Dena Dines Dallas

How did I not know about this place?!  I’m a greasy spoon fanatic–okay, I’m a greasy anything fanatic.  And my friend, this is the greasiest place I’ve been.

I had the breakfast tacos with chrizo.  Now, for me chrizo is sorta hit or miss.  Sometimes it tastes amazing, sometimes it tastes like armpit.  This was okay.  I ate most of it.

HOWEVER…if you ask they will make your hash-browns into CHILI CHEESE HASH BROWNS.  No, it’s not on the menu.  You gotta ask.  But the hash browns were amazing.

Decor is standard.  Smoking section is bigger than non-smoking.  Substantial menu.  Great service.  There was a “honey/sweetie” count of about 20 million before we left.

I’m gonna go back and try the corned beef hash…my all time favorite meat bi-product next to Nathan’s hot dogs.  I will update the review.

3/5 Stars

14925 Midway Rd
Addison, TX 75001
(972) 239-7619

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Normally I don’t do Italian chains, but I have fond memories of the original Old Spaghetti Warehouse in the West End (previously known as the Warehouse District). I used to sit in the trolley car for my birthday. I was fairly pleased when Mini-me picked the Spaghetti Warehouse in Mesquite for her family birthday party. There was 27 of us…yep, that’s not a mis-print…we had 27 people eating at one time.

I thought the waiter was going to DIE. Everyone had a special request. We all had seperate tickets and no one sat by the people on their ticket. People got up and moved places. We were probably as helpful as a bunch of wild spider monkeys. Waiter handled it very professionally and with the exception of my daughter’s meal not getting made with the rest of the meals…everything was spot on perfect.

I felt bad that most of the folks in the party only left the standard 15% tip. He deserved more. My step-father told me I was “jaded” for leaving more on top of the 15%. What generation is THAT from…jaded for leaving a hardworking waiter a decent tip for his over-the-top great care.

Oh yeah…the food was good. Better than Olive Garden for sure. They have about 10 different combos so you can pretty much gorge yourself on anything you want. Lasagna is still as good as I remember. I’m a big fan of the mom and pop Italian places, but for a chain, OSW is dyno-mite! (Said like J.J. from Good Times.)

3/5 Stars

3855 W Emporium Circle
Mesquite, TX 75150
(972) 613-1478
meatballs.com

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Since we are on the topic of breakfast…and since I eat a lot of breakfast…let’s do this right.

And by right I mean with sweetened cream cheese and tabasco on my cheesy hard scrambled eggs.

You cannot go wrong with this particular IHOP. In all seriousness I love greasy spoons and IHOP does not meet my criteria for one of these places but it makes a great breakfast, consistently, 24 hours a day…and should not be overlooked.

Took my daughter there on Sunday. She was having a morning and needed pancakes. I’m at this location about once every other week and I can’t say enough good things about the wait staff. If you order iced tea for breakfast they bring you TWO, and when your ready to go they bring you another in a to go cup. That’s a great thing if you love caffine.

I had the new crepes with fruit compost and sweetened cream cheese. Apple pecan was freaking amazing. It was easily as good as Cindy’s strudle. And I don’t know where they get their sausage links but it’s way better than any I’ve had elsewhere. Usually I get the International Crepe Passport with the Swedish crepes–always good. Everything else is pretty standard…cept the omlettes. Theya re as big as a chubby girls upper arm! And they taste better!

I cannot vouch for the other locations, but this one is top notch!

3/5 Stars

4040 Abrams Rd
Dallas, TX 75214
(214) 824-5300
ihop.com

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Cowboy Chicken is ALLLLLLLL about giving you the bird.

Roasted, toasted, barbecued, skewered, spun around till golden brown and falling off the bone in my mouth BIRD.

I hadn’t read the reviews so I thought I was walking into something that would look like your regular strip mall chicken place (read Chicken & Rice–which blows). It looked more like a BBQ joint, though I don’t think the barbecue category is a very good representation of this place. Barbecue means brisket here in Texas. A Yankee must have made that designation. Lameo.

Anyway, seriously the best chicken enchiladas I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot. You can taste the roasted smokey chicken inside the chiladas. You can savor the green tomatillo cream sauce ladled over them. And if you get the platter, which you KNOW I did, you get two sides. You can opt for black beans and rice, but you KNOW I did not. I had ranchero beans seasoned with cilantro and jalapenos AND mac’n'cheese…quite possibly some of the best mac’n'cheese I’ve had in Dallas.

I made a total happy fact, popped the button on my pants for more breathing room and called it GOOD. All this for under $10. I’m in happy land. Happy effing chicken land.

4/5 Stars

5315 Greenville Ave
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 234-0505
cowboychicken.com

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Mmmmmmmm…rosemary grilled chicken breast, chicken fried chicken with cream gravy, chilie corn fritters, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds, yeast rolls, garden salad and assorted sweets…drool.

I would say more, but obviously I don’t need to.  It was all amazing.

The place is cute.  The food is tasty.  The catering crew is awesome.

I would complain, cuz I am a hater…but I can’t.  Everything was spot on.

4/5 Stars

4503 W Lovers Ln
Dallas, TX 75209
(214) 351-5681
celebrationrestaurant.com

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I’ve died and found heaven…seriously.. . crispy battered, deep fried, served on a bun with Miracle Whip, lettuce and tomato heaven–Steak Sandwich Supreme!

Yes, I drove to Allen because I heard rumors of a Del Rancho up there.  Hell YES!  There it was.  If you go to their website you will see the banner, “Home of the Steak Sandwich Supreme.”  It’s kind of a big deal.  You may say it’s just a chicken fried steak sandwich, but it’s so much more.  Let me recap my order:

2 Steak Sandwich Supremes, one with  BBQ sauce, 1 Texas Hot Link Sandwich with mustard and onions (so hot it burnnnnned), 1 order Chili Cheese Fries, 1 Baked Potato (loaded), Side of Gravy, Side of Ranch, 1 Brownie, 1 Peach Cobbler and a Sweet Tea.  Yes, It was all for me!!! JK!  But the I did eat half of it for sure (yes, even half the hot link sandwich) which was also amazing.

Del Rancho is sit down, drive thru, call ahead, drive-in dining.  They have plate lunches with CFS, mashed potatos with gravy and fried okra.  They have Famous Chedder Fries and Burgers.  They have it all.  And you need to have it all too…so head that way now.  I’ll meet ya!

Note…they have a thing called a WRANGLER BURGER.  This will require imagination:

Big juicy hamburger topped with HAM, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING.

YEAH…that’s what I’m talking about!  not as good as the Steak Sandwich Supreme, but damn fine burger.

5/5 Stars

719 E. Main St
Allen, TX 75002
(972) 390-2230
delrancho.biz

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It was Saturday…the Saturday of the rescheduled Arkansas game. Can I pick a time to take a vacation or what. We were walking down Guadalupe playing our game of slug-everytime-you-see-a-girl-in-cowboyboots-&-orange shirt-&-short skirt (similar to slug bug.) Both of us had seriously bruised arms so we decided to take a break and grab lunch. I wish we’d gone for breakfast…the morning menu looked way better than the lunch food. Both of us had sandwiches. They were good. I’d go there again. Atmosphere was great, service was great, food should have been great too!

3/5 Stars

2606 Guadalupe St
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 477-5717
kerbeylanecafe.com

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Tacos y Mas

So I’m walking three miles down Ross and Greenville…yeah, I know. After towing my best friends car, the Constable says “you’re free to go ma’am.” I reply “Is that some sort of a joke?!” He looks at me and says, “that’s entirely up to you.”

ANYWAY…I’m walking and I walk right by Tacos y Mas. And it smells delish. Well, I can’t stop now because my battery dead car is still 2 miles ahead of me and NTB is trying to hold a spot for it, trudging outweighing eating I make a mental note of the smell.

2047 hours later, when my car has it’s new battery, my tummy asks me if I remember that smell where Greenville meets Ross. I tell it I sure do and we start driving that direction…avoiding all smarmy Constables.

Three tacos, standard order, Pastor, Bistec, Barbacoa. Yes lime, onions, and cilantro. Yes spicy green sauce. Yes little bit of heartburn but worth it. The Pastor was not so good. The Bistec was okay. The Barbacoa was marvey. I’m going to go back and try some other flavors, they had ten. But I will always order one new taco and two Barbacoa.

They offer tortas, burgers, etc. It’s okay for a quick stop and bite, but not a drive across town best taco in the world kinda place. Make sure to get the corn tortillas and avoid the Pastor. I think Megan’s experience was also with the Pastor and flour tortilla.

3/5 Stars

5419 Ross Ave
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 824-8079

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Sweet merciful CRAP! You know how they have the signs at the zoo that say “Do not feed the animals”? It’s there because if you feed the monkeys potato chips then they won’t eat their regular food and will only want potato chips…which are not very good for them.

Well, Cowboy Chow should have a huge sign out front that says “DO NOT FEED THE DENORAMA!” I’m so serious I could cry. I have found my new favorite lunch spot.

Cowboy Chow is from the folks who brought us Twisted Root, but it’s way more than that. It’s a whole concept of cowboy cookin’ straight off the chuck wagon. Decorated like a fancy saloon they play all the music I grew up with, yes the busboy was staring at me as I belted out a chorus of “Big Balls in Cowtown” along with Bob Wills.

THE FOOD: I had one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches evah. In my opinion all grilled cheeses should be chocked full of juicy brisket, cast iron grilled onions and horseradish cheddar. Not really a vegan focused establishment, if you get my drift. I also had the Fried Green Tomato Lollipop which was a green tomato fried in a cornmeal batter and on a stick. Topped it all off with a CARAFE of Watermelon Sweet Tea–yes you get a whole carafe on your table. It tasted so watermelony I almost tried to spit out seeds.

Other menu items sounded just as good. Next time I’m getting the Mash Tater Parfait or the Sloppy Joe. Everything has a slight twist on it that makes it better, like jalapeno butter bread or avacado-lime cream. Most meals come with homemade potato chips, but other sides include roasted corn and cheddar mash tater, brown sugar bacon beans, and one of my all time favs–cowboy caviar.

And dessert…you cannot forget dessert, partially because they remind you of it when you order lunch. Seems they need 20 minutes to properly prepare MADE TO ORDER CHOCOLATE CHIP AND PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES with ice cream.

And just to make you want more to drink, they have pure cane sugar Mexican coke and root beer.

Prices run about $10 a plate, but my lunch was so big I could only finish one half the sandwich, and Yelpers know that I can eat as much food as a burly truck driver after a week long fast.

I forgot to put in the website when I entered the buisness info. Here it is until it’s fixed: www.cowboychow.net. Full menu and hours are there.

I will be back again this week, Wednesday with my co-workers, Thursday with my Dad…and for sure the week after. Mecca.

5/5 Stars

2801 Commerce Street
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 742-2469

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Cigarz Bona Pizza Greek Pizza

Small place with super friendly staff. Walked in late the other night and they still made me a pizza. I had heard rumors of a great Greek Pizza (kinda like Gorillas in the Mist) and thought it sounded tasty–garlic olive oil base, mozzarella cheese, seasoned chicken, calamata olives, tomatoes, red onions, pepperocinis, and feta cheese. I also ordered some dolmas.

The Greek Pizza was pretty tasty. Pizza has a nice thick crust and the ingredients are fresh. I’m not a big olive fan so part of the appeal of the pizza was lost on me. Pepperocinis had a little bite to them which I was made me make yummy noises. I still prefer my standard thin crust pepperoni and feta. The dolmas were just so/so. Pizza (12″) was $14.75 and dolmas (6 ct.) were $4.25. Easily makes two meals, so that’s fair enough.

However, I’ve looked over their menu and it seems they have a wide variety of dishes I’d like to try including sandwiches and some Greek dishes.

Note: They do NOT deliver, or have dine-in. This is pick-up only.

3/5 Stars

3408 Mcfarlin Blvd
Dallas, TX 75205
(214) 750-0404

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