Devil's Pool Restaurant

During the week of Thanksgiving, my family and I visited Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri.  The resort is absolutely gorgeous and has plenty of family friendly activities.  Our family had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed our little mini-vacation to Big Cedar.  The resort also has several restaurants and we were lucky enough to have one of them, Devil's Pool Restaurant, adjacent to the lodge where we were staying.  

Bar Area at Devil's Pool

On the first night that we visited Devil's Pool, we were famished after a long drive.  The menu had several appetizers that sounded great, but I ordered the Smokehouse Chili because I didn't want to get overly full prior to my meal.  The chili had fantastic flavor and I particularly liked the fact the meat had a brisket-like texture instead of the usual ground beef that one finds at most restaurants.  Our waitress also brought us a basket of some very good jalapeño cheddar biscuits that we enjoyed prior to our meal. 

Smokehouse Chili 

Jalapeño Cheddar Biscuits

For my entree, I ordered the Cajun Cornmeal Dusted Catfish.  It didn't have the Cajun flavor I expected, but it was still a large catfish filet with good batter.  The coleslaw was good as well, but the hush puppies were amazing.  My wife had Bourbon Barbecue Glazed St. Louis ribs.  She gave me one of her ribs and although they had good flavor, they were a little too tough for my liking.

Cajun Cornmeal Dusted Catfish

Bourbon Barbecue Glazed St. Louis Ribs

I really should have stopped eating because I was filled to the gills, but my wife and girls wanted dessert.  After an intense family discussion, we went with the Devil's Pool Sundae.  This particular sundae was a chocolate chip cookie, topped with an Oreo stuffed brownie, vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, and candied pecans.  Amazing doesn't even begin to describe this dessert which we all agreed was the best sundae we have ever had.

Devil's Pool Sundae

Since we enjoyed our dinner here so much, we also at breakfast here one morning.  They have a breakfast menu, but they also have a fantastic breakfast buffet that includes an omelette station, bacon, house made breakfast sausage, waffles, biscuits and sausage gravy, eggs, and several other items.  Of all the items on the breakfast buffet, I enjoyed the house made breakfast sausage and the biscuits and gravy the best.

One of many plates I had at their breakfast buffet

The Devil's Pool is much better than most restaurants that you will find at a resort or in a hotel.  The food was great and the service was top notch on both visits.  If you every have the opportunity to visit the beautiful Big Cedar Lodge, I strongly suggest you take the time to dine at the Devil's Pool Restaurant at least once.

Devil's Pool Restaurant

http://www.big-cedar.com/Page/Devils-Pool-Restaurant.aspx

Livin the Good Life Rating=3

Cheezies Gourmet Grilled Cheese

I am usually not a big fan of sandwiches, but occasionally I will get a hankering for a grilled cheese.  It is hard for me to find a place that makes a grilled cheese as good as I can make at home, but occasionally I am pleasantly surprised.  When some coworkers told me about Cheezies Gourmet Grilled Cheese, I knew that I would have to try out this Frisco restaurant.

Following work one day, I met my family for dinner at Cheezies.  In addition to serving a "plain ol' " grilled cheese sandwiches, the restaurant also serves nine signature grilled cheese sandwiches that include such ingredients as brisket, pulled pork, ham, turkey, salami, etc.  Soups, salads, and mac n' cheese are also on the menu.

The Smokin Chick-roasted chicken, smoked gouda, and a hint of apricot on sourdough bread

After some deliberation, I chose to get the Smokin Chick sandwich and an order of the Cheezies Mac n' Cheese.  The ingredients for my sandwich were roasted chicken, smoked gouda, and a hint of apricot on sourdough bread.  Although I am not sure what the "hint" of apricot was, the sandwich had a definite apricot flavor and was absolutely delicious.  This sandwich was one of the top five grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever had.  The garlic parmesan chips that came with the sandwich were certainly above average in the flavor dept.  The Mac n' Cheese was not bad, but it paled in comparison to the grilled cheese.

Mac n' Cheese

My wife got the "plain ol' " grilled cheese and my kids got the kids grilled cheese with fruit.  All three of them enjoyed their meals and gave the place a thumbs up.  We also tried the chocolate fried pies, which were much better than I had anticipated.  On my next visit, I definitely want to try some of the fruit fried pies as well.

Chocolate Fried Pie

My coworkers had raved about the grilled cheeses here and I have to say that they lived up to the hype.  Although I wasn't impressed with the mac n' cheese, the grilled cheeses were top notch.  I cannot wait to try some of the other sandwiches, particularly the Big Texas, which has brisket, white cheddar, and onion marmalade on jalapeño cheddar bread.  Cheezies get a thumbs up from me and my family!

Cheezies Gourmet Grilled Cheese
http://www.cheeziesgourmet.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

Damgoode Pies

My wife and I both had a week off from work around Thanksgiving, so we decided to do a min-vacation with the kids.  After some discussion, we decided to head to Southwest Missouri for a few days.  We stopped in Fayetteville, Arkansas around lunchtime and wanted to explore the campus of the University of Arkansas and downtown Fayetteville.  There were a few dining options on the downtown square and we decided to dine at Damgoode Pies.

Pizza is always a favorite of my family, so we were excited to try this local pizzeria.  I later found out that this restaurant also has locations in Little Rock and Rogers.  Having left DFW around 7:00 a.m., my family was famished and immediately ordered breadsticks for an appetizer.  When they arrived my family quickly devoured the breadsticks, which were very flavorful and served with a terrific red sauce.

Breadsticks

Damgoode Pies has several signature pizzas and options to build your own pie.  My wife and I ordered "The Club", which was one of the signature pies topped with smoked turkey, baked ham, bacon, and cheddar cheese.  Diners have several options in the sauce department, but we went with the traditional red sauce.  The pizza was very thick due to the amount of dough and cheese on the pizza.  I normally love a pizza that is very cheesy, but it was lacking in the toppings department.  With all the cheese, it was hard to find any of the turkey, bacon, or ham.  The pizza was not bad, but it was far from great.

"The Club"-smoked turkey, baked ham, bacon, and cheddar

My kids split a cheese pizza and made short work of their lunch.  Our waitress was great and the pizzeria looked like it would be a great dining/drinking destination for local college students.  Although I wasn't amazed by the pizza, I wouldn't be opposed to stopping here again and trying some of the other signature pies and perhaps a different sauce next time.

Damgoode Pies
http://www.damgoodepies.com/index.html
Livin the Good Life Rating=2

The Egg and I

Having some time to kill on a recent Saturday morning, my family and I decided to go eat breakfast.  We were already in Frisco after dropping off my oldest daughter for a day camp, so we decided to eat at The Egg and I.  My wife had dined at this chain before, but it was my first time to darken the door at this particular restaurant.  

Although it was very busy when we arrived, we were still seated after only a few minutes.  The restaurant has a fairly extensive breakfast menu with a lot of my favorites on them.  They also has several traditional breakfast items with their own little twist to them.

Biscuits and Gravy

I went with the basic breakfast of biscuits and gravy, which was served with eggs and ranch potatoes.  The sausage gravy was thick, flavorful, and fully covered the biscuit.  While I was impressed with the biscuits and gravy, the scrambled eggs and ranch potatoes were disappointing.  

Eggs, bacon, ranch potatoes, and English muffin

My wife had the two egg breakfast and she chose the English muffin and bacon to go with the eggs and ranch potatoes.  She said her meal was "okay", but nothing special.  My youngest daughter did seem to thoroughly enjoy her kid's pancakes with bacon.

My little bacon lover couldn't even wait long enough for me to take a picture

 Although I wasn't overly impressed with The Egg and I, it wasn't terrible either.  The service was good and the coffee was above average.  In the quality department, I would compare it to an IHOP.  While I wouldn't go out of my way to eat at this chain again, I wouldn't be opposed to giving it another go if I was in the area.

The Egg and I
http://www.theeggandirestaurants.com/index.html
Livin the Good Life Rating=2

Stan's Main St. Grill

Stan's Main St. Grill is located in an old house in downtown Frisco.  This location formerly housed Frisco City Grille and, before that, Manny's.  Although I was not a huge fan of the previous two occupants, I jumped at the opportunity to meet a couple of work colleagues there for dinner one night.

View of the bar from one of the dining areas

Stan's is a very casual joint with a huge outdoor patio.  The restaurant serves sandwiches, burgers, salads, and a variety of fried entrees.  Several appetizers seemed appealing, but we decided to start with the Chips and Queso.  The queso was good, but we all loved the salsa which tasted like it was freshly made.

Chips, Queso, and Salsa

Being a sucker for fried food, I went with the chicken fried steak for my entree.  The diner has a choice of cream gravy or jalapeño cream gravy.  I had to go with the jalapeño cream gravy and it went really well with the hand battered and tender chicken fried steak.  I would have preferred that the jalapeño pieces be diced to a smaller size, but it was still very tasty.  The fries were lightly seasoned and went well with the chicken fried steak.

Chicken Fried Steak with Jalapeño Cream Gravy

Although I was too full for dessert, I felt that Stan's definitely was an upgrade from the previous restaurants housed at this location.  The food was good, the portions were ample, the prices were reasonable, and the service was commendable.  Stan's is centrally located and within a 10 minute drive of almost anywhere in Frisco.  With the large patio and numerous televisions, Stan's would be a great place to hang out with friends or a perfect place for a casual dining experience with the kids.

Stan's Main St. Grill
http://www.stansfrisco.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

Cane Rosso - Fairview

Having dined at the two Cane Rosso locations in Dallas, my wife and I were excited to hear that the mini-chain was going to open up a location in Fairview.  This new location of this pizzeria is located at The Village at Fairview and is only a short 10 minute drive from my house.  D Magazine has called Cane Rosso the best pizzeria in Dallas for three straight years and Eater.com has named it one of the top 15 pizzerias in the nation.  I have reviewed the White Rock location and was very impressed with this restaurant.

Bar and Kitchen

When this location first opened in September, I had heard that it was jam packed every night the first couple of weeks, so I waited until October to try out this location.  My family visited the restaurant on a Saturday morning just as they were opening and we were seated immediately.  I had heard that they have brunch specials on the weekend, so I was anxious to see what items they were going to offer that were not usually on the menu.

Garlic Knots

My family decided to share some appetizers before ordering pizzas.  We ordered the garlic knots and mozzarella fritta.  The garlic knots were larger than those you usually see at pizza joints or Italian restaurants and they were served with a red chile marinara that had a little kick to it.  The mozzarella fritta  consisted of house made mozzarella that was fried and served with a side of marinara.  Both appetizers were tasty and quickly consumed by the four of us.  

Mozzarella Fritta

After looking at the menu and hearing the brunch specials, I decided to order the breakfast pizza.  This pizza was topped with their house-made mozzarella, eggs, potatoes, speck, prosciutto, and grape tomatoes.  These ingredients blended into what I believe was the best breakfast pizza I have ever had.  Every bite was a masterpiece and I particularly liked the flavor of the speck and the potatoes.  My wife and girls shared a Margherita pizza, which is her favorite pizza.  Although they ate almost the entire pizza, my wife said it was not as good as Margherita pizzas she has had at other locations.

Breakfast Pizza

Sadly, we were all too full to eat dessert.  I had really wanted to try the S'Mores Calzone, which my wife had raved about after dining at one of the Dallas locations with a friend.  The food was fantastic and the service was just as good.  Cane Rosso Fairview will be getting more visits from me and my family.  It is easy to see why this restaurant is considered to be one of the top Neapolitan pizzerias in DFW.

Margherita Pizza

Update 2-2-15
TIP:  I have gone back several times since this first visit and have fallen in love with an off-the-menu pizza.  When you visit, ask for the Honey Bastard.  It has mozzarella, spicy sopressata, bacon marmalade, and habanero honey.  We have also tried the S'Mores calzone and I highly recommed that as well.   

Cane Rosso (Fairview)
http://ilcanerosso.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=5

Ernesto's Fine Mexican Food

As new families continue to move to Frisco, the city continues to grow.  New houses and new restaurants go up so fast that they seem to magically appear before your eyes.  Mexican food is one of my top cuisines, so I always try to dine at any new Mexican restaurant that opens in Collin County.  While Ernesto's is not brand new, it is "newish" and I recently tried it for the first time.

Queso

If you follow my blog, you know that I am a big fan of queso and I order it almost every time I eat Mexican food.  At Ernesto's, I ordered the chile con queso with ground beef.  The queso here was pretty good and they were generous with the beef.  Although it wasn't super spicy, it was flavorful.  

Chile Relleno with Brisket filling

For my entree, I ordered the chile relleno with brisket.  Instead of the ranchero sauce, it had them top it with chile con queso.  The poblano pepper was larger and filled with brisket, but I would have preferred the batter to be cooked a little more.  The rice and beans were pretty basic and very bland.  The buddy I was dining with had the chimichanga and he said his entree was good, but felt the same way about the rice and beans.

Sopapillas

I also ended up ordering sopapillas for dessert.  They were also pretty basic and were covered with too much cinnamon for my liking. The queso ended up being the highlight of this dining experience.  While I wasn't overly-impressed with the food, I felt the service was very good.  My first visit to Ernesto's left me with the impression that it was very basic and had average tasting food.  Although my first visit wasn't impressive, I wouldn't be opposed to giving it another try.  

Ernesto's Fine Mexican Food
http://www.ernestosfinemexicanfood.com/index.html
Livin the Good Life Rating=2

Ten50 Barbecue

Ten50 Barbecue recently opened it's doors in Richardson, Texas.  I am always eager to try out new barbecue spots, so I was very pumped when I found out that Ten50 had opened up after a lot of media hype in the spring and summer of 2014.  My brother is also a barbecue junky, so we decided to try it out on a recent Saturday morning.

Meat Station

This self proclaimed Central Texas-style barbecue joint allows you to choose what meats you want and have your meat weighed prior to going inside the restaurant.  The ordering experience is very similar to the setup at Hard Eight Barbecue.  For my meats, I chose fatty brisket, St. Louis style pork ribs, smoked turkey, and jalapeño cheddar sausage.  For my sides, I chose to get the fresh cut fries and an ear of corn.

Dining area

The brisket had a nice smoke ring and decent bark, but the overall flavor was lacking and it was a little too chewy for my taste.  The ribs were lacking in the smoke department and could have used some more salt on the rub.  The turkey was somewhat bland and I would have preferred more of a smoky flavor.  I felt the jalapeño cheddar sausage was the winner of the four meats I tried.  It was a course ground sausage with great texture and just enough jalapeño to give it a little kick.

Fatty Brisket, Turkey, Jalapeño Cheddar Sausage, and St. Louis Style Ribs

Closeup of the brisket

The sides were a pleasant surprise.  The corn was drenched in butter and perfectly cooked.  I am a sucker for fresh cut fries and the ones at Ten50 were great.  The restaurant also serves up fresh homemade bread that was much better than I had anticipated.

Homemade Bread, Corn, and Fresh Cut Fries

I left Ten50 with a glass half full feeling.  The sausage was the only meat that I really loved, but the sides were fantastic.  The restaurant has plenty of seating, a bar area, and plenty of TVs to watch games on a weekend.  I believe this place has some potential, but they really need to up their game a little bit to compete with the premier barbecue joints in the area like Pecan Lodge or Hutchins.

Ten50 Barbecue
http://ten50bbq.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=2

Texas

We recently celebrated my mother-in-law's 60th birthday at the restaurant Texas.  My wife an I had never dined at Texas before, so we were looking forward to eating there and celebrating with family and friends.  Texas is owned and operated by Dale Wamstad, who founded Del Frisco's and III Forks.  With his excellent track record in the steakhouse department, we were looking forward to this particular birthday dinner.

The Monte Cristo Private Dining Room

Our party dined in one of the private dining rooms, the Monte Cristo room, and we ordered from the private party menu.  Each guest was given an appetizer trio with Bang Bang Shrimp, Crabcake Croustade, and a Devil's Tongue.  The shrimp were slightly spicy and had a robust flavor.  The Devil's Tongue (beef tenderloin on a toast point) was very tender and and went well with the toast point.  My favorite of the three was the Crabcake Croustade.  This item was a tiny crabcake on a thin pastry.  I don't know what ingredients went into making the crabcake, but it was simply delicious.  We were also given a choice of soup or salad.  I had the house salad with vinaigrette dressing and I thought it was one of the better house salads I have had in quite some time.

Appetizer trio of Bang Bang Shrimp, Devil's Tongue, and Crabcake Croustade

For my entree, I ordered the 16 ounce Delmonico cut ribeye.  This particular steak was a boneless ribeye, had perfect marbling, and was very tender.  I have eaten a lot of ribeyes this year, but this was one of the best I have had this year.  The entrees on the private party menu were all served whipped potatoes, burnt corn, and roasted vegetables.  Of the three sides, I liked the whipped potatoes were the best.  I also cannot say enough about how great the bread was at Texas.  Our table was served several long French Baguettes that were absolutely fantastic and served piping hot from the ovens.  

Delmonico Ribeye

Although we brought our own cake, we were also given a choice of desserts.  I had the bread pudding, which was very tasty and had a hint of bourbon flavor to it.  It was a great pre-dessert before our final dessert of birthday cake.

Bread Pudding

Everyone at the party seemed to really enjoy their meals.  The food was fabulous on this visit and the service was absolutely spectacular.  Both our servers were very attentive and answered all of our questions about the menu items.  Dale Wamstad himself even came to check on our party several times throughout the night.  The value was good as well and I think you will be hard pressed to find a better bang for your buck at local steakhouse.  This restaurant will certainly be added to our list of "go-to" restaurants for date night or dinner with friends.

The Birthday Girl

Texas
http://thesonoftexas.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4