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.

Aboca’s Italian Grill at Central (75) and Meadow Road!

Calamari.

Trio Special split in two.

Lasagna.

Dining room.

Dining room.

Here’s your sign.

Cool doors.

Business hours.

Shrimp aboca.

Here’s your other sign.

This time I decided to stray away from my Knox/Henderson safety zone so I went just a couple miles north off the highway.  Actually, I didn’t choose this place.  It was my brother’s birthday, so of course we let his wife choose the place.  ; )  Anyways, we went Italian this time at Aboca’s Italian Grill at Central and Meadow Road.  When you get off the highway, just look for Tom Thumb in a shopping center, and you’ll see Aboca’s a few doors down.  Just look for your sign.

When I first got there, I asked what beers they had, and my crew and the waiter quickly informed me that it was BYOB.  Initially, I began to calmly yell curse words in my head until they reminded me that Tom Thumb was next door.  When I was buying my booze, I actually realized I was saving money because of this BYOB “hiccup.”

I returned shortly and the waiter said he had to get our order right away because they were about to close.  Yep.  We were “those” people.  When we got our food, we ate like wolves so we wouldn’t keep them too much longer.  Still, they showed no signs of being terribly upset for coming in at the last minute.  Also, the food seemed like they took their time on it.  Everything was amazing!  I did take a picture of the hours so that none you do what we did.

Alright.  We started out with the calamari which was fried perfectly and not greasy.  Our dinner salads arrived shortly after.  I picked it up and swallowed it whole.  For dinner, I had the shrimp pasta aboca that had shrimp, garlic, shallots, mushrooms, capers, and artichokes sauteed in a lemon white wine sauce.  Yes, I copied that directly from their menu.  My memory isn’t THAT good, and I’m not that good of a writer.  Someone else had the beef lasagna.  I tasted it and thought it was some of the best lasagna that I’ve ever had.  The birthday boy and his other half had the pasta trio that had fettucini, manicotti, and lasagna.  They split it.  It looked and smelled great.  Someone who looked important even came over and asked how everything was rather than being upset at our last minute arrival.  Honestly, they were probably pretty happy about the quick in and out business and a big tab.  I made sure to tip insanely high to show my appreciation…  Plus, I’m a server, and we all always take care of one another.  It’s an unwritten code, y’all.

Oh.  Other things on the menu that we didn’t try this time?  They have a veal menu, seafood menu, and a pizza menu that includes calzone and stromboli.  They have more selections, of course, but I’ll just include a menu link down below.

In the end, I left very satisfied, and everyone working was very nice to us.  I highly recommend this place.  Don’t forget to arrive early and pick up a six pack before you go!  😉

Aboca’s Italian Grill menu!

Be Raw Food and Juice near Douglas Ave. and N.W. Hwy!

Here’s your sign!

Vegan advice.

Small dining room.

Kale salad.

Spaghetti and “meatballs”.

Enchiladas.

Primavera bowl.

The lineup.

Dessert.

We like to share.

Animal lovers.

Okay.  So I’m playing Words With Friends with my friend in New Zealand, and he says in the chat box, “Dude, your blog is a meat fest!  You should go to a vegetarian restaurant.”  It’s funny, because I actually discussed that with a co-worker the day before.  So!  I took one for the team!  Not only did I go to a vegetarian restaurant, but I went to a VEGAN one that did ALL RAW foods that’s ORGANIC and GLUTEN-FREE!!!  This is way out of my zone, but I had to do it.  We went to Be Raw (fresh) Food and Juice near Northwest Highway and the Tollway.  When I sat down, I asked if they have beer, and they said no and that I need to cleanse myself.  Oh man.  If this was the military, I’d get an achievement medal.  Anyways, I stayed.  We ordered the kale salad to start off with, and I honestly thought it was very good.  It had avocado and tomatoes on it, and the kale was marinated in olive oil and lemon juice.  We devoured it.  After that, we shared the coconut kale enchiladas, spaghetti and “meatballs,” and the primavera bowl.  Family style.  You can tell from the pictures what they had in them, but if you want an in-depth description of the ingredients, I put a link to their menu below.  I will tell you that my favorite items were the kale salad and enchiladas.  The fake cheese was awesome, and the tortillas had a nice spiciness to them.  The noodles were tasty, but they threw me off a bit because they were cold.  Duh.  Raw.  I should’ve expected it.  I just wasn’t thinking straight because I didn’t have a beer to wash the food back with.  Oh, the “meatballs” are made with walnuts, basil, olive oil, and marinara.  I hit a wall when I was here, because there’s only so much healthy food I can eat.  I was still a little hungry yet had to stop, but we ended up sharing a chocolate bliss smoothie that had raw cacao, agave nectar and coconut butter.  That was the best thing I had and was literally finally full after the few sips I had of it!  It’s really hard to believe that it was vegan.  So tasty.

They have a lot more items on their menu like soups, sandwiches, raw pizza, wraps, and rolls.  I just shared what we had on this visit.  Maybe next time I’ll get a soup and ask them to microwave it!  Just kidding.  They’d probably hurt me if I did that.

Honestly I wasn’t sure if I’d come back because of the lack of a bar, and I didn’t wanna get in trouble for concealing a flask, but Yelp says they’re a BYOB joint.  If this is the case, I’ll definitely be back!  I really need to add healthier foods to my body.  Check this place out for sure, especially if you’re one of “those people.”  You know?  Health conscious, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, lactose intolerant, or a recovering alcoholic.

Thanks for reading!  🙂

Be Raw Fresh Food and Juice menu!

The RAW website!

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