Regular Joe's Guide

Latest visit: Oct 2014 (Southlake, Texas) First visit: Feb 2003 (Mickey Mantle's - Oklahoma City) Apr 11, 2022 update: Kirby's continues to operate 5 locations including Mickey Mantle's in Oklahoma City. Like many local restaurants, Kirby's got its start as a neighborhood steakhouse, a place to meet friends for a casual meal. Kirby's was an institution in the Lower Greenville district of Dallas, and lasted from 1954 to 1987, when the owner decided to retire and close up shop. Though my parents and I would occasionally head down to Lower Greenville for Italian food throughout the 1970s, we never once stepped foot in Kirby's (Dad was a big fan of the Steak and Ale near Bachman Lake), though I remember driving by it each time. So it seemed yet another classic place from DFW that was dead, gone and buried. Except 6 years later, in 1993, a group of neighbors decided to go into business together and reopen the landmark. This time as a "high end" steakhous...

Apr 11, 2022 update: Palio's is now up to 38 locations, which is down from 45 a year ago. But still a long way from their humble beginnings when we first covered them (one of our very first posts!). Both locations that we mentioned below are still operating. Latest visit: Oct 2014 (Keller, Texas) First visit: Mar 2008 (Colleyville, Texas) --- It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and me and the Misses were in the mood for a little pizza, mainly of the individual variety. I first stumbled onto Palio's at their Coppell location, but we didn't eat there always promising to come back someday. Palio's is a mini DFW local chain, primarily based in the far northern Dallas suburbs. We discussed Colleyville and Hwy 26 in the Bellisimo thread, and Palio's is just down the road in one of the more fancy buildings, designed in the faux-old style that's so prevalent in these parts. In fact, these guys have the FAUX idea down, as they managed to cram as many 1920s to 1950s era ...