being catty - 8.07.09

The Carolina's Platter at Carolina's Mexican Cuisine

You’ll be hard pressed to find a restaurant company that has opened two locations of a new concept in a matter of four weeks (Carolina’s Mexican Cuisine) and with two more locations of a sister concept set to open the following month (Taco Mundo). However daring she may be, the food and décor of Carolina’s Plano location is far from those same bold aspirations.

Located off 75 and Parker, this second location of Carolina’s Mexican Cuisine is the former Mario’s Chiquita. The inside attempts but does not successfully recreate the Mexico City modern aesthetic of other notable and related - its namesake and owner Carolina is the ex-wife of Mico of Mi Cocina* - Mexican restaurants in Dallas. A bright and beautiful glass tile mosaic flanks the opening to the kitchen, evident when you first walk to the host stand. Its a glimmer of flashy, focused energy but the buck stops there. While the dining room is liberally filled with white clothed four tops, the walls are sparingly decorated with cheap modern canvases.

If there had not been numerous similarities between Mi Cocina and Carolina’s, the history between the two restaurants would be unnecessary and petty. Unfortunately, the ties are unmistakable: the La Bomba vs. Mambo Taxi, Brisket Tacos vs. Tacos “de Brisket” and chips in stainless steel bowl vs. chips in stainless steel bowl. Let the battle begin.

We were promptly and pleasantly greeted, but then again, it was 3:00pm on a Saturday afternoon. The service was friendly and the server teeming with youthful energy. He made a few suggestions and the late lunch/early dinner began with two La Bombas ($6.95).

Round 1: Though served in a tall, slender glass as opposed to the rival’s short old fashioned, the margarita was tart, dangerously strong, and sweet from the sangria swirl. After a second round, you may just assume you are at the illustrious Mi Cocina in Highland Park Village. After another look around the dining room, that may not be such a bad thing.
Outcome: Draw

While sipping, the chips and salsa arrived – in a stainless steel bowl, no doubt. The salsa was smooth and not chunky in the slightest. As they should be this time of year, the tomatoes were uber-fresh and made up for the lack of complementary flavors.

Round 2: The chips were thick and fried crisp but not greasy, deeply golden in color. I think I’ve seen these somewhere before…
Outcome: Draw

At the behest of our server and pleasant surprise to my husband, we ordered the Carolina’s Platter ($11.95). According to my dear friends Merriam and Webster, a platter is a large plate used especially for serving meat. As unappetizing as it sounds, the platter turned out to be a good choice. We tried an assortment of Carolina’s offerings in smaller portions: brisket quesadillas, sopesitos, stuffed jalapenos, crispy minichangas and guacamole. Merriam and Webster weren’t too far off, hidden beneath the fried facades there was a lot of meat on this plate. The sopesitos, small sopes, are corn masa rounds that hold tender bites of brisket. The minichangas, petite chimichangas, were slightly greasy, fried rolls of shredded chicken. The brisket quesadillas were, well, filled with brisket. After a self proclaimed effort to eat more vegetarian last week, I was not starting off on the right foot. However, our favorites on the platter were the vegetarian bites of lime-laden, buttery guacamole and cream cheese stuffed jalapenos, fried in a thick, crumb batter.

Round 3: In all fairness, the two brisket taco versions should be in the ring but: A. I’ve never had the brisket tacos and B. I don’t think I ever will have the brisket tacos. I did not want to like the brisket quesadillas. I don’t generally like red meat and it just sounds so… how do you say? ... fatty. If by fatty you mean tender, juices dripping and sinfully delicious, then yes, these are FATTY. Outcome: Mi Cocina is down for the count.

As I wiped my chin, the lunch combination plate landed ($7.95): a chicken taco, a cheese enchilada and a tamale. Nothing was great, the chicken taco was okay and the tomato rice was good. Overall, it severely disappointed.

Round 4: Carolina’s, even with its quite satisfying platter o’ meat, cannot make up for uninspired cuisine, flavorless Tex-Mex classics, borrowed cookbooks and a dull atmosphere.
Outcome: Mi Cocina is back on its feet, positioned for a KO.

*Note: Mico Rodriquez, founder of Mi Cocina, left the M Crowd in 2008. He no longer owns or operates the restaurants.

Carolina’s Mexican Cuisine
3310 N Central Expy
Plano, TX 75074
(972) 516-2276

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Lunch in the Black Forest - 08.06.09

Henk's Chicken Pesto Sandwich

Another Thursday lunch with Heather, this time we ventured to Henk's European Deli & Black Forest Bakery. Tucked away behind the massive Half Price Books on Northwest Highway, this charming deli serves up authentic German American breakfasts and lunches everyday (dinner is served on Friday and Saturday evenings only). The store is part restaurant, part bar, part bakery, part market and all kitsch. If you arrive at noon or shortly after, it will be crowded and you may have to wait. This will give you the perfect opportunity to wander the market aisles where you will find an eclectic mix of wine, authentic Manner wafers and - my personal favorite - a revolving tower of Dutch black licorice! The east side of the store is devoted to its bakery and deli counters, each a display of beautiful, European delights.

Service and seating is simple: seat yourself, menus are on the table and you pay the cashier before you leave. For lunch, I questioned the server about the "broodje/brotchen" sandwiches on fresh baked hard rolls. After all, we were at a German deli, shouldn't I order something that at least sounds German? She quickly pointed us to the grilled sandwiches, as "they come with cheese". Was it that obvious? Did we just scream "turophiles*"? Alas, we both succumbed to the grilled sandwiches, I to the Chicken Pesto and Heather to the Hot Amsterdam (gotta love that name). Soon thereafter, the sandwiches arrived with a side of classic Ruffles and a sour pickle. The bread was perfectly toasted and golden, the color which can only come from a smear of real butter just before its being pan fried. Inside, there was moist chicken breast sliced deli thin, just a few roasted red peppers and an appropriate amount of basil pesto, all sandwiched between these aforementioned bookends of fresh white bread. Now I must tell you the best part about this sandwich was indeed the cheese. My Chicken Pesto came with Swiss cheese, not just your typical one slice of melted, stringy Kraft Swiss. No, there lay two deli-thin slices of Jarlsberg, with enough thickness to be the creamy counter of the sweet peppers and salty pesto and enough melt to glue the whole sandwich together.

Please, I beg of you, try Henk's. You may be forced to wait and wander the market aisles, but time (and money spent impulse shopping for stroopwaffles) is well worth every penny. Besides, you can afford to waste a few pennies when the sandwich, enough food for two days lunches, is only $6.50.

*Turophile- a lover of cheese, derived from the Greek word for cheese "tyro"

Henk's European Deli & Black Forest Bakery

5811 Blackwell

Dallas, Texas 75231

214.987.9090

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Hot Concepts! 2009

Every year, Nations Restaurant News announces its picks for the "top five innovative young restaurant chains". They are officially the 2009 Hot Concepts! winners. For the whole article, jump here.

In brief, the winners are:

• The Lazy Dog Cafe, international, moderately priced food in an energetic atmosphere
  
• Red Mango USA, self-proclaimed pioneer of authentic frozen yogurt
  
• Smashburger, affordable, fresh burgers, becoming "every city's favorite burger place"
  
• Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria, the most celebrated and certified Neapolitan pizza in the Northwest
  
• Vino Volo, a wine restaurant/retail store in airports across the U.S.
  

Have you ever been to any of these concepts? If so, let's hear the details! Read more!

Chewy Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Image via Wikipedia

Matt's favorite cookies are Oatmeal Raisin, so I decided to switch it up and make Oatmeal Cherry cookies. These are chock full of fruit and nuts, but adjust the quantities depending on your preference.

*The best thing about these cookies is that you can pre-form the cookie dough and freeze the unbaked cookies, then bake as many as you need at a time!


Chewy Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
makes about 1 dozen large cookies

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, soft
2/3 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla extract
3/4 c. ap flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
3/4 c. dried cherries (or other dried fruit)
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 deg. Cream the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla in a mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the mixer on low, until combined. Add the oats, cherries and walnuts, fold into the mixture until evenly dispersed.

At this point, you should refrigerate the cookie dough. After 30 minutes, take the dough out and pre-scoop depending on when you'd like to bake the cookies. I like BIG cookies, so I use a standard ice cream scoop. They can be scooped and baked immediately. Or they can be scooped and put back in the fridge and kept up to a few hours until you bake them off. Or you can scoop and roll the dough into balls, place in a freezer Ziploc and freeze until desired! So many choices...

To bake, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cookies 2" apart. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, baking times will vary depending on the temperature of the cookie shapes. Read more!

Lunch at R&D Kitchen- 08.03.09

Chopped Chicken Mango Salad at R&D Kitchen (Credit: KellyP23, Via Flicker)

Mom and Austin were driving through Dallas today, being the loving daughter/sister that I am, I offered to meet them for lunch (sure beats leftovers and the conversation would be nice, too). I suggested R&D Kitchen, formerly Cafe R&D, of the Hillstone Restaurant Group. Located in Preston Center, Matt and I park right in front of R&D every Sunday and it had been far too long since I last enjoyed their friendly service, handsome So-Cal interior and consistently great food.

Today, I had the Chopped Chicken Salad ($16). As pictured above, it is presented as a colorful bounty pouring from its cornucopia of iceberg lettuce. The salad is composed of large diced chicken breast, sweet mango and jicama, with al dente Asian noodles, crunchy cabbage and chopped almonds, dressed in a spicy sesame-citrus vinaigrette. In my opinion, this is a wonderful summer salad - chilled, refreshing and perfectly spicy. Albeit, if you consume the entire salad you will no longer be in "summer" shape; it easily serves two people or one person for two meals (my preference).

As always, our service was cool and attentive, the dining room chic and impeccable. Although the price point is a little higher than my typical weekday lunch, R&D Kitchen is a great destination.


R&D Kitchen
8300 Preston Center Plaza
Dallas, Texas 75225
214.890.7900 Read more!

being catty - 07.31.09

Interior of Parigi Restaurant, Artwork by Shane Pennington

The phrase “local and seasonal” has become such a standard philosophy (read: trendy tagline) among this city’s chefs, it has almost lost its appeal. But this is not the case with Parigi’s owner Janice Provost and chef Chad Houser. Once the menu is placed in your hands you become immediately aware that local and seasonal are not merely popular tags, but a reflection of the purposeful and deliberately chosen ingredients strewn across the following pages.

For over 20 years, Parigi has been delighting Dallas diners in their humble abode off Oak Lawn Avenue. It is easily and often overlooked, but after your first visit you will never pass by the Paris-inspired café without a pang in your heart and stomach. It is a narrow space, with an handsome bar and lounge at the entrance and a small strip of a dining room. The dining room is elegant and cosmopolitan, largely due to the abstract horizontal panels painted by Dallas artist, Shane Pennington. Pennington’s art is also on view at Steel, W Hotel in Dallas and private collections around the globe. Amid this modern interior, the amiable servers, eager to make recommendations, create a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. The service and ambiance set the stage for a lovely evening. And a lovely evening it was, indeed.

I took a quick glance at the wine list, only two of us ladies were drinking so we opted for wines by the glass. I chose a glass of Adami Prosecco, the wine list described Prosecco as “a wine to be enjoyed in the company of friends” and I thought it only fitting as I was doing just that. The Prosecco was a great value, citrus notes, acidic but a refined finish.

Glancing over the menu, the first page makes a point to recognize the local purveyors that supply the Parigi kitchen, the list includes: Lemley, Bluebonnet, La Cuesta Farms and Dallas Mozzarella Company. Also on the first page are the “special starters”, changing accordingly with the farm fresh supply. While waiting, our server dropped off a warm, assorted basket of breads and creamy beurre to placate our whetting appetites. If I had one complaint the entire evening it would be this: the kitchen was moving at a leisurely, Parisian pace. C’est la vie.

A signature element of Parigi’s dishes is the Eiffel tower outline, beautifully painted on the pristine plates. My tomato/feta salad was garnished with a balsamic reduced Eiffel tower. It was simply composed, almost a tower of casually tossed ingredients. But it proved to be a memorable summer salad, honoring the ripe Lemley pear tomatoes as tiny little gods, dressing them up with sweet basil robes and salty feta jewels. As much praise as my salad deserves, each of my dining companions felt the same way towards their own choices. As we concluded, Ninny’s salad described as “Chad’s Mom’s Award Winning Creation” was indeed the award winner around our table. It was adorned with the lightly fried okra (not the typical fried okra slivers, but whole pieces of tiny okra) with more fresh tomato.

Quite a bit of time elapsed between the departure of our salads and our main courses arrival; enough time to think we may have missed the flight altogether (read: server forgot to put our order in on time). Here comes the embarrassing part: I’ve forgotten what I ordered exactly, I just remember it was the grilled fish of the day and it was very good, but obviously not memorable enough! However, I do remember my companion’s Beef Tenderloin with creamy whole grain mustard sauce and smashed potatoes, not to be confused with mashed potatoes. As this is a nicer, more sophisticated place, it is important to remember not to lick your plate. And it is also important to remember that you must order dessert while dining at Parigi.

Famous for good reason, the Half and Half is a sweet yin yang of their renowned Chocolate Glob and Peach Cobbler. Chocolate Glob? The name makes me think of that black and white movie from the 50s, where the massive, gelatinous glob moved around and chases people. Gelatinous and massive? Yes, but the Chocolate Glob, a wonderfully undercooked, dense chocolate cake, lives up to all its hype- not always easy to do. The Peach Cobbler was teeming with sweet, fresh peaches (Georgia peaches, if I had to guess) and topped with a sugar flecked, butter rich crust. To top it off, literally, was a healthy scoop of vanilla bean ice cream from Henry’s Homemade Ice Cream, made in Plano. Three individually satisfying components, that could well stand up by themselves; they were sublimely combined for a great ending to a great evening.

La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin. “Life is too short to drink bad wine”, even if drinking good wines means you might forget what you ordered (which is a very bad thing if you are an aspiring food writer).


Parigi
3311 Oak Lawn Ave. Suite 102
Dallas, TX 75219
214.521.0295

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Bite Me - 7.23.09

Smoked Pecan Baby Back Ribs, Coleslaw, Potato Salad, and don't forget the Big Red.
From Off the Bone Barbecue.

Note: This is the beginning of a new series of quick blurbs from my husband. After two plus years of marriage, he has finally grown accustomed to my "questionin'" (as he puts it). Every time he goes somewhere new for lunch I bombard him with about 20 questions on the food, atmosphere and overall dining experience. Being the smart man he is, he has started sending me one picture of his meal and short "review". I love this! and I'm going to start posting them as they come my way...

Off the Bone Barbeque
1734 South Lamar Street
Dallas, Texas 75215

" Good stuff. Could be the best locally I have had over Sammys, Sonnys, Dickies, Rudys, etc. BBQ sauce is vinegar based, cole slaw has blue cheese in it and beans are cooked with a pecan bbq flavor with pieces of bacon inside. Ribs fall off the bone literally. A meat, two sides and a drink is $10 out the door. "


Seriously, I think he may generate a closer following than me. Read more!