Jack Mac's Swill & Grill

There are times when I extensively research a restaurant before dining there.  At other times, my family and I just see a restaurant and choose to dine there.  When we dined at Jack Mac's Swill & Grill, the later was the reason we chose to dine there.  We happened to be in North Dallas, we were hungry, and decided to try it out since we were in the area.

Not knowing much about the place and not knowing their specialities, we just ordered what sounded good to us.  Below is my opinions of what we ordered:

Cabrito Stew - interesting combination of flavors with the goat, tomatillos, green chiles, potatoes, and carrots.  The dish was served with tortillas, but could have been eaten like a regular stew.  I felt the stew could have used some more meat, but it wasn't bad.

Breakfast Brisket Tacos- my wife ordered this dish and gave one of the tacos to me.  The brisket wasn't great and the flavor was bland, despite the fact it had green chiles, eggs, and potatoes too.

Basic Burger - of the items we tried, I thought this was the best.  The burger had good flavor and plenty of cheese, but was a little on the small side.  The  seasoned fries were average at best and their portion size was small as well.

Kid's Grilled Cheese- Both kids ate this and didn't seem to care for the grilled cheese on ciabatta bread, but I thought it was good.

I can honestly say that I was not impressed with this place.  It wasn't terrible, but I would certainly go someplace else if I was in the area again.   Our waitress did a nice job and was friendly, but the food failed to impress.

Jack Mac's Swill & Grill
http://jackmacs.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=2
 

Jarams Donuts

I am not a person that just absolutely loves eating breakfast and I frequently skip breakfast.  That being said, I do have a few weaknesses involving breakfast foods, and one of those would be donuts.  After reading an Eater article about the best places to find donuts in Dallas, I decided to try out Jarams Donuts, which was one of the places they recommended and was the one closest to my house in McKinney, TX.  Thrillist also ranked them among The Best Donut Shops in Dallas.

Jaram's Donuts has a huge variety of speciality donuts, kolaches, and other breakfast items, but I was only able to try a fraction of the items available.  Below is my descriptions and opinions of the ones that I tried:
Chocolate Croissant Donut-This donut was about twice the height of a normal donut and had the light texture of a croissant.  The chocolate icing was delicious and the powdered sugar was plentiful.  If a chocolate donut and a beignet had a love child, this donut would be the result.

Creme Brûlée Donut-Hard to imagine, but it actually tasted a lot like creme brûlée.  The exterior was actually caramelized and the inside was filled with custard.  This donut gets two thumbs up for originality.

Chocolate Donut Holes with Sprinkles-My daughter ordered a dozen of these and allowed me to have one.  The same chocolate icing I had on the croissant donut was on these as well and they were high quality for donut holes.  
Sausage Kolache with Bacon- In my opinion, it was closer to a pig-in-a-blanket than a kolache.  The bread was good and the sausage was decent, but I really liked the crispy bacon that adorned the top of it.

Jalapeño Sausage Cheese Bread-By far, this was the most interesting items I tried here.  The bread had sliced jalapeño sausage and cheddar cheese that was intertwined in bread.  As good as the donuts were, I think I actually liked this item the best. 

As you can probably tell, I loved this quaint little donut shop in North Dallas.  The donuts were great and and the jalapeño sausage cheese bread was incredible.  I would rate this place in my top three  donuts shops that I have tried in DFW alongside Hypnotic Donuts and The Donut Kitchen.   

Jaram's Donuts
http://www.jarams.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4
 

Pink Magnolia

Pink Magnolia has been getting a lot of press since it opened in September.  After reading several reviews from local publications and seeing many pictures of the featured dishes, this restaurant went to the top of my "Must Dine List".  I was finally able to dine there on a recent weekend and I must say that I was quite impressed with Blythe Beck's new restaurant, despite the unassuming location in the Bishop Arts District.

Patio Area

The place was packed when we arrived and despite having reservations, we still had to wait about twenty minutes to get seated.  This is not an uncommon predicament at hot new restaurants, so we enjoyed a seat outside on the patio and enjoyed some libations on a nice fall evening.  After being seated, we ordered the Lobster Jalapeño Hush Puppies as an appetizer.  Although  I didn't intend to share, my wife helped me devour these amazing delicacies, which were served with a delicious Creole mustard aioli.  These hush puppies were a nice twist to traditional hush puppies and definitely set the bar high for the remainder of the meal.

Lobster Jalapeno Hush Puppies

For my main course, the Chicken Fried Ribeye beckoned me to order it and I obliged.  The batter was outstanding and the steak was a tender as any I have ever had.  A knife wasn't even necessary to use and I was able to eat the entire dish with a fork.  This chicken fried steak was amongst the best I have ever had in DFW, but the cream corn and beer braised mustard greens were up to the task of complimenting the dish.  Both the sides were extremely flavorful and I didn't leave a single bite on my plate.

Chicken Fried Ribeye

My wife ordered the Pan Seared Texas Redfish and it was equally incredible.  The fish was perfectly seared and seasoned to perfection.  It sat atop a very tasty side of lobster dirty rice, which did not skimp on the lobster.  The dish also came with a side of spinach, which was the only side that we didn't love.  The spinach was not bad, but I would have preferred it be sautéed a little longer and had a little less garlic.

Pan Seared Texas Redfish

The highly recommended Chocolate Fudge Waffle was ordered for dessert.  The waffle itself only had a mild chocolate flavor, but it  had a flavorful chocolate ganache that was drizzled over the waffle, peanut butter ice cream, and seared bananas foster.  Overall, the flavors went well together and I would have no problems ordering it again.  Although I enjoyed the dessert, I was slightly envious of the table next to us, which ordered the Maker's Mark Banana Pudding.  

Chocolate Fudge Waffle

Although we only sampled a small portion of the overall dinner menu, we really enjoyed the food we tried at Pink Magnolia.  The service was equally incredible and the staff was both friendly and informative.  After dining here, it is easy to see why the DFW foodie world is buzzing about this new restaurant!

Pink Magnolia
http://pinkmagnoliadallas.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

Pecan Lodge-Deep Ellum

I do not usually have multiple blog posts about the same restaurant, but I decided to make an exception for Pecan Lodge.   The restaurant was recently forced out of it's location in the Farmers Market and had re-opened this past Friday in Deep Ellum.  My first visit to Pecan lodge was blogged about in 2013.  In that blog post, I declared that Pecan Lodge was the best barbecue in Dallas.  Texas Monthly later agreed with me and voted it the #2 ranked barbecue joint in Texas behind Franklin Barbecue in Austin.  Pecan Lodge has also been praised by several other publications and featured on more than a few TV shows, so pitmaster/owner Justin Fourton continues to be one of the busiest guys in the barbecue business.

By 11:00 a.m. the line was getting long

My brother and I arrived at the Deep Ellum location at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday and we were surprised that there were only thirty or so people in line.  By the time the restaurant opened at 11:00 a.m., the line was easily over 150 people and snaked around the block.  Once again, I felt like we timed our arrival just right.  When the restaurant opened, the line moved fairly quickly and we were able to order by 11:20.  

Pecan Lodge Bar and Dining Area

The new restaurant features ample dining space and a bar that serves local craft beer.  It also has an outdoor patio area with additional space for patrons to dine.  Although I am usually nostalgic about original restaurant locations, I immediately saw that the move from the Farmers Market to Deep Ellum was a good one.

The Menu

On this visit, I ordered brisket, pork ribs, jalapeño and cheddar sausage, and the daily special of burnt ends.  Since I needed something to offset the massive amounts of meat, I ordered some fried okra because it had been fantastic on a previous visit.  The slow-cooked brisket was excellent and just as good as it had been on my previous visits.  My slices were smoked to perfection and the fatty slices almost melted in my mouth.  The house made sausage was also delicious, but plays second fiddle to many of the other meats.

Burnt ends are my favorite barbecue item and I order them every time I see that someone has them on the menu.  I have had some great burnt ends in my life, but the ones at Pecan Lodge are out-of-this-world amazing.  When I looked back and tried to remember all the great burnt ends I have sampled, I honestly can't remember any that I have had that were as good as the ones I tried on this visit to Pecan Lodge.

Amazing Burnt Ends, Jalapeño and Cheddar Sausage Link, and Fried Okra

During my previous visits to Pecan Lodge, they had ran out of pork ribs prior to my arrival at the counter.  I was pleased that I finally got to sample the pork ribs and I was was blown away with this menu item as well.  They had an excellent smoky flavor, easily pulled off the bone, and even had an excellent bark on them.  

Considering the fact that this was only the second day that Pecan Lodge was open at this new location, Justin Fourton deserves kudos for the consistency and quality of the meat.  There is little doubt in my mind that the new location in Deep Ellum will be an even bigger attraction than the previous location.  One of my best friends got hitched a couple of weeks after this visit and we took him to Pecan Lodge for his last meal as a free man (picture below of what the four of us shared).  This place keeps getting better with every visit and is peerless in the DFW area.

Meal we had two weeks after this first visit-Burnt Ends, Sausage, Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, Brisket, Okra, Mac n' Cheese, and Cole Slaw

Pecan Lodge

http://www.pecanlodge.com

Livin the good Life Rating =5

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

Cane Rosso

Cane Rosso has been on my "wish list" of restaurants to try for quite some time.  Unfortunately, I have not been able dine in Dallas recently; primarily due to a busy work schedule.  I also realize that only fat kids like myself have restaurant "wish lists."  The Dallas Observer included Cane Rosso on it's list of the Eight Best Pizza Places in Dallas.  D Magazine rated the restaurant as best pizza place in Dallas and included it in it's 2013 edition of the 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas.  

The Cane Rosso Pizza Oven

Cane Rosso has two locations in Dallas.  The original is in Deep Ellum, but we were closer to the one that recently opened in White Rock.  We arrived for an early dinner and beat the usual Saturday night crowds that plague most of the restaurants in Dallas.  They had a patio area that looked like fun, but we elected to eat inside because it was a little chilly when we arrived.  We were warmly greeted by the wait staff upon entering the restaurant.  Since it was our first visit, they explained the basics of Neapolitan style pizza and how it differed from New York style pizza.  Having had Neapolitan pizza before, I knew that they center was usually very doughy.  What I didn't know, is that their pizzas are only fired in the oven for 70 seconds.

We ordered our drinks and decided to start with an order of Angioletta.  This appetizer is fried pizza dough that is coated with grated Parmesan cheese and served with marinara.  This dish was very simple, but very good.  It was such a large portion that I feared I had not saved enough room for pizza.

Angioletta

The Livin The Good Life wife and I debated which pizza we wanted, but finally agreed on ordering the Prosciutto e Rucola.  This pizzas ingredients included prosciutto crudo (thinly sliced dry-cured ham), arugula, house-made mozzarella, shaved Parmigiano, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil.  The pizza arrived and it was larger than I had anticipated (approximately 14-15 inches).  The wife and I both enjoyed this pizza.  The prosciutto was great and all the ingredients blended together perfectly.  If I had to choose one negative thing about his pizza, it would be the garlic.  I would have preferred smaller garlic pieces instead of sliced cloves that were overpowering at times. 

Prosciutto e Rucola

I left Cane Rosso feeling fat and happy.  The wait staff was great and we did not have to wait very long for our appetizer or our pizza.  Cane Rosso definitely lived up to the hype, because we had a great experience.  The menu has several pizzas that I want to try, so we will be making a return trip to Cane Rosso.

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

Al Biernat's

My wife waiting to be seated.   She is quite possibly the only person I know who would coordinate her cast and nail color.

When looking over the restaurants for DFW Restaurant Week, there were several menus that sounded great.  Picking the right place is a very stressful experience for foodies during Restaurant Week.  Looking at the list, I saw several highly touted local restaurants.  While perusing the list, I began to empathize with those that have to judge the Ms. America contest or a woman picking out the engagement ring of her dreams.  It is really hard to just pick one restaurant from the amazing choices in front of you.

It literally took us two weeks to decide which restaurant we wanted for our night out.  After a lot of back and forth, we finally decided on Al Biernat's.  I had not been to this restaurant in several years and my wife had never been, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to reacquaint myself with this local favorite.  In addition participating in restaurant week, this restaurant was recently chosen as one of D Magazine's 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas.

Delicious Bread Basket

One of the reason's that we chose Al Biernat's is because they had a pretty extensive menu compared to other restaurants participating in DFW Restaurant Week.  My wife and I both started with the Caesar Salad.  The salad had very crisp romaine lettuce, a very flavorful dressing, and just the right amount of Parmesan cheese.

Caesar Salad

For my entree, I chose the beef tenderloin with red potatoes and green beans.  The beef tenderloin was cooked to perfection and was extremely tender.  It was topped with a port wine foie gras sauce that was absolutely delicious.  The green beans were very fresh and the buttery potatoes were outstanding.  My wife ordered  the sliced Texas Premium Wagyu-Angus steak.  She was very happy with her choice of entrees and I enjoyed the bite that she gave me.  

Beef Tenderloin with Al's Favorite Potatoes and Green Beans

Sliced Texas Premium Wagyu Steak with Amelia's Farm Tomato Bruschetta

For our final course, I chose the "old fashioned" chocolate cake and my wife chose the carrot cake.  The chocolate cake was good, but the icing tasted remarkably similar to the Pepperidge Farm chocolate cake.  That isn't necessarily a bad thing, because I happen to relish that particular delicacy that can be found in the freezer section of your local supermarket.  My wife absolutely loved her carrot cake; so much so that she did not even offer to share a bite with me.  She claimed it was the best carrot cake she had ever tasted.  

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

I really enjoyed this visit to Al Biernat's.  All three courses were delicious, but the main course was definitely the most memorable. The place was extremely packed and was very loud, but it did not detract from the dining experience.  The service was absolutely top notch, despite the large crowd.  Al Biernat's absolutely gets a thumbs up and I left feeling like I had made the right choice for Restaurant Week!

Al Biernat's
https://www.albiernats.com/
Livin The Good Life Rating= 4

Neighborhood Services

The Livin The Good Life Wife and I recently celebrated our 7th anniversary.   Our main anniversary tradition is to treat ourselves to a "fancy" meal.  Being the wild and crazy suburbanites that we are, we decided it was once again time for us to venture South of 635 for some fine dining.  For this particular anniversary dinner, we decided to try Neighborhood Services.  This restaurant is a favorite of my in-laws and we have been meaning to try it for some time.  Recently D Magazine rated it the #1 restaurant in their 100 Best Restaurants in Dallas rankings.  I also want to apologize in advance for the horrible pictures.  The Livin The Good Life Wife apparently gets embarrassed when I use the flash to take pictures while we eat.  Since it was our anniversary dinner, I abided by her request to not use the flash.

We arrived right on time for our 7:30 reservations and were seated immediately.  The restaurant had a vibrant bar scene filled with people who didn't have reservations and every table was filled in the dining area.  I really wanted to try the fried asparagus for an appetizer, but my wife does not eat asparagus.  After discussing which appetizer we would share, we settled on the roasted green chile and jonah crab dip.  It turns out that we made an excellent choice.  The crab dip was one of the best crab dips I have ever had and the chips were crispy and lightly seasoned.  It also came with a charred tomato and cucumber salsa.  The salsa was good, but it could not hold a candle to the crab dip.

Green Chile and Jonah Crab Dip

Neither of us wanted to have a whole salad before the meal, so we split the Tennessee Bacon and Vital Farms Egg salad.  The spinach salad had bacon, candied walnuts, and a sherry vinaigrette.  A fried egg and crostini (toast) was served on top of it.  It was a very unusual combination of tastes, but it blended well.  We both enjoyed the salad, although it was hard to find the "salad" at first because the fried egg and crostini covered all of the spinach.

Tennessee Bacon and Vital Farms Egg Salad

For my meal, I got the pork chop, which was served on a bed of succotash.  My wife got one of the daily fish specials, which was swordfish and fingerling potatoes.  We also ordered a side of the Three Jack and Mac Casserole (aka mac n' cheese).  My pork chop was delicious and cooked to perfection.  The outside was charred, yet juicy and it had a great seasoning on it.  The succotash was somewhat disappointing.  I usually love blacked eyed peas, but they were undercooked for my taste and did not go well with the corn and green beans in the succotash.  My wife also enjoyed her swordfish.  She was kind enough to give me a bite and I was impressed with the taste.  We both thought the Three Jack and Mac Casserole was good, but it was very rich.  I don't think I could have eaten the whole thing myself.

Pork Chop and Succotash

Swordfish and fingerling potatoes

By the time we had finished our meal, we were both too full to sample any desserts.  I am not sure that I agree with D Magazine that Neighborhood Services is the best restaurant in Dallas, but I would definitely put it in my top 10.  The service was amazing, despite the fact that the place was packed to the gills.  We will return to Neighborhood services because there are many menu items that we both want to try.

Neighborhood Services
http://neighborhoodservicesdallas.wordpress.com/the-original/
Livin The Good Life Rating = 5