Regular Joe's Guide

Other location: Southlake. They also plan to open up in the city of Dallas soon --- My close friends, Soundgardens Cuz and his wife, Realtor Queen took me to the new Dragon House in Highland Village for my birthday. I know the current trend around DFW is handmade dumplings and handpulled noodles and saw they offered them as well. But Dragon House sets itself apart from others. First, its a more elegant dining experience and yes, that does mean it's a bit more expensive than others I've been to. Highland Village is a great location for this upscale type of dining experience. I don't always subscribe to that, but it was nice! Our server was super attentive, but RQ noted that our dishes arrived right after the appetizer came. She saw the same occur at a nearby table.  OK, on to the food and menu. They have a very big menu and includes hand drawn noodles, handmade dumplings/wontons, beef noodle soups, fried rice and fried noodle pages, and some traditional dishes like Mong...

First visit: Feb 2025 ---2/15/25 It's a cold and dreary winter Saturday, and I didn't have any sales to go to. Mrs. RJG had some family business in Denver (we're two ships passing in the night apparently), so I was on my own for lunch. Why not pick a place nearby to the house that Mrs. RJG hasn't shown enthusiasm for. Well that would be Red's Sunset Grill that just opened a couple of months back. She doesn't often like to try places unless I've reconned them first. Happy to perform my spousal duty... The establishment here prior was Beasts & Brews, a miserable place that I wrote a scathing review of (since removed). I can deal with a lot of issues, but I can't handle restaurants that deliberately try to rip you off. And they did that with their self pour beer tap system. I suggested they needed to change that business model pronto or face going out of business. And no truer words were ever written... Good riddance. Red's Sunset Grill has complete...

First visit: Feb 2025 ---2/15/25 I decided to go digging for inventory in Denver on this sunny and warm Friday morning, which later turned cloudy and rainy. After having great success at the first sale, I was hungry, considering I hadn't eaten anything and I had run three miles in the morning. I was in the mood for a Mexican breakfast likely a reaction to our recent visit to Hermosillo. The sale area I was in is where Mrs. RJG resided while we were dating in 1996 and early '97.  It was simply part of Aurora (or SE Denver) back then, but is now part of the Centennial carve out. I have no go-tos here, so let's find the first Mexican restaurant nearby that is open at 10:00 am. Chago's came up, reviews looked good, so let's try it. I was expecting more of a restaurant like setting. As I arrived, it became clear this was a taqueria with counter service. No problem at all. They had tables and chairs strewn about, but it appears takeout is their primary business. As long a...

First visit: Feb 2025 ---2/14/25 Alrighty now that the wedding in Mexico is over, I hope to give more focus here to Colorado and beyond. I'm expecting 3 to 4 new restaurants (or updates) a week. I'll get the Instagram posts gathered when I get a chance. And it is this Thursday we begin our journey. Downtown Colorado Springs now is in play, as there's a thrift shop I frequent that allows for free parking (I absolutely despise paying for parking). I've had Chile Colorado circled since they first opened, but didn't have the time to get over here. It sits right across from the courthouse and I'm now realizing I blew my chance when I served on the jury last year as noted on this blog. It sits somewhat isolated from where most of the other restaurants are. Almost like you're in a small town. That's a good thing. Walk in and you'll be warmly greeted by the friendly waitstaff. They sat me at one of the comfortable booths by the window. The restaurant is colo...

First visit: Feb 2025 ---2/11/25 Once again we had no plans to fill the day. At least for us guys. So after our meal at Santo's Grill, the three ladies who were with us had appointments to get their hair and makeup done. Mrs. RJG and Denver Sister were not too keen on unleashing Mr. RJG and the Ghana Ambassador out into the wilds on the wedding day. Denver Official Niece the Young had her boyfriend, but she could care less what he was up to. And Denver Official Nephew is 23 and free as a bird, so he was game for anything. There was talk of driving to San Carlos, a beautiful town some 90 minutes away. But the ladies were terrified we'd get caught up in traffic and miss the wedding. That sounded good to us guys! lol. After some deliberation, Oldest Sibling agreed to take us dudes around Hermosillo and we'd figure something out. OK, sounds like a plan. It somehow became our mission to get a sombrero. Funny how these things become the target when it was never discussed before. ...

First visit: Feb 2025 ---2/11/25 Finally - the day of the wedding. Oldest Sibling, having been upstaged by 90 year old Official Mom the day before, insisted on taking us out again. This time it was just him and seven of the Colorado 9. The other two were involved in the wedding (one as the husband) and stayed in a different hotel. Another excellent choice, Santo's Grill is clearly a cut above. Something like an independent First Watch. This would be a good time to mention that we found the service in Hermosillo - at every restaurant - impeccable. People were happy to have their jobs and were professionals at all times. High minimum wages have killed the restaurant industry in the States (California going so far as to pick on the industry itself). I think that's going to be POTUS' biggest challenge in tackling inflation. And he has Union support, making it that much more difficult to do what needs to be done.  As openers we had coffee, pastries, and little sopas (or somethin...

First visit: Feb 2025 ---2/10/25 Friday was yet another "no plan" day and we had no events scheduled for the afternoon. After breakfast, while sitting near the hotel pool (in the shade) many of us bemoaned the fact that we should have come a day later. But we also knew the Colorado winter was unpredictable so leaving on Thursday was "insurance". And yea, it was friggin' hot while we were in Hermosillo. Temperatures hitting close to 90. In early February! It rarely gets that hot in the Springs at the height of the summer. I don't miss DFW one bit, and summer heat is the primary reason. But Friday evening was definitely a planned event. It's the rehearsal dinner. Only one of the Colorado 9 were in the wedding party. This would be the Denver Official Niece the Elder who incidentally got married herself in the San Diego area three years ago (and documented in the RJG). But the bride and groom insisted on a larger event because so many of us traveled too far ...

First visit: Feb 2025 ---2/10/25 Our stomachs were all a bit rocky after our bad diet day on Thursday. We needed a good breakfast to get on track. Enter Oldest Sibling, resident of Hermosillo. After 29 years of marriage / dating, I know almost all of Mrs. RJG's extended family. But after all these years, I had never met the oldest brother. He's 67. Mrs. RJG is the youngest (of nine) and she's 51. But on this Friday morning, that goal of meeting all the siblings has finally been met. Also met for the first time his wife and youngest daughter (who is 24). Yet another beautiful niece. Hope she's not getting married soon. Or find a nice place in the USA to do so... He recommended Güeros, a whopping $1.50 Uber ride away. They identify with mariscos (seafood) but honestly I saw it as another Mexican coffee shop with more options for seafood. That didn't sound appealing to me, but that appealed to Mrs. RJG and her sister (call her Denver Sister for this trip). First I want...

First visit: Feb 2025 ---2/10/25 And we have arrived. Thursday was a pretty brutal day for the eating routine. We had to be at the Denver airport too early for a normal breakfast and we had a short layover time in Phoenix. Though it turned out we had more time in PHX due to unknown delays - which the airline didn't even mention until much later. How about Make Flying Great Again? MFGA. Trump's approval ratings would go through the roof if he could pull that off... In any case, we're talking snacks throughout the day. Chips, cookies, etc... Great diet. After we all finally got to the hotel, it was time for dinner. As I knew before going on this trip, no one took the lead on planning. I had no intention and since we had native speakers among us, I had hoped someone would have emerged. Wishful thinking. But mentally Mrs. RJG and I prepared for chaos, and that's exactly what we got - chaos. I was determined to "go with the flow" no matter what. I put my road warri...

First visit: Feb 2025 ---2/10/25 As noted in the latest Mama Louise update (Feb 2025), I stated that Mrs. RJG and I only had one glass of house chianti each. And that was because I wanted to try a new brewery (to us) before we closed off the evening. I figured I'd choose one randomly between Mama Louise and the airport hotel we were staying at. What I didn't know is there is a brewery only two doors down! What? Well that made the decision easy... Walk in, and the bar is right in front. Nice strip center setting with plenty of seating and nicely decorated. A very comfortable place. The lighting was too bright though (as my first photo indicates). A little more mood lighting would have been preferable. Not a big deal. I enjoyed two beers and Mrs. RJG had only one (she had to fit in the fancy form fitting dress before the wedding event you know...). My two are documented in the Bier Reise. One more excellent brewery from the Denver area. 2/5/25  2/10/25 (new entry)