Il Cane Rosso

Cyberspace: ilcanerosso.com
Grade: B+
Where to Find It: 2612 Commerce St, Dallas, TX 75226
Food Group: Pizza
How Much to Fork Over: $$
Faves: Delia Pizza, BYOB, Service, Use NoWait Host app (will explain)
Peeves: No reservations, Long Wait on a busy night




The Jibba Jab:

A well needed resurgence in Deep Ellum?  I think it’s happening, and Il Cane Rosso is great place to start your night down in the Deep.  The service is friendly and assertive and they use this NoWait Host app on an ipad to organize their waiting list because they don’t take reservations unless you have a group of 6 or more.  What is this NoWait Host app?  It’s simple!  The hostess takes your name, party size and phone number.  When your table is ready, they text you!  Why is it so great?  Because you can go anywhere (and not be scrunched up against every other patron waiting for a table in the restaurant’s bar) while you are waiting for that long starving hour, and you will still get the text!!  So we marched ourselves down to the next cool and non-crowded bar and had ourselves a drink. 

Of course we came prepared with our bottles of wine to take advantage of BYOB, so when we were seated the waiter popped them open for us.  They do have a bar, but I love utilizing BYOB for 3 reasons: 1) It automatically chops your bill in half  2)You drink wine that you like, and aren’t limited to their menu  3)You can take it home if you don’t finish it!  I wish more places allowed it.  Before grubbing on our much anticipated hot, crispy, cheesy, delicious pie of all pies, we needed my always Go To as an appetizer….Salad.  Because they had Caesar on the menu, I had to try it to compare it with Louie’s Caesar, which is by far the best I’ve ever had…..and still is.  Cane Rosso’s was quite good, but it didn’t have that sharp, spicy, pow in your mouth flavor that Louie’s always achieves.  We also had the Mista salad parading a basic, but good balsamic dressing.

By now, you probably know that I glorify pizza with such esteem that I think it should be a food group (and it actually might be at a school cafeteria).  I also feel that the crust is just as important, if not more, than the toppings on the pizza.  It is my favorite part to eat, so I am quite particular about its characteristics, which should be crispy on the outside with a bit of fluff on the inside.  The only place I’ve recently had the pleasure of eating at that has achieved this type of crust flawlessness is Otto in New York City.  Mario Batali is a genius when it comes to anything Italian and his pizza perfection proves it. Now I have something to compare every pizza to….which brings me to my one and only complaint at Il Cane Rosso.  The crust just didn’t cut it for me.  It was beautifully cooked with those lovely little black charred spots, but the consistency was doughy with no crispiness at all….having said that, the toppings made up for most of it.  The Delia, which consisted of Bacon Marmalade….yep that’s right….tomatoes, House made Mozzarella….yep they make their own Mozzarella, and arugula was by far my favorite and most eclectic pizza of the day.  I wanted to smear that Bacon Marmalade on everything I touched it was so good.  The other two pizzas, Zoli (Tomato sauce, Mozzarella, Basil, Hot Soppressata, Jimmy’s Sausage) and Gus (Tomato sauce, Mozzarella, Basil, Jimmy’s Sausage, Mushrooms) were great as well, especially the Zoli because the Hot Soppressata was a huge hit…..nice and crunchy with the right amount of kick.  Overall, Il Cane Rosso is a great BYOB stop for some good pizza.  Keep it coming Deep Ellum!

Salads separated by fork: Mista on Left, Caesar on Right

Delia

Gus

Zoli

Square Burger - A Year Later

Where to Find It?: 115 N. Kentucky St, McKinney, TX 75069

The Grade: A+ (a one up from last year)

Food Group: Burgers

How Much to Fork Over: $$

The Faves: Mushroom Border Burger, Panko Fried Herb Goat Cheese Salad

The Peeves: 36 beers on tap and not really an inviting place to hang out and drink

The Jibba Jab:

So it’s been a year, pretty much exactly on the nose, since I last wrote about Square Burger, so I thought we would have a revisit on Halloween weekend again.  Everything from the food to the atmosphere to the beer is still quite the same.  Not in the mood for beer, then opt for a glass of wine because despite their small selection, you can’t really go wrong.  I had a glass of the Pinot Noir and loved it enough to order another….or maybe that’s just because I love wine…..and to drink.  The Panko Fried Herb Goat Cheese Salad is a great share salad.  One tip though.  Beets are the type of food that need something else to compliment its flavors, so don't eat them alone.  Instead befriend it with a little arugula, goat cheese, and butternut squash, and then you will find yourself becoming a Beet Lover!  Also, it's quite a large salad, so if you are by yourself either have it as your meal or go for the house salad instead, it’s just as delicious, cheaper and smaller.  Now, for the burger.  This was the first time I’ve tried the Mushroom Border Burger and I have to say that it was dang delicious!  It was so spectacular that I’m going to put this one on the “My Favorite Burgers” List.  Yep, that good!  Watch out Twisted Root and The Grape because Square Burger is fierce competition.  It was incredibly juicy, flavorful, and had the perfect bun to burger ratio.  The beautiful soft and glistening golden brown brioche bun, which I hear are made from Dallas based Empire Bakery Co., was the ideal partner to soak up the juices from the grass-fed beef patty.  Also, they usually ask you how you would like your burger cooked, if they don’t or you don’t say otherwise the chef will cook it medium, but I suggest how we always get ours cooked, which is medium rare.  Now don’t get scared that you are going to get food poisoning or something worse like mad cow disease.  It’s perfectly fine.  They get their beef delivered every day from Genesis Beef, which is in the McKinney area (you can also order their beef from The Local Yocal Farm to Market located on the Square), so that basically means it’s super fresh and you are supporting your local economy even more!  Basically, whatever they are doing behind those closed doors, they are doing it right and I want more Burger!!  I am so glad that it’s still as amazing as it was last year!!

Panko Fried Herb Goat Cheese Salad

Mushroom Border Burger

Mushroom Border Burger - Inside Cooked Medium Rare
YUM!!

BOQUERIA BRUNCH- Flatiron

Cyberspace: http://www.boquerianyc.com/

Where to Find It: 53 West 19th Street New York, NY

Food Group: Spanish and Tapas

How Much to Fork Over: $$-$$$

The Grade: A+

Faves: Quesos y Embutidos; tortillas espanola; wine

Peeves: Small tables; expensive wine list

The Jibba Jab:  Almost like a replica of eateries in Spain, this cozy restaurant is sure to please.  Although the wine was a bit pricey, I enjoyed sipping on the Vina Alberdi Reserva, which was recommended by the friendly bartender.  The quesos y embutidos (cheese and meat plate) and tortilla espanola (Spanish omelet) were made to perfection and were so delicious that I had to chew every bite so slowly.  I would definitely make it back to this place again for brunch and try their lunch and dinner.
     

Quesos y Embutidos

Sample Menu:

TAPAS

Quesos y Embutidos 19

Spanish artisanal cured meats and cheese

Pintxos Morunos 9

Seared lamb marinated in lemon

and cumin, “salsa verde”

Dátiles con Beicon 7

Dates stuffed with almonds and Valdeón,

wrapped in bacon

Bombas de la Barceloneta 8

Two beef and potato croquettes,

“salsa brava,” garlic all i oli

Tortilla Española 7

Traditional egg and potato Spanish omelet

Salteado de Setas 11

Sautéed wild mushrooms, Manchego cheese

Coles de Bruselas y Chorizo 12

Pan roasted Brussels sprouts, chorizo

Buñuelos de Bacalao 11

Salt-cod fritters, citrus allioli

Neighborhood Services Tavern

Cyberspace: www.neighborhoodservicesdallas.com

Where to Find It: 2405 N. Henderson, Dallas, TX 75206

Food Group: New American/Gastro Pub

How Much to Fork Over: $$

The Grade: A

Faves: Double Deviled Eggs, Butterscotch Pot de Crème!! And Our Neighbors

Peeves: I wasn’t hungry enough to try more

The Jibba Jab:

Now I know that I’ve reviewed the NeighborHood Services Bar and Grill in North Dallas on Preston already, but I heard that this location is better, which is conveniently located right near Veritas Wine Room, and after enjoying a few glasses of the half-priced wine and a cheese plate there, my girlfriend and I moseyed our way to NHS for some real grub. 

Sangria - Check out the ice cubes!

We were immediately sat, but I was quite surprised at how full the place was on a Monday.  After researching the menu, we decided that we hadn’t had enough to drink at Veritas, so why not order a pitcher of ice-cold Sangria on this scorching hot summer night.  Our waitress immediately complied, while we pondered about what we wanted to eat.  Because we already had a bit of a snack earlier, we opted to just get a few more of shared snacks such as their Standard Dips of Crab and Artichoke Gratin and Roasted Salsa with red salted corn chips, Double Deviled Eggs made with pepper and a bacon relish, and finally the Feisty Greek Sliders that consisted of roasted lamb, greens, tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce……mmmmm!  Our Sangria came out incredibly refreshing and beautiful, especially with the big perfect cubes of ice in our glasses.  Its crazy how something as seemingly insignificant as ice can take a drink to a completely new level of sophistication just by being geometrically uniform.  The gratin and salsa weren’t anything to remember, so I suggest skipping it, and move on to the Deviled Eggs as a starter.  Now these were much better than their sister restaurant in North Dallas, which were under-seasoned and mostly boring.  These had Pow from the peppers and wonderful contrast in texture from the towers of a gorgeous yellow creamy center to the crunch of the smoky, salty, bacon.  Marvelous!  Next, the Greek Sliders were placed on our table and I think I dove in not really thinking about anything else because I love sliders, or everything in the burger family, for that matter.  They were quite good in taste, particularly with the always and forever marriage of spicy lamb and a great, cooling tzatziki sauce, but the lamb to bun ratio was a bit off.  I thought too much bun action and not enough lamb.  Don’t skimp on the good stuff!! 

Standard Dips - Salsa and Crab and Artichoke Gratin

Double Deviled Eggs

Double Deviled Eggs

Feisty Greek Sliders

Feisty Greek Slider

At this point, we were finishing up and drinking that last of our Sangria, but we couldn’t help but notice throughout our meal, the two ladies dining at the table right next to us, who unquestionably were having a great time.  Somehow we all sparked up a conversation, and the next thing we knew, they were telling us that we just had to try their Butterscotch Pot de Crème.  One of the ladies said it was so amazing she called it Butterscotch Crack in a Jar!  I loved her description, so I knew that we needed to take them up on their generous offer, and we certainly did.  Now the name makes this dessert sound fancy, but NHS presents it in a brilliant jar with little wooden spoons for everyone at the table to dig their way to the bottom of this delicious masterpiece.  I took one scoop, and knew straight away why our neighbor called it Butterscotch Crack in a Jar!  The sweet and salty, velvety, buttery rich caramel creaminess made we want to use it as a mask on my face, so I could lick it off later.  Now that’s addicting!  Then, I tried to think of a way to re-create this dish at home, so I could bring it to a party and be the smashing hit!  I might be stalking the chef for the recipe in the near future.  Finally, I would have to say between this location and the one on Preston, opt for this one.  The menu, pricing, and food are all a notch above!

Butterscotch Crack in a Jar!

Veritas Wine Room

Cyberspace: http://veritaswinedallas.com/

Where to Find It: 2323 North Henderson Avenue, Dallas, TX 75206

Food Group: Wine & Cheese

How Much to Fork Over: $$-$$$

The Grade: A+

Faves: Décor, Great Wine and Cheese Selection, Wine Specials Mon-Thurs, Outdoor Seating, Service

Peeves: Outdoor area needs more shade in this heat!!

The Jibba Jab:

Laidback and Lush…..This is my kind of wine bar!  The entire area is long and narrow, which makes it quaint, along with the display of wine barrels and wooden tables and chairs, this place becomes your go to wine bar next door.  On the other hand, the display of their very selective wines and the colorful art décor on the walls makes you think that someone was extremely vigilant about choosing what should belong there.  I personally am not an art enthusiast….at all, but I did really enjoy the pieces that were in Veritas.  The colors of the art were intoxicating, as was the wine. 

My girlfriend and I made a visit to Veritas on a Monday, so we were able to take advantage of the ½ off Glasses of Wine, and boy we sure did!  We started off with something more on the pricey end, a Russian River Pinot Noir that was normally $15/glass, but on a Monday it’s $7.50!  Next, we decided to shoot for the “What We’re Pouring” glass, which I actually really enjoyed and kept enjoying the rest of the time we were there, and at around $3/glass, I was ecstatic!  Now, when there is great wine, their better be some great cheese to pair with it, and Veritas does not disappoint on that end either because their cheese and meat selection is phenomenal!  Anywhere from Texas to Wisconsin to Canada to Spain or Italy, so anything you choose, you really can’t go wrong because the variety is fantastic!  If you aren’t convinced yet, then make this place your next stop for wine, and you just might end up there for all of your future stops.  You will not regret it!

The Commissary

 Cyberspace: www.thecommissarydallas.com

Where to Find It: 1722 Routh Street Suite 102, Dallas, TX 75201

Food Group: Burgers

How Much to Fork Over: $$

The Grade: B-

Faves: Sangria, Outdoor Seating and View

Peeves: Buns, Pricey for Burgers!!

The Jibba Jab:

Expensive rent and burgers and booze to pay for it.  There is no arguing that The Commissary has a great view of downtown, but do the burgers live up to it?  Not quite, according to my perspective.  Yes, the Grass fed all natural beef with no hormones or steroids is appealing and sounds great, but I wasn’t really impressed with neither the outcome nor the buns that they came on.  Yes, I probably need to make another visit, but with their prices I really don’t want to spend another $8 (plus $2 for the spicer greens instead of fries) for one 6oz Dallas burger, which is about the size of one of those plastic ramekins that serve salsa at a Mexican restaurant, or pay $10 for the 8oz, but our other selection, the Tandoori burger was $13 (one size fits all), which was served on pita bread…..What??  This is a burger, not a flipping healthy sandwich, and to top it off The Dallas sesame seed bun was stale!  Come on.  Really?  That’s the easiest part!  As for the meat in the middle, well it was good.  Not worth the price though. 

On the other hand, we ordered the Summer Sangria, which was exceptionally refreshing in the 90+ degree weather at 9pm we were experiencing, but once again the price tag was astounding….a whopping $40 for a pitcher.  (By the way, Café Izmir on Greenville has $25 pitcher and $15 on Wednesdays!)  We also opted for the $6 Avocado Fries because our bartender at Five Sixty said they were amazing….not so much, and I am an avocado fanatic.  I don’t know if it was a bad batch of oil, but the frying took away the lush creamy texture and buttery flavor of an avocado.  It absolutely ruined it.  I couldn’t finish even one. 

I really wanted this place to be great, but it just didn’t stand up to the One Arts Plaza standards and the exceptional view that encompasses it.  I do hope that they change for the good.

The Dallas Burger
Can you tell how small it is?

Tanoori Burger
On pita bread???

Avocado Fries

$40 Pitcher of Sangria

Malai Thai Vietnamese Kitchen

Cyberspace: www.malaikitchen.com

Where to Find It: 3699 McKinney Avenue, Dallas, TX 75204

Food Group: Thai/Vietnamese

How Much to Fork Over: $$$

The Grade: B

Faves: Malai Spring Rolls, Drunken Noodle, Outdoor Seating, Service

Peeves: Prawns weren’t very fresh

The Jibba Jab:

Uptown’s Hot Spot.  The pun is intended, specifically for Malai Kitchen’s ability to put up a good amount of spiciness for my Fire Mouth. First, I was impressed with their service before I even stepped foot in the door because of my incessant calling to either change the amount of people in our party or the time of our reservation.  They were very accommodating and polite from beginning to end.  The outdoor area is wonderful for large parties, such as ours, with the capability to flag down your patrons while they are walking up to the entrance and it also gives you plenty of room to move about while sharing plates.

As for the food, we started our table off with Chicken and Beef Satay, of course, and the Malai Spring Rolls, which were so incredibly fresh, crisp and delicious.  The flavors melded impeccably.  Next, we all tried a bit of everyone’s entrees, which consisted of the Drunken Noodle, Iron Pot Chicken Curry, Pad Thai, Grilled Tiger Prawns and the Panang Curry Duck.  Out of all of them, the Drunken Noodle and the Green Papaya Salad were by far the best and I think everyone else had the same consensus and they were both definitely the spiciest dishes of the bunch as well, which will, as usual, get the one up on my list.  Malai Kitchen is an obvious repeater, but I wouldn’t call it the greatest Thai in Dallas.

Drunken Noodle

Grilled Tiger Prawns

Green Papaya Salad

Iron Pot Chicken Curry

Panang Curry Duck

GRAVY



Chopped Salad

Cyberspace: http://www.gravyny.com/

Where To Find It: 32 E 21st Street New York, NY

Food Group: Southern

How Much To Fork Over: $$$

The Grade: B-

Faves: Wonderful service; Scallops and Honey Grits; Chopped Salad

Peeves: Wines-by-the-glass list is average

Roll with Honey Butter

The Jibba Jab:  Beautiful and accommodating restaurant located in NYC's Flatiron district.  Arrived here with a reservation for 6 people but actually had 7.  The manager and hostess didn't mind at all and arranged a table for us right away without any rude remarks. 

The food, though, is not anything out of the ordinary.  Complimentary rolls with honey butter, grits, pork butt, scallops, chopped salad, and pecan pie were about the only items that were above average in taste.  The other food ordered lacked flavor.

Remarkable service but average food.




 

Twisted Root Burger Company – Burgers to Dream About

Cyberspace: www.twistedrootburgerco.com

Where to Find It: 2615 Commerce St, Dallas, TX 75226

Food Group: Burgers

How Much to Fork Over: $$

The Grade: A+

Faves: Burger….hands down!

Peeves: Waiting in line

The Jibba Jab:

Clever Careless Cheesiness. Ok, so I recently stated that The Grape had an amazing burger, but I knew that something better was still lurking out there in the land of Dallas….well I’ve already found a better burger and this is going to be hard to beat!  Twisted Root has been at the top of my list for places to try for quite sometime, so on our way back home the family lake house in Burnet, TX we decided to stop at the original location in Deep Ellum for a bite to eat. 

From the “Sofa King” sign (you will understand what I mean when you visit this place) to the name of their Homemade BBQ sauce, and most likely to the point of chuckling from hearing the celebrity names being called out when an order is ready, you will know that any sort of a snooty or somber attitude is basically not allowed on the premises.  This is my kind of place! 

20 Minute Mojito

After glancing at the menu, my eye and stomach were focusing on something spicy and blue cheese.  I am a blue cheese lover and it is my favorite cheese on a burger.  It’s pungent and stinky, but then it smells incredible while melting.  I love the flavor and boldness that it brings to beef, so I opted for one of their Specialty Burgers, the Blue Cheese and Jalapeño burger with an addition of mushrooms (another must on a burger).  Some of the other choices were the Peppercorn Ranch & Bacon Burger and The Classic Swiss-Mushroom Burger.  And then we had to add a side salad with the Deep Ellum Goat Cheese and an order of Hand-Cut Sweet Potato Chips and French Fries.  Our Celebrity order name given to us was Harry Carey and now we made our way to the bar for some adult beverages.  MT ordered a beer and a Cape Cod for another patron.  I saw a sign for Mojitios, so I just had to have one.  The first drinks came promptly, but the bar tender took 20 minutes to make my mojito!  If I would have known that I would have ordered something else because I was quite thirsty from our long trip.  He did redeem himself though, once I received the drink….He put quite a bit of rum in it!  I was feeling pretty good after finishing it.

Onto my favorite part….the Burgers!  I nose-dove into my burger immediately and kept going after the first bite….almost like the Pringles commercial “Once you pop, you can’t stop”….well I couldn’t stop eating this burger!  The Oompa Loompas had it right.  It was absolutely mouthwatering scrumdiddlyumptious.  The Grape burger completely disappeared from my mind after this amazing piece of God-like food.  The beef was flawlessly cooked with juice running down my chin, to my fingers, to my arms….the blue cheese was so creamy and had just the right amount of contrast to the spicy jalapeños and meatiness of the beef and mushrooms…..I was flabbergasted!  Everyone else at the table had the same expression on their face as mine, which was a look of ‘This is the best darn thing that I’ve tasted’?  Have you ever seen that look or experienced it?  I should have taken a picture.  Next time I will.  Now, everything else we ordered didn’t really have much of a chance after these burgers.  I wasn’t really impressed with the French Fries and Sweet Potato chips and the salad was definitely a disappointment, except for the Deep Ellum Goat Cheese, which was delicious.  I must know where they get their cheese…..the Mozzarella Co.?? 


So now I’m going to get down to business and state that currently Twisted Root’s Burgers are at the top of my Top DFW Burgers list.  Is their some place out there that is better?  I heard Maple and Motor has a good one, so that might be next on my burger destination!!

Blue Cheese and Jalapeno Burger (with Mushrooms)
AMAZINGNESS!!

Peppercorn Ranch and Bacon Burger

The Classic Swiss Mushroom Burger

The Salad.....ehh

French Fries and Sweet Potato Chips