I left out the disappointments and will get right to the best.

1. Gus's fried chicken. East Memphis Tennessee 9.2
All the cut chicken was juicy and delicious and of high quality with a bit of heat and a dry hot pepper flake finish that lingered for a few seconds. The minimal coating was fairly crisp on our first visit, with just a bit of wetness from residual oil. There was no residual oil left on the chicken for our second visit. All four pieces were juicy to perfection. Even the breast was tasty and juicy. It was one of the highlights of our trip. We loved it so much, we stopped there on the return trip as well. Initially it deserved a 9.5. But, the tenders brought it down because they were left in the (peanut) oil about 3 minutes too long and were a little on the dry side. The coleslaw was above average and the BBQ beans were a little above average. Neither one was impressive yet not bad enough to affect the rating. Only one person makes better fried chicken, my Wife.

2. Jason's Deli Somewhere near Dallas in a strip mall, Texas. Found this place by accident after getting sidetracked outside Dallas on the Ft. Worth side (I think). What a find. Baked potatoes 8.8
These russet potatoes were huge and properly baked to perfection. The Wife got one with cheddar cheese and bacon and brisket and it was moist, smoky and delicious. Mine was a southwest style with Chile powder seasonings and chicken breast and more cheese. Both came with about a big chunk of butter pushed into the center. Slivers of butter would have been better. But, that was minor issue that was easily overlooked. The house brand Root beer was not so hot and the ginger ale just undrinkable. No big loss there. From now onward, we see a Jason's Deli, we're stopping.

3. Dakota's Steak House on Akard. Dallas Texas. 7.2
This is our 4th visit to Dakota's and this was the first time they missed the mark by quite a bit. The 22 ounce dry-aged bone-in rib-eye itself was the same initial quality and flavor. However, the prep and seasoning we'd come to expect was way off this time. The seasoning on the outside was very light to unnoticeable and one side of the steak barely had any salt and was totally bland. I couldn't taste any black pepper. We ordered a medium well and it came out medium rare. The mac and cheese also missed by a mile. The small shells were not cooked long enough and were a bit short of al dente and were a chore to chew. The cheese sauce was barely enough to coat 3/4 of the pasta. At $12 a dish, it was a big disappointment this time around. Other times, the pasta was nearly soft with only a hint of al dente and tender and dripping with sauce. The waiter was a total idiot. I asked him to pick a fairly sweet red that would compliment our steak and he came out with a white. At least he got the sweet part correct. I asked for a taste of a fairly sweet red and he came out with a medium to dry red. When questioned, he said oh this is our driest red. We don't have any that are more sweet. I should have just got a beer. Medium disappointment for Dakota's.

4. Esperanza's Mexican Texarkana Texas. Chile rellenos. 9.2
Wow! This relleno saved the day after I found out that they don't serve red enchilada sauce on their enchiladas. Maybe red sauce is TEX MEX? I'm still baffled as to why red isn't an option. But, after sharing the Wife's relleno it turned out to be a blessing. It was fantastic and huge. Darned thing had to weigh 14-16 ounces and the batter was light and thin just how I like it. The taste was just phenomenal and the green dipping sauce with onions put it over the top. The whole thing was tender and just perfect. The best relleno I've ever had, period. The Spanish rice and the refried beans scored a 7. Even the Dos Equis was crisp and fresh like it was bottled yesterday. Wow.


5. Pecan Lodge Main Street Dallas, TX. 7.8
We got beef brisket, sausage and a beef rib.
First, the beef rib was good and the sauces when combined 50/50 were of very good quality. But, $22 for one beef rib weighing about a pound seemed a little overpriced. The flavor was very good and the edge of the one side of the bone had a bit of leathery meat on it that was great. It was like beef jerky and after being soaked in BBQ sauce, a nice surprise similar to burnt ends. The dry rub on the rib fell a little short. I expected more of a sugar glaze. However, it was very tender and moist.
The sausage was typical pork fat laden sausage which brought the overall score down a bit. No chemical taste mind you. Just not meaty as I prefer. On a positive note, smoked just right. Fat to the level of just short of mushy is not my idea of great sausage.
The brisket was OK and had a nice smoke ring on it. But it didn't stand out over most of the ones I've tried by much. Since the fat cap was left on and the top and rest of the cut were not separated, it was done very well as fat was reduced enough to be palatable.
The mac n cheese was above average yet nothing to write home about, just tender macaroni and white American based cheese sauce that was nice and saucy.
Might go back and try some burnt ends. Nice place.

CB

Glad you liked it.We do pride ourselves on good meat + there is always a competition over who is best. On the other hand I remember the 1st time I drove into Hershey,Pa. You could smell the chocolate for miles.This was in the early 60's but I guess it is still the same.Is it still true?

Yes sir. The smell is still there. However, they tore down the east end of the factory right down to the concrete slab on Chocolate Avenue after it was sold to another company. However, they retained the stone base of the east end and also the Hershey Cocoa bushes in the lawn area just to the east. So, it still has that old Hershey factory look. The smell is more prevalent about 1 mile to the northwest where a new building was erected to handle the rail car unloading and roasting of the peanuts and cocoa beans. The road in front of the factory is now twice the width of the old one and is lined with posts topped with glass lights with kisses on them.

Speaking of chocolate, our favorite chocolate comes from Wilbur Chocolate in Lititz, PA which is about 25 miles due east. The Wilbur Buds have a more intense flavor and cost like $12 to $14 a pound in most stores that retail it. The outlet sells it for like $8 a pound. We load up on Buds once or twice a year at the outlet.

Thanks for sharing your trip!

I don't know anything about wine, it gives me headaches and acid reflux so I only use it to cook with. I reckon beer is easy to figure out, most of the time I don't get to drink, but I rarely believe anything I am told about beer from some 18-99 year old bar wench.

If I got some place and the waitress doesn't tell me about her c-section I am pretty happy. Not sure why women barmaids and waitresses like to share stuff I don't care about.

Keep my drink full, bring my food, don't screw up my order and you get a tip. Tell me about your 5 kids from 5 guys, and you don't.

Easy day.

Red sauce is for Gringos.

I found that BBQ places in Texas either sucked or were over priced. I never had repeatable quality. If you eat some place once and it is good, great. If you eat there twice with the same result, great deal.

I never had repeatable BBQ unless I cooked it.

I think BBQ varies everywhere from my experience and it's a real shame. Ribs and brisket had the most variation around here. Don't know about Texas. I did find a place locally that still does whole chicken wings right and those are consistently juicy and delicious.
I like red sauce. But then I love tomatoes and when our local farm has them I can easily eat 3 or 4 large ones in a sitting because they pick them when they are dead ripe not just red.
Green Chile sauce or Tomatillo sauce is OK. But, home made red is my favorite sauce for enchiladas if it's done right and not just poured out of a can.

For acid re-flux, I take Prilosec OTC for a week or so and then I'm great for several months. Great stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
I don't know anything about wine, it gives me headaches and acid reflux so I only use it to cook with.

Big Wonderful Wyoming

Try find/drinking wine that is "sulfite" free.

That is usually the headache causing agent.

Or drinking several bottles too much in one setting could likely do that also.

I take acid reflux pills every day, have for 20 years.

I'll try that sulfite idea.

A New Mexico (Hatch-style) green chili sauce is about as good as it gets; on chicken enchiladas, eggs, you name it. I don't consider tomatillo sauce a green chili sauce variation at all, although it seems to be more popular at Tex-Mex restaurants all the time. To me it is like black beans with Tex-Mex. What a Yuppie invention. If it isn't refried or pinto, it must be from California. Tomatillo falls in the same category.

BWW Do you drink much cola like Pepsi? Citric and phosphoric acid gave me much of my heartburn. Since I cut way back on those acids, I haven't had to hit the Prilosec since. These acids are in everything like canned tomatoes and canned stuff. That stuff is everywhere including some breads. So, if you haven't done so already, lay off the acid man. Oh, BTW I eat a lot of Valentina's hot sauce and nuthin'.

I'm warming up a little more to green chiles. Have been wanting to try Hatch chiles too. Haven't seen any around here yet. That onion & green chile sauce at Esperanza's got me hooked. I could have eaten a bowl of that stuff. Thanks for the mention Gato. There was no funky commercial crap in that stuff.

Look up Hatch green chilies on the internet and place an order. Order them roasted and frozen. They go with everything: cereal, bread, chocolate, tamales, beef stew, chedder cheese. Everything.

Order to your heat, don't be too macho with it or you might not like them.

Some of the Big Jims are hotter than any jalapeno I have ever had.

I don't drink soda, never have.

Thanks for the suggestion. Last thing the Wife or I like to do is roast and peel peppers. May order some already roasted and peeled.
Would you say the flavor is superior to a Pablano? They are in the same heat range from what I've read.

Yes, and they have an addictive chemical in them that makes you "NEED" them.

Oh my. The "crack" of roasted peppers. Thanks -I think-.

Mexican diners all over the west use the same slogan about coming in and getting your chile fix.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:I don't consider tomatillo sauce a green chili sauce variation at all, although it seems to be more popular at Tex-Mex restaurants all the time. To me it is like black beans with Tex-Mex. What a Yuppie invention. If it isn't refried or pinto, it must be from California. Tomatillo falls in the same category.

That's funny!

Tom

Update to #2. New & much lower Jason's ratings.

We were pleasantly surprised to find some Jason's Deli's in states and stopped by a Jason's Deli near a gun show in Maryland this past weekend and their food score was poor.

a. Rating 3 of 10. Big disappointment here. Our brisket potato wasn't even close to the high quality that we had in Texas (which was slivered and just slightly wet with sauce and a chunk of real butter). This one missed that benchmark by a mile and was flooded with an extremely sweet sauce with small bits of brisket and the potato it covered was dry without any butter.
b. 2 of 10. My hot pastrami sandwich was also sub par with warm nearly flavorless meat and bread that was dried out at the edges. The thin sliced onions tasted old like they were sliced up yesterday.
c. 5 of 10. The Wife's brisket sandwich was OK except for the excess amount of that same way-sweet sauce. Had the brisket just been moistened a bit with it, it would have scored a 7 or possibly even higher. But, barely any beefy brisket flavor shined through.

At least the staff was friendly and service was very good.
CB

custombolt

I thought a lot of you, right up until you started bragging on Jason's Deli. We just don't do that in Texas.

Yeah, we brag on Whataburger, BBQ restaurants, catfish places, Shiner beer, and Mexican food joints. We might even brag on COSTCO's $1.50 hotdog, but not regular old sandwich joints like Jason's. At least not in public. Not in front of our buds. That's just wrong.

We'll give you a pass this time, but by God don't do that again.

I'm going to have to score you 6 out of 10.

sniff.
Well, I learnt my lesson.

OK, OK, I'll give you 7 out of 10. You have a real good attitude, and you meant well, plus you whacked a hog. That's worth a point right there.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
I don't know anything about wine, it gives me headaches and acid reflux so I only use it to cook with. I reckon beer is easy to figure out, most of the time I don't get to drink, but I rarely believe anything I am told about beer from some 18-99 year old bar wench.

If I got some place and the waitress doesn't tell me about her c-section I am pretty happy. Not sure why women barmaids and waitresses like to share stuff I don't care about.

Keep my drink full, bring my food, don't screw up my order and you get a tip. Tell me about your 5 kids from 5 guys, and you don't.

Easy day.

Red sauce is for Gringos.

I found that BBQ places in Texas either sucked or were over priced. I never had repeatable quality. If you eat some place once and it is good, great. If you eat there twice with the same result, great deal.

I never had repeatable BBQ unless I cooked it.

I bet the German BBQ is great!

Man. I forgot about trying a bowl or two some Texas red while I was down there. Everything around here has beans in it unless we make our own. One place actually put lima beans in it.

German BBQ butch? As in sausage?

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
German BBQ butch? As in sausage?

Just a little needle for big wild wyoming

He's ignoring us. He's probably getting fat on weinerschnitzle and warm beer.