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Lyle

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Posts posted by Lyle

  1. I'm doing a bit of a Kolache tasting in West tomorrow and was wondering if anyone else had any other reccomendations. Actually, after the pastries, I'll probably want a proper meal. Has anyone dined at Sulak's Cafe or had anything other than breakfast at Czech American Restaurant?

    Oh, Turkey Shop & Cafeteria has closed.

  2. Coshun Kalbi

    2560 Royal Ln.

    This was also a favorite. I probably went here the most. It's very hard to find. It's hidden in the back arcade of a large strip mall.

    Which one? I assume one of the corners of Royal and Harry hines?

    Mrbigjas, Seoul Garden is wonderful, and you can call for directions. You just have to prod a bit for the details. Most of the places in that area are greater than decent. Just don't make the mistake of wondering in to Korea House Restaurant. Other than that, you'll do fine.

  3. I may simply show my family's dining habits, but I remember the gleeful looks on my parents eyes as we first ate at the Olive Garden after it opened in Abilene TX in the mid-80's. And we went back. Again and again and again. I always ordered the eggplant parmesan, side of spaghetti (tomato sauce was a given). I learned the trick of crisping soggy leftovers in the oven. I hold more nostalgia with OG than any other restaurant. Don't laugh, it's just when and where I grew up.

    Too bad I've long ago passed it by. Haven't been back in almost a decade.

    edit: Even a better thing I won't go back. Nostalgia is often a wonderful thing.

  4. I have a friend that worked in an OG.  It was her first job in a restaurant.  Anyway, she said that all the sauces etc come from a food preveyor premade in vaco-sealed bags.  Nothing is homemade there or even really made.  The whole culinary school in Tuscany is very curious.  I wonder if it is a complete lie?

    That is the only way for a restaurant like this to come anywhere close to delivering the same product from restaurant to restaurant. OG is far from the only restaurant that does this.

  5. Within a couple of blocks of where you are at are a lot of good places.

    One place I frequent often near the Mansion is Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian style steakhouse.  I would go there for the salad bar alone -it is probably the only restaurant salad bar that I don't turn my nose up at.

    TdB is actually on Turtle Creek Blvd about 2 blocks southwest of the Mansion.

    Other restaurants in your general neighborhood include:

    Cremona- Italian- right next to TdB

    Enigma- about two more blocks south of TdB on Turtle Creek Blvd

    Dream Cafe on Howell is great for a organic healthy break

    Enigma closed about three years ago.

    rasputin1072, what type of food/price range are you interested in? You're in a greatly varied area of town.

    Sorry, my question was to the wrong person.

  6. As far as I could tell, the major difference was that Salt lick was cooking and serving the whole brisket, including the deckel, and Elgin seemed to be only serving (and perhaps only cooking) the first cut.

    Both were serving deckel, and you could specifically ask for it if you were willing to be patient and have the folks in the generic white staff shirts ask the real staff doing the carving for you. That said and having tried the deckel at both, I still liked Salt Lick's brisket better. Elgin's was much moister than what they were mostly serving and still managed to keep the slightly firmer texture that Fat Guy liked. Salk Lick's though was much more seasoned especially towards the end bits which were practically caramel.

    Not sure who I was talking to but there was a blond woman wearing a denim Elgin shirt who didn't know what I was talking about when I asked for deckel. Her husband was right behind her though doing the carving and looked up to say "That's the side you like Honey." :laugh:

    In Texas one orders "fat" or "lean" brisket.

  7. For those in Dallas, TX;

    El Pollo Campero appears to be opening on NW Highway between Webb Chappel and I-35. It's on the north side of the street but I didn't catch the exact intersection. No clue when it will open but the ediface appeared complete and windows were installed, as was the identifying signage.

    Will update it's opening as it's (loosely) on my way to the bank.

    [moved from DC & DelMarVa forum into Texas - Rocks.]

  8. I would have thought you are correct about the salt. But I, once, used a glass jar that had some contamination when salting, I think, some beef and it had some funk grow around the rim. The beef itself was fine. But, unlike russ' results, mine were not pretty. I think a quick wash would be fine.

    Not a reccomendation but just to note that the one time I salted anchovies I added thyme as well as bay leaf. They turned out well but I've purchased better. Next time I'd go easy on the thyme, but I'd still add it.

  9. why oh why do we Americans thrive on horrible, souless cooking?  And to add insult to injury we STAND IN LINE FOR TWO HOURS TO GET IT??  Please folks, support independants.  Not mindless, corporate, lousy, indifferent, unimaginative goop.  Whether it be Ruth's Chris/Outback/Olive Garden/TGIfridays or whatever.  Support your local restaurant, otherwise all that's left will be 2 hour waits for mediocre to piss poor food and indifferent to surly service.

    I don't necessarily agree with this at all. In concept, I love to support indepentents. But there is a reason that Carrabba's was turned into a franchise (or is it a chain?). Especially in Italian cuisine and at this price point, what indi restaurants have delivered to you different imaginative non-goop? I've yet to find an indi Italian restaurant in my major metropolitan area, again at this price point, that delivers markedly superior cuisine. Usually, due to the lack of corporate oversight, it's inferior. Especially the breads. And it's never imaginative. That's hard to do when one expects to dine on classically based recipes in these restaurants.

    That's why I usually cook this cuisine at home.

    I agree with your "stand in line for two hours" point, though.

    Edit: I have not dined at the specific Carrabba's location that sparked this thread.

  10. Doesn't Japanese involve more ingredients that are for, er, tourists?

    I started to educate myself on Japanese much more thoroughly thanks to Jin, and I can say it is consumed currently more often than Indian cuisine. I think it is because of my former unfamiliarity with the ingredients (yep I'd never heard of fish) and the foreign concept of technique. Indian food itself incorporates spices I was once unfamiliar with but techniques that are quite common.

    Not to say that grilling a skewer is foreign, but spicing and presentation that aren't common with my southern upbringing are fascinating. As is the Japanese fermentation of various products, which may be why I'm also currently obsessed with Korean cuisine.

    Jin, you aren't saying that all Japanese traditional foods are subtle, though, are you?

  11. I wanted to add to this last night but I needed to talk to the mods first (and something else came up after) so

    ***FULL DISCLOSURE*** Any post by lturley4 was me. I changed email addresses a couple of years ago an reregistered as Lyle since, well, that's my name. As I told the mods, there was no intent to decieve and I never reposted (I think) under lturley4 after registering as Lyle.

    Well, there it is.

    Back to Lola. I dined in the dining room about four weeks ago with two companions. I really wanted to try the Tasting Room but their menu appeared quite heavy on egg and oyster preparations and, as Julia consumes neither, it seemed counterproductive.

    I forgot my notes :hmmm:, didn't review them last night, and won't be able to retrieve them until tomorrow, so let's not call this an all encompassing review. More scattershooting about, sadly, some of the problems. I do remember that, out of twelve dishes, six were hits.

    Durn, I can't even remember all I ate, much less my companions dishes. Let's not even mention wine, although I'm much more informed in that aspect than I was when I wrote the above. I did have, as a second course, a small slice of poorly textured foie that was well seared. But the standout of this dish was the pickled strawberry garnish. The strawberries retained their sweetness and, surprising to me, their texture. When one bit into them there was a seeming concentration of their sweetness that perfectly played with their acidic brine. This process would require very sweet strawberries I would think. The strawberries we used to grow were far too acidic, although that inherent acid level made them perfect for 'plain eatin'. I'll have to simulate this dish at some point.

    Our mains were the big problem. I know our companion got venison that turned out fine (the only dish I didn't sample). My wife ordered med-rare beef tenderloin with braised beef cheeks while I requested a sauteed lobster with concherels (sp? I'm in a hurry). While the cheeks were the buttery, fatty, beefy slab of soft heaven anyone could expect, the loin was sorely overcooked. To their credit, it was a very tender cut of med-well done beef which must be hard to do. The same symptom was observed with my lobster, but it suffered much more. Our companion joked about how he never thought he'd enjoy lobster flavored gum as he chewed and chewed the stringy mess. We concluded that the dishes most likely spent a good time under the heat lamp as all other dishes seemed to reveal proper technique in preparation.

    Sure enough, our companion spoke with a friend who waits tables at Lola the next day who indicated that has indeed been a problem with more delicate dishes (I wouldn't call tenderloin delicate, but what do I know). The dishes simply come out too fast. His solution? Eat in the Tasting Room next time. :laugh::laugh:

    One final little gripe. I generally don't enjoy desert and have decided to flow with cheese. There were simply no interesting cheeses. Three very small wedges, one goat, one soft cow, and a very very mild blue. It's not a good sign when, outside the rhind, one has trouble distinguishing their blue from their goat. Very subtle indeed.

    That's not to say I'm bashing Lola. Quite the contrary. But the squeaky wheel, ya' know? Those problems just stood out. On the whole the meal was delightful and by all stretches a bargain. I'm really ready to dine in the Tasting Room. But, wherever one chooses to dine, Lola is someplace to take advantage of.

    Sorry about the rambling. I'm typing, working, and certainly not editing. If I find my notes I'll have some more praiseful things to say.

  12. My wife and I buy a boatload of their calendars every Christmas and distribute them around the office as impersonal gifts.  The coupons included in the first two months alone make it a worthwile money-saving endevour, and the art is silly to boot.  Worthwile and money-saving, of course, unless you've adverse reactions to coupons.   :hmmm:

    Yeah, but I really don't like this year's "cow superhero" motiff. Last year's calendar was much better.

    Because my local Chick-fil-A is actually 20 minutes away, I only use about 1/3 of the coupons, but it still seems to be worth it for the $5.

    June is a crappy promotion. A free large Coke with a Cool Wrap? First of all, why do I want to buy a Cool Wrap instead of the classic CFA sandwich? Second of all... a Coke? That's costing you like... 5 cents, CFA--mostly for the cup. :raz:

    Wow! Well, one must be coupon specific. But if you enjoy Chik and dine there relatively regularly (as in once every two months) it really is worth it. As you said.

    On the other hand, we handed out so many that I don't have one for myself!

  13. My wife and I buy a boatload of their calendars every Christmas and distribute them around the office as impersonal gifts. The coupons included in the first two months alone make it a worthwile money-saving endevour, and the art is silly to boot. Worthwile and money-saving, of course, unless you've adverse reactions to coupons. :hmmm:

  14. We have a large and diverse oriental population, like Houston,  which gives us a plethora of Thai, Chinese, Vietnames and I think, Korean stores and restaurants.

    Yes to Korean. I live near the Koreatown on Royal Lane in west Dallas. My most convenient Asian grocery store is there on Harry Hines. It's very Korean-centric so they also have a pretty decent selection of Japanese goods as well.

    I love taking a spur-of-the-moment dinner run over there and walking into a little storefront that looks like a restaurant (I can't read Korean) and simply trying to communicate. I know of at least two places that don't have English menus. At one point I remember trying to have a poor conversation with my waiter in Spanish!

    It's funny that on my last trip to NY I stayed near Koreatown there and, having sampled alot of Korean here, was excited to try the top reccomendations there from this board. They were great, but the better news is that Dallas Korean, at least at select places, stands up to the Northeastern variety very well.

    Nessa, I usually don't read these blogs but I caught a bit of yours and got sucked in. Good job. Keep it up.

    Edit: I wish I were bigger in Texas.

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