Southern Recipes Cafe, Plano, TX

I’m at a business meeting in Richardson, and at lunch suggested hitting Southern Recipes. It used to be just west of here. On the way there, we headed that way until one of the guys remembered that SR was now in Plano. We turned around and headed back north to the new location. Unfortunately in one way, the new SR location is in a space that had been occupied by a very good Italian restaurant. Oh well.

The six of us ordered various things. I started out with some very good chicken noodle soup. I had chopped steak with gravy, mushrooms, and onions. It was very good, to include the gravy and mushrooms. I was not entirely happy with the onions, only about 10% of them were cooked to any extent, mostly they were large and raw.

The iced tea was very good. Service was OK, although a bit on the slow side. Te food was very good, I will continue to go back to SR.

Williams Chicken, Plano, TX

I drove past this place after having dinner last evening. I got a 3-piece all white, mashers with cream gravy, and slaw. The slaw was OK, it was vinegary. The mashers were OK. The chicken was a mixed bag. It was crispy enough, and the pieces were nice sized, and moist enough, but it was not overly flavorful. Maybe the breading was just plain, or something. So the meal was not bad, but it was not something to make me lust for going back tomorrow.

The iced tea was pretty good, and service was fast and very friendly. My check was $10.96. If I were driving past and just had to have some fried chicken, I wouldn’t mind stopping. But I wouldn’t drive out of my way.

Chubby’s, Plano, TX

I had dinner here last night for no better reason than it was on the corner opposite where I was having a haircut. It was pretty good!

I got a chopped steak, medium. It comes with brown gravy, grilled onions, and mushrooms. It was perfect. The sides were mashers with more brown gravy (excellent), and some thin-cut green beans with some onion cooked in (OK). Nothing was left on my plate.

Service was right on the money, and the iced tea was great. My check was $8.90. Fast and good.

Paesano’s, Plano, TX

I had visited the Home Depot just south of here, and was in the mood to eat Italian, so I gave this place a try based on UrbanSpoon. It was great! I had dinner here 12 December.

I asked for some marinara to dip the bread in; it was smooth and had great flavor. My meal was chicken fettuccine al fredo. First of all, that was a heck of a lot of food. I can put away some chow, and that was right at my limit. The al fredo was the kind I actually like best: not overwhelmingly butter, but you could taste the cream, and it was just thick enough to cling to the perfect fettuccine. The chicken was just the right amount, tender, and sauteed slices, just the way I like it.

I had a salad, but don’t remember much about it.

Service was spotty. I ran out of iced tea a couple times. But the meal was served very quickly. My check was $14.05, great value.

Chuy’s, Plano, TX

I had lunch here 11 Dec 2013 with some work friends. It was pretty darn crowded, but we didn’t have to wait for a table.

I got the combination fajitas, and they were pretty darn good. The meat was plump and cooked tender and pretty darn tasty. As usual, I didn’t wrap it up in tortillas, but just mixed it all together on the serving platter. The onions were cooked all the way (instead of being a bit raw). The chips and salsa were very good.

Service was a bit spotty, but they were very busy over lunch. The iced tea was really good. My check was $15.89, not bad. I would go back.

Burger Street, Plano, TX

I had just had a haircut and needed dinner, and Burger Street was about a block away. It was not the best burger I’ve had, but it was far from the worst.

I got a a double cheese combo, a large Coke, and curly fries. The fries were very good, nice potato flavor and just crunchy enough. The burger was not bad at all. It had decent flavor, but it needed to be cooked just a bit longer to give it a nice crust. Good cheese, also!

I would say that the burger was far better than Sonic or Braum’s. Service was fast and friendly. My check was $9.72. If I had an opportunity to eat another Burger Street burger, I would.

Black Eyed Pea, Plano, TX

This was a very good meal. I got my usual, pot roast, with mashers and green beans. All excellent, and all scarfed down. Raegan got the turkey dinner; it was pretty darn good. Erin started with loaded potato skins (not bad at all, although the potatoes could have been baked just a touch longer) and a cheeseburger. The burger was not very good; it was overcooked, and had patches of scorch. Erin didn’t want to return it, though.

Service was good, and the iced tea was excellent. We finished off with banana pudding that was really good. Our check was $46.15.

Angela’s At The Crosswalk, Plano, TX

Ron and I had dinner here Tuesday evening. First of all, Plano has a very nice downtown area! There were a lot of people walking around, eating, and the like, on a blustery Tuesday.

I started off with some fried pickles. They were very good, but there were a LOT of them! They came with a decent ranch dressing. I also got some chili. This was a finely ground chili with no heat, and again, it was a lot of chili.

I got a chicken fried steak; it was very good. I rated it an 8 out of 10. It was fork tender. The breading was a bit thick, but it didn’t detract from the beef flavor, which was very good. I liked the gravy, also. The green beans were pretty good, but the mashers were excellent.

I couldn’t finish the meal, it was just too much for me. The iced tea was good. Service was variable, but overall OK. My check was $22.57. Not bad at all.

McAlister’s Deli, Plano, TX (North Central)

I’m obviously in catch-up mode here.

I had lunch here with a group of friends from a company I work with (Clark was driving, so he went to McAlister’s in spite of *my* suggestion of BBQ!!! :). It was the usual fine meal I’ve come to expect. I got a Choose Two of a turkey melt (which I have really come to like, a lot) and a bowl of chili (good stuff). The tea was excellent also. Service was fast, the food was very good, and the price was very reasonable at $10.98.

Good stuff.

Twin Peaks, Plano, TX

I ate here last evening. I was looking for something light, and ended up a little heavier than I wanted.

First of all, if you don’t like the concept of Hooters, you will not like Twin Peaks. The “Great Views” in their motto refer to the staff, who are all very attractive, and dressed to enhance that.

That being said, service was OK, a bit spotty. It took a while to get my tea ordered, and there were a couple times that it ran out. That never sits well with me.

I ordered the small BBQ wings. They were OK, not terribly meaty, but the BBQ flavor was good.

For my meal, I got the ribeye pot roast. While the meat was roasted pot-roast style, I don’t think it was ribeye. The meat had little flavor. It was tender enough. The gravy (brown) wasn’t too bad. The mashers were good, and the vegetable medley was interesting (it was thin green beans, bacon, corn, and onion).

My check was $23.82, not bad for a largish appetizer and entree. I would go back if I was part of a group, but probably not if it was just me.

Comparis, Plano, TX

I’ve driven by this place a number of times over the years. Today, I thought some Italian food would make for a good dinner, especially since I was headed to a nearby sporting goods store to look for sneakers.

I got there around 1745 and was immediately seated as the place was pretty much empty.

My server brought me some of the best, garlic encrusted loaves of bread that I’ve had. It was excellent. I asked for some marinara, it was also excellent, and hot! A salad, with creamy Caesar dressing, was served, and it was also very, very good.

I ordered fettuccine alfredo, with chicken. The chicken is normally grilled, but I asked for it sauteed, and that’s how it was delivered. The dish had the perfect amount of alfredo, and the stuff tasted real – a lot of cream and butter taste, delicious! The chicken was perfectly cooked. It was also a fairly large amount of food. The noodles were al dente. In short, and excellent meal. I ate every bit of it.

I got tea, it was strong and tasted very good.

My check was $17.80, not a bad value. I’d gladly eat here again.

Eddy’s Pizza Restaurant, Plano, TX

Real quick review. I got a 12″ Meat Lover pizza. It was OK. The crust was a bit tough (it was almost black on the bottom in one place, so it was probably overcooked). There was plenty of topping (sausage, pepperoni, hamburger, and bacon). Flavor was pretty good.

Service was casual. The iced tea was OK. My check was $15.64, pretty reasonable. I got there at 2030, and left at 2130. The place was about 30% full. I’d go back.

Jakes Hamburgers, Plano, TX

I have heard of Jakes for a while, having been traveling to the Metroplex since the mid-80s. Yesterday, I was returning from a community volleyball league in Plano, and I was aiming for a brand-new Five Guys, but I missed the exit. I saw the Jakes from the next exit, and decided to check it out. I got there around 2020, and left around 2120.

A comment first. Jakes seems like a very friendly place. There were what were clearly frequent customers chatting up the servers and the cooks. There was a lot of laughing and such going on.

I started out with greatly needed iced tea, which was very good, and in a big plastic cup.

I ordered the Jakes Special, which is a medium bun with double meat. The bun had a lot (really a lot, the top was black with them) of very small seeds. The Special comes with 1000 Island dressing and your choice of other stuff. I got it with lettuce. It was a pretty decent burger. I decided I am not a big fan of 1000 Island dressing. Next time I will get the burger with mayo as usual. The beef had good flavor, I’ve had better, but lots worse.

I got onion rings with my meals, and ranch dressing to dip them in. I didn’t like the dressing; it was of a type that when I see it at a restaurant I’m likely to send it back; the stuff is thick, has a sharp taste to it, and a fair amount of grey-green flecks in it. The rings were beer battered, and were not terribly good.

I started the meal out with a vanilla shake – I liked it.

Service was casual, but my tea only ran out twice (I was packing the stuff away). My check was $15.13. Value was not too bad. I would go back if someone else suggested it.

Love & War in Texas, Plano, TX

I have driven past this place a thousand times while driving along Plano Parkway or on US-75. I occasionally wondered at the strange name, as I knew it was a restaurant. I had seen a review of the place on Google that said they had really good chicken fried steaks. Yesterday I went to The Sports Authority store across the parking lot, and decided to try L&W.

I got there around 1215, and left around 1300. The restaurant was probably half full the entire time. My iced tea was good. I ordered the lunch size chicken fried steak.

I ended up getting the lunch sized chicken fried chicken. It… was… HUGE. The thing was about 8″x4″. I asked, and my server said that the dinner portion was not quite twice that size. The CFC was pretty good. The whole thing was fork-tender. The breading had a flavor to it that was almost citrus-like. It was not unpleasant, it was different. The chicken was juicy and plump. There was not enough gravy, but I used some from the mashers and did OK.

The meal came with the aforementioned mashers (which were advertised as garlic mashers, but I could not detect the garlic, which is OK, I’m not a fan of garlic potatoes) and an ear of what was described as smoked corn. The corn was good, but needed to be cooked a bit more.

Aside from dropping my iced tea in my lap (!), the meal was pleasant. Service was just a touch to the less-than-attentive, at least until I dropped my drink. My check was $13.48, which was probably not expensive given that the CFC was dinner+ sized. I do wish I had had the CFS, but if I ever go back to L&W, I will make sure I get it then.

20 September 2011 Update:

I went here for dinner tonight. I got there around 1800 and left around 1930.

I started with a ceasar salad. Not bad.

So tonight I really came for steak. I will say this for L&W – they are consistent. Everything in the main meal was very consistently spicy, in the black-pepper variety of spicy. Except for the smoked ear of corn. Well, even it had some pepper flavor. The skillet potatoes were really good. They come with bell peppers by default. I asked for some without, and my server said that was no problem. The potaotes came without peppers per se, but still had bell pepper and black pepper flavor. The meal came with blackeyed peas – also with black pepper in quantity (I didn’t have more than one bite). The corn was pretty good.

The steak was a t-bone, heavily peppered (black), and occasionally had mild bell pepper flavor. The steak was cooked pretty much medium, like I like. There was good flavor, and the steak was tender, but most of the flavor was overridden by the black pepper. There was no charring on the meat, a good thing.

I ended the meal with a bowl of hot peach cobbler (excellent) topped by some ice cream (yummy!).

The tea was excellent. I did not drop the to-go cut into my lap this time. Service was extremely attentive.

My summary – if you want pure beef flavor, you probably do not want to get your steak from Love & War In Texas. The CFS I got the first time was decent.

My check was $39.40. A bit expensive. i would recommend something else other than the steaks.

Scotty P’s, Plano, TX

We had Scotty P’s recommended to us as an excellent cheeseburger place, so three of us went there after work this evening. We went to the location on Parker.

I got a Harrington (apparently, the different locations name certain burgers differently, probably reflecting local flavor). The Harrington is a cheeseburger, with mayo, lettuce and tomato. It’s a third pound. I got a double meat, so it was a 2/3 pound, which was frankly too much cheeseburger; the burger was not overflowing with beef flavor. The burger was a bit too dry, being cooked more well done instead of the default medium well. It came as a platter, with some OK fries.

You can ask to have the cheese pre-melted here for the burger. Interesting concept.

The iced tea was OK, and serve yourself. My buddy Ron bought dinner before I could, but my meal was about $10. I would eat here again, but I would ask them to be sure not to overcook the burger.