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?
 

 

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.

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.

Kent Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen

I started this a few weeks ago...probably around December 10^th or so. I get busy. Sue me!

Because the boss of the office I work in typically takes out and pays for all of her minions for a Christmas holiday luncheon, I had the opportunity to dine at Kent Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen in Prestonwood Center in Dallas.

In the past, we have eaten at Buca Di Peppo. Buca isn't too bad but it's also not something that I tell people that they have to try. It's always been free when I've gone but I'm not sure I would want to pay for it or it would be an option that I would chose from. My mindset is if I'm going to pay for food and pay more than what I consider a decent price ($8-$10 or less a person), I'm going to go somewhere that is really, REALLY good!

Kent Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen is about the same for me. I'm not going to run out and tell people that they don't want to miss trying this place for lunch or dinner. I don't know if the prices for dinner are more expensive than those at lunch. If they are, I would recommend people staying away from this place and try something else in the same price range. There are plenty of other places that I would compare Rathbun's too and they would win my recommendation hands down.

So anyway, let me describe my experience...

At first glance from the outside, the signage and building look pretty low key—nothing fancy or flashy. It's not in a stand-alone building but more of a strip mall so maybe that's why it's not full of frills and flash. Not a big deal as frills and flash usually are done to help redirect people's attention from some flaw or failure in the business.

Entering the restaurant was kind of interesting as the entrance is a revolving door versus the typical push/pull door. I would have thought this type of door would have provided more of a seal from the outdoor elements but it didn't. I'll probably touch more on this later. The host/hostess stand is right inside the entrance and we (I was with two female coworkers) were greeted by the hostess and someone who looked/acted like the restaurant manager. The manager looked to be carrying a walkie talkie which was somewhat silly since the entire restaurant was similar in size to a standard Applebee's—the open concept and more of a square/rectangular shape overall. I don't what he was carrying exactly as I didn't pay too much attention but it was something I noticed him holding in his hand as he pointed us to our lined tables for the big group. I got the feeling that this place felt they were much cooler or "refined" than they really are.

We get to our seats and got out drink order taken. The appetizers were ordered by the boss and were a variety of items like fried green tomatoes, calamari and some other things that I can't remember what. I don't know if the boss ordered sampler plates but it looked like it as there were probably around six plates with a variety of items.

The waiter made his way around the table taking people's orders and explaining the specials and the food items in general. I went with the special of the day which was a sirloin steak sandwich with sweet potato fries. My good friend and coworker ordered the grilled ahi sliders. The two of us also split the shrimp, crab and lobster "coleslaw" salad.

We got our salad first which is what we asked. I'm not a food critic. I know what I like and I know what I don't like. I was very disappointed. Living in the south and living in Texas, there is a certain kind of coleslaw we are used to. I know that. I am not opposed to trying varieties of a food item. That's what makes eating food so awesome...the many different ways an item can be made and still taste good. Unfortunately, Rathbun's does not know how to make their "coleslaw" taste good. It was a huge bowl for sure and one person would be pretty full after eating the whole bowl. They did split it in two bowls for us. However, it only had six medium sized shrimp (3 per bowl) and I really couldn't tell you how much crab and lobster. It took me a few minutes to figure out that the very finely sliced brown stuff was lobster. It was more like they used the lobster to flavor or garnish than it being part of the actual salad. I can't remember ever finding or tasting the crab. There was about 95% red cabbage, 3% shrimp, 1% thin crispy things (think of long croutons), and 1% lobster/crab. My friend and I both ate all the shrimp given, ate what we could of the lobster and the crispy things. There was a WHOLE LOT of red cabbage left in both of our bowls.

We finally got our entrees. The steak was sliced into four or five medallion-type sizes. On top of those, there was melted cheese (Swiss I think) two or three fried green tomatoes, and then some sauce like a gravy. The bun was very thick on top and bottom. It was all held together with three toothpicks. The sandwich was SO thick that unless you're a reptile and can unhitch your jaw, there was no way anyone could eat this as a sandwich. I had to open it like a philly cheese steak to start but then I just ate the steak as if I sliced it myself. I tried to eat a slice of the fried green tomatoes with each steak piece to add some taste to them. When all was said and done, the bread/bun was left from the sandwich. The sweet potato fries were so dang salty that I think they should have been called salt with a slight hint of sweet potato flavoring.

For the grilled ahi sliders, my friend and coworker almost ate them the same as I with the steak sandwich. She ate one with the bun/bread and another she just ate the ahi out of the slider. The third one she gave to me and I ate it with just the bottom half of the bun. What I remember about the ahi is that it was a bit over peppered.

On to dessert. It was a variety of options like the appetizers. I think the boss had them bring out some of everything from the dessert menu. You can do chocolate cake, cheesecake or bread pudding wrong.

Overall, knowing what I know now, I would have gone straight for dessert at Rathbun's. However, I'd much rather have a good and tasty entree than a dessert so I wouldn't go to Rathbun's in the first place. For the pricey PRICEY items on the menu, I truly expected better than I experienced.

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.

Dining at 5 Star Burgers in Taos, New Mexico

Took my kids to 5 Star Burgers in Taos, New Mexico. We went for lunch on the recommendation from another person we know that just happened to be in Taos and already dined here.

After squeezing into our parking place because some dipshit moron doesn't know how to park into one space, we entered the doors to 5 Star Burgers. An older waitress approached us and sat us at a table/booth near the door. It wasn't a bad seat until the weather started getting rainy-like outside and then everytime someone opened the door to come in or go out, it was windy at our table! Luckily, this was few and far between so it was tolerable.

The woman took our drink orders as soon as we were seated and said that so-so (I didn't get the name she said) will be with you in a little bit. "In a little bit" must mean something different in Taos than in my head.

It was about 10-15 minutes and we still had our menus on our table and no one had come to take our order. The father of the family on the table/booth next to ours said something to me that I didn't catch at first. He repeated, saying, "Hey bro, it looks like they've forgotten about you. Nobody has taken your order, yet?" I said, "Yes, luckily we're not in a hurry but it would be nice if someone came by." He said, "Where you guys from? We are from Las Vegas." I said, "We drove through Las Vegas on the way to Taos. We are from Dallas." He said, "That's the problem with these places. You go somewhere that has good service but terrible food. And then other places have good food and terrible service." I said, "It's been the latter for us."

About five minutes later, the gentleman waves over a waitress and says, "Excuse me. I've already paid out my ticket but this nice man and his two kids have been sitting here for some time and haven't had their order taken!" She looked at me and said, "So, are you saying you'd like to place your order now?" I said, "Well, yes that would be a good thing!" She took our order and walked away. I thanked the man from Las Vegas as he rose to leave the restaurant. He told me to "have a great day and enjoy our vacation."

After the Las Vegas man leaves, the three of us see our waitress (her name was Monica) speak to one of her coworkers while pointing in our direction. I don't know what was said but we assumed it wasn't good. Once again, we already hadn't started well with dining in a restaurant in Taos.

We got our food about ten minutes after ordering. I ordered the Bison Burger medium rare with Swiss cheese, recommended by the Las Vegas man, while my kids decided to split the Taos Burger and a side of fries. The waitress was very nice and cordial and all so I guess the initial "lack of attention problem" was behind us. This was further cemented as the case as she was very attentive to ask about needing condiments as well as her quick response to have a Diet Pepsi ready to replace my almost-done Diet Pepsi.

The fries were very good. I'm not a connoisseur but I've had me many a fry and these were at least in the top five. The kids thought they were pretty good as well. They also said the Taos burger was pretty good. It was juicy, tasty and big enough for them to share. It did come with fried green chili peppers that they didn't particularly like but did like the burger overall! I thought the Bison Burger was pretty good. It was juicy, cooked like I asked and pretty tasty. I can't say it's better than any other bison burger that I've had but I wasn't disappointed.

Checking out was quick and painless unlike my vist to Applebee's. I think I left Monica a 20% tip even though initially we had to wait to order. She did make up for it with her attentiveness after the fact.

I guess I would recommend 5 Star Burgers for their fairly tasty burgers but I would definitely enter the Taos location knowing that you should not be in a rush to eat and run.

Dining at Applebee's in Taos, New Mexico

Took my two kids to Applebee's in Taos. We were promptly seated but took a little bit to get waited on just for our drink order. We were 1 of 3 tables...1 person at 1 tbl, 2 at another, and 3 at our table...Dalena was working at the time. I heard her tell a coworker she was swamped. The 1 person was almost done with his meal. The 2 people had already ordered and we only had our drinks. I've worked as a waiter and that in no way is called SWAMPED! Dalena was very nice and apologetic though. I just don't think waiting is for her as it requires multitasking and she didn't seem to have that skill.

Anyway, we ordered a full rack of baby back ribs with fries, the grilled garlic sirloin (medium rare) with a cream spinach filled portabello(sp?) mushroom cap topped with parmesan cheese, and the classic wings with honey bbq flavor. She read back our order correctly as well.

About 5-10 minutes later, a "chef" (I assume) came to me and said that they are out of the cream spinach. I was actually looking forward to it and joked with him about leaving. I asked if he had or recommended anything else to fill the mushroom cap. He um-ed and uh-ed and said "Well...?" I finally said how about creamy mashed potatoes. He said, "Ok."

About 10 minutes later, we get our food. The ribs looked fine but how can you mess them up? My sirloin looked good but the portabello cap was nowhere to be seen. I did have a huge portion of mashed potatoes and it seems that the meal already came with potato chunks which I must have missed. The classic wings looked good too. We started to dig in.

My youngest loved the ribs and fries. Again, how can you mess these up?

I found the portabello cap under the generous serving of mashed potatoes. I ate it and the mashed potatoes but not the potato chunks...not because they were bad but because I just wanted the mashed potatoes. The sirloin was cooked half right. Somehow they were able to cook half the sirloin at medium rare and the other half at medium. That's new for me as I've only experienced the entire steak under or over cooked. It was still flavorful so I did not complain.

My oldest bit into the classic wings to find that 1) they were boneless and 2) they were original/classic flavor. I waived over Dalena and told her the order was for the classic bone-in wing with honey bbq flavoring. She proceeded to tell me that I ordered it wrong. She said she heard boneless classic wing and classic meant the typical buffalo spice flavor. I told her that boneless or bone-in is not the problem but we wanted honey bbq. I said she even read back our order stating bone-in with honey bbq. So, this time I clearly stated AGAIN we wanted bone-in with honey bbq flavoring. She was prompt with putting in the correct order and we got it within 10 minutes.

I judge a waitperson's tip partly on how effective they are with refilling my drink. I drink soda like some people chug beer. If I have to wait for my next sip too long, the tip goes down. Dalena was very good with all our refills...especially mine.

Finally, it came time to pay the check. When she brought the check, she explained how she had to add then remove the wings to get it to the kitchen and blah, blah, blah. All I cared is that I wasn't double-charge because we would have had major issues if it was.

By this time the two other tables had left (-3 ppl) and she gained two other tables (a family of 3 on each of the two). She had barely taken the drink order of the table behind us. Again, she felt overwhelmed. She passed our table and grabbed our payment so quickly that I didn't get a chance to ask her for a to-go box BUT she also never asked even though half a rack of ribs were left as well as half the wings. So, I get up and walk toward the men's room which happens to be right next to the register where she's putting in the order for the table behind us. As I approach, I hear her tell a coworker that the guy (at table behind us) wants a Miller Lite but "there isn't even a Miller Lite choice on the register." I reach the register and I ask her for one to-go box while I think to myself that the restaurant probably wouln't sell a beer that isn't in the register/computer. I don't know that for a fact but it was just curious how frazzled she was.

I returned to the table and write out my check with the tip. The tab was $51.21. I almost always start out the tip percentage at 20% for true waitstaff—not those buffet restaurants where someone clears your used plate and refills your cup like at Golden Corral or China Super Buffet. Because Dalena messed up the wings and tried to blame it on me, I had to go below the 20%. I almost just did 15% which I typically don't go below because I've been there as a waitperson and know how it sucks. However, I decided she did make it right and after fixing the order, she apologized for the error. I decided to go with 17%.

My overall experience with this Applebee's is that I will not be stopping in again when I'm in Taos nor will I be recommending it to anyone I know who may be visiting Taos. With the lack of having the actual food items to serve that are listed in the menu and the just-acceptable service, I cannot say it was a good experience for us. I have been to Applebee's in Dallas, Texas without any issues quite a few times so maybe it's just a Taos thing.

The Taco Joint, Dallas, Texas

I look forward to Fridays for multiple reasons other than the obvious—the weekend. It's the one day a week during the school semester that I do not have to work through my lunch to make up for the time I miss work while in class. It gives me a chance to leave the office and enjoy the lunch hour (or more) no matter where I am because it's not in the office!

Today, a coworker and I headed out to lunch. She wanted to hit our regular location of Sonic but I didn't really feel like a burger. In fact, I just had a double-double with bacon from Sonic this past Sunday. Don't get me wrong. I would have gone and eaten a Sonic burger but I really wanted something different today.

We were across town from our Sonic but near this place I read about called The Taco Joint. I read it's only open until end of lunch...about 2pm...Mondays through Saturdays. That sucks since I work through lunch Mon-Fri and usually am not on the side of town of The Taco Joint on Saturday. Anyway, she was game and so that's where we ate.

We got there around 12:15-ish. The parking lot was already full and many had already taken to parking along the one-way street of Peak St. We had to follow suit and luckily it wasn't much of a walk at all to the "Joint."

The line wasn't too long about 3/4 of the size of the restaurant lined up almost from end to end. They take cash and credit which was nice since I only had plastic. I ordered the Friday special called the "Chuck Norris." It's two pulled pork tacos with BBQ sauce and some basic toppings. I don't remember what they were. It's a combo which comes with a side of beans and rice in one container and a drink. Total cost was $8.50. The price made me realize that this place wasn't like the cheaply priced Rusty Taco or Fuzzy's Taco. I think it is more priced like Digg's Taco Shop. The price kind of surprised me a bit but I got over it and chalked it up to trying a new place. My friend/coworker ordered two crispy beef tacos but they were something like $2.00 a piece and they came with quite a bit of cheese, lettuce and tomatoes which is unlike the other places. They were closer to what you'd expect from a fast food place like Taco Bell, Taco Bueno or Taco Cabana but way better. The size and quality was probably double of those places.

About a 10-minute wait after ordering, they called our names to pick up our food. I already described the crispy beef tacos and my friend liked them a lot! I tried my "Norris" tacos and they were pretty flavorful. They did drip a lot of sauce when trying to eat but not too bad and comparable to the pulled pork tacos I've had at the previously mentioned restaurants. The refried beans were creamy with hardly any bean chunks. It was different than I'm used to but it didn't change the taste, just the texture. I mixed the rice and beans together because the rice didn't seem to be too flavorful. Also, the rice didn't seem to be equal in quantity to the beans. Not a big deal but I think if they were in separate containers the customer would feel like they are getting more and who really knows if they'd like the rice more versus the beans or vice versa?

I wasn't awed by the flavor of any of my dish but I wasn't disappointed either. I don't know if it's because I ate something small an hour or so before we went to lunch (I don't remember what I just remember I snacked on something...probably a six-pack of Oreos) but I did get into the car feeling somewhat full. Now that could have been the five refills of Diet Coke that I got but who really knows.

I will go back to try a few other tacos especially the fish tacos for/with the wife.

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.