Jason B.'s Profile

Amberjack's looks like your typical tourist trap beach town restaurant but does not deliver.  Perhaps my hopes were too high having grown up in a tourist trap, beach town (Ft. Walton Beach, FL) and worked in this type of restaurant (Fudpucker's in Destin).  The drinks were OK, but the food was not good.

The food has been consistently below average during each of my visits to Padre.  Here's the rundown. Calamari: Grade F because it was tough from being over cooked in dirty oil.  Cobb Salad: Grade C for poor execution and wimpy lettuce.  Aloha Chicken Sandwich: Grade C+ for cold, unmarinated chicken.  Cheeseburger: Grade B- which makes it a bright spot on the menu.

You may be wondering "why do you keep going back?"  Simple.  It's good for groups and is next to a few bars.

Only go if you can not convince your group to go somewhere else.  No matter what - skip the buffet.  It's gross.  Go for the Rasta Shrimp - a scampi type consisting of a Jamaican spice mix and mango salsa - when you order from the menu.  It's the best thing that I've tried, but the rice wasn't evenly cooked.

Question the culinary taste of anyone who raves about food at this joint.

This beach front, laid back tiki bar is perfect for whittling away the day on SPI.  Be forewarned: you shouldn't have any where to be once you settle in to your seat here.  The fruity cocktails and relaxed atmosphere will melt away the hours.

The key to success is starting with a Wanna Wanna cocktail.  It's got four kinds of booze and two kinds of juices yet the alcohol is not overpowering nor is it overly sweet.  And another thing - Wanna Wannas are served in souvenir cups which makes your vacation gift shopping a breeze.

Follow-up a WW with a Turbo Pina Colada if you're into coconut.  The drink is a typical PC made with coconut cream and an extra shot of dark rum floating on top.

Insider tips: 1. eventually you'll need to go to the bathroom.  Guys should know that the a strong wind will keep the exterior door to the first bathroom open.  This is one of two ladies restrooms.  Too many Wanna Wannas and you'll end up in there like I did.  Remain calm.  2. The beach volleyball court is BYO Ball so don't forget that iff'n you're interested.

I'd love to tell you how great the sushi is at this joint, but it's apparently out of business now so that's irrelevant.  Instead, I'll share the story of my first time there.

My buddy and I went in to get some take out sushi and nearly got a different piece of yellow tail...if you know what I mean.  Some dee-runk Japanese lady on the barstool next to me kept trying to get me to feel her six pack.  That would have been sort of hot had she not been dripping off of her stool thanks to the sixer of Bud Light that she'd polished off.

I slammed my beer and said sayonara as I grabbed the bag of nama sake and streaked out the door.

Hello.  I'm JB.  I once wrecked two motorcycles in the span of a week and followed up those crashes with a near miss on a scooter two weeks later.  According to the stats quoted in the class, most motorcycle crashes and fatalities happen due to improper cornering based or lack of skill, too much speed and rider error.  All were factors in both of my crashes.  Clearly I needed to improve my riding skills.

I chose Awesome Cycles as the instructors for my MSF Basic RiderCourse based on the testimonials on their site and was not disappointed.  The classroom instructors (Debbie & David) were veteran riders with laid back demeanors and straight forward delivery styles.  Take the three day course if you're considering completing the course now as you're not out on the parking lot in the hottest part of the day.

In case you are wondering, I went out for a spin after class and avoided an accident thanks to my much improved cornering skills.  I didn't panic when the oncoming car stopped in the apex of the turn.  Instead, I just Slowed, Looked, Pushed & Rolled...and Pushed some more.  Take the class and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Some friends and I went to Pico's this weekend for an early dinner.  I'd read the Yelps.  I'd heard good things.  I was disappointed.

We'd heard lots of great things about the margaritas.  "Best in town."  "Make's Lupe's ritas taste like dishwater."  "So good you'll think they invented the margarita."  Five of us ordered the regular ritas.  They tasted like every other low quality mix-based rita in town.  One couple ordered a top-shelf (or at least something on a shelf) version and preferred our regular rita to theirs.  Yikes.  Stee-rike One.  At least the food will be better, right?

The food was middle of the road OK by all accounts.  I would have expected at least A-OK instead of forgettable.  We started with ceviche and queso flameado.  El QF was solid, but really - how would you screw up a baking dish of melted Chihuahua cheese and beef?  The ceviche was passable as well, but I've had better at chain restaurants like Casa Rita.  My fajitas were lackluster.  The blah beef was accompanied by nice sized but overcooked shrimp, which made peeling them a chore.  Stee-rike Two.

The service was bad.  No, it was not packed.  Yes, they had plenty of staff.  We requested a round of waters with our drink order.  We had to request them three more times before they finally showed up.  The food was slow getting out of the kitchen as well.  I've worked in the biz and regularly go out with large groups.  I understand that it takes some time to assemble the order.  But, stop by the table; say hi; bring our water; tell us what is going on already!

On a final note, the only working AC vent was in the other part of the restaurant.  Everyone in our party of eight was dripping with sweat.  It would have been more comfortable to sit outside in the 97 degree heat hoping for a breeze.

You've likely driven past it on your way to I-10 and not even blinked.  Perhaps, you stopped in when it should have been named Crap Chin's due to the lackluster cuisine.  In either case, you need to get to Mak Chin's for happy hour dining.

Happy Hour runs from 3 - 6:30 Monday through Friday.  The cocktails are good, but the best features of the double aych are the discounted delectables from the kitchen.  Start with the Indonesian BBQ Pork Spare Ribs ($2*) if you're ready to get down to business.  Three ribs are presented over a bed of Szechwan Fries and are garnished with pickled onions and lemongrass-soy glaze.  FYI, "Spare" does not mean leftover or small; we ordered two servings, and all six pieces were large.  Good?  Ooo, you talk about.  I would have kept ordering them if I hadn't wanted to sample more of the fare.

Items from the surf were nearly as remarkable as that from the turf.  The tuna wonton tower ($4*) was killer.  Three wonton chips are each adorned with tuna tartar salad concoction and then stacked on top of one another.  You'll be tempted to share when you read the menu description, but you should plan to order one per person if you're into tuna.

Order the Salt & Pepper Calamari ($4*) if you're in the market for mass quantities.  The squid is served in a cute take-out box that looks little but isn't.  There is enough for two.  You should request extra dipping sauce ahead of time.

Is there a vegetarian among your party?  Fret not.  The Malaysian Roti Chanai and Szechwan Fries  are solid options.  Simply put, the Szechwan Fries are freedom fries (is it OK to say French fries yet again?) sprinkled with a spice mix; you may have had something similar at a burger joint.

I'm willing to bet you've never had roti chanai ($3*) unless you've been to a Malaysian restaurant before.  RC is a flatbread that is very similar to naan (the flatbread from Indian cuisine) but it is just dissimilar enough to be considered a unique dish.  My Malaysian friend considered Mak Chin's roti chanai good enough to order again.  That's good enough for a gwai lo like me.

Wash down all of your goodies with some signature frozen drinks and cocktails at $5* or choose beer or wine for $3*.  Mak Chins adds cosmos, martinis and dirty samurais to the cheap drink list ($3*) on Wednesdays.  

Who has two thumbs and loves Mak Chin's?  This guy!  The owners should rename the place Smack Chin's (as in lip smacking good) thanks to the new chef's cuisine and baller-on-a-budget happy hour price list (* = Happy Hour price).

This Dallas sushi joint's suburban location serves up quality fish despite being in a strip mall that you can see from the John Carpenter Highway (114).  

For starters you should skip the seaweed salad, as it is run-of-the-mill, and instead choose the house salad with ginger dressing.  It's actually got ingredients other than iceberg and tomatoes.  Shaved onion and carrots top the bed are accompanied by cucumbers.  

The only sushi I've tried has been the sake (fresh salmon) as the piece prices are a bit higher that I'm used to (since I'm from Houston). The salmon was well cut - ample and supple (tee hee) - and very fresh.  

Blue Fish's special rolls are just that without trying to do much, e.g. pineapple, starfish, tempura fried and topped with cheese.  We did try the Lava Roll (six pieces) which was lightly tempuraed but not greasy; the frying actually lent a delicate air to the food.  The Fire Cracker (eight pieces) popped up to above average but was still a bit forgettable.  

The staple rolls we tried were outstanding.  The Spider Roll (five pieces) was the best I've ever eaten.  The soft-shell crab was lightly fried, which meant the crab meat was tasty and flaky not tasting like it just been imported from Long John Silver's.  Shortly after finishing the Spider, eight pieces of heaven arrived in rainbow fashion.  I'm a sucker for any roll with the crab salad mix in the middle.  But, the key a good rainbow is fresh fish on top.  This one delivered.

Overall, this Blue Fish location delivered quality sushi in a slightly swanky atmosphere that helped you forget you're in the land of cookie cutter apartments and strip malls.  It is easily the best "Dallas" sushi joint I've tried on this side of 635 and is worth a shot if you need to get your fish fix.

Ft. Worth is also known as Cow Town.  A mention of Ft. Worth typical triggers a reminiscence of steak houses such as Del Friscos and Reatta.  No doubt about it, they are outstanding.  However, the best steak house, in terms of taste and value, lives up the road a piece in Roanoke, Texas.

Prairie House may have once been just that, but now it sits on the side of Hwy 377 beckoning those in the know to sample steaks.  I was referred by a friend who worked nearby and was not dissappointed that I made the 30+ minute drive up from Ft. Worth proper.

I love steak houses.  I only looked at the menu for fifteen seconds and knew what I wanted: a 16 ounce ribeye medium rare, a.k.a. bloody as hell (bonus points if you can name the movie).  I chose a house salad with blue cheese and a baked potato as my sides.  Both offerings were average.  

Steaks start with the cut, and the ribeye's trim was well done.  Just enough fat to make the flavor, but not so much as to resemble a prime rib.  My medium rare was a bit more on the rare side, which is how I like it.  Each bite seemed to melt.  I would have picked up the bone and gnawed on it had I not been worried about looking silly in front of my super hot waitress, Jessie.  In short, the steak was out of this world.

Be advised that you should leave the vegetarians at home unless they are really pescatarians or really, really like cole slaw.

If Obiwan Kenobi opened a sushi restaurant...this would not be it.  There's not enough sand or droids here.  Sorry, but I had to.  Teasable name aside, Kenobi is serious about sushi.

Crank up your stellar meal (tee hee) with starters from land and sea.  Vegetable Tempura is a basic yardstick by which you can measure a Japanese joint.  Kenobi passes for light batter and just-right time in the frying pan.  The Chicken Lollipops are fun and tasty.  Think crab cakes made with chicken instead and served on a sugar cane skewer.  Meat on a stick.  Yes indeed.  End the first course with the lump crab gyoza.  The dumplings are filled with lump crab meat and goat cheese; our table agreed that this was the best appetizer.

I would like to have ordered nabayaki udon, but Kenobi is following a disturbing trend of being a Japanese restaurant that does not offer this signature Japanese dish.  I liken it to a NY deli not having a corned beef sammich on the menu.  Unacceptable.  (Hopefully it gets added to the menu after the restaurant moves from soft launch status).

Fortunately, the fantastic specialty rolls made up for the lack of my favorite non-fish dish.  The Crunch, which each restaurant seems to tweak a bit, was typical and met expectations.  The Brandy features shrimp tempura, smoked salmon and avocado toped with eel sauce and seasame seeds.  The taste was solid and led to a three-way discussion of who would get the honor of chomping the last piece.  The Seven-and-a-Half was easily a nine on a ten point taste scale.  Tuna, salmon and yellowtail anchor this roll which was topped with eel sauce and spicy mayo.  

The best-in-show award goes the Millennium roll.  I normally don't like cooked fish of any kind if it is accompanied by raw fish.  But, the peppercorn seared tuna added a savory element to this dish.  Our table had agreed to share our orders, but this one (my choice) went down like a cold beer on a hot day making it an easy decision to order another one.

We did get one sushi roll fixture - a Phildelphia roll.  My compadres said that it was solid.  You'll have to take their word for it.

For no nabayaki, "you get F."  For killer specialty rolls and creativity across the menu, "you get A."  Verdict: above average service and solid sushi earn just good enough props for four stars.

Indian food seems to be a love it or hate it endeavor for most folks.  I have loved it since college.  As you're aware, not all restaurants are created equally.  When an Indian joint is bad, it's really bad.  When it's good, it's really good.  Mayuri falls into the latter category.

The buffet is reknowned among my colleagues, but we visited for dinner and were not disappointed.  Dinner entrees are served in two styles - a la carte or Thali.  

Do not order an appetizer if you are considering going Thali style unless you've got an empty ziploc bag in your purse (or murse as the case may be).  Thali is the hindi word for truck loads of food.  Thali means that you're going to get your entree served along with your choice of soup, the chef's choice of vegetable currey, raitha, rice, papadum, and your choice of bread - naan or parata.  The chef will also pick out your dessert.

I ordered the Palak Paneer t-style, which was a steal at $11.95.  The dish was creamy goodness through and through.  The homemade cheese was firm and tasty without seeming to be pre-packaged.  FYI, palak paneer and saag paneer are not the same dish as I thought.  the difference is in the wegetable.  I couldn't tell a difference, but my colleague says it's the truth.

Order the Chicken 65 or the Chicken Hyderbadi iff'n you're not digging the weggie options.  Both are typical dishes in Indian cuisine and can be difficult to find if you're used to dealing with more mundane purveyors of the culture.

Oh, don't forget to order a lassi.  It will help you douse the curry flames in your mouth.  choose the mango lassi over the salt lassi unless drinking a combination of sea water and yogurt is your bag, baby.