idea to get pints of the cole slaw and potato salad.  They were both excellent, but no chance we could finish them.  The fries were absolutely delicious.  They had kind of an Old Bay spice on them.  The ribs were to die for.  Falling off the bone.  There are 12 on a full slab, so we each had 2.  I had to force myself to eat the second one because I was so full.  But no chance I wasn't finishing it.

By the time we were absolutely stuffed, there was still most of the potato salad and cole slaw left, as well as some onion rings.  Not because they weren't delicious, but because we had ordered way too much.  There was a big group about to take our table, so we left everything with them.  They hadn't ordered any of that, so it worked out perfectly.

Will I go back?  This is yet another restaurant on my annual KC list.  And I will always go to the original location. 

#97 AND A Repeat with a Twist - BRGR Kitchen & Bar, Kansas City, MO

My ALSD (Association of Luxury Suite Directors) conference was a couple weeks ago in Kansas City. It's in a different city every year, and they focus on cities with new venue construction or major renovations.  The previous 7 years it's been in Phoenix, Miami, Dallas, NYC, LA, Minneapolis, and Orlando.  Next year it's in San Francisco, and I'm really looking forward to that so I can stay longer and check out wine country.

I've made so many friends within the ALSD, and the conference is kind of our annual reunion.  The conference starts late Sunday afternoon with a reception in the exhibit hall, and a venue tour.  I used to get to town early Sunday, but by about 9pm that night I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.  So now I go on Saturday, which works out better especially since we have a board meeting early Sunday afternoon to kick off the conference.

I got up early Sunday and had a great 5-mile run to start the day, went back up to the room and took a power nap, and then was ready for some lunch.  We were staying at the downtown Marriott, just a few blocks from the Power & Light District, a great entertainment district with tons of bars & restaurants.  I had never been to KC for anything other than basketball tournaments, so it was kind of weird to be there with so few people relative to the thousands of basketball fans that descend on KC every March.  I had eaten at McFadden's, Gordon Biersch, 801 Chop house, and Pizza Bar many times over the years, so I wanted something different.  I came across BRGR Kitchen & Bar on the P&L website and decided to try it out.  I ran into my colleague Jim in the hotel lobby, so he joined me.

BRGR is a very cool industrial-looking building.  It's got a nice outdoor patio, but it was way too windy to sit out there.  The inside has dark wood tables, industrial looking metal chairs, and a large open bar in the middle with the glassware hanging from shelving hung from the ceiling.  The bathrooms are really interesting.  You walk through the main restroom door, then there's a women's door to the left, a men's door to the right, and a community sink area in the middle.  And the sink is literally a trough/long tub.  I've never seen a setup like it before.  I meant to take a picture, but I forgot.

There's lots to choose from on the regular menu, and the Sunday brunch menu just added more to my selection options.  They have lots of beers, as well as adult shakes and regular milkshakes.  I decided to start with the Jost shake

Cruzan rum, vodka, Bailey's, Kahlua, chocolate liqueur, Coco Lopez,
vanilla ice cream, nutmeg

Wow!  This shake was amazing.  Creamy, delicious, with a good kick, but not overpowering. I could have downed the whole thing in less than 5 minutes, but I drank it slow so I could enjoy it with my meal.

I had been craving a burger, but earlier in the day I saw that it was National fried chicken day.  BRGR must have been reading my mind, as they had chicken & waffles on the brunch menu.  I was a little concerned though...they were Belgian waffles, and I wasn't sure we were allowed to eat those since we had just lost to Belgium in the World Cup.  But the sever assured me it was okay, because they were made from cornmeal, so they weren't truly Belgian.  That was good enough for me.

Corn bread Belgium waffle, crispy chicken tenders, maple bacon butter, fried eggs,
bottle of Tabasco

In a word, awesome.  The chicken was lightly coated, the 5 pieces were huge, and it was so good.  The waffles were cooked perfectly, with a crispy cornmeal crust and soft inside.  The maple bacon butter syrup, which honestly was one of the things that sold me, was amazing and served hot.  The eggs were okay.  A little overcooked for my taste, but still good. 

On Monday the conference hosts a awards luncheon.  Blair and I always skip out, and instead go find someplace to eat nearby.  We went over a few options while we walked down to P&L, and after I told him how good the food was at BRGR, we decided to go there again.  On our way down we saw Bruce, Laura and Kathy, and they were headed there as well.  Bruce and Laura had already been there twice since they arrived.

Of course I got the Jost shake again.  And it was even stronger this time.  So I definitely stuck with one, since Blair and I had to go back and moderate our league session.  We started with the Chile fondue and the pig wings

crispy pork shank, scotch-honey glaze, blue cheese, sambal, celery

seven cheeses, smoked chilies, braised tomatoes, stadium pretzels, corn & flour chips

The pig wings were phenomenal.  I was very surprised how big they were, and the meat was falling off the bone.  The scotch honey glaze was really, really good.  Not really sure what sambal was, but it sure tasted good.  The fondue was delicious, warm and creamy, and I loved how it was served in the cast iron pot.  The pretzel was soft and delicious.  We devoured the wings, and ate some of the fondue and pretzels, but had to slow down so we could actually finish our meal. 

On Sunday Jim had the Juicy Lucy burger .  He raved about how good it was, and talked about a show where guys go across the country searching for the best Juicy Lucy's and this was a featured one.  So I went with it to conquer my burger craving, as well as the parmesan truffle fries.

1/2lb chuck & short rib blend, ground fresh, mixed with Worcestershire sauce,
American cheese stuffed, lettuce, mayo, Kaiser bun

The burger was fantastic.  Cooked perfect medium, the cheese was gooey and delicious.  I could have eaten 2 of them, but that would have just been gluttonous.  The parmesan truffle fries were so good.   The parm was definitely the real thing, not that stuff in a can.

Bruce had the KC Butcher

1/2lb burger, 4oz hanger steak cooked medium, boursin horseradish cream cheese, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, sourdough, onion ring

This was the hugest burger I've ever seen!  Bruce dominated it, and ate everything but a little part of the bread.  We were all very impressed.

They have custom bottled ketchup and mustard.  And I really liked the ketchup, as it had a little something extra.  Not sure exactly what, but it was a more smoky flavor than regular.

I forgot to take pictures of everyone else's food.  Blair had the turkey burger, and said the addition of avocado killed it--in a good way.  Kathy raved about the Tacos de BRGR with the slow braised pork shoulder.  I can't remember what Laura had, but she really liked it too. Kathy had also ordered the truffle tater tots.  Fantastic.  So much so that I took the leftovers as a snack for later.  And they were just as good that night.

Will I go back?  No question.  It will definitely be on the food rotation when I'm back in KC for the Big 12 basketball tournament.

#96 - Infuzion Ultra Lounge & Bistro - Tulsa, OK

A few weeks ago I went to spend the evening with my friends Shawn & Karen in Tulsa.  They had a new restaurant they wanted to check out, so of course I was in.  They are major creatures of habit, so for them to branch out to something new is a big thing, which I was even more excited about.  So we went to Infuzion Ultra Lounge & Bistro.  It's located on the corner of a strip mall not far from their house.  The inside kind of has this "new age" look, with very modern furniture, rope lighting under the bar, and purple lights that give the restaurant kind of a nightclub feel.  Shawn & Karen are renovating their house, so we spent some time admiring the décor and how some of what they did might work in the house.  We didn't see the outdoor patio when we were there, but looking at pictures on the website it looks like a great place for happy hour.  They had a 3-person band playing when we arrived, and it was very much dinner music.  Oldies back to Sinatra days.  They also had a slideshow playing on the screen with old pictures to match the music.  It was a very interesting combination.  We kind of got engrossed in it, trying to figure out who the celebrities in the pictures were.  It was nice, but the music eventually got really slow... too slow even for dinner music.  Our server said that at 10pm the music changes over, and it really does become a nightclub. 

We started with drinks, and all went with margaritas.  They were very good and pretty strong.  We started with the southwestern chicken quesadillas

 Grilled chicken and onions and three cheese blend 

The quesadillas were really good.  It was a little heavy on the cheese, but in all honestly who can complain about too much cheese?  The chips on the side were good, but I wish they hadn't put the salsa and sour cream on top, because the chips got soggy.

For dinner Shawn got the flatbread pizza, Karen got the chicken enchiladas Verde, and I got the Infuzion burger



I didn't try any of Shawn's pizza because it wasn't a lot... he's a big guy, so I didn't want to take any of his food away!  But he said it was very good.  I did try a bite of Karen's enchiladas, and they were delicious.  I had been deciding between them and the burger.  My burger was really good as well.  It was cooked to a perfect medium, and the egg was perfectly cooked.  I've become a big fan of the egg on the burger fad.  My sweet potato fries were hot and fresh. 

Will I go back?  Definitely!  The food was very good, and there's some other things on the menu I would like to try.  I'd love to go later in the evening for dinner, and stay to watch the transformation into a nightclub.  I have the feeling it's some epic people watching. 

#95 - Grimaldi's Pizzeria - Flower Mound, TX

After a few hours of funtivities at The Truck Yard, we figured it would be best to head back closer to Flower Mound for dinner. As usual we couldn't decide what to eat, but I knew I wanted something new for the food blog. By the time we got back home, we decided to go to Grimaldi's Pizzeria.  There's one in Highland Village, not far from Joni's house.  

Grimaldi's originated in NYC, with 3 locations. Now they've got locations across the country. Once we got there I feel like I've eaten there once before in my life in Manhattan. But if I did it was a million years ago.

It was about 7pm on Saturday night so of course the restaurant was packed, but the wait really wasn't too long. There's a great outdoor patio with about 15 tables, and half the bar is also outside. It was super windy and there's nothing to protect from any of the wind, so I would have preferred to sit inside. But Joni wanted to sit on the patio, so I just went with it.

The restaurant itself is very New York: red & white checkered tablecloths, Sinatra playing in the background, inside tables close together so its loud and boisterous, but fun.  We started with the spinach salad, and got a large to share.

Baby spinach, tomato, bacon, red onion, vinaigrette

PHOTO COURTESY OF FOODSPOTTING

The salad was really fresh and delicious  I had the server add some fresh cracked pepper on top of mine.

The "personal" pizzas are 12", way too big to eat at one serving. But we each wanted something different, so got our own. I do like that they offer a choice of 3 sauces... red, white, and pesto.   I don't like that the toppings are priced a la carte, and are pretty pricey for being toppings. But obviously it works.   Joni got the plain pesto, and I got white with garlic, and added pepperoni, green peppers and onions.

I'm not normally a big fan of thin crust pizza, but this was absolutely fantastic. The white sauce was delicious. The garlic was definitely there, but not overpowering. The pepperoni was thicker cut, which I really liked. Joni's pizza came out first and I had a piece of hers. It was so good as well. The pesto was really, really good.  I stopped myself after half the pizza, and has the rest for breakfast the next morning.

Will I go back? No question. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, even with all the wind. And I could eat that pizza regularly.

#94 - The Truck Yard & Jack's Chow Hound, Dallas, TX

Joni's friend Dion had told us about a fun place in Dallas called Truck Yard. Since we didn't have a plan for Saturday, we decided to meet her there and check it out.

Its in Lower Greenville, an area with tons of restaurants, bars, and shops.  We drove through a couple areas that didn't look the greatest, but otherwise its a very unique and eclectic area. There's some free parking, but it was full so we just did the complimentary valet.

This place is awesome!  The main building is pretty small, but it opens out to a huge beer garden.  The garden floor is dirt/sand, the seating is tons of tables and old chairs. Round tables, park benches, small 3-4 person tables, and 2 tables literally set into the bed of a pickup truck. You can order food from inside, but there's also 3 food trucks that periodically rotate.  There's also a beer bar inside of another food truck, a tree house bar, and a small stage that's attached to the front of a pickup.

We found a small table that was on the deck, which provided a great spot for people watching.  And there's some fantastic people watching to be had.  I really like that its a kid friendly place, and we saw people of every age, from a couple of infants to a woman who looked about 80-years old. It was also a very diverse group of patrons, people from every walk of life. Even though we sat at a small table, I like the idea of sitting at the larger benches, because you could see groups that obviously didn't know each other talking and drinking together.

The weather was perfect for the beer garden. It was hot, but not ridiculous. They've got lots of trees to provide shade and the breeze kept it a little cooler. I can't see going here in the rain or when its freezing cold.

Of course we had to drink beer... when in Rome. We stuck with boring American beers. Next time I'm branching out to some more craft type beers.  I do love how they display the menu in the table, and I really love the koozies.

Eventually we got hungry. Joni & Dion split a pizza, which they said was really good. I checked out all 3 trucks, and settled on Jack's Chow Hound. I got the pulled pork grilled cheese and Cajun fries.

The sandwich was absolutely phenomenal. The bread is locally made, the BBQ sauce was tangy but not overpowering, the gouda was delicious and smoky. The fries were good, but too much Cajun spice... that's all I could taste, so it detracted from the taste of the fries. They could have done half as much spice, and it would have been enough.

As if all this wasn't enough, after a while 2 guys and a girl walked in with a baby pig.  Who has a pig as a pet??  Never seen that in my life.

We had gotten there at about 1:30, and finally pried ourselves away about 5 hours later. And it didn't feel that long at all. We were just having a great time relaxing, talking, and people watching.

Will I go back?  We're already planning that for my next trip to Dallas!