Big State Drug

Okay, I lied. We're not going to the Cowboy Stadium just yet...

Prior to Bert's trip, we consulted our go to travel/food book, "500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late" and lo an behold, the lone Irving entry was at this place...

Return of the Irving, Texas Posts - Pho Legacy

It's been about a year and a half since I last posted Bert's visit to Irving Texas...

I thought I was done but I never did his last day and the places he visited, so here it is....way later...

Sal's Italian Restaurant

 And yet even more of Bert's food foray into good ole Texas.
As always, any snarky comments in yellow are mine....

Italian food for Thursday lunch.

Interior:

No one at the baby grand. Bummer.

Bread sticks. One classmate didn't care for them. (Well, no wonder, they look really crappy like the kind you get when you buy pre-made dough. It looks like a preschooler or one of those inbred lobster clawed people shaped these)

Pink Lemonade.

Menu:



My classmate is going to do something with this picture. His artistic eye saw something here with a little composition.

Here's a wider view of those windows:

A view of the entrance (from the inside).

Fried Calamari. Eh, nothing special to me, but one my classmate's FIRST time having calamari. Frog legs a few nights ago, now calamari. She's tried a couple of new foods this trip!

My salad with a tomato dressing on the side. Not bad. Pretty crisp. At least I "felt" I was eating healthy for CC. (Wait, was this IT?  A few pieces of iceberg really does balance out all that bowel clogging meat, eh!)

Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo. The shrimp was good!

I think this was the Chicken Philly Cheesesteak. My classmate ate the filling and left the bread (as usual). She liked the filling although I think she would have liked the mushrooms to be tastier.

The Shrimp Scampi. I don't think my classmate finished this. There was a point where she slowly leaned up against the wall next to her because she was getting too full.

My Fettuccini Carbonara. Pretty good. The ham and onions worked well together. Maybe just a little less sauce would have made this better for me.

One last look:

Just a few more posts...and then we're done!

Mi Cocina

Wednesday, Sep 22. Lunchtime! Our instructor recommended Mi Cocina for a Tex-Mex lunch. Our "GPS" showed the closest one was about 6 miles away. (Did you notice the quotes around GPS?).

Well, the GPS took us to "1276 Main Street" in Grapevine. Funny thing was, there was no Mi Cocina at this address! Hmmm...

The next "Mi Cocina" the GPS displayed was at the same address but a different city. This one turned out to be ok.

Inside Mi Cocina.

Not really what we expected for interior decor.

Menu




Chips and salsa. I thought the chips were pretty good. Warm and thick enough to have a good crunch. The salsa had a sneaky kick to it after several chips. The women didn't think the salsa was spicy at all. The men? Eh, just a couple of wusses

Raspberry lemonade. Tart, but not overwhelming. Nothing too special here.

Tacos De Pescado - Fresh Tilapia, Pan Seared with Ranero Sauce y Poblano, served in Corn Tortillas with Ensalada de Aguacate y Arroz. The fresh fish really made this meal. Complimented nicely by the avocado and salad.

The #11 - Beef Taco, Chicken Burrito, rice and Beans and choice of Side Sauce. The beef taco was the best part of this meal.

Tacos. Three to an order served with Rice. Here are 2 Chicken and 1 Beef. "The chicken tacos were really good".

Extras for the Tacos Habana.

The Tacos Habana - Chicken Breast marinated in Chili Adobo served in Corn Tortilla with Cilantro, Onion y Pica-Pica.

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

A couple of nights ago, Bert went to Pappadeux Seafood Kitchen which was recommended by our friend, HotFudge. Now he take HF's word seriously since she is from New Orleans and knows her food well.

The hostess recommmeded the Big Bay Platter. Looks like a lot of food, right?

Hey, they've got GUMBOS! Just what I was looking for. (Of course, it is not as good as HotFudge's homemade gumbo with three kinds of crab, shrimp, fish, and sausage)

and look Pan Seared Frog Legs!

Crud. Didn't get any of the Cajun Specialties in this shot.

Aw, double-crud. Can't see the Cajun Specialties here either. Well, they do have a Crawfish Etouffee with dirty rice and shrimp Etouffee with white rice. I had one of these.

The Sampler Platter looked good to my classmate until we saw the Lunch at the top. Bummer.

Pasta? Salad? Nah...

Outdoor patio...


I could see myself enjoying a beer and appetizers out here.

Awww. Poor widdle lobsters. Gonna get in someone's belly.

My classmate's Jumbo Lump Crabcake. She said she really liked it.

Pan Seared Frog Legs! The waiter said these are better than the fried frog legs. I would have to agree. The frog legs were pretty meaty and the sauce was tasty. My classmate's first time eating frog legs. No real reaction one way or the other. I think she just said it was "ok".

Andouille sausage and seafood gumbo. Oh, it was goooood. Just what I wanted and it did not disappoint.

Look at that... and in each bite too! And yes, I did finish it all.

My classmate's Fried Seafood Platter. Quite a lot of food here. I think she took half (or more) back to her hotel.

My other classmate decided to go with the Big Bay Platter. Nice choice. Again, a lot of food, but it looked really good. She too, took a lot of it back to her hotel.

Ahhh, my Crawfish Etouffee with dirty rice. A little spicy, but not too much. Great flavor. Made me really think of the etouffee I had in New Orleans. Unfortunately, I was filling up and had to take some of it back to my hotel.

Night shot of the front. My classmates wanted to make sure I got the moon overhead.

Finally, the marquee. Not sure what it means, but it was a very good dinner. I wouldn't mind going back someday.

That looked like a pretty good place. Any French speakers out there know what "Deaux to Geaux" means? (To Go? A play on words, I'm sure)...