Mellow Mushroom

A pizza joint, Mellow Mushroom, recently opened up a location in downtown McKinney.  It is a chain that has been opening locations in Texas over the last year.  Several coworkers have had high praise for this pizza joint, so I decided that I must give this place a try.  On a recent Saturday, my brother and I made plans to go to lunch and decided to give Mellow Mushroom a try.

As you first walk into the restaurant, you notice a very Austinesque (Texas word for hippie-like) feel to the restaurant.  The front of the restaurant is open air when the weather is nice, thus allowing patrons to enjoy the sights and sounds of Louisiana Street.  There is a large bar area in the middle of the restaurant with an enormous selections of brews on tap.  When we arrived, we were seated in the back of the restaurant towards the kitchen.  I was surprised by how big the restaurant was, because it looked like a small space from the outside.  

Kitchen and Dining Area (note the totem pole made from kegs)

Mellow Mushroom has a rather extensive menu that includes several appetizers, salads, sandwiches, etc. in addition to pizza.  Our waiter was very helpful in giving us advice and explaining the menu to us.  We decided to start with an order of the Muffeletta cheese bread, which is french bread that was topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  It was served with a side of red sauce to dip your bread in and I thought the combination of bread and sauce was very good.  

Muffeletta Cheese Bread

Although the cheese bread was delicious, we were here to try their pizza.  Mellow Mushroom has an extensive selection of specialty pies, but they also have over forty toppings if you decide to build your own pizza.  My brother decided to order the Mighty Meaty, which was topped with pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, ham, and applewood-smoked bacon.  I built my own pizza with ham, applewood-smoked bacon, and fresh basil.

About twenty-five minutes after we ordered, our pizzas finally arrived.  My pizza could have won a prize if there was a pageant for beautiful looking pizza.  The pizza had a thick crust on the edges, but was somewhat thinner towards the middle.  What really made this pizza stand out was the fact that it included whole pieces of apple-wood smoked bacon.  Most places just have tiny bacon-bits on their pizza, but you get your money's worth at Mellow Mushroom.  It looked so good, I almost hated to eat it.  From the first bite, I knew this was going to be a great pizza.  The crust was fantastic and the toppings were absolutely delicious.  The apple-wood smoked bacon tasted as good as it looked.  The ham was good too, but not as delicious as the bacon.  My decision to top it with fresh basil also paid off, because the added flavor made it one of the better pizzas I have had in 2013.  

My Creation With Ham, Apple-Wood Smoked Bacon, and Fresh Basil

My brother gave me a slice of the Mighty Meaty pizza and it was a carnivore's dream.  Mellow Mushroom does not skimp on toppings and I ingested protein on every single bite.  By the time we finished our pizzas, we were both ready for a nap.  

The Mighty Meaty

Even though I had heard good things about Mellow Mushroom, I was skeptical because it was a chain.  It turns out I had nothing to fear, because the food was delicious.  Although we had to wait a long time for the pizza, our waiter and the rest of the staff were very attentive.  Cadillac Pizza Pub has been the undisputed champion of pizza in downtown McKinney, but they now have some legitimate competition with the addition of Mellow Mushroom to the Square area.

Mellow Mushroom
http://mellowmushroom.com/store/mckinney
Livin the Good Life Rating =3

Sauced Texas Kitchen

After doing some Christmas shopping in Allen, Texas, I decided to look for a place in the area to grab a late lunch.  Going from store to store to find that perfect gift for the wife can work up an appetite.  I was in the area of Bethany Drive, so I pulled into the parking lot of Sauced Texas Kitchen.  I really didn't know much about this place, but I had driven by it on several occasions and thought I would give it a try.  

Inside Sauced Texas Kitchen

Since it was a Saturday afternoon, I was please to see that it was a sports bar and had several television tuned to college football.  I started with an order of boneless wings "sauced" in Caribbean Jerk and an order of bacon cheese fries.  The wings and cheese fries arrived very quickly and I dug into my appetizers.  The boneless wings were not impressive at all.  They had the look and texture of chicken nuggets, while the sauce was very thin and didn't have much of the traditional flavor of Caribbean Jerk.  The cheese fries were a little better, but not much.  While they had plenty of cheese, they were lacking in the bacon department and I had to look very hard to find any underneath the cheese.

Boneless Wings with Caribbean Jerk Sauce

Bacon Cheese Fries (Bonus points if you can find bacon)

For my main meal, I ordered the bacon cheeseburger with onion rings.  When my order arrived, it looked like a million bucks.  My mom always said that looks can be deceiving and this was certainly the case here.  The burger itself was very dry, tasteless, and looked to be cooked from a pre-formed frozen patty.  The onions rings had an excellent looking batter with good flavor, but the onion rings themselves were very tough and chewy.

Bacon Cheeseburger with Onion Rings

While I was there, very few customers were dining at Sauced Texas Kitchen and now I know why.  The food was some of the most disappointing I have had in quite some time.  The service was decent, but it did not make up for the horrible food that was  pricey for the quality that I received.  This place will most certainly not be added to my lists of quality restaurants in Allen.  I should have stayed and grabbed a bite to eat while I was shopping at Watters Creek, because I know they have several quality restaurants to choose from.  

Sauced Texas Kitchen
http://www.saucedtexaskitchen.com/index.php
Livin the Good Life Rating=1

Big Ray's BBQ

I happened to be in Allen, Texas for a playoff football game last week and was looking for a place to eat a quick bite before the game.  I was in the mood for barbecue and started doing some research on my iPhone.  After looking at some reviews, I decided to give Big Ray's BBQ a shot.  It seemed to be the the place to go in town to get barbecue and it was close to the new stadium in Allen.

Dining area of Big Ray's

I was warmly greeted when I entered Big Ray's and headed toward the serving line.  I decided on the three meat combo (because few barbecue joints have a six meat combo) and ordered it with brisket, turkey, and sausage.  Ribs were not an option on the combo plates and could only be ordered as a plate by themselves, which was disappointing because I usually order ribs on my combo plates.  For my two sides, I ordered the barbecue baked beans and the loaded mashed potatoes.  I also couldn't resist getting an order of the delicious looking banana pudding for dessert.

Three Meat Combo with Loaded Mashed Potatoes

The brisket was the first item I tried and it was very disappointing. It had great texture, but lacked bark and did not have even a hint of smokiness.  The sausage was above average and had great flavor.  I forgot to ask if they made it themselves or bought it, but it was good either way.  The turkey was very dry and like the brisket, I could not detect any smoky flavor.  The beans were excellent and I regretted that I didn't get a bigger scoop of them.  My final side was the loaded mashed potatoes.  They were decent, but nothing special.  

The BBQ Baked Beans were good.

Although I was disappointed in the barbecue, I still had high hopes for the banana pudding.  It did not disappoint.  The pudding was very light, had great texture, and had just the right amount of crumbled vanilla wafers.  I was tempted to go buy another serving, but it was getting late and I had to get to the game.

Great Banana Pudding

Based on the reviews that I read, Big Ray's was not as good as I was expecting.  Big Ray and his crew were extremely friendly, but the food was lacking on this visit.  I might try it again if I am in the area, but I would not go out of my way to try Big Ray's BBQ again.  If I want good barbecue in Collin County, Hutchins BBQ in McKinney is tops in the area (at least until the second location of Lockhart Smokehouse to open up in downtown Plano) and I would recommend them over Big Ray's.

The Taj Mahal of Texas HS Football Stadiums-Eagle Stadium in Allen

Texas HS Football Game-Even with a crowd in excess of 4,500 people, we did not come close to filling the 18,000 seat facility

Big Ray's BBQ

http://bigraysbarbeque.com/index.html

Livin the Good Life Rating = 2

Fearing's

My wife and I have a handful of restaurants that we like to visit on special occasions.  Fearing's is one of those places.  We have been going there for years and have never had a bad experience.  Some friends of ours were in town last weekend and that wanted to meet us for dinner, so we made plans to meet them at Fearing's.

Fearing's is a very elegant restaurant located inside the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas.  We arrived on time for our 8:30 reservation, but  still had a short wait before we were seated.  After we were seated in the sendero section of the restaurant, the wait staff immediately began to fawn over us and the great service continued throughout the meal.  Dean Fearing himself even made a visit to our table to make sure we were enjoying our experience.  They also brought over a bread basket that included some fantastic jalapeno corn bread muffins and dinner rolls; both of which were good, but I could have eaten two dozen of the corn bread muffins.

Mini Cornbread Muffins and Rolls

The dinner menu is a cornucopia of delicious items with individual touches you don't see at most other restaurants. Two of us decided to start with the Lobster Bisque and the other two decided to start with the Apricot Barbecue Glazed Lockhart Texas Quail.  It was my first time to try their lobster bisque and it was fantastic.  Honestly, it was the best lobster bisque that I have ever had.  It was served over ginger sizzling rice with a lobster pot sticker.  My wife enjoyed the quail which was served with a wedge salad and cider braised bacon.

Lobster Bisque with Lobster Pot Sticker

Apricot Barbecue Glazed Quail with Wedge Salad and Cider Braised Bacon

For the main course, I chose the bone-in ribeye because I have tried most of the other items on the dinner menu.  The ribeye had a sauce on it called West Texas "Mop" sauce and was served with corn bread pudding and fried asparagus.  I am usually not a fan of sauces on a steak, but this sauce was delicious on the very tender ribeye that was well marbled and melted in my mouth.  It was one of the most tender ribeyes I have ever had.  The fried asparagus was good as well, but the corn bread pudding was the better of the two sides.  

Bone-in Ribeye with Fried Asparagus and Cornbread Pudding

My wife and my buddy both had the Maple Black Peppercorn Soaked Buffalo Tenderloin, which I have had on a previous visit and loved.  The tenderloin was served with Brazos Valley Jalapeno Grits, Tangle of Greens, and a Butternut Squash Taquito with Smoky Chili Aioli.  Both had high praise for this entree, although my buddy did not care for the taste of the greens.  My buddy's fiancee chose to get the Pan Roasted ‘BBQ Spiced’ Filet and Chicken Fried Maine Lobster, which I have also enjoyed on a previous visit.  This entree is served with Loaded Whipped Potatoes and a Soft Spinach Taco with Smoked Tomato Gravy.  Although I never specifically asked her, I assume she enjoyed her meal since she ate almost everything.

Maple Black Peppercorn Soaked Buffalo Tenderloin with Jalapeno Grits

I couldn't leave Fearing's without having one of the fantastic cappuccinos and at least sharing sharing something with my wife off the dessert menu.  We decided to split the pumpkin ice cream sandwiched between gingerbread cookies.  There were three ice cream sandwiches and unfortunately, my wife got the better of the deal and ate two of them.  I rarely get ice cream for a dessert, but these pumpkin ice cream sandwiches at Fearing's were simply delectable.  My buddy decided to drink a port for dessert and his fiancee got the apple trio, which included an apple oatmeal crisp, an apple fried pie, and an apple spice cake.  Both were very content with their choices as well.

Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiched between Gingerbread Cookies

Once again, my dining experience at Fearing's was amazing.  The food is great, the setting is luxurious, and the service was spectacular.  Whether you are looking for a romantic date with your significant other or a fun place to meet friends for dinner, I highly recommend Fearing's.

Fearing's
http://www.fearingsrestaurant.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating = 5

Taverna Rossa

There is a new pizza joint in Collin Country that I have been dying to try.  In fact, I have been wanting to try Taverna Rossa since I first heard about it earlier in the spring (months before it opened).  This restaurant was getting a lot of press prior to it's opening due to the fact that the owners had a track record of producing quality pizza at Cadillac Pizza Pub in McKinney.  They also hired on Brian Luscher, owner/chef at The Grape, to help design the menu. Last weekend, my family and I finally got to try Taverna Rossa.

My youngest daughter enjoying her dinner

The restaurant had several choices available for appetizers, including cheese bread, roasted artichoke, meatballs, warm pretzel, etc.  All these sounded delicious, but the one that stood out the most was the Killer Texas Sausage Queso.  Chips and queso are something you do not see at most pizza places, but we couldn't say no when we read farther and found out you could also add brisket to it.  Suprisingly, it was served with corn chips rather than tortilla chips.  From the first scoop of queso, I knew that it would be a race between my wife and myself to see who could eat it the fastest.  It was phenomenal and made the trip to Plano worthwhile even if we had not decided to order pizza.

Killer Sausage Queso with Brisket

The pizza menu had several craft pizzas that looked appetizing, but the one that we agreed to get was The All American.  This pizza had red sauce, pepperoni, Luscher's sausage, turkey Canadian bacon, bacon, fontina, and house-blend mozzarella.  The pepperoni was superb and the sausage was good as well, but my wife claimed there was too much bacon on the pizza.  I say that is blasphemy.  There is no such thing as too much bacon!  Besides, the abundance of bacon was offset by the heart-healthy turkey Canadian bacon, which had a fantastic flavor that really stole the show.

The All American

My oldest daughter is not a pizza eater, so she chose to get the warm pretzel off the appetizer menu.  She didn't eat much of it because she was too busy eating the corn chips.  I thought it was very good and ended up eating most of it for her.  We got the grilled cheese sandwich off the kids menu for my one-year old and she seemed to love it.  I took a bite of it myself and was very impressed.

House Made Pretzel

Even though I was stuffed to the gills, I let my wife talk me into dessert.  We ordered the chocolate chip cookie and the Black Forest cheesecake.  The cookie was served in a pan and topped with vanilla ice cream.   All of us loved the cookie, which was very warm and tasted great with a bit of ice cream on each bite.  The cheesecake was very good and very rich, but it was a far cry from the greatness of the chocolate chip cookie!

Chocolate Chip Cookie with Vanilla Ice Cream 

Black Forest Cheesecake

Taverna Rossa has been one of the most hyped restaurants in DFW in recent months and was one of the few I have tried that lived up to the hype.  The food was outstanding and the service was great too.  The staff is friendly and eager to please.  Not to be outdone, the the decor was fitting for a high-end pizza pub as well.  If you are a fan of craft beer, they had several local options on tap.  Even though this pizza joint is very new, I would rate it among my top five places to get a pizza in DFW alongside Campisi's, Grimaldi's, Eno's, and Cane Rosso.

Taverna Rossa
http://tavernarossa.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating = 4

Coppell Deli

When I first moved to DFW in 2002, Coppell Deli was one of the first restaurants that I visited with friends.  Throughout the years, I have eaten here many times and the food quality is always well above average.  Although they are famous for their burgers, they also make a mighty fine breakfast.  They even had a breakfast sandwich, The Stubbs, that made the 1994All-Madden team.  I recently had to run some errands in the area, so I decided I would visit Coppell Deli since I have not eaten her in a couple of years.

Dining Area

When you walk into Coppell Deli, you will not see fancy decorations or a lot of fluff.  They have a couple of TVs that are always turned on sports and walls decorated with Dallas Cowboy memorabilia.  I respect restaurants that focus more on food than the decor.  After taking a short look at the menu, I decided on the bacon cheeseburger combo.  It was a tough decision, because I am also a fan of their chili cheeseburger.

Bacon Cheeseburger

I sat down to watch football and after a quick ten minute wait, my order came up.  I sat down and dug in.  The burger was flavorful and had crispy vegetables.  The bacon, which was crispy but not overcooked, was the highlight of the burger.  The fries were piping hot and were cooked to perfection.  I don't believe they are fresh cut fries, but they are still better than fries you get at 90% of other burger joints.  

Crispy Fries

Although Coppell Deli has many items on their menu, they are best known for their burgers.  It has been over a decade since I first had a burger at Coppell Deli and they still serve up some mighty fine burgers.  I wouldn't put this joint in my current top five list of best burgers in DFW, but it certainly deserves an honorable mention.  When I am in the Coppell area and craving a burger, this is the place I will go.

Coppell Deli
http://cdeli.delimansgrill.com/welcome/index.htm
Livin the Good Life Rating = 3