Urban Rio

Urban Rio has been one of the restaurants that I have been wanting to try for some time.  Urban Rio is located in downtown Plano and is owned by the same people that own the fantastic pizza restaurant, Urban Crust.    The restaurant is very popular with residents of Collin County and made the D Magazine 2013 list of The Top 100 Restaurants in DFW.  Despite the fact that the restaurant is located within 15 minutes of my house, I had not tried it until just recently.   

My daughter (the salt junkie) enjoying her tortilla chips

My family and I arrived at Urban Rio early enough to beat the dinner crowd.  Like most Mexican food restaurants, they gave us a bowl of chips and salsa to munch on while we looked over the menu.  In addition to the salsa, they also provided the table with a small bowl of a black bean dip.  I was not impressed with the salsa, but the black bean dip was a nice addition to the chips.

Chips, Salsa, and Black Bean Dip

While looking over the menu, we started with our traditional treat of queso.  We ordered their queso blanca with the chorizo flavored ground beef.  The queso was above average and the beef gave it a little extra flavor and texture that really added a little something to each bite.  We also ordered an order of the chimichurri chicken skewers to share.  I was disappointed in the skewers because they were very bland and I expected them to have more flavor.

Queso Blanca with chorizo flavored ground beef

For our entrees, I ordered the chile relleno and my wife ordered the tortilla soup.  The chile relleno was a fried poblano pepper stuffed with ground beef, potatoes, and Serrano peppers.  It was served over rice, refried black beans, and topped with Mexican crema.  The flavor was absolutely spot on and it was perhaps one of the top three chile rellenos I have ever had.  

Chile Relleno

I also ordered a side of the street corn, which was grilled corn that had been cut off the cob and topped with cheese and what appeared to be the same cream that was on my chile relleno.  The flavor was good, but it was not served warm.  My wife was not impressed with her tortilla soup either.  It was served to her at room temperature and like most people, she usually prefers her soup hot.  She only had a couple of spoonfuls before pushing it aside.

Street Corn

Tortilla Soup

My wife and I experienced mixed feelings on our first visit to Urban Rio.  I loved the queso and the chile relleno, but my wife was not a fan of her tortillas soup.  Neither of us cared much for the grilled chicken skewers.  We had wanted to try the s'mores for dessert because we thought it would be fun for the kids to cook them over the tableside fire, but I was too full after my meal and my wife was just ready to leave.  The service was lacking somewhat too because we had to wait a good ten minutes for any waitstaff to come and take our initial drink orders.  We found out when we arrived that they do not have a kids menu, but there were several options on the menu that kids would enjoy.  Despite my wife's feelings about the restaurant, the chile relleno was good enough for me to desire a second visit to Urban Rio.

Urban Rio
http://www.urbanrio.com
Livin the Good Life Rating = 3

Lockhart Smokehouse Plano

Lockhart Smokehouse finally opened up it's long awaited downtown Plano location on February 12th.  I can't remember a Collin County restaurant opening that was more eagerly awaited than this second location of Lockhart Smokehouse.  It was originally supposed to open in the late Fall of 2013 before being pushed back to January of 2014.  January came and went without it opening, but the doors finally opened in February.

Waiting to order smoked meat

I have visited the original Lockhart Smokehouse location in the Bishop Arts District and blogged about how my family had enjoyed the barbecue there.  We tried to dine at this new Plano location on the first Sunday that it was open, but we arrived to a line that was 40 deep outside the restaurant.  Since we had just been to church and had the kids with us, we decided to forgo the wait and ended up dining at another downtown Plano restaurant called Urban Crust.

Bar at Lockhart Smokehouse Plano

On the second weekend it was open, I ended up meeting my brother and a buddy at Lockhart Smokehouse.  We arrived about ten minutes prior to opening, but still found that there were twenty people lined up along the sidewalk awaiting the 11:00 a.m. opening.  Once the restaurant opened, the line moved quickly and the pitmaster, Will Fleischman, even tossed some burnt ends our way so we could sample as we waited to order.  I wanted to sample a variety of items, so I ordered 1/2 pound of brisket, 1/2 pound of ribs, 1/2 pound of turkey, a Kreuz jalapeno cheese sausage link, and the habanero mac n cheese.

Will Fleischman slicing beef

We sat down in upstairs loft area and dug in like wolves on a fresh kill.  The brisket was from the fatty end and full of flavor.  It had an outstanding bark, a nice smoke ring, and melted in your mouth like butter.  The ribs were good as well with a terrific rub on them and a nice smoky flavor.  They were somewhat tough on this visit, but the flavor was right.  The turkey was very moist with a Cajun seasoning used as a rub.  Although I could not taste much smoke on the turkey, it still had a nice flavor to it.  

Kreuz Sausage, Pork Spare Ribs, Brisket, and Turkey

Since most Texans are familiar with the taste of Kreuz sausage, I will just say that the jalapeno cheese link tasted just like you would expect.  The only complaint I have about the sausage at Lockhart Smokehouse is the price, which is $5.25.  You can order the same sausage directly from Kreuz Market and have them shipped to you for $2.20 each.  My brother was kind enough to let me try some of his pork chop that he ordered and it was impressive as well.  Perhaps the biggest surprise in the taste department was the habanero mac n cheese.  When I took the first bite, I thought it was rather mild.  By the time, I took my second bite, the delayed impact of the habanero had hit at full force.  It was very cheesy, but I loved the extra kick the habanero gave it.

Habanero Mac & Cheese

The Bishop Arts location made the Texas Monthly Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas and I would say that the Plano location is almost a carbon copy of the original.  Will Fleischman and his crew turned out some seriously good meat on this visit.  If they continue to turn out meat of this quality, I see Lockhart Smokehouse doing very well in downtown Plano.   I can guarantee you that I will be making a return trip to this barbecue joint.

Smoked Pork Chop

Lockhart Smokehouse-Plano
http://www.lockhartsmokehouse.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating= 4

Urban Crust

Day 4 of Icepocalypse 2013 found me having a rare weekday off.  The roads in my neighborhood had all melted, so I decided to run a few errands.  My last errand of the day happened to be close to downtown Plano, so I decided to stop in and have a bite to eat at Urban Crust.  Urban Crust has been on my short list of pizza joints to try, so I took advantage of the opportunity and stopped in to grab a pizza for lunch.

The oven at Urban Crust

Reviews by critics have always been favorable for Urban Crust, so I had high expectations for this pizza joint.  The staff was extremely friendly and I was pleased to see that they had a lunch special that included an eight-inch one topping pizza, soup or salad, and a drink for $8.90.  It seemed like a good value, so I ordered a pepperoni pizza, Caesar salad, and an iced tea.

Caesar Salad

Within just a couple of minutes, I had my salad, tea, and some flatbread at my table.  The salad had a Caesar dressing that was very light and it was covered in large pieces of shaved Parmesan cheese.  The bread was served with a side of marinara sauce and an olive oil based dipping sauce that included several other herbs, chopped olives, and garlic.  The salad was good and the bread and dipping sauces were a nice surprise.

Bread and Dipping Sauces

My pepperoni pizza arrived just as I was finishing my salad and flatbread.  It was just the right size for a lunch that had already included a salad and bread.  The pepperoni was delicious, but the mozzarella may have been some of the best I have ever had on a pizza.  The crust was pretty typical of a wood-fired pizza joint, but it was cooked to perfection.

Pepperoni Pizza

I enjoyed my lunch at Urban Crust and will certainly go back again.  One would be hard pressed to find a better value for a lunch special, because it usually costs me more than $8.90 to get burger, fries, and drink at a fast food joint.  The service was outstanding at Urban Crust and the restaurant itself had a very homey feel to it.  While this place is not my absolute favorite DFW pizza joint, Urban Crust is certainly worthy of the praise it has received from DFW food critics.

Dining Area

Urban Crust
http://www.urbancrust.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating = 3