Kenny's East Coast Pizza

Pizza joints are a dime a dozen in the DFW area, but good pizza joints are rare gems in the Metroplex.  Highly acclaimed chef, Kenny Bowers, has many successful restaurants in DFW and recently through his hat in the ring to mix it up with the heavyweight pizzerias.  Kenny's East Coast Pizza recently opened in Plano and I had the opportunity to eat there with some family members recently.

Prosciutto Wrapped Fried Mozzarella

For our appetizer, we started with the Prosciutto Wrapped Fried Mozzarella.  Although I have had this menu item at his Italian concept, Kenny's Italian Kitchen, I felt compelled to order it here because I liked it so much on my last visit to said restaurant.  Others at our table were pleased with the taste and I felt it was a great start to our meal.

Pepperoni Pizza

We also ordered two pizzas, a pepperoni and a ham.  The pepperoni was one of the best pepperoni pizzas I have had in the state of Texas and I loved the sauce, the crust, and the abundance of cheese.  The ham was delicious as well, but played second fiddle to the pepperoni.

Ham Pizza

My daughters ordered from the kids menu, because neither of them wanted pizza on this visit.  My oldest had the chicken strips with chips and my youngest had the kid's spaghetti with a meatball.  My oldest liked her chicken strips, but my youngest chowed down on a larger than expected portion of the spaghetti.  I tried some of it myself and it was very good spaghetti.

Chicken Strips

Kids Spaghetti

I must say that I was quite pleased with Kenny's East Coast Pizza and can't wait to go again.  The service could have been a little better, but that is somewhat expected from a new restaurant.  It wasn't bad service, but they did forget a drink we ordered and could have checked on us a little more.  I have dined at several New York and East coast pizza restaurants while on vacation and I would put Kenny's East Coast Pizza up against any of them.

Kenny's East Coast Pizza
http://kennyseastcoastpizza.com
Livin the Good Life Rating = 4
 

Butcher Board

A co-worker recently recommended that I try Butcher Board, which is a new sandwich placed that opened next to Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen in downtown McKinney.  Butcher Board was actually opened by the same team that owns Sugarbacon, so I had high expectations prior to entering.  Unlike it's sister restaurant, patrons order at the counter and your sandwiches are brought to your table.

Below are a few items that we sampled on this visit:

The Whole Hog - If you like pork, this is the sandwich for you.  the bread is topped with a generous portion of honey-glazed ham, pulled pork, bacon, Swiss, and bbq mayo.  This sandwich was phenomenal and I would defiantly eat it again.

Wagyu Brisket Daily Special- This sandwich was a slightly different one then the one on the regular menu.  This sandwich had Wagyu brisket, cole slaw, jalapeños, and bbq sauce.  I was surprised by how good the brisket actually was.  It was tender, the fat was well rendered, and it had the perfect amount of smoke to it. This sandwich rivaled anything I have had at highly rated barbecue joints in the area.

Kids Chicken Strips- My daughters ordered these from the kids menu and I stole one (I realize this takes me out of the running for Father-of-the Year).  These chicken strips were battered with corn meal and fried like catfish.  Although unusual, it was good and my daughters enjoyed them.

Chocolate Chip Cookie- This was a huge cookie that had to way over 1/4 a pound.   The quality of the cookie was very good and neither of my kids could finish their cookie, which left some for me!

S'Mores Brownie - This brownie was topped with marshmallows, chocolate chips, and crushed graham crackers.  I am not a fan of brownies in general, but this one was one of the best brownies I have ever had.

To say we were all pleased with our first visit to Butcher Board, would be an understatement.  The food was incredible and the staff was friendly and good at their jobs.  I will be back here in the near future because I really want to try a couple of other sandwiches, the Texas Cuban and the Wagyu Roast Beef.  This place takes sandwiches to a new level and rivals the other heavyweight and highly acclaimed sandwich shop in Downtown McKinney, Patina Green.

Butcher Board
http://butcherboard.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=5

Gregory's Bistro

For years, I have heard great things about Gregory's Bistro.  Even with all the praise, my wife and I had not dined at the restaurant, despite the fact it was so close to us.  The restaurant recently moved from it's location in Downtown McKinney and opened at it's new location in Adriatica Village.  On a recent Friday, we decided to finally go give it a try.

Upon walking in, our first impression was that it was a beautiful restaurant with simple decor.  Having reservations, we were immediately seated and some delicious bread and butter was brought to us.  For a starter, we decided to split the Crab and Lobster Cake, which was absolutely delicious and was a great start to the meal.

Lobster and Crab Cake

For our main course, my wife and I found Gregory's Feature of the Day to sound appealing and ordered that.   The feature was a Pan Seared Texas Redfish with Lobster and Hatch Green Chile Butter Sauce.  The dish was served on a bed of Pesto Fingerling Potatoes. I am not exaggerating here when I say that it was the best seafood dish that I have had in years.  The flavor was amazing and the ingredients went together nicely.  The potatoes were great too and went well with the fish.

Pan Seared Texas Redfish with Lobster and Hatch Green Chile Butter Sauce

Instead of splitting a dessert, we each ordered our own.  My wife had the Bread Pudding, which was quite tasty.  I had the Texas Pecan Cream Cake, which was light and not overly sweet.  Both desserts were great, but we could not agree on which we liked the most.  My wife liked the bread pudding best, but I loved the cake.  We each had a cappuccino to go with dessert and the coffee got a big thumbs up as well.

Bread Pudding 

Texas Pecan Cream Cake

Cappuccino 

We were quite pleased with our first visit to Gregory's Bistro and I would definitely rank it in my top 3 restaurants in McKinney, Texas.  Our table had an amazing view of the lake at Adriatica Village and you didn't feel like you were in the middle of a Dallas suburb.  With the decor and architecture of Adriatica Village, you almost felt like you were dining in Europe.  The service was absolutely on point and it was an amazing dining experience.  We can't wait for our next visit!

Gregory's Bistro
http://www.gregorysbistro.org
Livin the Good Life Rating=5