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

Angels with Bagpipes

On one of our days that we spent walking around Edinburgh, we decided to do a little fine dining and made reservations at Angels with Bagpipes, which is located on The Royal Mile.  I had a cousin that recommended this restaurant to me after she had dined there the previous year.  In addition to her recommendations, the Internet also offered up favorable reviews of this establishment which served up fresh Scottish Cuisine.

Bread and Oil

After ordering drinks, our waiter brought out some bread and oil  The fresh bread was fantastic and helped ease the hunger pains in my belly.  For my entree, I ordered the Fillet Steak topped with garlic butter.  My steak was cooked to perfection and the garlic butter gave it a little extra flavor kick that set it over the edge of greatness!  Without question, this was the best fillet (filet for us Americans) that I have had in a at least a couple of years.  It was served with an order of "chips", which were crispy and quite good in their own right.

Fillet

Chips (Fries)

My wife ordered the Salmon.  It was served with wild garlic and gnocchi.  As impressive as my steak was, her salmon was equally unimpressive.  My wife thought it tasted overly fishy and couldn't even finish it.  I sampled some myself and it did have a funny taste to it and was the worst of three salmon meals I tried on this visit to Scotland.  Our waiter was very gracious and insisted on having the chef remove it from our bill, which he did.

Salmon

Angels with Bagpipes is a very quaint restaurant with a comfortable feel to it.  Although the salmon was disappointing, I was quite happy with the quality and flavor of my steak.  The service was friendly and accommodating.  Since we had plans later that night, we skipped dessert, but they did have several interesting looking options on their menu.

Angels with Bagpipes
http://www.angelswithbagpipes.co.uk/the-restaurant/
Livin the Good Life Rating=3
 

Chaophraya

There are no shortages of restaurants in Edinburgh, but there is a big variation in quality.  My wife and I both love Thai food and Chaophraya came highly recommended by food bloggers, travel sites, and a couple of locals we met.  This restaurant is located on the fourth floor of a building located on Castle Street and offers an amazing view of Edinburgh Castle if you are lucky enough to secure a table with a view.  We waited too long to secure a reservation with a view, but we were still able to get into the restaurant with only one day's notice.

Asian Platter Appetizer

Following the recommendation of our waitress, we ordered  the Asian Platter as an appetizer.  This large appetizer included chicken satay, prawn tempura, chicken spring rolls, marinated pork with honey and Thai herbs, and a crispy duck salad.  Each one of these items was delicious, but my favorites were the prawn tempura (6-8 inches long and fried to perfections) and the marinated pork with honey (think sweet bacon).  My wife was partial to the spring rolls, which were also quite delightful.

Chicken Pad Thai

Spicy Fried Rice with Beef and Basil 

Coconut Rice

For entrees, we share an order of Chicken Pad Thai and Spicy Fried Rice with Beef and Basil.  The Pad Thai was amongst the best I have ever had and the other entree, which was the chef's signature dish, was delicious, but not overly spicy.  My wife and I also ordered a side of the coconut rice, which was sticky and went well with the two dishes.  I really couldn't pick which entree I liked best, because both were amazing.

Thai Mango Sticky Rice

For dessert, we shared an order of Thai Mango Sticky Rice.  It was not overly sweet, but was a tasty and light, which we needed after eating way too much prior to dessert.  Chaophraya  was arguably the best meal we had in Edinburgh and perhaps the best Thai food I have ever had.  In addition to the wonderful food, the service was spectacular.  The restaurant has beautiful decor and the views are hard to beat.  If we ever return to visit Edinburgh, this restaurant would be #1 on my list to revisit!

My date for the evening 

Chaophraya
http://chaophraya.co.uk
Livin the Good Life Rating=5

Steak

My wife and I recently visited Scotland for a vacation and to celebrate our 10th anniversary.  Upon arriving in Edinburgh, the concierge at our hotel, The Glasshouse, recommended dining at Steak, which was a short walk from the hotel.  I had previously read favorable review about this restaurant, so we dined there on our second night in town.

Bread and Butter

After ordering drinks, our waitress brought us some homemade bread and some sparkling water.  Both were delicious and we inhaled the bread.  For our main course, we both decided to order the Donald Russell Fillet and share sides of Bacon and Cheese Macaroni and Buttered Mashed Potatoes.  

Donald Russell Fillet (Filet) 

Bacon and Cheese Macaroni

Mashed Potatoes

When the main course arrived, we couldn't wait to dig in.  The steaks were perfectly seasoned and cooked to a perfect medium rare.  It was also nicely charred, which added to the flavor.  Both sides were commendable, but the Bacon and Cheese Macaroni was some of the best mac & cheese that I have had in recent memory.

Creme Brûlée 

For dessert, we shared a Creme Brûlée with mixed berries.  It was very good as well and my wife claimed it was the best she could remember having.  The service was courteous and helpful, despite the fact we arrived just one hour before they closed for the evening.  Overall, we were impressed with our first fine dining experience in Edinburgh and I was pleased to know they could cook a steak as good as we do back home in Texas!

Steak
http://www.steakedinburgh.com/new/
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

The Barrymore

One of my friends I met in Vegas really wanted to try out a restaurant call The Barrymore.  I had also heard good things about it, so we all agreed to dine there on our second night in Vegas.  The restaurant is owned by Block 16 Hospitality, which is a restaurant conglomerate that owns three other restaurants that I like, being Holstein's, Public House, and Flour and Barley.  Since I liked the other restaurants, The Barrymore came with high expectations.

Below are the menu items we tried and my opinions of them:
Oysters Rockefeller- served with creamy spinach, prosciutto, Pernod, and bread crumbs.  They were very rich, but extremely flavorful and some of the best I can remember in recent memory

Barrymore Caesar- romaine, serrano ham, garlic Caesar dressing, and a split anchovy.  I get the fact that Caesar dressing is traditionally made with anchovies, but I didn't care for the anchovy on my salad.  The ham was good and the lettuce was crispy, but the salad did have a taste that was a little too fishy for my personal taste.

Bone-in Ribeye- Without a doubt, this is my favorite cut of steak and I am a firm believer in the greatness of most dry aged ribeyes, however, this steak was a huge disappointment.  I love a well-marbled steak, but this one was overly-fatty, tough, and under-seasoned.

Sides- the table shared three sides, which were the creamed spinach, the mashed potatoes, and the lobster cream corn.  The spinach was the best of the three, but barely memorable.  The mashed potatoes were tasteless and the lobster and cream corn just tasted funny to me.

While I have had worse dining experiences in Vegas, this certainly wasn't one of the best i have had.  The service was good enough, but the food was a disappointment, with the exception of the Oysters Rockefeller.  While we all liked the feel and vibe of the place, it just didn't hit a home run with our picky crew.  I don't mind spending money on nice meals, but this meal was not worth the money we spent.

THE BARRYMORE
http://www.barrymorelv.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=2

Lonesome Dove Bistro-Austin

Tim Love owns and operates one of my favorite restaurants in Fort Worth, Lonesome Dove Bistro.  Recently he opened up a second location of in Austin.  Since my wife and I are big fans of the Fort Worth location, I decided that we must visit the new location while in Austin and see how it compared.  Lucky for us, the Austin location of Lonesome Dove Bistro was just 3 blocks from our hotel where we were staying, the JW Marriott Austin.

Fettine Trio

While dining there with some friends from Houston, we sampled several items.  While looking over the menu, we started with the Fettine Trio.  The Fettine trio included duck-rattlesnake sausage fettine, elk-pork fettine, and lamb-quail fettine.  Although I didn't love the version with the lamb, the other two were absolutely amazing.

Nilgai Antelope Nachos

For appetizers, we ordered several items to share for the table.  The three that we ordered were the Nilgai Antelope Tenderloin Carpaccio Nachos, the Blue Corn Lobster Hushpuppies, and the Deviled Gulf Coast Blue Crabs.  The deviled blue crabs were my favorite of the three, but they were all exceptional and I would not hesitate to order any of the three again.

Blue Corn Lobster Hushpuppies

Following appetizers, I also ordered the Winter Squash Soup.  The soup had great flavor and texture.  It was one of the best soups I have had in recent memory and it had a sweet taste that I really liked.   It was also topped with the shaved grana padano cheese, which was also flavorful.

Winter Squash Soup

For our main course, all four of us ordered the house speciality, which is the Roasted Garlic Stuffed Beef Tenderloin.  This cut of meat was especially tender, had excellent flavor, and was topped with a great mop sauce.  The Western plaid hash and grilled asparagus were both very good as well.  My wife and I also chose to share a side of the burnt carrots, which were about as good as carrots could be.  

Roasted Garlic Stuffed Beef Tenderloin

Burnt Carrots

For dessert, the table share an order of the Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake and the Churros.  The chocolate cake was very moist, topped with ice cream, and you could even taste a slight hint of ancho chile.  The churros were good in their own right, but were even better when dipped in the raspberry, chocolate, and caramel sauces.

Churros

Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake

Since we made our way through such a large portion of the menu, I was about as full as I could ever remember being.  The service was spectacular, but the food was even better.  This location lived up the high expectations I had experience of the Fort Worth location and I would highly recommend anyone to try this place out.  You will not be disappointed.

Lonesome Dove Bistro
http://lonesomedoveaustin.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=5

RIck's Chophouse

Although I have never blogged about it before, Rick's Chophouse is my favorite steakhouse in Collin County.  With a number of high-end steakhouses in Plano and Frisco, I believe that this is high praise for this restaurant situated in the historic McKinney Square.   When looking to show off McKinney's dining options to friends from out of town, this restaurant is always towards the top of my list.  I have dined at Rick's over a dozen times and I have never had a bad experience there.  Although I prefer some menu items over others, I am still yet to try anything that I just didn't like at all.

On a recent Friday night, my wife and I chose to dine at Rick's prior to taking in a movie.  We started with the Crab Dip and we were not disappointed.  The lump crab meat, goat cheese, and Texas caviar (aka black-eyed peas) combine to make a fantastic crab dip.  The thick tortilla chips had a little too much seasoning on this visit, but they were the perfect thickness for dipping into the crab dip.  Rick's has several delicious appetizers and we are also big fans of the calamari.

Crab Dip

The menu boasts delicious steaks and other entrees.  Although I am a fan of their bone-in ribeye and their filet, the restaurant also serves ups some delicious delicious wild game items that include black pepper crusted elk and buffalo tenderloin.  My wife really enjoys some of the seafood options on the menu and she chose the Shrimp and Grits on this visit.  I sampled some of her dish and was very impressed with the flavor.  The shrimp was cooked perfectly and the grits held their own as well.

Shrimp and Grits

On this night, I chose the Cowboy Bone-in Ribeye.  My steak arrived with a loaded bake potato and topped with three giant onion rings.  My steak was perfectly cooked to a medium-rare and was tender, perfectly marbled, and flavorful.  The baked potato was fantastic and the onion rings had a terrific batter.  I have had this ribeye several times and I can honestly say that it is one of the best in DFW.

Cowboy Bone-in Ribeye, Baked Potato, and Onion Rings

Being a little too full for each of us to have our own desserts, we decided to split a dessert.  On previous visits, we have enjoyed the bread pudding, the Amaretto creme brûlée, and the key lime pie.  On this visit, we decided to try the Pecan Pie.  The pecan pie filling and whiskey chocolate sauce tasted great, but the crust was a little too dry for my taste.  I am not usually a fan of vanilla ice cream, but the ice cream served with this pie was the best vanilla ice cream I have ever had.  

Pecan Pie and Vanilla Ice Cream

If you are in the McKinney area and looking for a great steakhouse, then I highly suggest that your take a look at Rick's Chophouse.  The service has always been spectacular, the food is terrific, and the old building has a lot of character.  The restaurant also has a large bar area in the back where you can listen to live music and a patio where you can enjoy the sights of the McKinney Square on a beautiful day (or night).  Sunday mornings are great here as well, because Rick's offers one of the best brunch buffets in DFW.  This restaurant continues to be one of our go-to restaurants and is always a quality experience.

Rick's Chophouse
http://rickschophouse.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

Abacus

DFW Restaurant Week is one of my favorite weeks of the year.  Think of it as Christmas in August for foodies.  This event is a week where participating restaurants offer a prix fixe dinner of three courses (or a two course lunch) and donate a portion of the proceeds to the North Texas Food Bank.  Over the last few years, my wife and I have made it a point to visit a restaurant or two for the benefit of charity and our bellies.  For the first night of DFW Restaurant Week, we chose to meet some friends at Abacus, which is a restaurant that I have wanted to try for quite some time.

Comanche Buffalo Potstickers

Between the four of us, we tried Comanche Buffalo Potstickers and the Cornmeal Crusted Calamari for the first course.  The potstickers were flavorful and tender, with the buffalo having a texture close to barbacoa.  The calamari was outstanding as well and I particularly liked the crunchy batter which was a nice balance to the tender texture of the calamari.  This dish was also served with thinly sliced fried green tomatoes which I also loved.

Cornmeal Crusted Calamari

The table also decided to order a side of the Lobster Scallion Shooters, which were served six to an order and were not included as part of the three-course dinner.  This dish was a fried lobster dumplings which were served in a shot glass and topped with a red curry-coconut creme.  We all agreed that this dish was incredible and even asked for a second order prior to our entrees.   The curry sauce was extremely flavorful and went well with the lobster dumplings.  

Lobster Scallion Shooter

Abacus had six different entrees available on the prix fixe menu and I went with the Beef Tenderloin, which was served with a Black Truffle Potato Puree and Brussels Sprouts.  The tenderloin itself was somewhat lacking in flavor, but the sides were both great.  I particularly enjoyed the Brussels Sprouts, which were amongst the best that I have ever had.

Beef Tenderloin

My wife ordered the 44 Farms Flat Iron Steak, which was served with Green Beans and Sweet Potato Gratin.  While not as tender as my tenderloin, her steak was better seasoned.  Both sides were good, but I was particularly intrigued and pleased by the unique flavor and texture of the sweet potato gratin.  

44 Farms Flat Iron Steak

For dessert, each couple was given a dessert trio that included a slice of Salted Caramel Tiramisu, a slice of Blackberry Upside Down Cake, and a Dark Chocolate-Peanut Butter Tart.  My wife liked the blackberry upside down cake the best and I preferred the tart, which was extremely rich and bursting with the flavor of dark chocolate.  Neither of us particularly cared for the tiramisu and we both agreed that we would have preferred a more traditional tiramisu.  

Clockwise from Top Left: Salted Caramel Tiramisu, Blackberry Upside Down Cake, and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

We had a great time catching up with friends and enjoying the menu at Abacus.  I preferred the appetizers and dessert to the entrees, but none of the food was bad.  The service was more than adequate and the entire staff was friendly and welcoming.  The restaurant has a nice atmosphere that would make it a fun place to dine with friends or a great place for a romantic night with a spouse or significant other.  

Abacus

http://www.abacus-restaurant.com

Livin the Good Life Rating=3