DFW Dining Deals

[Lyle]

We have covered LOLA, The Mansion, York St., and The French Room (for which I've a new respect for) quite thoroughly. What about real bargains in the metroplex? Where do you feel almost guilty eating because you can't believe it's that dirt cheap?

I'll start with a couple. Fadi's Mediterranean Grill on Knox. $10 for a huge plate of Mediterranian specialties and your choice of meat or fish off their constantly rotating menu. It woulden't be a bargain if it were of poor quality, but even the meats sereved off steam trays manage to stay moist and tender. I've yet to have a poor expierence here.

The other is Monicas. 'Nuff said.

[Raynickben]

Well, it's by no means gourmet but Austin Ave. Bar and Grill (mostly bar, little grill) in Plano is a great place to watch a game, eat a little something, drink a lot of something. It's wierd but you can eat and eat and eat and drink and drink and drink and you get the bill and it's ridiculously low! Everyone agrees with this so don't think I misread the bill because of the drink and drink and drink.

[Richard Kilgore]

In Irving, i Fratelli Italian Restaurant (not their same named pizza joints) has Lasagna Tuesday -- all day long for 4.95. Sixteen layers. And the red sauce is admirably simple, not sweet. It comes with a green dinner salad (add a dollar for a Caesar) and rolls. I have tried this a couple of times, and it's still good and fresh later in the evening. Pleasant service. A broad menu otherwise, but nothing upscale. I saw that they did do a more ambitious five course wine dinner recently, but don't know how that went or if they plan to continue. But the 4.95 lasagna dinner is hard to beat.

[friedclams]

I hesitate but list these two Chinese buffets... my criteria for buffet "dining deal" is best variety of food value for price where the food has to be edible, ie, of average or better quality for one or more items of which I want to eat mass quantities. For example, a dining deal buffet can have average seafood but because I want to go there to eat mass quantities of 1/2 shell oysters for a very low price it rates.

One Plus One Seafood Buffet in Plano

http://guidelive.com/profile/156455/

They no longer include all-you-can-eat lobster and prime rib on the buffet but have substituted a mongolian grill and lowered the price for dinner to $10pp weeknights. The better than average seafood and other dishes I chowdown on are salty squid, salmon and eel sushi, 1/2 shell fresh oysters, peel and eat shrimp, eggplant in garlic sauce, bbq ribs and shrimp with walnuts washed down with hot and sour soup. Their desserts are very good and theres lots of variety.

Merryland Chinese Buffet in Red Oak, Ft. Worth and Plano

http://guidelive.com/profile/102481/ for the Red Oak review which sorta applies to the Plano location http://guidelive.com/profile/106369/

Can't beat the $6.99 all day all you can eat price for the buffet on Sundays (in Plano its $7.99pp dinner weekdays and Saturday) which includes beef ribs (not bbq but real beef ribs) and brisket, several mostly shrimp dishes, some with squid, shrimp with walnuts and the mongolian grill. If you go for lunch the price is $5.50 but doesn't include the dinner selection of seafoods and beef ribs. When I feel partiularly light in my wallet I get seated for "lunch" at 3:45pm and munch slowly until approx 4:15pm when they put out the dinner entrees on the buffet.. all that dinner food for lunch prices...wow

These two places ain't for gourmet foodie types ... they just serve honest average food most of which can safely be eaten in mass quantity at low price.

I'd love to hear about more of these, 'specially buffet values...

Rich

[friedclams]

Well, it's by no means gourmet but Austin Ave. Bar and Grill (mostly bar, little grill) in Plano is a great place to watch a game, eat a little something, drink a lot of something.  It's wierd but you can eat and eat and eat and drink and drink and drink and you get the bill and it's ridiculously low!  Everyone agrees with this so don't think I misread the bill because of the drink and drink and drink.

What kind of "bar" food is on the menu ??? Burgers , nachos, etc ??

This place has been recomended to me several times but I haven't the moxie to mostly drink-drink and eat, vs. eat-eat and drink so I've never gone inside to look at the menu ...

call me shy

[Kirk B]

I'd love to hear about more of these, 'specially buffet values... 

Two Indian-flavored buffets that I highly recommend. Please note that these both are buffets at lunch only, and full-service restaurants at other times (you can order from the menu at lunch, too, if you wish).

The first is Sitar, located in the shopping center on the Southeast corner of Preston and Hwy 121 in Plano. They serve a daily buffet with several vegetarian and non-vegetarian choices, mostly the "classic" things like tandoori chicken, dal, lamb (sometimes goat aka "mutton") curry, and a very good chicken makhani. They nearly always have "rice pudding" for dessert -- I don't remember the real name of the dish, but it is superb. The buffet is under $8 during the week. On weekends they serve a more elaborate buffet, and have a couple of desserts, including gulab jamun, which my teenage kids eat in quantities that surely wipes out the restaurant's profits for the day when they descend on the buffet. The cost is a little higher on weekends, but I think it is still under $10 per person.

I also revisited Bombay Chinese at lunch a week or so ago, and was very impressed by the offerings. They, too, have vegetarian and non-vegetarian offerings, and in keeping with the restaurant's "Indian Chinese" menu they offer several "Manchurian" style dishes, along with noodles, fried rice and some "dry-fried" dishes (meatballs, the day I was there) that are very good. There was "chop suey" served the day I was there, but I assure you it isn't anything like the LaChoy stuff some of our mothers tried to get us to eat. Again, the price is under $8 per person here, and they say they also have a weekend buffet at slightly higher prices. That probably means the selections are broader on the weekends, too.

A review of Bombay Chinese is here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=38007

By the way, I do eat things other than Indian food.

One day soon I'll try to post about some other places.

Kirk

Edited March 24, 2004 by Kirk B (log)

[Scott -- DFW]

Today's "dining deal": Lunch at La Michoacana market/taqueria on Greenville. Instead of ordering from the taco bar, I bought about 3/4 lb. of carnitas (basking under heat lamps at the meat counter), a guanabana Jumex, and a tamarind pulp stick for a little under $3.50 altogether. Went to the taco bar to get napkins, salsa, and a plastic fork. Tasty, filling, and cheap, cheap, cheap. (I also saw the quart tubs of lard/assiento at the meat counter, which I'd never noticed before. Thanks to Theabroma for pointing that out to someone who then pointed it out to me.)

Scott

[Lyle]

Is that the place on the eat side of Greenville near NW Highway? I used to live on Greenville and passed this place almost daily (if it's the same one) but I failed to stop in.

[Scott -- DFW]

Lyle,

Yes, that's the one. Note, however, that there are at least 11 outposts of this regional chain taqueria/meat market/grocer in the metroplex. If the Greenville location isn't convenient, perhaps another one will be. Go to the "Direcciones" button on their web site ( http://www.lamichoacanameatmarket.com/ ) for a listing of locations. At $3.50 per pound, the carnitas are a steal.

Scott

[Lyle]

Thank you Scott. It appears the Greenville location is still about as convenient any of them. I had no idea it was a part of a chain. I remember about once a week merrily driving by, glancing over and stating "I really need to check that place out". Never happened. But next trip to Half-Price, I'm there.

Well, I've got my own carnita quest in my neck of the woods south of Royal and Marsh.

I really need to post on the taqueria thread.