For those of you who may have missed it, or didn’t download the copies floating around the net: the Amy’s Baking Company episode of Kitchen Nightmares is now available for free on Hulu. (Previously.)
Nagoya Steak and Sushi
11630 N FM 620.
258-9888
30.457317°N, 97.2432°W
WiFi: No.
Pepper grinder rating: 0.
Men’s room: 2.5.
This is a nice, attractively decorated Japanese restaurant. Oddly enough, they were playing a fairly chill reggae dub mix while we were there, which seemed strangely appropriate for the ambiance of the place. They have a nice half-price happy hour menu (though that ends at 6 PM, so get there a little early). All the appetizers we had (gyoza, shumai, etc.) were good, although only the calamari really stood out.
The miso soup was definitely better than average, mainly by being more substantial. The salad was like every other sushi-place salad.
I did enjoy my hibachi rib-eye, and they did cook it medium rare.
Drawbacks: No rainbow roll or unagi on the happy hour menu, the prices are a bit higher than you’re going to pay at Momiji, and soft drinks come in bottles, so no free refills.
This is a solid restaurant, though Momiji’s is slightly closer and slightly cheaper. I could see dropping by either, depending on my mood.
I don’t watch Kitchen Nightmares. (The reasons why are personal, and not really relevant to a food blog.)
But I think I am going to have to make an exception for this episode. Holy cow.
Yes, I know, “reality television”, probably heavily edited, taken out of context, etc. But:
(And pocketing tips? I Am Not A Lawyer, but my understanding is that this is the kind of behavior that gets you investigated by multiple federal and state agencies, and generally results in big lawyer bills and large cash settlements.)
Note: the episode apparently aired last week. It is available on the Fox web site and Hulu right now, but you either have to have a Hulu Plus account or a Fox account through one of their designated providers to watch it. The Fox website says it will be available to the general public eight days after air date, and it looks like the same applies on Hulu. The Eater articles also contain a link to a bootleg version, which I won’t link here.
Pinthouse Pizza
4729 Burnet Rd.
436-9605
30.318865°N, 97.73927°W
WiFi: Yes.
Pepper grinder rating: 0.
Men’s room: 2.
This is a brewpub that serves pretty decent pizza. It’s an “order at the counter” sort of place, though they do have people busing the tables. Seating is BBQ bench tables style, like The Salt Lick.
The pizza is pretty good and reasonably priced. I also liked their soft pretzel, which seemed better than the average New York cart vendor.
Drawbacks: The place has the feel and acoustics of a crowded barn, and is probably the ninth or tenth loudest venue we’ve been in. Also, soft drinks are that weird off-brand Maine thing, which I’m not fond of. And the appetizer and dessert selection is pretty limited.
Worth trying if you’re in the area, or want to try the beer (which I’ll let Dwight review).
My problem is that I drink beer, from time to time (relatively infrequently) but I’m not a beer snob. I got a sampler of the Pinthouse house brews, and liked almost all of them. My one exception was the Bearded Seal, which I think is their attempt to brew a Guinness stout style beer: it was just too bitter and too hoppy for my taste.
As for the pizza and other appetizers, they were all perfectly fine. And that’s sort of the problem. The pizza is good, but there’s just as good or better pizza at at least four pizza places I can think of (Cajun Pizza Place, Milto’s, Pizza Bistro, and Brooklyn Heights, off the top of my head). And none of those places give you the feeling that you’re sitting in a loud crowded barn. Pinthouse’s big advantage is the craft beer, if you’re into that sort of thing. And I give them maximum points for service. I’d go back if I was with people who are into the craft brewing scene. On my own, though, there’s nothing that really jumps out at me and makes me want to return.
4508 N. I-35. Or so read the tea leaves.
I ate at an In-and-Out Burger on a business trip to California a while back. And it was…good. But nothing that made it clearly superior to, say, Mighty Fine.
But I’m sure we’ll give it a try once it’s open…
Mesa Rosa.
15515 FM 620
(512) 733-6622
30.3483877°N, 97.73474°W
WiFi: A WiFi network is advertised, but I was unable to connect to it when we were there.
Pepper grinder rating: 0.
Men’s room: 2.
Pretty generic TexMex. Not horrible, just average. If I’m in the area and craving TexMex, I might stop here. Then again, there’s also a Chuy’s not too far away…
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit.
5350 Burnet Rd
(512) 467-6653
30.327946°N, 97.73992°W
WiFi: Yes.
Pepper grinder rating: 0.
Men’s room: 2.
Strike one against Dickey’s: it is a chain, and not just a local chain.
Can good barbecue come out of a chain? Well, I thought the barbecue at Dickey’s was good, but not great. If I was hungry and found myself near a Dickey’s, I wouldn’t object to stopping there. But it just seems to me to be pretty average barbecue.
My major problem with this is particular Dickey’s was the service. Specifically, several members of our party had to go back and ask for items that were supposed to be included with their meals, but for some reason did not make it onto the plates.
In this area, I’d go across to Lamar and hit Stiles Switch over Dickey’s, if I had the time (and if Stiles Switch was open). Again, it isn’t bad; just average.
Eater has published their list of “The Year’s Most Scathing Restaurant Reviews“. Yes, Guy’s American Kitchen is on the list.
Also on the list: two Texas restaurants, Vida Sexy Tex-Mex in Houston and Kinado in Richardson.
The review of Vida is particularly interesting to me. I missed it the first time around, as I generally don’t read the Houston Press. But as I started reading it, I was saying to myself, “Hmmmm. This sounds a lot like a Houston version of Vivo.” (I thought Paul Petersen’s food was excellent when I ate at the Vivo on 620, but I was a little put off by the noise and the singles bar feel of the place. Petersen, as I understand it, has since left Vivo.)
Then I got a little further in:
“The restaurant was conceptualized as a Houston extension of Vivo…”
“But the deal with Vivo chef Paul Petersen fell through…”
And:
Dear Evie Melcher: Gordon Ramsey’s on line one, and Robert Irvine’s on line 2. Seriously, that has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve read this year.
As for Kinado, wow.
Service: At best, lackadaisical and careless; at worst, unprofessional. Special requests are graciously acknowledged, then summarily disregarded.
