How much for that sandwich!?

You can barely read the prices but for the filet mignon steak sandwich you see in the photo, it costs $18.00!

Maybe next time when I attend the U.S. Open, I'll treat it like going to Six Flags and have an ice chest with drinks and sandwiches in the car in the parking lot because it did not taste like an $18 sandwich!

I did purchase it and I didn't taste anything special from it other than it tasted like a steak (meat) sandwich. It definitely wasn't worth $18 but there isn't anything cheap to eat at the U.S. Open!

Let's play "name that food item"

I'm going to sound like an old man but I can remember the days when you knew without a doubt if you were seeing an burrito supreme or a bean burrito. My, how times have changed!

I remember when I was in high school and we got to leave the campus for lunch. We would head over to Taco Bell with our cash in hand knowing that we could get a medium drink and two soft tacos, two hard tacos or two bean burritos for $2.00 even. If we wanted a burrito supreme, it was like $1.59 but it was much bigger and it would fill us more. We all usually did the $2.00 deal because we'd be saving our money for going out over the weekend to the movies, bowling or whatever.

If I remember correctly, back in the day the tacos and bean burrito were priced around $.59 and the drink was like $.69. Add the tax which was probably around 7.5% back then and we'd get the $2.00.

Now what is it, like a $1.09 for a bean burrito or soft taco and $.99 for a hard taco? However, you get a little less filling for twice the costs. Ridiculous! Oh well. Unfortunately I'll still pay some of their prices because me and my family still love us some T Bell!

So, let's play the "name that food item" game. You have a 50/50 chance of being correct. Easy right?

Which one of these Taco Bell items
is a Burrito Supreme
and which is a Bean Burrito?
 

 

Weekend breakfast

Over the past few years or so, I've tried to create a tradition of making breakfast at least on one of the weekend mornings for the family but usually Sunday. This is about what it looks like but with a bit more bacon, eggs (scrambled and over-easy), toast (french or toasted).

Add Dunkin Donuts coffee for me, milk for the family and breakfast is good to go in the House of Jay.

I believe creating this tradition has worked as many times my kids have had friends stay the night and I hear them say, "Dude, you picked a good night to stay over because my Dad makes breakfast with bacon and eggs in the morning!"

I'm a good—no, great Dad and husband!

Digg's Taco Shop's hamburguesa

I had a craving for the hamburger from Digg's Taco Shop. Yes, a hamburger at a taco place. Don't laugh. It's actually pretty tasty. This is at least the fourth or fifth time I've had one. I've probably been accompanied by the same female coworker for three out of five of those burgers. She's got an addiction as she's probably had 8-10 burgers from Digg's over as many trips.

I was pretty hungry and didn't want to still feel so after eating just one burger so I bought two. The one below is the lucky winner to be eaten tonight! I refrigerated the other one because even though I was indeed still hungry, I didn't want to feel bloated by starting the second one and end up eating it all...because that's what I would have done — eaten it all!

In case you're interested, here is an article/review from the Dallas Observer's restaurant blog (while it lasts).

Digg's has actually increased the price of the burger by $1 since my coworker and I first had one about 6-8 months ago. At $5.95, it was a pretty good deal. At $6.95, it's still a good deal if you just get the burger but once you add a drink and maybe a side, you could probably get something bigger (and maybe better) somewhere else.

McDonald's loitering

Stopped by the McDonald's at 5220 N MacArthur, Irving, TX this evening around 8 p.m. There were three female and one male worker. Service was VERY slow. Waited at counter to order for 5-7 mins after the previous customer ordered. Finally took my order and I realized they got it wrong when they called me to say my order was ready — she didn't confirm it (well I didn't either) immediately after taking my order. I ordered a 10 pc McNugget meal with a Diet Coke, a Quarter Pounder (sandwich only), and an iced coffee. The order I picked up was a 10 pc McNugget meal and a Quarter Pounder meal. I don't know if the cost was more or less than it should've been but I wasn't that hungry and was going to share the fries with my child. We basically wasted an order of medium fries.

Some quick thoughts: I feel the value of the quarter pounder meal is not worth it. The hamburger patties were the smallest and thinnest I've had/seen. It's like the disclaimer of "pre-cooked weight" is used to cover the fact that the burger isn't EVEN CLOSE to being a 1/4 lb. I truly believe the slices of cheese could have been as thick as the patties and weighed nearly the same. I probably won't be going back to McDonald's for anything but maybe a $1 menu item or a coffee (the coffee is very good by the way).

The worst and funniest part of our visit was the sign that was just above my head where we sat but also posted throughout the dining area. I don't understand why they'd post such a sign in a restaurant, a fast food restaurant at that, where there is no need for table turnover since there is no waitstaff looking for tip wages.

McDonald's McRibs

As you can see, the McRib is back at McDonald's. I'm not a McRib fanatic but I have always had at least one when they come back each year to the Mickey D's menu. I had a couple McD's gift cards with money on them still so I decided to have something from McDonald's for lunch today.

The shift manager took my order and was promoting the McRib value meal to me. He then said, "Do you want the extra McRib sandwich for just $1 more?" I joked, "So, are you asking me to add another 500 calories to the 1,000 the value meal already provides me?" He said, "Yep!" So I ordered the second sandwich for the $1 extra. However, after taking the photo, I repackaged the second sandwich to save for later.

Chick-fil-a off US 75 near Southwestern Blvd, Dallas

Went to get lunch for me and the wife. This was the drive thru at Chick-fil-a around 11:45 a.m. on a Monday. I can't believe people wait this long for food and especially this many people still think Chick-fil-a is "healthy." Yes, it's good-tasting food but people think it's also healthy because it's chicken. Everything is healthy in moderation. But I digress.

This is just a glimpse of the line that I caught. They have two drive thru lanes. The right one is all the way to the 75 service road and down it north to the Southwestern Blvd intersection. Which always causes traffic backups around lunch time at this location. It's ridiculous. Does it mean that Chick-fil-a is that worth it or that people are just foolish?

Oh well, either way, I would never wait more than 5-10 minutes between getting in line, ordering and getting my order from a "fast food" restaurant. I've got better things to do or better places to eat that require me to wait.

Mashed potatoes in a bucket

Went to my neighborhood Tom Thumb to get some groceries and dinner. My youngest went with me. We were pretty hungry and grocery shopping while being as hungry as we were probably isn't the best idea.

We didn't do too bad. We had to get some treats for a party my youngest was attending. We purchased Safeway branded chocolate-covered donut holes — 50 for $5. Yum! In fact, I purchased two tubs so I could have my fat-building dessert at home all day!

For dinner, we decided to get an over-roasted chicken. You know the kind they have these days at any big-name grocery in the middle of some aisle near the deli that was actually baked/cooked by the deli. They are usually like $4.99-$5.99 depending on if you have their rewards card.

Anyway, my youngest said we needed a side item to go with it. Which normally we don't but today we needed one. My youngest picked this bucket of mashed potatoes for like $3.00. I guess we could test it for such a low price. Besides, unless it's just completely horrible and disgusting, I'll eat it because I was born, bred and raised to NOT waste food!

So, long story short, these are pretty darn good! I was a little iffy when buying and initially warming them up (they're in a microwavable container) but the oldest, youngest and I liked them. I don't think the wife had any but I'm sure she would have liked them as well.

Sometimes you gotta live on the edge, especially with food. If it works out, cool. If not...try again.

Cooking sliders

Started a couple of weeks ago but just now finishing and posting.

I've written about my appreciation of the sliders from Easy Slider Truck. They make 'em pretty good. But as we all know, it's not that hard to make a burger whether it's 1/4 lb, 1/3 lb, 1/2 lb or "slider" lb. No matter how you make it or with what add-ons, it usually tastes good or tastes good to someone. Anyway, it's been a few months or so since we've had any Easy Slider sliders. We just haven't had the time but also, the last time they were near my work, they were charging $8.00 for two sliders or $12.00 for three. It used to be two for $7.00 or three for $10. I think $4.00 a slider isn't worth it when I can get almost an entire value meal (fries, drink and burger) somewhere for $8.00. Anyway, the last time I went to buy sliders for the family, I got nine sliders which cost me $30.00.

So, the family decided to try and make our own. Well, I get to do all the trying and making. The wife and kids get to try the tasting. Hamburger meat @ $8.00, slider buns 12-pk @ $3.00, small goat cheese @ $3.00, strawberry preserve spread @ $3.00, and a pound of bacon @ $8.99 which equals a total around $26.00 plus tax. I saved roughly $4.00 but I also made 16 sliders——the last two (in the bottom pic below) probably could have been broken into four for a total of 18 sliders.

Below: is just the start of the sliders in the skillet. I just mixed the 95% lean hamburger meat with garlic powder. I sliced a yellow onion and put in the skillet with the patties to hopefully pick up some of the juice/flavoring from the patties.

Next: This is just one of the many sliders I cooked. A photo just doesn't do it justice on how good it looked and also lacks the tasty smell that makes the mouth water.

I had some leftover hamburger meat since I didn't know how many sliders I would/could make. I decided to make some Heinz 57 sliders. I mixed the hamburger meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Heinz 57. I ran out of slider buns so I thought I'd see how cinnamon raisin bread would work. Added some bacon and, voila! This shit was pretty darn good and tasty if I may say so myself!

Genghis Grill "rewards"

I'm a Khan Klub member with Genghis Grill. As such, I get email deals sent to me. Sometimes they're not very good deals. Sometimes they are good deals. Most of the time they are just okay deals.

To me, as a business if you create a "fan club" for people to join, it should provide its members with mostly good or very good deals. These members obviously use your business and were willing to join your email fan club for perks. It would be courteous for the business to reciprocate the customer's gesture.

I'm not saying EVERY deal has to be BOGO or something like that but 8 out of 10 deals emailed to me from the Khan Klub are a waste of digital space and a thankless poke in the eye from Genghis.

I've used a few of the Khan Klub deals that I thought were good. One was a BOGO bowl with the purchase of two drinks. Now, if I didn't always get a drink, this wouldn't be that good of a deal. A dinner bowl is like $9.99. A drink is $1.89 x 2. So, the deal would cost roughly $13.80 before tax and small tip. Which is like $10.00 off. That's not too shabby. I've also used another deal that was two bowls, two drinks, and a dessert for $19.99 So, technically that's getting the two drinks and dessert for free.

Today's deal wasn't too bad but I've had better (like the ones I've described). Deal of today was BOGO small bowl with purchase of two drinks. A small dinner bowl is like $7.99. So, I just saved around $8.00 but that's better than spending $8.00. The small bowl is noticeably smaller than the regular bowl but it's not like I couldn't pile that shit in the small bowl like I do the regular!

In conclusion, it doesn't cost anything to sign up for the Khan Klub. The deals usually have to be used by a certain time...typically anywhere form 3-5 days after I received the email. You also get some kind of points every time you dine there as long as you have your Khan's card or your Klub member number. I usually forget to have my card and there's no way I'll memorize my member number but now I have it in my wallet. I'll probably not go again since I have it in my wallet. :-)

Aloha Hawaiian BBQ in Dallas

Before the Christmas holidays (yeah, this post has been THAT delayed), I was asked by a friend and former neighbor if I had ever eat at Aloha Hawaiian BBQ. My response was, "No, but now that I know about it I will more than likely try it...pretty soon." Five days later on a Monday evening, I took my kids to go check it out.

The problem with restaurants claiming to serve Hawaiian or Filipino food is they tend to miss the mark. However, Aloha does a very good job in matching the tastes of many dishes I've had in Hawaii as well as at L&L Hawaiian BBQ in Plano.

Portuguese Sausage Musubi (left), Spam Musubi (right)

Lunch Chicken Katsu/BBQ Chicken (far) and
Chicken Katsu/Kalua Pork (near)

This is just a couple of the items that they had on their lunch menu. There are others like Kalua Pork Plate and BBQ Mix Plate which I've only had at dinner. The mac salad is very close to L&L or any of the restaurants in Hawaii. I'm not sure what makes it taste slightly different but it's still completely acceptable.

So, if you get a chance, make a run to Aloha Hawaiian BBQ on Lemmon Ave near Inwood. You won't be disappointed unless you're like the many clueless mainlanders that do not understand the Hawaiian cuisine and therefore are looking for just steamed rice, fried chicken or barbecue Texas-style.

Charley's Grilled Subs in The Dallas Galleria

I took the kids and a couple of their friends to The Galleria Mall—you can tell it was some time ago if you look at the date on the receipt. I don't frequent malls much at all these days. Hate 'em! Hate being around so many people caught up in themselves, their phones, the cluelessness. It's a horde of people unaware of their surroundings or other people and I prefer not to be around them else I find myself as the top story on the five o'clock news for beating the crap out of one of the mindless.

Anyway, we were all hungry and weren't sure what we wanted but didn't want the standards of McDonald's or Subway.

Enter Charley's Grilled Subs on the top floor! (or company website here)

I've never heard of Charley's. One of the kids' friends had it once and said it wasn't too bad. So, we decided to try it.

 

If you look at the price per combo on the receipt compared to the size of the philly sandwich pictured (albeit it's only about half a sandwich but it wasn't much bigger full), I'd have to say that it wasn't worth it to me. It's as much the size of the sandwich as it was the taste of the philly sandwich. It just wasn't anything tasty and special where I'd have say, "Damn, I'm at the Galleria and hungry so I'm going to have Charley's again." Add in the fries which were very underwhelming and I'd have to say I'll probably never eat at a Charley's Grilled Subs again.

Frozen food stuffs from Schwan's

A relative of mine sent a care package to my family that she ordered online through Schwan's. I don't recall ever hearing of this company but who am I to turn away from trying free food?

The food came frozen in a pretty sturdy styrofoam chest about 2 1/2 feet long by 2 feet deep and wide. All the food was sealed in plastic and placed in cardboard boxes. There was a variety of food stuffs she ordered. There was chicken pot pies, pizza, angus mini cheeseburgers (pictured below), and lasagna.

At the time of this picture-taking and posting, I had only tried the mini cheeseburgers. However, the posting started about 4-5 weeks ago and I'm just now getting to typing something.

So, first of all, the mini cheeseburgers reminded me a lot of these frozen White Castle cheeseburgers a friend shared with me some time ago. Similar packing, presentation and taste—yes, I just equalled the taste of them to White Castle frozen burgers...if you've had frozen, precooked burgers you show know that they all pretty much taste the same when heated. They also reminded me of sliders. Anyway, the burgers were tasty. They may not win cooking awards but for free and frozen, I wasn't grossed out.

  

It was probably a few weeks later before I was able to try more dishes but the next item was the lasagna. The lasagna tasted just about the same as a Stouffer's, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine or any other kind of frozen lasagna. Again, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't like "Wow!"

Next was the frozen pizza. We were afforded two of them. They were just pepperoni and cheese but my kids are kind of picky on their toppings for pizza anyways. I hate to sound like a broken record but once again the pizzas were good but they weren't mouth-watering or awe-inspiring just like the previous two items.

Some days later, the wife and kids finally tried out the chicken pot pies. If having one barely eaten and the other untouched after baking tells you anything, it would be that these were not very good at all...to my family. I didn't try them because by the time I realized there were leftovers, they were already way too cooled down and I didn't think reheating them again would help with the taste.

What's left in the freezer is a box of frozen enchiladas. I've had frozen enchiladas before from the likes of Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, Hungry Man or those type of meals and I wasn't very impressed. Therefore, I'm a little skeptical at trying them from Schwan. We'll see how it goes.

Overall, I can recommend the mini cheeseburgers, the lasagna and the pizza...probably in that order too. I don't know how much these costs as they were gifts but if they aren't a huge savings versus the grocery store, I don't see why one would ever order it online from Schwan's.

So, there you have it.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives - a visit to Dallas

Saw an episode (probably old) of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives the other day with the burger joint Maple & Motor as one of the restaurants Guy Fieri visited. Normally, they present multiple items from the menu for the show that impress customers. They only had Jack (M&M owner) cook up one burger—a bacon cheeseburger with fresh green jalapenos.

First, Guy misquoted M&M as the best burger in Dallas. I think that's limited to certain people or an article that was written by one person and with that one person's opinion.

Second, Guy wasn't as complementary of the burger as he is with other restaurant entrees in MANY other episodes I've seen.

Third, unimpressed, Guy cooks/creates his own burger concoction during which it looks like Jack at times isn't happy with because of all the ingredients Guy's using. Which begs to wonder how much did Guy really like the burger Jack cooked if he ended up creating his own? Again, I've never seen Guy do this (cook his own item) on any of the other episodes!

I've been to M&M two or three times because a coworker of mine was initially impressed by the burger. The 2nd or 3rd time finally woke her up to realizing it's not really any better than many other places in Dallas that are closer to our work, have a more inviting seating area and don't have an arrogant, asshole owner!

Don't get me wrong. The burgers I've had there are good. However, it definitely is not "the best burgers in Dallas." As I mentioned, Jack's an arrogant arse and his rules are juvenile (think of the mentality of if you don't like it then go somewhere else). I also was part of the many who "Like" the M&M Facebook page but have since "un-Liked" it. Many of Jack's "joking" posts about his workers and people in general does not go along with a manager, owner or someone who respects that his customers are the reason why he's in business...even the customers he doesn't like. Don't get me wrong. There are always asshat customers but asshat begats asshat quite often with Jack.

So, go and make your own opinion of Maple & Motor. Like I said, the burgers are good. But they are also good (and maybe even better) at Keller's, Jake's, Chili's, Twisted Root, Snuffer's and a whole lot of other places in the Dallas area.

Chile Pepper Grill Food Truck

This is a photograph I took of my order from the Chile Pepper Grill food truck. What you see is (from left to right) the Alambre "deluxe" taco ($3.00) and two carnitas ($1.75 each).

The Alambre comes standard with cilantro and onions but the 'deluxe' status adds cheese, green peppers and bacon. Truthfully I really didn't feel the add-ons added anything to the flavoring or taste of the taco. The green peppers were more like dices versus slices or something of real substance and there were so few that I almost didn't realize they were in there. In fact, I only looked for them I knew they were supposed to be in the "deluxe" taco from reading the menu. The bacon was in small chunks—the kind you'd be more likely to find on a pizza. You can see a little bit of it in the photo near the top left of the taco. There was also cheese. I don't know what kind as it wasn't stated and I don't know how much there was. I guess it was pretty minimal like the green peppers. I think you can see a little bit melted on the steak to the left side of the taco sort of blending in with the diced white onions. All that being said, I have to say that the steak or even the flavoring of the taco in its entirety did not leave a lasting 'flavorable' impression. I did have it a few days ago but I can't remember what it tasted like. For reference, I can tell you exactly what each slider from the Easy Slide Truck tastes like and it's been at least a couple of weeks since I had one. Is the 'deluxe' status worth the extra $1.25 difference from 'regular' taco? I'd have to go with "No."

The Carnitas taco is just corn tortilla filled with cilantro, onions and carnitas. It's their 'basic' taco which only varies (as far as I can remember) from the choice of meat. The carnitas was tasty. I like the simple flavoring. For some it may be a little wet in the sense that they could probably dab it with a paper towel to absorb some of the juice and/or "sweat" from being in the storage container with a lid on it. Hopefully, that last part makes sense. I'm not picky and it doesn't bother me but it did make for a very drippy taco eating session. Anyway, the onions helped to add a little bit of crunch to each bite but like the Alambre, I didn't feel it added any flavoring.

In the image you'll also see to small containers above the tacos that contained two types of sauces. I don't know their official names but I'm going with the green sauce and the red sauce. I dipped a finger into each to see how they tasted. I decided the green sauce was more appealing to me. I first tasted each of the tacos without the green sauce to get a true sense of their taste. I then took a few bites with the green sauce added to see how it changed, enhanced or detracted from the taste of the tacos. I'd have to say that it changed but did not enhance or detract. For the Alambre, it actually hid the taste of the steak...maybe that's why I don't remember it much. For the carnitas, I think the carnitas meat was flavored enough that it still came through the spicy-ness of the green sauce. I actually preferred the carnitas taco without the green sauce and that's how I ate the second one.

Overall, I did not feel that I could recommend this food truck to my friends, family and coworkers. I don't think it was bad necessarily. I just didn't feel like I was awed or impressed enough by the flavoring of the tacos to put my recommendation on it for others. Now, I'm not a snoot and I eat just about anything especially if the price is reasonable for what I'm getting in return. In my opinion, for $1.75 if this is the only food truck available or it's next to one I thoroughly do not like I will most definitely eat Chile Pepper Grill tacos again. In fact, my recommendation for this food truck is to forego the deluxe option and stick with the regular taco. My tab came to $6.50 ($3.00 + $1.75 + $1.75). I could get four regular tacos for $7.00 and feel fuller from eating four tacos versus three since the deluxe I had was really an overpriced 3rd taco. I would also like the feeling that I got a good deal at 4 for $7.

So that's all I've got. Now go try it yourself.

Outbeak Steakhouse ad on Facebook

Saw a Facebook status for Outback Steakhouse mentioning they brought back their special of Sirloin and Lobster Tail (see image).

I don't find the image very appealing. Both the sirloin steak and lobster tail look dry to me. I don't know if this is a "low-calorie" meal but it definitely looks low appetizing from the image. Where's the dripping butter from the lobster tail or the succulent juice from the steak. I honestly saw this image and thought, "I'm gonna have to drink a lot of water/soda to help wash that meal down."

Now, I haven't tried the meal and I probably won't get around to ever doing so. I'm just making my observations from the image alone and if the image doesn't make my mouth water, I don't think it will get me in the doors to an Outback Steakhouse! It's common sense marketing—it needs to make the potential customer WANT to go eat this meal now! This image and advertisement did not do it for me.

More food truck commentary

Today, I was able to taste test a couple more food trucks.

First up: Ruthie's Rolling Cafe. I previously posted about Ruthie's but did not comment on the taste and quality of their offerings since I had not had any of them at the time. Now, I can comment on at least two of their items: The Boss ($7.50) and Ham-I-Am ($7.00) — each shared between me and a coworker.

Let me start first by saying that I still would never pay $5 or more for a grilled cheese sandwich. The only reason I (we) even decided to get something from Ruthie's is because we had a coupon for a buy-one-get-one sandwich of equal or lesser value. So, between the two of us, we paid $8.13 for both of sandwiches since we brought our own drinks. I can get a loaf of bread for $1.50 (or less) and 16 slice American cheese pack for $3 (or less)—this makes about 8-10 sandwiches depending on the size of the loaf.

That being said, The Boss is not a grilled cheese sandwich! It's a BBQ sandwich with cheese. The ingredients for this sandwich are BBQ meat (mine was shredded) with cheddar cheese on sourdough bread. I love BBQ and I love sourdough bread—my favorite burger at Jack in the Box is the Sourdough Jack‐so this was a no-brainer for me to choose on my first tasting. The sourdough bread was grilled to perfection! The BBQ meat was flavorful...it was generously doused in BBQ sauce...and the cheddar cheese seemed to be holding it all together. So much so that I didn't have a problem with the BBQ meat falling out of my sandwich. For something seemingly so messy, I didn't get a bit on me or the table.

On the other hand, the Ham-I-Am is definitely a grilled cheese made with ham and Swiss cheese on sourdough bread. Most definitely not worth $7.00 in my opinion! I won't go over what I can make and how much with $7.00 spent at the grocery store. I don't know what more to say about it. Was it good? Yes. Is it worth making a trip to wherever this truck may be? Only if you truly are too damn lazy to make yourself a grilled cheese at home.

My overall take of Ruthie's Rolling Cafe isn't all bad. The two sandwiches I shared were good. The Boss was way better than the Ham-I-Am. The guy that took my order was very nice and the service was fairly quick. Is it worth the cost? Not in my book but that is strictly based on the fact that I can make either of these sandwiches at home and probably the entire menu. Other people may find it worth the money so it might be worth to try it and see for yourself. Will I eat at Ruthie's again? Yes, because I have a couple more buy-one-get-one coupons.
 
 
Second up: Nammi Food Truck. This truck was at the same location as Ruthie's. Even though I had already ordered from Ruthie's, I've wanted to try Nammi for some time. I love Asian food...just about any kind of Asian food...and Nammi is Vietnamese Fusion style. Nammi had been there for at least an hour or so therefore when I got there two of their "meat" choices were already marked off the menu and unavailable. I was left with (honey?) battered pork and tofu. I don't eat ANYTHING tofu so pork was the meat of choice.

My order with Ruthie's was completed first. I took a few bites of The Boss and then my Nammi order was ready. I ordered two of the tacos. They looked tasty...and to me they were.

The tacos had good spice and filler like carrots and some other stuff I don't really remember at this time because I tend to wolf down my food. Also, I'm writing this in between doing work stuff and randomly surfing the 'net. I only ate one taco because I ate half of The Boss. I saved both remaining food items for lunch tomorrow.

Overall, I'd have to say that I liked both food items. Would I pay full price for The Boss? No. Was it good and someone else might pay full price for it? Probably, yes. Would I buy the tacos? Yes, probably again and again when the craving arises.

Roach coaches a.k.a. Food Trucks

I started this a few weeks or more ago. I've been busy and distracted but I wanted to continue with my thought when I began this post instead of deleting it.

I don't know if you've noticed but there's a new fad in town (in the Dallas/Fort Worth and maybe Austin area anyway). It's called a food truck a.k.a. roach coach. Of the ones I've posted below, I've tried two: Easy Slider and ssahmBBQ. I can't bring myself to pay $5-$7 for a freaking grilled cheese from Ruthie's because I keep thinking that I can buy a whole loaf of bread and 24-36 Kraft cheese slices to make my own 12 or so grilled cheese sandwiches for the same price.
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Easy Slider Truck

So, I've had all the sliders from Easy Slider. I can't really say that I have a favorite but the two I recall the most are the Sweet & Lowdown and The Nutty Pig. I remember them mainly because of the added toppings of strawberry jam on the first and peanut butter on the second. All the other regular sandwiches are pretty good too except for The Black & Blue. It comes with slaw that takes away from the slider more than it adds to it. It's just not very flavorful slaw. The French Revolution is just as memorable as the S&L and TNP but the toppings like Dijon aren't anything really different that I haven't used on a sandwich/burger before like with the strawberry jam and peanut butter. For the price, I'd go with their 3 for $10 versus the 2 for $7 or just one slider. I just felt like it was a better deal. I also compared the price to slider appetizers that are sold at a few restaurants and 3 for $10 is actually a better price than at most places for the same amount of food. Final verdict: Easy Slider Truck is definitely one that you should try out and I think you'll have an easier time finding them since I think I read somewhere that they purchased a second truck — they are a franchise now. :-)
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ssahmBBQ Gourmet Korean Tacos

I've only had the KALBI(Beef) and DAEJI(Pork) tacos from ssahmBBQ. I've also only eaten from the truck twice. A friend of mine had the bowl and thought it was pretty good. As for my experience with the tacos, I thought they were pretty darn good. The meat is seasoned well and fairly tasty. It comes with some garnishing or what I call "filler" like kimchee, cilantro and onion which adds a little crunch to the taco as well as some tangy sauce. For me, it's the right level of spicy. I can't say much else about the food they serve besides the beef or pork tacos but I'm sure the other items taste just as good. I will definitely try something new the next time I get a chance to order from the truck.
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Ruthie's Rolling Cafe

I can't say whether or not the options from Ruthie's are good eating or not. I haven't actually had any of their product. I probably won't ever either. The only reason being is that I refuse to pay $7 for a freaking grilled cheese sandwich! I can make a dozen grilled cheese sandwiches for $7. I think they may have a couple other offerings but they are still probably just as ridiculously expensive for something so simple and otherwise cheaply made at home. I just threw a picture and link in with the others that I have tried to show a variation of the types of food trucks out there AND in case there are any people out there that would actually pay for an expensive grilled cheese. I work with a few people that have and said they would again purchase from Ruthie's. I'm just a little more stingy with my hard-earned money.

So, in conclusion, these food trucks are a nice alternative to the traditional restaurants like Rusty Taco, Torchy's Tacos, Fuzzy Taco, Digg's Taco, Baker's Ribs, Peggy Sue's, etc., etc. that serve similar food items especially when they are in walking distance or very short driving distance.

Foil flail made at Freebirds

A few coworkers and I had a day-before-Thanksgiving lunch together at Freebirds. I haven't been back to this restaurant in quite a long time. I'd say at least a couple of years. I decided to go for the Carnitas Monster Bird on a spinach tortilla. This was a big bastard but I think I can eventually finish the Super Monster Bird the next time I go back...maybe in another couple of years!

This time around the Monster Bird took like four sheets of aluminum to wrap. It's somewhat customary to make shit out of the foil. I was short on time and short on imagination. I quickly decided to create this...thing. I think it's called a mace but it could also be referred to as a flail.

Anyway, random I know but I obviously put out time and effort to make the damn thing I should be able to share it. Mainly because when I tried to put it on the wall in the restaurant, it fell to the ground and separated into many pieces. End of awesomeness!

Taste of Dallas 2011

The family got an invitation to attend Taste of Dallas this weekend. We were given free tickets so it was worth trying something we may not otherwise have done. The price on the ticket was $8.00 but I read a few minutes ago that you could get them at Albertsons (which when there I surmised was a major sponsor because of the all their banners) for $5.00.

We decided to go at open (11:00 a.m.) because it wouldn't be so hot. Luckily, Saturday morning started out breezy and slightly overcast. Once we got to Fair Park, we quickly found out that parking was not included. Friday night when thinking about going to Taste of Dallas I thought about taking the DART rail because it's convenient and cheap. But when we left Saturday morning, I had forgotten. So did the wife. Because of this, we ended up paying $12.00 for parking. Fucking $12.00! We figured it was better than paying $12 on top of $32 but that would have never happened anyway because I'm a cheap ass! So, we parked and walked in to the fair grounds.

Initially, we just walked around to see what all was offered and to get a gauge on the price for "tastes." We also were heading for a specific booth because my oldest was helping a friend and her mother for the restaurant the mother works for. While walking around, we found that there were a lot of restaurants we've never even heard of. We aren't dining out that often but when we do, we typically stick to a few places we know and like with once in a blue moon trying some place new. With two kids, it's tough to go "new" because if they don't like it then we waste some money.

Everything was priced from $1 to $5. I don't think I saw any of the food items at each booth higher than $5. They did sell beer, soda and water but I don't recall seeing the price of beer. Soda and water were like $5.

So, let me see if I can remember the break down of the booths/foods I tried.

Celebration Restaurant was the booth of that my oldest's friend's mother worked for. They had a chicken kabob for $3, a tomato and basil salad for $4 and fresh cantaloupe or watermelon slices for $1. The friend's mother gave us samples for free. We tried to pay but she refused. We weren't there to mooch but she said that she doesn't mind because they bargain with all the other vendors all the time so it's no big deal. We thanked her and enjoyed the kabob and a few slices each of cantaloupe and watermelon. The fruit was refreshing on a warm, overcast day.

Asador was selling $3 brisket sliders. They were pretty good. There wasn't a lot of brisket in them and I don't know how much they cost or if the meat is more at the restaurant. The brisket was flavorful and served on ciabatta bread. I've never heard of this restaurant so I asked where they were located. The girl in the booth said it was located inside the Dallas Renaissance Hotel which I don't think I've ever been in or will ever find the need to be in.

Afghan Grill had a variety of dishes to taste. We went with the Kofta Chalao which is sauteed meatballs in some kind of sauce and they served it over rice. It too was $3. The wife and I shared it and we both thought it was fairly tasty.

I didn't have any but we bought one each for my kids and the friend of cake balls from The Cake Ball Company. I've had cake balls before but I was not looking for dessert on a day like this or with the food vendors available to taste. I didn't want to fill up too soon. The kids said they loved the cake balls though.

Hedary's was next to the Celebration booth. I tried their sirloin on a stick for $3. It wasn't too bad though it wasn't memorable either. It tasted just like any ordinary steak you might cook on a grill or skillet without using spices or flavoring. They were bragging that it was "top sirloin" and they may have been but it wasn't anything special. Again, it tasted fine but it wasn't something I have to say you need to experience.

Longhorn BBQ was offering pulled pork sliders for $3. I ordered one and added the nondescript barbecue sauce they provided. The sauce was tasty and added to the flavor of the pulled pork which taste very heavily of the wood they used to smoke it, I guess. It wasn't bad it just wasn't spiced or flavored. Overall the pulled pork slider was good but I'm not sure if I'd make a drive from North Dallas to Cedar Hill for their barbecue. I'll stick with the all-you-can-eat at North Main BBQ

Texas de Brazil is a restaurant I've seen/heard of before but never had the desire to try. I still don't have that desire. They were offering bacon-wrapped chicken with a roll for $3. They offered other things like steak but I went for the chicken since I had already had quite a bit of steak from other booths. The bacon-wrapped chicken was pretty good. I'm a big bacon fan and so is my youngest. The chicken was pretty good too but I think they could have wrapped a slightly thinner piece of chicken. Once you got past the bacon and initial layer of chicken, the rest of it just tasted like grilled chicken. The roll was very, very disappointing and someone should lose their job in the "promotional" department because of it. The roll seemed like it was bought from the grocery store and heated in the oven...and whoever did it didn't do a good job AT ALL. The roll was dry and seemed like it was sitting in the open for some time before it was placed on my plate. I mean there was no butter, not flavoring, no nothing on the roll. Hell, I've made better rolls that were bought from the grocery store.

McDonald's had a booth and I think they did it right out of all the booths. They weren't selling samples of their food items but they were giving away samples of their new fruit smoothie, mango pineapple, and then a strawberry smoothie (which I don't know if it was new or not). They were giving freebies out left and right for the 3 hours we were there. They had lines of people waiting for the samples. All for FREE mind you.

I think the other vendors may have to rethink their approach to the way they want people to sample their food. I think they should give it away free or mostly free. I think they should build in an expected loss and let people flavor their foods because if the people like it, they will visit the restaurant and pay full price for it. I saw so many people pass on the foods at Celebration Restaurant, Asador, Lockhart Barbecue, and other vendors because of the price comparison they would do in their minds like "how much will I get for my $3 and is it worth it?" I can tell you that I would have preferred free or half-price for many of the foods I tasted. They were all fairly good but they weren't wowing me or many others. The vendors were too worried about giving to much filling in each slider, or sandwich or whatever. That in turn made the product smaller, lamer and much less inticing to the customer. It's just poor marketing on weekend that should have been all about the marketing. I know they have a budget but if they are really business people running these businesses, they would have been able to create a projected profit/loss forecast and decided what was feasible or not. Personally, for my first time, I really didn't see many people carrying around or purchasing a lot of the samples from any of the booths. I saw a lot of people carrying McDonald's smoothies, Scope and even that nasty Yakult drink becaue they were FREE.

I guess that's about it for the food and beverage vendors.

There was this guy doing on-the-spot Krylon spray paint "paintings." (inset)

He was quick, good and very creative for a cosmic artist. That's what he was called, "The Cosmic Artist." He mainly, or only, did space or cosmic paintings. They were pretty darn cool and the high you can get from the spray paint was awesome. LOL!

He even had his little black car (like a Miata I think) with his personalized designs on the hood, trunk...hell, almost all over it but in a tactful way. I don't how lasting they would be on a vehicle's paint job but a framed picture would be cool. I'm just too much of a cheap ass. :-)

Anyway, Taste of Dallas was an interesting experience for us. I don't think I'll ever feel the need to attend it again although if someone gave me free tickets again and I remember to take the DART (for free because of my job) then I might consider it. It wasn't a bad experience. It just wasn't one of those "Damn, I've been missing out" moments.