Teddy Jack's Hub City Grill

Whenever I travel to Lubbock, I always attempt to try out new restaurants that I have never been to before.  I have my favorites that I frequently hit in the city, but I always enjoy trying new places.  On a recent visit, my family and I hit up Teddy Jack's Hub City Grill, which has a little bit of everything from burgers to wood fired pizzas.

Cheese Sticks

We arrived hungry and sampled several items.  Below is my opinions of each item we tried at Teddy Jacks:

Cheese Sticks- Very large and absolutely fantastic in the flavor department.  Reminded me of a smaller version of the cheese sticks at Spanky's.  
The Cowboy Burger-This burger came with A-1 steak sauce, cheddar cheese, onion rings, lettuce and tomato.  Pretty good burger with a lot of flavor.  I really liked the crispy onion ring (which I also ordered as my side item) and the addition of the A-1 sauce.  

Cowboy Burger with Onion Rings

Italian Meat Lovers Pizza- This impressive pizza was topped with mozzarella, Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Salami, and Prosciutto.  This was hands down, the best pizza I have ever had in Lubbock.  The toppings were generous and had great flavor, but it was a little on the spicy side.

Italian Meat Lovers Wood Fired Pizza

Chicken Strips- The hand battered chicken strips were tasty, but I wished they had been served with gravy instead of barbecue sauce or honey mustard.  The fries were basic and not noteworthy at all.  The onion rings I had with the burger were much better than the fries.

The menu at Teddy Jack's was quite extensive, so I only scratched the surface of what they had to offer, but most of what I tried was good to very good.  The wood fired pizza was probably my favorite item, but the cheese sticks were impressive in their own right.  I wouldn't hesitate to go back and dine at this restaurant and I think Teddy Jack's is a nice addition to the Hub City.

Teddy Jack's Hub City Grill
http://teddyjacks.com
Livin the Good Life Review=3

Evie Mae's Pit Barbecue

Rumors have been going around that there is now some high quality barbecue to be found in Lubbock, Texas at a place called Evie Mae's, which is technically located in Wolfforth.  Having grown up on the South Plains and frequently visiting family in the area as an adult, I have sampled my fair share of barbecue in the Lubbock area.  My experience has been that there are some good barbecue joints in the area, but not a truly great barbecue place.  Having read good things about Evie Mae's, I decided to try it during a recent trip to visit family in Lubbock.

L-R=Pulled Pork, Brisket, and Sausage

I ordered the three meat plate with sliced brisket, sausage, pulled pork, and green chile cheese grits.  Below is my opinion of each item:
Brisket-The thick cut slices were a real treat.  They had a great smoke ring, a smoky flavor that wasn't overly smoky, terrific bark, and well rendered fat.  By far, this was the best brisket I have ever had in this part of Texas and it literally melted in you mouth.
Sausage-Nice flavor with a good snap to the casing.  It had a little spice to it, but nothing overpowering.  The portion size was good too, as they gave you 1.5 links with the three meat plate.
Pulled Pork-Tender and moist with a good flavor.  I have preferred a little more bark and more of the smokiness I tasted in the brisket, but it was still well above average for the area.
Green Chile Cheese Grits-Absolutely fantastic.  This side had just the right amount of both cheese and green chiles.  I could eat this every day for the rest of my life!

Green Chile Cheese Grits

The only thing I regret is that I didn't try the ribs.  Several people around me had them and they looked absolutely mouth-watering good.  It seems the rumors are true and Evie Mae's does serve up some top notch barbecue.  Although Evie Mae's is technically a barbecue trailer, they do have indoor seating available in a building that is behind the trailer.  I travel to the Lubbock area fairly frequently, so I am very glad to know that I have a fantastic barbecue option to choose from when the family is trying to decide where to eat.

Evie Mae's Pit Barbecue
http://www.eviemaesbbq.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

Cattle Baron

My family and I recently went home to the South Plains to visit my mom and grandmother for Christmas.  We had a great time spending Christmas with family and enjoyed a restful visit.  On the last night of our trip, my wife and I decided that we would give my mom some time alone with our girls.  So while mom spent some quality time with our daughters, my wife and I went to Lubbock to eat dinner and see a movie.

We decided to eat dinner at Cattle Baron, which is a small chain of steakhouses with locations in West Texas and New Mexico.  My wife and I ate at Cattle Baron frequently when we were dating, but we had not dined here in over seven years.  We arrived in plenty of time to eat before our movie and Cattle Baron did not have a waiting list on this night.  I was not super hungry, so I ordered the Patty Melt with fries and added a trip to the salad bar.  By wife just chose to do the soup and salad bar as her meal.  While we went to the salad bar, the waitress brought some warm bread and butter to our table.

Loved this butter

After placing our orders, we immediately hit the salad bar.  I consider Cattle Baron to be one of the top three salad bars I have ever tried and it hit the spot on this visit.  I tried to not gorge myself because I knew I had a Patty Melt and fries coming too, but it took a lot of willpower to eat lightly at this salad bar.  My wife also enjoyed her trip to the salad bar, but said her Cream of Chicken soup was somewhat runnier than what she preferred.

Tried not to put too much on this plate since I still had a meal coming

My Patty Melt arrived thirty minutes after I ordered it, which was way too long.  I had finished my salad twenty minutes before it arrived and my wife had finished her soup and salad as well.  The Patty Melt was served on rye bread with bacon, Swiss cheese, and sauteed onions.  The burger itself had a nice chargrilled flavor, had plenty of bacon, and the cook put just enough onions on it to give it some flavor without overpowering the burger itself.  The fries that came with it were cold.  Not cold as in lukewarm, but they were actually chilled.  If you have ever had cold fries, then you know that eating them is not a pleasant experience.

Patty Melt and Fries

This was the only visit I have had to Cattle Baron where I left disappointed.  The salad bar and burger were good, but the fries were beyond bad and the service was lacking during this visit.  I had to wait for fifteen minutes just to get my water refilled.  Past visits have been filled with good steaks and seafood, so I know that they can serve very good food and sides that are warm.  Perhaps the restaurant just had an off night, because I truly hope that the restaurant has not deteriorated this much since our last visit seven years ago.  The delicious salad bar is the only reason I am rating it as high as I am.

Cattle Baron
http://www.cattlebaron.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating = 2

Dimba's Chicken and Seafood

My wife and I always look forward to our trips back to the South Plains.  This area is home for both of us, so we always enjoy getting to see family and old friends.  We also enjoy getting to eat at restaurants in the area.  Being a fat kid at heart, I often insist on visiting some of my favorite restaurants before we even see my family.  One of our favorites is Dimba's Chicken and Seafood.

Menu has many items that should appeal to everyone

I know from experience that they have really good fried chicken and catfish, but my favorite menu item is their fried whitefish.   I ordered the seven piece Southern-fried white fish plate and my wife ordered the five piece batter-fried white fish plate.  Both plates come with fries, two hush puppies, and a hot puff (fried biscuit).  The fish was really good this visit, as were the fries and hush puppies.  One of the real treats here are the hot puffs.  They are fried goodness and taste amazing when smothered with honey.  My wife and I have even been known to split a dozen for dessert.

Southern-Fried White Fish Plate

Batter-Fried White Fish Plate

I have never left this restaurant hungry and this visit was no exception.  Dimba's is one of my favorite places to get fried seafood in the state of Texas.  In addition to serving up great seafood, the fried chicken is well above average as well.  Prices are reasonable and the portions are large here.  They have two locations in Lubbock, so if you are in Lubbock then you are probably not far away from one of them.

Dimba's Chicken and Seafood

Livin the Good Life Rating = 4

Double Nickel Steakhouse

On a recent visit to Lubbock, my wife and I went to dinner and a movie.  For our dining destination, we chose Double Nickel Steakhouse.  We have not dined here for several years, mainly due to that fact that being parents limits the amount of times we get to partake in "fine dining."  My wonderful mother agreed to spend some quality time with her grandchildren, so my wife and I made reservations to dine at Double Nickel.  We had early reservations and actually had the whole restaurant to ourselves for the first 30 minutes we were there.

Dining Room

We decided to skip appetizers and have salads instead.  I had the Caesar salad and it was fantastic.  I am not sure how they make their Caesar dressing, but it has the classic taste with a nice little kick to it.  My wife ordered the wedge, which is usually her go-to salad at steakhouses.  On this occasion, she was disappointed in the flavor of her dressing.  The waiter also brought out some very good bread and butter.  It did not last very long on our table.

Caesar Salad

Wedge Salad

Bread and butter

For our entrees, I ordered the bone-in ribeye with mashed potatoes and creamed corn.  My steak was seasoned well, but was a little tough.  The mashed potatoes were decent, but the creamed corn was much better than the potatoes.  Double Nickel Steakhouse serves all entrees with a fantastic cheese stick, which was probably the best thing on my plate on this night.  My wife ordered the filet. Her steak was also well seasoned, but was much better than my ribeye.  The filet was tender enough to cut with a knife.

Bone-in Ribeye, Mashed Potatoes, Cream Corn, and Cheese Stick

Filet

Due to the large portions, we decided to skip dessert.  Although I enjoyed my dining experience on this occasion, I have had better food here.  I was disappointed in my bone-in ribeye, but my wife's steak was perfect.  I have had better ribeyes here, so  I guess I just caught them on an off night.  

Double Nickel Steakhouse
http://www.doublenickelsteakhouse.com/
Livin The Good Life Rating = 3