Patrizio Highland Village - Ehhhhh....

SCORE: 82/100

Have you ever heard the saying, "Less is More"?  Well, Patrizio has not.  What I mean by this is that the food is just too different then it needs to be.  I wish it were more authentic Italian.  The place is very nice.  The food is good.  The waitstaff is decent.  It just didn't blow me away.

Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House - Fort Worth - Slightly Overated...

RATTING: 81/100

OK... I really want to love this place.  It has a lot going for it.  Great location, great atmosphere, great wine selection and wine bunker... what's missing in this list of greats?  Well, the food!  Don't get me wrong, the food is way above average.  It's just not great.  I would expect a place with such formal flavor dripping from the minute you pull up to the valets to have better food.  The steaks are good.  They lack that true aged beef flavor.  The other parts of the menu are the same.  All decent and pretty good, just no WOW factor. For the price, you would be better off at Silver Fox.  This place is almost great...  Oh yea... most of the staff was very good.  One waitress had a really strange attitude.

I would recommend giving Del Frisco's a try.  Just don't have extremely high expectations.

Mi Pueblo - N. Richland Hills - Good Stuff!

RATING: 81/100

This place is solid.  Good salsa, good fajitas, and good rice and beans.  It was surprisingly good.  I would recommend for lunch.  The place has fast service and a good atmosphere.

Tex's Star Grill - N. Richland Hills - Greek Food?

RATING: 84/100

This place will surprise you!  I thought I was going to a burger place. Uh... NO...  This place is really great.  The Greek Salad is awesome.  The Gyros are great.  Plus, the burgers are good too!  Just go and try it.  You will love the menu.  Quality at a great price too...

Silver Fox Steakhouse - Grapevine - Authentic

RATING: 88/100

This place has an authentic feel about it.  You know that feeling you get when you walk into an old building and it just feels real.  This place has that feeling even though it isn't that old.  The valet parking is a nice touch. The staff are very good.  Professional wait staff...what a concept...  The food is top notch.  They have a salad that is just like the III Forks salad.  In fact, I prefer it to the III Forks salad.  The steaks are perfectly cooked.  The bar area is really great.  The wine selection is over the top.  You just feel like you are eating at a restaurateur's restaurant while you are here.

Main Street Bread Baking Company - Grapevine - YUM!

RATING: 88/100

High marks for this place.  I have been going here for years.  It is always consistently great.  Sometimes the service is a bit underwhelming, but that is only when they are so busy they can barely keep up. The food is what I like to call "Authentic".  Ok, I know that term isn't so unique, but this place is.  The food is freshly prepared and real.  You can tell.  If you don't know what fresh food tastes like, then come here and see what I mean!  It is a great place to go with your wife or date. Also a great place to hit on the way home to grab a baguette.  The breakfast menu is great! Plus, all the pastries...wow.

Also, if you have a kids birthday you need a cake for...ask to see the cake book.  They will custom make the best birthday cakes you have ever seen or tasted.

This place gets it!

Love & War in Texas - Grapevine - I Say Try It!

RATING: 82/100

Not bad...not bad at all!  I had eaten at the Plano location years ago.  It was very good.  The Grapevine location doesn't disappoint either.  The only negative is that the consistency isn't perfect.  I have had a bad meal here before, but they made it right.  For the most part, the steaks are decent and most of the other food is good as well.  The place is well managed which is always a plus.

I say go tonight and tell me what you think...

 

Wine Loft - Southlake - Getting Better...Maybe?

RATING: 80/100

I really like the concept of this place.  We needed a place like this.  I was tired of going to downtown Grapevine.  My first experience here was not good.  It wasn't terrible either.  My group all had the same feeling that the staff was inexperienced and the owner couldn't manage them well.  The food was really great.  The wines are wonderful.  The atmosphere is great.  The only issue we had on our first visit was the staff.  They were unaccommodating. We sat upstairs and the reserved tables/sofas made it very awkward for those of us that were there.  The other 2 sets of people were making comments about how they couldn't figure out where to sit.  The staff acted like, "good luck"...
By the way, the reserved tables were never occupied during our entire visit.  The prices are a fraction high, but not too bad.  I have had a few friends tell me they wouldn't go back because of the prices.  I think that just comes from the fact that things cost more now.  Some people haven't gotten used to that yet...

Ok, I gave them a second chance.  The second visit was much better.  I think the owner had a good talk with the staff.  They were much friendlier and the visit was much better.  It only takes one bad day to really affect the future of a place.  I hope they continue to improve.

Feedstore BBQ - Southlake - Just So So...

RATING: 78/100

OK, I hated to give this place below an 80, but I have to be true to the experience.  I normally won't read any of the other reviews until I post what I believe to be true.  I was certain that this place would have good reviews because of it's loyal following.  I was surprised to see that most of the reviews thought the same thing I did.  That is... the place is really charming.  The location is very cool.  The food...well, it isn't good.  BBQ is a real science. I know good BBQ!  I also know my limitations.  I am a decent cook, but I leave BBQ to the pros and a few of my good friends.  The brisket here is very dry and the smoke flavor isn't right.  The ribs are over cooked.  The sauce is OK, but not great.  Most of what I tasted seemed re-heated or just not fresh out of the smoker.  I realize it is hard to run a BBQ place because of food staging.  But, that is why there are great places and then places like this.  The place was busy when I visited.  When a place is busy and the food isn't top notch, that usually means the owners have a lot of friends, or the people that live in that area just haven't had real BBQ.  I think it is a mixture of both in this case.  I would say to give this place a try.  Maybe they were having a bad day.  The food isn't terrible.  It just isn't great.

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Half-Time Sports Grill - Newcastle, OK - BEST FRIED CHICKEN...EVER!

RATING: 88/100

I never thought I could give a sports bar such a high rating, but this place has the best fried chicken.  If you are ever near Oklahoma City, you must go here!  The place has seating for families.  Plus, the people are great and you won't believe the CHICKEN.  I prefer their chicken to the local Dallas/Fort Worth place that everyone loves.  I won't name any names because I wouldn't want to hurt Babe's feelings... ;>{

If you like fried okra, you will want to order that too.

Houstons - North Dallas - Consistently Incosistent...?

Rating: 82/100

Why the high score but the unflattering comment in the title?...

Well, the food is pretty darn good.  The service is what is so inconsistent.  The place is slightly franchisesque.  Because of that you get sophmoric management.  Which always leads to a young, inexperienced wait staff mixed in with a few good waiters.  So, you never know what kind of attitude you will get.  There will be a day when their business will slow and they will be in a panic to find out how to turn it around.  Until then, just live with the under managed place with good food.  If they could just hire people who can sense the appropriate, they would fix half the problems with the service.

Bravo to the kitchen and booo to the front of the house...

JR's. Steakhouse - Colleyville - Oasis in the Dessert... ;>}

RATING: 84/100

JR's is a solid place.  The building was built just to be a restaurant.  The atmosphere is very comfortable.  The wait staff are very good.  The food is very good.  The wine selection is top notch.  And, if you don't know what wine to order, do not sweat it...they have a sommelier.  This is a great place for a first date, or a last one :(.  Or, just a great place to go when you want a no-nonsense great meal. I really enjoy a fancy restaurant that doesn't make you feel like you are under dressed no matter the tuxedo you are wearing...  JR's delivers.  It is a fancy restaurant that you will feel comfortable being at.

Oh yea... and the desserts are great.  That's why they are the Oasis in the Dessert..

Tolbert's - Grapevine - Please stop staring!

69/100

Tolbert's by far is the strangest place I have been in a long time.  The minute we arrived, they made us feel like they were doing us a favor.  Some strange lady kept staring at our party of seven the entire time.  Like really strange stares!  The waitress was completely unprofessional and obviously lacked experience.  Here is an idea... ask for a drink order after we sit down instead of asking, "Ya'll know what you want" while we are still sitting down.  For gosh sakes, hire experienced wait staff, not your uncle's, friends, cousin!

WEIRD!

Anyway, the food wasn't too bad.  The menu and the food is sort of "been there, done that".  Nothing to recommend.  Just wish our order came out together.  Not five minutes apart.  Mine was cold!

I finally had to ask our disty, young, clueless, waitress why the older women was glaring at us.  She said, "I don't know, she is sort of like that.  She is the owner and does that a lot"...  Wow, I am sure her dad would be proud to know how his kids are running the place now. She even followed one of our party into the bathroom!  I asked is she had said anything to her.  Nope, just stared at me...

The place has potential.  The location is fun.  The interior is decent.  Just spruce up the menu and don't let the owner near the place.  Oh, and hire actual waiters and waitresses.  That's all...

Copeland's - Southlake - Edible...sort of.

RATING 72/100

I am not sure what to say about Copeland's...  I just didn't like it...at all!  The crab cakes are orange and tasted like playdough.  My steak was a cheap cut over seasoned piece of beef...(I Think it Was Beef).  They serve Red Fish which is sort of draw for people that like Red Fish.  I didn't try it, but it I did see and smell it.  It didn't look too good...  Oh well, may be I went on a bad day.  All I know is that I like the menu.  I just didn't like the food.

Cowboy Chow - Roanoke, TX - Not Worth It...

RATING 70/100

Cowboy Chow has some major issues.  The food is not that good and the staff hasn't a clue.  I think this is the first restaurant job for most of them.  They have no idea how to treat a customer.  From the second you walk in and feel like you are a bother to them to the fact that they have no idea what is on the menu or when and who the live entertainment is/will be.

Now, the food...  It is so bland, that you won't even finish it.  Plus, it is not cute to eat food out of a Mason jar.  You feel stupid eating out of a lidded glass.  Seriously, who's idea was that?  The prices are a little high on top of all of this!  The place is owned by the same folks as Twisted Root.  It seems as though they have no real experience with running a restaurant.  They may have gone to cooking school, but that is never the recipe for success.  Anyone can hire a great chef.  You have to know how to treat people and create the experience!  Get a real manager, get some better food and you may get some patrons other than the Babes Chicken overflow.

Twisted Root Burger Co. - Roanoke, TX - Not Just Another Burger Shop

RATING 83/100

Twisted Root Burger Company offers up a pretty good burger.  The menu is slightly complicated, but no matter what you end up with, you will probably enjoy it.  The shakes and malts are good as well.  The ordering area will confuse you and trying to fill your drink cup is an art in this place.  Not sure this place is worthy of all the hype.  A flash on the Food Network will do wonders for a place.  Time will tell...   I will say this.  The prices are way out of whack!  I think everything is an extra.  So, just when you thought you were about to pay 8 bucks for a burger (which made you feel guilty)... it will ring up at $10.50!  What happened?!  Well, the jalapenos where extra... oh yeah... the cheese you selected is $1 more than the other cheeses that come with the cheeseburger... huh???

Well, if you have a spare $11 or so, go try it.

Brio Tuscan Grill - Southlake, TX - Not Worth the Wait, but Good...

RATING 80/100

OK, I don't normally review chain restaurants, but I feel like Brio is worth a few sentences.  The atmosphere is decent.  Could be improved if it weren't so LOUD!  The bar areas are really nice.  I especially like the outdoor bar area.  DO NOT, sit in the outdoor patio for a meal.  The chairs are so uncomfortable.  They are sized for a 12 year old.

The place is decent.  The pasta dishes are all pretty good.  The appetizers are really good.  I recommend the pizzas.  I normally would not recommend something so ordinary, but the pizza oven does a good job at slightly burning the crust...like a real pizza.  The place uses fresh ingredients which is half the battle.  If you are in Southlake Town Center, hungry, and have an hour or so, try it.  I think you will like it.  The only reason the score is an 80/100 is because I rarely give any chain restaurant a review, and when I do, it rarely makes it out of the 70's.  So, an 80 for a chain is quite good...

Bosses Pizza - Keller, TX - Great Crust!

RATING 84/100

The pizza is really good.  The dining experience needs much improvement.  The restaurant looks OK from the street.  Upon entering, you will not be impressed with the decor...at all!  The salad bar is stuffed into a corner and is lackluster.  However, you go to Bosses for the CRUST!  It is really great.  The pizza is very good.  The buffet needs some help.  It is a little sparse normally.  Buffets are tough for the restaurateur to gauge sometimes...so, it is understandable.

The prices are good.  I would recommend grabbing a pie to go.  Take it home and have the pizza feast there.  Your dining experience will be better that way.  (Take advantage of the $10 Tuesdays.  You get any medium for $10)

Prairie House - Roanoke, TX - Consitantly GREAT!

RATING 85/100

A real chuckwagon experience. The food is really good! No, REALLY good. Not sure how they spice up the Prairie Chicken, but it is my favorite. The barbque is awesome. If you ever need some real chuckwagon style catering, I bet this place would fit that bill perfectly. I eat here a few times a week and never get tired of it. I recommend asking for the vegetable skewer in lieu of the normal side item. It isn't on the menu, but it is really good. Prices are good, and the specials are yum.

Trulucks - Southlake, TX - Could Be Better...

RATING 81/100

 I have been a few times and I keep expecting it to get better. The crab claws came frozen on the first visit. The actual meals are fine. Just not really fine dining. The restaurant is sort of a pig in lipstick. The atomosphere is nice and the waitstaff do a decent job, but the food is more like a Red Lobster. The bar is pretty nice with live piano talent. All in All, not a bad place to eat and drink, just don't expect the seafood meals to be that great. I may be expecting too much since I am used to eating seafood near the ocean...

Uncle Julios - Grapevine, TX - Fresh Mexican Food Done Right.

RATING 81/100
SALSA RATING 84/100

I went on a Wednesday for lunch.  The place was busy!  The decor is just right.  The staff is professional.  The food is really great.  The salsa is a perfect balance of spice and flavor.  The chips and tortillas taste fresh made.  I had cheese enchiladas.  I normally start with that on a first visit to test the flavor.  You can tell a lot from a simple cheese enchilada.  Is the cheese aged?  Is the tortilla fresh?  Is the plate appetizing?  Uncle Julios hits on all cylinders!  The food really is pretty good.

Click on the Urbanspoon Icon on any review for a map and all the contact details.

La Hacienda Ranch - Colleyville, TX - Great Mexican Food and Steaks!

RATING 86/100
SALSA RATING 92/100

The location is great.  The building is really something else.  The rustic decor is perfect and not overdone.  Very cozy once you sit down.  The service is fantastic.  The food...well...it is great too!  Did I scare you?  I really enjoy going to this place.  It is consistently good food.  Even if you have to wait, the bar area is ample and the drinks are top notch.  Belly up to the bar on a real saddle!  Just leave your spurs in your truck!

Joe's Pizza - Westlake, TX - Really Good Pizza! REALLY!

RATING: 86/100


- Is it the crust? Is it the sauce? Is it the cheese? Is it the toppings? I don't know, but I do know that it is G R E A T! The crust is slightly crispy and doughy at the same time. The sauce is just right and the cheese is...well... REAL CHEESE! Put it all together and you have a fantastic pizza. Plus, they deliver. Hmm. I know what's for dinner tonight!

Babe's Chicken - Roanoke, TX - JUST TRY IT ALREADY!

RATING: 84/100

Ok, you have driven by the place and saw the line out the door and wondered why.  So, just go out and try it.  If you like fried chicken or chicken fried steak, you will love this place.  If you don't, you probably won't enjoy yourself since that is all that is on the menu.  The salad is 'toaster simple', but tastes great.  The salad, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, and scratch biscuits are served family style.  The sides are all very tasty.

The atmosphere is great.  Really old building with a lot of character.  Juke box playing in the background takes you back a few years.  The rating is an 84 out of a possible 100.  Any rating above a 70 is worth trying!  So, just go and try it already and be prepared to take the leftovers home with you... Cold chicken for breakfast or lunch the next day?  YES!

Joe T. Garcias - Fort Worth, TX - Um, Is This Mexican Food?

RATING 75/100


 I know... I know. This place is a local institution of Fort Worth. An icon of the area... We all have memories of events that we have attended there. But can we all come together and agree that the food really isn't that great. From extremely greasy tacos to fajitas that taste...uh...terriaki. What? TERRIAKI... YES! EWWW. Anyway, the place is packed all the time and we all sort of know the family and love them. I just wish I could go for the food. Instead, I will cotinue to go for a Sunday brunch now and again. And I am sure our family will have an event or two every year. But it just isn't the food that draws us there. Thank goodness for them that traditions exist. I wonder what would happen if the food was great. My gosh, we would never get it! And for the love of Pete! Accept Credit Cards! It's not cute anymore trying to be old school and take cash only. Who carries cash anymore? Ok...see you there tonight...darn it!

Dino's - Grapevine, TX - Don't Expect Too Much.

RATING: 77/100

I wish this place was better.  It is in a great location.  It is located in the very quaint old town Grapevine.  The building and the signage draw you in.  The interior/atmosphere is decent.  The interior could have been better if it were professionally designed.  You can tell they spent the money on the inside, just missing a few, easily fixed, things.  For example, if you sit upstairs during the daytime, you will be blinded by the huge un-tinted windows.

I went with a large group and the consensus was unanimous... The food was just OK... Not worth the price.  They were out of many items on the menu.  Including the special.  Uh, we were there at 7:00pm... huh?

The wait staff was really great.  They had to apologize so much, it became uncomfortable.  Oh well.  It wasn't terrible.  It is just that the food doesn't line up with the pretty nice location and building.

I hope they get better.  I will give them another try for sure.

Vinny's - Trophy Club, TX - Great Pizza.

RATING:  82/100

Located in Trophy Club near Trophy Lake Drive.

Good atmosphere, good food, good service...

The pizzas are great! The food is consistent hot and very good. Give them a try!

The specials are always a good choice.