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DFWTexEx

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Posts posted by DFWTexEx

  1. On 10/29/2024 at 3:28 PM, C-Man said:

    Wife and I met a buddy at Fortunate Son last Thursday. Really cool space and "downtown" Garland looks fun. It's way the fuck far away from my house, though. It was 40 mins out there. The pie was very, very good.

    I love pizza, but no pizza is worth a 40 minute drive.  Yes, I know I am outlier on this group.   The best pizza to me is the closest, good pizza.  I know I am lucky.  I can walk or have a short drive to really excellent pizza (Cenzo's, Nova, Eno's, Cibo) or just good enough local pizza.

  2. I definitely had my local blinders on, but in hindsight, I understand the few stars overall and only one in Dallas.  When I think about my experiences at starred restaurants, the level is just higher.  I expect that chefs/owners will have to decide how far they want to reach.  For example, the biggest surprise in Dallas last night was Lucia not getting even one star, just a bib.  But, it does try to be approachable in its offerings and everything is a la carte. It's just plain good.   Will Chef Ugyur develop a tasting menu with more innovative offerings and more sophisticated plating or just keep doing his thing that has led Lucia to be one of the most popular restaurants and hardest reservations in Dallas?  Overall, lots of interesting recognitions and room to grow.  It'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the years.

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  3. Help.

    My sister had a later in life baby in August.   She is a single mom with enough resources to support herself and the child, but not a lot extra.  I am the gay uncle with no kids, so I have no idea how all this works.

    Can I start one of these plans for my nephew or does it have to go through the parent?  Who gets any available tax break (not that it matters that much)?

    Where do I start?

  4. We did the tasting menu at Rye last night.  The D magazine review is spot on in that it is fun.  Many of the courses were imaginative and became topics of conversation with the table next to us.  It ended up a communal experience in a very good way as we all shared our thoughts on the crazy plates.  But beyond the creativity, there were just too many misses.  A couple of plates were quite bad.  The standout was essentially a mini barbacoa taco that was amazing. It's on their a la carte menu and I would go back for just large versions of that.  I won't give too much more away in case any one goes, but there was kangaroo meat involved!

    Service was casual but spot on. Two of the owners frequently brought the courses and had good talks with us about their philosophy.  That part was great.

    They are invited to the Michelin event in Houston on Monday and are very excited about the possibility of a star.  I understand that the invitation could just mean that they will be recommended in the guide, which is good.  I don't think this is a star experience yet, but maybe they are on their way.  I still put them in my "in the running" list on the Michelin thread because they will be there and maybe reviewer was blown away by the fun plates.

  5. On 7/16/2024 at 12:49 PM, DFWTexEx said:

    Quick and early thoughts on Dallas.

    3 stars:  None

    Maybe 2 stars:  Lucia, Purepecha, Tatsu

    Maybe 1 star:  Uchi, Tei-An, Georgia, Monarch,  Petra & The Beast, Fearings

    Green star:  Beatrice

    Bib:  Revolver Taco

    Monday is the day.  What's your call for your city?

    I am going to revise my Dallas prediction a bit.

    3 stars:  None

    2 stars:  None (Lucia and Tatsu in the running)

    1 star:  Likely:  Lucia, Tatsu, Purepecha, Georgie, and Tei-An (in the running:  Petra & The Beast, Uchi, Mr. Charles, Fearings, Mot Hai Ba, Shoyu, Rye, and one barbecue place (Cattleack or Pecan Lodge)

    Green star:  Beatrice

    Bib:  Revolver Taco and one or two barbecue places if no star is given to barbecue

  6. I'm from the Valley and still live there half time. Tacos are Mexico's gift to the world.  And they can be great in a variety of ways.   The cheap bistek/deshebrada/pastor/asada, etc tacos on the greasy little double tortillas from the cheap stand or gas station are magic.  But so are the "fancy" ones with smoked mushrooms, waygu beef, duck, etc. on fresh, nixtamal tortillas.  No need to argue.

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  7. 8 hours ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

    Former Hilton Rooms manager.

    Your room was set by the reservations dept the morning of your check in. Front desk has very little leeway these days as it is all frequent stayer/big spender scraped data. Doesn’t mean the front desk doesn’t know what rooms are between the elevator and the ice machine if you’re an asshole.

    Book what you want.

    Right.   I get all the upgrade offers when I book and as I check in.    And the complimentary upgrades are based on status.   Seems like hotels are becoming like the airlines, as upgrades are monetized or very much based on status.  The old days of dressing up to get bumped to first class are gone.

    But Vegas may always be Vegas.  Tips rule.  So the above may not apply.

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  8. Written by the Seasons is constantly great. Had a group of 20 there for a friend’s birthday party tonight and everything was on point. 

    Beautiful place and I feel like I should like it more than I do. Everything feels fresh and nice and definitely veg centric. I just haven’t a meal there that draws me back.
  9. Rye?  The rye in lower Greenville?  Went there once and I don’t think I would even consider it close to a top 100 restaurant I’ve eaten at.   I did go a 2 years ago but if the menu is the same which includes chicken lollipops and shit like that then, then no thank you.  I thought the food at their cocktail bar, apothecary, was better than the food at Rye.  

    D Magazine just gave them a very nice review. Star worthy? I want to check it out.

    https://www.dmagazine.com/food-drink/2024/10/ryes-new-tasting-menu-is-some-of-the-most-fun-you-can-have-in-a-dallas-restaurant/
  10. I didn't look at the list. Is Taqueria Si Hay in Dallas on there? If not it should be. 
    Tipicos on Northwest Highway makes great tacos Al carbon

    Nope. That’s my neighborhood. El Si Hay is nostalgic and fun and the elotes man is the best if you are willing to stand in line. The tacos are definitely good but are nothing special. Just because they are greasy doesn’t make them worthy of this list. Trompo (RIP) was way better.
  11. I thought the list a bit foodie to me.  It’s easy to make great tacos with prime beef and fancy stuff.  I enjoy Revolver.  But to me Fuel City on a long ago list defined a Texas taco monument:  family hardscrabble operation in an odd location making fantastic tacos out of simple homemade tortillas and crafted simple cheap ingredients and perfect seasonings.  Haven’t been there in forever as I don’t work in Dallas anymore but I would take vendors there instead of Nick and Sam’s and they’d go nuts over it.  8 tacos, a tall boy beer, done.  
     
    I use them as an example as there are a jillion of similar ones out there.  Some are ethereal some are shit 

    Fuel city was so great. But it has evolved into a greasy, generic mess. No longer worth the stop.

    Revolver is totally legit. Check him out on Taco Chronicles. As good as the tacos are, the tasting menu he does in the back with his mom making making tortillas and his cousins serving is extraordinary - as in 2 of the best meals I have had in Dallas. I hope he gets a star.

    Mascaras is walking distance from my house in Oak Cliff but I have not been. From all accounts, it’s good and people like the different variety of taco styles for comparison.

    Mexican-American from the Valley living in Dallas, here so I know tacos.
  12. I thought the list a bit foodie to me.  It’s easy to make great tacos with prime beef and fancy stuff.  I enjoy Revolver.  But to me Fuel City on a long ago list defined a Texas taco monument:  family hardscrabble operation in an odd location making fantastic tacos out of simple homemade tortillas and crafted simple cheap ingredients and perfect seasonings.  Haven’t been there in forever as I don’t work in Dallas anymore but I would take vendors there instead of Nick and Sam’s and they’d go nuts over it.  8 tacos, a tall boy beer, done.  
     
    I use them as an example as there are a jillion of similar ones out there.  Some are ethereal some are shit 

    Fuel city was so great. But it has evolved into a greasy, generic mess. No longer worth the stop.

    Revolver is totally legit. Check him out on Taco Chronicles. As good as the tacos are, the tasting menu he does in the back with his mom making making tortillas and his cousins serving is extraordinary - as in 2 of the best meals I have had in Dallas. I hope he gets a star.

    Mascaras is walking distance from my house in Oak Cliff but I have not been. From all accounts, it’s good and people like the different variety of taco styles for comparison.

    Mexican-American from the Valley living in Dallas, here so I know tacos.
    I thought the list a bit foodie to me.  It’s easy to make great tacos with prime beef and fancy stuff.  I enjoy Revolver.  But to me Fuel City on a long ago list defined a Texas taco monument:  family hardscrabble operation in an odd location making fantastic tacos out of simple homemade tortillas and crafted simple cheap ingredients and perfect seasonings.  Haven’t been there in forever as I don’t work in Dallas anymore but I would take vendors there instead of Nick and Sam’s and they’d go nuts over it.  8 tacos, a tall boy beer, done.  
     
    I use them as an example as there are a jillion of similar ones out there.  Some are ethereal some are shit 

    Fuel city was so great. But it has evolved into a greasy, generic mess. No longer worth the stop.

    Revolver is totally legit. Check him out on Taco Chronicles. As good as the tacos are, the tasting menu he does in the back with his mom making making tortillas and his cousins serving is extraordinary - as in 2 of the best meals I have had in Dallas. I hope he gets a star.

    Mascaras is walking distance from my house in Oak Cliff but I have not been. From all accounts, it’s good and people like the different variety of taco styles for comparison.

    Mexican-American from the Valley living in Dallas, here so I know tacos.
  13. We've taken DART to the game before and it worked just fine.  They add extra trains, stage them well and also have bus connectors and generally plan well.  Something went terribly wrong yesterday.   We didn't take the trains in and parked on MLK but had to walk across the tracks that had non-stop red lights blinking and gates down and no trains moving.  Eventually they led us walk under the arms and through.  Absolutely dangerous and nuts.

    The stadium itself was a clusterfuck.  Running out of water?  The bottlenecks.   That's the worst I have seen it.  But the improvements for next year will make a big difference with the flow of people.  That won't help the fact that it is understaffed with no visible "guest services" or security to deal with shit.

     

     

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  14. For several years, we parked at James Madison HS on MLK. We came in from the South and it was easy. But I hear they have some construction going on. The Google map view shows a huge construction site but I don’t know what is happening now. Has anyone been there recently?

  15. The condo building where we stay on Treasure Island / St. Pete beach every year was fucked by Helene.   All the units are fine as they are on the high up second floor or higher, but the pool equipment, elevators, offices, mechanics, etc.  were pretty much destroyed by the Helene surge.   And now Milton is headed there.   Sucks.  Family has been going there for 40+ years.

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  16. I am a fan of San Miguel de Allende. We go every year. I’ve backpacked around Mexico and have done all that but SMA is just great for me now. My husband is a gringo city boy and he loves it too. We do a beach trip too and they are very different.

  17. Latinos for trump share a lot commonalities with white trash racists for trump.   The we hate blacks, is one of the biggest common grounds.   Of course these dumbasses will e the first ones to get thrown under the boxcar, but they are too stupid/racist to realize it. 

    I am spending a lot of time in the Valley and this is true. When you couple it with Latinos’ hyper support of the police and military and all things patriotic, you see what’s happening. BLM was the biggest disaster for south Texas Democrats and it will take a long time to recover from that. I sense that the real MAGAS are laughing at them.
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  18. On 6/24/2024 at 7:34 AM, PorscheGuy said:

    Went to Stillwell’s last weekend and it was an epic failure on every level. The first clue it was going to be a disaster was shortly after we were seated. We were informed we had to order everything at once and that there was a time limit on how long we could stay/eat. Ok, umm look behind you, your restaurant is 75% empty at 7:00 on a Saturday night.

    Steaks were inedible, dry and overcooked.
    Service was rushed for no reason
    The sommelier must have been coked out of his mind or was chugging Red Bulls for 12 hours.
    Apparently they don’t have most of the wine on their list. He offered the same 6 bottles to every table.
    The bar screwed up drink order.
    I could go on but you get the picture.

    Only positive was the manager stopped by to ask how are evening was and I politely asked him how much time he had. He ended up comping a pretty hefty bill.

    That's unfortunate.  We went before a Stars game and just had drinks and appetizers at the bar.  It was stellar.  We intended to go back for the full restaurant experience, but maybe not.   They are very proud of their own beef program, so the fact that the steaks were bad is particularly surprising.

     

  19. We may need a separate thread on Michelin star guesses and then results.   

    We went to Georgie for a special occasion last week.  It's on the short list for a star now that it has been revamped from a steakhouse to a true chef driven restaurant  (chef has French Laundry experience).  We had the tasting menu with wine pairings. It was not cheap.   But, it was very, very good.  Of the 8 courses, only one was a miss.  The waiter recognized that we didn't care for it and the chef sent out something else (agnolotti, which was spectacular).  We had one standard wine pairing and one reserve pairing.  The reserve pairing was $120 more than the standard and not really worth it.   We would do the tasting menu again with a standard pairing.   Service was just perfect.  The room was beautiful and much livelier than I expected, with a nice bar scene (cocktails are in the $25 range, so you know).  They tried to sit us at the worst table in the house, essentially at the host stand.  We politely asked for another table and they accommodated us with a much nicer table.  We'd like to go back.   Recommend!

  20. I remember their old school way of cooking a turkey.  Thanksgiving meal for our family was served at noon.   The prayer was literally at noon, not minute after.  We ate, relaxed, had dessert.  And then people left or stayed to watch the Cowboys at 3.

    So, mom and dad would wake up at some crazy time, like 4 am and put the turkey in the oven to cook forever, with a little basting when they remembered.  No brining, no fancy wine soaked cloths, salt and pepper only.   It's the opposite of what we are told to do now.   But, in the end, they made the best, juiciest turkey I have ever had.   Dad passed away this February and I guess I will have to make the turkey this year. 

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