Posted on November 7, 2009 at 2:44 p.m.

Food: 5/5  Vibe: 4/5  Service: 5/5  Value: 4/5  Overall: 5/5

Agent 99 and I had dinner here last week for our anniversary and it was stellar! The somm. we had recommended an excellent choice from the wine list, which is easily 1/2 inch thick. I had the 39.95 filet and lobster tail (Internet) special which easily blew away anything like it that I had previously had elsewhere. 99 had the NY strip and had enough for lunch the next day. Steaks were cooked exactly as ordered and the prime beef tasted excellent, too. Service was top-notch and not obtrusive.

No idea if they have baked potatoes, but it is easily the best steakhouse in town, and I am not normally a fan of steakhouses.

On Pappas Bros. Steak House

Posted on August 28, 2009 at 10:45 a.m.

Food: 4/5  Vibe: 5/5  Service: 4/5  Value: 4/5  Overall: 4/5

We were there again last Saturday night, about 6:45 PM and got one of the last 2-tops outside. Again, the food and service were very good. The place is holding it's own very well and was packed when we left at 8PM.

(And DC, La Duni still rocks, too!)

On Bolsa

Posted on June 28, 2009 at 12:36 p.m.

Food: 4/5  Vibe: 4/5  Service: 4/5  Value: 4/5  Overall: 4/5

This neighborhood gem is still one of our fav places. It has a great, intimate atmosphere and the service and food is always first rate. Our visit last night, the second in the past 6 weeks, was no exception. They had a marinated, prime, chef-cut rib eye that Agent 99 had that was the best restaurant steak I have ever had. Period. Mussels in white wine/garlic sauce were plump, juicy and bread-soakingly good.

Very nice wine list with reasonable pricing. The new owner has really kept the place going with local-sourcing as much as possible. And, he's a Lake Highlands resident, too (we are)!

Highly recommended!

On The Grape

Posted on April 16, 2009 at 1:18 p.m.

Food: 3/5  Vibe: 2/5  Service: 1/5  Value: 2/5  Overall: 1/5

99 and I went here last Saturday night. All I can is this: If this place is 4 star DMN restaurant, then the DMN has officially gone insane in the past 2 months. What a complete waste of time and what unorganized, lousy service.

Omen number 1: calling at 5:30pm to see if a table for 2 was available around 7 or so. "Sorry, we only take rez's for groups of 6 or more. But last night the longest wait was 15 min." OK... so we arrive there at 6:45, and one 4-top and two 2-tops were empty. "Do you have your name on our list? There are 3 couples ahead of yu and we are waiting for them." was the response from a somewhat confused bartender doubling as greeter. WTF?! I'm thinking. "It will be a short wait." she said.

Omen Number 2: One hour later, we are still waiting at the bar, the name-list people have all been seated meantime, and four people off the street got the 4-top. There are now 5 parties behind us, all whom have been told the wait is 30 min! We are also wondering why the people who were seated, eating something when we arrived at 6:45, are still there when we sit down, finally, at 8:15. Then, when their entrees are given to them 5 minutes after that, we figure it out -- we are likely f'ed.

Omen number 3: The waiter, who introduces himself like a TGI Friday's server, and looks like he just got through driving truck for a living last week, recommends "great wine that's on sale tonight" for 5 bucks a glass -- Cap Rock Red. Be still, my beating heart -- how can this wine be so great (had it - it's OK) and "on sale" when the menu also has it listed for 5?

Omen number 4: It takes 10 minutes to get our wine.

Omen number 5: The people on the other side of us receive their entrees, which includes the boneless trout on the menu. Except it's a whole fish, head and tail hanging over each end of the plate, and the husband has to pick it apart for his surprised wife.

Omen number 6: We are told that they are out of the trout. We order our salads and entrees and 30 minutes later have to ask where our salads are. "I'll check and see." we are told. Five minutes later someone else shows up and asks "Who has the bread salad?"

It's now 10 minutes to 9 and I call over the guy who has taken over from the harried bartender and hour earlier, hanlding the tables. "Please cancel our entrees and we'll just eat this and leave. We can't wait another hour for food after this." He obliges, says the glasses of wine will be comp'ed, inc. the ones while we waited at the bar, and we'll just be charged 10 bucks for the 2 salads total. "We want you to come back."

So, we left them $30 because I didn't feel right having them pay for wine while we consciously decided to wait for said table to begin with (never agin). The salads were good but hardly 4 stars. The service was earnest but entirely NOT what one would get in even a 3 star place. And the kitchen was overwhelmed even before the place was full at 6:45.

DMN 4 star restaurant, my sweet a$$ it is! What a place! Never again.

On DiTerra's Urban Italian (Closed)

Posted on April 7, 2009 at 11:24 a.m.

Food: 5/5  Vibe: 5/5  Service: 4/5  Value: 5/5  Overall: 5/5

Agent 99 and I finally made it here last Saturday night, about 6:45. It had about 3 tables available inside and 2 outside. We chose the 2-top near the outside corner - a perfect perch to people peer.

The place itself is very reminiscent of Foreign Cinema in San Francisco in overall style. Not that it's large or has sound-off movies playing in the outdoor area, but in how it's all knit together in an old bldg. Tall ceilings, industrial metal and glass and smooth wood. Extensive play between those and concrete everywhere, inc. the not-enough restrooms. Also right down to the use of industrial-looking picnic tables with benches. A garage-type roll-up door between the bar inside/outside. It's very "put together" modern industrial chic that works. And no drapes!

We split the 4 types of bruschetta ($12) to start. A fresh, wonderful mix of salty, sweet, savory and tart, all served on 4 fairly large slices of lightly toasted, crisp-crusted bread that was not unlike sourdough in texture (but was not sourdough to us). Salmon on one, prosciutto and sweet dates on another, sweet tomato and mozza on a 3rd and Fuji apple with "I forgot" on the 4th. Inhale and it was gone! Check their menu as I'm forgetting some toppings.

99 then had the mussels in garlic-wine which came w/ the same crunchy-chewy bread. They were above-avg large and perfectly cooked and just the right amount. Bread vanished in slurps of sauce from both of us. I had the flatbread w/ pepperoni and mozza and a mild, semi-sweet-tart red sauce. The ancients would call it a pizza, but it was not a pepperoni pizza. The meat was very mild and did not overpower the dish -- I forgot to ask where it came from. It was not Paula's Mozza Co as I recall. The mozza was in melted, flowing slabs, like it was cut from a freah ball and laid on to melt just near the end of cooking. The very thin crust -- not cracker; more like crisp-chewy Mediterranean home-made pita dough that had been rolled thin -- was charred nicely on the bottom in spots and around the thin edge. It was superb!

Note here: 8 20-somethings right next to us, who kept checking an iPhone for some March Madness game results (didn't know water polo was big in TX) asked the waiter where the mozza was on their pep. pie. He had to politely explain it was the white melted puddles and wasn't the off-white greasy-shiny stuff they were likely to get elsewhere. I just about spit out a bruschetta mouthful when I heard what they asked... ;-)

The patio was packed with a mix of 20s and 30s scenesters, worker bees and 2 family groups of 8 with small children at 2 of the picnic tables. We came away highly impressed with the service (young, enthusiastic, menu-aware and well-timed) the freshness and quality and taste of the food and the overall vibe and chic-uniqueness of the place. It reminded us of the first time we left La Duni, a couple of months after it first opened #1 on McKinney. A real gem of a spot, by local people who have absolutely nailed the right combination of quality ingredients, creative cooking, fair pricing (inc. wine) and young, very good service.

On Bolsa

Posted on March 29, 2009 at 12:08 p.m.

Food: 5/5  Vibe: 4/5  Service: 4/5  Value: 5/5  Overall: 4/5

Were there last night with 2 guests and it was still as good as always.

A wonderful, perfectly fresh scallop, whitefish and octopus ceviche with a mild chili tomato sauce. The chili didn't overwhelm the seafood at all. The double-cut lamb chops were done medium rare and were substantial in size. My special of lamb meatballs (cumin and some red chili inside) over pasta with a red sauce with cloves, nutmeg,cinnamon and garlic was very good. Their seared halibut dish and the pastitsio were also done as in past visits -- just right.

Service was energetic, friendly and well-paced. It's still a unique, funky, small place to have a great Mediterranean meal and also help keep a respected local chef (Kelly Hightower) in business during these tough times.

On Kavala Mediterranean Grill

Posted on February 27, 2009 at 12:52 p.m.

Food: 4/5  Vibe: 4/5  Service: 4/5  Value: 5/5  Overall: 4/5

We have been going here since they were lined out the door in the early 90's. It's obviously not that way now, but the seafood has always been outstanding. Favs are the trout -- always pan-fried to perfection -- and the market lobster tail. They have recently changed it from a Maine-source to a Maritmes-Canada source and the improved qulity and sweetness/juiciness is readily apparent. For 28-30 there's no better deal in town.

Veggies are always crisp-cooked just right and th baked potato rivals Houston's -- crisp, well-cooked skin (which I love!) and nice, not mealy, interior. Two service people have worked there for a very long time and both are quirky but friendly, efficient and fun to talk with.

These guys are local, so keep going there. Let's keep them open in these tough times! Highly recommended!!

On Daddy Jack's (Dallas)

Posted on February 17, 2009 at 9:02 p.m.

Food: 5/5  Vibe: 5/5  Service: 5/5  Value: 5/5  Overall: 5/5

Had lunch there with a friend a couple of weeks back and Sharon did herself proud once again. It was my first time at the lunch hour and the relaxed pace was nice. Just like lunch is short and sweet, so will this comment be.

Go -- any time, any day. There's enough written about the food elsewhere that I don't need to describe what I ate.

I was not recognized either, because I'm not the Bill that left town recently. I'm the other Bill. And always remember, if your name is Bill, and you are ever recognized, tell them Bill is not a name -- it's what a duck picks its butt with. That'll stop 'em cold.

Now, go to York Street!

On York Street

Posted on November 14, 2008 at 9:43 a.m.

Food: 4/5  Vibe: 4/5  Service: 5/5  Value: 4/5  Overall: 4/5

Houstons has not disallowed split plates. We did it just 10 days ago.

They no longer split the plate in the kitchen -- saves labor. Instead, they bring you the extra plate so you can split the portion in the sizes you desire.

And because of that, no split fee now (as I recall). Which makes prefect sense to me. Houstons has some of the most professional, accommodating, top-notch servers and managers in the industry. It must take a lot of angst to make one get in an argument with them.

On Houston's (University Park)

Posted on October 30, 2008 at 2:46 p.m.

Food: 4/5  Vibe: 3/5  Service: 3/5  Value: 5/5  Overall: 4/5

Add that "swarthy" back to de list again.

Good thing I work 1/4 mile away -- I can watch out for "Donna Chen."

On Afghan Grill