Casa Milagro ~ Richardson, Texas ***CLOSED***

Last visit: Nov 2016

First visit: Jul 2012

The entire Company X and Y story below (from May of 2016) ended up with me being let go outright by Company X (in Nov 2016 - we went here to celebrate my new job!). The Garland Troublemaker was retained as a contractor by Company Y (and he left soon after), and The Indian Godfather becoming an employee of Company Y. He has since left as well. And we've all landed much better jobs for ourselves. Wow.

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Timing really is everything. The last time the RJG visited Casa Milagro was in May of 2013. In fact, I believe that's the last time I was in Richardson altogether. The RJG's work changed at that point, and the need to go to Richardson subsided. And yet exactly 3 years later, in waltzes the RJG just as the blog is rolling again. And for this visit, The Garland Troublemaker who graces the article below, has rejoined me. And we also had the Indian Godfather on hand. It was time for a meet. We talked about this prior in our Banana Leaf review a few years ago. This could very well be the last one too. The end of an era. Why? Well, our Monster Corporation X sold our business unit to Monster Corporation Y at the end of last year, but managed to leave out our group. An unfortunate oversight, but hard to untangle now. These are Fortune 10 companies, and Twilight Zone activity commences often (think Dilbert). SoCal Gal (below) left us late last year for New Company on the Rise, at our encouragement. The Salt Lake City gentleman has been gone since 2014. In any case, the 3 of us (and others left in our group) have an uncertain future. It is our hope we can stay at Monster Corporation X (which we all think is better than Y anyway). We'll see where fate takes us. Well enough about me...

As for Casa Milagro, everything is exactly as I remembered it. Absolutely brilliant. I do have one key update (made below) regarding a menu change. But otherwise, I won't have too many edits other than a bit of formatting.

In a very short period of time, Casa Milagro has become our favorite Mexican restaurant in DFW. Wow! I didn't see that coming. We first visited in April while conducting one of our training sessions with a gentleman from Salt Lake City who has a similar job to ours. My co-worker, The Garland Troublemaker, suggested Casa Milagro, as it is one of his favorite restaurants. And since he knows the area far better than myself, who was I to argue?

Oh... Oh.... this is really good. No, no. It's exceptional. From the beginning, when the smallish glass filled with the adult slurpee known as a frozen margarita hit my lips, I knew it was going to be a good night. Small glass, powerful punch. Two of those is plenty. The chips taste like real corn, and the table salsa is very good. But wait... do you guys have a hotter one? The waiter's eyes lit up. He had a chicken in the coup. Sucker. You can't handle our hot one, said his eyes. Try me I said back silently. Out comes this scary looking yellow habanero concoction that would scare off war veterans. In goes the chip. Boom goes my tongue. Lift off. What a great flavor! And the hottest sauce I've ever had at a Mexican restaurant. Ever. There's one place in Santa Fe called Horseman's Haven that has a much hotter green chile to smother a burrito in, but I can't recall any table sauce this spicy. Oh, and before you get all high and mighty with the "it's so hot you can't taste it" argument, just know that IMO the flavors become even more distinct and pronounced. I do agree, though, that building up tolerance is key. Training your palate as it were. Anyway, I lapped up a bowl of that and asked for another. I thought the waiter's eyes were going to bulge out of his head. The Garland Troublemaker took a couple of bites, but just sat silently for a few minutes afterward. It appeared he wasn't sure if he would make it through the night. Our co-worker from SLC saw the events unfold and decided to sit out the experience entirely. And to think we haven't even tried a dish yet! With my palate all set, the dish that just floors me is Camarones a la Chef* which they describe as "Five jumbo bacon wrapped shrimp, grilled to perfection, stuffed with Monterrey jack cheese and fresh jalapenos. Served with rice and Latin stir-fry vegetables." Of course, that was only one visit, but I wanted to go back and soon! *May 2016 update: They took it off the menu! Ack! But they did make it for me anyway, and it was just as great as I remembered. So hat's off to them for that.

So... a couple of weeks later, we hired a new gal who I'd worked with at software-company-most-people-have-heard-of (and she needed rescuing after 17 years there) to take on some parts of the organization that the Troublemaker and myself were holding down, but didn't have time for. So she flew in from Southern California for a week long round of training with us. First night we're back at Casa Milagro. On this visit I tried their shrimp tacos, which were also delicious. The Troublemaker gave another go to the "Yellow Beast", but was defeated again. I lapped it up with much glee. So. Cal Gal stated that super hot food wasn't in the cards for her. However, she commented, how incredible the taste of the food was. Best Mexican she'd had! That's high praise indeed from someone who likes to dine out quite a bit and lives in Orange County. So I think we're onto something here.

OK then, final test. Mrs. RJG! I had of course told her about my new dining find. She was insanely jealous, stated that it didn't sound like I was "working" at all, and was enjoying myself all too much. So, she suggested, you're taking me there. And so the perfect opportunity was around Memorial Day. My dad, grandparents, and great-grandparents are buried in nearby Restland cemetery, in one of the military Veteran plots. I'm not much a grave watcher (nor was my dad when alive), but it had been many years since I last went, and it was high time I got over there. A new tradition was born. Memorial Day...Cemetery...Casa Milagro. Let's just hope The Yellow Beast doesn't make it Casa Milagro...Cemetery. Anyway... Mrs. RJG can handle a hot sauce with the best of them. She enjoyed a few bites, and her mouth was a blazing on fire. Her test dish is shrimp enchiladas, and her favorite is at Anamia's. Casa Milagro wins again! Incredible she stated. Oh, and I haven't mentioned it yet, but their rice is exquisite. As is their charro beans.

Anamia's remains our favorite in NE Tarrant, but Casa Milagro - in very short order - is now our favorite Mexican restaurant in DFW. Give it a try and report back.

Casa Milagro is situated in a strip center northeast of Plano Rd and Campbell. Very pleasant surroundings. Comfortably dark, with a nice bar area. On one wall they play old black and white silent Mexican movies across a series of TVs. Get a few margs in you, and they start to make sense!

7/9/12 (new entry); 5/27/13; 11/26/16

Yu's Gold-In ~ Keller, Texas ***CLOSED***

Last visit: Nov 2016

First visit: Nov 2009

Yu's Gold-In is now closed and is Pho-In-The-Box Vietnamese (and comes recommended as well).

As mentioned in the September entry, it had been my goal to group similar restaurants for a more comprehensive and useful post. But when it comes to Chinese food in NE Tarrant, we've only found one we like to date - and we really like it - and that would be Yu's Gold-In.

While we certainly haven't been to them all, we have tried many Chinese joints in NE Tarrant including: Golden China (Southlake), Hong Kong Express (Keller & North Richland Hills), New China (Watauga), Pearl (Grapevine), Ying Cafe (Watauga), Bo Bo China (Grapevine) and Szechuan (Hurst). Most are pretty good, with the nod going to Bo Bo China as the best of that lot. But none inspire us to make a special trip, nor have I written about any of them in this blog. Yu's is the clear leader to date.

You won't find the name "Yu's" on the outside, just "Gold-In". From what I can gather, Gold-In was once a small hamburger joint, that eventually evolved into a Chinese restaurant. When I first located the restaurant on Urbanspoon, it was listed as Betty's Gold-In and I later made the correction for them. You may recall our reference to this restaurant in the Little Joe's Pizza post (which is now closed), where we stated "Behind an ancient combo gas station/Chinese restaurant (and, yep, the two sure do go together), is another strip mall, that looks like an afterthought of planning." This is that Chinese restaurant.

Even though Yu's isn't really that close to where we live, we always get the food To-Go. And that's because by the time we get it home, the food is merely blazing hot. Apparently Yu's cooks on the surface of the sun. Most places don't serve the food this hot right out of the kitchen, much less after a long drive home. And what does Mr. RJG like to get? Chicken fried rice. As basic a dish as they come, and yet few do it right. Not only does Yu's nail it, but they may have the best fried rice I've ever had. It's a more seasoned mix, and I believe it's the Szechuan way of making it. And what a bargain - the portion is easily two full dinners PLUS they throw in a skewer of barbecue chicken just because they feel like it. Their wonton soup is of the beef broth variety, with big chunks of pork - and is also outstanding. Mrs. RJG has tried other items on the menu, generally of the vegetable variety, and they've all proven to be worthy.

Absolutely recommended. A classic Regular Joe's Guide kind of place - in both atmosphere and taste!

11/23/09 (new entry); 11/6/16