PaneVino

PaneVino was recently recommended to me by a coworker.  Since I am always on the lookout for a new pizza joint, I decided to give it a try.  The restaurant can be found within the confines of The Village at Allen, which makes it just a five minute drive from my home.

Wood-fired Pizza Oven

On a day that neither my wife and I had the energy to cook, we loaded up the fam and headed to PaneVino.  We were a little early for the big dinner rush and the staff was very attentive from the moment we walked in.  We started with Mozzarella sticks and they arrived within just a few minutes.  They were piping hot with a crispy batter and served with a warm marinara sauce.  As tasty as they were, I was disappointed that there were only five to an order.

Mozzarella sticks

My wife and I often have different tastes when it comes to pizza, so we ordered two of the wood-fired pizzas on this visit.  We ordered the Margherita pizza which is made with fresh Mozzarella, fresh basil, and tomato sauce.  For the second pizza, I decided to create my own and went with a Canadian bacon and oregano pizza.  Both pizzas had a crispy crust that had great flavor.  My wife preferred the Margherita pizza, but I was particularly fond of the Canadian bacon and oregano.

Margherita Pizza

Canadian Bacon and Oregano

We all left PaneVino pleased with the meal we had.  My toddler particularly liked her bowl of spaghetti and ate with reckless abandon.  The food is good here, the service is commendable, and the ambiance is much nicer than most restaurants you find in a shopping center.  Another plus for this restaurant is that it is kid friendly and the food is prepared quickly.   I enjoyed the pizza on this visit, but I really want to try some of their Italian dishes next time we visit PaneVino.

Spaghetti and Meatball enjoyed by my toddler

PaneVino

http://panevinoallen.com

Livin the Good Life Rating=3

Fish Shack

Seeing a restaurant with a lot of vehicles is usually a good sign that there is good food to be found inside.  I am always skeptical of a restaurant that is not very crowded.  Since the parking lot has been packed  every time I have passed by Fish Shack in East Plano, I decided to stop in and give it a try.  

Dining area and menu board

The patrons order at the counter at Fish Shack, which can be quite daunting considering the very large menu board that they have.  Luckily for me, there were a few customers in front of me and I was able to look over the menu while other customers were ordering.  It had been several months since I have had a Po Boy, so I ordered the Catfish Po Boy and fries.  I am also a huge fan of hushpuppies, so I ordered the small order (6 hushpuppies) of those as well.

Catfish Po Boy

It only took a few minutes for my order to arrive, so I didn't have too much time to look back at the menu board and second-guess my lunch choice.  The Catfish Po Boy had a very crispy cornmeal batter that had good flavor, but it was a little tough and perhaps slightly overcooked.  Even with it begin somewhat tough, it was still above average in the taste department.  The bun was toasted to perfection and the veggies were fresh.  The fries were pretty basic and typical of most seafood joints, but the hushpuppies were incredible.  I could have easily ate two dozen of these and regretted that I only ordered six of them.

Fantastic Hushpuppies

My visit to Fish Shack was certainly worthwhile.  Although I only sampled a small fraction of their large menu, it certainly left me wanting more.  The food is fresh and tasty, the staff is friendly, and it is a fun place to have a quick meal.  I was glad I took the time for a quick lunch at Fish Shack.

Fish Shack
http://www.fishshackplano.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

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

Culver's

My oldest daughter was in the mood for a milkshake one day and I had a hankering for a burger, so I decided to take her to eat lunch and get a milkshake.  Culver's is just a couple of miles down the road from our house in McKinney, but we have never bothered to eat there.  I have passed by Culver's hundreds of times, so I thought today would be a good day to grab lunch at this location.  Culver's is a national chain and has two other DFW locations. 

At Culver's, you order at the counter, take a number, and have a seat while you wait for your order to be delivered.  I saw a sign that said the beef was fresh and never frozen, which gave me high hopes for this joint.  I had not eaten breakfast, so I ordered the Triple Meat Cheddar ButterBurger with Bacon, fries, and a drink.  My daughter ordered the kid's chicken strips, fries, and chocolate shake.

Chocolate Milkshake

While waiting for our meals to arrive, I had to give my daughter a lesson on sharing because she did not originally want to give me a sip of her chocolate milkshake.  After laying a small guilt trip on her, she reluctantly said I could have "one sip."  She absolutely loved it, but I thought it was a below average shake that needed to be blended more than it was.

Triple Meat Cheddar ButterBurger with Bacon and Fries

My burger arrived and it was a lot smaller than expected for a triple meat burger.  The patties were small and the burger was very greasy.  I usually love greasy burgers, but this particular one was too greasy for my tastes.  Besides the taste of grease, the burger was flavorless.  The cheese and bacon did not stand out on this burger either.  About half of the crinkle-cut fries were overcooked and they were below average in the taste department too.  My daughter did not think her chicken strips were good and only ate one of the two that were in her kid's meal.  She seemed content with her shake and fries.

Chicken Strip Kid's Meal

My visit to Culver's was the worst dining experience I have had in several months.  I did not think the food was very good, but some people must really like it because the place was packed and it is highly rated on several sites.  There will not be a return visit to Culver's for me unless I am put in a straight jacket and drug in by large captors.

Culver's

http://www.culvers.com/restaurants/mckinney/

Livin the Good Life Rating=1