Joe "Captain" F.'s Profile
DateDallas, TX 75209
(214) 526-8701
Park Place Motorcars: Mercedes-Benz Dallas
Categories:
Car Dealers,
Auto Repair
Dallas, TX 75205
(214) 987-1200
Pokey O'S Cookies & Ice Cream
Category:
Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
Neighborhood: University Park
We ended up at Pokey O's after a hot day at the Dallas Dog Bowl. I got the Tuxedo cookies with Blackberry Cobbler Ice Cream and my gf had oatmeal raising with Moo-lennium Crunch.
Not much else to say here - the cookies were a little crunchy on the outside and a little chewy on the inside. The ice cream was Blue Bell - thick, creamy and sweet. It was great and the combination ended up being a sticky, runny, glorious mess that for a brief second distracted us from the fact that this is going to be a bitch of a summer in terms of heat.
Dallas, TX 75219
(214) 522-4400
Maple & Motor
Category:
Burgers
Neighborhood: Oak Lawn
Despite the fact that I regularly sleep less than a mile from M&M, I hadn't made the trip in until Sunday (when fighting a gnarly hangover).
I'd heard the stories, both good and bad, about the food, the service, the management, etc.
Since it's easy for people to get caught up in dramatics, here's EXACTLY how our trip went:
1PM: Walked in to a packed house and waited in line to order our burgers.
1:05PM: We order our food, fill our drinks, and start looking around for a table to open up - as per the instructions on the door.
1:07PM: Table opens up, we go to sit down, Jack asks us what number we have on our receipt as another couple was eyeing the table. We have the earlier order, we get the table.
1:08PM: We give said couple our table since we wanted the bar seats instead and they opened up. All are happy once again.
1:12:PM: Food has arrived! A cheeseburger w/ grilled jalapenos cooked through w/ fries for gf and a hamburger w/ grilled jalapenos cooked pink and tater tots for me. It is heaven. Slightly charred meat, piping hot, crisp onion, pickles and lettuce. I take a break from devouring half the burger to try the tots. They have a slight hint of onion and a perfect crunch. I'm suddenly a 4th grader in the school cafeteria again. . .grinning like an idiot. The slightly grilled fresh jalapenos start to give me a warm feeling in the back of my throat. My hangover is gone. I am happy.
1:20PM: Jack asks how we're doing. I'm still grinning like an idiot and gf mumbles out 'It's f*cking amazing' before diving back into her burger. All semblance of self-respect on our part is gone. Jack smiles and goes about his business.
1:30PM: Our baskets are empty, minus a few drops of beef juice and grease. We slide out of our seats and walk out. Jack smiles at us, thanks is for coming and it's business as usual.
Nothing fancy about the food or the service, but it was done right. I'm a fan and will be back. I'd happily recommend Maple and Motor to anyone.
Being the super cool guy I am, I immediately tweeted my experience and Daniel W. informed me that they'll be opening up a taco place on Wednesday. Hell yes.
Apparently Picasso's has been voted best neighborhood spot by D Magazine for a few years - I totally get why. It's got that old school Italian restaurant charm - dark, warm and friendly.
The waitress opened our bottle of wine and poured the first glasses, and we were only charged $1 (which is clearly marked on the menu).
This was a big time splurge meal so I'll break down the food:
Crab-stuffed mushrooms - hot, cheesy and loaded with flavor and no where near as oily as I've had at other places.
Eggplant parmesan - the noodles were buttery, the eggplant was crisp and the cheese was browned and bubbly. The tomato sauce was a little more sweet than I expected but still a great plate.
Gnocchi - a massive helping loaded with mushroom and pancetta in the same tangy red sauce as the eggplant. It could have used an extra dash of red pepper flake, but I still happily scraped the bowl clean.
Add in a couple salads from the salad bar (yep, salad bar) and our grand total was $27. I'd absolutely add this one to a must try list if you live in the North Plano/Frisco area.
There is a group of regulars that hang out here, but they've all been pretty nice in my experience. The crowd's pretty diverse and I've met some nice people every time I've visited. Of course, I'm usually too occupied keeping an eye out for my dog to not get in the almost constant mud pit to socialize too much. Occasionally you will get the genius that brings in food and drink and can't figure out why all the dogs are clamoring on them - but that's typical for any dog park.
My one true problem with the park is actually with one of the dogs that's almost always there - Biscuit. Apparently he escapes constantly from his owner's house and good samaritans drop him off at the dog park. He is an alpha and spends the bulk of his time trying to hump every other dog. This usually ends with one dog getting fed up, growling and snapping back and the rest of the dogs in the park getting riled up.
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 824-9500
Pearl Cup Coffee
Category:
Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Lower Greenville
I'm not kidding when I say this - that was the moment I became truly hooked on coffee. Before this trip, I was a cup every two month drinker.
It was rich and full of flavor with just enough sweetness and foam to make it a perfect after dinner coffee/dessert for me.
To me, the Pearl Cup is what a coffee shop should be. It reminds me of Common Grounds in Waco and Uncommon Grounds in Denton -- two coffee shops I frequented more than I should have while in college. It's a little funky, a little independent, a little hip and a little prep.
In my visits since then, I've gone for business, to work on my own, I've shared tables with friends and complete strangers and never had any issues with any aspect of the place. Everyone from the baristas to the regulars to the first-timers seem to be genuinely happy to be there.
As for the potential freelance client I met with on my first trip, she's since become my amazing girlfriend. To say I'm partial to Pearl Cup is to say I'm partial to breathing.
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 265-9105
Ozona Grill & Bar
Categories:
Breakfast & Brunch,
American (Traditional)
Neighborhood: Upper Greenville
Or not. . .
The entire waitstaff looked hungover and were dragging today. The bartenders avoided eye contact for as long as possible while we tried to order our first set of bloodies. Finally we were served and on our way to brunching glory.
Or not. . .
As we finished our first drinks, we were seated at our table for two. The waiter came over, we ordered a couple more bloody marys, an order of chips and guac and our food (breakfast tacos for me, one egg country breakfast and a side of gravy for her). We were brought the vodka filled pint glasses and made our way to the build your own bloody bar.
That's when things went downhill. . .
We got our drinks and went back to our table, but it was no longer our table. There were two new people in our seats. Our chips and guac was nowhere to be seen.
I let the manager know immediately. Instead of asking the new people sitting at our table to get up, we were left to stand around while they reassigned us to a new table. Why? Who knows. Our waiter came by and reiterated that our food had already been ordered, we had appetizers on the table and we should be back in our seats. Logical right? Not to the manager.
A few minutes later we were at a new table. A new table without silverware, our chips and guac, our waters. Our food was brought out, without my gf's side of gravy and without any silverware. Five minutes later we were provided the utensils civilized people use to eat. The food was good, but there was a giant funky piece of egg skin in the bottom of gf's bowl of fruit.
We finished our plates and waited ten minutes before our waiter re-emerged so we could get our check.
For Ozonas giving away our table, making us wait while they found a new one, providing awful service and only giving us a half-assed apology, we were gifted with complimentary chips and guac - which we only had two bites of before it was bussed on our old table - and that's it. I would have assumed at least our drinks would have been comped. No dice.
Not happy and incredibly upset that an old favorite has become a new disappointment.
1 Previous Review:
-
3/16/2009
Ozona is a place I completely forget about 357 days out of the year. We always end up here on St. Patrick's day and I inevitably talk it up the entire week after telling anyone that will listen my tales of drunken debauchery and delicious food.
Last Saturday was the St. Patrick's day parade on Greenville so I'm back up on my soapbox for a few more days. Because we're troopers we got there early this year for breakfast. . .and of course, for beers. In previous years, I've always opted for the breakfast tacos. Specifically 3 build your own tacos with egg, bacon, chorizo, black beans, pico, jalapenos and sauteed peppers and mushrooms. If that doesn't sound like a meal to prepare you for an all day booze excursion, I don't know what will.
Despite always being in a group of at least 8 people, we've never had a problem with service and our food is brought out pretty quick. This year was no different and even though we had to sit outside in below 50 temperature the space heaters that littered the patio area kept us warm (shots also helped).
I opted to break from tradition this year and went with the "Mas Mejor" grilled chicken sandwich. This way instead of a plain chicken sandwich with just lettuce, tomato and nasty ass mayo, I got a chicken sandwich with swiss, bacon and honey mustard. . .doesn't that sound better?
Know what would sound even better?
How about if I added sauteed peppers and onions and a mound of fresh guacamole on it as well? For an extra $1.50 this sounded like a great idea and my stomach quickly agreed. A short wait later and I had a mountain of a sandwich in front of me. Fresh, chunky guacamole was oozing out on top of a layer of perfectly sauteed sweet peppers and onions, crispy bacon and gooey swiss cheese. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that I openly wept at the site of the sandwich and it didn't last on the plate for more than 5 minutes.
Table manners went out the window after that first bite. I couldn't cram it in my face fast enough. There was honey mustard on my eyebrows, flecks of bacon behind my ear and a noticeable chunk of guac in my hair. I used the guac that wouldn't stay in the burger as a topping for my fries and strongly considered licking the wax paper in my food basket to make sure I got every bit of it off.
Now that the parade's over, I'll sit around and talk about that magical sandwich for the next week or so. Then, I'll completely forget about the torrid affair I had with Ozona until next March when I'll be back with another review.
Oh, the reason I didn't give them 5 stars? They served Irish Car Bombs in 2 plastic cups so you had to pour the shot into the Guinness instead of dropping it in. Blasphemy!
Austin, TX 78741
(512) 610-1116
Casulo Hotel
Category:
Hotels
Neighborhood: 78704 (South Austin)
I stayed at Casulo Hotel a couple weeks ago when I was in Austin for a wedding with my girlfriend. For the money, I don't think you'll find anything better. We had the Petite Suite for $150 a night and it was perfect.
The rooms have a nice modern decor, flat screen tv and small fridge. The bed, however, was the most comfortable hotel bed I've ever slept in. Huge down comforter and a pillow top? We slept like babies. The room also had a huge shower with standard and waterfall shower heads. As you can see from some of the posted pics, the shower is visible from the bed, you know, if you're interested in that.
They also have a complimentary breakfast and an amazing staff who told us where to get late night eats, reserved cabs for us and gave directions and other suggestions on places to visite without a second thought or annoyance.
I have no problem suggesting the Casulo to any of my friends and will definitely be staying here again.
(972) 252-2052
Nammi Truck
Categories:
Food Stands,
Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Lower Greenville
We were lucky to get the last order in before they ran out of pickled daikon and carrot - but the luck ran out when we tempted fate and tried to order a couple spring rolls that looked more like baby arms than an appetizer.
We ended up with two bbq pork tacos, one bbq pork banh mi, one water, one diet coke and one truck-made lemonade. . .all for under $15.
The lemonade had a refreshing lemon flavor with an extra boost from some basil (I think) and cilantro (I know). After standing in line for food for 20 minutes without anything to drink when the temp and humidity are in the upper 90s, this was a lifesaver.
The pork tacos were really tasty. The doubled up corn tortillas held the weight of the pork and vegetables. Everything was seasoned well so we ignored the optional sauce bar located on one side of the truck.
The banh mi was better than most I've had in the city, but not as good as Quoc Bao (my gold standard). The baguette was crusty, the vegetables were slightly pickled but still had a crunch, the jalapenose were fresh and abundant, lots of cilantro and some nice fatty pork (although a little too fatty at some points). I really liked that they were light on the mayo spread - some places get a little heavy handed and when you're as anti-mayo as I am, that's a dealbreaker.
Props to Nammi for being a solid fusion food truck!
Was not given a test drive. Was told I could not afford certain features and packages without even being asked what my budget was. Was abandoned for a while so a 'big fish' could be given the royal treatment. Sales guy came back with finally quoted a ridiculous amount on a lease that wasn't on the terms I had specified.
Waste of my time.
Drove down to Park Place Mercedes and signed papers the next day on my new C300.
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Dallas, TX
Yelping SinceOctober 2008
Things I Lovewriting, live music, digital media, avocados, yelp, vans shoes, texas, books, molcajete, dogs, sushi, pabst blue ribbon, dallas, johnny walker black label
Find Me InThe Middle of the Noise
My HometownDallas
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I'm being awesome somewhere else
Why You Should Read My ReviewsI need the attention
My Second Favorite Website The Last Great Book I ReadThe Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
My First ConcertReba McIntire when I was 5
My Favorite MovieBerry Gordy's The Last Dragon
My Last Meal On Eartha slab of bloody meat and a bottle of whiskey
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I want to design t-shirts for a living. . .wait. . .tell EVERYONE
Most Recent DiscoveryI can run really far
Current CrushAdobe CS5
Chris Rupert is the guy to talk to here. In May 2011, my lease was up on my VW Passat and I was looking for a nice little upgrade. After doing some research and looking at what I could afford, I figured a C300 was going to be my best bet.
After a completely horrific experience at Ewing, I came down, spoke with Chris for a bit, test drove a C300 that had a couple extra bells and whistles that were out of my price range just so I could get a feel for the car's layout and how it drove and handled before we went in to discuss terms on a more base model.
Chris was great helping me get to the right price point then dropped the bomb that they were going to put me in the upgraded car (18in wheels, body kit, iPod package) for that price instead. I was eager to drive my new car so Chris actually followed me back to my place so I could drop off my VW and hit the streets in my new wheels.
Absolutely amazing experience - highly recommend.