Gorditas Los Comales

Hi, everyone! I'm sorry that it's taken so long to get back on here. Things have been crazy. When are they not, right?

So anyway, here I am to fulfill my duty and give you a guide to going out... for lunch this time. Lol. Well, when a girl's got to eat...

This time I went to lunch on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. Recently I'd seen a new Mexican place by my Target and decided this was the day. Gorditas. Yum, right? :)

Gorditas Los Comales has opened up pretty recently. They're on Montfort, just north of I-635, in the Target plaza. After such a lovely (warm) Texas day, it was pretty cool inside. They tried (and succeeded) at giving this casual fast Mexican food eatery a funky vibe. It has the casual tables that you could totally expect to see in a Dairy Queen, but there are pictures on the wall and a little bar tucked into the corner right by the order counter.

I totally wanted to get a Torta Cubana with chorizo, ham, egg, breaded steak, chicken, cheese, and weenie. Sounds much, right? Yeah, but it's got fried egg!! Laid by a golden goose perhaps, because that torta cost $9.99. Dollars. It could be because they put everything on here, but that's not it. They still charged $7.99 for the other tortas. That's pretty darn pricey considering they charge 99 cents to add avocado. What? Do I look fricking rich? Thanks, but no thanks.

So I got the gorditas plate. :) What better way to gauge a place than by trying out their specialty? The gorditas plate is only $5.99 and it comes with two gorditas, rice and beans. Now that's more like it! I chose a gordita de suadero (marinated beef brisket) and a gordita de adobo de puerco (pork in guajillo sauce) for my plato. There was an eight-minute wait while they put my little masa patties on the griddle and put everything together. Ah. Gorditas...

It's so exciting to try a new place. I happily left carrying my order. Then... it was time to dig in.

Don't judge a gordita by its cover. Just saying.

Everything looked so good. Until... I opened up the gordita de suadero. It came with cilantro and chopped onion. Agh!! I hate raw onion! The cilantro and onion weren't on the menu description. Ugh. So I picked it out as best I could. And then I saw the fat. Lovingly cut into little pieces as if it were real meat. Fat is not real meat. It's fat. It's different if you go to someone's house. Say in Mexico. And a sweet little abuela cooks you her favorite dish. And she tells you it's the fat that makes it sabroso. Then you eat it and you're happy because she made it with love and that's how she fricking makes it. When you go to a restaurant and oh, say, PAY... you don't expect to get pieces of fat (with no meat, just fat) in your brisket gordita. But wait. There's more. When I decided to go ahead and eat it (I was hungry- don't judge) the bottom of the gordita was sopping wet with frying oil. So nasty.

Okay. Let's not dwell. All was not lost because there was another gordita. This one of adobo de puerco. Ah... Sigh. There were three lonely chunks of meat in this gordita. The adobo was killer. However, it's as if the same gordita blasphemer had been in the kitchen just scheming on how to ruin my lunch. The fat! Oh, the fat!! The refried beans with a sprinkling of Mexican queso fresco were really not the best, but the white rice with peas, pieces of tomato and potato was pretty good. It just wasn't $5.99 good.

Food is food. I don't waste food. However, I don't waste money either. If some place doesn't give a good value for the money I just don't return. This, m'dears, is a place where I won't be returning. If you like good food, you probably shouldn't go there either.

Place? Gorditas Los Comales

Location? 13247 Montfort Dr., Ste. 100, Dallas, TX 75240

Number to call when you get lost? (972) 385-2455

Cost? More than it should have been on some items. A large soda for $2.50? A child relleno for $8.99? This is acceptable and totally expected for a real restaurant. Not for a fast-food taqueria-type place.

Kid-friendly? Absolutely.

Date-friendly? I wouldn't choose this place to go on a date unless it's pretty casual and you're already together. If the food was better, yes. Since it's not, no.

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Um, no.

Place to go with friends? Yeah. Especially since the place is in the same plaza with Target and two doors down from $1 Jewelry Galore.

Bathroom cleanliness? Not sure on this one.

Good service? The guy that took my order at the counter was friendly, however, a table right in front of the order counter was dirty for a good ten minutes. It had a half-eaten torta on it when I got there and it was still there when I left. When I was given my take out order I was shown where the forks are. However, I still had to stop at a table to steal some napkins from a holder.

Would I do it again? Heck no!

La Joya

Recently a few people from work and I tried out La Joya in Irving for some "fine Mexican dining". Despite the name, the prices aren't too high... and the lunch prices are even more reasonable. Right now they are even running a breakfast buffet for $4.99. It's from 6:30-10:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. Yum! This is something that I need to try out! :)

When we arrived, someone brought homemade chips and salsa to our table. The green salsa was alright. The red salsa was delicious. Definitely my favorite. It was amazingly fresh and tasted of cilantro.

Two of my dining companions said the ceviche was delicious. It's served in a martini glass adorned with slices of avocado. If you need it, you must request additional lime on the side. If you plan on eating your ceviche Mexican-style with saltines, be advised, they don't have crackers. And watch out... the last bite of ceviche in the bottom of the glass can be killer hot!

That's not to say that they aren't willing to work with you and even serve you something off the menu. When one of our party couldn't find quesadillas on the dinner menu, the waiter was quick to tell her that the chef could still prepare one for her. I just found out that the quesadillas and enchiladas (another item that couldn't be found on the menu) are available on the lunch menu, but not on the dinner menu.

I ordered the Crepa de Pollo con Mole ($16) for myself. It actually came with two crepes. They were delicious. The chicken was tender and juicy. The mole however, tasted a bit harsh. It might have been softened with perhaps a touch of vinegar or sugar. The rice, although tasty, had a bit of a different taste. There were a few hard edges too, which might have been due to the lateness of the evening. As well, the beans were too dry. They might have been better earlier in the day.

The regular margaritas were served in a lowball glass and tasted of cheap margaritas made with a mix, something that the bartender readily acknowledged. The topshelf margaritas, served in martini glasses, were a bit better. They had fresh juices and Grand Marnier for a light flavor. If you like your margaritas with a heavily salted glass, ask for extra salt. In order to make the 'ritas more aesthetically pleasing, only a mouth-sized section of each glass is salted. This adds visual interest, but not much salt!

Overall, not a bad place to go. It might be fun to go for after-work drinks. La Joya has happy hour from 3-7 p.m. Monday through Friday. The margaritas, bottled beer (they don't have beer on draft), and premium house cocktails are $2 each. They knock $2 off all tequilas and the appetizers are half price.

And if you're in the mood for dancing, try La Joya on Fridays and Sundays. They have salsa dancing all night long! No word on drink prices or cover charges, though!


Place? La Joya

Location? 6450 North MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 100, Irving, TX 75063

Number to call when you get lost? (972) 831-8000

Cost? Won't put you in bankruptcy, but it's not at all cheap. Save this place for special occasions or when you want to impress.

Kid-friendly? Perhaps, if they are well-behaved.

Date-friendly? Absolutely.

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Probably on the weekend, not on a Tuesday night!

Place to go with friends? Yes!

Bathroom cleanliness? Yes. Although the "Simple Human" trashcans were a bit insulting! What, is the trashcan more advanced than simple humans?

Good service? It could have been much better. I drank my longneck dry, as did my fellow beerdrinker, and neither one of us were offered a fresh one. The perfunctory wait service could have been much better.

Would I do it again? Perhaps.

El Taquito Taqueria

This weekend some friends and I went to Oak Cliff for brunch and a day of shopping. I was running late (yeah, yeah, I know... when am I not?) so my girlfriend and her daughter chose El Taquito Taqueria. Looking at it from the outside, it looks like a place to grab a quick, inexpensive bite to eat. Let that teach us to judge a taqueria by its cover!

When I got there I had to frantically look for change for the parking meter. Luckily 20 cents bought me 44 minutes of parking time. Good thing, too. That's how long it took just to get my food. Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

We arrived at 11:30-ish. Still early enough for coffee on a Sunday, wouldn't you think? However, despite a sign announcing free coffee with the purchase of three breakfast burritos, coffee wasn't one of the drink options offered. Sigh. So we instead chose to drink bottled water and aguas frescas. Oh, agua de horchata. How I love thee!

When I got there, my girlfriend and her daughter had already placed their order. It took about ten minutes for them to get their drinks and for me to place my order. I immediately decided to order flautas. The waitress asked me what kind I wanted. I asked her what kind they had available. When she told me chicken, I told her that's what I wanted. Then she told me that they didn't have any. Then why did you offer it, to taunt me? This was only a sign of things to come...

Ten minutes later she came back to ask me, "What did you order again?" Agh!! So I had to place my order again. BTW, I chose carne deshebrada in place of the chicken that would have (hopefully) been so tender and juicy, so perfect in a flauta on a gorgeously gray and dreary Sunday morning.

My dining companions chose the gorditas and a torta. When asked which salsa (verde or rojo) she would like with her gorditas, my friend chose verde. Um, she never got it.

Her daughter ordered the torta. Poor girl. She ended up getting sick almost immediately after and blamed it on food poisoning. I'm not saying that that is what she had and that this is where she contracted it. Yet I'm not disavowing this theory either. She said that perhaps she was "too white" to eat here. Her words, not mine!

It didn't look like there was enough filling in the torta to make a flea sick. Don't you think?

My own order finally arrived 45 minutes after I did. By that time we were late for our appointment and I had to scarf it down in three minutes. Yes, it was possible. It's not like it was the type of meal that invited lingering anyhow.

The carne deshebrada seemed to be concentrated in the middle part of each flauta meaning that the first and last bites of each flauta exploded in corn tortilla shards. Very messy. Very annoying. Nor was the meat packed in there firmly enough. This meant that it had dried out and was in unappetizing stringy form instead of juicy, meaty goodness as it should have been.

This was supposed to be a memorable meal before we went shopping for a quinceaneara dress. Instead, it was a dismal and disappointing experience. When you're in Oak Cliff and want to grab a bite to eat, you may as well eat at El Ranchito right up the street at 610 West Jefferson. On similar menu items, the difference in price is negligible (only $7.95 for the Crispy Combo Tacos as opposed to the $6.75 for El Taquito flautas) and the service and food is much better.

Place? El Taquito Taqueria

Location? 301 East Jefferson Boulevard (at the Storey intersection), Dallas, TX 75203

Number to call when you get lost? (214) 943-1510

Cost? A bit too much for what you get and how you get it. The prices are what you would expect to pay in a Mexican food restaurant that actually cares about your service, your food, and its presentation.

Kid-friendly? Yes

Date-friendly? If a date brings you here, drop him or her immediately. Not because it's less expensive, but because it shows that he or she is not very discriminating and will thus not appreciate you for the gem that you are!

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Uh, no. See above.

Place to go with friends? Yes.

Bathroom cleanliness? Could be better. The roll of paper towels to dry your hands was sitting on the toilet tank. Come on, at least hang it up on the paper towel holder! Besides that, it wasn't filthy or anything.

Good service? No.

Would I do it again? No!

Razzoo's Cajun Cafe

For Fat Tuesday, a couple of friends and I met at Razzoo's for a bit of Mardi Gras madness. We got a seat against the wall, by the dance floor. Is there normally a dance floor there? I wish I could say, but this was my first time at this particular location.

I got there pretty early. It was just 6 o'clock. However, because of Fat Tuesday, the parking lot was packed and I had to park right behind the restaurant, in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Park there at your own risk, folks! Not that I've ever known a Wal-Mart to tow non-customers. Just sayin'.

If you're lucky enough to go during Mardi Gras, you'll find that the servers are all in costume. The waitresses are in cute little corset tops and itty bitty skirts or what-have-you. Cute and trampy. Our waiter was wearing a big pimp hat and had a huge clock hanging from his neck. Apparently, this was to distract us from his serving skills, or lack thereof. Note to all, stay out of Cameron's seating section. For your own good. He's an adorable young man who you'd think is working his way through college. I can't see how it's possible, though... if he can't even manage to serve three tables in a timely fashion.

Our wait for drinks was so long that we each had to order two at a time. When we ordered our food we asked that the appetizers and meal be brought at the same time. It didn't happen. When we got our food we didn't have napkins, silverware, salt, pepper, etc.

Cameron tried to give my beer away to two different tables before he finally took it out of some guy's hand and brought it to me. Then, to add insult to injury, he charged two of the people in our party for their own tabs and the tabs of other tables. Yes, that's right. He double-charged TWICE. Two different credit cards were each charged for someone else's food. One of the extra charges was for $90. The other was for $60. The extra charges weren't discovered until the next day. Sigh.

Now, as for the food... yum! I love me some rat toes. Not real rat toes. Ick, no! These are little fried balls of cheesy goodness rat toes. The menu describes them as "shrimp 'n' crab stuffed jalapenos batter'd and fried-- w/cool buttermilk dip". So delicious!

We also got a platter of fried fish for about $12.99. It's enough for 2-3 to share. So good. It comes with tartar sauce and cocktail sauce. You might want to just double up on the tartar sauce. It's pretty durn good, with a hint of hotness.

I was drinking the bottled Coors Light at $3 or $4 each. However, there were tons of people drinking Hurricanes out of pitchers with really long red straws. Um, thanks. I think not! It was especially funny to watch those standing get tired of holding their drinks because they're in a PITCHER. Sorry. That's mean, huh? lol.

Place? Razzoo's Cajun Cafe

Location? 1414 Market Place Blvd, Irving, TX 75063

Number to call when you get lost? (972) 373-9400

Cost? Not expensive, pretty reasonable.

Kid-friendly? Absolutely!

Date-friendly? This is the perfect place to bring a date!

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? It can be, depending on when you go. Weekends are best!

Place to go with friends? Yes!

Bathroom cleanliness? Yes!

Good service? Um, no.

Would I do it again? Probably, as long as I make sure I get a good server.

El Caballo Blanco

The other night a girlfriend and I decided to go slumming in Fort Worth. Yes, slumming. It only proved to us from whence we came (we used to occasionally slum back in the day, too) and where we are now. Back then, a guy willing to buy us drinks all night long was a good thing, something to almost value or at least smilingly acknowledge. Now, a guy offering to buy us drinks, while flattering, is almost an insult. It's like, "What?! Do you think I can't afford to buy my own drinks? Aw, naw. I think not. You're starting to annoy me. Now back away before you upset me and get hurt." :o) Yes. Independent females can be a bit contrary sometimes.

We hit the Mexican bars on Main Street, close to the Long intersection. There are a few cantinas there, all conveniently placed for barhopping. Be forewarned, however... female barhopping over here isn't really a common thing. At least not if the females aren't working girls. Yup, it's that kind of neighborhood. So just be careful out there! And watch where you park your car. That goes without saying, no?

Of all the bars in this area, El Caballo Blanco was the most lively one. There are two security guards outside, standing at the ready to frisk the guys before they go in. Ah. Security guards. A sign that it's a high class place, no? When you go in, there's a minuscule dance floor to the immediate left. To the back, on the left-hand side is the bar. There are a few pool tables as well. Apparently, there are also pool tournaments with the top place winning $500. Wow! Big bucks in a place like this.

We went in looking cute and got plenty of looks. Even a few from the meseras working the joint. Not friendly, not unfriendly, just curious. lol. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" Just be ready to take a shower when you get home. The ciggy smoke will permeate your hair and your clothes. Pee-ew!!

The beer is given to patrons with tops still attached. A questionable move when closed beer bottles are considered potential weapons by many other locales. However, here it's a sign of cleanliness and shows that your drink hasn't been tampered with. That's a good thing.

Overall, the place was a Mexican bar. A good place to go if you feel like getting down and dirty. Not a good place to go if you want something nice and to meet nice people.

Place? El Caballo Blanco

Location? 3203 North Main Street, Fort Worth, TX

Number to call when you get lost? No idea, so don't get lost!

Cost? Inexpensive. Bottled domestic beer is $3.

Kid-friendly? No!!

Date-friendly? Absolutely not. You don't want anybody you're interested in to know that you actually went into a place like this!

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Yes. As long as you don't care about quality! Please... care.

Place to go with friends? Yes! This isn't the kind of place you want to go by yourself.

Bathroom cleanliness? No. It wasn't horribly disgusting, but it sure wasn't clean!

Good service? Not really. Not bad either. You can get the bartender on your side pretty quick with just a $1 beer tip!

Would I do it again? I never thought I'd go back there again, yet I did. So it looks like anything is possible!

The Aardvark

When you're in Fort Worth and you're looking for a down and dirty college hangout/bar, stop by at The Aardvark. It's right by Texas Christian University and it has a great atmosphere.

If it's pretty early when you get there you might get lucky and find parking in the lot right behind the bar. If it's a full night and neither lot or street parking is available, you may be able to find a spot across the street at the police storefront. That parking lot doesn't display "no parking/towing zone" signs and a few other people parked there, too. GGTGO Disclaimer: Please park responsibly and choose your parking spot at your own risk!!

When I went to the Aardvark it was actually to see a great lineup of bands, so there was a $20 cover charge. It was well worth the price.

The bartenders were adorable and totally efficient. They memorized our drink order pretty quickly (hmm... could this be due to the frequency of our orders?) and gave service with a smile. White people can be funny, though. Instead of piling up at the bar, shoving and waving arms frantically for drinks, people actually got in orderly lines. Can you believe it? It was so Robert Fulghum...

... and it worked! Woohoo! I walked away from the beer in less than 60 seconds with beer in hand. Maybe there is something to this whole "taking turns" thing. :)

As for the seating, it would have been nice if there had been more stools. The headliners didn't play until two hours after we arrived, so we had to park ourselves on the pool table in the meantime. Yeah, yeah... it's bad pool etiquette. But there were already a few college kids sitting there and it's not like anybody even batted an eye.

Overall, The Aardvark was a pretty great place. Although it's in TCU territory, there was a pretty good mix of ages and we were very comfortable hanging out there.

The stage is only a few feet higher than ground (audience) level, yet the place is so small that you can get super close to the bands. If one of favorite bands ever plays here, make sure you don't miss this totally awesome experience!

Place? The Aardvark

Location? 2905 West Berry Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76109

Number to call when you get lost? (817) 926-7814

Cost? Not expensive.

Kid-friendly? We saw a few kids there, but they were almost surely related to the bands. Don't bring your children here!

Date-friendly? Yes! It's a very casual/lowkey way to spend an evening with someone.

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Yup. Especially if you go for the college-age hotties!

Place to go with friends? Of course!

Bathroom cleanliness? Very clean.

Good service? Yes. Please see adorable bartender reference above.

Would I do it again? Yes!

Krystal Burger

Not that long ago a friend and I were headed to Fort Worth to a rock concert. (Put up your rock hands, everybody!!)

Picture borrowed from here.

On the way there we decided to grab a quick bite. When we exited Highway 121 we were going to stop at Whataburger… That’s when I got all distracted by Krystal. When Krystal Burger first came to town, it was a big thing. It was almost as amazing as when Krispy Kreme came to town. So of course I couldn’t pass up this golden opportunity to sample this stuff of itty bitty hamburger dreams. Itty bitty hamburgers with itty bitty onions, that is. :)


For $10 we got a bag of burgers, fries, and something called a cornpup. Call me dumb, but I didn’t even realize that a cornpup was a smallish corny dog until I bit into the sucker. Yeah, I’m kind of clueless sometimes. I said clueless, not dumb. ‘Kay??

Anyhow, the burgers were pretty tasty. Just make sure to ask for mayo, mustard, and ketchup if you use them because these baby burgers come dry! And if you don’t really do onion, make sure to tell them so you won’t get yours with itty bitty messy-to-remove pieces. Krystal burgers are not a good thing if you’re going to the bar afterward. Just trust me on this. Lol!

I wish I could tell you what Krystal is like inside, but we kind of went through the drivethru and ate in the parking lot. If there are any law enforcement officers reading this… NO, that was not us eating Krystal burgers and drinking Coors Light out in the parking lot. Neither my friends nor I would do anything so high school and I would never drink while sitting in a car. I know that maybe the female looked like me, but that was totally not me. Really.

Please don't knock the picture. It was kind of dark when we took it! :)

Place? Krystal Burger

Location? 951 North Beach Street Fort Worth, TX 76111-6023 (Exit Beach street off of Airport Freeway. Krystal is on the north side of the freeway.)

Number to call when you get lost? (817) 834-0034

Cost? Extremely reasonable, this is a fast food joint. They even have breakfast specials!

Kid-friendly? How could it not be?

Date-friendly? Perfectly fine for established couples who are no longer trying to impress each other. lol.

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Um, no.

Place to go with friends? Yes.

Bathroom cleanliness? Not sure. We didn't go inside.

Good service? Pretty polite.

Would I do it again? Yeah, why not? :)

Henderson Chicken/Faggins Sports Bar

When a friend asked if I wanted to get some Henderson's chicken and beer I somehow pictured us eating out in a parking lot somewhere, drinking beer bought at a nearby beerstore.

Imagine my total delight when we instead went to the brand new Henderson Chicken in Irving. Not only is it nicely set up, very sophisticated with retro Formica tables and black leatherette chairs, it's also got a bar. Yes... a bar!

After ordering our chicken at the counter, we had a seat at the bar to wait. Tenille (sp?), our gorgeous waitress (too cute!!), served us some domestic longnecks for $3/each. It was still pretty early, only 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday night. Although there weren't too many people there when we first arrived, folks started trickling in shortly thereafter.

When we got our food, it was so yummy, but there was way too much to actually finish it all. My friend and I each ordered the "2 piece with fries" with a breast and wing ($4.45). Please take my advice and order judiciously. Henderson doesn't skimp and their chicken breasts are huge. I only ate half of my meal and felt wasteful for having ordered so much. We didn't even make a dent in the order of fried okra that we split! BTW, take my advice and skip the fried okra ($1.89). It needed salt and was a bit bland.

Yeah, I know what you're wondering... how was the chicken, right?? Freshly made just for us, it was totally delish. The pieces were large and perfectly seasoned. They were laid atop a slice of seasoned bread. When you get your order, if you want that bread at all, be sure to dig it out from under there immediately or it'll turn into a tasty grease-soaked mess of seasoned mush!

Besides the chicken, you also get a mountain of fries. They're the thin little fries that you can buy for about a dollar at gas stations, but they're sprinkled with a seasoning that makes them absolutely irresistible. So, so good. Ah... Yes, I'm a fry girl.

Your chicken basket will come with pickle slices, a pickled jalapeno, and a pickled carrot slice. So make sure to tell them to hold the pepper if you don't like it hot.

The sports bar area was the perfect addition to an already terrific establishment. When we went, they hadn't yet installed the draft beer setup. Hopefully they'll have that next time. :)

The only thing that could make this whole chicken place/sports bar arrangement better is if they dimmed the bar lights (they were pretty bright for a bar) and if they installed a dance floor. Yes, a dance floor. It doesn't have to be too big. Just large enough for a couple or five to dance off the chicken and beer. Come on, now... if they already have liquor and music they may as well have a dance floor, don'tcha think? Lol.

Final word? Pace yourself here. Too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing! If you plan on drinking much, don't over do the chicken. Just sayin'.


Place? Henderson Chicken/Faggins Sports Bar

Location? 3636 North Beltline Road, Irving, Texas

Number to call when you get lost? (972) 594-7777

Cost? Totally reasonable food prices. The bottled beer could be much cheaper. It was $3 for domestic and $5 for imported. They also have $3 wells all day, every day. 6 oz. mixed drinks are $4.50 and 12 oz. mixed drinks are $8. Shots are $5.

Kid-friendly? Absolutely.

Date-friendly? With the sports bar, yes. :)

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Yes!

Place to go with friends? Yes!

Bathroom cleanliness? Very clean.

Good service? Absolutely.

Would I do it again? Yes!!

Palomina's Texas Buffet

When Palomina's first opened up, it was the talk of the town. Weekend buffet lines stretched out of the restaurant and people gladly waited their turn. It was well worth the wait. This place was like a supermall of buffet food with a wall's worth of salads alone.

Yet it seems that in today's economic slump (not a recession- according to the government, of course), Palomina's has had to cut back on the variety and the quality of the food served.

Gone are the delicious goodies of yesteryear. Even the aguas naturales and iced tea are now missing from the drink serving stations. This time the only clear winner that I tried from the buffet line was the chile relleno, filled with a smooshy meatlike substance. So yummy, so yummy!!

Besides that, the macaroni was lacking cheesiness. The turkey ham was processed and tasted like a cheap version of Spam. Even the flour tortillas weren't as tasty as I recalled. Or maybe that's just wishful reminiscing. However, the place still serves ribs, steak, and the fixings. There are still salads, and plenty of desserts.

Too bad the cleanliness of the buffet line wasn't as good as a girl would wish. While serving myself it was easy to spot several used dessert dishes lining the counter. What?! Does nobody see these dishes? It only takes a second for an employee to spot one and whisk it away to be washed. The little dishes could have been the work of the children who ran amuk unaccompanied by responsible adults. Yet that's only an explanation, not a valid excuse. Picky, am I? Well, yeah! Come on, now... Who wants to eat at a dirty restaurant, right? Yeah, thought so. ;-)

Anyhow, the place wasn't as amazing as I remembered it. It's still a nice enough place to go, but I could have saved some money and avoided the disillusionment by eating at Pancho's or Cici's instead. If I recall correctly, the Arlington Pancho's sells booze, too. Next time, next time!

Place? Palomina's Texas Buffet

Location? 701 North Watson Road, Arlington, TX 76011 (on the west side of 360)

Number to call when you get lost? (817) 652-1313

Cost? Not too bad. $10.49 for the Saturday evening buffet, $1.99 for the soft drink

Kid-friendly? Yes. There were children galore when we went.

Date-friendly? Yeah, why not?

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Nope. This is more a family restaurant.

Place to go with friends? Yes.

Bathroom cleanliness? Not too bad. I especially like the automatic paper towel dispensers and the trashcan in close proximity to the door. That way there's no need to touch dirty door handles upon exiting. :)

Good service? Pretty good.

Would I do it again? Probably not. At least not until the economy is better and the place can afford to return to its previous glory. As R.T. (my fellow Palomina-er) said, Palomina's deserves only 3 out of 5 stars. R.T. also says the place is better after a quick smoke out in the parking lot. Not that I would ever advocate smoking, of course!

Trader's Village

As my lovely friend T.W. calls it, the place of my people. Lol. Seriously. You'd understand if you've ever been there. My friend, R.T., and I went on Sunday afternoon. Usually when I go to the Traders Village flea market I'll spend less than $5.00. Seriously. This time, maybe I knew the damage I'd do to my pockets because I took my little red wagon. Oops. Next time I'll take the big one!

The primary reason we took the wagon was a way to carry our twelve-pack. Note to readers: A twelve-pack isn't quite enough for five hours of flea marketing. Next time we're taking at least an 18. Especially since even the flea market vendors were asking if they could buy beer off us! lol.

R.T. and I got there about noon and immediately headed for the garagesale-esque area, all the way to the back left corner. This is where the normal people like you and me sell things. It's more of a hunt here, and more of a win when you find something amazing. Like the $60 brand new with tags Express sweater that I got for $2.50. Or the brand new $40 Gap blouse with tags for only $2.50. Or the gorgeous brand new Liz Claiborne blouse for $2.50. Yes, lots of stuff was 2 for $5. Can you tell? :)

I also scored and got something really cute for a girlfriend for only 50 cents. I had to text and let her know she's getting something really nice for Christmas. lol. Of course, the gift will mean so much more if I leave the 50 cent tag on. So I will.

Also, be sure to think out of the box. The flea market is the perfect place to stock up on household goods such as toilet paper and cleaner, as well as personal products like shampoo and feminine products. You can even buy grocery products like dry cereal and cans of chili... or fresh fruit by the bag or crate! Or smaller quantities if you insist.

Right now since we're heading into tamale and posole season, there were many vendors selling aromatic bags of dried chilies. Yum! Some cute little rascal even suckered me into buying 1/2 a kilo of peanuts. He tried reverse sales therapy on me by offering me a peanut and walking away. He didn't even tell me where the peanuts were sold. Wily little 9-year-old! Yes. He got me. Now what on earth am I going to do with so many peanuts?! Hmm. Maybe they can be uniquely wrapped and gifted to unsuspecting friends and family?

Place? Traders Village

Location? 2602 Mayfield Road, Grand Prairie, TX 75052

Number to call when you get lost? (972) 647-2331

Cost? $3.00 for parking, no entry fee. Take as much (or as little) as you want to spend. There are also terrific fair-type foods for sale, including corny dogs, ice cream, pizza, sausage on a stick, elotes, etc. You are forewarned!

Kid-friendly? Yes!

Date-friendly? Yes! We saw so many cute (and not-so-cute) young (and not-so-young) couples. Take your sweetie!

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Yes. Although I've never met anyone at a flea market, it's totally possible.

Place to go with friends? Oh, yeah!

Bathroom cleanliness? Um, no. Remember to take hand sanitizer and try not to touch anything!

Good service? The food stands usually have nice folk. The vendors are usually pretty nice as well. Beware the talkative vendors!!

Would I do it again? Of course. :)

The Wild Turkey

This weekend some friends and I went to The Wild Turkey for a few drinks. Although I've been here to eat before, until Saturday I'd never been there just to hang out. It was a pretty jumping place. The tables were pretty full, as was the bar where we sat.

Funny thing, the waitresses all wore very tight jeans and red shirts. While the waiters... well, luckily they didn't. But it's funny because the waitresses were all young, cute things. While the waiters were neither young nor cute. Can we say double standard?! Regardless, our waiters still treated us pretty well. Although they never did bring us our change. Yes, we know how to tip and we do it pretty darn well. However, when you take the whole issue out of our hands... lol.

Anyhow, after a $3 longneck, I wanted something to munch on. I got these ginormous nachos with beef and chicken fajitas for about $11. Although they're not on the online menu, they absolutely rocked. Instead of being made out of corn tortilla chips, they appeared to be made out of a humongous flour tortilla that had been toasted (not fried) and cut into pieces. Absolutely delish, though for that price they could have served a bit more. Even the small tablespoon-sized dollops of sour cream and guacamole were stingily-proportioned.

Overall, this is the perfect place to hang out with friends after a hard(ish) day at work or a night at the club.

Place? The Wild Turkey

Location? 2470 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, TX 75229-5627

Number to call when you get lost? (214) 351-5383

Cost? Not the cheapest, but still pretty reasonable.

Kid-friendly? Absolutely, as long as you go when it's still early. Late on the weekend is not the time to take the kids out to eat here!

Date-friendly? Yes. It's actually just across the street from a pretty big club for the young, urban crowd called Beamers. Although that makes it convenient to grab some post-club grub at the Wild Turkey, it also makes it difficult to find a parking in front of the restaurant. You might have to resort to parking in the big lot out back.

Place to meet those of the opposite sex? You can do it. While I was waiting on R.T. to return to the bar, a group of guys passed by and one made a guy-type noise of approval at me. lol.

Place to go with friends? Absolutely.

Bathroom cleanliness? Can't really answer on this one. Sorry!

Good service? Yes. It took a while in between server visits because it was so busy, but the service was attentive when it was there.

Would I do it again? Probably.

Date from Hell

As a public service to the single guys and gals out there, from time to time I will feature special guest posts on dating. Today I'm happy to showcase our first "Date from Hell" segment from a blogger who wishes to remain anonymous. Enjoy her hell. Be glad it wasn't your own.

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She met him at the club. She was supposed to be meeting a girlfriend that night. Right before meeting him she'd run into a Potential who asked her out to dance. She said, "In a minute, let me finish my beer. I'll be over there," while she pointed to a nice spot. Seconds after seating herself, he came over and asked her to dance. She told him no. He asked if he could have a seat. She said, "Suit yourself." Then she continued texting friends while waiting on her girlfriend to arrive or the Potential to swing by and take her out on the dancefloor. Instead, he spilled his beer, forcing her to put away her cell phone before it went to its beery grave. While they both attempted to clean up his mess, the Potential walked by. Noticing her with him, he kept walking. Darn.

Trying to be nice, she conversed with him. She then met his friends. Nice friends. Hm. Maybe she should hang out with them for a while. At the end of the night he asked for her number and a dinner/movie date on Friday. SHE SAID YES.

Night of the date:

He asked her where she wanted to go. She said he was inviting, he should pick. Her only request: that they meet each other halfway so neither would have a long drive. He called back and said they should meet in a certain location. 30 minutes away from her. 10 minutes away from him. That's not what she meant, but she politely agreed. He suggested she call when she left her place so they could decide exactly where they'd meet. When she called he told her to meet him at the movies. 3 minutes away from his apartment. 35 minutes away from hers. Sigh.

When she got there he was not in sight. She called him. He was still home and said she was early and he would be there soon. While she waited she checked on the movie time. The next movie would not start for two more hours. When he arrived she told him. (She had passed five other movie theaters on her long trek to this one. This was not the only movie in town.) She had previously told him that she wanted to have an early night and inwardly wasn't pleased that the movie wouldn't start until 10:30 PM.

He asked her if she'd eaten. She said no, they were supposed to be going out to dinner. He'd already eaten. Pizza. He took her to a taco place 15 minutes away. She tried the chips and salsa and almost died. He said that she must not eat spicy food. He was wrong. She was insulted.

He then asked if she walked in the park. She said no. He wanted to know why and said that she should start. This despite the fact that she was in much better physical shape than he and she works out almost every day (except for the past few weeks, thank you very much).

He asked her why her Spanish was so bad. Then he became insulted when she asked him why his (almost nonexistent and impossible to understand) English was so bad.

While eating, he told her she was very pretty. She told him thank you. He told her she must have had a lot of boyfriends before. Puzzled, she told him she had had a few. Then he said she must have been prettier when she was young. Of course he must have said this because she was obviously an old hag now. Long scraggly gray hairs, sagging body parts, flesh hanging off her face, wrinkles galore. Was he trying to be insulting or was he just clueless?

After eating, she drove them back to the theater. He then proceed to tell her that she parked incorrectly. Too far out, judging by the vehicle to their right. Um, actually she parked perfectly. He then continued to compare her parking to that of the vehicle to the right. She insisted that he get out to check her parking, not the other vehicle's. Yes, she was parked fine. Sigh.

Inside, they proceed directly to the movie. She had been sick and would have appreciated something to drink during the 2 1/2 hour-long movie. Only after being seated for five minutes did he ask if she needed anything from the concession stand. No, thank you. She would rather hack out her throat and die.

After midnight, someone started blowing up his iPhone. The picture on the screen was his mother's face. Either it was his mother or it was someone else who he had put his mother's face on. Either way, it was bad news. She made no comment.

The movie finally finished. After one o'clock in the morning. So much for an early night. She still had to drive half an hour to get home. He moved in for the good night kiss. He got a firm handshake instead. (Atta girl!)

On the way home she got a text from him. The tow truck had picked up someone's vehicle at his apartment complex and he asked her to call for him. Unsure why she should call if he'd been taking English classes and was apparently proficient in English, she agreed. After arriving home at almost two in the morning she then proceeded to make several calls to the tow company. What a night.

Restaurant & Taqueria Lupita's

Oh, honey. Have you ever gone out on the town and then gotten the munchies after? Not the "let's go to IHOP and freeze our rears off waiting on the food" munchies. No. More like "let's take advantage of this heavenly buzz and go eat tacos and enchiladas" munchies.

Ah... have I got the place for you. There's a nice little taqueria located on Henderson right outside East Dallas. This is a terrific place. The food is good and the chips and salsa rock. For you clubhoppers, the place closes at 2 a.m. Monday through Thursday and at 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturday. If you want to go Sunday night, though, you're out of luck. Sundays they close at 3 in the afternoon. :)

Not only have I tried this place out late, late at night (or is that early in the morning?), a friend and I also tried the place for pre-club tacos. Either way, the place rocks.

When you go, may I suggest the tacos al pastor? They're served with the traditional cilantro, onion, and lime, with salsa on the side. Yummy!

Just the other night I tried the El Paso plate. It comes with a cheese enchilada, a bean chalupa, a fajita taco, beans, and rice. All for only $7.00. Yes, Lupita's has terrificly reasonable prices. Especially considering that no other place in the area keeps the same hours. Lupita's blows IHOP and the Waffle House out of the water.

We've never tried this place for happy hour, but it looks like a nice place to go. Happy hour is from 8-10 p.m. Monday through Friday. Margaritas are $2.00 and domestic beers are $1.50. Not bad, huh?

What? You say you can't drink without being entertained at the same time? Tuesday nights you can see Oscar Palacios and his female impersonator show. Thursday night is for comedian Julio Cesar Cabellero and Freddy Lopez on the keyboards. Friday nights are for mariachis Estampas de Mexico. Sunday nights are for live music by Furia Calentana. Lol. What more can you want?

Place? Restaurant & Taqueria Lupita's
Location? 2107 North Henderson, Dallas, Texas 75206
Number to call when you get lost? (214) 827-1850
Cost? Very inexpensive.
Kid-friendly? Yes.
Date-friendly? Yes! It's the perfect place for after-hours tacos.
Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Um, I've never tried this and wouldn't suggest it.
Place to go with friends? Yes!!
Bathroom cleanliness? Try to drink enough so that you don't notice. Either that or think happy thoughts when you have to pee.
Good service? Absolutely. Unless the waitress is jealous of you for some reason. I have no idea what that was about!
Would I do it again? Absolutely!

Los Lupes

Some friends and I got together to go to one of our old (lunchtime) stomping grounds in Irving. Back in the day we'd normally head to Los Lupes for good fast Mexican food and a few beers. Boy, how times (and restaurants) change!

Shortly after getting there, we asked about the happy hour specials. The waitress informed us that due to the recent time change the computer didn't know what time it was. Since the computer didn't know we were there during happy hour, we'd have to pay full price on drinks. Yes. Really. So I bit the bullet and ordered smallish $2.25 drafts.

When my first beer arrived, I was dismayed to find out it was in a dirty glass. No, not one of those glasses with lipstick prints on it. It can be hard to remove lipstick from a glass, so that would be nasty but understandable. No, my glass was dirty because it tasted like the drink it contained previously. Seriously. My mug rim was sweet. Ewww!! The waitress brought me a replacement beer. No apology, just the beer.

Picture of the not-very-fresh chips we were served.

Luckily the food was pretty good. Sour cream enchiladas, an old standby. (Hopefully just not standing by in the kitchen...) I just tried to concentrate on the tastiness and not on how nasty the kitchen must be if even the beer mugs aren't clean. Yes, I'm a little ray of sunshine and optimism.

All in all, we won't be back. It wasn't the nasty mug, the fact that there were humongous stretches of time when we didn't see a waitperson in sight & we were dying of thirst. It wasn't the non-happy hour prices. Nor was it the glaring overhead lights that we had to fix by taking out lightbulbs and softening the glare of the last remaining bulb with a paper napkin. No, it was not any one of these things. It was all of it put together. lol!

Place? Los Lupes Mexican Restaurant
Location? For the moment it's 2849 West Airport Freeway, Irving, 75062. However, 183 (West Airport Freeway) is going to be widened so Loops will soon be relocating to Irving Mall where Fuddrucker's used to be.
Number to call when you get lost? (972) 870-1500
Cost? Very reasonable
Kid-friendly? Yes.
Date-friendly? Yes.
Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Perhaps in the bar during karaoke.
Place to go with friends? Yes.
Bathroom cleanliness? Clean enough.
Good service? Um, sort of. Just not very attentive, knowledgeable or helpful. Hmm... Maybe that constitutes bad service?
Would I do it again? Absolutely... not!

Quesa-D-Ya's

The other day I found this terrific place that serves amazing quesadillas. Not a Mexican place, Quesa-D-Ya's is a concept brought to life by Paul, the owner with the most beautiful sparkling eyes ever. When I walked in, he immediately introduced himself and explained how his place works.

Quesa-D-Ya's is like a combination pizza place/sandwich shop... except they make quesadillas. The most rocking quesadillas ever. You can choose from several different sizes. There are several set recipes from which to choose. Or you can build-your-own. Unlike pizza places, there's no charge per topping. Only a $2 charge per meat. Everything else can get piled on a tu gusto. Not only that, you get amazingly delish chips and salsa free with every order!

Since I was having friends over, I ordered a large size 'dilla. This size is so big that it's given to you in a nice-sized pizza box and should serve 3-5. It actually served three of us. There was enough for us to keep going back for more and even a few pieces for me the next day. (Score!)

When choosing ingredients, Paul suggested that I try half and half. So I got the Traditional with beef steak and the Seafood. Ah... it was sooo good. The seafood half tasted like a cross between the Great Balls of Fire from Joe's Crabshack (just without the fire) and the filling that comes in the Rat Toes at Razoo's. Yummy!

I also got some of the white cheese queso (good) and guacamole (just eh). 'Dilla-eater Rocio absolutely LOVED the jalapeno ranch dip. So much in fact that she took it home with her and plans on getting a bunch of it next month for Christmastime tamales.

Not only is the food and service terrific, Quesa-D-Ya's is a community-minded organization and a "green" place to boot! So, if you're ever on lower Greenville and get the munchies, hop on over to Quesa-D-Ya's. Tell Paul I sent you. He surely won't remember me, but I've always wanted to say that. :)

Place? Quesa-D-Ya's
Location? 2820 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX
Number to call to place an order? (214) 823-3927
Cost? Not cheap, but pretty reasonable
Kid-friendly? Yes
Date-friendly? It would have to be a very casual date!
Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Not at all.
Place to go with friends? Yes!
Bathroom cleanliness? I'm not sure they even have a public bathroom.
Good service? Yes!
Would I do it again? Yes!

Rio Bravo

Most surely a bar in a previous life, Rio Bravo is a fantastic place to hang out with buds after work or on the weekends. When you walk in, the tightly packed tables and the mirrored walls might throw you off. As well as the singing keyboard player stationed next to the miniscule stage. Don't worry, his singing isn't bad. In fact, he's pretty good at getting his covers down. The multicolored lights are a nice touch as well.

They serve fresh, hot tortilla chips with some pretty good salsa. If you're there during happy hour, be sure to get the $5 beef fajitas. They come with the traditional fixings- delicious refried beans, rice, sour cream, pico de gallo, and your choice of corn or flour tortillas. Just remember that the special is for the beef ones. Chicken fajitas are twice the price. Although they're quite good, do you really want to pay $10 for chicken when the beef is only $5? Yeah, I thought so.

Save your money for a pina colada instead. These run about $5 each for the small ones (still a pretty respectable size). They are frosty and strong with some kind of red swirl going on. Guys, don't be embarrassed. Apparently, at Rio Bravo pina coladas are a manly drink. There were some pretty tough-looking guys drinking some when we were there. Do your thing. We won't judge.

If you go to Rio Bravo on Fridays, there is a terrific female impersonator show. When were there, they had Shakira, someone else, and Vicente Fernandez (a hit with the ladies). These are good guys (or girls?!) and they put on a good show, working the crowd. It's not unusual for one of the female impersonators to come and ruffle a male patron's hair a la Jessica Rabbit.

Note: Jessica pic borrowed from here

Risque-ish behavior and jokes notwithstanding, this is a place where people can bring their children for a good meal and a few drinks. While we were there a somewhat inebriated gentleman started dancing on the postage-stamp-sized stage with his somewhat embarrassed children. Later on these same kids lost their inhibitions and were up on stage dancing to Shak-he-ra's music and taking pictures with Vicente of their own free will. Yeah, it's a fun place. :)

All in all, this is a good, clean place for good, clean fun. When you're in this part of Grand Prairie, maybe you should stop in for some fajitas and a cold one (or two or...).

Place? Rio Bravo
Location? 317 E Pioneer Parkway, Grand Prairie, TX
Number to call when you get lost? (972) 642-8007‎
Cost? Pretty reasonable during happy hour**. After that the prices jump to $4/bottle of beer! Yeah, be careful on that...
Kid-friendly? Yes.
Date-friendly? Yes. If it's a very casual date. Not for a first date.
Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Not really, unless you get lucky and are seated close to a hottie. The tables are set so close together that it's easy to start up a conversation with someone seated near you.
Place to go with friends? Yes!!!
Bathroom cleanliness? Um... not filthy disgusting, but definitely not the cleanest. Especially as the night goes on. The soap dispenser was running low when were there, too. Not a good thing.
Good service? Absolutely. Try getting seated in Claudia's station. She's a sweetheart of a server with these killer dimples.
Would we do it again? Oh, yeah!!

** Happy hour runs from 3-8 pm 7 days a week and all day Tuesday and Wednesday.

Happy hour prices:

Draft beers $1.25

Margaritas $1.49

Domestic bottles $1.99

Chicken nachos $2.99

Beef nachos $3.49

Daily specials:

Monday and Wednesday- Enchiladas for $2.99

Tuesday and Thursday- Chicken fajitas $3.99

Wednesday and Friday- Beef fajitas $4.99

Marina's

No, this isn’t a dating blog. It’s a blog where I, Michelle (with occasional guest appearances by dear friends), go out and then tell you about some of the fun and exciting (and even the not-so-fun and terribly boring) places I’ve been. Let me be the friend you can come to when you need an honest and pretty reliable (as long as I haven’t drinken too much) opinion of a club, restaurant, or other place where you can go out with friends, family, or maybe even by yourself. Cool, huh?

My first review? Marina's in Euless! My dear friend and her dear friend Matt (he's single, ladies!!) met me for a night out at Marina's. Although it's out in the boondocks of Euless, it was worth the trip. That says alot, folks.

Marina's is a bar with a full-service kitchen. Although I didn't get to try the philly cheese steak, I hear it's good, humongous, and has delicious bread. The cheese fries are pretty basic. They're hot, crispy fries covered with melted cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Mine even came with a sprinkle of green onion. Okay, I don't like green onion, but the effort was appreciated.

What do you do after eating? Well, there is always karaoke and the pool table area. Marina's has beer specials during happy hour. What more do you need? What, guys? You need an attractive waitress? Check. She's absolutely gorgeous and quite nice. What, ladies? You need a place to hang your purse? Check. Just look under the counter for handy purse-hanging hooks. At least we think that's why they're there.

And... perhaps most importantly... if you overimbibe and shouldn't drive home, Marina's is conveniently located next to a nice motel with reasonable prices. Not that I know from personal experience, of course. :)

Place? Marina's Restaurant & Club
Location? In the boondocks... 1509 W Euless Blvd Euless, TX 76040
Number to call when you get lost? (817) 571-5910
Cost? Pretty inexpensive. Non-happy hour drafts were $2.50 Mixed drinks were about $4-5.00 The large cheese fries were only $6.00
Kid-friendly? Not really. Maybe if you go in the daytime. Maybe.
Date-friendly? It’s a little bar. Um, yeah! Just as long as it's not your first date...
Place to meet those of the opposite sex? Not really. Pickings looked pretty sparse. You'd probably be better off bringing your own.
Place to go with friends? Absolutely.
Bathroom cleanliness? Pretty clean in the lady's room. There were actually two little lady's rooms in there. Each with their own door and sink. Cool for privacy and you can still talk through the doors. It's nice that they had a whole display of toilet paper on the counter. You can never have too much tp! However, I heard the men's room left a bit to be desired.
Good service? Yes.
Would we do it again? Oh, yes!