Sauce on the Square

Sauce on The Square

http://www.sauceonthesquare.com/

Rating: A

Location: 112 E Louisiana St, McKinney, TX 75069

Category: Pizza and Pasta

Pricing: $$

Favorites: Field Greens Salad and Green Pizza

Comments:

I’ve been to Sauce many times now and never once have I been disappointed. I’m glad that the owner Rick, who is obviously also the owner of Rick’s Chophouse, decided to delve into the pizza world…my favorite obsession…because he definitely got it right..even down to the décor. You really can’t get more down home Italian than walls of exposed red brick and tables covered in either, red and white checkered table cloths or have the checkered built right into the table. Also, the daily specials written on a chalk board, and the entertainment of an opened kitchen, which reveals the Chef and cooks hard at work and the Woodstone Fired Ovens baking your pizza. Always come with a big group because the portions are quite large and meant to be shared or just get a large doggie bag. They have a great wine and beer selection and you can’t go wrong with any of their salads or pizzas, which are made with the freshest ingredients. I have not tried the pasta there yet, but I wouldn’t be afraid to try it. Another plus is they have outdoor seating in their patio out front or the court yard in the back. This place is a must if you are on the Square in McKinney!

Field Greens Salad

R1 Chophouse Pizza

Half eaten piece of  the Green Pizza

Blue Goose - Best Fajitas and Super Fast Service

Blue Goose Cantina

http://www.bluegoosecantina.com/

Rating: A

Location: 2905 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX

Category: Tex-Mex

Pricing: $$

Favorites:  Patio, Margaritas, Beef and Chicken Fajitas

Comments:

If you're like me, not one Mexican restaurant is great all around, but Blue Goose is one of my favorites!  They have the best fajitas out of any other place that I've tried, their ritas are top notch, and the chips and salsa are nothing to complain about.  Make sure that you are ready for your meal right after you place your order because your food will be on your table in no time.  Their tortillas are always freshly made and the fajitas come out sizzling hot ready to please your tastebuds with big juicy flavor.  Also, their is no skimping on the amount of meat they give you, so come to this place hungry or share it with someone. Every time I eat there, that is all I ever order.....besides the Margaritas, of course!

Samui Thai: Best Thai in Dallas

Samui Thai Cuisine

http://www.samuithai.com/
Rating: A



Location: 906 W McDermott Dr. Allen TX


Category: Thai

Pricing: $$$


Favorites: Chicken Satay, Pad Thai, Lemongrass Steamed Seafood


Comments:
Need a good go-to Thai restaurant?  Well, Samui Thai is your place!  From the Best Pad Thai in the area, to wonderful curry dishes, to some of the freshest seafood, you can’t go wrong with anything you order here.   MT and I have been going to this place for many years, and we have become acquainted with the owners because of it, so they always know exactly what we want when we walk in.  It’s nice not to have to order, especially since we always want our dishes extra extra spicey….and they will make it that way.  I’ve been to many places that will barely put anything into it when you ask them to make it really hot….hardly giving you any sort of burning sensation, which is what we love!  But, have no fear if you don’t like it that way.  They will keep it mild for you weaklings!  Just kidding.  Also, don’t be afraid to order dessert here because they have always surprised me.  Their Mango Sticky Rice is incredible and worth the extra effort to stuff more food in your full belly!

 

Labor Day at the Lake House and The Twinkies

The Sinking Truck

Every Labor Day weekend we spend at our lake house because MT and I were married there on September 2, which always falls near that Holiday. Usually we invite a bunch of friends to come along with us, but this year it was just family. The weekend was definitely fun filled, as always, but we did have one very surprising event occur……we witnessed the sinking of a truck in the lake! It was a crazy sight to see, but this is basically what happened: MT, my brother, uncle and I were pulling away from the house in our ski boat, and my other uncle and aunt were waiting on another resident to pull their boat out of the water so they could put their boat in. While the other boat was already attached to the trailer and ready to be pulled out of the water the truck pulling it started to slide back toward the water….and kept going….and going. The man driving the truck tried to get back into the truck cab, but couldn’t because the water was already up too high on the doors. They couldn’t do anything to get that truck back out and finally it was completely submerged in a matter of just a couple of minutes with a large tool box bobbing up and down beside it, but the boat was still attached to the sunken trailer and was being pulled under by it! We sped over to the scene in our boat to have my brother, the professional diver, and my uncle jump into help unhook the boat from the trailer. My other uncle was already in the water helping as well as some of the neighbors. All MT and I could do was watch and pick up anything that floated out of the truck. Finally, after a few minutes of diving down and coming up for air they were able to get the boat detached from the trailer…..so at least they were able to save the most important machine…the Water Toy, although the poor kid who actually owned the truck had his welding tools in the bed, so they were at the bottom of the lake as well. The man who sunk the truck was the kids Step Father! Hmmm…..I hope their relationship is a good one because this could cause some major family drama! A few hours after, on our return from the island, we noticed a large spectacle going down at the scene of the crime. Cops on land and by boat were surrounding the area as well as all of our neighbors, divers in the water and a wrecker a trying to pull the truck and trailer out of the water. It took them a while, but eventually they got the truck out….Yeah….Hooray…..all was saved! Later on that night, we were drinking out on our deck, and the kid who owned the truck stumbled over to our gathering with a couple of his friends. It turned out that he had attended high school with my cousins, who are from Georgetown, so he’s actually a friend of the family. Small world! On the other hand, he obviously was drinking away his sorrows, but didn’t seem too upset about the whole ordeal. Nice kid….but really inebriated.

After our crazy weekend at the lake house, I went to Georgetown to stay with my brother, sister-in-law, and my 1 year old twin nieces for a few days. They had just moved into my Grandparents house a week before from Florida and needed some help with a few things. We peeled off a lot of wall paper that had been there for longer than I’ve been alive, which was much easier than I thought…maybe because of the ancientness of the paste keeping the paper on the walls and I helped pick out some ceiling fans for the bedrooms. We also waded out a tropical storm that decided to douse us with a tremendous amount of rain for 2 days. That was okay….we had wine to drink! And finally…A long time overdue…I was able to spend a lot of time with my cute and beautiful nieces by feeding, walking, changing poopey diapers, washing and playing with them. Now that they live so much closer, I’ll be able to see them more often! I can’t wait to visit them again!

The Twinkies



PEPPERONI, GREEN PEPPERS, AND TOMATO PIZZA

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough:

1 package of yeast

1 cup of warm water (100 to 110 degrees F)

1 tsp of salt

1 tbs of honey

1 tbs of olive oil

1 tsp of rosemary

1 cup of white all-purpose flour

2 cups of whole wheat flour

1/4 cup of flour for rolling the dough

1/4 cup of corn meal to spread over pizza pan

Toppings:

3/4 cup of pizza sauce

1 cup of whole milk mozzarella

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

pepperoni

1/2 large green pepper, sliced

1 Roma tomato, sliced and marinated in balsamic vinaigrette and crushed fresh garlic

1 tsp of pizza seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Combine yeast, warm water, salt, and honey in mixing bowl. Stir until all ingredients dissolved. Add rosemary and 1 cup of white flour. Knead in mixer on low. Continue kneading the dough on low and slowly add remaining wheat flour until dough clings to the mixer hook. Take clinging dough off hook and roll into a ball. Oil with olive oil all around and set in bowl. Cover bowl with saran wrap and set in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours to let the dough rise.

Once dough has risen, spread flour on flat surface and put down dough to roll. Use rolling pin and roll our to any shape desired. Sprinkle pizza pan with corn meal and place rolled dough on pan. Put in oven for 5 minutes.

Take hot pizza bread out and add all the topping ingredients starting with the sauce first. Put in 500 degree F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Serves 2 to 3 people.

4 Years and Four-Ever to Go at Coast Global Seafood

Yesterday was our 4 year Anniversary, and because it was a school night we decided to celebrate somewhere close to home, so we chose a restaurant at Shops at Legacy. I wanted a restaurant that I had never tried before and, of course, a place that has been receiving good reviews on UrbanSpoon, so I ended up choosing Coast Global Seafood.
Before our culinary Anniversary escapade, we made a stop at RA Sushi for some happy hour drinks on their patio. It had just stopped raining when we arrived, so the patio was slowly beginning to entice people from the inside. MT and I found two seats at their bar, which is one of those inside/outside bars that I love because you can get the best people watching view of both worlds. After ordering our drinks, these two well manicured business guys that have that “I’m better than everybody” look were being seated at a table behind us, which the hostess was wiping off for them. Well, apparently that table wasn’t good enough or I’m sure the seats were too wet for their perfectly pampered rear ends, so I guess they made the hostess ask us if we could “scootchy scootch”, which were her words, down a couple of seats, and we didn’t mind, so we moved down. Clearly, that wasn’t good enough either because I heard one of them make the snide remark “Well that’s just not enough room”. The two women next to us overheard them, and said to us that they would be more than happy to move down as well to make room for them, so they did and then we moved again. I thanked to two very nice women and went up to one of the Self Indulgent men and told them that we all moved for them so they could be seated at the bar. We were only there for a couple drinks anyway….what did we care! They sat at the bar without so much as a “Thank you” or a nod of appreciation in sight……..Your welcome! I guess that was our good deed for the day. Those are the type of men that expect a woman to open the door for them because we should worship the ground that they walk on. Obviously, their mothers didn’t teach them any manners! Now on to the great part of our night…..the food!

Coast Global Seafood

Rating: A
Location: 7501 Lone Star Dr, Plano, TX 75024

Category: Seafood

Pricing: $$$
Favorites: Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, Sea Scallops, Outdoor Patio

Comments:

Upon arriving and checking in with the hostess we were promptly seated outside with a spectacular view of the majestic water fountain attraction, which if you remember from an earlier posting about Artin’s Grill, it’s the same fountain. MT then ordered a bottle of J Cuvee…..mmmm…the bubbly... my favorite. I also truly love the display of champagne when they bring it out in an elevated wine bucket on ice to be sat directly between the two us for the entire world to see. After tasting the wonderful sensation of tickling bubbles on your tongue, we were quickly given a basket full of corn muffins and bread with a side of butter, all of which were mediocre….your typical fancy restaurant basket of bread. Next, we ordered our appetizer, choosing the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake because you know how much MT and I love Crab Cakes. Now, I know that I raved about Hillstone’s (formerly Houston’s) crab cakes a few weeks ago, but I finally found a restaurant in the Dallas area that makes them just as good. Oh my goodness…..oh my goodness! They were light, moist and full of deliciously fresh crab meat, and then the side corn, tomato and black bean salad that came with it was incredible as well. Then MT says to me “It’s not as good as yours”, which I agreed, but still comparable. A few sips more of the bubbly, then we moved on to our main course, which I had decided before the appetizer. The Sea Scallops sounded way too delicious to pass up, so that’s what we split. Another fantastic dish! Wow, the scallops were perfectly cooked with a nice crispy seared crust on the outside and they were sitting on top of an amazing pesto sauce, which you should know is another obsession of mine, then sided with a garlic, tomato and parmesan spaghetti squash. I’m sure you’re thinking….Spaghetti Squash…ekk, but it was soooo good. What a great combination….I have to make it soon. Pleasantly stuffed, we decided to end our meal and have dessert…..chocolate and wine….at home. I know it’s a little cliche, but we danced to our wedding song in the middle of our living room, Quando, Quando Quando by Michael Buble, but then decided on something more upbeat, September by Earth Wind and Fire. Cheesy? Yes, but we had fun! A great 4th Year Anniversary, but now I really can’t wait for the 5th because MT promised me a Catamaran Trip to the British Virgin Islands!

Jumbo Lump Crab Cake

Sea Scallops