Nickie "Rockstar" G.'s Profile

I've never been to Jimmy's thanks to the fact that they are closed on Sundays and I am never up early enough to hit them up on Saturday.  However, this weekend it was open on Sunday and as soon as I saw it I said OMG WE HAVE TO GO TO JIMMYS!!

I immediately walked to the back because my nose could tell me that's where the meat is.  Glorious Italian meats sitting in the counter waiting for you to order and eat them.  To the right on a huge board are the options for sandwiches.  I decided on the meatball sandwich and the BF got the Italian beef.  They take your order and say they will call your name when it is done.  Fine, time to explore the rest of the store!

First off, there was a guy in the back making up samples of his own personal brand of salad dressings and sauces.  I know this because his pic was on the jar.  The selection of Italian wines was really amazing - so many interesting wines that I haven't tried yet.  Must go back here and get some wine....especially the sparkling Italian wine!  On the side of the store they have frozen items including fresh pasta, Italian sodas, and also randomly chocolate milk and Dublin Dr. Pepper.  There are canned tomatoes, Jimmy's brand pickles, dried pastas, Italian sauces of all kinds, vats of olive oil - you name it, they have it.  Come here to buy items for your next Italian feast and you will be set!  The only thing I would say is that perhaps because it was Sunday some of the shelves were empty and/or disorganized and there were boxes stacked in corners of the aisles.

On to the sandwiches - I thought the meatball sandwich was great.  Huge balls of meat covered in marinara sauce, cheeses, and some peppers.  It was very tasty but it just didn't wow me into that final star.  The Italian beef sandwich the BF had was also very good and almost too huge to eat!  Covered in veggies and peppers and served on a steaming hot roll.  I also bought some of the Jimmy's bread and butter pickles - um yes please, sweet and tangy, these are greatness!  And I finished it all off with some fresh tiramisu which was decadently creamy and had just the right amount of liquor soaked "crust".

Overall I liked the neighborhood feel of the place and appreciated the uniqueness of some of the things I found there, so I know I will definitely be back.  Maybe I'll even give cooking an Italian dinner a whirl?  Who am I kidding - I'll stick to the sandwiches and explore the wines!

Yeah, I've never been to the Men's Wearhouse until this weekend - mainly because I'm not a man and thus don't really need a suit or tux.  However, the BF needed a tux for the upcoming Margarita Ball so we stopped by this very convenient location right in the parking lot of the Medallion Target.

Basically this is a store full of suits, shirts, cufflinks, ties, sport coats, etc. as well as tuxedo rental.  We were seated at the tux counter where a completely devoid of personality chick helped us.  Not to say she didn't get her job done, but she didn't so much as make small talk, suggest popular tuxes, anything.  She didn't care, just tell me what you want and get the hell out was her attitude.  Boo!  Anyway, we looked through the options and I was surprised - it is expensive to rent a tux!  $159 for some options, although other options were a little less.  Once he picked one out we picked tie and vest, shoes, and cufflinks.  Then tack on an extra $20 for reserving it the week of the event and you are nearing $150 - 200 for a tux.  At least I get to keep the dress I bought!!  

This seems to be an about average place to rent a tuxedo and/or buy a suit.  I will update if something crazy happens with the actual pickup of tuxedo this weekend....otherwise just A-ok.

I used to go to this Humperdinks all the time for Monday Night Football and boy-scoping.  I haven't been in forever though, so yesterday when we were in the neighborhood I suggested it as a place to eat as well as watch the football game.

As far as a sports bar goes, you could do a lot worse.  TVs are absolutely EVERYWHERE and the tables are full of mostly dudes watching the game.  They brew their own beer there and you can even get it in a 100oz "tower" of beer.  What's better than a TOWER of beer?  Nothing!!  They have a bar with some specialty drinks.  I had a Ketel One dirty martini and it was pretty good but it should be for $7.  There is also a back area that isn't really a separate room but you can reserve it for a private party if you so desire.  

The menu has way too many things on it.  You know the food is going to be mediocre when there are too many things on there for them to be good at any one thing.  We got the artichoke dip to start and this was my favorite part - gooey cheesy dip with toasted pieces of bread to scoop it up.  We finished it all and I ate the remainder of the dip with my fork.  YUM!  Then I got the "American Gyros" which was described as beef with a touch of lamb along with lettuce, tomato, and tzatziki sauce (sorry about the spelling, I'm not Greek damn it).  It was ok.  The pita was so huge I couldn't taste the meat, and I like to taste the meat.  And it was just bland bland bland.  I guess this is what you get when you go to a place that has to please a variety of palates.  I did like the homemade chips though.  The BF got the extreme burger and it was FUCKING ENORMOUS!  We could have split this and both been full easily.  Obnoxiously sized...stick to the regular sized burgers unless you just want to pig out!  As for the taste, the burger was about average for a bar...nothing special.  The waitress was nice and refilled drinks without a problem.

Overall good place to watch football games, just stick to the appetizers and beer/drinks and you should be ok.

Anyone that has been around me for the past few weeks knows that I had reservations for York Street this weekend.  It was my NASCAR-versary and I told the BF I'd rather go to eat at York Street than try and buy each other presents.  Besides, my birthday and Christmas are coming up so he'll have plenty of opportunity to buy my love.  haha

We got there and when I walked in it really hit me how small this place is.  There are about 12 tables in there literally.  The back wall is all mirrored which makes it look bigger but it is TINY.  The good thing is that music was playing very lightly in the background and the chatter of all the other patrons made it not as quiet and awkward as I thought it might be.  Still, I wouldn't recommend it for a huge relationship discussion or some dirty pre-sex talk because if you WANT to eavesdrop, you can.  (That note is for the couple that were practically making out across from us and the "foodie" group sitting behind us that kept bragging to their friends about where they go eat.  I can hear you!!)

First they bring out warm towels to wash your hands off.  This is when I started feeling like a little girl out at her first fancy restaurant...it was just unexpected.  Then next out they bring warm walnuts and spiced olives in oil.  These little things were yum - especially because I had starved myself all day to eat here!!  They also brought out bread and I agree that the bread was extremely difficult to break apart but tasted good once you put the warm butter on it.  We also ordered a bottle of wine: 2007 Clos de los Siete - it was a blend that was mostly malbec and luckily one of the least expensive on the menu at $40.  I liked how he poured it in a decanter and left both the decanter and the bottle on the table.

After hearing a description of the menu, which changes daily, we made our choices.  I started with the last order they had in the kitchen of steak tartare and the BF had the mussels.  The steak tartare was a perfect appetizer of raw steak plus rye bread for putting it on.  The BF's mussels though were AWESOME!  The mussels were tasty and the broth was so yummy that he did eat every last drop of it with the spoon that they wisely bought.  The bread that was soaked in the broth with a sliver of cheese on top was eye-roll inducing.

For my entree I ordered the veal chop and the BF ordered the antelope, both medium rare.  We ordered squash and spinach as our two sides.  The veal chop was actually a huge bone in chop which was a trip, especially since I've now seen chefs cut these chops and clear the bone on Top Chef.  It was fatty and meaty and melted in my mouth.  I could have used more than a butter knife to cut it but they never brought a steak knife and I didn't bother asking for one since I managed to eat it anyway.  I mean, I would consider picking this up by the bone and eating it caveman style.  The antelope was also good.  Never had antelope, tasted more like steak than chicken.  It was sitting on a bed of peas.  The BF said that some pieces were closer to medium than medium rare so perhaps the smaller pieces cooked a little too long.  The spinach was just straight up spinach - fresh, tasty, but not anything special.  The squash had the consistency of mashed potatoes and was buttery goodness!  I have never had squash like this but I will definitely want to have it like this again.

At the time you order your entree you also order dessert.  So I got the apple buckle and the BF got the chocolate dessert which seemed like a chocolate pudding in consistency.  It tasted like dark chocolate awesomeness.  The apple buckle was like an apple cobbler with a more cakelike crust and vanilla ice cream on top.  Yeah...it was awesome!!  They also put a candle in both our desserts since we told the waiter we were celebrating our 1 year anniversary.  Nice touch!

Speaking of our waiter - I loved him.  He was friendly without being the best friend guy and funny without being a stand up.  When he brought the tea around I told him "Eh, I like wine."  And we joked about that and then we discussed the wine we were drinking.  I told him I really liked it and was going to try and find it....he said that they also have their retail license and can sell me a bottle or even a case if I can't find it somewhere else.  He came back with a notecard with the name of the wine and the retail price written just in case I want to get some later.  Nice!  

The other thing I was surprised about was the price of the food here.  Entrees range from $25 to $35, appetizers around $8 to $14, sides were $6 each (family style), and desserts ran around $8 to $10.  If you don't drink wine (but why don't you?  Really?) then you could get out of there fairly inexpensively for a nice meal like this.  Wines ranged from $40 all the way to $300+.  I didn't see any listed by the glass, but they did have half carafes.

Overall food was great and service awesome!  I will definitely be back!!

In case you didn't know, Silver Fox is somehow related to III Forks.  Much like when you date your ex's brother, they look similar and have similar offerings, but one definitely is better than the other.  And the better one is unfortunately not Silver Fox...

(PS I've never dated my ex's brother....cousin, maybe - brother, no.)

I went last night for a dinner sponsored by a company (and where I was the speaker...yeehaw).  We were seated in a decent sized private room that had wine storage in the back to give it that steakhouse ambiance.

First off I'm going to give props where props are due.  THOSE FREAKIN PICKLES at the start!!!  GAH!  If I hadn't been at a work related function I would have finished all the bowls in sight.  Apparently they are bread and butter pickles with some horseradish?  Whatever they are, I love them!  I had the III Forks salad after polishing off some pickles.  See what I mean?  They even call it III Forks salad right on the Silver Fox menu.  And yeah, very SIMILAR to III Forks salad but for some reason it is just not as good.  I can't pinpoint what it is but when I go to III Forks I lick the salad plate clean and here I just don't care.  I had the 10 oz filet - medium rare - for dinner.  I am not sure if this is just because of the large group we had or if they do this like III Forks does, but the sides came on the plate with the steak: creamed corn, sugar snap peas, and whipped potatoes.  The steak was cooked nicely but it just tasted....ok.  Not really much flavor or anything special really.  Again, it is hard to pinpoint exactly why this place cannot trump III Forks or any other steakhouse in my mind but...it. just. can't.  The menu offers different sauces for your steak (for $4 even!) so maybe it is meant to have sauce with, I have no idea.  Creamed corn was pretty good, potatoes were pretty much potatoes, and the sugar snap peas were ok.  Dessert was some sort of cake that was like an Italian cream cake.  This, along with the pickles, was easily the best part of the meal.  The icing was thick and rich and completely YUMMERS!

The service was friendly and our waiters were funny, although one of them looked slightly offended when they requested a different red wine (the one we were drinking tasted like...hrmm...rubbing alcohol?).  But he did replace it and the second one was much better.

I guess I would recommend Silver Fox as a steakhouse to go to if you are too lazy to drive up north and go to III Forks, Pappas, or Del Friscos.  But don't expect to be wowed, just expect alright food with some polished service.

The first time I came to BarBelmont was for a yelp get together, so it is only fitting that the second time I came there was for a yelp get together too!  All you have to know is fabulous patio with even more fabulous view of Downtown - go here if you haven't!!

DUDE you can really tell how Dallas yelp is grown when you take a look around and see an entire patio full of Elites and you cannot necessarily remember everyone from their picture online.  Awesome!  The other thing I noticed is that it is really hard for me to get around and talk to everyone and meet new people because I have to stop and talk to everyone I already know.  Add a cocktail into this social mix and it is my idea of Heaven!  Booze + yapping to people I do know + meeting new people + more booze = happy Nickie.

Let me just mention the food brought over from brand new Smoke next door.  Pulled pork to be placed on little slider buns?  Sign me up!  Being from Tennessee I can freakin chow down on some pulled pork.  This pulled pork was flavorful and didn't need any sauce (although I still like some sauce - next time).  I can promise you I am going to be back over at Smoke ordering some pulled pork within the next couple of weeks.  It was that good!

I loved the theme as well, especially as it gave me a chance to wear my neglected cowboy hat and cowboy boots!  I need to have cowboy night more often.  And the yelp lunchbox....the yelp lunchbox!  I am going to have to learn how to make me something else for lunch other than Lean Cuisine so I can take it to work and show it off.  LOVES IT!!  

Great job Nikki B on another successful party.  And great seeing all my yelpy faves and meeting a couple of new people as well!

I have been living in Dallas 10 years and have never made it to Keller's until this weekend.  What better way to replace the calories you burned while roller skating than with a tasty burger?

You pull up to a spot and turn on your blinkers when you are ready to order.  The menu was posted in front of the building so we had to stand up in my car and look out the top of the convertible to read it.  No matter.  As soon as you turn them on a nice lady comes over to take your order.

I got a single meat cheeseburger, tots, and a diet coke.  OMG First of all, their coke machine was fountain coke awesomeness!!  And I wasn't even hungover, so that isn't dehydration talking.  The burger was good, it was a thin pattie, with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mustard.  Yum!!  And as Tacopop says, the bun was greatness.  Really...poppy seeds!  MMMM!  The tots were fried to a perfect crispy outside and soft, hot inside.  However, I have to say that I tried the BFs double meat (yeaaaah!) chili cheese burger and it was fan-fucking-tastic.  I was jealous immediately.  It was freakin delicious!!  Next time I am definitely going to double my meat and add some chili.  PS you can also order some beer to go with your meal if you so desire!  

Eating in your car is the M.O. here and is absolutely fantastic when the weather is nice.  It makes you feel all retro and cool somehow.  Check out the hot vintage cars around you while you eat, rock out to your tunes, put the top down and get some sun, it all just adds to the experience.  Keller's, I will definitely be back!

I think my new favorite workout on the weekend has to be roller skating!  Thanks to Rachael's UYE planning I got to make an excuse to go back to White Rock Skate Center for the second time in a month.

This place is the BOMB DIGGITY people....retro decor, retro tunes (mixed in with new tunes as well), retro skates (and new roller blades), retro snack bar.  Love it.  

The place is filled with little brats..errrm kiddos....during the day as expected.  At least this time they were all in Halloween costumes.  It helped me remember which kiddos couldn't skate and kept falling right in front of me (Yeah - avoid the kids in Star Wars costumes!!).  They also did the limbo!!  I was pumped to see these kids do the splits on the skates.....amazing.  It is actually surprising how well behaved the kids are at the roller skating rink - I guess they've expended too much energy skating to be super annoying?

Speaking of expending energy....skating is a pretty good workout!  You will be sweating by the time you get around the rink a few times.  BUT you won't care because it is fun and OH YEAH they are playing my JAM!  Special shout out to the DJ for playing some freakin Journey while I was there!!  Oh and the hand holding that Flor mentioned....thankfully it looked like we were just wanting to have an all day couple skate and not what it really was: he had to hold my hand so I wouldn't fall down!!  I finally skated without him though and I think next time I will definitely be ready for the limbo.  hahaha

Best part was the cool yelpers....of course Rachael, but also Flor and Kristie and Kane and Nikki B.  Fun fun!

I am a fan of this Tom Thumb for a number of reasons, with the main one being that it is the closest "regular" grocery store to my condo.  Thus, they WIN!  

This is a pretty large grocery and contains all the normal, basic, everyday, non-Whole Foods organic BS...although they do have some organic selections as well.  You can pick up all your staples like milk, bread, eggs, Lean Cuisines (this isn't everyone's staple?  Huh, who knew).  Produce is usually pretty decent but I do make sure to check everything well because I have gotten home to find some not-so-fresh items at the bottom of the container.  Bakery items are usually pretty good and the meat department, though small, has fresh choices.

I really like the cheese section - they have a separate 3 ft shelving in the front near the bakery that is nothing but imported cheeses.  Yum!  Nearby they have an olive bar and you can also find hummus (Athenos Three Spice Hummus for the win!!).  Get your Meditteranean snack on!  

Cashiers are inordinately friendly, sometimes even goofy, and the lines are generally not bad.  Get out your Tom Thumb card to get the card savings.  And if you fly American Airlines, be sure to go online and sign your Tom Thumb card up with your AA FF number...you get frequent fliers every time you shop and use the card!!

After stuffing ourselves with food at La Cubanita the BF wanted to watch the Cowboys game.  Knox Street Pub was across the street, there were TVs on the patio, and the patio had many empty tables, so we decided to give it a try.  

The patio has quite a few picnic tables, two TVs, and even an outdoor bar.  The outdoor bar was closed since it was Sunday afternoon and not a packed weekend night, but keep it in mind if you are here on a packed night.

We walked into the dark poorly lit bar.  It looked like the kind of place that turns into a seedy dance club as soon as 9pm rolls around.  Not a lot of seating in there, but I did spot some couches and tables in front of the TVs so people could watch sports.  They also had a row of TVs above the bar.  I noticed one strange thing: underneath each TV above the bar was a banner advertising a service or place (DUI Lawyer! Apartment finding service!).  Since when did bars start selling ad space under the freakin TVs.  Major turnoff.  

However, what did NOT turn me off was the Sunday football watching specials: $10 pitchers of Miller Lite (or other domestics) or $12 5-beer buckets (domestic).  We got a pitcher and proceeded to sit on the patio to watch the game.  The place was not busy at all which made it comfortable to watch the game there, although without a lively atmosphere.  Women's bathrooms were clean and had multiple stalls, but the BF did comment on the awkward setup in the men's bathroom!!

I noticed that on Thursday they have karaoke and on Friday and Saturday they have a DJ playing.  I suspect that it gets packed full of college age punks on those nights.  I'd rather stab myself in the eye than come to this place on weekend nights, but for some Sunday Funday time it was A-OK.