Cattleack Barbecue

Cattleack Barbecue has been receiving a lot of social media buzz lately.  Over the last year, they have created a cult-like following amongst barbecue lovers in the Dallas area.   Cattleack Barbecue is primarily a catering company, but they do serve lunch on Thursdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. until they run out of smoked meats.  Since I was off work on a recent Friday, I scurried down to Dallas to see what all the buzz was about.

The line to get smoked meats

I arrived at 10:45 and was surprised to see a line reaching all the way to the front door.  Fortunately, the line moved quickly and I progressed through the line at a good pace.  The restaurant does offer free beer to those in line, so I didn't hear many complaints from those having to wait.  By 11:05, I was at the counter and ordering.  Cattleack Barbecue is located in a very small space and most people were getting their meat to go, but they do have four picnic tables located inside the restaurant and some seating outside as well.  

The cutting boards at Cattleack Barbecue

Everything that was on the cutting board looked great, but I finally decided to go with fatty brisket, spare ribs, turkey, and a barbecue sandwich named the "Toddfather."  The brisket had excellent bark, a nice smoky flavor, and well rendered fat.  It was very flavorful and almost melted in your mouth.  The turkey was moist and was well smoked.  I am not sure what ingredients they use on the rub for the turkey, but it was very good as well.  The spare ribs had a somewhat sweet rub on them and you could taste the smoke in every bite, but they were a little too chewy for me as I prefer the meat to easily pull off the bone.

Smoked Turkey, Spare Ribs, and Fatty Brisket

I rarely get barbecue sandwiches and did not plan to order one on this visit, but then I saw a customer in front of me order  the "Toddfather" and I immediately knew I would be ordering a sandwich as well.  The sandwich is named after the owner, Todd David, and it is a hefty sandwich that includes a hot link, pulled pork, brisket, and slaw.  Before I started devouring this monster sandwich, I liberally applied their house-made barbecue sauce.  From the first bite I knew that I was in love.  I have already describe the merits of the brisket, but the pulled pork was top notch as well and the hot link gave it a little kick and extra flavor.  The meat flavors all blended well with the slaw and the sauce.  Without a doubt, this was one of the better barbecue sandwiches I have ever had.

The "Toddfather"

The only side that I tried was the Cheesy Chipotle Corn.  It had a little Chipotle kick to it, but it basically tasted like canned corn that didn't have any cheese flavor that I could taste.  Although the side I ordered was somewhat disappointing, the meats were fantastic.  The Davids are turning out some of the best smoked meat in DFW and they are very friendly as well.  I was unable to try the beef rib (which looked amazing) or the house-made sausage, but I will be heading back to Cattleack Barbecue next time I have a Thursday or Friday where I don't have have to work.

Cheesy Chipotle Corn

Cattleack Barbecue
http://cattleackbbq.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

Micheladas Cafe y Cantina

I was craving Mexican food on my last evening in Austin and my buddy said that Mexican sounded good to him. There are several choices in the downtown area, but many of them are chains.   I wanted to dine at a restaurant that we do not have in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so I asked the concierge at our hotel which restaurant he recommended .  He recommended Michelada's Cafe y Cantina and told us that it was only a couple blocks away from the hotel.

Green Chile and Corn Crab Dip

We landed at Michelada's within minutes and sat down to look over the menu.  For a starter, we ordered a crab dip that included corn and green chiles.  At first bite, I was in love.  The green chiles, corn, and crab blended together to make one of the most phenomenal crab dips I have ever had.  The chips and salsa were also very good, but I could no get enough of the crab dip.

Green Chile Pork Tacos

For my entree, I ordered the green chile pork tacos.  That menu item is not currently listed on the online menu, but I can assure you that they were wonderful. These very flavorful tacos were served with rice and charro beans.  The rice was pretty basic, but the charro beans were laudable.  My colleague ordered the beef enchiladas with rice and charro beans.  He gave a big thumbs up to the enchiladas and was also impressed with the beans.

Beef Enchiladas

Michelada's definitely hit the spot and fulfilled our craving for Mexican food.  In addition to the great food, the service is absolutely exceptional.  The staff fawned over us during our meal and we never had to ask for refills of water or chips.  Over the years, I have dined at dozens of Mexican food restaurants in Austin and I can honestly say that Michelada's is one of the best I have ever had in the city.  If you are in the downtown Austin area and looking for some really good Mexican food, I highly recommend Michelada's Cafe y Cantina.

Micheladas Cafe y Cantina
http://www.micheladasaustin.com/micheladas.html
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

Jo's

The infamous Iced Turbo

While in Austin, a work colleague and I were craving breakfast and decided to go to Jo's.  This restaurant had been recommended to me by a couple of locals, so we thought we would give it a shot.  At Jo's, patrons order at the counter, take a number, and wait to have your meal delivered.

Menu board and dining area

The Iced Turbo is one item that was highly recommended to me by the locals.  I am usually not a big drinker of iced coffee and prefer hot coffee, but decided to give the Iced Turbo a chance.   This particular iced coffee had exceptional flavor and was strong.  The drink was sweet, but it wasn't too sweet for me.  Although I probably wouldn't want to replace this drink with my daily coffee, it would certainly be nice for a change of pace from my routine of drinking a pot of coffee a day.

Sourdough French Toast

For food, I ordered the Sourdough French Toast and a breakfast taco with bacon,cheese, and eggs.  The French Toast was very good and it had plenty of fresh berries on top.  The breakfast taco wasn't anything special and could have used more bacon, but the tortilla was fresh and the salsa was flavorful.  My colleague ordered the Huevos Rancheros.  Since he practically licked the plate clean, I am assuming he was liked his meal as well.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Taco

Jo's has a good sized breakfast menu, laudable food, and quick service.  If you are looking for a place in downtown Austin to grab breakfast, I suggest you give Jo's a chance.  When you go, make sure that you drink the Iced Turbo.  You can thank me later.

Huevos Rancheros

Jo's
http://www.joscoffee.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

Liberty Burger Allen

One of my favorite DFW burger joints, Liberty Burger, recently opened up a location in Allen.  They put up the signage on the restaurant back in May, but it didn't actually open until a couple of weeks ago.  Once I heard that it was officially open for business, the wife and I loaded up the kids and paid a visit to the new location.

Dining area 

I was craving The Nooner, which is my favorite burger at Liberty Burger.  The Nooner comes topped with American Cheese, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Ham, Hashbrowns, a Fried Egg, and Ketchup.  I had the burger cooked medium and it was cooked perfectly.  The cornucopia of breakfast ingredients on this burger make it the perfect burger for brunch-time.  I also ordered the steakhouse-style onion rings to go with my burger.  Having been to other locations of Liberty Burger, I knew that I preferred them to fries.  The rings are huge and have a crispy batter that is seasoned well.

The Nooner

Big O Rings

My wife also loves the burgers here, but she is on a diet and ordered the Crunchy Salad.  She was quite impressed with her meal which consisted of Spring greens, Feta cheese, cranberries, maple almonds, walnuts, green apples, croutons, and poppy seed dressing.  Both kids ordered from the kid's menu and ate heartily.  One had the grilled cheese with fruit and the other had the chicken tenders with fries. 

Crunchy Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

Kids Chicken Tenders

I am very pleased that there is now a location of this restaurant in Allen.  It is only a five minute drive from my house, so I foresee many future visits to this place.  I eat a lot of burgers in the DFW area and Liberty Burger makes some of the best around.  This place certainly ranks in my top five DFW burger joints and now Collin County residents can experience the greatness of Liberty Burger without having to drive to Dallas.


Liberty Burger-Allen, TX
http://givemelibertyburger.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

Home Slice

While in Austin, I had a craving for pizza one night around 10 p.m. Having skipped dinner due to eating a large lunch of barbecue, I finally started getting hungry again after nightfall.  Although I had never eaten there before, I knew that Home Slice Pizza had a take-out branch called More Home Slice next to their main building.  I had always heard good things about the pizza joint, but I had never eaten there and was looking forward to trying a couple of slices.

Pepperoni Pizza

I knew I would not be able to eat a whole pizza, so I chose to order by the slice.  On the night I visited, they had four different types of pizza they were offering by the slice.  I ended up ordering a slice of pepperoni and a slice of the white pie with spinach.  The pepperoni slice was a perfectly classic version of New York style pizza and I enjoyed every bite.  I don't normally order white pizza because of my love for red sauce, but I thoroughly enjoyed my slice of white pizza with spinach as well.

White Pie with Spinach

Home Slice is a local favorite in Austin and it is easy to see why.  The pizza is top notch and relatively inexpensive.  The restaurant has very quick service and I had pizza in hand within minutes of ordering it.  I anticipate that I will be hitting Home Slice again on my next visit to Austin.

Home Slice Pizza
http://homeslicepizza.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

The Pub

On a recent Sunday, my family and I were looking for a quick meal after church.  My wife and I could not agree on any of our usual go-to restaurants, so we decided to try The Pub.  This bar and restaurant opened a few years ago, but this was our first visit here.

Bar and Dining Area

We arrived just as they were opening for the day, so we only shared the restaurant with a couple of die-hard soccer fans who were watching the World Cup game between Russia and Belgium.  For an appetizer, we chose the cheese board.  It came with several different varieties of cheese, smoked salmon, crackers, bread, sliced apples, and grapes.  The cheese board was very good and our family of four quickly devoured every item on the board.

Cheese Board

For my entree, I ordered the pub-style fish and chips.  The long pieces of beer battered cod was crispy on the ends, but were somewhat soggy in the middle.  Despite the soggy middles, the fish was flavorful.  The steak cut fries were pretty basic and similar to what you would expect with any order of fish and chips.

Fish and Chips

My wife ordered the Greek Salad.  She said it was a decent salad, but would have preferred her olives to be pitted.   The Pub also has a kids menu that has a few options for the little ones.   We ordered the fish and chips for one kid and the grilled cheese for the other.  The grilled cheese was eaten in it's entirety by my toddler, but my oldest only ate about half of her fish and chips because her fish was also soggy in the middle.

Greek Salad

If one is thirsty for some beverages made of hops and barley, The Pub has several local options on tap.  The food may not have been perfect on this visit, but it was still above average in the pub food department.  A table next to us ordered a delicious-looking burger and fries that I will be trying on my next visit.  This place would be a fun place to dine with friends or catch a game on one of their televisions, but it is also a kid friendly restaurant for lunch.  I liked the fact that the interior had an authentic "pub" feel to it and the menu had classic pub fare.  I enjoyed the visit enough to warrant a return trip to this restaurant.

The Pub
http://www.thepubmckinney.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=2

Casino El Camino

Casino El Camino is another Austin restaurant that has been on my "must-eat" list.  I knew I wanted to try it when I caught a re-run of a Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives that featured Casino El Camino.  The restaurant has an unusual theme.  It is very dark inside the restaurant and it has a macabre-like ambiance.  I imagine that if Dante Alighieri ever opened up a burger joint, it would look a lot like Casino El Camino.

Dining area of Casino El Camino

Each burger at Casino El Camino contains three-quarters of a pound of charbroiled Angus beef.  Even for a big guy like myself, that is a good sized hamburger patty.  The restaurant offers several types of burgers which are all named after cities.  I chose the Chicago burger which had bacon, cheddar, lettuce, and tomato.  My buddy decided to go with the Pitts burger which had Provolone, sauteed mushroom, sauteed onions, and A-1 sauce.  Another friend got the BLT.

Three- Quarters of a Pound "Chicago" burger

Since the patty is thicker than most, the burgers do take a little time to cook.  Regardless, my Chicago burger and fries were still ready in under 15 minutes.  As soon as I was back at my table, I began to chow down.  The burger is certainly a mouthful, but it had great taste.  The cheese and crispy bacon went well with the incredibly juicy hamburger patty.  The grill marks on the bun were a nice addition to a perfectly toasted bun.  The Pitts burger and the BLT both got a thumbs up from my friends.  The BLT was stacked with bacon and was one of the more impressive BLTs I have ever seen.  As great as the burger was, my fries were slightly overcooked and was a disappointing addition to a very good burger.

BLT that is heavy on the B

Casino El Camino lived up the hype and gets a thumbs up from me.  The burgers here are much bigger than any I have had recently, but you are also served a quality burger to go along with the large size.  Our waitress on this visit wasn't the most attentive and seemed to be having a bad day, but I could care less about service when a burger is this good.  If you are looking for a unique burger joint in the Austin area that serves good grub, I suggest you give Casino El Camino a try.

Casino El Camino
http://casinoelcamino.net/index.html
Livin the Good Life Rating=4