Dont Have to Cross the Ocean

D’s Mediterranean Grill
1503 Colcord

Waco, Texas 76707

(254)-754-6709

New Website

 

The first time I ate here was with my dad, he really likes the place and has taken several friends and family members there. It’s a nice quaint little joint down on Colcord, in a little metropolis of other joints like Beatnix, World Cup Café and a few shops.

You walk in, it’s a nice quite atmosphere (even when packed) and is decorated with pictures of their home country. They have their Mediterranean menu and an American menu. All of which is made to order and from scratch.

The first time I went was with my dad. We walk up to the counter to look over the menu and talk to the guy…. asking him what’s in everything and how to pronounce it all. He was real nice, helpful and informative. After looking it all over I settled on the Lamb Kabob on a bed of rice with two sides- spanakopita (sautéed spinach & feta rolled up in buttery filo dough) and I had to try their mashed potatoes, it also came with 2 slices of unleavened bread… and for dessert I ordered one of the lady fingers.

So I place my order, go sit down and wait. Wasn’t very busy when I first got there, but by the time my food rolled out, the place was nearly packed. They call your number and bring over to you. First thing I noticed was the awesome aroma filling the air from my dish as it approached. You could smell the bell peppers, the seasoning, the lamb… was awesome.

The first thing I tried was the mashed potatoes, I like mashed potatoes a lot so I had to give them first shot. They were alright, nice texture, decent flavor, served with classic white gravy. They weren’t anything special but… they definitely weren’t bad either. They serve a chicken fried steak, so I bet they go better with that than my lamb. Next I tried the spanakopita (he told me how to pronounce it a couple of times, I still can’t get it… hahaha). It was freaking great, the dough was the flakiest dough I’d ever eaten, lightly sweet, crisp, was just amazing. If I could’ve made my dough that flaky in pastry class I would’ve been set ;) . The spinach and the feta cheese stuffing had a great flavor, nice and creamy texture, these were definitely made from scratch. Then I tried the rice on which the main dish rested upon. It’s not your plain white or brown rice, its Mediterranean style rice I suppose. It was pretty good, welled cooked and a decent flavor. Now we come to the main dish… lamb kabob with grilled squash, zucchini, shallots and red bell peppers. The lamb was well seasoned, perfectly cooked with still a little pink in the center, tender and flavorful. Some of the best lamb I’d every had. The veggies were seasoned as well, nicely grilled, nice and sweet. Really loved the bell peppers.

The second time I went was lunch with the guys who started Wacoboard.com, Luke and Kyle. This is one of their favorite places to chow down at in Waco. They eat here about once a week; Kyle loves their Chicken Tenders, while Luke got a Gyro and loves their Baklava (s a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey). I got their lamb gyro as well with a side of their fries.

We had a good time talking about local businesses, Wacoboard, my blog and of course food. D’s has some great food, and I can see why they come here so often. I really enjoyed my Gyro, but I fear there was something in it that I was allergic too… so I wasn’t able to finish it all. The lamb was flavorful and tender, well-seasoned; the lettuce fresh, the sauce had a great savory flavor, the wrap was good too. The fries were also excellent; fresh, perfectly crispy, great flavor and steaming hot. Some of the best fries in town. We spent a good 5 minutes alone just talking about how we think they make them.

About the time we were finishing up, kyle let me try one of the chicken tenders… "O.M.G"….. They were most excellent. The meat was juicy and tender, the seasoning was great, and the batter was nice and crispy. I was originally afraid of ever ordering off their American menu; since I figured they’d focus on the Mediterranean menu and half ass it with the American one like so many other places. But man was I wrong. They put just as much effort into making these tenders awesome as they do their Main food. Next time I hit this joint, Im gonna have to get a batch of these babies for myself. Best chicken tenders in town… hands down.

Over all I had several great experiences and will most definitely keep going back, and often. They have all kinds of interesting things on their menu... and wanna try as much of them as I can.

*If you live in Waco and surrounding area and haven’t joined Wacoboard.com yet, you should really 

look into it*

 

The Eyes of Texas are Upon You: Part1

The Eyes of Texas are Upon You
Part 1
Georgetown Bar-B-Que
723 W. University Ave.
Georgetown, Texas 78626
(512) 864-7389
Open: Monday - Saturday 10am-8pm


So for my Bar-B-Que Adventures I started it off down in Georgetown. Not too far from where I live and it’s a nice small town, and its right off I-35... real easy to find.

But first I gotta go off on a small tangent and say odd people should have their depth-perception tested at least once a year, for most of the way down there I had this 80 year old fool tailing me… Id pull away and put some distance between us weaving between what cars were on the road, Id start cruising again… and *blam* the old fart is back on my tail. Not sure what was up, but it was Annoying. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

Alright, back to the Que. So pulled into the joints little parking lot, first thing that hit me is the smell of Bar-B-Que.. who would’ve guessed. It looks like a very moderate place, nothing fancy. So I walk in, its nice and quiet, dim lighting, ample seating and I got there before the rush. I take a look at their menu, there is plenty to choose from- sandwiches, meats and plates, and packs for to-go and of course desserts (which I failed to get this time). it’s a cafeteria style service. I stare at it for a while before I decide on their 2-meat plate; which is 2 meats of your choice, 2 sides, bread, pickles, onions and bbq sauce. For the meats I chose brisket (non-lean) and pork loin. For sides I picked potato salad and slaw and a cup of bbq on the side. I also order a big ole glass of Sweet tea to top it off (and better yet, they have the awesome crunchy ice). You go through the line, one person cuts the meat and weighs it out in front of you, then a second person piles on the sides, gives you your drink and rings you up. I pick a booth to sit in, so I can eat in peace and relax a little after my drive.

I start with the potato salad. First thing I notice is that they leave the skins on the potatoes… which I love. Second, I notice it looks smooth and not chunky. It has a very good flavor, its mustard potato salad, but they don’t use a lot of mustard. The mustard flavor is very light, they didn’t use too many pimentos or onions and the texture was great. Really loved their potato salad. Next I tried the cole slaw. Thick and hearty, looked well dressed. The dressing wasn’t very sweet, but that’s fine, it had a very nice mellow flavor. The texture was great, not soggy at all, but crunchy and fresh. Now the pork loin, I love pork loin. I cook it more than anything else… smoke it, grill it, roast it, etc. I didn’t notice a smoke ring, so I am guessing they roasted it. It did however have a hearty crust formed from seasoning and maybe a baste. It was nice and moist, the meat it self had a nice and mellow flavor, the crust is what had the pop & zip to it. Over all the pork was good. Next was the Brisket, Texans meat of choice. The brisket was definitely smoked with a seasoned crust… similar to the pork. Was tender, could almost cut it with my fork, moist and had a very nice flavor. Some of the best brisket I have had, besides my own. ;) Last but not least I tried the BBQ sauce. Man, I have tried all kinds of bbq sauces in my life. Tomato based, vinegar based, ones with whiskey, ones with beer, ones with even fruit in them. But this one, I swear had red wine it in. It was tangy with a aftertaste of wine. It caught me totally off guard, but I like it. I kept eating it, it was just amazing and new. I was probably making all kinds of weird faces when I ate it, just trying to figure out what all was in it. Ill definitely being going back, just to have another crack at that sauce.

Overall I had a great experience at this BBQ joint, and if you are every traveling down or up I-35, or are even in the Austin region.. if you got the time stop by this place. You wont be disappointed. I know I wasn’t.

Good Big Ole Breakfast

Kims
2600 W Waco Dr
Waco, TX 76710-7443
(254) 756-5951

Kim’s restaurant, been in Waco for longer than I’ve been alive… serving up breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is on Waco drive and 26th street, almost in the center of Waco, so it’s a great place to stop by for a bite to eat wherever you are. I eat there a couple times a month… usually lunch or dinner. But their breakfast… their breakfast is one of the best.

Well today I was lucky enough to get my ass up in time and have enough cash on me to buy a big ole breakfast from them. Oh yeah.

So I ordered the Texan- 2 large pancakes with a big pad of butter, 2 eggs cooked your way, hash browns, home-fries or grits, and 3 strips of crispy bacon. If you get it to go you also get two little cups of syrup. This is very well priced too, $7 for the meal. The pancakes are fairly large, as big as the to-go box and decently thick. They are hearty, yet soft and sweet, with a little crispiness around the edges. They are pretty damn good. The eggs can be cooked in any way you want, I used to get them scrambled, but now I get them poached. They were always good scrambled, but after trying them poached I feel in love. So I can be very picky with how they are cooked. I don’t like them too runny and I don’t like stiff… I get them done medium. Kim’s cooks usually get it right, once in a blue moon Ill get one over cooked. For the potato dish I usually get their home-fries without onions. Chucks of potatoes, sautéed till golden brown.. good flavor and texture. I’ve tried their hash browns, and they are very similar to McDonalds hash browns… but better. I like their bacon, its always fresh and done very crispy and greasy… got to love that. I could just eat their bacon, sometimes I order a few extra slices even.

They are one of my favorite places to eat for breakfast and have turned several friends onto this place. When you decide to go eat there in the morning, they have a very nice atmosphere. Real nice old ladies work behind the counter, and a couple of younger women too… who carry a little attitude. Usually there is a big group of older men who eat breakfast there, lawyers, judges and retired men who eat breakfast together almost every morning there. Reminds you of an old style diner, which I guess it is. Since I don’t think they have renovated it since I’ve been alive.

So If you wake up one morning and are a little hungry for a big old breakfast, head over to Kim’s!

(addition)
--I live just a couple blocks from Kim’s, so I not only get breakfast from them occasionally I also pick up lunch and dinner from them when I really don’t feel like cooking. Ive had their burgers, their steak sandwiches, their Philly cheese steak, chicken fried steak, chicken tenders, steak fingers, and even their Rueben.

They have pretty decent burgers that are probably 6oz patties, always a good flavor and never dried out. I really like to get their steak sandwich or Philly cheese steak…. Both are pretty tasty. Their CFS is alright, Ive gotten great ones and Ive gotten really chewy ones. The chicken tenders are a good meal with the addition of a baked potato, their steak fingers aren’t anything special… premade and frozen. My dad really likes to get their Rueben, has great flavor.

If you are ever in middle Waco and craving some lunch or dinner, pop on in and give them a try. They have a pretty nice diner style menu and good prices for the food and I usually get my food to go… but its just as nice to eat there with friends and family.

Una Bella Serata

Avanti Ristorante

2720 McKinney Ave.
Dallas, TX 75204

Phone: 214.871.4955

Website
Website 2

So today my friend, Ale, and myself went up to Dallas, Texas to see Shakira in concert. We took the whole day off so we could go up there early and do a couple of other things as well- visit the Dallas Museum of Art and eat dinner at a nice restaurant. I searched on the web for hours looking through all the restaurants around the Airline center, as I am not very familiar with Dallas yet and wanted to keep the driving simple. So I stumbled upon Avanti Ristorante, a nice Italian/European style restaurant, with the use of Google Maps. I checked out their web page and menu, I liked what I saw. But before making reservations I emailed them to see what their ‘dress code’ was…. didn’t want to show up too casual. So I got the go ahead and made reservations, I was looking forward to it.

So we leave Friday afternoon, but you first got to get through Waco traffic, specifically the Waco Dr & 29th street intersection, where we almost get killed by some moron who runs a blatant red light and nearly hits us. But enough about that and kind of getting lost in Dallas, lets get to the restaurant.

The restaurant is very easy to find, they have a small parking lot but still have valet parking for when they get busy and the front lot gets full. We got there early enough that we didn’t need that, truth be told we were the first people there since they open at 5, we got there at 5:15 and our reservation was at 5:30. So we go in and get seated. The place looks really nice, nice dim lights, yellow roses on every table, nice subtle music and friendly staff.

They brought us our menus and our water (Which they never let get half empty throughout our meal). They have a nice selection of appetizers, salads, pastas and entrée dishes. I ordered one of my favorite salads the….. Caesar salad (romaine lettuce, Parmesan cheese, and garlic croutons with classic Caesar dressing) for starters and The Long Island Duck (boneless breast braised in calvados with caramelized Washington apples) for the entrée. Ale ordered their Arugula Salad (roasted pear, crumbled gorgonzola and candied pecans with hazelnut oil dressing) and their Chicken Limone (sautéed chicken breast with chardonnay lemon sauce and capers). Both of our entrees came with a side of Potato and Cheese Au Gratin and some asparagus. For dessert we both had Crème Brulee.

I didn’t get to try either of Ale’s dishes cause she is STINGY ;), I can only comment on how good their presentation was… which was excellent and that she really enjoyed the food.. ate every last bit.

I am very picky with my salads, as many places either over dress or greatly under-dress them. Put they nailed it, the greens were fresh and crisp, it was perfectly dressed, nice amount of cheese and home made croutons… so I ate all of it. Then after finishing our salads our entrees were promptly brought out. Both looked and smelled amazing. My duck was perfectly cooked, still a little rare and the right amount of sauce.. I love apples so it was pretty amazing. The skin was nice and crisp, the meat juicy, and you could taste the duck since the sauce wasn’t over powering. The gratin was very thinly sliced potatoes and a couple types of cheese. The cheese was creamy in the center, crunchy on top and the potatoes were tender. The best Au Gratin I have ever had. I don’t like asparagus, so I didn’t bother with them. I couldn’t finish all my Duck, cause as most of us know, duck is a very fatty animal and is very filling. Too bad I couldn’t get a doggy bag ;) .

After we finished eating our entrees it was time for dessert. At first we weren’t sure what we wanted. It was either the crème Brulee, the tiramisu, or peanut butter and chocolate pie. Once I discovered Ale doesn’t care for coffee flavor we axed the tiramisu. My mom makes a heck of a crème Brulee and I figured she would love that… so I convinced her, with the hosts help, to order the crème Brulee. Usually most places serve them in ramekin dishes, but these were served on plates… no ramekin. They had a raspberry and lemon sauce laid out on the plate for presentation and a little extra flavor. The rust was nicely caramelized and crunchy, while the inside was nice and creamy and sweet and had some strawberries “hidden“ inside it, which I’ve never had before and it surprised me. It was very good, and Ale loved it too.The picture shows a hole in the crème Brulee, that’s my fault, I got over eager and attacked it before taking the picture

If you are ever in Dallas, this is a great place to take a date… great food and good atmosphere. I will definitely be going back again, even Ale wants to go back.

As we left the host told us to have a nice evening and to have fun at the concert… which caught me off guard and surprised Ale, since we hadn’t mentioned that to them while we were there. BUT, I had mentioned it in my original email. So not only does the host read the emails, but he pays attention and remembers. That’s one heck of a job well done. That left a very good final impression on me.

Damn Good Burger

Dubl-R Burger
1810 Herring Avenue
Waco, Texas 76708
(254) 753-1603

UPDATE COMING SOON (2/8/2012)

So today my dad & I went to Duble-R burgers. It had been a couple of years since Id been & I was craving a burger so what better place to go.

When you first walk in you’re hit with the aroma of fried food and burgers. Then you are greeted by a couple of nice ladies who seem to enjoy their work and have a good time. I ordered their double-double with cheese, pickles and mayo with a side of onion rings. Before I sat down I noticed they pulled their patties out of a large plastic tub stacked up, fresh not frozen… as they should be.

Went and sat in the back where they had some air flowing, was a little warm in the front where the cooking is. As we waited, there was a rather loud table behind us of these older folks. Couldn’t figure out how to arrange the table for everyone to sit down. Then out of no-where, one of the ladies pulls out a hand full of diet Dr. Peppers, like the bloody Mary Poppins of soda. Was freaking hilarious, then half way through our meal I see her pull out like 3 more. Craziness.

The food came, wasn’t a very long wait… and it got busy while sitting there. The burger was hot and steaming the rings were fresh, looked like hand battered… not like any frozen I’ve ever seen. Once the burger cooled down enough to bite down on, it tasted pretty damn good. The meat was flavorful, juicy, well cooked and still steaming minutes after words. I noticed they toasted the buns, top and bottom… a lot of places don’t toast the top portion of it. The onion rings were nice and crispy, had a good flavor and the onions weren’t chewy. Really enjoyed the meal, and believe they have the best burgers in Waco, will definitely be going back again soon.