*Cue the mournful violins*
Usually on the little dish, we like to only post reviews that are favorable or notable, maybe a little critical, but of places worth mentioning. Consider this a departure from that. The other day we decided to try OC Burgers on a whim. (The primary reason being that it looks completely nuts from the freeway as you pass it.)
The strange, fun house exterior should have been a tip off, but we really do believe that you can find delicious food in unexpected places. Let it be known that OC Burgers: “Salads, Burritos, and More” isn’t likely going to be one of those places.
On the menu is everything from breakfast plates with french toast to chicken teriyaki bowls and carnitas burritos. Being our first visit, we went with standard fare: chili cheese fries and the signature OC Burger. The chili cheese fries were disappointing—passable at best. The burger was delicious-ish looking but ended up being a bit tragic. The undercooked, doughy bun couldn’t make it through half the burger and it became a sloppy mess. (Have they tried to eat one of their burgers?) Worse than being messy, it just wasn’t that good. The burger lacked anything special that would make it something worth coming back for. We left feeling pretty sad.
Apparently Patricia Rodriguez from the Star-Telegram went there and had a much better time. Could we have caught OC on a very off day? Possibly. But we kinda don’t want to try them again to find out.
1201 Airport Freeway | Euless, TX 76040
817.858.9322
So, of course the little dish is about really good food. But it’s also about being real. And you know what’s real? People, I work in a cube! And when you’re trying to make your living in a box with no lid*, sometimes food comes down to a matter of sustenance. For lunches at work, I want something that’s low-fat and good for me, simple, and relatively inexpensive. These guidelines rule out a lot of restaurant options, so I’ve started trying to bring my lunch more often.
This is usually a great plan, but sometimes when I snooze too long, it’s very sad. With no time to pack a lunch, I tend to fall back on a plan B that’s not so wonderful. Happy meal, anyone?
So this brings me to Healthy Choice’s NEW line of all-natural TV dinners. Yes, companies like Amy’s have been doing the all-natural thing already, even going one step further and making it organic. However, their price point is a tad high for a microwave lunch that’s most likely going to be eaten in front of a computer screen. (No offense, love your food!)
Healthy Choice’s new dinners were intriguing to me because:
a.) They are all-natural (no gross, weird TV dinner preservatives etc.)
b.) They are really inexpensive. We’re talking under $2.00 a piece
c. ) The flavors sounded really tasty.
d.) All of the above.
I’m not going to give the answer away, because I think you all know what it is and I don’t want to insult your intelligence. Healthy Choice’s new meals are awesome… in theory. But how are they for real? Amazingly, not a disappointment. They’re pretty good! I had the Portabella Spinach Parmesan (9 grain penne with baby portabella mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese). It’s tasty, in fact, one of the best TV dinners I can recall. And at 270 cal. with 7 g. of fat, it’s essentially everything I need. Unless you see some sort of major retraction after I try the rest of the meals (I bought one of each), I’m a fan.
(Oh, and since everyone talks about salt all the time when frozen food comes up, I thought I’d mention that there was 600 mg in the meal that I ate. Sounds like a LOT, but apparently that’s only 25% of your recommended daily amount? Interesting.)
*I don’t want to seem overly down on cubes. They’re not that bad. Mine’s really cute, actually…
This past weekend I finally got to eat at Tim Love’s burger joint in Fort Worth and wash that filthy mini-sirloin burger taste out of my mouth. After visiting, I have a few requests. I want Fort Worth to be closer to my house. More specifically, I want Love Shack to be closer to my house. I want to eat at The Love Shack every day, but that’s currently impossible. It’s probably better for my health and wallet, but I can keep dreaming, right?
The Love Shack has everything going for it. A unique location: the Stockyards of Fort Worth. Beautiful architecture and ambiance: you dine in a large open space with three levels of patio, almost like a courtyard, but with with a stage and music on the weekends. Outstanding food: perfect burgers, onions rings, and a new flavor of shake every day, all of which I will continually go back for. What more could you want from a restaurant? This is the type of place you take your friends to when they visit from out of town, not because it’s fancy and elegant, but rather its unique and something your guests probably haven’t experienced.
Their burgers are a 50/50 mix of prime tenderloin and prime brisket that’s ground fresh daily and cooked to order. I opted for a single Love Burger and I was impressed with the size of it. I couldn’t imagine myself trying to scarf down a double, but for those who have the appetite and are up for the challenge, the option is there. It’s a standard burger: meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato and sauce, but there’s just something about it that makes it stand tall. Maybe it’s the ‘love sauce’ or special seasoning they put on the meat. It’s actually the closest match to an In-N-Out burger I’ve had since moving to Texas. It’s a bit bigger and more expensive, but for flavor and taste, it’s damn close. One of the best non-fancy burgers I’ve ever had. If you want to get fancy though, chef Tim Love will fry a quail egg on top, mix in some bacon, and call it a day.
We also opted for some onion rings and a shake. Each day the flavor changes and on Saturdays it’s Raspberry. It was a nice shake, Blue Bell icecream mixed up with some flavor and milk in a cup. The fact that it’s $3.23 for the large, makes it even better. The onion ‘rings’ were more like ’strings’, but don’t let that mislead you. They were delicious and I opted to stack a few on my burger which turned out to be a great decision. I’d also go for the ranch dressing to dip those onion strings in; they just aren’t the same with out it.
The Love Shack is really a great experience. My only word of advice is to watch your trash. If it’s a windy day and you are sitting on one of the upper levels that overlook the main court, your wrappers might just end up on someone else’s head or lap. It happened to us twice!
So next time you find yourself in Fort Worth, head on over. Make sure it’s a nice cool evening, sit out under the open sky, enjoy some fine burgers, have a drink, bring some friends and relax. If you’re lucky enough to get a seat at one of the tables on the second floor balcony you can even do a little people watching as the bikers and cowboys mosey up and down the brick-lined streets of the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Love Burger: $4.62
Onion Rings: $3.00
Shake: $3.23
110 E. Exchange | Fort Worth, TX 76164
(817) 740-8812
