LUCK-Local Urban Craft Kitchen

Trinity Groves seems to be one of the hottest dining areas in Dallas these days.  There are no shortages of highly recommended restaurants at this relatively new development and I have been wanting to visit for some time.  As "luck" would have it, my family and I finally ventured into this area of Dallas and dined at LUCK, which is the acronym for Local Urban Craft Kitchen.

Patio at LUCK

After a morning field trip to the Perot, we arrived hungry and started with the Hand Twisted Soft Pretzels.  They arrived quickly and were served with beer cheese fondue and stone ground mustard.  This appetizer was very good and even the kids loved them.  My wife preferred dipping hers in the mustard, while I preferred the beer cheese fondue.

Hand Twisted Soft Pretzels

For my main meal, I ordered the North Texas Hot Brown.  This open face sandwich was served with thick turkey, bacon, grilled tomatoes, and topped with white cheddar beer cheese sauce.  Impressive does not begin to describe the greatness of this sandwich.  The turkey was great, the thick cut bacon was crispy, and the beer cheese sauce was tasty as well.  The house-made chips were also much better than average.

North Texas Hot Brown

My wife had the Signature Pastrami Sandwich on sourdough and she graciously gave me half.  The brisket pastrami had been cured for three days and smoked for fifteen hours.  It was served with caramelized onions, stone ground mustard, and Swiss cheese.  As good as my sandwich was, this sandwich blew mine away in the flavor department.  It had the taste of pastrami, but the texture and bark of brisket.  This was the first time I have had pastrami like this and I am not sure I can ever go back to eating regular pastrami again.  

Signature Pastrami Sandwich

The kids enjoyed their grilled cheese and chips as well.  LUCK was busy on this Friday afternoon and we had to sit outside on the patio, but the fans and breeze made it a pleasant dining experience.  The servers aim to please and do a commendable job, but the food is the real hero here.  I was impressed with my first dining experience at Trinity Groves.  LUCK was as good as advertised and I need to plan a return trip in the near future!

LUCK-Local Urban Craft Kitchen
http://www.luckdallas.com
Livin the Good Life=4

Kenny's Italian Kitchen

Every once and a while I get a serious craving for a specific cuisine and I had recently been craving some Italian food.  Although I have a couple of DFW Italian restaurants that I really like, I was in the mood to try a place where I have never dined before.  After some discussion and reading some reviews, my wife and I decided to try out Kenny's Italian Kitchen.

The restaurant had several appetizers that seemed promising, but we finally decided on the Prosciutto Wrapped Fried Mozzarella that was served with a pair of sauces.  The addition of prosciutto was and interesting twist to the normal cheese stick routine.  My wife and I enjoyed this appetizer, but both of us preferred the red sauce over the Marsala wine sauce.

Prosciutto Wrapped Fried Mozzarella

I ordered the Chicken Parmigiana for my entree and I couldn't have been happier with my choice.  The chicken was cooked to perfection and had just the right amount of mozzarella and red sauce.  The spaghetti was very basic with olive oil and garlic, but it was a nice compliment to the chicken parmigiana.  I eat this entree a lot when dining at Italian restaurants and it was one of the better ones I have tried in the last couple of years.

Chicken Parmigiana

My wife ordered the Lasagne and was nice enough to let me have a generous portion of her entree of this very tasty dish.  The lasagne had plenty of ground beef and cheese, which is often lacking in lasagne I have had lately.  The portion was huge and we actually took about half home, despite the fact that I helped her eat a sizable portion myself.

Lasagne

We ended our meal with a piece of tiramisu for dessert and it was every bit as good as the other items we tried on this night.  I have to say that I was very impressed with Kenny's Italian Kitchen.  The food was good, yet inexpensive, and the service was impressive as well.  In the past, I have been critical of other restaurants ran by Kenny Bowers, but Kenny's Italian Kitchen gets a big thumbs up from me.  

Tiramisu

Kenny's Italian Kitchen
http://kennysitalian.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=4

Big Daddy's Ribs and BBQ

Big Daddy's Ribs and BBQ is a relatively new barbecue joint that has opened in Little Elm.  Having read a couple of reviews on the place, I felt it might be worthy of a visit.  The ribs came highly recommended, so I was anxious to try them.

I ordered the three meat combo with brisket, pulled pork, and the baby back ribs.  Be warned that there is a $4 up-charge when you order ribs with the combo.  The brisket was a huge disappointment due to the fact it was tough, too lean, and was lacking in the smoke department.  The pulled pork was much better than the brisket.  It was very moist with a nice smoky flavor and had a nice bark on several of the pieces.   Since ribs cost extra, I anticipated getting  more than two baby back ribs.  While they were very tender and had a nice rub on them, I didn't think they were special or worthy of the extra $4.

Three Meat Combo-Brisket, Pulled Pork, and Baby Back Ribs

Fries and corn casserole were ordered as my sides and both were excellent.  The fries were some of the best I have had in recent months and were fresh cut and just out of the fryer.  The corn casserole was very flavorful, moist, and top notch in my book.  Combos are also served with Texas toast and I thought it was very good as well.

Fries-These were terrific

The sides here were impressive, but even they couldn't save this mediocre barbecue.  Other people I know really like this place, but I just was not impressed.  I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again.

Big Daddy's Ribs and BBQ
https://www.facebook.com/bigdaddysle
Livin the Good Life Rating=2

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