Bayou Jack's Cajun Grill

Downtown McKinney is one of my favorite places to dine in the DFW area.  The Square in downtown is really becoming a legit foodie destination.  New restaurants seem to be popping up weekly on the Square and Bayou Jack's Cajun Grill recently opened next door to Mellow Mushroom.  The small chain also has locations in Sulphur Springs and Roanoke.

Dining area at Bayou Jack's

I dined at Bayou Jack's with my wife, kids, and in-laws.  We really didn't know what to expect, because it is hard to find good Cajun fare in the DFW area.  Our group arrived shorty after they opened for lunch, but we were warmly greeted by the staff and received good service right from the start.  I was very hungry due to skipping breakfast, so I decided to start with a cup of red beans and rice.  The red beans and rice was flavorful, but the cup was somewhat on the small side.  I also had a side of the onion hushpuppies served with remoulade.  The hush puppies were of good quality, had a perfectly crunch exterior, and the remoulade was a very good one.

Red Beans and Rice

Onion Hush Puppies

For my entree, I ordered the crawfish étouffée    The plate arrived with the best looking servings of étouffée I have seen in some time.  It even was even topped with a very large crawfish on tope.  Luckily for me, it tasted as good as it looked.  The dish had a large quantity of crawfish compared to ones I have had at other restaurants.  The dark roux was very spicy, which was perfect as far as I was concerned.  This was one of the best plates of étouffée I have had in quite some time.

Crawfish Étouffée 

Other members of my group got the gumbo and the blackened catfish topped with crawfish étouffée.  Both my kids got the chicken bites with "bayou fries".  There was not a member of our party that was not pleased with their meal.  

Gumbo

Blackened Catfish topped with Crawfish Étouffée 

We were all pleased with our first visit to Bayou Jack's Cajun Grill.  The food was delicious and the service was outstanding.  The restaurant is very casual and kid friendly as well.  If anyone is looking for authentic Cajun food at a reasonable price, then you need to take a trip to the McKinney Square and give Bayou Jack's a try.

Kid's Chicken Bites and Fries

Bayou Jack's Cajun Grill
http://www.bayoujackscajungrill.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

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

A Sneak Peek at John Tesar's New Steakhouse: Knife

I am a carnivore at heart and I tend to get excited when I hear about a new steakhouse opening in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.  Back in December, I first read that John Tesar was opening up a steakhouse called Knife.  The restaurant will open inside the the trendy Palomar.  Dry-aged steaks will be one of the specialities served at Knife, including one that is aged for 240 days.  When I also read that Tesar was going to have a bacon tasting menu, I began to think that his restaurant might be a little slice of heaven on earth.

Palomar Hotel

John Tesar is a a chef, restaurateur, and television personality that has really made a name for himself over the last few years.  As executive chef at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, he earned multiple five star reviews.  He has also served as a consultant for several restaurants that have recently opened up in the DFW area.  You may have also seen him on The Today Show, The Early Show, Top Chef on Bravo, or  Extreme Chef on the Food Network.  The most recent restaurant that he opened and served as executive chef, Spoon Bar & Kitchen, has been widely acclaimed by critics across the country.  

Knife was designated as one of The 44 Most Anticipated Openings of the Spring of 2014 by Eater National.  The more I read about this meat-centric restaurant, the more I desired to dine here.  Luckily for me, I was invited to a media preview night at Knife where I was able to sample some of the menu and meet with John Tesar and his staff.

Puff Pastry with Goat Cheese

I arrived at the "Meat and Great" a little early, so I was able to look around the restaurant.  Knife is still under construction, but the re-design of the space is coming along nicely and they anticipate a May 15 opening.  When finished, the restaurant will be compartmentalized with a bar area, dining areas, and even an outdoor lounge area.  Perhaps one of the coolest features (pun intended) is the dry aging room that is located to the right as you walk into the restaurant.  Diners will be able to look through the window and view beef as it is dry aging.  I am willing to bet that some patrons will be surprised at what a dry aged steak looks like prior to it hitting the grill.

Steak Tar Tare on grilled Nan Bread

While guest to the event were meeting John Tesar and his team, they were treated to featured appetizers and cocktails.  The appetizers they served were a Puff Pastry with Goat Cheese, Steak Tar Tare served on grilled Nan bread, and Peking Duck Style Pork Belly served in a homemade steamed bun with hoisin scallion and cucumber.  All three appetizers were delicious, but the Peking Duck Style Pork Belly was extremely memorable.  

Peking Duck Style Pork Belly on a steamed bun

I enjoyed listening to John Tesar discuss the dry aging process and his commitment to serve quality beef from producers such as 44 Farms and Niman Ranch.  He plans to serve several prime off-cuts, such as tri tips, chuck flap, and skirt steak.  One does not typically see these cuts at steakhouses, but Tesar assured us that they would be delicious.  Unlike most restaurants, his dry aged steaks will be aged on site and in full view of the diners as they enter the restaurant.  

Chef John Tesar explaining the dry aging process

While finalizing plans for Knife, Tesar said that he visited several restaurants that specialize in dry aged beef.  One of the restaurants he visited, Carnevino, happens to serve one of my favorite dry aged ribeyes.  He also mentioned that he toured their dry aging facility while he was in Las Vegas.  Tesar said that he modeled his 240 day dry aged ribeye on the Riserva ribeye at Carnevino, but also plans to serve a 240 day dry aged sirloin.  Although the dry aging room is not functional yet, Tesar said that he already has some meat dry aging at a different facility so that he will have a limited amount to serve when he opens in May.

The samples of the 240 day dry aged ribeye went quickly

Those of us at this media event were lucky enough to get to sample a slice of a ribeye that had been dry aged for 240 days.  It was unquestionably one of the most tender pieces of steak I have ever had.  The flavor was unique as well, having a slight hint of blue cheese and popcorn in addition to the expected beefy taste.  The flavor was very rich and at $100 an inch for the ribeye, this would be a great steak to order for the table and share.  If hundred dollar steaks is not something you want to spend money on, Knife will have the less expensive off-cut steaks, burgers, sausages, hot dogs, and even a vegan dish or two.

John Tesar taking questions from the media and bloggers

After we sampled the ribeye, the staff also served us samples of a couple of their desserts.   Knife's version of Cheesecake was a graham cracker crusted crusted macaroon with cheesecake mouse.  The restaurant will also be serving a Triple Chocolate Verrine which include dark chocolate Pot Au Creme, roasted white chocolate panna cotta, chocolate sponge, whipped milk chocolate, and Gian Duju marshmallow.  I absolutely love chocolate and this was one of the best chocolate desserts I have ever had.  It was even topped with a piece of chocolate featuring the Knife logo.  Pastry Chef David Collier has certainly created two winners with these desserts.

Cheesecake Mouse in a Graham Cracker Crusted Macaroon.

Triple Chocolate Verinne

I was able to visit with the Palomar's Director of Sales and Marketing, Jodi Doughty.  She said the hotel will be featuring two packages that include a meal at Knife.  The Cutting Edge package will include deluxe accommodations, a $50 dining credit at Knife and guaranteed reservations, a cutting board autographed by John Tesar, and two complimentary craft cocktails.  The Prime Experience Package will include a luxury suite, a three course dinner for two at Knife, a tableside visit by John Tesar, an autographed cutting board, two complimentary craft cocktails, and $150 credit towards spa therapies at Exhale.  These promotions will be available for May, June, and July.

The restaurant certainly has a lot of promise as a place to get delectable meat, but it will also have a social atmosphere.  Tesar said the kitchen will have a late-night menu and will stay open till 1:00 a.m.  If all the food is equal to the quality we were served during the media preview, I can see this place becoming one of my go-to restaurants for dinner with friends or a romantic night with the wife.  While Knife isn't your grandfather's traditional steakhouse, I have a feeling that this particular restaurant will be a big hit in Dallas. 

http://www.knifedallas.com
http://www.hotelpalomar-dallas.com

Mama Fu's

When looking over my blog one day, I realized that I have never blogged about an Asian restaurant.  That seemed odd to me considering how much I love to eat Thai and Chinese food.  I tend to find a restaurant or two that I really like and then frequent those without really bothering to blog about them.  Since I didn't have a blog post about and Asian restaurant, I decided I would rectify the situation by trying a new place.

Mama Fu's is a small chain that opened up it's first DFW location in Frisco.  I dined there for dinner one night and was surprised to see that they had a hostess and waiters.  I was expecting a place where you order at the counter and seat yourself.  Apparently you order and pay at the counter for lunch, but you get a full wait staff for dinner.  I happened to have a short window for eating on this particular night, but I was quickly seated and my order was placed within minutes.

Dining area at Mama Fu's

The menu had several different Chinese dishes, but also had Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, and Korean food as well.   I started off with a cup of wanton soup.  The chicken wanton was flavorful, but the broth was enhanced by having plenty of carrots, scallions, and spinach.  Too many Chinese food places just give you a wanton in broth with a couple of tiny pieces of vegetables, so I was pleased to see that this was not the case at Mama Fu's.

Wanton Soup

For my entree, the Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken.  The dish was piled high with onions, celery, water chestnuts, red bell peppers, peanuts, and chili peppers.  If you looked hard enough, you could even find a piece of chicken or two.  The dish had good flavor, but was not as spicy as I had anticipated.  On the menu, the dish had the little flame beside the name which was supposedly the "whoa mama" rating in the heat department.  Despite the rating on the menu, the dish was very mild.  

Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken

I left Mama Fu's with that glass half full feeling (or perhaps it was a glass half empty feeling).  Although I would have preferred that my entree had more chicken and was a little spicier, it was still a flavorful dish.  The waiter was friendly and had adequate knowledge of the menu, but I did have to wait several minutes to have my tea re-filled while I was eating my entree.  I guess I should count myself lucky that the dish wasn't spicier, because I didn't have a drink to quench my thirst for a good portion of my meal.  There are several items on the menu that I would still like to try, so I do see a return visit in my future.

Mama Fu's
http://www.mamafus.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating=2