Regular Joe's Guide

Last visit: Mar 2013 First visit: Apr 2009 Long time readers of the RJG may recall we covered Habanero's long ago. There have been so many changes to the restaurant since we last visited 4 years ago that the former review has been rendered useless. I'll be removing its contents in favor of this review (but leaving the post up as there are 6 comments attached to it). Urbanspoon offers a feature for us bloggers that allows us to update former entries, so this will be my first opportunity to try that. First off, Habanero's is now a full service restaurant rather than an order-up counter service place. In this way, Habanero's is similar to the Don Taco restaurant in Roanoke that we recently covered. Despite all the changes, one thing about Habanero's has remained the same: That the overall experience is mixed. Some great, some not so great. Let's cover the pros and cons: Pros: 1) Habanero salsa. It's probably the mildest habanero I've ever had, but it...

As of 11/29/24, Duff's has 5 locations in the Buffalo, NY area and this one location in Southlake. First visit: Mar 2013 (Southlake, TX) The other day we wrote about Rusty Taco, and how they had taken a Texan chain and then chose Minneapolis as their first step outside our borders. Duff's did the reverse: Took a western New York / Ontario chain and brought them here to Texas. So Southlake was chosen as the first step in what would appear to be a large expansion strategy. If omens are to be the barometer, Duff's has an uphill climb. This same location has already claimed 3 victims, all national, or wannabee national, chains: Cheeburger Cheeburger, San Francisco Oven, and Qdoba. Personally I miss the last one, though they are still here in DFW - just a lot further. Tangent: One of the RJG's life goals was to visit every city that has an NFL franchise. I achieved that milestone by visiting Buffalo in the summer of 2008 (and was covered in these very pages). Not su...

It appears that Tres Casas closed in 2021. That's too bad, it was a nice hideaway restaurant. Last visit: Mar 2013 First visit: 2009 (later in the year) In a small white house, nestled away in old town Keller, you can find the flavors of Old Mexico. About 3 years ago, Tres Casas took over the old Enriques place, spiffed it up just a little bit, and brought some recipes back from home. Tres Casas is not another Tex-Mex joint, but rather the cuisine of central and western Mexico, as you might find in Sonora or Jalisco. Mrs. RJG, who is from Sonora herself, noticed the similarities with the rice, beans, and shredded beef flautas - all highly recommended from her. For me, Tres Casas has the best al Pastor tacos I've had since my last visit to Puerto Vallarta (interesting to note that Al Pastor itself was brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants). And it would appear the restaurant knows they have something special here as they named the dish Tres Casas . Now I'll admit that I...

Apr 7, 2022 update: Looks like Twisted Root has both expanded and contracted. The Roanoke location closed last year. They currently have 14 locations, including 8 in the DFW area. Bedford would now be the NE Tarrant's most convenient location (or Coppell). They also have locations in Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. Latest visit: Mar 2013 (Roanoke, TX) First visit: Jan 2010 (Roanoke, TX) According to my database, Mrs. RJG and I first went to Twisted Root in January of 2010, not longer after they opened their Roanoke locale. Three years later, I triumphantly return. Mrs. RJG didn't think much of the place on the first visit, and passed on this opportunity. Twisted Root is a festive place, with a cavernous dining area, and fun little gimmicks like assigning you a name for your order like "Popeye" or "Donald Duck". There are games outside for everyone to enjoy as well. You order at the counter, and at first there appears to be a dizzying array of choices, a...

As of 11/29/24, Cristina's has 12 locations in the DFW area. Latest visit: Mar 2013 (North Richland Hills) First visit: 2003 (Trophy Club) Back on home soil again, let's cover off on the newest Cristina's location. We've already written about Cristina's before, primarily their Southlake and Trophy Club locations. As such, please follow the link above to read more about the chain, and their other locations. The newest Cristina's has already hit the Top 10 of hottest restaurants in DFW according to Urbanspoon (Talk of the Town). And given that this is the chain's 12th location, that says something about the power of the Cristina's brand. Cristina's did the smart thing here, and took over a fully loaded former Mexican restaurant, that had been recently redesigned. Therefore that limited the amount of decor overhaul that is normally required to reopen a restaurant. The former tenant, Anejo's House of Tequila, was an elegant place, with a superi...

First visit: Mar 2013 We first visited Fogata's last summer for a weekend lunch, had a wonderful experience and...... never went back. Yea, I don't know how that happens either. Too many good places, and more convenient (for us) locations I suppose. But that's not a good excuse. Fogata's fell through the cracks, and so we made up for it recently with this dinner visit. The first positive aspect I'd like to call out about Fogata's is their margarita's. Lately the RJG has been having a hard time finding a good frozen adult slurpee. They're either too sweet, too sour, not enough alcohol, not frozen, not... ad infinitum. But on our two visits here, they've been absolutely delicious. First class margaritas that remind me of Mi Pueblo, Anamia's, or Casa Milagro. Mrs. RJG had one on the rocks and she too was enjoying every second of it. Plus I like that their default is the large size. I'm tired of wimpy margarita's honestly. That's not a ...

As of 11/29/24, Snooty Pig is only in Argyle and Highland Village. Latest visit: Feb 2013 (Keller) First visit: Dec 2003 (Keller) Keller location is closed. According to my database, the RJG hasn't been to the Snooty Pig since August of 2005, when they were in the location that now houses Tacos y Mas (and you can read more on that post about the history of these locations). The main reason we haven't been in nearly 8 years is, as I've mentioned in a couple of other blog posts, the RJG isn't much of a breakfast eater. Truth be told, from a health perspective, I should be more of one. Not to mention that breakfast is typically easier on the wallet than the other meals of the day. But even if I were to suddenly be all about breakfast, the Snooty Pig is probably not the place that's going to motivate me thus. In fact, as I was ogling over their menu, I realized that I should try their extensive lunch options instead. But on this morning, I wasn't feeling parti...

As of 11/29/24, Fred's has 3 locations: Bedford, Carrollton, and Plano Latest visit: Mar 2013 (Grapevine) First visit: Jul 2012 (Grapevine) Grapevine location is now closed. Going to the Burger and Philly Shack the other day, and a recent visit to Billadelphia's, reminded me that I never wrote about Fred's Downtown Philly. One of the RJG's favorite beer stores is Grapevine Beer and Wine (craft beer aficionados should make a beeline here if you haven't already). And Fred's is conveniently in the same strip center, so what a perfect excuse to drive on over and have a Philly! I must really be in the mood for cheesesteaks lately, as my last trip to Billadelphia's was somewhat of an epic experience. And now here too. I went with the 10 inch Po Fred Cheesesteak which is sliced steak, Italian sausage, sauteed onions and cheese. Now there's something you can only eat about once a week - or month! Whew, my body was still shaking hours later. I could have sworn...