Regular Joe's Guide

Latest visit: Jan 2015 First visit: Jan 2014 I've been aware of Chelsea Pizza for many years, as reviews and comments alike praised their authentic New Jersey styled pizza. In fact, they first opened in 2009 about a year after getting this blog started. I'd intended on heading west to their Keller location for what seems forever, but there was always some reason why I didn't. At first they were dinner only, which was inconvenient since Mrs. RJG typically doesn't want pizza for dinner. Then by the time they did open for lunch, their website menu didn't indicate they had pizza by the slice, and I didn't feel compelled to order a whole pie. So it was a month ago while Mrs. RJG and I were dining at the Cafe Italia on Hwy 26 that I noticed Chelsea Pizza had opened a new location right next door. I found out they were open for lunch, and they had pizza by the slice, so it was indeed time for me to finally try it. So I finally wandered over recently for a lunch, a...

Latest visit: Jan: 2015 (Plano) First visit: Jun 2008 (Grapevine) Grapevine closed in 2016 Restaurants that sound like 19th century novels is a dicey proposition at best. When I first heard that our team dinner meeting was at Love and War in Texas (LWT) , my first reaction was "what the hell is that?". I had visions of a touristo trappo, with slide shows, dancers, costumes and other annoying gimmicks. But much to my surprise, the only gimmick here is that LWT focuses on the various culinary traditions of the diverse regions of Texas. And not only that, but everything is grown or made here, including the wine. And my response quickly went to "what a great idea!" The five regions LWT define are: The Border, Texas Gulf Coast, Hill Country, The West Texas Plains and East Texas Piney Woods. And that's a pretty good designation, especially considering that the Texas state constitution has a provision to break into 5 different states. Each one naturally has a culi...