I’ve searched long and hard for a frozen food that I can put in the microwave rather than the oven, and have it come out both delicious and cooked well. Actually, delicious might be asking too much, so I’ll downgrade to pleasantly palatable. Often you get two choices on how to prepare your frozen food unit and a lot of the time the oven makes a big difference on the outcome. For example, pot pies. There is a monumental difference in quality between how you choose to cook your pot pie. (The oven is always the right choice.) But who always has time to heat up the oven when you just want a quick bite from the freezer? I know I don’t.
Well thank goodness these Side Shots have come along. Don’t be expecting frozen burger nirvana from these little bites, although they will deliver on taste and are one the best frozen burgers I have had. The bread doesn’t get too chewy which is great, and the inside doesn’t turn into an atomic lava pit, waiting to flow out and leave your mouth burnt for a week. With only 0 grams of trans fat, they fall just this side of ‘not that bad for you’ and despite the unfortunate name, I’m recommending them. The one thing to take note of though, is that these two little burgers won’t fill you up. They should be thought of as more of a snack to keep you going during your strenuous day. Look for these at your local market soon and let us know what you think if you get a chance to try them. Tom Thumb had them listed as a new item so I can’t be sure how widespread they are in the food distribution circuit. Hot Pocket doesn’t even have them listed on their website!
UPDATE: Freezer Burns likes them too. Go check out his video review
When we were making plans for our trip to London, there was one very special item on my list of things to do while there. Aside from the popular sites to see—the Tate, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben—I really wanted to have afternoon tea somewhere fantastic. On our last night in London that wish definitely came true. We had a champagne cream tea at the Ritz.
From the number of tables with cameras, you can see it’s a very popular place for those visiting the city or celebrating a special occasion. And it’s very obvious why. The tea room was beautifully done in ornate gold & rococo decor. The whole place was filled with a sense of excitement—lots of good people watching & servers running back and forth carrying three-tiered trays of sandwiches, scones & sweets.
The tea itself was served loose-leaf in a silver pot. I chose an elder-flower tea that was sweet all on its own & really delicious. I would love to buy some at a tea shop here. The selection of sandwiches featured ingredients popular in the UK: prawn, cucumber, “mature” cheddar, smoked salmon & watercress, plus egg and chicken salads made less creamy than the versions we have in the States.
The pastries, tarts, and mousses were rich & delicious. A raspberry & cream tart was made with a toasted pistachio crust. A strawberry napoleon was light & flakey with a vanilla custard layered in between sheets of puff pastry. The chocolate torte was beyond decadent.
While the sweets & sandwiches were wonderful, my favorite part by far were the scones. Light, not dense or dry, raisin scones were served with jam & the perfect clotted cream. It was the highlight of a fantastic experience. I really want to thank our friends Craig & Teresa for making it happen 
My grandmother always would have tea parties with us when we were little. It’s one of my favorite memories of her. Sitting in such a magical place, I thought about our little tea sets and homemade cookies. This formality was a far way away from those tea parties at home, but the feeling of specialness was very much the same. I wish she could have been there. In a way, I feel like she was.
While it might not be London, you can have Afternoon Tea at the Ritz in Dallas. I bet it’s just as tasty & you don’t have to worry about the exchange rate!
It’s amazing how much nicer McDonald’s are once you get out of the States. The ones I’ve seen in England and France look like posh little bistros compared to their counterparts in America. We’re talking leather booths, overhead lighting, clean floors and restrooms. In Japan, the food they serve you looks exactly like the pictures in their advertisements. I was floored when I ordered a burger and it arrived, un-squished with all the ingredients properly spaced. It was almost as if it was put together by someone who cared. So it’s no surprise to find different menu items when visiting the Big M abroad, although it is surprising to find one that I like. Let me introduce the M.
While the McDonald’s stateside is relentlessly pushing their Angus 1/3lb burgers and fancy coffee drinks on us, their UK counterparts have opted for a more elegant new product.
The M from McDonald’s. Made with selected cuts of 100% beef, Emmental cheese, Batavia lettuce and juicy tomato—all in a toasted, stone-baked ciabatta.
Classy. As for taste, not bad at all. I’m unsure if it’s in the meat, because if you have ever been to the UK you are aware that their beef tastes different from what we eat in the US. However, the burger doesn’t quite taste like a McDonald’s creation. The ciabatta bun is what seals it for me though: soft, chewy, and a welcomed departure from the standard burger bun. It’s all topped with a creamy garlic and herb mayo that’s a perfect compliment to the fresh ingredients: no mustard and ketchup here.
So if you happen to be across the pond anytime soon, make sure you venture over to a McDonald’s and try one of these. I realize it’s no McRib, but what are you gonna do?
Saturday night we all went to Tim Love’s new Love Shack location in the really difficult to find So7 development. What’s familiar about it? A really, really delicious Love Burger and onion rings. What’s different? Well, almost everything else. The overall feeling of this Love Shack is more contemporary and trendy. There was a dj, a couple of dancing girls drunkenly celebrating a birthday, and not a cowboy in sight. (Hey, it’s still Cowtown!) Outside on the patio was a game area with a beanbag toss and something involving washers. Oh, and I heard Lady GaGa. All of these things added up to a very different experience than the one at the original Stockyards location. It wasn’t bad, just different.
In fact in some ways, it could be considered better. It feels like there’s a lot more seating, which was nice because they were really busy. Also, there’s an indoor sitting area that’s open air but still covered enough from the elements so you could enjoy a Love Burger in the rain! Additionally, they have a full bar featuring a mixed drink menu that’s pretty novel. I sipped on a jalapeno cucumber margarita that was refreshing and yet really had some heat to it. Very different, but maybe a little pricey because of its small size. (That glass is shorter than it looks.)
Speaking of small sizes, we were a little confused by the potions of fries and onions, which were about half of what we usually get at the original Love Shack. We’ll have to go back; maybe it was just an off night for potion control.
Finally (and this difference between the two locations might be the most crucial), they have an expanded menu. Different sides, a lobster roll, a salad of the day–you won’t find these sissier options on the old Love Shack menu. However, when you love the original Love Burger as much as we do, there’s not a big incentive to stray. Oh! And there’s one more major plus about this location. They accept credit cards! Cha-ching!
(website doesn’t have info on the new location as of yet)
817 Matisse Ste. 445
Fort Worth 76107
817.348.9655
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
Uhh… what’s the point? I’ve long considered Jack in the Box basically irrelevant and pointless. When I saw the commercial for these cute little sirloin sliders, I decided it was time to revisit The Box and see what they’re about. This is because a.) it is nice to see the sliders craze go so mainstream and b.) because I like cute small foods.
Well, these sliders are dumb! First of all, there’s the price. WTF. For three little sliders, it’s $4. I thought we were in a recession. This makes them each more expensive than a more substantial McDouble. That would be okay if they were more delicious, but that brings me to the second point. They’re not. They’re kinda dry, the bun is weirdish, the cheese was nonexistent, and it may or may not come with grilled onions on it(?). (I ate one.)
I didn’t have a reason to go to Jack in the Box before, and now I still don’t. (Except for maybe once in a while for .99 cent tacos, which I think are one of the best junk foods ever.) Next time I need a diminutive, fatty snack, I’ll just cookie-cut a circle out of some McDouble and call it a day.
Don’t be fooled by the dilapidated exterior of Captain Nemo’s Steak Submarines. It sits quietly off the corner of Grauwlyer Road and Irving Heights Drive in Irving, unexpected and unassuming. You might not even think they are open unless you chance upon them during the afternoon lunch rush. On our adventure to this landmark restaurant established in 1973, the place was empty except for an old man in a truck out front, receiving some drive-up service. (Apparently if you pull up and just wait in your car, someone will come out and take your order. Now that’s what I call service.)
Once inside Nemo’s, you’ll see it has a very old-school, “locals only” feel to it. It’s all wood-paneled interior and no frills tables and chairs. These are good signs, because how could a place like this stay in business for so long unless they served up consistently delicious food? We ordered a Steak Sub and an Original. All the subs come with lettuce, tomato, onion, special seasoning, vinegar, and oil. The Original is your classic cold meat sub: salami, cotto, ham and provolone cheese. Nothing too special about it and very standard except for the bread…
As any sandwich connoisseur will tell you, it’s the bread that makes or breaks it. Nemo’s definitely has their bread on lock. It is baked fresh everyday in the bakery next door and is the perfect combination of a crusty outside and a soft, chewy inside. It’s even available for purchase so you can take it home and make your own subs. If I lived closer, I would be taking advantage of this fact daily.
While The Original was nothing to rave about, the popular Steak Sub is a whole different story. It’s stacked with wonderfully flavored, sliced ribeye that warms the bottom of the roll. It’s then piled high with all the standard veggies and sauce mentioned above. I would almost liken it to a cheesesteak, although the meat is not sliced as thin and the seasoning is a bit different. This is the sub that makes Captain Nemo’s what it is. Delicious and unique, what more could you want? Oh, did you say carrot cake?
Let me just say this for their carrot cake: I usually don’t like it, but the homemade, fresh carrot cake that they bake at Nemo’s is an unexpected treat. The frosting is picture perfect and I dare you to find a better piece of carrot cake for the steal of a price, $2.00.
Capt. Nemo’s is a diamond in the rough and I would recommend it to anyone out there searching for a great steak sandwich and carrot cake to top it off with.
Price: $4.69 (Steak or Original Sub)
$2.00 (Carrot Cake)
1426 N Irving Heights Dr | Irving, TX 75024
972 438 7777
The hardest part about reviewing The Counter is that on any given day, people are bound to be extremely pleased by their burger or dissatisfied, and this all depends on the choices they make. You see, The Counter’s gimmick is choices. You are handed a check-box menu, similar to a sushi joint, and then it’s up to you to build your burger. Sure they have a few standard classics to pick from if you don’t want to be creative, but why come to The Counter if you don’t like to DIY?
First you choose your meat (beef/turkey/veggie) and size of the patty. Then you get to pile on your choice of cheese, selected from a nice variety ranging from horseradish cheddar, to jalapeno jack. Next comes the toppings, then sauce, and finally your bun. You can definitely see where things can get messy and go horribly wrong depending on your choices, but at the same time there is a burger here for everyone. Take a glance at the menu so you can get an idea of the process I’m talking about.
Tons of options, right? On my trip I opted for the 1/3 lb. beef burger with blue cheese, mixed greens, jalapenos, pickles, red onions, topped with a peppercorn steak sauce and piled high on a classic white bun. The burger did not disappoint. It’s very similar to the Twisted Root style burger: fresh ingredients, a delicious patty, and a perfect size and price. They use freshly ground angus beef, that’s never frozen, and are hormone and antibiotic free.
I’d also like to recommend their sweet fries; they arrived perfectly crispy, lightly salted, and overflowing the basket they were dropped off in. They were a delight and definitely enough to share. You can even mix and match with regular fries or onion strings if your dining partner doesn’t fancy the sweet potato.
So as you can see, The Counter is definitely a great spot to get your burger fill on. You just need to make the right decisions and build a beautiful burger. Their only problem is that they are in Plano.
Price: $7.95 (burger only)
Shops at Legacy | 5700 Legacy Drive Suite A5 | Plano TX 75024
972 801 2772
Mediterranean food is hard to peg down. Sometimes you get gyros and pilaf, and other times you might run across kebobs and hummus. It’s not the fault of the Mediterranean moniker, but probably rather of us Americans who like to lump things all into one category to make it easier for us to understand. The Mediterranean is a huge area and encompasses 20 different countries and cuisines. I won’t go into a history lesson about the region but it’s definitely understandable to walk into two different ‘Mediterranean’ food restaurants and get two completely different cuisines. Dunes in Irving has a robust selection of foods to choose from and will give you plenty of options in your quest for Mediterranean food. What I’m hooked on right now is the Chicken Shawerma sandwich and oh is it delicious.
The sandwich is rather a wrap, and arrives tucked inside a foil shell and accompanied by french fries. If you’re a savvy individual, you might be able to talk the counter women/man into substituting their garlic lemon potatoes for the fries. If not, make sure to order them anyway because they are quite delightful. At first glance they might look like nothing but greasy potatoes, but once you get past the imminent heart attack, you’ll be pleased with the lemony-garlic taste. Make sure you eat them fast though, because they will cool down in a hurry. The wrap itself can be described as a warm toasted flatbread burrito with spiced chicken, pickles, and a mysterious cream sauce that might be sour cream based, but most likely from some form of yogurt, although it doesn’t taste that way. All you really need to know is that it makes the sandwich and you probably should have ordered extra; and that’s all that really matters.
Some things to note about Dunes because it's quite the experience. The whole ordering procedure will throw off the uninitiated for sure, because it is never the same way twice. Sometimes you pay first, other times you wait until you are finished. You might get noticed right away and welcomed inside, or you could stand and wait around, unsure of what to do and where to order. My one word of advice is to be confident and sure of yourself. Like a dog on alert who can sense your fear just by your posture, the employees at Dunes will be quite aware that it's your first time there. It's not like they'll take advantage of you or anything, because they are quite nice once engaged. It's just getting to that point that might be a bit awkward.
Price: $7.50 (w/tax and the potato upgrade)
Dunes Mediterranean Grill
3401 W Airport Fwy # 110 | Irving, TX 75062
(214) 441-1342
Sorry about the lack of updates recently. Half of the little dish team has been out traveling the world and will continue to do so over the next few months. Maybe some on-location little dish reviews? We will see! Bear with us though, we promise to keep the reviews coming with the usual witty remarks and impeccable photos.
I really need to go back to Snuffers and give them another shot. Not because this burger was mediocre and I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but rather because it was so damn good that I’m beginning to doubt it’s superiority in the land of burgers and need to make sure I wasn’t dreaming the whole thing. Out of all the burgers I have tried so far in this humble Burger Roundup and road to the Best Burger In Dallas, it’s the best I’ve had. A bundle of perfection, hidden behind the mediocre food stigma that is so prevalent in the land of franchised/chain type bar/restaurants. Trust us, Snuffer’s burgers are no pedestrian affair. Definitely an indulgence, but should be taken serious by elitists and amateur foodies alike.
Let’s start with the diced lettuce and let me say, I’m a big fan. Those burger joints that slap a few leaves of green down and think that’s OK, take note. While shredded is a step in the right direction, diced is the pinnacle of burger ingredients. It allows for an even distribution of all toppings into every mouth-watering bite of burger. Every part of the blue cheese burger follows this diced philosophy, from the crispy and fresh bacon, to the raw red onions sprinkled within. (The tomatoes seem to be the only one not playing along and we’ll just let that slide for the sake of a cohesive argument.) Simply put, this burger is divine. It’s full of flavor and even has a secret ingredient. Forget your mustard or ketchup, this burger sneaks in some blue cheese dressing to bring it all together. I thought at first that this might take us into the rare, yet sometimes visited land of blue cheese overload, but thankfully it didn’t.
Snuffers is a real treat when it comes to unhealthy burgers and sinful french fries. Quite the departure from your usual bar fare, I just wish there was one closer to my house. Or…maybe it’s better that there isn’t.
Price: $7.39
3526 Greenville Ave. | Dallas, TX 75206
214.826.6850
Other locations in Addison, Park Cities, Plano, Rockwall, McKinney, Southlake & Highland Village
