Starwood Cafe

Cappuccino

The much awaited McKinney location of Starwood Cafe finally opened in Adriatica Village.  My wife has dined at the Frisco location on several occasions, but I have never had the opportunity to dine their myself.  On a recent Saturday morning, we loaded up the 2 girls and ate breakfast at the new location.  We arrived a little after 8 a.m. and there was already a crowd and a 30 minute wait.

Bacon, Hash Browns, and Eggs

My family and I tried several items, including cappuccinos, bacon, eggs, cheese grits, chicken fried steak, hash browns, toast and pancakes.  The majority of the items were good and the cappuccino, chicken fried steak, and pancakes were great.  In fact the chicken fried steak might be the best I have had so far in 2016 and the pancakes were pure greatness themselves.

Chicken Fried Steak, Eggs, and Cheese Grits

The service was as good as the food and the price was about what you would expect for breakfast and not expensive.  It is certainly a welcome addition to the McKinney breakfast scene and a place where I will go back again.  I actually went back the following weekend, only to find that the wait was over an hour.  Since it really hasn't been advertised that much, I can only assume that word of mouth is singing the praises of this restaurant, because people are beating down the door to get in.  I will just have to wake up earlier next time I visit!

Blueberry Pancakes

Starwood Cafe
http://starwoodcafe.com
Livin the Good Life Rating= 3
 

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

The Buffet at Wynn

On our last morning in Vegas, my wife and I were in the mood for a late breakfast that would fill our bellies so we could gamble through lunch.  Since we had not hit a buffet on this visit, I Googled "Best Breakfast Buffet in Vegas".  The Buffet at Wynn showed up on several websites, so we journeyed the quarter mile from our rooms at the Palazzo to the Wynn.

Short wait in line

There was a small line when we arrived, but it moved quickly and we were seated within fifteen minutes.  With a name like "The Buffet", you might expect to find a simple buffet.  The Buffet at the Wynn is anything but simple.  My wife compared the dining area to a set from Alice in Wonderland.  Colorful decorations and flowers are everywhere in the dining area.

Just going to all the buffet stations helped me burn some of the calories I ingested.

The buffet itself was very impressive.  They had so many different stations, that I didn't even make it to all of them.  I ate breakfast until I hurt.  I tried twelve to fifteen different items and I cannot remember having anything that I did not enjoy.  Obviously some items were better than others, but nothing I tried was bad.  The three items that were the highlights of my meal were the bacon waffles (it's waffles and bacon, so it has to be good), the ham and egg breakfast pizza (cooked in coal-fired oven), and the green chili  breakfast quesadillas.

Plate #1-Bacon, ham and egg breakfast pizza, corn muffin, breakfast potatoes, and ham

Plate #2-Bacon, green chili breakfast quesadilla, bacon waffle, and chorizo and eggs.

My wife, who usually detests buffets, loved this place as well.  She didn't make as many trips as I did, but she always came back with bacon and a smile on her face.  The fresh squeezed juices and coffee were commendable as well.  Since we were there towards the end of breakfast, they had started putting out desserts for lunch.  I took advantage of my fortuitous timing and got a couple of desserts as well.

Chocolate mint cupcake, strawberry shortcake, and fruit.

If  the items served at lunch and dinner are as good as the items served for breakfast, it is easy to see why USA Today voted it the best buffet in Vegas.  Although I only had breakfast here, I would rank it pretty close to my favorite Las Vegas buffet which is Bacchanal buffet at Caesar's.  Our coffee cups were always filled and our empty plates gone by the time we returned from a trip to the buffet stations, so I was pleased with the service.  At just over $20 a person, the value was good as well.  I would highly recommend The Buffet at They Wynn for breakfast.

The Buffet at The Wynn
http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/Restaurants/CasualDining/TheBuffet
Livin the Good Life Rating = 4

Whiskey Cake

Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar is one of my favorite restaurants in Collin County.  Since my wife is also a big fan, she is always willing to dine there any time that I ask.  I have dined at Whiskey Cake for lunch and dinner several times, but I had never had the pleasure of trying out their brunch menu until last week.  Their brunch menu is only available on weekends and one day we finally decided to pack up the kids and take the short drive to Plano.

Vermont Cheddar and Jalapeño Drop Biscuits

We arrived shortly after their 10 a.m. opening and were seated after only a short wait.  Luckily, Whiskey Cake is a kid-friendly place and we were able to order the kids breakfasts while we looked over the brunch menu.  When we placed the order for the kids pancakes, we also ordered a breakfast appetizer of Vermont Cheddar and Jalapeno Drop Biscuits.  They are served five to an order and each is topped with a slice of jalapeno and served with a bowl of sausage gravy.  They arrived within just a few minutes and were quickly devoured by my wife and myself.  We both agreed that it was a very unique and delicious twist on the traditional biscuits and gravy.

Kid's Pancake Breakfast

For my entree, I ordered the Chicken and Waffle.  The waffle actually had two pieces of bacon cooked into the batter and was topped with some excellent chicken tenders, eggs, and more of the sausage gravy that I liked so much.  Everything on the plate was absolutely amazing and I couldn't have been more pleased with my breakfast.  My wife ordered the Griddle Stack, which were pancakes topped with caramelized apples, maple syrup, almonds, and whipped cream.  She said it tasted like pancakes and an apple pie had a delicious baby.  In fact, I wasn't even able to snap a picture of her meal because she started eating it too quickly.  

Chicken and Waffles

Both of my kids cleaned their plates and my youngest even helped her mom finish off her whipped cream.  It seemed that everyone in my family enjoyed brunch on this day.  The only regret I had was that we were all too full to have a piece of their namesake dessert; whiskey cake.  This dessert is worth the trip alone, but I was very content and could not eat another bite of anything on this morning.

My youngest daughter finishing off her mom's whipped cream

Whiskey Cake's brunch menu lived up to our expectations.  The quality of food was top notch, much like their lunch and dinner menu.  The food was outstanding on this visit and we were very pleased with our service.  As we left, we noticed that the restaurant was packed and there were close to thirty people waiting to be seated.  Apparently we were not the only ones that had decided to do brunch at Whiskey Cake on this day.  Go give this place a try for brunch and arrive early if you don't like waiting.

Whiskey Cake (Picture taken on a previous visit)

Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar
http://www.whiskey-cake.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating = 4

Serendipity 3

Serendipity 3

Breakfast is my wife's favorite meal of the day.  I myself am not a "breakfast person", but I do make exceptions when I am with her and I don't have to make it myself.  While visiting Vegas, we noticed that Caesar's Palace had a Serendipity 3.  My wife is a huge fan of it's New York restaurant, so we decided to try out the Vegas location for breakfast.

Dining area of Serendipity 3

The Vegas location of Serendipity 3 is located in front of Caesar's Palace, just off Las Vegas Boulevard.  On the morning we dined at the restaurant, our internal clocks were still on Central Standard Time and we woke up around 7:00 a.m. (which from my vacationing experiences there, is very early by my standards).  We arrived right after they opened for they day and sat down to look at the menu.

Frozen Hot Chocolate

I am usually a fan of coffee in the morning, but I decided to forgo it on this occasion and split the frozen hot chocolate for two with my wife.  This was a drink that we had shared at the NYC location and we both really enjoyed it.  I was pleased that the frozen hot chocolate at the Vegas location was just as good as the one in New York.  The drink is quite large, but we managed to finish it off without any problem.

Cresentwich with breakfast potatoes

Since I was not super-hungry on this particular morning, I decided to just get the breakfast crescentwich with potatoes.  The cresentwich was very filling, but it would have been better with more bacon and less eggs.  The potatoes had excellent seasoning, but mine were slightly over-cooked.  My wife wife was also in the mood for a light breakfast and got the fruit platter with yogurt and granola.  She said she really liked her breakfast, but like myself, thought the frozen hot chocolate was the highlight of our visit.

Fruit platter with yogurt

Our breakfast at Serendipity hit the spot and gave us the needed kick start to a day of shopping for my wife and a day of gambling for myself.  The service was very good and the restaurant had a very casual feel to it.  Although it was a little pricey for my standards, it was pretty comparable to most other Vegas restaurants on the strip.  The frozen hot chocolate here is certainly worthy of a return trip.

Serendipity 3

http://www.caesarspalace.com/restaurants/serendipity-3.html#.UyUAFygf9CM

Livin the Good Life Rating = 2

Delaney's Irish Pub and Restaurant

Following church one day, the family and I decided we wanted to have breakfast for lunch.  We went through the names of our usual suspects, but decided we wanted to try a somewhere we haven't been before.  After trying to think of a place in McKinney where we had not dined, my wife reminded me that Delaney's Irish Pub  served breakfast on weekends.  Since the restaurant was close to the house, I started driving that direction.

As we were about to enter the restaurant, they had a sign up that said "Voted Best Breakfast in McKinney".  I am not sure what publication voted them the "Best Breakfast in McKinney, but it did serve to set the bar a little higher in the expectations department.  We were warmly greeted by the staff and they quickly set us up with a table and a high chair.  Our waitress was very attentive and  brought us out some very rich coffee while we were perusing the menu.  

One Of My Three Breakfast Dates

Delaney's menu offered most of the traditional breakfast items you would find at a breakfast joint, including several types of omelettes, pancakes, waffles, skillet breakfasts, French toast, etc.  Several of the items looked really good, but I ultimately chose the chicken and waffles.  It turns out that I made a great decision.  The waffles were semi-sweet with a great texture and the chicken strips on top were obviously hand-battered in house prior to going in the fryer.  After pouring a liberal amount of syrup on the chicken and waffles, I dug in and was impressed with their version of this Southern delicacy. This was unquestionably the best chicken and waffles I have had inside the city limits of McKinney.

Best Chicken and Waffles I Have Had In McKinney

My wife enjoyed her waffle combo with scrambled eggs and bacon.  Both of my daughters cleaned their plates of pancakes as well.  My oldest shared her bacon with me and it was crispy and flavorful.  Everyone in my family left Delaney's full and ready for a nap.

Kids Pancakes

I could really kick myself for never eating breakfast at Delaney's before this visit.  I have lived less than a half mile from this place since it opened.  We will certainly be going back to this place that is practically in my own backyard.  The service is outstanding and the breakfast is one of the top three that I have had in McKinney.  Next time, I might just walk to Delaney's to help burn the calories off on the walk home!


Delaney's Irish Pub and Restaurant
http://www.delaneystx.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

Gather

Brunch may be my favorite meal.  Eating brunch is like getting the best of both breakfast and lunch.  The only problem with brunch, is the fact that a fat kid like me feels that they have to eat an entire breakfast portion and an entire lunch portion.  If they also have dessert, then I am really hurting by the time it is done.  I had been told that Gather, in downtown McKinney, serves a mighty fine brunch.  My family and my in-laws decided to "gather" at Gather for brunch following our church service last Sunday.  

Dining Room at Gather

Gather only serves Sunday brunch.  During the rest of the week, it hosts events such as weddings, showers, rehearsal dinners, etc.  We arrived a few minutes after 11:00 and were seated immediately.  After ordering coffee, I helped myself to the brunch buffet.  They had several items on the buffet that looked quite tasty and I regretted that I did not have enough room on my plate to get a little of everything on the first trip.  

Selfie of the girls while the men were in line.

With my first plate, I helped myself to some eggs, biscuits and gravy, bacon, chicken fried steak, and some chicken enchiladas.  The eggs were pretty basic, but everything else was absolutely wonderful.  The bacon was extremely crispy, the biscuits had great texture, the chicken fried steak had been fried in a tasty batter, and the gravy was very good with just the right amount of pepper.  The best item I tried on my first trip was the chicken enchilada.  It was one of the best I have ever had and was cooked with a top notch tomatillo sauce.

My first plate included eggs, biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, bacon, and an excellent enchilada.

During my second trip, I had to get more enchiladas and chicken fried steak, but I also got mashed potatoes, Eggs Benedict, and a large portion of the Pecan French toast casserole.  Again, everything on this plate was amazing.  The best thing on this plate, besides the chicken enchiladas, was the Pecan French toast casserole.  It was very rich, but the ingredients mixed together perfectly.  

Dessert plate with dessert bars, pineapple muffin, Pecan French toast casserole, and a Key Lime tart

Next, I had to try the dessert bar.  They had several choices and, once again, I tried to get a little bit of everything.  The pineapple muffin and dessert bars were terrific, but they fell well short of the greatness of the key lime tart.  The key lime tart got an A+ in my book and was the perfect ending to the meal.  I was too full to try the pecan pie, but my wife and mother-in-law said it was terrific.  

I ate so much for brunch, that I actually was still full seven hours later.  My family loved this place too.  I did not hear complaints from anyone and my wife loved the beautiful setting of the dining room.  After trying some lackluster restaurants lately, we were very pleased with our dining experience at Gather and anxiously await our next visit.

Gather
http://gathermckinney.com/brunch-menu/
Livin the Good Life Rating = 4