Zizigo Korean Flapjack House in Carrollton!

The famous Korean flapjack!!!

Alright.  This is another rare out of Dallas post, but do you know how many people from Carrollton tell everyone that they’re from Dallas?  Close enough, okay?

Honestly, we were lost and just ended up here because every door we tried to open was locked, and if we got in, everyone scrambled around and said, “We hurry get your orda cuz kitchen closed!!!”  Of course I just said no and we’ll find somewhere else.  When we stumbled upon this place, we walked in, and they seemed shocked to see us.  I think they were having a family/staff dinner since there were no customers.  Most of them stood up and scattered to their work stations.  The children were hugged and taken away (at least they didn’t put them to work).  It was close to midnight, so we asked if they were about to close, because I didn’t want angry kitchen staff preparing our food!  We were lucky.  They said they close at 4 a.m.

We chose to sit at the bar so we weren’t in view of the buffet they were having in the back.  That way they can sit back down and finish comfortably not worrying about what the rare customer thinks.  We got our menus and drinks.  During this moment, it seemed as if there was a HUGE language barrier.  I had a hard time understanding the menu, and when asked for an explanation, I still didn’t understand.  I ended up telling the waitress (who was probably the owner) to choose my food.  That seemed to lift a huge weight, and she suddenly had a genuine smile on her face.  She ended up choosing for the other guys with me from the categories they were focused on.

After that bumbling start, everything fell into place!!!  Food just kept coming out!  I didn’t know half of what I was eating, but I was loving it!  We did it buffet style.  There were noodles, vegetables, rice, spices, sauces, meat, meat, and MORE MEAT!!!  No.  This is not a vegetarian or vegan post.  Sorry.

While we were eating, the waitress stood there watching us the whole time and guiding us through the eating process.  She kept telling me what spices, sauces, or food items to combine.  It felt awkward being watched while I eat, and my brother whispered to me that it’s how they do it in their country.  Oh well.  I’ll take it.

In the end, we were three big guys who were super full asking for to-go boxes for all the leftovers.  My friends had a few alcoholic beverages, and the tab was STILL under $80.  We split it three ways and tipped 25% since it was so affordable and we were the only ones there.

This was one of my favorite eating experiences ever, and I had to share.  Sorry I couldn’t go in to depth as to what we ate, but the pictures above should give you a really good idea.  I just said get me something, it arrived, I pigged out.  We didn’t even order the flapjacks that they were known for, but she brought us some anyways.  It was amazing!

I definitely advise you to drive a few miles out of Dallas for this unique experience.  If they are closed, I’m sure you can walk a few feet to another experience on the same level.  I’ll add a map link, since this one is out of Dallas!  Enjoy!

Zizigo website

Zizigo’s location @ 2625 Old Denton Rd, Carrollton, TX 75007, USA

 Zizigo’s MENU

P.S.  Feel free to use the pictures I took to show the waitress.  Just hold it up and say, “I want this!”  😉

Cock and Bull on Gaston in Lakewood!!!

The dining room.

Sample menu.

Here’s your sign!

Hours of operation

Ravioli.

Delicious steak.

Au gratin scallop casserole.

 

This place may have the best food in Lakewood EVER!  Still, if you come here, don’t be in a hurry.  There is a possibility that the food may take a while.  In that slight possibility, order an easy appetizer to hold you over.  They often have one bartender, one server, and one cook/bad ass Chef.  It may even just be a bartender and a BAD ASS COOK!!!  🙂  Still, most of the time, everything, including service, is amazing, but you never know when an unexpected rush surprises these wonderful people.

Their specials are generally written on “the board.”  I always like to order the most expensive thing on the board, especially if it is a steak or an odd meat of some kind (like kangaroo).  It’s usually the best thing “not on the menu on the menu” that day, even though a lot of their regular items are pretty amazing.  The board specials tend to run out early in the evening, so if you plan on getting their board special, show up early!  You may see pictured a bay scallop gratin prosciutto with garlic, parmesan, and panko crust.  It’s on the menu, and it ROCKS!!!  The ravioli is on there, too, and I love it!  Chewier than expected, but very satisfying.

As far as music goes, I think they finally did away with the old school jukebox and upgraded to the digital on-line version.  If nothing is playing, be prepared to listen to awkward conversations you shouldn’t be listening to.

All in all, I love this hole-in-the-wall.  It’s been around a long time and hope it stays forever.  It’s totally broken in and has a history we all want to be a part of.  I’ll put a link to their website and menu below in case anything changes.  Please excuse the bad pics taken with my iphone as opposed to my awesome Ashton Kutcher camera that I usually use.  It seems to grab too much attention when I’m out, so I just decided to whip out the phone on a few pictures this time.

Thanks for going out with me.

Cock and Bull menu.

Cock and Bull website.

Acme Food and Beverage at McKinney and Monticello! (CLOSED!)

 

Alright.  This place is in a bit of a jinxed location, because places tend to open here and close soon after.  I didn’t want to write about it because a few of the places I have written about have went out of business.  😦  Still, who’s to believe that an unpopular blog like mine could cause such a thing.  That’s like believing in witchcraft, magic, voodoo, or superstitions! …  Okay, I believe in all those things a little bit, but I’m pretty sure that my powers in all those areas are pretty weak, so here goes…

My favorite thing to eat here was the ribs.  They were sizable, inexpensive, and very juicy.  Then I realized that I should always order the flatbread of the day.  The bartender suggested I add bacon to it.  It was delicious!  The crust was nice and crisp, and all the veggies seemed to be fresh and super healthy (not that I’m going for that).  The wings were very good as well.  I think they were served with coleslaw that had thin crispy potato strips in it!  I love the ambiance of the place as well.  I’m pretty sure they’re about to change the name to Acme Neighborhood Lounge if they haven’t already.  They’re gonna try and let go of the fine dining feel and morph more into the bar scene and maybe even stay open until two every night.  That’s good for me, cuz that’s my hood!  Personally, I think the best way to do this is to add a few flat screens to the place.  The TV at the main bar is in an awkward location that causes me to turn completely away from my food, drinks, and friends.  Still, that’s an easy fix.  The staff here are super nice and love what they’re doing.  I can even tell the kitchen loves what they’re doing as well.  The food is tasty and presented very well.

Anyways, please check this place out if my voodoo hasn’t destroyed them yet.  I want them around forever, so I have more to choose from in my neck of the woods (whoever made that saying up???).  They have local beers on tap as well as a nice selection of creative cocktails.  Also, they’re patio is super nice and very big.  I’ll try to cast a positive spell on their success tonight.

The LOT at Gaston and E. Grand Ave./Garland Road!

Here’s your sign.

Crispy baked kale.

Luscher’s red hot mini dogs.

Meatloaf sandwich.

The LOT burger.

The dining room.

Nice fireplace and lounge area near the front.

The main bar.

Side patio.

Play area for kids.

Play area for adults.

Dining area over what once was a swimming pool.

Not sure what this is. Ghost bar? 🙂

I truly love what they did here at the Lot in East Dallas.  It was once known as the Backyard Beach Bar for many years where there was a swimming pool and a few volleyball courts.  I had fun going there to prove that older people could still play volleyball.  Granted.  I did seek out the drunkest team available so the “Dirty Thirties” could win.  Anyways, enough about me, on to the Lot!  My friends and I went on opening day in February of 2013.  It was Monday, and they were super busy!  So busy, in fact, that they ran out of the two items I chose from their menu online before even going, so I MUST go back to try them.  If you’re curious, I wanted the wagyu beef tongue sandwich with a fried egg and the bison bleu cheese buffalo meat balls.  Still, what I ended up getting was very satisfying.  We started off with the crispy baked kale and the red hot mini dogs.  They were both good.  I’m curious how they seasoned the kale to make it taste so good.  For dinner I had the turkey meatloaf sandwich, and my friend had the LOT burger.  I saved the second half of my sandwich for later because I hate eating until painfully full, and I didn’t want to waste such a delicious juicy sandwich.  My friend’s LOT burger had smokey ham, cheddar, white onion, crisp lettuce, and red chile smear.  He finished it all.  What a pig!…  or it was a good sandwich.  We also shared the hand-cut fries.  They tasted really fresh and were seasoned perfectly.  I didn’t get a picture of it, because we attacked it before I thought about grabbing my camera.  😦

After dinner, we ordered their healthy juice drinks.  One had carrots, orange, and ginger, and the other had beets, orange, and ginger.  Well, I guess forgot I don’t like beets!  The rum we had them add (for $2 more) made it better, though.  I drank it all for a nice healthy buzz.

Outside, although the swimming pool and volleyball courts are missing, they have a huge dining area resting atop where the pool was, and they have a play area for kids and one for adults (bags/cornhole etc.) where the volleyball courts once were.  It also looks like there will be an outside bar when the weather gets nice.

Overall, I like the new dining room and appreciate all the hard work they did in renovating.  It looks and feels great.  Their Chef is very good and pleasantly creative.  I’m glad they have vegan options for my weird friends, as well.  I’m gonna miss the swimming pool I never swam in, but I will actually miss the volleyball courts.  It looks like it’d be easy to bring them back, though.  They will soon expand the back area to connect with the Sante Fe Trail, and I’m sure this will bring them more traffic.  Sweaty runners and bikers get hungry and thirsty just as much (if not more) as us cave dwellers.  I hope they do well because I would love to have this place as an option to go to whenever I’d like.  I like what’s going on here.

Check out the link below for the rest of their menu.

*cough*bring back volleyball*cough

The Lot website and menu.

J. Black’s on Henderson! (CLOSED)

Here’s your sign.

Front patio.

Side patio.

HD action over the bar!

Lounge area.

Lounge area.

Tables on the back wall.

Calamari.

Half priced pizza on Tuesday!!!

We got really lucky on the night we visited J. Black’s.  We were just driving around and randomly chose this place.  I said, “Let’s just go there.  I’m too hungry to think.”  It was Tuesday, and they have half-priced pizza and $3 select drafts on that day!  Score!!!  I think I got the Rahr Whiskey Warmer.  Plus it was kinda slow, so we had awesome service.  I didn’t know if our server was a manager, server, bartender, or all the above, because he was all over the place.  Behind the bar, on the floor, making drinks, running food, adjusting other server checks, etc.  Whatever the case, he was bombtastic.  I hate that they were kinda slow, but I loved it too.  It was nice and laid back.

For an appetizer we got calamari.  It was great!  It came with greens, parmesan, cocktail and tarter sauce.  As soon as we were done, we got our half priced pizza.  We were gonna get the crab an portobello pizza but ended up getting the omnivore that was recommended by our server/manager/bartender/owner/carpenter dude.  He said that he thinks seafood is odd on a pizza… to him.  He said it’s good but odd.  I like odd. I’m gonna try it next time.  Anyways, we got the omnivore.  It had Jimmy’s Italian sausage, pepperoni, salami, ranch bacon, mushrooms, pepperoncini, and feta.  It was nice.  The crust was thin and crispy, and it was meaty.  Very flavorful!  The half priced pizza deal strayed me from perusing the rest of the menu, but after we were done, I realized they had lollipop lamb chops!  I love lamb!  Sooooo……  next time I’m getting the weird pizza and lamb.  No need for a menu.  Just ring that in please…  And crab cakes.

Off the subject, I LOVE that they played some old school Michael Jackson.  I think it was Girlfriend or P.Y.T.  I was in heaven.  Also, the seats were super comfy, and there was a LOT of … HD TVs!  😉  I highly recommend this place during their slow times.  I’ve heard less impressive stories during their peak hours on the weekend.  To be honest, that’s the case at any restaurant or bar.  It’s just common sense.  We all strive for perfection, but we’re only human.  Sometimes we fumble.

J. Black’s Menu

J. Black’s website

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

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

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

BBC aka British Beverage Co. in Uptown Dallas

.

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.