Matt’s Rancho Martinez near Skillman and Live Oak!

Matt’s Tex Mex

Image of the dining room taken from outside after closing.

Free chips and salsa!

shrimp cocktail

Slow smoked brisket and sausage served with tortillas.

The delicious farm-raised catfish!

New Tex-Mex restaurant in Lakewood?  Yep.  I had to try it.  I kinda felt like a traitor since La Calle Doce is nearly right across the street.  Anyways, I’m glad I did.  My dishes were so good!  I got an appetizer called “smoked Bob and sausage” that had slow smoked brisket and sausage laid over a bed of queso and served with sour cream, guacamole, and tortillas.  I loved it.  I tried it with the warm flour tortillas but enjoyed it more on top of a chip.  I piled each chip with all I could and probably embarrassed myself with how messy I got, but I just avoided looking around so I could keep pigging out without feeling embarrassed.  My friend got the shrimp cocktail for his meal.  I tried it.  It was nice.  Lightly spiced with avocado, baby shrimp, Mexican cocktail sauce, and crackers.  For my meal, I had a meal.  😉  I had the farm raised catfish laid over a bed of rice and served with grilled veggies and “drunken” beans.  The spices on everything were perfect.  Usually I force myself to eat all my vegetables, but it was not “forcing” this time.  I enjoyed my veggies.

The patio was pretty cool.  They had glass paneled garage doors behind the bar that opened up so that guests can sit at the outside bar and be served by the indoor bartenders!  They had four HD televisions that faced the patio from the inside so that the patio patrons could enjoy their favorite sports event.  Of course, they had patio tables as well for full service.

Anyways, the food was good, and the service was fast.  Sorry I didn’t try the obvious original Tex-Mex dishes, but I like to be a little different than the rest.  Check it out!

Matt’s Rancho Martinez menus

Velvet Taco at Knox/Henderson and Central(75)!

back patio

VELVET TACO

The number 9 and 18! 😉

The wall menu

dining area

front patio across from Victor Tangos! 🙂

Alright.  So this is my first takeout post!  I really wanted to do one, and Velvet Taco immediately came to mind.  By takeout, I mean no servers, but they do have a dining room and beer.  These aren’t street vendor tacos, though, even though I love those as well.  These tacos are made with quality ingredients and seemingly by a Chef.  Also, just because they don’t have servers doesn’t mean to pretend the tip jar isn’t there.  Throw something in.  You’ll feel better.

I had two tacos.  I was satisfied, but three would’ve filled me up.  I only ordered two this time, because one of my tacos was a bit pricy, but I HAD to try it.  It was the maine lobster.  It was good, but if I would’ve expected the lobster to be cold, I would’ve enjoyed it more.  Good flavor, just shocked by the temperature.  The shredded pork taco I had was excellent!  It made me moan (just a little bit okay).  It had bleu cheese crumbs and avocado cream on it!  They may not have a bar or servers, but there is a beautiful wall with shelves of healthy beverages, but on the bottom?…  Beer!  Good beer at that!  If you’re not a boozer like me, then they have creamsickle tea that gets refills like the sodas.  I also highly recommend the rotisserie corn “elote style”.  Just get it.  You’ll like it if you like corn.  If you like chicken, it looks like they slow cook it rotisserie style.  You’ll see the whole birds rotating.  A chicken taco is next on my list.  I didn’t see the those birds until after I ordered.  😦

They do have two little patios, if that’s what you’re looking for.  If you’re looking for some HD action, get it to go or for “takeout”.  😉  Anyways, I just had to say HD for no reason.  Check this place out. Their food is great.

Velvet Taco website

Velvet Taco menu…  even though I took a pretty good picture of it for you.  😉

Cellarman’s American Pub in Sherman, TX!

I know.  I know.  It’s not in Dallas!  I promise this won’t happen again, but I HAD to share this ridiculously large loaded baked potato that I had at Cellarman’s in Sherman (my hometown).  It’s only one hour north, guys.  Please don’t abandon me because my blog strayed away from Dallas.  Please just look at the picture, and you’ll see why I strayed.  It was stuffed with butter, sour cream, bacon, chives, red onion, mushrooms, jalapeños, cheddar, mozzarella, monterey jack, and chili!  They have a lot of other things I’d like to talk about, but I’d like to stay loyal to Dallas.  You can check out their menu through the link below.

Their website: Cellarman’s American Pub in Sherman, TX

Their menu:  PUB MENU

Lemon Bar and Grill on Henderson! (CLOSED!!!)

Jalapeno shrimp scampi over angel hair pasta with spinach.

Chicken panini with coleslaw… Tasty, but actual panini probably coming soon!

This place finally re-opened as the Lemon Bar, and I’m a bit excited about this.  Another cool restaurant in my hood!  I love having more options nearby.  This building was known as Cuba Libre for many years but went out of business.  Another place opened soon after and tanked after about six months.  Now we have the new location of the Lemon Bar!
As far as food goes, I thought everything was really good considering I was told at the door that this was their second week in a “soft opening”.  She said most places do one day of a soft opening, but they wanna get as many imperfections out of the way as possible.  I love it.  Anyways, my jalapeño shrimp scampi over angel hair pasta was fabulous.  I’m still thinking about it the day after.  Check out my picture of it.  It looks pretty awesome, I must admit.  Actually, I was surprised I ate it all, because I had just had dinner at Victor Tangos an hour before.  I ordered it thinking I’d get a to-go box soon after!  Not so much. My friend had the chicken panini with coleslaw as his choice of side.  It wasn’t on panini bread or pressed in a panini maker, but it still tasted very good!  Granted.  They are in their “soft opening.”  I can’t wait to come back to get that same non-panini as an actual panini.  It was good.  I think it’d be easier if they just changed the name, but that’s just me.  It was a good sandwich.
As far as the rest of the place, they got HD HD HD and more HD!!!  :-). Ha.  I think I just like repeating HD in all my posts.  Obviously, it’s not a rare thing.  Upstairs, they have a small room perfect for clubbing on the weekend or gettin’ yo dance on!  Not really my scene anymore, but I’m willing to go with a friend so we can be wallflowers until the liquid courage kicks in and pictures are taken of me dancing with hot ladies half my age that I’ll never remember.
… Sorry.
Um, they have a small patio as well.  I hope they can expand it before patio weather comes back!  Check out their website below.  That’s all folks!

http://www.thelemonbar.net/Dallas_Location/Dallas.html

La Calle Doce at Skillman and Oram!

I went to La Calle Doce Mexican Seafood for their lunch specials.  Go figure!  My first lunch special post!  It’s probably because I’m not a big fan of daywalking.  So, I decided to take one for the team and do this for “you people.”  By “you people,” I mean normal.  Also, I took another one for the team and did this for the “not lactose intolerant.”  The food coma afterwards was worth it!  I got the sour cream chicken enchilada that came with beans and rice all for $7.95!  Delicious.  My buddy ordered the first special off the board for $5.95.  I think they were crispy chicken flautas with beans and rice.  He gave me a taste.  Really good stuff.  It’s funny that the cheaper special comes with a cup of chicken tortilla soup!  It’s okay, I incorporated the complimentary chips and salsa into my meal again.  My pictures aren’t too exciting, but the entrees look awesome on their website.  Lunch was good and cheap, but I MUST come back for dinner.

Oh!  Apparently, this place burned down recently (probably just the inside), and it took them eight months to rebuild.  It looks completely different.  They moved the bar closer to the front door.  Great idea!  Also, they have a private dining area, dining upstairs, and two patios!  Anyways, check out their link below.  Good stuff.

http://www.lacalledoce-dallas.com/menu-lunch.php

The Old Monk on Knox/Henderson!

The Old Monk.

LOOK FOR THIS WALL!!!

The bar and dining area.

The uncovered patio.

The covered patio.

Fish and Chips, no chips, sub potato salad. I’m allowed.

The calamari.

They won awards, y’all!

I love the Old Monk!  I’ve noticed that I tend to visit places with a strong earthy (woodsy?) presence.  This pub has a covered AND uncovered patio and a nice, cozy, dark interior.  They even have a dart board and guess what?  HD action!!!  I’ve had the mussels here, and they’ve always been bombtastic!  I love the cheese board because you get to choose from a nice variety of cheeses, and it actually comes on a board!  My favorite burger is the Monk burger.  I substitute out the cheddar blend with the stilton cheese.  I know.  Most places hate substitutions, but I know what I like, and the waitress didn’t make a face, so I felt safe.

Anyways, on this visit, I got the fish and chips, but instead of chips, I got the German style potato salad.  Nice and warm with a bit of vinegar.  I know.  Another substitution.  Please forgive me.  My friend asked me, “If you’re gonna do a food blog, should you be doing substitutions?”  I yelled, “I DO WHAT I WANT!!!”  I mean, really, it’s my blog.  MINE!!!  Sorry for yelling again.  Okay, inner peace.  My friend got calamari.  I love calamari, but not everyone does it well.  Some people go too chunky, too greasy, or too much breading, but they do it just right with a zesty marinara sauce.  Okay, this post is getting too long.  I tend to ramble on when I like what I’m….  short and sweet!

http://www.oldmonkdallas.com/

Here’s their menu.  http://www.oldmonkdallas.com/foodmenu.html

The Hacienda on Henderson! (CLOSED!!!)

The Hacienda on Henderson!

The patio from a distance.

The blurry bar after a few $2 beers.

Complimentary chips and salsa!

The delicious ceviche lighted by Iphone.

Before I came here, I watched hours of a competitive cooking show (“Chopped” I think), and one of the Chefs competing made ceviche out of the ingredients given to her.  That made me crave it, so immediately I thought of Hacienda.  I love their ceviche, plus I can combine the complimentary chips and salsa that comes first!  I just mix everything given to me and go to town.  I squeeze the limes in, dump in the salsa, cut up the avocados and dump in, etc. and just mix it all up.  Chips for dipping!  When I was done, I noticed the cholula next to me.  I LOVE cholula and didn’t see it until the end.  Bummer.  Oh well.  Next time.  They have a lot of good Mexican food that I didn’t actually try on this visit.  This post is obviously obsessed with the ceviche.  I will expand it more at a later time.

As far as specials, they have HALF PRICED FOOD on Mondays, and Tuesdays they have $2 select drafts, $2 tacos, and $2 house margaritas!  Also, they have a comfortable patio with, you guess, HD flat screens!  Check ’em out.

http://haciendaonhenderson.com/

BBC aka British Beverage Co. in Uptown Dallas

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The British Beverage Co.

The ceviche.

The shepherd’s pie with lamb and piped potato.

Cucumber and cilantro martini

The front bar/dining area.

The front bar.

The patio.

The back bar.

Live music!

The stage.

 

The BBC is a new English pub in uptown at 2800 Routh St. one street over from the Gingerman.  It’s a really cool place and is a lot bigger than I thought it was when I walked in.  As I sat at the bar, I turned around and saw a stage in the corner.  Live music, y’all!  I love live music.  It seems to start pretty late.  After ordering my drink and appetizer, I decided to get up and walk around.  They have two big patios with HD action and two bars!  The back bar is just as big as the front bar and almost cooler (not cold, like … cool, yo.)  The appetizer we got was ceviche.  It was kinda fancy and a bit small but had great flavor.  That’s the most important part!  I had already had dinner somewhere else and was full, but I kept smelling the shepherd’s pie all around me and finally fell into it’s smell/spell.  It was SO good!  The lamb and sauce was perfect, and I loved the fancy piped potatoes on top.  I hope they don’t get mad with me using the word “fancy” twice for their pub.  I got too full and boxed the remaining half.  Soon after that, the live music started.  It was jazzy and grungy with a little reggae infused in.  I’m pretty sure they did a Bob Marley song.

Anyways, I hope this place does well.  It’s pretty cool, and all the staff seem very nice.  I couldn’t find a website for it yet, but I’ll keep looking for you.  The people who do Sherlock’s run this operation, I think, so I’m sure a website will be up soon.

Oh!  I forgot to mention our awesome cucumber cilantro martini!  There.  I mentioned it.

Shuck N Jive at Lovers and Greenville

I usually come here for the snow crab legs.  They’re always very good!  Of course, it comes with drawn butter, roasted potatoes, and corn on the cob.  It’s a pretty large portion for only $18.99.  So large that if I don’t crack and eat fast enough, it gets a bit cold in the end, so crack fast, y’all!  Cajun seasoning gives it a nice kick.  Yes, I went cajun again.  Sorry.  I gotta stick with a good thing.

Anyways, this time I decided to try things I’ve never had.  The menu said that the crab stuffed shrimp was an employee favorite, so I HAD to get it.  It was fantastic!  The texture, sauce, batter, and seasoning made me so happy!  (Check out the pictures).  Also, the blackened chicken pasta is “the most popular item on the menu”, so my friend got it.  It was actually suggested by a past employee that now works at Sundown (I’m currently the mayor there on Foursquare.  It’s a big deal.  Not really.)  Well, he loved it, and I loved every bite I stole from him.  The food was so good that I didn’t even notice that karaoke was going on until I left.  They really didn’t have a ton of beer selections, but the food made up for it.  Check it out.

www.dallas.shucknjive.com

LEGAL GRAFFITI!!!

Crab stuffed shrimp! (Employee favorite.)

Blackened chicken pasta.

Vickery Park on Henderson!

Lounge by projector screen

Rosemary chicken.

VICKERY PARK NEIGHBORHOOD BAR

The dining room again.

The dining room

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER

Mac and cheese

Smoked turkey club

This is by far one of the best neighborhood bars I’ve ever been to.  It’s just dark enough so you can’t see my slight imperfections…  Just kidding.  I have a lot of imperfections.  Anyways, I’d like to apologize because in the beginning, I promised to keep all my posts short and sweet, but they seem to be getting longer and longer and longer and…  It doesn’t help that I just added this sentence.  Sorry.  Vickery Park.  I had the Rosemary Chicken on this visit.  The flavor was amazing, and it was HALF PRICE because it was on a TUESDAY!  Also, the bearded bartenders are SUPER nice.  I love the ambiance indoors, and the patio is super cool.  Also, if you’re looking for a lounge area, they got it.  Oh, if you like mussels, they are really good here.  Chicken fried steak?  “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”!!!  Gravy and mashed potatoes.  Mmmmmmm.  You like mac and cheese?  They do it well.  So good.  You like spicy?  Get the shrimp and scallop pasta with the chipotle Alfredo sauce.  Best sandwich?  Smoked turkey club.  They also have crab cakes and calamari.  Okay, I’ll stop reciting the menu.   Check out the menu on their website.  Their food is really good.  Short and sweet.

www.vickeryparkbar.com