Frisco Food Critic

Lunch at Angelo’s in Little Italy

I’d never been to Little Italy and it had been 26 years since I’d been to Manhattan.  That was 26 years too long.  I was in the Navy on active duty stationed in Washington, D.C. and 4 friends of mine and I crammed into a Ford Fiesta and drove to New York City for New Year’s Eve.  That was December 31, 1988.  It was a whirlwind 24 hour trip and we saw a lot during our time there but we were poor and were not able to enjoy the finer New York restaurants.  Fast forward 26 years, almost to the day!  I was in the area on business on 12/28/15 with two colleagues and one of them suggested we try Angelo’s in Little Italy.  I’d always wanted to try it.  We took a rental car and parked it in a garage right off Times Square and took a cab down to Chinatown.  Because the traffic was so bad the cabbie suggested we jump out and walk the two blocks to Little Italy, which we gladly did.  He let us out on Canal Street and Mulberry.

We could smell Little Italy almost before we saw it.  Walking north on Mulberry we passed by numerous restaurants.  My olfactory nerves were on high alert.  The aromas of the various dishes seemed to be drifting out of their age-old establishments, wafting overhead and creating this heavenly presence of Italian cooking.  We had reservations but were very late, but no matter.  We caught them about 1:30PM, which was after the lunch rush so we were immediately seated.  The host was clearly Italian and somewhat hard to understand.  We thought we were just ordering an antipasta appetizer when calamari arrived.  We had the waiter take it back and then the host came and asked us why we were sending it back when we ordered it from him.  Clearly a misunderstanding.  We kept the calamari and about five minutes later the antipasta arrived!  The portions were not small.  The antipasta included mushrooms, zucchini, a couple different types of cheese, olives, artichoke hearts and a single slice of tomato.  It was all very good.  The calamari was lightly fried, with just the right amount of salt and wasn’t so chewy that your mouth was tired afterwards.

I ordered the Linguini Positano, which was basically a seafood linguini as you can see from the picture, but with a red sauce.  There was no way I was going to Little Italy without having pasta in a red sauce.  My two companions ordered spaghetti and meatballs and lobster ravioli respectively, also in a red sauce.  Let me say this:  it was a lot of food.  I can eat, and I couldn’t finish it all.  The pasta was fresh, the sauce was amazing, and the seafood didn’t disappoint either.  It came with mussels, calamari, and shrimp.  Scallops would have been welcome but I was plenty happy without them.  My companions had no complaints either.  I did get to try the meatball, which was very large and very tasty.  I regret not asking to taste the lobster ravioli, but I was informed it was also outstanding.  To wash it all down I had two Peroni’s.  There wasn’t a chance of having any dessert.  In fact, I wanted to take a nap, but we had a lot of other places to go and not much time to get there.  I did manage to leave Angelo’s and found a street cart selling cannoli’s.  I bought three raspberry and three chocolate cannoli’s to eat later on that evening.

All in all I would give it a 5.  The atmosphere was the best, the food was superb, and the waiters were all over us.  I highly recommend it if you find yourself in New York.  You can get to Angelo’s website by clicking here.  Enjoy!

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My friend Jeff pinged me about doing a craft brew tour on Saturday, 8/30/14.  I had previous plans so we decided to get together on Sunday instead.  The craft breweries were not open so we decided we’d venture down to Pecan Lodge and finally give that BBQ that everyone is talking about a try.

Pecan Lodge opens at 11A on Sundays.  We decided to meet in Plano and leave at 9:30 hopefully arriving a little after 10A, since we’d heard there were long lines.  We arrived at 10:07 and were the 3rd group in line.  Not bad.  We brought lawn chairs to sit in but left them in the car.  BBQ is not for wusses after all.  We also invited our friend Duane, who arrived around 10:25.  By that time the line was about 3 dozen and growing quickly.

Around 10:55 there was a tiff about two elderly gentlemen cutting in line, but they claimed they were there for the express lane.  The lady who was the spokesperson for the existing line claimed that many in the line were waiting for the express line but that until you got inside they were not separate.  The men didn’t budge despite much yelling.  My guess is that this wasn’t an isolated occurrence.  Perhaps the proprietors would be wise to spend some time observing the dynamic outside.  I think it is something a few signs could solve.  A few laminated menus strategically placed outside wouldn’t hurt either.

The doors opened promptly at 11.  We were #2 in line since the first in line veered away to the express line to the right, which is when you want it to go and you have 5 pounds or more in your order.  We were eating there so we took the line to the left.  I ordered a three meat plate, dessert and a drink.  For the three meats I chose brisket, beef sausage and pork ribs.  I picked Mac & Cheese for the side.  For dessert I chose peach cobbler.  Jeff ordered the same thing except he chose banana pudding so we could try each dessert.  Duane ordered what I ordered except he chose jalapeño cheese sausage. We grabbed a table and in a few minutes they called our name and we walked to the window and picked up our order, which came with the obligatory chopped onions and pickles. For the 3 meat plate, dessert and tea it was $25, and I threw $5 in for a tip even though the guy at the register looked like he was either half in the bag or severely hung over.

For the three meat plate, I received one pork rib, one slice of brisket and a sausage link. See the picture. I ate the Mac first, and it was good, not great, but good. Next was the pork rib. It was very well cooked and very juicy. The outside flavor profile was not my favorite. It tasted sooty to me. I wouldn’t order it again. Next was the beef sausage. Wow. It had incredible flavor and was spilling juice as soon as I cut into it. Best beef sausage I’ve had. Next up was the brisket. I was a little surprised that my slice was thickly cut from the point rather than the flat. Usually they make burnt ends out of the point but I wasn’t complaining. The point is the best part of the brisket. Brisket is my personal Achilles heel. It is hard to perfect. This brisket may not have been perfect but it was damn close. It was tender, moist, and flavorful. I was concerned it would have the flavor profile of the ribs but it didn’t taste like it. I have no complaints. Best brisket I’ve had in DFW.

Then there was the peach cobbler. My, oh my! I love cobbler but peach is my least favorite…until now. If you in any way like peaches, you will love this cobbler. They do something to the peaches beforehand, so they are really soft and candy-like in the middle of cinnamon sugar crumb goodness. I tried the banana pudding and it was very good too. Everyone agreed the peach cobbler was the bomb. In fact, I told Jeff to look at Duane’s plate. He couldn’t eat another bite. There was a little brisket and a little sausage left on his plate…but no cobbler. Finishing the cobbler over their amazing brisket tells you just how good it was.

They are also known for their beef ribs. The couple next to our table had one and man did it look fantastic! Jeff and I both regretted we had no room for one. Plus, the line at this point was halfway down the block and every table was full, including seats at the bar.  There was no way we were going to wait again.  The same couple also had a “hot mess”, which is a sweet potato with all kinds of goodies mixed in, including brisket. We made a pact that the next time we come we will order more brisket and a beef rib (not included in the plates because they are so large), along with a “hot mess”.  Will probably take a few sausages for the road while we are at it.  Rest assured, we will come again.

Overall the food was great, except for the average pork rib. The mac & cheese was good and the peach cobbler great. The ambiance was great and just what you’d expect for a great BBQ joint in a BBQ town. We all agreed 4.5 stars out of 5 was in order. If you haven’t been to Pecan Lodge you are definitely missing out.
 

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In March, 2014, I made a trip back to California to visit family and friends. The last 3 days there I stayed with my friend Sharlotte. I’ve known Sharlotte for over 30 years and she is a close friend. She also happens to be a singer and lives in Hollywood about 2 miles north of Universal Studios. I can’t remember the seafood place we drove to on Venice Beach, which was fantastic, but I do remember that when she asked me where I wanted to eat on my last day I told her I wanted to find a good deli. Luckily, there are plenty in the LA area to choose from. Sharlotte, myself, and her house guest, Matt, a really good drummer by the way, went for a mid-afternoon lunch. I remember Matt ordered a cheeseburger with fries but I don’t remember what Sharlotte ordered. Maybe she can chime in. I do, however, remember the awesome sandwich that I ordered, pictured here. It was a “build-your-own” 2-meat sandwich and I chose corned beef and pastrami, with swiss cheese on sourdough. The meat was so tender, flavorful and juicy that I thought I had passed into some food nirvana. It was too big to eat, but I ate it anyway. Oh yeah, that picture you see? That is half, the other half you can make out on the other side of it. And I ate ALL OF IT. It turned out to be a good cushion for the pub we went to later in the evening.

The service? It was just OK, not great. Matt had to ask multiple times for condiments and his fries were nearly gone by the time they arrived. Art’s is not a place you go to for world class service. You go there for their deli food. You name it, they have it. You can take it out or you can eat it there.

If you find yourself in the Studio City/Hollywood area on Ventura Boulevard (you know, where the vampires are walking in the valley according to Tom Petty) and you are hungry, stop in at Art’s. You won’t regret it.

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So this morning I was reading through my Google alerts for Frisco (yes, I am that guy) and saw that we had a new restaurant that opened called Barnlight Eatery. I waited until this evening then took the family out to dinner. We arrived about 5:30 and the place was about half full. We ordered chips and queso for $7.99 and I was concerned we had wasted our money, since we can have chips and salsa at the Blue Goose for free. No worries. The queso was good and so was the salsa, though without any heat which was disappointing.

All sandwiches come with their homemade potato chips. My wife ordered the grilled cheese and tomato soup and it was fantastic. My youngest ordered the Chipotle bacon burger and he ate it in short order. My oldest ordered a plain cheeseburger and he wolfed that down. I ordered the BBQ pork sandwich with slaw, which is the picture you see. It was a large sandwich and tasted really good, and I make good pulled pork so I can judge. The homemade chips had seasoning salt on them and they were pretty damned good. The other items on the menu looked really good as well and we’ll definitely be going back to try them. They have a full bar and they have desserts as well (looks like primarily cupcakes) on display when you first walk in.

The service was really good for Frisco. Frisco has a lot of good places to eat but we always find the service lacking. Our waitress kept our drink glasses full, checked up on us, made recommendations, and brought us our check timely when it was time to go. That’s probably a good thing, because they were starting to get really crowded when we left around 6:30PM.

I would consider this one of my top five favorite places to eat in Frisco at this point. It’s that good. Since I didn’t order a burger, and this is a burger site, I won’t officially give it a rating, but I can tell you I’ll be going back and trying their burger…soon. Enjoy.

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In April 2014 I visited California for the first time in many years.  I flew into LAX and rented a Nissan Altima and drove to Bakersfield, CA, arriving sometime around 11:30AM.  The reason I mention the Altima is because it was the first time I had driven one, and I liked it so much that I bought one a couple of weeks ago to drive back and forth to work based on my experience with that rental car.

I was visiting Tim and Nicole Scanlon.  Tim was the best man at my wedding in 1993.  Tim and I were on the UMKC debate team together and the four of us used to play Spades, BBQ, and generally have a lot of fun down on the Plaza or Westport in Kansas City.  It had been probably 15 years or so since I had seen Tim and I was looking forward to it.

When I arrived Tim asked me where I wanted to go have lunch.  I told him I wanted to go someplace local that wasn’t a chain (imagine that!).  Apparently there are a lot of Basque restaurants in Bakersfield due to the settling of sheep farmers in California in the 1800’s.  He decided to take me to Luigi’s,  which was an Italian restaurant with some Basque influences.  Luigi’s has been at the existing location since 1910 and when we arrived there was already a wait (about 30 minutes as I recall).  We ordered a beer and waited.  It was worth the wait.

Tim suggested ordering the pickled tongue, which is the picture you are seeing.  I had never had tongue and was skeptical, but the meat was tender, almost like butter, with a pickled flavor.  It was truly delicious.  I followed it with an Italian sub sandwich that was composed of fresh deli meats and cheeses.

If you are ever in Bakersfield, look up Luigi’s Restaurant and Delicatessen.  You can get to their webpage by clicking here.  The place had character, the beer was cold, catching up with an old friend was amazing and the food was excellent.  What more can a guy want?  In this case…nothing.

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Ye Ole Butcher Shop has been around since 1974, and one trip there makes you realize why.  The food is fresh, simple and tasty.  The place has character.  A few years ago it moved from the south side of 15th Street to the north side, but the change was for the better as it provided more room.  If you go there at lunch and don’t get there early, be prepared to wait to find a table.  Most days Jeff Sparks will greet you with rapid-fire questions, from “what’ll you have?” to “lettucetomatopicklesonionsmustardmayo?”  If you don’t want to go back to work smelling like the burgers they cook, don’t come here.  Don’t be afraid of the wall mounted buffalo coming out of the wall either.

This picture was from last year’s visit, though it hasn’t changed since that time.  You are looking at a buffalo burger with cheese and dry (without ketchup, mustard, or mayo) as I prefer to eat my burgers.  The seasoning is for the fries, though you can certainly add it to your burger if you so desire.  The buffalo burger is leaner than beef, so it isn’t as greasy, but the flavor is excellent and I highly recommend it.  You can get a buffalo burger any day of the week.  Check out their website for their daily specials, including their deer burger. They have an assortment of fried pies for dessert.  If you’ve never had a fried pie, try one.  If you have, have another.  They are that good.  As far as rating the burger, it gets a 2.0 out of 3 stars.  Buffalo can’t ever score a 3 just because it doesn’t have enough grease.  Service is a 1 out of 1.  For a joint like this, it works.  Ambiance is 1 out of 1.  The place has character.  Total is 4 stars, which is very respectable.  Note that I am rating the buffalo burger.  At a future point I’ll rate the beef burger and I have every expectation the rating will improve.

While this isn’t made for fancy dining, you’ll see no lack of business dress present during the lunch hour.  They make a few things and they make them well, which is probably why they’ve been in business for 40 years.  Oh, and they are a butcher shop so you can get a variety of meat there as well.  Happy eating!

-Mike

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My wife beat me to the scoop on this one.  She saw someone post about Three Squares on Facebook and asked me about it.  I vaguely had remember hearing something but not specific, so we thought we’d go give it a try.  This can be a challenging place to find, especially with an address of Frisco Square.  It is attached to the hospital, directly across the street from the Cinemark entrance.  We parked in the parking garage on the north side of the hospital, which I highly recommend if you want your nose filled with the smell of dumpsters prior to dining.

There are menus available immediately upon entering.  It is a quick dash type format, where you grab a menu, find a cash register, and then go order.  They will give you a number.  They have a full bar, so if you are ordering a drink, they will make it for you.  If you are having a soft drink, you walk to the other end of the place with your glass, get ice, and then hit the Coke machine.  This Coke machine is pretty cool.  It dispenses via touchscreen various products and you can jazz them up.  I had Raspberry Diet Coke, for example.  Then you go find a table and put your number in the holder.  They will bring your food to the table.  The waitress taking our order seemed confused on how to use the cash register, and the executive chef came over to help, but he wasn’t much help.  Eventually they got it worked out.  Our food came out fairly quickly and it all looked good.  I had the Hog’s Heaven burger, which was a burger with grilled red onions, smoky cheddar, and slow cooked pork belly.  The picture of it is below.

The Hog’s Heaven Burger at Three Squares

It also came with mustard seed ketchup which I gave to my wife (and she liked it).  I prefer my hamburgers without condiments.  The branded brioche bun was unique and fun.  As a side I ordered a sweet potato hash that looked better on the menu than it tasted.  They claimed to have jalapenos in it but it wasn’t spicy at all.  If they would take up the heat a few notches they’d have something there!

The burger had excellent flavor and was very juicy, but I couldn’t taste the pork belly.  There wasn’t much of it on the burger.  Honestly, if you are going to go to the trouble of using pork belly, use it.  Bacon would have been better.  As a burger it was successful, as a “Hog’s Heaven Burger” it wasn’t.  Kris and Gunnar both got cheeseburgers and they liked them.  While we were sitting there visiting after eating, three staff came over to ask us how everything was, and we said it was good, which is true (it wasn’t great, they asked the wrong questions).  However, all three asked if they could get us refills on the drinks, but left the empty plates sitting there in front of us.  They’ve only been open three days, so they get a pass.  Unlike Jake’s where a manager couldn’t be bothered, we had 4-5 total visits to our table from various staff members and the executive chef.  The menu is good, the format is different (perhaps slightly confusing) and the food has the potential to be excellent.  They slightly tweak a few things and this good place to eat will be a great place to eat.  Oh, almost forgot, I had the whiskey bread pudding with vanilla ice cream for dessert.  I can’t say I needed it, but I sure wanted it.  It was definitely worth it.  I enjoyed every bite, though it reminded me more of French toast than bread pudding.  Those of you out there that don’t like the traditional mushy bread pudding should try this.  I’m looking forward to our next trip, and even more so to my first happy hour there!  They have a Maker’s Mark chocolate milkshake that sounds pretty good!

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My good friend Bryan Brickman won 2nd Place Saturday in the “Anything but” category at the Paddy Dash BBQ competition sponsored by Premier Grilling and Matador Meat.  He entered nachos, with blue corn tortilla chips, pulled pork, BBQ sauce, guacamole, and two slivers of jalapeno on top.  He is very excited as this was the first BBQ competition that he had entered.  Not bad.  Bryan is also a fellow burger aficianado.  I highly recommend you read his reviews of burgers as well to get a well-rounded perspective of what makes a good burger.  His website can be found at:  http://brickonburgers.com/.

Here is a picture of Bryan after winning his trophy.  Congrats buddy!

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The “Philly” burger.

I can remember it like it was yesterday, and yet it was seven whole days ago.  I was out slummin’ and thought I would try out this new bar and grill that my friend Bryan keeps talking about.  My high school buddy Chris and his wife were in there eating the atomic wings.  They are the #2 hottest wings on the menu.  They make a big deal when you order them and I think they make you sign a waiver.  Chris is no slouch when it comes to eating hot food, but he ate six while I was standing in front of him and his eyes weren’t watering and he wasn’t in pain, so the whole thing might be just a show.  I wasn’t really in the mood for wings so I decided to try a burger. If you don’t like a large menu, do not come here.  The menu is large.  Too large.  I decided to try the Philly burger because I like grilled onions and mushrooms on my burger.  While cheddar is always my default burger cheese, this came with provolone, which I found acceptable because of the onions and mushrooms.  I ordered it medium.  I prefer my burgers medium rare, but generally never order it that way the first time I try a new place.  I like to baseline their medium first and then go a bit rarer from there. The burger came out pink in the middle, as I would have expected, and my first rule of burgers was applied:  the burger must always be wider than the bun.  It was.  If you look in the picture, you’ll see the cheese, grilled onions, and mushrooms on the top of the burger.  Underneath were raw onions, lettuce, tomato and pickles.  From the picture it makes the burger look bigger than it is, but it is still a large burger.  What can I tell you?  This is one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time.  This was every bit as good as Kenny’s.  The burger was juicy, the service was good, and the burger was out probably no more than 10 minutes after I ordered it.  The thick homemade potato chips were good too, but rather dull.  That was quickly remedied with a little bit of salt and a lot of black pepper.  Because it was only 11:15A or so, I ordered a Diet Pepsi.  What I got was a Dr. Pepper.  The bartender argued with me saying that wasn’t possible because they didn’t have Diet Dr. Pepper.  Whatever.  I think anyone could tell the difference between the two.  He changed glasses and got me a fresh glass from a different drink dispenser.  Clearly Diet Pepsi, so something was up with the other dispenser.  Since this is my first review, I think I am going with a 5 star system as follows:  the burger/meat is worth three stars, the service one star, and the ambience is also worth a star.  The burger was a perfect three.  The service gets .75 out of 1, with a .25 deduction for service (a few delays in getting my order, my check and the Dr. Pepper thing), and 1 star for ambience, for a total of 4.75 stars.  This place is cool and definitely worth checking out.  Come during a happy hour as they also have a good beer selection, which I wasn’t able to try.  Cheers.

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