Fish Express

I think I am in love with Mahi-Mahi blackened fish tacos from Fish Express. I have had my eye on this joint for about a week and decided it would be a good choice for a quick lite lunch. Man, was I right. Quick, lite, delicious, good for you, seafood is brain food. I can go on and on...

The menu here is ALL seafood, with the exception of one chicken dish. Dont' let the name Fish Express fool you. They have a great variety of fish dishes, both grilled and fried, tacos, sandwiches and PoBoys as well as soups and salads.

The house special is a seafood burger. It consist of an incredible combination of fish, shrimp and salmon formed into a patty, grilled and served on a fresh multi-grain bun with crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, onion and Cajun remoulade.

I tried the Mahi-Mahi blackened fish tacos(pictured) at the recommendation of the manager. This was a great recommendation. They were so delicious and juicy. The fish was cooked perfectly not dry. They had a bit of the cajun remoulade spread inside and then covered with cabbage and a corn/red onion salsa. The jasmine rice on the side was equally as good. The picture only shows one hush puppy. I ate the other one as soon as it hit the table. Then I remembered to take a picture.

I rate this experience at Fish Express 9.5 stars out of ten for Quick, fresh, great tasting food. I will definitely be coming back to try the seafood burger.

Palio's Cafe

On the recommendation of my mother-in-law, I tried Palio's cafe in Frisco for Lunch on Sunday. They specialize in Pizza, Pasta and Salad. The pizzas are considered gourmet and are available in sizes small through x-large. They also have a good variety of salads, pastas and a great list of sandwiches.

The sandwiches look to have great value at only $5.99 each with kettle chips and a pickle. This kids are even better off with a $3.99 value menu with 7 options. That will make some parents very happy.

There are 18 varieties of Gourmet Pizza to choose from and 36 if you factor in the optional whole wheat crust. I decided to go with the Maria's BBQ Chicken(pictured). It included roasted chicken, red onions, bacon, cheddar and Mozzarella cheese. This was one greasy pie. It was certainly full of flavor and the crust actually held up will, but I used 15 napkins to eat 4-5 pieces of pizza. It was a bit much. I also had the Greek Salad. The salad was very authentic and had sun dried tomatoes in it which I though was a nice twist that I do not usually see in Greek salads. It was the perfect warm up while I was waiting for the pizza.

I can tell you this will quickly become a family favorite restaurant for us in Frisco. The menu has something for the whole family and there is enough variety to really mix things up. The restaurant offers dine in, delivery or carry out. They also have a fantastic lunch specials from 11-3 on weekdays starting at $7.99.

I rate this restaurant very high for a pizza joint. I really look at his as more Casual Italian meets California Pizza Kitchen. I thought he service was great and did not find myself waiting at all. I ordered, got my salad, got my pizza, got my to box and got out in under 25 minutes. I give Paoli's Cafe 8 stars out of 10. If they take the BBQ chicken off the menu or drop the cheddar cheese and bacon off that pie, they could reach 9.5 or better.

Regio- Pollos Asados Al Carbon

Here is a quick lunch post. If you are ever in Garland and hungry, check this place out. They specialize in flame broiled chickens. When I say chickens, I mean chickens. Not pieces of chicken, like El Pollo Loco. You can't get it by the piece, just by the bird or half bird.

Since I was not that hungry I decided to go in another direction and get the Tacos al Pastor(pictured). They were actually really, really good. A little on the greasy side, but 5 tacos loaded with meat, cilantro and onions for $5.95. That is the deal of the century.

On other thing I should warn you before you go here. No one speaks English, the signs are in Spanish and you might want to bring a friend if the sun has gone down. Other than that you will be fine.

I cant really rate this place on the chicken because I have not tried it. I can tell you it smelled great! I am giving the tacos I had 9 stars for value and flavor.

Island Burger

I can guarantee you this will be one of many reviews on Burgers in the Dallas Area. There is no shortage of Burger Joints in this town. In fact, there are 9 separate locations in Frisco alone that I have on my list to try. I am limiting myself to one per week, so be patient. My pick this past week was Island Burger in Rowlett. They have 4-5 locations around the Dallas Metroplex. They are famous for larger that life burgers with outrageous toppings.

I chose their house special, the Jungle Burger(pictured). This half pound monster comes loaded with sauteed mushrooms, onions and green peppers to start. Then they pile on lettuce, tomato, pickles and Jalapenos. Then a squirt of mustard and ketchup before they layer on a couple slices of Provolone and Cheddar cheese.

Here is the deal with my experience at this location. I went in at 7:10 on Friday night and got seated no problem. Ordered no problem. Waiting 45 minutes... a problem. I was pretty angry and almost left. I stopped in for a quick burger and got the line, " it will only be a couple more minutes" from the server at least five times.

Aside from the service issues, the burger rocked. I had to take a few of the jalapenos off, but for those of you who really, really like them it would probably be the perfect burger. I had nothing on the side, just the huge burger. It was very satisfying, but way too messy. For me to rate this burger highly it would have had to be better contained between the buns.

I did see quite a bit of other food come out of the kitchen. The deep fried mushrooms looked very edible and the table next to me was raving about them. I recommend getting a burger to share with someone and taking advantage of the appetizer menu. There are some great options to choose from.

The rating scale on Burgers goes to 11 instead of 10, since this is my favorite food. Currently the favorite burger on my list is the Bobcat Bite at the Bobcat Grill in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That was a ten-star burger. I will reserve the 11 star for any burger that unseats the Bobcat Bite as best burger ever. The Jungle Burger is not even close. I give Island Burger 6 stars out of ten. Mostly due to poor service. The burger is probably a 7.5 on its own.

Mattito's Tex Mex

Finally a good Mexican Food restaurant in Texas. Mattito's was a breath of fresh air after a couple Tex Mex disasters my first week in Dallas. Even the locals kept telling me the Mexican Food here sucks. Many have suggested I just go to On the Border to satisfy my urges.

The Mattito's in Frisco has a real Mexican Cantina feel to it and is definitely a destination for the whole family. I was seated immediately and had hot chips and salsa(good stuff) on my table within 30 seconds. The menu has all the usual suspects you would expect to find with a couple of surprises. The one that stands out the most is the Chicken Fried Steak???. They recommend it cowboy style with Chili Con Carne, cheddar cheese, rice and beans. You can also have it traditional with cream gravy, salsa fries and Texas toast.

I was not feeling that adventurous and went for the Chicken Enchiladas. I was given a variety of sauces to choose from, but decided to just go with the green tomatillo sauce(pictured above). This dish was only $8.99 and blows the 13.99 Enchiladas Suizas at On the Border out of the water. It was excellent with just the right amount of heat to keep me sipping my margarita till it was empty.

I look forward to returning to this great find in Frisco in the near future. They have many special plates(especialidades on the menu) that I have my eye on. They have a great variety of seafood, pork, chicken and beef dishes to satisfy just about any thing you are in the mood for. I give this location 9 stars out of ten based on service(excellent), menu selection and real Mexican Flavor(spot on). Mattatio's also has an original location in North Dallas for your dining pleasure.

Firehouse Subs

I tried our Firehouse Subs for lunch the other day ans was not really impressed. I had the New York Steamer, which included Brisket, pastrami, provolone, mustard and mayo. It came with a pickle on the side. I had the medium and when I saw it I wished it was a large. It was just not what I expected.

The sandwich did have good flavor and was gone very quickly. As I was leaving I passed the hot sauce bar. This would have been nice to know about...There were no less than 50 varieties of hot sauce. This could have made things interesting. It is too bad I discovered this on the way out the door. Maybe the guy who took my order, or the guy who delivered my sandwich, or the manager who said" hi" to me could have pointed out that my sandwich would taste better with sauce.

This restaurant gets a 5 stars out of ten based on my experience that day. I do think it has 7 or 8 star potential depending on the hot sauce you choose and size sandwich you order. What I had was more like a snack than a meal.

Black-Eyed Pea

My first visit to Black-Eyed Pea in Richardson was one to remember. Have you ever walked into a restaurant and as they seat you, you were marched by a sever delivering food to a table. That is exactly what happened to me tonight. I caught one glimpse of a Chicken Fried Steak smothered in country gravy, hanging off the plate, and there was really no need to even look at a menu. I did look at the menu, but ordered the CFS anyway.

The cover of the menu says, "rediscover the lost art of cooking from scratch delivered to you". You had me at cooking from scratch. The menu runs the table with classics like the CFS, fried chicken, slow roasted pot roast, meat loaf and a huge selection of veggies and sides. There are too many sides to name here, but a couple that stand out are black-eyed peas, red beans and rice and squash casserole.

As soon as I placed my order I was promptly brought both fresh rolls and cornbread with whipped butter. Dining by myself I was full when my meal arrived, the basket was of course empty. The Chicken Fried Steak was delicious and was accompanied by fresh mashed potatoes and black-eyed peas. The peas tasted like spoonfuls of fresh baked ham. I licked the plate clean and moved on to dessert. If the restaurant makes everything from scratch, dessert is a given.

I enjoyed a warm blackberry cobbler. It was warm and gooey and very sweet. I am glad it was kind of small, because I really did not have room for it.

I am looking forward to returning to Black-Eyed Pea for lunch sometime soon. They have smaller portions for lunch starting at only $5.99. The dinners are only about $8. This is value priced delicious food at its best. The $ to calorie ratio is not good, but it is so easy to lose count when you cover everything in gravy. I give this home cooked fare 9 stars out of 10 based on selection, service and value. I wish they has something like this in the west.

Chaucer's Sushi

This placed was recommended to me by a co-worker and so I thought I would give it a try. I can tell you that this was well worth my time and I enjoyed some of the finest most creative flavors I have had in quite some time. So many Sushi Bars have a cookie cutter menu with the same old rolls and nothing new that grabs your attentions and makes you want to be adventurous. That is not the case at Chaucer's.

One glance at the sushi menu and I knew I was in trouble. There were so many rolls I had never heard of that I asked the server for a few moments so I could just read through the selection of 30 plus rolls. I finally decided on a bowl of seaweed salad and two rolls.

The first roll I tried was called the Red Dragon roll. It was deep fried snow crab, spicy salmon, asparagus, cucumber, avocado and topped with habanero smelt roe and a creamy wasabi sauce. The habanero smelt roe was unbelievable. The most amazing thing I have had this month and the wasabi cream sauce was equally amazing. This roll is a home run.

The second roll I tried was a bit on the lighter side to finish my meal. It was called the Chaucer's roll. It included fresh water eel, deep fried shrimp, cream cheese, avocado, asparagus, and crab meat wrapped in fresh cucumber and soybean paper topped with ponzu sauce. I have to say that this was very lite and really did not stimulate my taste buds like the first roll. Everything is cooked in this roll and it would be a great roll for those of you who don't typically go for sushi.

I cant wait to go back to Chaucer's and try some of the other rolls that include ingredients such as lobster, jalapenos, crawfish tails and maybe get some of the Habenero smelt roe to go. I would eat anything dipped in that stuff.

Overall the food and servers were wonderful. My only complaint was the time it took to get my food. I was dining alone, so maybe the time was moving slow, but it took 45 minutes for my meal and I was the only one at the sushi bar. They had two guys working who covered the whole restaurant when they clearly needed 4 or more. If you have the time, I would recommend this dining experience to anyone. I give Chaucer's Sushi 9.5 stars out of ten.

Spring Creek BBQ

Today I had lunch at the Spring Creek BBQ in Frisco. I have been in Texas for almost three weeks now and can't believe I made it this long before I tasted real Texas BBQ.

The restaurant was set up cafeteria style where you grab a tray and head down a line making selections. This could be trouble for many who love food. I decided on the Beef dinner that comes with unlimited veggies and a soda. The staff sliced the brisket right in front of me and piled it high in my plate with a fresh baked roll. I selected the green beans(smothered in bacon) and the cole slaw as my sides. I almost did not make it out of line with all the pie selections they had.

I took a seat in a booth and got started on my meal. The brisket was delicious. It had the nice pink smoke ring as a crust and it did not last long dipped in the hot BBQ sauce that I took from the line. The beans were also something I will remember for a while, so much flavor and the bacon really took them up a notch. As soon as I finished my roll a server suddenly appeared at my table with a basket of fresh bakes rolls. Of course I took one! I finished my meal with the cole slaw and was very satisfied. I prefer cole slaw that is more of the vinegar type and this was more mayonnaise, but still satisfying.

One last temptation came as I was getting up to leave. A server showed up and offered me a bowl of ice cream for free. If I was not so full, I would have jumped all over the offer. I will have to come back and save some room next time.

I give the Spring Creek BBQ 8 stars out of 10. The menu offers a variety of smoked meats including chicken, beef, sausage and turkey. The kids can eat a meal for under five bucks and from looking around no one was leaving hungry.