LaShish Mediterranean - Allen, TX

LaShish - a restaurant review

If I had to choose a favorite food, I would most definitely choose Mediterranean. It’s healthy, It’s fresh, and it usually has baklava.  I am almost always on the quest to find great Mediterranean places and I happen to have found one.

LaShish is a little hole in the wall in Allen, Texas (address below) serving your typical fare: gyros, dolmas, hummus, etc.  Mediterranean is both simple to make and difficult to execute. You are dealing with light, fresh flavors and it is easy to overpower a dish with one ingredient.

I started with babganouge.   Hummus is easier to make taste good.  Babganouge is made from eggplant and is a much trickier beast.  If you don’t roast it long enough, it’s slimy, too much, and it’s dry.  The skin of an eggplant can make it taste bitter and (little known fact) there are male and female varieties.  Males are the best to cook with.  This dish should be creamy enough to dip pita in and not have large chunks.  The large chunks of baba is like eating a phlegm ball... or boba tea (same difference)  The egg plant at LaShish was incredible.  Lightly salted, great balance of tahini and egg plant and it wasn’t swimming in olive oil.

Next I ordered a chicken shawarma. Shawarma is like a gyro only with potatoes in it.  Shawarmas should be focused on the meat with the accompanying vegetables and sauces adding layers to the flavor.  Most places give you tons of pita, lots of filling and then they dump an olympic sized helping of tsaziki sauce all over it. This shawarma was perfection.  The chicken was seasoned well and not overly salted.  The potatoes were in good proportion to the meat and the veggies used were crisp and added a great texture.  The pita.... I was in love.  The pita was amazing.  Hand made, hand tossed, thin, and grilled just right with all the stuff inside.  The accompanying salad was also amazing.  Get this: you could taste the salad! I know, right?  The dressing was an oil with herb salad so if you are a citrus fan, you may not like it but I was very happy with how fresh it was and also how much you could taste the tomatoes.  It’s the simple pleasers, folks.

Now, I must tell you about the baklava.  I will be going back just to eat the baklava.  The filling was divine:  Pistachio based and made with honey, not rose water.  It had a caramel drizzle over the top that was just the right touch of salty/sweet.  The restaurant was small so I hope the other patrons didn’t mind my awkward noises I made while eating the baklava.

My only complaint about the place is that there is no signage as you walk in to let you know if you should seat yourself or walk up to a counter.  The layout could support both order then sit or sit and order.  The owner is super nice and helped me out so I’ll only take a half point off for this.

Great service, great food, great baklava.  No signs but with only 12 tables, it’s not too hard.  

I give LaShish a 9.5 out of 10.  Get to Allen and eat here.

600 E. Main St A, Allen TX 75002

Happy Eating, y’all

Dempsy's Sports Bar and Grille - Mckinney TX

Dempsy's - a restaurant review.
The newest kid on the block in downtown McKinney, Dempsy's is a sports bar with a giant patio. It is the final restaurant before hwy 5 and is the third installment in this space while I've lived here.
Entrance from the street is clearly marked. Once you get inside, good luck. I stood in the doorway looking for a "wait to be seated" or "seat yourself" sign.
 Nothing.
There is a "employees only beyond this point" sign and the roped off area is about the size of an airplane bathroom. A waitress looked at me for a good minute till I asked if I should find a seat. She said yes so I did.
Another 5 minutes ish.
Same waitress comes to my table. "Do you want anything to drink? She asks.
No, I reply, I'll just swallow my spit.
Points off.
The menu was in some very funky colors and pretty hard to read. There are tvs everywhere and only 3 different channels playing. This is an ADHD nightmare.
The menu is basic pub fare. Burgers and dogs except for one burger that boasts a pineapple/mango chutney. I imagine this burger speaks with a British accent and looks down on the other items with woeful disdain. There is also an upcharge for cheese...restated on every line. Design, people, design.
I ordered a BBQ burger and paid the upcharge for onion rings.
Onion rings are hard to make. They need to be crispy but not burnt. The onion should be soft enough to tear easily but not slimy so you get the entire thing on the first bite and only tempura for the rest.

A BBQ burger should balance grease, salt, and sweet. The sautéed mushrooms are only there for texture and look. No one can taste the baby bellas. I highly recommend bacon on a BBQ burger but not necessary. I could have gotten bacon but it was an upcharge...
My waitress was about as friendly as a badger with hemorrhoids and would fill my drink occasionally then run back to the roped off area to chat. I got the distinct impression that my experience was about as important to her as classified documents are to Hillary Clinton.
My meal came and had a special sauce not mentioned on the menu. I hope there wasn't an upcharge.
The rings were a crispy dark brown and could have got a 16 wheeler halfway to Lubbock. The crunch on them was so loud it sounded like an one break in an 80's action flick.
The special sauce turned out to be mayo with chili pepper in it. Or thousand island with chili pepper. Either way, it was not pleasant. Too thick of a taste. It covered up the flavor of the rings... on second thought that might have been sheer brilliance.
The burger was lack luster. Other than the bun, the entire thing was about as exciting as Bill and Hillary's sex life. The tomato (1) was so thin I nearly missed it altogether. The shredded iceberg lettuce was pointless. Stop using this vegetable on burgers, people. Just stop. The burger was cooked to very well done. No chance for any diseases there. It could have been used in the Turkey Trot Marathon to patch shoes but at least there was no chance of anything living on it. The BBQ sauce was the star. And by star, I mean it was so sweet I expected the Koolaid guy to burst through the door and high 5 me. Well, he didn't and every bite of my sugar burger made me sadder. On a high note, the bun was very soft and not soggy. The mushrooms were fun when you got one. The sautéed onions were a good reminder that my onion rings secretly longed to be funyons.
My waitress took care of the check in record time.

The brightest spot of the whole visit was seeing Matt Bado and his husband: McKinney Summer Musical alum. I hope their experience was far better than mine.
Poor signage, inept waitress, bad design, odd menu, good buns. I give Dempsy's a 3 out of 10. If they are dog friendly, I'll raise that by 2 points. I'm not a complete Scrooge.

Happy eating, y'all.

Nashville Food- Martin's BBQ and Calypso Cafe

I recently took a trip to Nashville and sampled the fare.  I won't do a separate blog for each place (mainly because my laptop is heating my man hood to unsafe levels) so I'll combine them here.

Calypso Cafe, Nashville:
EAT HERE!!! Great signage.  You can't miss it.  There's a to-go place but I suggest eating at a table so your food is hot.


If you are there, get the bean dip.  Bean dips are usually reserved for jock events and is just a conglomeration of all things poly-saturated and has the culinary nuance of school cafeteria pizza.  This was layers of brown beans, onions, pickled jalapenos, and chives.  The jalapenos were also sweet (I love science) so when you dipped the salty chip into the creamy, earthy beans with savory onions, sweet jalapenos, and sharp cheddar, you experienced a level of food harmony that could replace those annoying "coexist" bumper stickers.  The only wasted taste were the chives but chives are really only good for looking at... sort of like the hot girl in remedial math.

I got a taco salad, of sorts.  A good taco salad will be all about the meat. The accompanying flavors should be present only to support the star.  I got mine with a jerk chicken and what a combo!  The chicken was bold enough to cut through all the other flavors (something the ground beef on traditional taco salads can't do) without taking the top layer of skin off the roof of my mouth.  All the flavors worked wonderfully.


Really, the only thing I can count off for is the bathroom.  In theory, two people could be in here at once but that would make for a really awkward time, especially if there's eye contact.  Maybe a divider?

9.5 out of 10.  Good price and they know their niche: Mexican/Carribean food fast.  Fix the bathroom and I'll give you a 10... or at least use a lock that doesn't make me wonder if the door will fly open at any moment.  It's hard to hover that long.




MARTIN'S BBQ:  A GREAT REMINDER THAT TEXAS HAS THE BEST BBQ.  PERIOD.

Martin's, from what I learned, is a local chain bbq serving up smoked meats until they're gone.  I love the business concept but the BBQ left me wanting a bit.  For starters, the walls are covered with stuff.  I hate stuff on the wall.  I know from my brief stint in food that no one dusts said stuff on the walls and that's gross.  Ordering is easy enough.  Points to Martin for explaining each of the styles of sauce.  I didn't get to try most of them but I can tell you that my Southern Belle sauce was definitely sweet.  I wanted to try the really hot sauce but was a bit scared.  Then my brother told me it wasn't that hot and he has the heat tolerance of a Minnesotan so I'm going to go ahead and take a point off for false advertising.

I ordered a stuffed potato.  Baked potatoes aren't super difficult to make.  It's hard to over cook them and they hold flavor well, especially the skin.  I think a potato at a BBQ restaurant should be smoked, not baked.  If mine was smoked, I couldn't taste it.  Perhaps they used pine or poplar.  The Brisket was a bit tough.  I like it to be dripping and falling apart.  If you are shaving all the fat off to appease the salad eaters out there, I think your BBQ license should be revoked and you be forced to eat kale for a month.  As to the balance of the other flavors, it was fine.  Nothing too surprising but a good, solid potato.  The sauce mixed well with everything and I didn't feel too badly about eating the entire thing: so I'll award a point for portion control... but then I am at a BBQ where I should feel badly about eating everything so point taken back.


I give Martin's a 7 out of 10.  More fat on the brisket, make a variable heat scale by which part of the country you come from, and smoke your potatoes.
Very friendly workers.  I hope they don't have to dust all that stuff.

Happy Eating, Y'all.

The Barnlight Door Eatery - Frisco, TX

There's something to be said about knowing who you are and owning it.  I'm a classical musician by trade and if I ever tried to get into an epic rap battle with someone, Beyonce's hair would probably fall out and Jay-Z would have a heart attack and die.  I will leave the Rhythm and Poetry to others.

The same could be said for the Barnlight Door Eatery.

The process of getting a seat is confusing.  There is no sign or instructions of what to do. When I was finally seated, the waitress got my drink order and and asked if I knew what I wanted.  Yikes!  Give me a second to look the menu over.  The place was mostly empty so it's not like you needed to get the tables turned.

The decor inside looked like a chic sort of barn.  Having grown up in Iowa, I know that no barn in the history of barns would look this neat and clean but I appreciate them getting a schtick and keeping the walls clean and clear of clutter.  The chalkboard paint on the walls was a cool touch but other than a dessert menu, there was no use made of the writeable surface.  Oh well, I'll let them keep a point because maybe the artists of the group was busy frying chicken.

One look at the menu and I knew I was in for a treat.  Here was a place that had no idea who it was and was trying to make "fancified" dishes it picked up in Southern Living or Joy of Cooking.  I especially liked how most of the menu items are listed in matter of fact manners: Zinfandel Meatloaf.  Pork Chop. Fried Catfish.  And then, out of the blue we get: Breast of Chicken.  As opposed to Breast of Marmot? Why the preposition all of a sudden? And then you have remoulade sauce, champaign cantaloupe slaw, smoked corn relish... then Brown Sauce... like cousin Maude came to visit the kitchen.
I ordered a salad, paid $ for chicken to be added to it, figured I could afford the special fries (their description, not mine) and work that off in the gym.
My drink came and not to be all first world hissy fit but my straw was kinked.  And that is a problem no self respecting person is going to complain about because then you become that guy that makes the waitress walk to the kitchen for a new straw and then she spits in your food.  I had to sift the water through my teeth.

I think fries need to be crispy on the outside and moderately dense in the middle. Enough salt to make the potato flavor pop but not so much as to cover up the starchiness all together.  I'm a fan of double fried fries.  Their fries came out and I was so interested to taste the special fries.  What makes them special?  Are they cut from potatoes grown in your garden?  Did you add an interesting spice or salt?  Answer: none of the above.  They were once fried sticks from the freezer section with salt and Italian Seasoning.  C'mon!  You can make a spiced apricot chutney but you can't do anything more with your fries?  Plus, I had enough ketchup for two fries.  I don't think I finished them.

The salad reminded me of the suicide drink I used to make at Pizza Hut when I was a kid.  There was so much going on.  Green Apples, Goat Cheese, Pear, Candied Walnuts, Cranberries, Zesty Vinaigrette, Stale Bread Stick, and Seared Chicken... Almost all the right flavors if you just picked two or three.  The dressing was to tangy to balance with all the other tangy foods present. The edges of my tongue were screaming at me to stop.  The only respite from the onslaught of sour patch inspired toppings were the occasional dollops of goat cheese.  The bread stick was great for texture change but I nearly lost a tooth.  And I don't want to forget the chicken.  $4 for a tiny piece of "breast of chicken"!  Most places it's only 2 and they give you both breasts.  I barely got chicken side boob on this one!  Plus the searing around the edges smelled like poo.  Seriously, it was really gross and I think people walking by thought I was having issues.  It wasn't me!  It was my chicken.

I didn't get dessert but I did snap a picture and I think this perfectly sums up the Barnlight Door Eatery:  Key Lime Pie. Warm Cookies. Hazelnut Brownies.  All things you would expect to be served in a barn.  Then, Creme Brulee.  What?  Is this a French barn?  Where did that come from? I'm betting it's a scoop of vanilla pudding with a layer of toasted sugar on top.  You know, if you called it Barn Brulee and added bananas or some other un-pretentious fruit, I'd go for it. I'd even applaud your take on the dish but a place that serves meatloaf shouldn't be messing with the most sacred of French Desserts.  Not when your chicken tastes like charred poo.

I give Barnlight Door Eater a 4 out of 10.
No sign, Hurried waitstaff, Food that can't make up it's mind, and really expensive add ons make me say, skip this one.

Happy Eating, Y'all.






 

Ali Babba's - Richardson, TX

Quick review.  I was on my way to the ballet and stopped in to grab a quick bite.  There wasn't any time for appetizers but if the meal was any indication of the quality of this place, I'm definitely going back.  (yes, I will address the ballet comment later)

Ali Babba's is on the south bound side of 75 and it's a trick getting out of but worth the effort.
The signage is clear and the wait staff was
I ordered a lamb kabob and it came with a side of vegetables and rice.

Rice is one of the harder dishes to do right because it's so easy to do wrong and often, it's smothered in sauce so you can't taste it anyway.  It's merely a filler and not a dish.
If treated right, rice has a flavor worth tasting and can compliment a meal.  It's like a neutral colored couch with a pop of color.
The rice at Ali babba's was just that.  Small amounts of butter heightened the flavor of the rice while cutting through the starch.  It was the first time in a long time I wanted to linger over rice.
The vegetables were everything a grilled vegetable should be: hot and crunchy.  I do love a good char on a vegetable and these were not charred but they were lightly seasoned and perfectly textured so I'll forgive them for not catering to my every whim.  I can respect both methods of serving hot vegetables.
The true star was the lamb kabob.  Crispy edges, juicy, medium rare, and perfectly seasoned.  I could taste the lamb and what was even more amazing is that you could combine all the ingredients on the plate and still not overwhelm the taste buds.  In my memory, this was the most perfectly cooked kabob I've ever had.

Well done, Ali Babba's.

I give Ali Babba's a 10 out of 10.  I will need to go back next time there is a ballet fundraiser in Richardson.  (that's why I was at the ballet... plus, when you eat food like this, you don't feel quite so bad about your own body image watching dancers at the peak of their fitness)

Happy Eating, y'all.

Mi Dia's - Plano, TX

There are only a few people who understand true disappointment: Baristas with master's degrees, Superman movie fans, Christian couples who say "I do" at the altar then hear the sound of the Trumpet of God from their hotel lobby, and people who eat at Mi Dia's.

Mi Dia's is a chain boasting Mexican food from scratch.  When you walk in, the ambiance is new wave Mexican and you are greeted by a hostess.  

C and I were trying out the place and we pride ourselves on winning over waitstaff and getting good service.  We met our match.  Our waitress was about as friendly as a T-rex with an itchy scrotum.  

I was in the mood for a mimosa and since it was a Sunday around brunch time and the Baptist churches hadn't let out yet, I ordered one.  I also ordered a dish I'd never had: Huevos Ahogados. masa medallions with a poached egg on top, oaxacan black beans, chorizo, chile poblao sauce, , and pickled onions. It was accompanied by a plate of sauteed potatoes in a red sauce: potato chilaquiles. Both C and I agreed that it was a special day... not sure why, but it was... and we were going to split a Flan.

Let's just say our good times rolled to a complete stop.

First: the mimosa was so bland, you could give it to a Unitarian.  The orange juice wasn't fresh squeezed.  It wasn't even Tropicana.  I'd have even taken the frozen can of orange sludge from the freezer section of Tom Thumb.  Nope... this was Tang.  A good mimosa needs to have fresh orange juice, strained, and be very close to 1/4 juice, 3/4 champaigne.  The juice is really just to give you an excuse to drink at breakfast.  I'm pretty sure there was more alcohol in a homeless guy's urine than this and while I can't be sure, I think homeless pee would taste better.

Second: Huevos Ahogados got one thing right.  the poached egg.  It was still runny in the middle.  I prefer yolk to be runny and not congealed.  It's a preference.  I also don't like to think the word congealed when I eat something so, again, I prefer runny yolk.  The masa "boats" as they are described in the menu were aptly named.  It was like chewing on the wreck of the Hespress.  Yes, masa is dense, but run it through the grinder a few more times.  I think the only grinder back in the kitchen was on the head cook's phone app list.  The chorizo was so bland, even people from Minnesota would like it. I'm going to bet the beans came out of a can and the only reason they were on the dish to begin with was to give the dish a Mexican flare.  They weren't salted  much and there weren't enough of them to lend any layers of flavor.  I would entertain a discussion on texture, but these mushy little piles of plant scat helped sell the dish and then did nothing... sort of like Bryan Cranston in the Godzilla remake.

The potatoes tried to make up for lack of flavor by carrying every last bit of salt in the kitchen.  If "chilequiles" means, "can be used as a salt lick" then this dish rocked.  By any other standard, these soggy spuds were a self loathing pile of hash brown wannabes. 

Third: the spoon.  Little details make the difference between a lovely meal and dry heaving in the face cacti near the table.  Not sure what was on my spoon but the ignominy I endured desecrating their decorations was enough to make me not go back.

Fourth: The Flan.  A flan is a tricky dessert.  I like them to be light, thin, lightly covered in syrup, and resembling a custard more than a jello.  C and I both agreed that you can have no middle ground on a Flan.  You either get Flan or Phlegm.  

We got a phlegm flan.

It was tall, gelatinous heap of egg topped off with whipped cream.  At our first bite, we both stared in horror at each other and said in unison that the whipped cream was actually cool whip.  Then we jinxed each other until I won and she had to buy me a coke.  We couldn't even finish the thing.  I know what you must be thinking at this moment, "I bet kids in Africa don't have to put up with phlegm flans in fake whipped cream." and you would be right in thinking that.  We should go grab food together sometime.

I give Mi Dia's a 2 out of 10.  The only saving grace is that it had clear signage and oxygen for us to breath.

Overall, it was an overpriced meal with all the quality of a Steak and Shake and none of the wonderful flavor.

Happy eating, y'all... just not here.

Zorba's Greek Cafe - Plano, TX

I don't know if it's a chain.  If it is, it's not national... and if it's national, then there is hope for America.
If you can find this little gem tucked away behind fitness stores, medical device shops, and condoms to go, you are in for a treat.  Signage is clear.  Please wait to be seated.  The other signs were bright, hastily scrawled, and out of place sitting on a Greek column.  I wanted to judge but I'm trying to get better at making quick judgments.  I guess if you have a Greek restaurant, you can't theme the daily specials by carving them into stone or drawing them on a vase.
If you had any questions about what type of place you were in, the menu would clear that up: Greek potatoes, Greek green beans, Greek salad, Greek water... I hope no one walks in here expecting American deep fried chicken.

I started with a spanakopita.  This flaky phyllo crusted dish should be bursting with spinach and just enough egg to hold it together and puff up the filling.  I don't mind bits of feta cheese in it but not so much that you cover up the bright veggie flavor.  Also, you have to really drain the spinach thoroughly before you add it to the dish or you get a mushy, gluey texture on the bottom.  The spanakopita at Zorba's was nearly everything you could ever hope for.  I say nearly because the egg content was fairly high so the spinach was very dense.  The crust was perfectly flaky, though, and I didn't get the glue at the bottom.  I also looked like my mouth had dandruff from all the flaky dough flying everywhere.  It's not a pretty dish to eat but is is worth the awkward eye contact with other patrons.

The Greek salad came next.  Nothing amazing to report except that C gave me her onions and they were some of the most potent little guys I ever ate.  I told C about this and laughed at the strength.  I shouldn't have laughed because my breath stunk and the blast of air in her direction harmed out friendship a bit momentarily.  Crunchy lettuce, ample feta, good olives, and a tangy house dressing made this dish a good setup for the main course.
I got the sampler platter.  If you go here, you should get the sampler platter.  Whenever I go to a new spot, I spend the first part of the meal flirting with the waitress hoping to get good service, a discount, or even a phone number.  At Zorba's, my waitress was a dude... oh well.  He still piled my food on high and was so good at his job, I'm asking for him when I go back.  Well done, Giorgios. But, back to the important part.  The food was terrific.  The lamb gyro was mostly lamb instead of beef, the dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice) were perfectly pickled and not slimy like they tend to be, and all the other food piled on the plate was a carb lover's dream! The lamb kabob could have been charred more and it was a tad dry.  The sausage was mild and the sauteed red peppers confused me.  I wasn't sure what they were supposed to go on and unless you eat them when they are piping hot, soggy red peppers remind me of eating giant blood platelets and I'd rather have them fresh and crunchy... peppers, not blood platelets.  The actual meal was not a study in delicate food pairings but if you are getting a sampler, you are probably not giving heed to that.  I'm not judging... unless you ask for ranch, then I'm judging.



Normally, I'd give Zorba's an 8 out of 10.  Fire char the meat, get someone other than a drunk 7 year old, left handed blind kid to write out the daily specials but Giorgios was so dang nice and charming, I'm going to bump them up to a 9!  You deserve a raise, sir.

Happy eating, y'all.