Everybody’s got ‘em – your neighborhood Italian restaurant run by a family transplanted from New York.  Ours is called Fino’s.  Fino’s is the type of place where I expect the fat Italian chef to come out of the kitchen and kiss me on both cheeks and ask if my grandmother found her pants and why I haven’t been by in so long.  It’s the type of place where if I don’t see something on the menu or I’m feeling a little cwazy I can say “Hey Angelo, how bout you whip me up some pasta and veggies eh?!”  To which Angelo replies, “Anything for you!  Que Sara Sara!”  And he kisses me on both cheeks again.  Sure, it’s awkward but he’s Italian so it’s okay.

My experience at Fino’s went nothing like this.  We walk up to the door and there are a few couples enjoying their dinner on the makeshift patio.  One couple even had their adorable black Labrador with them.  It’s 110 degrees out and it’s an Italian restaurant but okay, I like dogs toos.  Jason glanced at the specials written on a stand when we walked in but he said they “didn’t look like English” so he got scared and kept walking.  I know, words are scary.

No one seated us or even made an attempt to acknowledge our presence so we sat ourselves at an open table.  We sat there for about five minutes before someone brought us menus and asked for our drink order.  About 15 minutes later a waitress came to take our order.  I wasn’t 100% sold on anything from the menu so I asked what the specials were to make sure I wasn’t missing something.  She said, “oh shoot, um, hang on,” then walked away.  We never talked to her again.  About 8 minutes later a waiter came by and said, “you want to know about the specials?”  He rattled off some Italian jibberish none of which I could repeat again so I went with the lobster ravioli.  Jason ordered the fettuccine con pollo and we asked if we could split a salad.

The salad was $4.99 and was supposed to include pears, gorgonzola cheese and pine nuts drizzled in a balsamic glaze.  There were no pine nuts.  We paid for pine nuts!  The lobster ravioli was pretty good.  Then again, so are most things that are drenched in butter sauce.  Jason liked his chicken fettuccine which also happened to be drenched in butter sauce.  The reviews for this place on Yelp raved about their baked rolls.  I’m here to tell you they are nothing to rave about.  Bring it Yelpers!  Foodgarbl vs. Yelp LET’S DO THIS.

Most people brought their own wine to dinner which for some reason is a perk.  The perk was that we got to listen to the drunk couple next to us rant about their kid not being respected by his coach on his select soccer team.  Do you know what they pay for Timmy to play on that team?  He deserves more respect.  They’re changing teams and there’s nothing Coach Rob can do about it.

If you have two hours to kick around for dinner and you want spotty service and you’re okay with Uncle Angelo hiding in the kitchen, give Fino’s a try.  Otherwise, there’s a Sbarro at the mall and it’s a lot faster.

There was a hot dog spot on Lower Greenville a few years ago called Big D’s Dogs.

They had a thai chili lime dog (among other crazy inventions) that was redonkulous.  They had cake batter shakes, Dublin Dr. Pepper floats and Italian sodas.  Jerry Stackhouse ate there.  They didn’t make it   WHY DALLAS, WHY?  I’ve been on the hunt for a good hot dog place ever since.  If you are a member at Costco and you have cash on you, the $1.50 you have to fork over for one of their dogs and a drink isn’t a bad deal.  But if you’re looking for something a little more upscale, head over to Everyone’s Frank at Coit/Park in Plano.

While they aren’t eclectic and off the wall like Big D’s Dogs, they do have gourmet hot dogs and sausage and the staff knows their wieners.  I rolled with the sweet red pepper and basil chicken dog topped with sport peppers, sweet relish and Frank’s hot sauce.  It had a simple, nice kick to it and the chicken was flavored quite nicely.  I liked that they offered wheat buns because you know how I get about my buns.  Side of sweet potato fries was just aight.  They were seasoned with salt and pepper like normal fries but sometimes I just want my taters plain.

My personal trainer/computer whisperer/hot date ordered two hot dogs because he is a champion.  Behold the bratwurst and the plain hot dog with onion rings:

I thought the bratwurst would be bigger.  That’s what she said.

The verdict?  They were good and he would go again. So, we weren’t blown away by Everyone’s Frank since we can go to Whole Foods and buy a whole package of organic chicken sausage and make them ourselves.  But it’s nice to know there’s an option in town in case we don’t feel like driving to Whole Foods.

Note to Frank: Simplify your menu.  I sat there like an Arabian Rock Ape going “derrrrrr” for five minutes before I narrowed down what I wanted on my dog.  Also, Frank, salad dressings?

I’m happy to report that our cycling training is right on target.  We busted out 50 miles yesterday and although I can’t feel my legs today, we’re confident that we’re ready for Shammies ‘n Koozies.

BONUS UPDATE: The interstate Kleenex gang has now teamed up with the Pants gang (west side!) and they are going strong.  Do not lose eye contact with your Kleenex or you bet your a$$ they’ll go missing too.

I’ll get to the criminal activity later but I need to alert all Foodgarbl readers (Up to 4 now!  Thanks mom!) to my latest obsession: LOX.  I stopped at Einstein Bagels on my way to work this morning because anything that prevents me from getting to work early makes me happy.  I didn’t want the usual sugary bagel with cream cheese or those retarded poppers so I decided to surprise the ol’ boyfriend and myself with a whole wheat bagel with lox, capers and plain cream cheese.  SHUT UP it was good.  I dropped the surprise off at boyfriend’s place of work and received the following email: “Thank you for my breakfast surprise!! that was ferking bamf and perfect timing because I was out of cereal this morning. You are best girlfriend ever ”  So sweet.  Here’s the iphone shot in between freezing up and apps crashing:

Got It on Lox Down

Let’s get to lunch.  Great American Hero.  Lamegarbl.  Let’s get to post work run.  5 mile hilly route.  It’s hotter than Keanu Reeves on a motorcycle outside but I felt great thanks to the great mix of my favorite rap songs going.  It’s hard to stay so fresh, like I do.  Since I waited for it to cool down a bit, I didn’t get home from my run until 9pm.  And we had a minor problem with clean dishes:

I'm in dishwasher timeout

We bought a huge bottle of dishwashing soap at Costco but it was not for the dishwasher.  I didn’t put it in the cart but I did put it in the dishwasher so I took the blame.  But back to dinner.  The food options around here for late night are bleak so we ended up going to…Raising Cane’s.

Well, so much for my run.  My organs are failing, my heart is clogged and I might need to use my foam roller to soothe my cankles.  If you know me at all you know I hate fast food.  I don’t eat it.  Ever.  The smell makes me cringe.  The sight of the food makes me question my contacts prescription.  Raising Cane’s has a feel good story about the owner having an idea for a chicken finger chain that got shot down in his college class.  He ended up saving up enough money to open the first location and it became a hit.  I don’t know why.  I wish people would realize this food is the reason why we are lagging behind every other country with the exception of eating contests.  Bad example.  Kobayashi for President.  Here’s the slop:

The ketchup comes from tomatoes which are a fruit which are healthy.

I will not be back.  I miss my vegetables.  I just want a healthy fast food chain to open.  Is that too much to ask?  Do I have to do it myself?  Fine.  Any investors out there?

Got home at late thirty again tonight but was wound up from staring at a computer all day so late night run it was.  We took the two crazed hyenas on about a 3 miler through a hilly neighborhood.  After a tough level 3 Jillian workout last night my thighs were en fuego going up the hills.  Reminded me of this one time I played with matches.  Anyways, let me tell you what I had to eat today because it was awesome.  I started off MLK Day at work with a banana and some apple cinnamon tea.  When I couldn’t take it no mo, I left the office to go to Central Market to make my own salad for lunch.  Unfortunately, I took the long way around the store and ended up with $40 worth of impulse buys (WTF is wrong with me?  I bought beer chips and I don’t even like beer.  CHIPS MADE WITH BEER.  THAT’S A NO SARA).

I NEEDED these. Or so I thought for a split second.

I Made a Mezza on My Desk.

The Signature Salad bar is $7.50/lb and it is so worth it.  They have just about all the goodies you can think of putting on a salad and I’m not talking about goldfish and jello.  Pictured above you’ll see I went with romaine mix covered with couscous, cucumbers, roasted bell peppers, hummus, tofu, tabbouleh, a dolma, 2 pita pieces, edamame and a side of balsamic vinaigrette for dipping.  It was INCREDIBLE.  Know what was not incredible?  Dinner.  It’s really difficult for me to write this considering Haiti just had an earthquake and there are people with no food, no running water, no clothes and no unlimited texting.  Here I am writing a food blog about to bash the free meal I got for dinner.  For that I apologize, but the show must go on.  For the next few months we have meals catered in due to the fact that we work redonkulous hours during tax season.  Tonight we had meatloaf, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls and salad.  Here’s my plate:

Yes, those are different colored green beans. Normal.

Coincidentally that is the before and after pic because I couldn’t choke down but one sample bite of each.  Needless to say I had the rest of my salad from lunch for dinner.

How was my weekend?  Hey thanks for asking!  It was pretty ballin.  Friday night we hit up Sushi Masu and Hibatchi for a little hot griddle action.  I had the scallops and my hot date ordered the filet mignon.  Apparently it was reward night because I certainly forgot my wallet.

Sushi Masu? More like Sushi Mushy.

I gots flava. Their miso soup don't.

Bonus salad with ginger sauce. It was aight. Nothing fancy. Like the Cowboys.

Crazy onion choo choo on fire trick! Never seen that one before! I suppose they're gonna retire this one too along with Conan.

Sometimes it’s better if you don’t see how things are cooked in front of you, especially if you are trying to eat healthier.  When I saw the chef adding butter to the scallops and vegetables and dousing everything with salt I kind of lost interest.  I like my scallops cooked simply with lemon and pepper so the buttered method was whack.  Jason thoroughly enjoyed the filet mignon though.  The vegetables were another disappointment because they were cooked too long.  I think the chef was too busy trying to make sure he used all of his ketchup bottle and knife juggling tricks during his “act” that he left the food on too long.  I don’t blame him.  Sometimes I drive to work only to realize I have gone past work and must u-turn.

Saturday morning I woke up feeling like J-Woww and was ready to conquer the day with Sleep, Tan and Clubbing.  Only in Dallas that equates to Running, Costco and Mystery Dinner Theater.  I whipped up an unbelievable bowl of simple oatmeal.

The H is for Hungry, fella?

Instant oats, greek yogurt, dab of maple peanut butter then topped with a small chopped honeycrisp apple.  This was the absolute perfect meal before I set off on a 5.5 mile run with Enzo Monster and Riley Bears.  It was finally warm again on Saturday and the weather was ideal for a nice run.  Also ideal for ring and runs but that’s another story.  After my run we hit up Costco to pick up 2,000 lbs of dog food.  I heart Costco so much.  Guess what I saw a lady carrying out?  A HUGE box of Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches!  It was like I died and went to lactose intolerant heaven!  Between that and the huge jugs of pomegranate juice, what more do you want from your ginormous grocery store?

Saturday night we went out with Jason’s boss and his wife and their friends to a mystery dinner theater party.  I had no idea what it would be like even after looking at the website but it turned out to be pretty fun.  I wish I knew then what I know now (obvi) because I would have asked a lot more people about their relationship history rather than what kind of underwear they had on.  Huh?  Let me explain.  When you first walk in they tell you the mystery has already begun so you grab your “Suspect” nametags and read an instruction sheet full of questions intended for the other party goers.  This event takes place in the Old Mill Inn Restaurant at Fair Park and the meet and greet introduction is done in the saloon downstairs.  It is open bar with a fruit/cheese platter set up as well.  They have actors mixed in with the group and you are supposed to try to find out as much as you can about these people and take notes.  One of the questions on the sheet was “What kind of underwear are you wearing?” so of course that’s all I asked all night.  People were like “Do you have a lot of money?” and I’m like, “Let’s be honest here.  What kind of underwear do you have on?”  After the meet and greet we all go upstairs for the three course din din.  WHICH INCLUDED CHICKEN IN A BISCUIT.  You heard me.  Chicken.  In a ferkin biscuit.  So weird.  Who would have thought?  I’m actually going to start making everything in a biscuit.  Or a pancake.  I mean seriously I would eat more vegetables if they were served inside a pancake.

The winning table. I sat there. Whit cheated off our sheet. He won.

Salmon, wild rice, asparagus, red bell pepper, OMG CHICKEN IN A MFA BISCUIT

Chocolate cream pie or some junk. Luby's?

Fake Stripper Money. Mystery dinner theater is dirtier than you think.

A clue! The shape is important. It's really a circle. Or is it? Remember sheep blood. And cow hats.

The Cop explaining "The Situation." It was more of "An Issue."

The winning couple who couldn't have done it without my astute observations. The only reason we didn't win is because I drew a pterodactyl on the answer sheet.

My nametag. Hello my name is "I'm a Suspect." And I'm wearing foil underwear.

I won’t tell you all the details of the dinner because I can’t ruin it.  This is the internet, people.  This blog could have 5 readers one day and 5 million the next.  When it gets to 5 million do you think we can have a party where we cook sh*t in a biscuit?  But srsly, if you can get a group together try out Keith and Margo’s Murder Mystery Theater.  Because let’s be serious, what else are you going to do in Dallas?  If your name is Ethan you’ll probably go dancing.  GOTEM.

Fast forward to Sunday.  We got fed up with Tony Romo and his spatula hands so we went for a walk through the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve.  I’ve been through some nature preserves before and this was not a nature preserve.  “Watch out for wildlife!”  Oooh ooooh I saw a kid wearing a tiger costume!  Do I win?  Even though the nature preserve was pretty lame, it was absolutely beautiful weather wise.  After running some errands we decided we had a craving for pho so we tried Pho Mac in Plano.  It wasn’t the greatest pho ever but it was cheap and it hit the spot.  We were super fungry so we also ordered a banh mi thit.  I said thit.

Pho Mac JAM PACKED WITH AWESOMENESS

Tofu Pho with bonus basil leaves, sprouts, jalapenos, lime and Sriracha Sauce. So simple, so pleasing to the palate. Amen.

We didn't just order pho because we're phat. Banh mi thit sandwich: pork, cilantro, shredded carrot, cucumber, awesome.

The sandwich was only $3!!  And the pho was $5.99!  The staff at Pho Mac was very friendly and the restaurant was clean and I would return pho sho.

That’s all she wrote kids.  Time to shower and hit the sack.  After I down this acai-blueberry-pomegranate Vitamin Water that I’m obsessed with.  Hollerz!

Village Burger Bar
Shops at Legacy
5700 Legacy Drive, A5
Plano, TX 75024

I’m going to warn you right off the bat…there is a high probability that you will run into a douchebag at Village Burger Bar.

Douchebag. By Ralph Lauren.

Maybe it’s something about the word “Village” that makes them think they can congregate in a safe haven of white moccasins, fauxhawks and Axe Body Spray.  But the food, atmosphere and drink specials are worth every popped collar.

Pomaritadoodle (if you are a dude and you order one, you probably cried during Steel Magnolias)

Cold Burr Hurr

If you can hold your appetite until 9, they offer reverse happy hour where specialty drinks like mojitos and margaritas are half off or you can get a beer lantern with your friends.  A beer lantern is a pourable pitcher of beer surrounded by ice.  Imagine a Lemon Chill.  With the addition of ice, it takes lemonade to the next level does it not?  Now imagine Paul Wall without a grill.  My point exactly.  There are no food specials but the burgers and sandwiches are reasonably priced and they are delicious.  Try the chicken burger and a side salad if you are one of the 8.4 billion people who vowed to eat healthier in 2010.

Happy Meal

Pretty Bamfed up Side Salad if you Axe Me.

Plain looking but the magic is on the inside. On a side note, does Magic Johnson still have AIDS?

Awesome Blossom Dissected

I had the chicken pesto panini, sweet potato fries and part of Jason’s salad and I could still suck in my gut enough to squeeze past a bunch of guys in designer jeans.  The chicken pesto panini is a little taste of yuppie heaven.  If you’re a fan of pesto, try this.  So you know, I’ve been to the West Village VBB location twice and the Legacy VBB location twice and I think it’s safe to say the food is consistently good.  If you are in the downtown area for lunch though, please make it a point to go to VBB in Uptown so you can see for yourself the broads that are worn out from shopping all morning and MUST stop for a bottle of Voss water to accompany their panini.

Fin Sushi and Sake Bar
6149 Windhaven Parkway #F Suite 140
Plano, TX 75093
972-473-0329

They already hung Christmas lights! How could you not go celebrate?

Fin staff yelling friendly Japanese jibberish at you when you walk in: check. Yelling indiscernible obscenities back at them because you don’t know what just happened: check. Loud pop music: check. Sushi chefs actually speaking Japanese: check. Mochi ice cream: check. THE MOST SURPRISING AMAZING TASTEBUD ADVENTURE SINCE MOVING NORTH OF 635: CHECK!

My friends, I would like to share my new favorite sushi restaurant with you: Fin Sushi & Sake Bar. Let me take you on my culinary dinner tour. We started off with edamame which came in a cute little bamboo basket that reminded me of the Sally Struthers Save the Children commercials.  My ONLY complaint about the meal was that the edamame was a wee too salty.  Oh well it will help me float.  Huh?

Who's your mommy? Edamame

Next up was the Ahi Tower.  Whoever invented this should get the Nobel Peace Prize.  Or at least be President.  Or have a Portuguese Water Dog named after them.  Our waiter went to great strides to make sure the ingredients were fully mashed together and formed into the shape of a heart, despite Jason’s desperate attempts to get him to do a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  He’s so romantic.  Fin’s Ahi Tower tasted a bit creamier than the Tower at Blue Fish or Sushi Masu but it was a good creamy.

Like a friggin Bob Ross palette

Crushed Dinosaur Dream

Let’s get to the best part.  They had FOB sushi.  And I mean that in every offensive way possible as long as you get the point.  Some of the freshest fish I’ve ever tasted.  We had the MFK roll, the Spider roll and the Hawaiian roll.  I typically wolf down sushi so fast that I completely miss the first and second trimesters of the sushi baby forming in my tummy.  However, the rolls at Fin were meant to be savored.  I took time to carefully dip into the wasabi (Japanese for guac) and then let my mouf try to guess the mystery ingredients.  The presentation of the sushi definitely got 5 points for plating.  I mean check the pics below…America’s got talent.  The Hawaiian roll even had a “rose” of sashimi salmon!  Morimoto made a frickin rose out of salmon!  What made the meal even better was that every time someone walked in we got to yell along with the staff to welcome them.  HEEEEEEEEEYYYYYY WAAAASSSSAAAABBBBBIIIIIIIII.  It was like having a surprise party for strangers!

MFK Roll. You know what it stands for

The spider roll says building webs is for suckas.

Hawaiian roll and a banana leaf in case you don't like sushi.

Sashimi rose is the new parsley.

This is the point when the waiter hands us our bill.  But we had a little surprise for him.  Still fungry!  Bring on the dessert menu.  Don’t mind if we do have tempura ice cream and an order of mango mochi ice cream.  What’s that?  The tempura is enough for two?  You must mistake us for weaklings.  We’ll have both.  GOOD MOVE.  See the Yogen Fruz post for a quick lesson on mochi.  Imagine mango ice cream wrapped in an albino sour patch kid with slices of strawberries to flavor punch you in the six pack you just acquired from eating like a champion.

No, not mocha, mochi. There is nothing chocolate about glutinous paste.

Vanilla Tempura Ice Cream with Chocolate Drizzle for Shizzle

Note: Fin is located in a shopping center on the northwest corner of Windhaven/Tollroad near the never popular wildly ballsy “Which Wants”.  The center is still under construction but don’t be alarmed.  Fin is open and ready to rock your world.

]]> http://www.foodgarbl.com/2009/10/i-wish-my-old-man-was-around-id-get-a-fin-off-of-him/feed/ 1 http://www.foodgarbl.com/2009/09/noodles-asian-for-quickie/ http://www.foodgarbl.com/2009/09/noodles-asian-for-quickie/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:22:11 +0000 sara http://www.foodgarbl.com/?p=280

The Whole Kit and KaNoodle

Nestled in a small retail strip on Park Blvd in Plano is a quaint little Asian restaurant trying to appeal to every ethnicity that falls under the “Asian” demographic, including Korapanese.  It’s a weird joint because it’s decorated nicely and very well kept but there are minor surprises that catch you off guard.  For example, they serve you your food on nice plates but you have to get yourself silverware and crappy paper napkins.  They have a huge menu featuring Thai, Korean, Chinese and Japanese dishes and even have a happy hour where you can score some half price crab rangoons, potstickers or just say Phuket and get the mee krob.  They do not serve alcohol at this happy hour but they do have Sriracha sauce which is the equivalent of three Ichibans.

Savory dipping sauce for added bonus!

Tastes like chicken

Squiggle plates don't cost extra

I’ve been a gringo when it comes to ordering thus far at Noodles.  I’ve stayed with the safe bets of pad thai, pad see eaw, cashew chicken and curry.  I have to admit for the price the quality is badass.  Ricky say’s El Paso is badass too but that’s beside the point.  They are fast too.  The average meal lasts about 20 minutes.  Unfortunately, the dining room is a no tard out zone.  If you want to go celebrate a co-worker moving to Alaska or a recent Cupcake Throwdown win, this is not the place for you.  If you want to quietly reflect on Patrick Swayze’s passing (I can’t watch Ghost ever again – too soon), this is the place for you.

They don't exactly have Monday night football watch parties here

Do yourself a favor and end your meal with the mango and sticky rice.  You really don’t need it because you will be full from the appetizer and rice dish but come on, we’re Americans.  We eat in excess and we don’t know when to quit.  U-S-A!  U-S-A!  U-S-A!

Like meditating on a rice pattie

Iron Chef Secret Ingredient Is...Styrofoam. Sqeezah!

Don't let the bright colors fool you.

I don’t know if any of you use iTunes but I just looked at my screen and there is a note on the Genius sidebar that says “You bought music by Jessica Simpson” above a song that it thinks I should download.  This is about as embarrassing as the fact that I thought Hawaiian fast food would be a lot better than normal fast food.  Have you ever heard anything bad about Hawaii?  No, you haven’t.  Don’t lie.  Stop lying.  NO YOU HAVEN’T.  Liar.

We decided to go to L&L Hawaiian Barbecue to chickity check it out for lunch today.  We walk in and there is a Hawaiian dude eating there with his family so obviously I expect this to be the greatest f’ing meal ever and I’m already trying to do the math in my head to see if I can afford the catering size portions.  Hawaiian dude distracted me though when he went up to the counter, opened his styrofoam container and said, “I was supposed to get two servings of macaroni salad and I asked for steamed rice.”  He didn’t even say “Mahalo.”  So I went back to the menu and decided on the Guava chicken.  “We ran out of that already.”  What?  How do you run out of guava chicken by 3pm?  It’s not like we’re in Hawaii where everything is scarce except for pot and bail bondsmen named “Dog” and people calling each other “bra.”  So I opted for the barbecue chicken.  I also ordered the special item of the day – a golden coin manapua – which turned out to be a pork stuffed rice biscuit that looked like a boob.  They forgot to remove the wrapper on the bottom of the boob after microwaving it so I had the joy of peeling it off after nearly eating paper with my first bite.

Pork Stuffed Rice Boob

Boob Wrapper

My barbecue chicken was fatty and had the skin on – two things that fa-reak me out when it comes to chicken.  Needless to say I didn’t eat much of the chicken.  It came with macaroni salad and steamed rice both of which tasted like boob wrapper.

BBQ Chicken Slop

My hot date, Borris, ordered the Barbecue Short Rib plate and he had the same complaint – fatty meat.  They serve everything in styrofoam containers (going green yay!) which made it difficult to cut a bunch of meat slabs  with plastic silverware.  Borris ordered mac&cheese as his side because he secretly wants to be 5 again.  The cheese litrolly dripped off the fork as he took each bite.

Barbecue Meat Slop

Mac & Cheese. And by cheese I mean water.

You know, we didn’t order any Spam items off the menu and for that I apologize because that seems to be their signature item.  However, I do know that what I did order looked just like the slop you see sitting out all day at a Chinese Super Buffet.  I don’t know why I pictured a big old fat Hawaiian dude wearing a lei and no shirt serving me delicious pineapple crusted mahi mahi on top of banana leaf mashed rice cakes for $4.99.  Instead, I got an angry Asian girl serving me Chinese Super Buffet leftovers in a to-go container for $20 (total for both).  They had authentic Hawaiian sodas and other products for sale and I wanted to have at least one good experience at L&L Hawaiian Slop so I went up to the counter to pick one out but noticed that some of the cans had mildew looking gunk on them.  After such an exquisite meal I was all about popping open a can of Mountain Mildew!  In summary, I’m not gonna go back to the double L unless I’m in Hawaii because everything is better in Hawaii.

Mahalo