Regular Joe's Guide

The Dallas location closed in 2024. Other than their original Beverly Hills location, they are mainly in Asian global hotspots. Latest visit: Dec 2013 (Dallas) First visit: Jun 1982 (Dallas - old Maple Ave. locale) Barring any surprise discovery, this should be the final restaurant post for 2013. I plan on doing a summary of the year tomorrow or Tuesday if possible. For those who've been following the RJG, you'll know that Lawry's is not our typical fare (witness yesterday's My Lan entry). But my parents had some history with this restaurant, and because of that, here we are dining elegantly. So what is that history? For a brief time, from 1966 to 1967, when the RJG was just a toddler, we lived in the Los Angeles area, before relocating to Dallas. My father, who was in sales, had been transferred from New York City to LA. For their 5th wedding anniversary in 1966, they had a splurge meal at the Five Crowns, which I believe had only been open a year at that point. Wh...

First visit: Dec 2013 You may have noticed that we haven't featured any Vietnamese restaurants in the RJG yet (though Mr. Music did one a few months ago). We rarely eat Vietnamese is the obvious reason. And to be honest, we haven't been motivated to do such, and tend to spend our Asian food dollars on the excellent local Thai restaurants almost exclusively, with an occasional Chinese take-out meal. Strange then when you realize that Mrs. RJG and I, when we were dating love birds in 1996, spent most of our dinner time at one Vietnamese restaurant in Denver. That would be Kim Ba, and it remains, perhaps not surprisingly, our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the country. We were regular visitors until 2003 when we relocated to NE Tarrant. (And I hope to write about it on the RJG at some point). So when we arrived here, we asked about local Vietnamese food, and were promptly pointed to Haltom City. We tried a couple of the noodle houses from there, and they were definitely good,...

Last visit: Jan 2014 First visit: Dec 2013 For the second new restaurant that the RJG tried, after a lengthy cold spell, I had awaited a visit from Mr. Music - a true connoisseur of the Napoletana pizza tradition - to try NE Tarrant's latest coal oven venture. With Campania (Southlake) going completely down the tubes (our last visit was not good, and it seemed to be on its last legs), and INZO (Roanoke) starting to mail it in, there is definitely room for a new pizza place in Northeast Tarrant with a 900 degree oven. Grimaldi's (Grapevine) pretty much owns this market as far as the RJG is concerned (and Coal Vines (Southlake) which is slightly different in my mind). But there's a new sheriff in town! Let me introduce to you all Apeizza e Vino, the second location for the burgeoning Denver based chain. Lafayette is east of Boulder, and it's quite ironic that one of our favorite coal oven pizza places in the Denver area is a small chain called Proto's. And the locati...

Last visit: Dec 2013 First visit: Jan 2009 --- Jun 2016 update:  Looks like a fire destroyed their kitchen, and the restaurant decided to call it a day. They had gone downhill for some time in our estimation. They were a pioneer in Northeast Tarrant for this kind of pizza though, and they should be commended for that at the very list. Since I wrote the below, it appears Campania have lost their  Vera Pizza Napoletana  certification. Whether that's due to an authentic lack of consistently meeting standards, or Campania just didn't want to pay the fees, is anyone's guess. The RJG thinks certifications in the business world are nothing more than a racket, so it doesn't matter to me one way or the other. But worth mentioning all the same. On our last visit, I felt the pizza was slightly undercooked, and this is the second disappointing visit in a row for me. I'm concerned it's "not the same as it used to be." Mrs RJG had the penne arrabiata and the sauce ...

Closed: 5/28/22 Last visit: Nov 2013 First visit: May 2013 While the RJG awaits to try his next new restaurant in DFW (though we already have 9 revisits as indicated by the 2014 update tag ), and I have a little extra time to write, let's get back to our "second home" in Denver. Now that we sold our summer townhome, I tend to get to Denver only about twice a year for family and personal business. And on both visits to Denver in 2013, I visited Freshcraft, which ironically I discovered for the first time last year. Freshcraft is located in the LoDo section of downtown Denver, right in the heart of the active nightlife section. I typically stay at a hotel in the Denver Tech Center, that is conveniently within walking distance of the RTD (Denver's light rail system). So it's perfect for a dinner. Train in, walk, eat, drink a few craft beers, walk back, train out. On both visits, I went on a Saturday night around 7:30 or so. In June I was able to sit at the bar wi...

Latest visit: Nov 2013 (Westlake) First visit: Mar 2005 (Grapevine) Apr 8, 2022 update: Looks like the Westlake location is no more. There was one in Denton too once. I seem to get over about once or twice a year. Tried the LA at Night this time. Basically like a chili dog but with pastrami instead of a frankfurter. Managed to squeeze a visit to one of our favorite deli's earlier this week. They have tons of different sandwiches, so it's always difficult to just pick one. On this visit I tried the Wallstreeter, which is a hot pastrami with Russian dressing - and quite good. The Weinberger legacy goes back to the early 1950's and a rejuvenated old chicken parts store in Homewood, Illinois. At its zenith, Weinberger's grew to 5 stores and covered the south Chicago suburbs as far as Indiana. A few years after the last store closed, the second generation picked up the name and opened a Chicago styled deli right here in Northeast Tarrant - specifically in old town Gr...

On now for the final restaurant from Mr. Music's Hot Springs trip. This one apparently did not live up to its lofty reputation. --- Our friend, Ms. ChefGirl had done some research and wanted to try a place called the Bleu Monkey. It looked like a modern, American spot. The menu had some interesting items and they boasted a dozen or so beers on tap so we decided to give it a try. My buddy, BeerBoy and I bolted for the bar, but the most exciting things on tap were Blue Moon and Goose Island Honker’s ale. I opted for iced tea. We sat down and looked at the menu and I actually saw a few things that looked really good. Cuban sandwich? Bleu Monkey Shrimp, a dish made with pan seared shrimp seasoned with a pickapeppa sauce served with Cuban black beans, fresh mango salsa, steamed white rice and fried plantains was a contender as well. But Mr. Music settled on what seemed to be a twist on a Vietnamese specialty: Lemongrass chicken sandwich! Grilled lemongrass chicken with marinated...

(photo courtesy of Urbanspoon) Oh where have thou gone RJG? Well, believe it or not, we haven't been to a single new restaurant since Burrito Jimmy in late August. You can always tell when the RJG is in work hell by my total absence from this blog. My last two months have averaged 75 hours a week (some closer to 90). I use the weekends to catch up on stuff a normal person would do during the week. When I'm cooking on this blog, so to speak, I'm at a usual 45 to 50 hour a week pace. And even better are the stay at home vacations. We have been eating out some - certainly not near as much as normal - but mainly to our favorites around NE Tarrant. I do sense the clouds are breaking some. November might be my re-entry point. For certain in December we should be back on pace. I have been diligent in keeping up with the updates, which keeps me tethered to the blog in some form or fashion anyway. Just because the RJG stopped doesn't mean that DFW did. There are a lot of n...

(excellent photo courtesy of Robby Virus) I've really been slammed at work in the last few weeks. I have so many things I want to cover here in the RJG - plus more on our vacation trip to Northern California, as well as my working week in Santa Fe. Not to mention the ever continuing reviews of our favorite Denver restaurants. And there's plenty of new places here in Northeast Tarrant we need to try. To be honest, I don't see a break in my schedule for at least another month. But I'll hold out hope that the 70 hour weeks will subside again. In the meantime, let's continue to wrap up on Mr. Music's Hot Springs journey. Here's his next submission: --- Our friend, Chef Girl said her kids would really like some simple, Italian pasta. The waitress who tables for an excellent restaurant called Rolando’s, told us she really liked Angel’s In The Park for Italian food. We looked it up online and saw it received decent reviews, but with 4 kids under 10 with us...

First visit: Sep 2013 (Redding) Locations: 5. They're also in Chico, Anderson, Red Bluff, and Sparks, Nevada. OK - where were we before I was so rudely interrupted by my official job? Ah yes, we were munching on burritos. And we were sporadically choosing locations from our last vacation a week ago. On this day, we were taking the drive on I-5 south from Medford, Oregon back to the San Francisco Bay Area. I had done this trip in reverse way back in 2002 - at that time I had a 2 week business trip from San Diego to Seattle, with one week at my satellite office in Pleasanton. But Mrs. RJG wasn't with me, so this would be her first time to experience. The trip from Medford to Redding, through the Mt. Shasta and Shasta Lake area, is beautiful. One of the more attractive Interstate highway routes you will ever encounter outside of I-70 in central Colorado. Redding is either the gateway to the beautiful Shasta area -or- boring agricultural land depending on which way you're go...

First visit: Aug 2013 (Windsor - closed) Locations: 4 (Alamo, Blackhawk, Mill Valley, and San Anselmo). And while on the topic of burritos, how about I cover off on a couple of those California chains I referenced? If you've never had the pleasure to drive the 101 north out of San Francisco via the Golden Gate bridge, then it's surely something you should strive for one day. I've done it dozens of times in the past, and I never get tired of it. Over the years, we stayed in various areas in and around Napa and Sonoma. In the last couple of years, we've made Windsor our base camp for exploring the wine country, specifically the Russian River Valley. There's a very nice and newish Hampton Inn there, with well stocked grocery stores and restaurants nearby. And a State Park with running trails, which is perfect for the RJG couple, as we need to run off all that wine, beer, and food! And Windsor avoids the hustle and bustle of Santa Rosa just to the south - so it'...

Our next entry from the adventures of Mr. Music and family while in Hot Springs, Arkansas. --- The first time we stopped by this place, Mrs. Music and ChefGirl just stopped in for a coffee drink. We like to try local places over chains for coffee when out of town and the coffee drinks were very good. Mrs. Music was surfing up a different breakfast place to try since we had been to the English Muffin twice. We laughed when we saw that the place we thought was a coffee shop was recommended for their breakfasts too!  We ventured in to the very small, but cozy place. It was sort of like Café Brazil, or perhaps a little like Panera with a touch of Obzeet in that they had gifts, cards, creams, and soaps for sale. The menu had some nice breakfast and lunch options. They even had brick oven pizza that looked really good and a few beers on tap: Hoegarden and 2 others with some interesting choices for bottles as well. I also noticed they had quite a few bakery items - all made fro...

They also have locations in Fort Smith and Fayetteville. Well apparently the RJG is now going to be a major player in the Hot Springs restaurant blogger community! This is, of course, due to a recent run of reviews that our own Mr. Music just composed for the blog. He sent in no less than 5 reviews while we were away on vacation this week. That vacation, by the way, was to the San Francisco Bay Area, Northern California, and Southern Oregon. I really want to get some reviews out from that trip. We'll see. I had mentioned in July that we had recently returned from a trip, but never mentioned where. On that trip we had gone to Alberta - primarily Banff and Calgary. I did manage to get some thumbnail sketch reviews onto Urbanspoon for about 5 of the restaurants. Maybe I'll flesh those out here eventually. OK, onto Mr. Music's latest adventure in Hot Springs! --- We had taken a fun trip to Mount Ida to dig for crystals and diamonds at a crystal mine.  But it was here t...

They have two locations as of 11/29/24 --- The Music family took a little trip to Hot Springs for a last hurrah before school starts! We got into town a bit late and I was concerned that a sleepy town like Hot Springs might not have anything opened late - even on a Saturday night. We tried a couple places at 9:30 and struck out. As fate would have it, we happened on to a little Mexican place called Don Juan. Ahhh, opened until 10pm! Hmmm, Mexican food in Hot Springs, Arkansas? We shall see.  As we walked in, the décor was totally 70s Tex-Mex like El Chico or El Fenix. We were seated in a booth and they brought chips and 2 cute little pitchers of salsa. The chips were hot and fresh. The salsa had very little heat, but was VERY tasty. Works for me!  We surfed the menu for a time. Soft chicken taco with rice n beans for baby Music and chicken strips for Music Junior. Mrs. Music ordered a seafood quesadilla; I ordered the grilled tilapia fish tacos; $8 and $10. The ...

Apr 8, 2022 update: After many different variations, the Daddy Jack's chain appears closed, including their flagship location on Greenville Ave. in Dallas. The last one standing was in Sundance Square in Fort Worth. Last visit: Aug 2013 (Southlake) First visit: sometime in 2003 (Coppell) Every time the RJG travels to New England, I like to frequent a seafood chain from Boston called Legal Seafood. They're famous for clam "chowda", New England styled crab cakes, and baked fishes amongst many other things. Daddy Jack's is clearly aiming for that market. Right down to the red and white checkered tablecloths - which is not strictly an Italian tradition. So is Daddy Jack's really as good as Legal? Well, no, of course not. Legal has the distinct advantage of having the Atlantic Ocean right next to it. But Daddy Jack's is certainly very good, and one of the best seafood houses in DFW.  More casual and less pricey than Trulucks, which the food is on par with. ...

First visit: Aug 2013 ...And so after returning from my cattle drive, I spun tales to Mrs. RJG about my day with Mr. Music in the far off land of Denton. Most of the stories were met with an eye roll, or "better you than me", but it was my description of Taqueria Guanajuato that had her salivating. Mrs. RJG, born and bred south of the border, is always up for a true taste of the homeland. With that backdrop, we decided it was high time to finally try Taqueria Burritos Locos, a very successful taqueria that we once remembered being a Chicken Express. The first thing you will notice is that Burritos Locos is not a small, fast food place. It is in fact a full service restaurant. And as such, they cater to a much larger audience than a traditional taqueria would. But we were there for tacos and sopes, and so we stuck with the game plan. One advantage of the sit down restaurant, of course, is the complimentary chips and salsa. They provide two salsas, both with a pretty good spi...

First visit: Aug 2013 As mentioned in the Taqueria Guanajuato post, Mr. Music and I also dipped into Oak Street Tavern for one or two craft beers, before heading back over to the Taco Lady. This is a frequent hangout for Mr. Music, and I was eager to try it. Oak St. Drafthouse sits in a truly a cool setting that they describe as thus: " Being the third oldest house in the City of Denton, we’re making sure to keep the history and integrity of the house alive by making minimal changes inside the house.  (and also not to piss off the ghosts). All of the decor inside and surrounding Oak St. Drafthouse were found at local vintage and antique shops around Denton.  Our extremely large patio beer garden allows for a great time. On the weekends, we open the back bar for your enjoyment.  We have a very relaxing environment where people can carry on a conversation without getting distracted by loud music or tv’s. " Our plan for one to two beers turned into 3 as we met a...

Last visit: Aug 2013 First visit: 2003 We've spoken of Niki's before on the RJG , but there have been some changes since our last update. For one, it appears our loving duo of Northeast Tarrant County Niki's Italian Bistro's are no longer together (aww). The website, and the menu, are very clear in stating that the NRH Niki's is no longer associated with the one in Keller. And the other big change is they have moved across Davis to a beautiful new Tuscan structure that they painstakingly built for well over a year. The strip center location that Niki's had been in, for God knows how many years, needed an update badly. The place was, quite frankly, miserable. So rather than gut the 80's style strip mall, they purchased the Catfish Tucker's Haven across the street. And subsequently bulldozed it (I'm sure it was in worse shape than the original Niki's! One can only imagine all the fried fish - and cigarette smoke - pew). And proceeded to build a v...

The RJG just returned from a 6 day vacation, which I hope to report on soon. However, while catching up on e-mails, I discovered that none other than Mr. Music had sent us a fresh review. Alright! So take it away Mr. Music.... A recent drive from the Denton library with Mrs. Music, Music Jr., and Baby Music revealed a welcome sight!  A new restaurant on S. Elm called Viet Bites!  I was just talking to Music Jr. a few days ago about how cool it would be for a real Vietnamese restaurant to come to Denton.  We couldn't wait to go!  I have to admit that it tickles me that my 8 year old daughter often asks me when we can go for spring rolls and pho!  On Friday night we met another couple at this cute little, standalone building. It looks like it once may have been a one-off taco stand or something similar. As we walked in, we marveled at the rows of fresh Thai basil with their purple leaves and Thai chilies pointing to the sky surrounding the perimet...

Latest visit: Jan 2023 (Colorado Springs - North Gate) First visit: Jul 2013 (Colleyville, Texas) Happy New Year everyone! Back for our first move forward of 2023 (or technically the second, since Freddy's got a head start in December). On this visit I switched things up and had the carne asada which was very good - tender and tasty. They smothered it in red sauce - and then smothered it again with the same sauce on top of the burrito with cheese on top. No honey habanero or chile verde this time, just that red enchilada sauce. It was hotter temperature than last visit. While I don't go here very much, Costa Vida always satisfies. Costa Vida is a regional chain from Utah (Lehi - in the row of towns between Provo and Salt Lake City) that originally came up during the burrito craze of the 90s as lead by Chipotle, Baja Fresh, and Qdoba's. Their core audience seems to be in the Mormon country of Utah, Idaho, and Arizona with a handful of other western locations (including Alb...

Latest visit: Feb 2025 First visit: sometime in 1998 (when they first opened) And we begin the first RJG journey of 2025, and our first trip for retirement! It was planned before I retired, as one of our Official Niece's is getting married (yet another one...). However for a variety of reasons they needed to have the wedding in Mexico, and since Mrs. RJG's family roots (and the groom's family roots) are in Sonora, then its capital city Hermosillo is where the wedding was to be held. They both live near Prescott, Arizona, so it wasn't convenient for them either! Not an easy place to get to, and we needed to take an early morning flight out of Denver to make a connection in Phoenix, the one and only flight to Hermosillo per day from the USA. A perfect excuse to spend one night in Denver before heading out! And if I'm getting an open night in Denver with Mrs. RJG, then Mama Louise rises high in the charts as a dinner option. As noted below, we have a long history with ...

Latest visit: Dec 2023 (Spring Hill Rd.) First visit: Apr 2006 (Las Colinas, TX) HQ: Chicago, IL (Founded: 1977) Locations: They're currently in 32 states including DC. They have 10 in Colorado, mostly up in Denver. Our original review location in Hurst is still around. Have to earn those steak dinners, so it's time for two straight days of internal meetings. They were very informative actually and my peers and management team is great, so no complaints. But it's tiring. Many of us are of a similar age, and we're not up for long nights and hard days. But we persevered. It's hard to exercise in this environment, so I don't even bother. With the record show on Saturday and four straight days of travel, my legs are well rested. And my belly has grown... Speaking of which! Potbelly. As in I now have one. It'll be coming off soon. Lunch was served after 12, and my stomach was growling wildly. But I was relieved to hear Potbelly was our vendor's choice for lu...

Last visit: Oct 2022 First visit: Oct 1995 ***Closed Nov 2023. It needed to. ---Rude Dante has shared some final thoughts below. I had to go back one more time. I wanted to load up on the carbs before a full day of record crate digging. And what better place to go than my old favorite haunt, El Tepehuan. Most assuredly that visit in 2018 was an anomaly. They must have fixed those mistakes and brought back the recipes of yore. Why would anyone mess with something so perfect? I'm sad to say that the last visit was representative of the new El Tepehuan (at least they ditched the dopey El Tep moniker). My crack below about the grill may not be far off the mark. I'm beginning to wonder if they even have a grill at this point. Essentially the review below is null and void. The only thing they retained by moving a few doors down were the oak chairs with El Tepehuan engraved in them. And a few warlord Caucasian looking Aztec paintings. It's a much bigger space and they have a larg...