Nicolle J.'s Profile

I just finished eating a slice of pizza from Olive Oil's and my hand is kind of greasy.  That's because I just ate PIZZA.  With extra cheese.  Which tends to be greasy.  I don't particularly see the grease factor of pizza to be a bad thing.

We like Olive Oil's.  The calzone is badass.  We had the meatball calzone tonight; last time, it was the 3-topping.  If I had it to do over again, I'd get the 3-topping, but meatballs would be one of those toppings.  The Man says it is the best calzone he's ever ordered from anywhere.  I haven't ordered many calzones, but this one is GOOD!  The accompanying marinara was cold, which struck me as odd, but didn't factor into my opinion of the restaurant.

The pizzas are as good as I've had in this price range.  I mean, I've eaten a $30 pizza that felt like it weighed 15 pounds, and it was amazing.  Olive Oil's doesn't serve a $30 pizza.  They serve $6-10 pizzas, and I haven't had a better $6-10 pizza anywhere.

They deliver in a reasonable time frame.  The guy who takes orders over the phone is, as another reviewer mentioned, "unintelligible."  You win some, you lose some.

We went on a Sunday afternoon to celebrate a special event.  We were seated immediately and I'd say the service was fine.  I wouldn't say it was overwhelmingly fantastic.  Other tables around us seemed to have more enthusiastic waitstaff; maybe our waitress was having an off day.  Again, it wasn't BAD -- it just didn't knock my socks off.

I am not partial to seafood, so I suppose I am not exactly the target audience for this restaurant.  I had chicken tenders and they were fine.  The Man is a huge fan of seafood and rarely gets to have it, so he was somewhat more enthused by his seafood platter.  So enthused, in fact, that I didn't get to sample anything on his plate because he ate it with the quickness.

My real problem with this visit pertained to the bathroom.  I wouldn't say it is unsanitary or filthy or anything like that.  I would say that on the day we visited, there wasn't any toilet paper in the handicap stall.  This is relevant to me because I am actually handicapped and I can't dart in and out of other stalls, checking for toilet paper.  

I would have three-starred this visit based on my experience, but it wasn't my special day.  It was The Man's, and he really liked it.  His food was good, his beer was cold, and I don't think he even visited the bathroom.  He was happy, which was part of the selection criteria for the day and ultimately figures heavily into my rating.

I'll be the voice of dissent here.  I really like Skillman Wok.  Yes, the LBJ location of Skillman Wok.  I also find it kind of disturbing that the only favorable review is filtered.

This is not top-notch Chinese cuisine.  It's not fancy fusion.  It's takeout/delivery and for me, at least, it really hits the spot.  I enjoy both the General Tso's Chicken and Orange Chicken, which are both filling and tasty and spicy.  I love their Crab Rangoon and their Egg Rolls are fine.

I've never had any type of problem with Skillman Wok bringing the wrong dish, overcharging, forgetting an item, etc.  I've never had a particularly disappointing meal from Skillman Wok.  It's consistently satisfying.

I've tried other Chinese delivery places but haven't found anywhere that would cause me to change my loyalty to Skillman Wok. :-)

We ordered Custer Wok for delivery after a detailed look at takeout menus for Skillman Wok and Custer Wok.  CW's prices seemed to undercut SW at every turn, and we'd never had CW before, so we decided to give it a try.

I wouldn't particularly say I regret the purchase, but I do regret all the add-ons that ran our bill up to $33 before the tip.  It wasn't *that* good.

I ordered Orange Chicken and was happy enough with it.  Unlike a lot of takeout Orange Chicken, it actually had the fragrance and taste of just-squeezed and zested oranges.  It wasn't my favorite version of Orange Chicken, but I've definitely had worse.  My egg roll was pleasant and unremarkable.  I also got Crab Rangoon, which... I just didn't care for.  I suppose that's just a matter of personal preference.  It had some fake krab (standard), but also the cheese was a strange color, texture and taste that just didn't appeal to me.  At all.

The Man ordered the Chinatown Special but they brought General Tso's Chicken instead.  We didn't notice it until the delivery guy was long gone, and didn't call to correct it.  He ate it, and pronounced it "not spicy," which is a good thing in his book.  I tasted it, and it was neither offensive nor remarkable.  He also ordered some variation of Sesame Chicken "for later" and it was edible but also unremarkable.  He did comment that all of the dishes tasted alike.

Overall, it was acceptable.  I probably wouldn't choose to order it again, but if I were with a group of people who wanted it, I wouldn't complain.  I would, however, avoid the Crab Rangoon.

"This is what you get for dining without Yelping," I thought to myself as I left the restaurant.  It had been a disappointing meal for sure, and I was certain that if I had been able to look on Yelp, I'd have learned the truth about this place before choosing to spend my money there.

Imagine my surprise, then, to learn that most of the reviews for The Gourmet Taco were overwhelmingly positive!  

I'm not saying the other reviewers are wrong.  I'm just saying that I disagree with them.  We clearly have different tastes and expectations.  

I'll start with the name of this place: The Gourmet Taco.  I always thought of "gourmet" as being associated with really top-notch ingredients and presentation.  I have never in my life associated the word "gourmet" with "the presence of lettuce, tomato, cheese, and avocado" -- which is apparently the working definition that The Gourmet Taco is using.

Due to this discrepancy, I will defer to http://dictionary.com on the matter.  The best working definition of those available, as chosen by me, is "of or characteristic of a gourmet, especially in involving or purporting to involve high-quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation."  So pretty much, I was right.  Let's move on.

Upon being seated, we ordered beverages.  My soda was a 12 oz can, which wasn't exactly what I'd expected, but I guess that was my own fault.  If I had opened my eyes and looked around, I would have seen the soda cooler sitting on the counter, stocked with Diet Dr. Pepper and bottles of Mexican Coke.  This was the first disappointment, although minor.

Chips and salsa were delivered to the table.  I liked the presentation and the variety -- there was a standard, relatively mild salsa; a verde; and a spicier salsa with a heavy chile flavor.  The chips were mediocre; the salsas were all acceptable and I really liked the verde.

We ordered fajitas, and this was probably a mistake.  We like Tex-Mex more than authentic Mexican food, which it turns out is an important distinction.  With menu prices of $12.99 for steak fajitas and $11.99 for chicken fajitas, I expected something on par with standard restaurant fajitas -- not particularly fantastic, but tasty enough if you're into that kind of thing, and filling.

I was again disappointed.  I've had bigger, more filling and better tasting fajitas from Taco Cabana for something like $7.99.  The accompanying beans and rice were flavorless and I was kind of surprised at the small portions served.  I understand if a restaurant wants to cut costs by scrimping on meat and vegetables, but... at least fill us up on rice and beans, you know?  We each got about a tablespoon of lettuce and a teaspoon of sour cream.

Oh, and I got shorted a tortilla.  I didn't think it was a big deal, not even enough to complain about it.  I just asked for more.  I mean, they're tortillas, right?  The request for more tortillas was granted with two tortillas....

And when we got the bill, I was irritated to learn that we had been charged for 3 extra tortillas at $1.50.  Our fajitas, however, were billed at $9.99 each.  I felt a little better knowing that my extremely mediocre meal had cost a few dollars less than I had anticipated.

Having read the other reviews, I am coming to understand that maybe we ordered the wrong thing.  Fajitas are not the thing to order in an authentic Mexican restaurant.  Of course, I wouldn't think that "gourmet tacos" would be on the menu either.

It was a pretty disappointing meal.  I mostly went there because I was getting groceries in the nearby Albertsons and had a little extra time on my hands.  Next time I shop at Albertsons on Arapaho and I want something to eat first, I think I'll just get something from the nearby Wendy's... or maybe plan better and eat before I leave the house.

I've eaten at the Fuzzy's near TCU and the original Arlington location, and am surprised to say that this new location on Green Oaks is my favorite!

If someone told me I were going to be eating Mexican food and then took me to Fuzzy's, I might be a little upset.  It is far from traditional Mexican cuisine, and as long as you're prepared for that, it's really REALLY good.

I had the garlic shredded beef tacos the first time I went and liked them so much that I haven't been willing to deviate from that selection.  I usually get three tacos with soft flour tortillas and share an order of guacamole with the boyfriend.  Unlike some of the other reviewers, I really enjoy the flavor of their  "Butt Burnin' Sauce" on the tacos.  ("Butt Burnin" may be a bit of an exaggeration, though)  Something about the cilantro, feta cheese, and sauce just rocks my world.

Restaurants which carry my soda of choice (Coke Zero) are rare, so I am pleased that Fuzzy's is among them.  But when I am feeling naughty, which usually I am, I skip the Coke Zero and go for the alcohol.  They have a frozen drink which claims to be a Screwdriver but which tastes exactly like an orange dreamsicle.  I also love their Bloody Marys.

This location isn't open as late as the others -- I think they close at midnight on Friday and Saturday.  This makes sense, as they aren't in the direct vicinity of a college.  Part of what I enjoy about this location is that I get to enjoy the food, the drinks, and the jukebox without being crammed in between trendy strangers.  It's a lot less busy, and I hope that isn't a sign that the location will be closed in the future, because it's my most favorite.

It's been over a year since my original review, and I have visited Sweet Tomatoes at least once a month since then.  I'm updating the review because today I had the opportunity to try their Sunday breakfast buffet.

It was, without question, the best breakfast buffet I can recall having ever eaten.  In addition to the full salad bar and a limited selection of soups, they had some really fantastic breakfast foods.  I don't remember everything, but some outstanding items were: zucchini frittata, breakfast foccacia (with scrambled eggs and lots of tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, etc), fresh-baked cinnamon rolls, waffles, french toast, and biscuits & gravy (the star of the show).

We used a buy one get one free coupon (which you will receive regularly if you sign up for their email club), and were able to feed two adults and a child on less than $20.  It was a really calm and relaxing way to start a Sunday.  The Sunday breakfast seems to be an undiscovered gem in Arlington, because there were only a handful of other cars in the lot at 10 am.

(Note: The only complaint in my last post was that they didn't offer peppers on the salad bar.  They have since rectified this by including both pepperoncini and sliced jalapenos.)

I'm a Dallas girl, but occasionally I moonlight as a personal assistant for a bachelor who lives in Chicago.  Finding a maid for him has been a complete and total fiasco, from fly-by-night individuals who posted housekeeping ads on Craigslist but never showed up and stopped answering their phones, to an established cleaning company that locked my client's cats (plural) in the closet for 12 hours WITH the dirty laundry, resulting in angry cats and a pile of clothes that had to be thrown away.

Daisy Clean has been a welcome relief from all that nonsense.  They are professional, courteous, thorough, and easy to deal with.  They are also willing to clean out litter boxes, which is spectacular, and have never refused a special request.  I have always been able to get an appointment within 24 hours, even the first time, and I'm able to do business with them via email instead of over the phone.  This is purely a matter of personal preference, and they've been great over the phone when I've needed to call as well.

The only potential drawbacks I've noticed are:

1.  First-time customers are required to pay cash.
2. They don't accept credit cards, so subsequent payments need to be in the form of cash or check.  

Price-wise, they seem to be on par with other local cleaning companies.  Their website does list prices, which is a welcome relief from the really big-name companies who make you call them to get an estimate (and the estimate, in my experience, is usually really high despite the fact that their employees make very little money).  They are certainly more expensive than the lady who used to clean my house for $10 an hour, but my attempts to find a cheap, reliable, trustworthy individual sight-unseen in Chicago didn't exactly work out.

I happened into this shop with a friend, having driven by it at least a hundred times on my way to and from Arlington.  We were faintly curious about pricing for a birthday cake for her young daughter, though we figured it was a bit out of our price range.  We were correct -- Creme de la Creme has a price structure that is pretty standard for bakeries catering to special events but which is a bit pricey for celebrating a third birthday.

Even so, we were impressed by the photo samples provided by the owner, Jamie, and the life-size cake replicas.  They were beautiful!  The interior of the shop was quite pleasant and perfect for what I presume to be the usual customers of the shop: brides who are shopping for cakes.  The colors are pink and white, and there are several dainty table & chair sets arranged in the middle of the main room.

Early into our visit, we had spied the cupcakes stored behind glass near the cash register.  They were lovely and piled high with icing, but my friend and I were a little strapped for cash and knew we shouldn't spend the money.  It was another customer who convinced us to splurge.  She said they were the best cupcakes she had ever eaten.

She was right.  The cupcakes were absolutely incredible!  My friend and I both got chocolate cupcakes, which sell individually for $2 each.  The frosting was dark and delicious, but almost of a whipped consistency, which was quite different from a standard bakery's heavy chocolate buttercream.  The cake itself was dense, moist, and perfect in every way.  

I am a chocolate fiend, and until that day, I had never eaten a cupcake without craving a second (or third...).  My multiple-cupcake-eating days have ended, because one chocolate cupcake from Creme de la Creme can totally and completely satisfy my chocolate cravings.  

We have been back for cupcakes a couple of times since that first visit, but have been unable to bring ourselves to try the vanilla cupcake.  I am probably going to do that in the near future just for the sake of science, though it pains me a little to think about going there without getting a chocolate one.

Everything about this business speaks of top-notch baked goods and a true dedication to quality service, and if I were the marrying type, I know exactly where my cake would come from.  Jamie hosts monthly tasting sessions for those who are seriously cake-shopping, as well.