Regular Joe's Guide

Latest visit: Jan 2018 (Grapevine) First visit: 2015 (Grapevine) Regular readers of the RJG ( do such people really exist?  Questions...) will know we are big fans of  New Mexican cuisine , to the point where we travel there at least annually. Presumably just to eat. And, well, that's not far from the truth. So why have we been so tardy to review Mi Dia From Scratch, since they've been open for over 6 years now? I have to admit I was a bit reluctant originally. They had been advertised as something of a Mexico City interior kind of place, with New Mexican seemingly a "throw in", and their menu lacked any authenticity in this area. But over time, they fine tuned that menu, and we've now been a few times, and it's superb each visit. Mi Dia is one of only a couple of restaurants in DFW that knows that Christmas has another meaning outside of a religious event or a holiday. Let's get this out of the way first: This isn't a fast casual restaurant, nor a mi...

Latest visit: Feb 2018 First visit: Jan 2018 There was a time when finding a good Thai restaurant in Northeast Tarrant was quite a challenge. Think back 15 years ago. Back then we liked Thai Chili (Southlake - now in Roanoke), Top Thai (NRH - long closed), Thai Rice (Grapevine - now Thai Riverside), and Bangkok Cuisine (Haltom City - still around, but new owners). And Sweet Basil had yet to get the new owners that transformed them to a 5 star place. Now it seems all one has to do is go outside... and turn right. Which brings us to Ocha FTW, the latter appellation added to distinguish itself from a similarly named restaurant in Denton. This isn't our first encounter with the restaurant setting. According to the RJG archives (yes, deep in the labyrinths of the Earth, a virtual time machine), we tried a place called D. Asian almost exactly 6 years ago. It wasn't bad at all, but not enough to get us to add to the rotation. Ocha FTW is good enough to add to the regular Thai rotat...

Last visit: Jan 2018 First visit: Nov 2009 A long time ago we mentioned this small taqueria in a post about what we thought might be - or not, never was sure -  of a related restaurant . That restaurant later became Las Pinatas in far north Fort Worth and is now gone as well. According to my personal database, my last visit to Jalapeno's Taqueria was in November of 2009, about a year and a half into this blog. It didn't leave much of a mark, and we forgot about it. Well Mrs. RJG and I were in the mood for some tacos, and it's not that far from where we reside, so we thought we'd try it again. And now I remember why it didn't leave a mark. It's pretty average fare for a taqueria. It seems to be popular though, and it's a small family run business, so I guess it's just a matter of personal taste. I tried four street tacos: Ground beef, chipotle chicken tinga, al pastor, and carne asada. That's the order I ate them in. The ground beef was just flavorles...

First visit: Jan 2018 Coffee, eh? Well, why not... We've not reported on the coffee places we go to, and that's probably because it never was a focus area for the RJG. That's about to change. And what better place to begin that journey but at Kindred Coffee Co., which is not too far from the RJG stable. Kindred Coffee offers a full array of pastries, bakery items, salads, wraps, fruit juices, and teas. And of course various types of coffee, espresso's, and frozen concoctions thereof. On this visit I tried the Mocha Frappe, which is their variation of Starbucks' famous Frappuccino. And like any decent coffee house, Kindred blows away the watered down cheap Starbucks variation. It is quite decadent, and packs a caffeine wallop as bits of espresso beans are ground up within (which you can taste), and topped with whipped cram and chocolate. I was climbing the walls at home for 2 hours straight. An organic energy boost that tastes great. Mrs. RJG, who cannot take caffei...

Latest visit: Jan 2018 First visit: Dec 2013 It had been many a year since we last dined at TruFire. A little bit over 3 years in fact (late 2014). TruFire had been one of my go-to restaurants for business lunches, but once that slowed down, I just never returned. Well Mrs. RJG and I finally ended that, and headed over for dinner one recent evening. And we fell into lockstep and she got the Spicy Garlic Noodles and I the Chicken Parmesan. Still excellent! TruFire maintains its 4 star rating. TruFire is the modern kind of American restaurant that is chef driven, but not necessarily expensive or overly fru-fru. The menu is definitely Mediterranean focused, with a specific Italian flair. After ordering a bottle of wine, we decided to try the The Board (fka The Paddle Board) appetizer which is a sampler of high quality meats, cheeses, spreads, and breads. It was quite good. The Mrs. RJG likes the Spicy Garlic Noodles, which I would describe as an Asian/Italian fusion with shrimp, chicken,...

Last visit: Jan 2018 First visit: Sometime in 2004 After a 3 year absence, we revisited Johnny B's - and 3 days later they closed! So much for that.... Food: Would you believe burgers and shakes? And chili. And the latter is not something the RJG is likely to forget, as it's a favorite item for me. Loaded with hamburger meat and chili powder - and served at a super hot temperature - this remains a side I cannot go without. As for their signature burgers, they remain true to the original recipe: Fresh beef patties (thin), crisp lettuce / onions / tomato, gooey American cheese, and Thousand Island sauce. All of that fits snugly into a sweet Hawaiian type roll, that is toasted and lightly buttered to perfection. It is indeed a formula similar to In-N-Out Burger, but Johnny B's was here long before the California based chain showed up. You can also get the Dragonburger which is a triple with chili and jalapenos. Sounds ideal for any member of the Southlake Carroll football sq...

As of 11/29/24 there are 9 locations in the DFW area. Latest visit: Jan 2018 (Fort Worth - Magnolia) First visit: Jul 2016 (Fort Worth - Magnolia) Since we've last been it appears Cane Rosso has taken the  additional step to be certified . We made a bit of fun about  Campania when they did that  (and subsequently lost it - and now are closed). Anyway, it's one way to draw patrons to your business, so whatever works... As our waiter stated right off, this is "knife and fork pizza". I may have mentioned this before, but while still in my 20s in the late 80s through the mid 90s, the RJG was an avid European backpacker, taking a full month off nearly every year to explore the continent, both west and east. Those were heady days, as the Fall of the Wall spurred on a most exciting environment everywhere. When it came to lunch or dinner, one of the more satisfying meals, on a backpackers budget mind you, was that of the Italian pizza. They were uniformly excellent, and chea...

Latest visit: Jun 2018 First visit: Dec 2016 So we begin our Baltimore sojourn at Alexander’s Tavern. As apropos as anywhere else the RJG frequents in Baltimore I suppose. As mentioned in the year end update, I started working in Baltimore in November of 2016 and I’m here/there roughly once a month give or take a week. While my job and role have changed immensely in the last one year plus, the places I frequent to dine and drink have not. My current company is decidedly a non-liquid lunch kind of environment (dinner is a different story…). And I couldn’t see how it would be anyway, as I pretty much work non-stop from 5a to 6p (sometimes more), except to pull away for 30 minutes (or maybe an hour) of lunch bliss and an hour in the morning to run the beautiful Harbor East/Fells Point, which is quite picturesque at sunrise while running the wooden boardwalk. I state all of this because dinner for me is all about the taverns and brewhouses. I have isolated the non-alcoholic restaurants...

Latest visit: Jan 2018 (Lewisville) First visit: Oct 2004 (Dallas - Greenville Ave) BIG is a good word to describe Freebirds' burritos. From our experience, Freebirds was the first burrito chain to offer up more than just a flour tortilla. You can choose between spinach, cayenne, flour, or whole wheat.  And they offer a tremendous amount of toppings to get stuffed in those massive tortillas. It's basically Chipotle x10 - which can be a good thing if you want more than just a few items. The rice and beans are delicious (again, they offer more than cilantro lime rice and pinto/black beans), and the chicken & steak have an excellent charbroiled flavor. I also like that they have ground beef, something I always appreciated from Qdoba, since the meat allows for the salsas to penetrate. I love that their signature habanero sauce is on every table. And dousing some of that habanero all over those massive burritos, will result in a truly sublime experience. They sometimes fea...

Last visit: Jan 2018 (Keller - closed) First visit: Feb 2017 (Keller - closed) They're still open in Burleson. Time to ring in the new year. And what better way with some meaty barbecue! As mentioned in the 2017 recap, Roscoe's is a place we visited once earlier in the year, but didn't get any notes down. So it was first on my list to revisit. Many old time Keller residents will most certainly remember Up-N-Smoke , a very good BBQ place, but sat in a dilapidated old building that was in much need of repair. The original owner decided to retire and the place sat vacant for a short while. Southlake's Feedstore stepped in , spruced it up, but they didn't last too long in that location. It was probably too close to their flagship restaurant, and likely ate into the same client base (so to speak). This was followed by Roscoe's from Burleson - now we're talking a new client base! They expanded even further the original building, adding a full bar area, with flat ...