Regular Joe's Guide

Latest visit: Jan 2012 First visit: Sep 2006 I tend to forget about Saviano's when thinking of Italian restaurants in NE Tarrant. I had just mentioned a few days ago about restaurants that we frequent the most, and that we're struggling to settle on a great Italian joint in the area. I don't think Saviano's necessarily solves that dilemma, but they're definitely part of the equation. One potential reason we don't think of them is their location at the far southeastern edge of our primary coverage area. By being situated on Euless Main and 183, Saviano's is further for us than many places in Ft. Worth proper or Arlington even. No matter, as Saviano's has proven to be very popular with the locals and was again packed to the rafters on this particular evening. Incidentally, it was on our way here that we first discovered the Mexican Inn in Bedford had shut down. Saviano's has recently opened a second location in downtown Ft. Worth, that has also pro...

First visit: Jan 2012 Chencho's sits in a former Italian restaurant location that was a 3 time loser . (now a 4 time loser apparently, as Chencho's is now closed. A home cooking restaurant will be the 5th to make a go at this spot!) This location originally housed a Ferrari's, a place that had more notoriety via the news than it did amongst diners (never a good sign). We never sampled the place ourselves. This was followed by the Bella Cafe. Mrs. RJG and I dined there a couple of times. It was decent, but very typical of the Italian food found in NE Tarrant. And finally Mia Cafe went up and was well on its way to closure, when the final owner wised up and said "You know what? Maybe this isn't a good location for an Italian restaurant." Ya think? So he wisely found another partner, from nearby Alvarado's in fact, and launched a Mexican restaurant. I'm usually hesitant to be "first" to try a restaurant, but we were in the area, and said why not...

Latest visit: Jan 2012 First visit: 2011 I think I just heard someone yell "Well it's about time!". I know, I know - we're way late in writing about Oliva. Strange that we haven't discussed it before, only in that we've been a few times since they opened. But it was right at the time I stopped writing for the RJG. But we're back, and it's time to give Oliva their proper due. Also please note the restaurant is technically in Fort Worth (though the restaurant themselves insist it's Keller). As you can see in the comments, someone felt very passionate about that - so I figured I should mention it. You've heard the RJG grouse about the fact that almost all the Italian restaurants in NE Tarrant are the same. The antidote? Oliva. The menu is a mix of old school red sauce Italian and newer, more trendy options. Though the balance is definitely tilted towards the traditional. Oliva does the basics right like cooking the pasta al dente, while pro...

Latest visit: Jul 2025 (Space Center @ Palmer Park) First visit: Sometime in 1982 (Irving, TX) HQ: Lake Forest, CA (near Irvine) ---7/13/25 (Space Center) This seemed to be a close call. What do you mean RJG? Well it looked like Del Taco was going to close all of their Colorado locations, save one in Grand Junction (different owner). Why? Because the franchiser essentially went bankrupt. I should have known something was up when they pulled the hot sauce packets from the self service island (see the 2024 update). But apparently the Del Taco locations do well here, and the parent company decided to take over and reopen the ones that were closed (with one exception in Denver). While the other two CoS locations that I have documented below remain temporarily closed, they did get the Space Center restaurant up and running. I happened to be at the Colorado Springs Flea Market in the morning, and this Del Taco is very close to that. I was in a very good mood since I had a great collection f...

Last visit: Jan 2012 First visit: Feb 2008 fka Thai Thippawan We've received a few comments at the RJG to consider Thai Thippawan. And for us, it's actually a reconsider position. We did try Thai Thippawan not long after they first opened in early 2008, and we were not overly impressed. So we were reticent to return, especially considering we're more than happy with Sea Siam, Sweet Basil and Bangkok Cuisine - all featured prominently on this blog. But the RJG feels it only fair to try (or retry) all the restaurants that fit our tastes. And Thai food is at, or near, the very top food group for the RJG. And the fact that the restaurant is still open with a whopping 92% approval rating on Urbanspoon tells us that Thai Thippawan must be doing something right. And indeed they are. What a difference 4 years makes. We went for lunch, and the specials come with a house soup, an egg roll and a small-ish entree. The soup is delicious, a simple recipe of chicken broth with rice, g...