DeVivo Bros. Eatery ~ Keller, Texas

Latest visit: May 2016

First visit: Oct 2014

I promised some new entries, so time to get crackin' on that. As mentioned, we do tend to enjoy our favorites, and have moved away from trying new places. Not only is that routine beginning to change (again) but there are some restaurants we've added to our favorites that we have yet to write about here. DeVivo Bros isn't quite in the latter category yet, but it's moving towards it.

We actually had intended on writing about DeVivo Bros. back in 2014, not long after it opened, and was receiving rave reviews even then, while racking up some local awards. We had a visit in October of that year, and unfortunately we weren't impressed, and decided to wait it out. Today, DeVivo Bros. is considered the #1 restaurant in Keller for both TripAdvisor and Yelp, and #10 in Zomato (where they list it simply as a "bakery"). But we all know that the latter is completely broken these days (we really do miss Urbanspoon). In any case, all these people can't be wrong. We must try it again. And are we glad we did!

Self-described as "Rustic Comfort Food", that seems as good as any definition I could come up with. Rural Italian perhaps would be another? A very unique concept (for America anyway), where you order up at the counter, sit, and wait until your meal is actually prepared and cooked. And then delivered to your table. Chef driven quick service restaurant? Yep, pretty much! The food quality reminds me of what we would get in Italy itself. All made with fresh ingredients, and unique recipes. Our first experience was a meatball sandwich, which wasn't distinctive enough for us to recommend. Something wasn't right, and the meatball seemed bland to me. On this visit, I tried the chicken parmesan lunch meal and it was absolutely delicious. Finally, someone understands the concept of crispy breading! The pasta was definition al dente, cooked to perfection. The sauce is a bit more chunky than I prefer, but it was delicious all the same with fresh basil, tomatoes, onions, and spices. And it was served hot! Mrs. RJG enjoyed a Devivo's Omelette, which is basically a vegetarian omelette with potatoes, and she stated it was excellent, though she would have preferred a bit more cheese. While not cheap, the prices are fair considering what you get. We just settled on water to drink, and so our total bill was under $20. And they show the courtesy of not expecting a tip, when indeed it is counter service. So we have every intention of going back and trying multiple things on the menu, as there are many tantalizing looking items. And yes, Zomato is right, they do have a bakery. But it's far more than that! They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Drink: It's BYOB, so yet another chance to save. Since we were there for lunch, we didn't partake early (not that we haven't done it before...).  Otherwise the usual assortment of fountain drinks, etc...

Location: Anchors the first of the endless row of strip centers fronting the railroad, south of downtown Keller (and south of Bear Creek), on the west side of US 377. The restaurant is very pleasant, airy, and bright. White dominates with black color enhancements. Ordering at the counter seems a bit awkward at first, since it doesn't look like a place to order. But they'll guide you through if you appear lost (which I often do...).

Notes: You can read all about the actual DeVivo brothers here. Solid, hard working duo. They've also expanded to Southlake and operate a Latin Fusion restaurant that we'll need to try. In addition to that, they also have a mobile fire truck (yes, a real fire truck) known as the Hook and Ladder Pizza Company, that provides catering. These guys are clearly on the upward trajectory. Bravo to them!

10/16/14; 5/21/16 (new entry)

Quick update from the RJG

Hello everyone! Back again, after a long silence. After a nice bit of restaurant going last summer and early fall, Mrs. RJG and I fell back into the habit of eating at home, with a few dinner excursions, mostly to our standby's that we've already written about here, and dutifully updated. Seems the Santa Fe trip wore us out! LOL. I have to say it's been a somewhat permanent status for us. It's certainly a lot healthier this way!

In any case, we do have a few exciting new restaurants to review, as well as continuing our update program. My original plan was to update an existing entry every three years, and that's still my intention. There are some long time favorites, and even those we only frequent occasionally, that need a good thorough scrubbing. So we'll be pushing those forward to keep them relevant and up to date.

In the meantime, we lost two more RJG restaurants to closures. One is Billadelphia's, a favorite of ours since the beginning of this blog, and one we always had front and center in the update column. They recently closed down, and now a Mexican take out is there (really? Is that we need - another one?). Maybe we'll try it anyway. The other is Apeizza e Vino, which was one of many Italian styled pizza joints to have sprouted up in these parts. We did like it, but only managed to get over there a couple of times. I suspect they had too many customers like us, and hence they are no longer here. They too became a Mexican restaurant (Un Rincon de Mexico) and we did try it and were nonplussed. So if you see our Closed Places tab on the right, 46 restaurants we've written about have now closed (including outside DFW). And that's just the ones we know about. It's been a rough industry for the last decade that's for sure. And I just recalled that the Freebirds on Tarrant closed as well. I'll probably just update that post with another location.

On the plus side, we have continued to see the development of the craft beer fueled restaurants, and so that can only be considered something to celebrate. More to come on that.

Concerning social media, it appears Zomato was hapless. The one bright spot was Alyssa, who may or may not still be there (and I have since found out she is no longer there - can't blame her!). In any case, she was unable to have executed any of the changes I suggested (like restaurant openings, closings, etc...). And as predicted, the site has fallen into disrepair. The readership is almost nonexistent. With Urbanspoon, some of the RJG reviews reached into the 1000's of page views, as it added up over time. Those days are long gone. We're lucky to get 100 anymore. Not very inspiring. Facebook is the ultimate ADD tool, and while we might get hits on the first day, there is no sense of history or reference checking via that channel. It definitely serves a purpose, and we'll stick with it. If we were more aggressive, we'd be all over it with constant postings, but that's not our nature.

Word on the street says more and more people are heading over to TripAdvisor for restaurants. That's interesting to me. I have hotel reviews on there going back to 2001 (!!), but under a different alias of course. But we never considered them seriously for restaurants, but there does seem to be more activity. So we plan on investigating further.

Back soon!

El Paseo Mexican ~

El Paseo maintains 2 locations, one in Fort Worth and the other in Azle. Keller closed in 2017.

Last visit: May 2016 (Keller - closed)

First visit: Jan 2003 (Keller)

When the RJG first started discovering Mexican restaurants in the 1980's, one of the logical axioms was that the more fancy the place seemed to be, the more bland the food proved to be. I felt this to be 100% true until deep into the 1990s, and suddenly one would find themselves in restaurants you would feel comfortable taking anyone to, and also would come out completely satiated. Such were my thoughts when I entered and exited El Paseo for the first time in 2003. And ever since...

As mentioned in prior posts, one can usually get a quick read on a Mexican restaurant based on the quality of their chips and salsa. Here the chips are excellent, very crisp, with a strong taste of corn (and lots of chili powder - see comment section as well!) while the salsa has more of a kick than expected. It's a tomato based sauce with garlic and chiles, reminding me most of the Herrera's chain in Dallas, though not quite that fiery. El Paseo seem to excel in the basics, and we here at the Regular Joe's Guide always admire that. Tacos, enchiladas, tamales, and fajitas are all excellent, though not exceptional. They claim a wide variety of spicy dishes, but none so far have proven to be that hot, though still good. Over the years, we've dug through the menu, and lately the RJG has become quite fond of the Pollo Ranchera. It's a large chicken breast, smothered in a smooth ranchero sauce, and comes on a sizzling fajita like plate, with excellent rice and beans. Mrs RJG speaks highly of their Flautas de Pollo as well.

We love their margaritas. Mrs. for on the rocks, and me for the frozen. It's a sweeter blend, with an appealing bit of carbonation. And generally contains a nice tequila kick. But not always... They also have a full set of Mexican lagers, and the usual non alcoholic drinks.

With multiple large rooms, a Spanish courtyard, a full bar area, and windows overlooking a city pond with views to Keller City Hall and the Art House, it would seem that El Paseo will be an anchor of the community of Keller for some time. Hard to miss the rather opulent structure while driving on Keller Parkway. It's on the south side of the road, just east of Keller Smithfield and slightly past (or before) the Tom Thumb shopping center.

Like many such nice Mexican restaurants, El Paseo possesses a heritage that is far more modest. In fact, the Keller location seems to be the pinnacle of achievement for the local chain, that also has locations in west Fort Worth, Azle, and Mineral Wells.  I haven't been to any of the other locales, but have driven by the Fort Worth one on Jacksboro Highway, and the outside appearance seems night and day. I believe they started in Azle in 1986, but details are scant. They have not expanded since the Keller restaurant opened.

7/5/08 (new entry); 5/15/16