2315 W Airport Fwy
Irving, TX 75062
(972) 255-3714
The fiance and I have only visited once, on a Sunday lunch, and our visit was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
First off, we were taken aback to discover our host was ex-Rafain…happy to know that he was venturing out on his own and pleased to get the same level of service.
Perhaps my expectations were too high for budget Brazilian. Perhaps at the time Delicias was still new, trying to find its stride, but that doesn’t excuse the rather forgettable rodizio. I just couldn’t enjoy anything from the meat parade to request a second serving.
I tried everything off the buffet tables, but nothing agreed with me–pastas, salads, authentic stews and casseroles, desserts. I have never been dismayed or put off by traditional dishes, and I even love flan…but meh, these plates were bland and uninteresting! Even the cauliflower tasted rotten! My sole consolation was the cheesy bread–at least they kept me from starving (difficult to comprehend for a rodizio).
It’s nice to see that the ethnic community has embraced Delicias. On our visit, several Brazilian families came in to patron the place…but it soon became evident that the dining room is too small, and slowly becoming claustrophobic with the number of skewer-wielding attendants clogging the aisles.
The biggest slip came at check time, when we discovered that the restaurant register couldn’t process credit card receipts. Everything then had to be processed through the front-end grocery store’s register…which would have been tolerable…had it not taken more than half an hour to accomplish. One neighbor patron was so unhappy with the arrangement that he kept flagging down any of the restaurant staff for assistance–he had been kept waiting for nearly an hour trying to check out.
The manager and host were humbly apologetic, but this experience soured us on any future visits. Even the coupon I brought with me went unused, as we tried to hurry our way out the door.
240 Legacy Dr # 218
Plano, TX 75023
(972) 517-9100
Fake Yelp reviews? I don’t know about that. Perhaps the high marks aren’t about the food.
I for one was completely taken in by the owner’s bubbly enthusiasm and outgoing friendliness. Every visit guarantees a lively conversation, while you watch him make your crepes on the spot.
I did enjoy chowing down on his freshly made ice cream and fruit crepes–that delicious contrast of warm and cold, crispy and soft–but it took a freezer outage to discover the true gems on his menu: the savory crepes — which the owner ought to promote more. The next time I’m in the area, I hope to see an expanded menu.
2512 E Belt Line Rd
Carrollton, TX 75006
(972) 418-8424
The fiance and I took off for lunch at this Thai grill for a dining adventure. The restaurant resides in what appears to be a renovated Long John’s Silvers shack, done up in bright green paint. The interior was also refreshed with modern furniture and lively paint scheme to coordinate with their banana-and-coconut-themed paintings. Seeing the effort put into decorating the place made me confident in knowing that management intends to make this a successful venture.
On to the menu. We tackled the chicken satay for an appetizer, then I ordered the house special Coconut chicken while the fiance sampled their blackboard special of Yellow Curry. As is our experience with any skewered meat, the chicken satay went down in a few gulps–good stuff!–then we looked around hungrily for more. I had already regretted my omission of my typical Tom Kha chicken soup, and so pounced on the eggrolls that accompanied our meals. After making short work of the eggrolls, both of us dived into our meals with gusto. And what meals they were!
I haven’t had a coconut chicken dish like this in recent memory, but Coconut Thai’s fantastic rendition is worthy of praise. The marinated grilled chicken paired excellently with a slightly sweet and tangy sauce, and I confess to enjoying the mixed greens salad that went with it. The fiance also declared the Yellow curry special to be above-average and I had to check myself from saucing up the rest of his curry dregs on my rice. We were both so pleased with our lunches yet hungry enough to order a third dish, pad thai pork, just to see if they could serve up a capable noodle dish. I am entirely pleased to report that they mostly succeeded, except for their strange exclusion of crushed peanuts that is so indicative of pad thai dishes.
Coconut Thai Grill definitely surprised us and we will gladly return to try out more of their other menu specials.
7447 North MacArthur Boulevard
Irving, TX 75063
(972) 910-8846
I remember Best Thai from their original Addison location, though I’m not sure if this is the same restaurant that quadrupled their footprint in DFW or a totally different venture.
Armed with comfortable memories of the original “Best Thai” I convinced the fiance to try out this outpost in Irving, to see if lived up to my expectations.
Sadly, my impressions of Best Thai aren’t entirely positive. Best Thai seems to have capitulated to the practice of serving “neighborhood” quality food…fast, easy and convenient to the blocks of apartments and condos surrounding it. I can’t say that it is the “best” Thai food I’ve ever eaten, but in a pinch, it works.
The fiance and I ordered a bowl of their coconut chicken soup, a rendition that seemed devoid of the typical coconut creamy sweetness and citrusy tang of lemongrass that I’m used to. Best Thai complicates their version by adding onions and a heavier hand at the fish sauce. While it wasn’t a bad soup, it was too brothy to be considered a proper Tom Kha Gai.
I also feel disappointed with their Thai garlic chicken, a flavorful dish in which the vegetable-to-meat ratio measured nearly 10-to-1. I couldn’t help but feel cheated as I scrounged through the plate looking for pieces of chicken. My tongue also missed the 4-star heat advertised as hot, making me wish I had tried the 5-star very spicy option. My fiance fared much better however with his Bangkok Special, a chicken with broccoli plate nicely flavored with peanut sauce.
With one server bussing the dining room, which was quickly filling up with the Monday dinner crowd, we didn’t stay for dessert. I didn’t think they had a dessert menu anyway, and I am less inclined to return and find out.
A good friend directed us over to Duncanville to try out Odom’s. First good sign: smoke perfumed the small lot next to the tiny shack of a restaurant. Second good sign: walking up to the register, a sign declared that no orders would be accepted while the customer is on the phone.
The fiance and I ordered 1 pound each of ribs and brisket (along with potato salad and beans, the only sides available)–our hostess exclaimed mightily that both of us could not possibly consume that much food. After a few minutes assuring her that we were serious about eating good grub, we grabbed our receipt and a booth.
A few minutes later, we received our tray and two plates of sauced meats, along with white bread and sides. Initially I paused, thinking we should have specified sauce on the side. But I dug in anyway, eager to prove our hostess that we were up to the task of consuming the entire meal. The sauce assaulted the tongue with a sharp and tangy edge, but it didn’t do any justice to the already-bland brisket. Sadly the brisket had no discernible smoke ring, no fat nor spicy crust; it had been sheared of its flavor and relegated to sandwich grade material. The pork ribs, on the other hand, had a sweetness that punched through the sauce, and both of us declared it the winner on the plate. I also enjoyed the potato salad, a mustard-mayo concoction that was both slightly sweet and sour. However the beans missed the mark–tasting canned, having that distinct bean chili flavor that recalled hotdogs on the cheap.
We hadn’t tasted the sausage so we missed out on that 3rd spoke of the bbq wheel, but we’ll be back next time we’re in town to enjoy more ribs and give the links a try.
It’s been several years or more since I dined at Jinbeh (the Las Colinas branch) and thought it was time to sample its satellite spinoffs. For a Friday evening, I took the fiance out for some sushi at the Lewisville location. Tucked away in a strip mall, this location isn’t as upscale as the original, but it is still nicely decorated and spacious. Guests walk past two hibachi rooms before arriving at the sushi bar in the rear, an excellent setup, since we were nearly convinced to partake in the grilled foods.
But I had my heart set on sushi tonight. For a starter, we ordered the fried soft shell crabs, which were nicely crunchy but needed the flavor of the lemon and ponzu to perk it up. The seaweed salad didn’t fail to disappoint. For the main courses, we order nigiri-style mackerel (my old standby) then 3 of the house rolls. The first was a delightful roll that was sweetened by the mango inside…I couldn’t get enough of it! The 2nd was a spicy salmon and crab roll, decorated with two sauces, one of which was a zingy wasabi dressing. This one paired well with our mango roll, forcing me to jump from one plate to the next with each bite. The finale was a tempura fried stuffed jalapeno roll, piled high on a plate decorated in fire–ok it wasn’t really fire, but the sushi chef made it look like it was, using sriracha and mayo sauce. While the jalapeno wasn’t close to the heat in our other dishes, we nevertheless enjoyed the crunchy contrast it provided, and liberally sopped up the sauce from the plate.
We warned our waitress that we’d be using a coupon for tonight’s dinner, which she obliged without a fuss, so our $60 dinner only cost us $50 and tip. I felt this was a great price for a goodly and tasty amount of food. I can’t wait to come back to try their other Super-Mario-themed sushi.
