Zoli's NY Pizza

Pizza and barbecue are my foodie guilty pleasures, so I am always looking for a good place to grab some brisket or a pizza.  My wife and I recently dined at Cane Rosso and really liked this Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant.  After dining at Cane Rosso, I heard that the owner, Jay Jerrier, had recently opened a New York style pizzeria called Zoli's NY Pizza.  It just so happened that my brother and I were recently in the vicinity of the Bishop Arts District, so we decided to pop into Zoli's and give it a try.

Pizza Counter and Dining Area

At Zoli's, you can order whole pies or just pizza by the slice.  My brother decided to get two slices of pepperoni.  I ordered the Zoli's $10 Lunch Special, which included a slice, salad, garlic knot, and a drink.  For my slice, I chose the Grandma slice, which is a square deep dish pizza.  I also chose the Caesar salad over the house salad.

Lunch Special

We were only seated a couple of minutes when our food arrived.  I started with the Caesar salad and was pleased with it.  The Romaine lettuce was really crisp and the dressing was flavorful.  I ate the garlic knot with my salad and it went well wit the salad.  The Grandma slice of the day, was cheese pizza.  It ended up tasting even better than it looked.  The ingredients blended well together and I enjoyed the sauce with small chunks of roasted tomatoes in it.  The crust was extremely crispy, which is hard to get with a deep dish pizza.  My brother also let me try some of his pepperoni pizza The pepperoni was some of the spiciest I have ever had, but it was really good.

Slice of Pepperoni

We were in and out of Zoli's in less than twenty minutes.  If you are looking for a quick lunch in the Bishop Arts District, I recommend you pop into Zoli's.  The pizza is good and the service is super fast.  It looks like the Bishop Arts staple, Eno's, finally has some competition in the great pizza department!

Zoli's NY Pizza
http://zolispizza.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating= 3

AllGood Cafe

When it comes to comfort food and Southern cuisine, it is hard to beat a great chicken-fried steak.  I am constantly on the lookout for a good CFS.  This Fall, D Magazine published it's list of five restaurants that had The Best Chicken-Fried Steak in Dallas.  I had sampled the chicken-fried steaks at three of the five restaurants on the list, but I had never had the chicken fried steak at the AllGood Cafe.  My wife was also interested in giving this place a try, so we mad a family trip to Deep Ellum to eat at the AllGood Cafe.

Origami hanging from the ceiling

Our family arrived at a perfect time for a late breakfast or early lunch.  The restaurant was very busy, but they had one booth available and we took it.  After being seated for ten minutes, we finally had a waiter arrive and take our drink orders.  While he was there, we also requested a high chair for our toddler.  After a five minute wait, our drinks arrived without the high chair.  I reminded our waiter that we still needed a high chair and he finally brought us one.  

My girls as we patiently await a high chair to arrive

We went ahead an ordered while the waiter was at out booth.  I ordered the chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and black eyed peas. My wife was in the mood for breakfast and she ordered the breakfast #2, which was two scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes.  We also ordered chicken strips for my oldest daughter and some pancakes for the toddler.  The place smelled delicious, so we had high hopes for the food and waited patiently for it to arrive.

CFS, Mashed Potatoes, and Black-eyed Peas

Luckily, our food arrived much faster than our drinks and high chair did.  My chicken fried steak was delicious and had a crunchy batter that was not soggy even with the gravy on it.  The steak was a little on the small side, but it had outstanding flavor.  The mashed potatoes were nothing special, but the black-eyed peas had some small chopped peppers mixed in that gave it a nice kick.  My wife said her breakfast was pretty basic and wasn't overly impressed with anything except the bacon.  

Breakfast #2

Once our waiter delivered our food, we did not have anyone come to the table again for over thirty minutes.  We had actually been finished with our meal for over twenty minutes before my wife finally just went to the kitchen area counter and said we were ready to pay.  The waiter she spoke to (not our waiter) apologized and said they were short staffed that morning.  I am not sure if that was the case, because every table around us had waiters stop by frequently.  The only difference between us and the other tables, was the fact that we had children.   The service at the AllGood Cafe was the worst I have had in close to a decade.  I really thought the food was pretty decent, but I cannot recommend this place due to the poor service that we received.

AllGood Cafe
http://www.allgoodcafe.com/index.php
Livin the Good Life Rating =1

Jean's Feed Barn

Deer hunting is one of my favorite things to do when I have a little free time.  Although I don't get to hunt as much as I would like, I cherish the time that I do get to spend away from the urban environment.  When I am away on these trips, I enjoy getting to try the local restaurants.  While hunting with some buddies in Cross Plains, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Jean's Feed Barn one night.

Chips and Salsa

Despite the fact that we arrived just thirty minutes before closing time, we were warmly greeted by our waitress when she came to bring us some chips and salsa.  My two buddies ordered the daily special, which was a 10 oz sirloin, baked potato, and salad for $11.95.  I ordered the small chicken fried steak with fries, salad, and toast.  While we waited on our order to arrive, we munched on the chips and salsa.

Chicken Fried Steak and Fries

When my chicken fried steak arrived, I was surprised that the "small" chicken fried steak covered three-fourths of a my large oval plate.  The chicken fried steak was very tender and had a batter on it that was very similar to the batter on the chicken fried steak at Mary's Cafe in Strawn, Texas.  The fries were fresh cut and absolutely delicious, while the toast was cooked to perfection with just the right amount of butter on it.  Both of my buddies enjoyed their meals as well.   I was stuffed, but one buddy ordered the coconut creme pie for dessert and said it was great as well.

Biscuits and Gravy

We enjoyed our meal so much, we went there again for breakfast the following day after our morning hunt.  I ordered the pancakes with bacon and two biscuits and gravy.  When my food arrived, the biscuits were each about the size of a hamburger bun and much larger than I had expected.  They were very tasty and could have been a meal by themselves.  The bacon was the highlight of this breakfast because it was very crispy and had a nice smoky taste with a hint of brown sugar.  The pancakes were pretty basic, but still tasty.

Pancakes and Bacon

If you are ever in the Cross Plains area, I highly recommend Jean's Feed Barn.  The food is fantastic and the service is spectacular.  In addition to the fantastic food and great service, the price of food is fairly cheap considering the large portions that diners receive.  I know I will be stopping by again next time I am in the area to hunt or just passing through Cross Plains.

Jean's Feed Barn

Livin the Good Life Rating = 4

Cattle Baron

My family and I recently went home to the South Plains to visit my mom and grandmother for Christmas.  We had a great time spending Christmas with family and enjoyed a restful visit.  On the last night of our trip, my wife and I decided that we would give my mom some time alone with our girls.  So while mom spent some quality time with our daughters, my wife and I went to Lubbock to eat dinner and see a movie.

We decided to eat dinner at Cattle Baron, which is a small chain of steakhouses with locations in West Texas and New Mexico.  My wife and I ate at Cattle Baron frequently when we were dating, but we had not dined here in over seven years.  We arrived in plenty of time to eat before our movie and Cattle Baron did not have a waiting list on this night.  I was not super hungry, so I ordered the Patty Melt with fries and added a trip to the salad bar.  By wife just chose to do the soup and salad bar as her meal.  While we went to the salad bar, the waitress brought some warm bread and butter to our table.

Loved this butter

After placing our orders, we immediately hit the salad bar.  I consider Cattle Baron to be one of the top three salad bars I have ever tried and it hit the spot on this visit.  I tried to not gorge myself because I knew I had a Patty Melt and fries coming too, but it took a lot of willpower to eat lightly at this salad bar.  My wife also enjoyed her trip to the salad bar, but said her Cream of Chicken soup was somewhat runnier than what she preferred.

Tried not to put too much on this plate since I still had a meal coming

My Patty Melt arrived thirty minutes after I ordered it, which was way too long.  I had finished my salad twenty minutes before it arrived and my wife had finished her soup and salad as well.  The Patty Melt was served on rye bread with bacon, Swiss cheese, and sauteed onions.  The burger itself had a nice chargrilled flavor, had plenty of bacon, and the cook put just enough onions on it to give it some flavor without overpowering the burger itself.  The fries that came with it were cold.  Not cold as in lukewarm, but they were actually chilled.  If you have ever had cold fries, then you know that eating them is not a pleasant experience.

Patty Melt and Fries

This was the only visit I have had to Cattle Baron where I left disappointed.  The salad bar and burger were good, but the fries were beyond bad and the service was lacking during this visit.  I had to wait for fifteen minutes just to get my water refilled.  Past visits have been filled with good steaks and seafood, so I know that they can serve very good food and sides that are warm.  Perhaps the restaurant just had an off night, because I truly hope that the restaurant has not deteriorated this much since our last visit seven years ago.  The delicious salad bar is the only reason I am rating it as high as I am.

Cattle Baron
http://www.cattlebaron.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating = 2

Rusty Taco

Restaurants that specialize in tacos seem to be popping up everywhere in DFW these days.  It seems like every time I turn around, a new Tin Star, Fuzzy's, Torchy's, etc. is opening up.  Another joint that seems to be expanding rapidly in the last couple of years is Rusty Taco.  On a recent Saturday, I decided to pop in and see how good this place was.

I was in Plano a few days ago, so I stopped at the Rusty Taco on Coit Road around lunchtime.  The place was very busy and I had a short wait in line at the counter.  When I finally got to the cash register, I ordered Chips and Salsa and 3 different tacos.  I then went and got my drink as I waited for a table to become available.

Chips and Salsa

About the time two people left their table, my order was up.  I grabbed my order and sprinted to the table before someone else took it.  I then sat down to start eating.  The chips and salsa were somewhat disappointing.  The chips were okay, but the salsa was very bland and did not have much "kick" to it.

Brisket Taco

The first taco I tried was the Brisket Taco, which was shredded beef topped with queso fresca, onion, and cilantro.  It was very good and the ingredients blended well together.  The next taco I tried was the Picadillo Taco that included seasoned ground beef, potatoes, onion, and cilantro.  The beef was not seasoned enough to my liking, but once again the ingredients meshed well.  The cilatnro really gave it a lot of flavor that was lacking in the seasoned beef.  

Picadillo Taco

The final taco I tried was the BBQ Brisket Taco and it was spectacular.  It had the same shredded brisket as the other brisket taco, but it was topped with barbecue sauce and cole slaw.  The sauce was really good and had a hint of both chipotle and Dr. Pepper. This particular taco was by far the highlight of the meal.

BBQ Brisket Taco

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Rusty Taco.  Although I was not impressed with the chips and salsa, the tacos were very good.  It was very busy when I dined there, but the staff gets your food out very quickly.  I will be going back, because I want to try some of the other tacos and get another of the BBQ Brisket Tacos.

Rusty Taco
http://www.therustytaco.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating =3