Pork, Chicken, Beef, Seafood, and SPAM! (L&L Hawaiian BBQ) April 26, 2008

In your typical foodie world, adventurous eating is the equivalent of building your foodie resume.  For carnivorous American foodies, this often means exploring tasty animals/animal parts that are exotic and, well, not white meat chicken.  Growing your dining “experience” means embracing an “I’ll try anything once” attitude and watching your dining companions cringe as you consume something right out of the pages of Fergus Henderson’s The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating or an episode of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods (guilty confession: I am personally not a huge fan of offal or Andrew Zimmern).  But as mainland USA foodies continue to embrace sweetbreads and thousand year eggs, one protein that remains unloved is the infamous, “eat only in case of natural disasters and extreme food shortages,” mystery meat Spam.  The canned, processed wonder is the butt of countless foodie jokes.  Residents of Austin, Texas have gone as far as hosting an annual April Fool’s spoof festival with a Spam cookoff challenge, “who can make Spam edible!?!?”  In fact, I’m pretty sure simultaneously having Velveeta and Spam present in your pantry permanently disqualifies you as a foodie in mainland USA (I am almost 100% sure that my pantry has never had both of these items present at the same time… uh huh).

As mainland foodies eat Velveeta mac and fried Spam and egg sandwiches in the privacy of their own homes in fear of judgement, residents of Hawaii continue their public love affair with Spam that started during World War II.  Spam is so popular in Hawaii that it’s served at McDonald’s, and since 2007, also at Burger King.  In 1999, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue (open in Hawaii since 1976) brought the love of Spam in forms of musubi, saimin, grilled and topped with egg, along with other Hawaiian BBQ specialties to the mainland via California.  In mid-March this year, Texas gained its very first L&L location in Lewisville.

L&L offers counter service with affordable plate lunch options, all under $10 and with choice of mains like BBQ (chicken, beef, and short rib), fried seafood (mahi mahi and shrimp), pork (lau lau and kalua), chicken katsu, and loco moco.  A la carte items like Spam musubi and shrimp tacos are also available.  In addition to the slew of Hawaiian specialties, this Texas location also features more familiar “Texan” items like pulled pork and BBQ chicken sandwiches, cole slaw, baked beans, mashed potatoes, etc.  In short, there’s something on the menu for everyone in the family.

On our first visit, we started off with the famous Spam musubi ($1.75):

A slice of grilled Spam smeared in a teriyaki-like sauce atop a chunk of white rice, all wrapped in nori.  The whole thing was too big to eat easily (a little too much rice?).  Grilled Spam has a completely different taste than uncooked, cold Spam and is actually tasty with the sweet-ish sauce.

BBQ Combo Plate ($7.95)

Like a typical plate lunch, the BBQ mix combo came with two scoops of steamed white rice and one scoop of passable macaroni salad.  It’s a heaping pile of grilled meats that could easily feed two.  Teriyaki grilled beef and chicken didn’t bring anything new to mainland tastebuds.  The only standout in this combo was the short ribs, thinly sliced so that upon grilling, the fatty trim gained a crunchy outer exterior that exploded with richness when bitten into. 

Pork Lau Lau and Kalua Pork ($8.25):

The kalua pork with cabbage was a little salty on its own, but mixed in nicely with the steamed white rice.  The dark ball of mystery in the upper left hand corner of the photo is pork lau lau, pork roast wrapped in tarot leaf.  Pork lau lau opened:

The tarot leaves added an element of exoticness for mainland tastebuds and gave the pork a subtle smokiness.  The texture was that of a southern BBQ pulled pork shoulder but more moist.  The wilted tarot leaves tasted like cooked spinach but were much denser and mushier.  The tarot leaves, when eaten by themselves, almost had the consistency of dense mashed potatoes.  This little bundle of mystery turned out to be my favorite item of the day.

A few weeks later, I returned for a quick bite in the form of two mahi mahi tacos ($2.75 each):

The mahi mahi was nicely seasoned with a perfect golden batter.  However, the cabbage slaw inside the taco was too dry and the tortillas tasted like they’ve been sitting out of the package for too long. 

With its fast counter service and slightly exotic cuisine, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue is a great addition to the suburban Lewisville dining scene.  With affordable prices and an expansive menu, the restaurant is perfect for families looking for a quick bite but don’t want to resort to fast food.  And if you’re ever craving hamburger patties topped with brown gravy and fried eggs or just a simple slab of grilled Spam, L&L might be the only place in the area that can satisfy that fix.  Spam-lovers, here’s your chance to show some public affection.

Rating: 3 / 5

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
360 E Round Grove Rd
Lewisville, TX 75067

Essence of Dallas on One Plate (Simon’s Sushi) April 9, 2008

You’re hooting and hollering along with the live country music at Love & War in Texas, drinking a cold Shiner, chowing down on a Texas-sized chicken fried heart attack, and showing your Yankee visitors a good time.  They’re embracing that ”don’t mess with Texas” attitude and loving it.  You’re feeling like an accomplished host, but also feeling… a little guilty inside?  That’s because deep down somewhere, you know you’re not being honest. 

Let’s face it, that carefree cowboy culture is not the essence of Dallas.  The per capita Wrangler denim ownership rate in these parts is a lot lower than other regions of the state.  We have left those around us (namely a westerly neighbor) to embrace true western heritage while we’ve moved onto… what exactly?

About 20 footsteps north of the gimmicky but captivating fun at Love and War in Texas lies a potential answer.

Simon Chuang of Simon’s Sushi is the creator of this plate of mismash, Tex-fusion, pseudo-Japanese cuisine called the Better Than Sex roll, known simply as BTS when the kiddos are around (and they are often at this family friendly establishment).  Putting a label on the brand of cuisine to which this dish belongs is just as difficult as summing up Dallas culture in one succint catchphrase.  The tempura batter flakes and crab meat rolled up inside sushi rice and seaweed wrap, topped with salmon and pico de gallo, bathing in a pool of sesame oil-infused tangy sauce satisfies a Dallasite’s craving for food trendiness (Asian fusion, sushi), ingrained love for Tex Mex (pico de gallo), and genetic predisposition to worship all things deep fried (tempura batter flakes) all in one dish.  You want a plate that represents Dallas, how about this addictively delicious one?

But warn your visitors that Simon’s is not a glamorous joint by any stretch.  Whereas an outing to most popular sushi places in Dallas involves an overpriced fruity sake-tini concoction and lots of designer logo flashing, Simon’s Sushi is BYOB and situated in a rather unglamorous suburban strip mall next to a Planned Parenthood.  It’s your neighborhood sushi place with no pretense (I’ve seen both 30 year olds and 8 year olds celebrate their birthdays here), and Simon himself is almost always there to greet you and make your dinner.

Simon’s sushi menu isn’t crazy in the traditional sense, that is, diners wanting exotic sea creatures for dinner might be disappointed.  But he does create beautiful plates that breathes new life into boring old salmon and tuna and whatnot.  Take for example, the cucumber salmon roll:

Sitting at the sushi bar watching Simon rotate his knife to carve that cucumber into a thin sheet with such ease and speed creates great anticipation for this dish.  And the contrast between the crunchy cucumber and silken salmon in your mouth is worth all the anticipation.

I also enjoy the spin Simon puts on his volcano roll:

The topping to the volcano roll is scallops and mushrooms with a mayonnaise based sauce covered in masago smelt.  I usually avoid volcano rolls because they’re just too rich, and though I still find the amount of mayonnaise a little excessive, the addition of mushrooms in Simon’s volcano roll grounds the dish with a touch of earthiness.

More traditional items at Simon’s are also superb.  The batter on the softshell crab inside the spider roll held on well, no sign of limpy crab syndrome.  Spicy tuna roll is high on heat factor, with visible studs of chilis among the tuna’s deep pink flesh. Eel is cooked to perfection with a slightly crunchy exterior and just a touch of sauce, nothing excessive that drowns out the flavor of the eel.

Spider Roll:

Spicy Tuna Roll:

Eel:

 

Service at Simon’s is always friendly and attentive.  Great attention is paid to beverage service (ice buckets are brought out for beverages requiring chilling as soon as you sit down, appropriate drinkware is provided for sake) even though the BYOB establishment charges no corkage fee.  For the quality of food and service at Simon’s, the value is hard to beat.  Add that engimatic, addictive BTS roll into the equation, and this little neighborhood eatery becomes worthy of showing off to out-of-town guests.

Rating: 4 / 5

Simon’s Sushi
810 N. Central Expy
Plano, TX 75074

Coal-Fired Pizza Showdown (Coal Vines vs. Grimaldi’s) March 19, 2008

The DFW area is fortunate enough to be home to 3 out of the 25 coal oven pizzerias outside of Manhattan according to sliceny.com.  These include the two Coal Vines locations (Dallas and Southlake) and the recently opened Grimaldi’s in the West Village.  Why is this important?  To pizza purists, the combination of the high temperature of a coal oven and the unique charcoal flavor it imparts on the pizza is a necessity to create true New York style pizza with its crispy crust and doughy interior.  So who in Dallas makes it better?

The local chain (is it a chain since it has two locations?) Coal Vines was founded by a former NYC police officer, Joseph Palladino.  The coal oven is actually a hybrid oven that gets its heat from three different sources.  The Dallas location, with its dramatic floor to ceiling wine shelf on the backwall, was buzzing during this weekday lunch.  The somewhat dim indoor dining area feels like an intimate upscale pizzeria/wine bar while the patio provides a brighter, sunnier space.  My dining companion and I split a large white special ($17).

Ok let’s talk crust.  The pizza’s thin crust was slightly overcooked on this occasion, leaving large charred areas around the edge of the pizza.  Additionally, it seemed that either the heat in the oven was uneven or the pizza crust wasn’t of uniform thickness, as one side of the crust had bubbled up while the other side remained flat.  The crust on the “bubbled up” side was too overcooked to be able to pull off the “fold your pizza slice in half” trick, cracking down the middle with my attempt. 

Tomatoes on the pizza were fresh and juicy.  However, there was far too much ricotta compared to the other cheeses on the pizza, leaving an unpleasantly sweet and almost powdery mouthfeel.  The pizza felt like it actually needed more grease, something that I, a frequent dabber of pizza grease with my napkins, never thought I would say. 

A few weeks later, I visited the recently opened Grimaldi’s for a Saturday lunch.  The chain’s history dates back to an East Harlem pizzeria in 1931.  Rumor has it that Grimaldi’s actually imports tap water from NYC to get the pizza dough to the “right” consistency.  Grimaldi’s, with its red checkerboard tablecloths, has a decidedly more casual and less scene-y feel than Coal Vines.  Abundant windows light up the dining space, which has an open view of the rather majestic brick coal oven.  For the sake of comparison to Coal Vines, I wanted to try a simple white pie.  However, on this occasion, my two dining companions were hungry boys and they demanded meat.  So we ordered something a bit untraditional, a large white with meatballs and sundried tomatoes ($23, large white pizza without extra toppings is $17, comparable to Coal Vines prices).  I was hesitant about adding meatballs to a white pizza, but the waitress insisted that Grimaldi’s meatballs are a must for any pizza.

The crust on this pizza was dead on.  Slightly charred (evenly around the pizza), crispy bottom, doughy middle.  No problem folding the slice in half this time. 

I was afraid that the white pizza would be too dry to hold up to the sundried tomato and meatball toppings (something I’d normally order on a red pizza).  But I was wrong, the oozy hot cheese gave the pizza the moisture it needed.  I suspect that Grimaldi’s well seasoned meatball slices would’ve even better on a red sauce pizza, and I can’t wait to come back to investigate that hunch.

The winner?  Hands down Grimaldi’s.  Chalk it up to the imported tap water at Grimaldi’s or accidental slight overcooking at Coal Vines, but the crust at Grimaldi’s, as compared on these two visits, was just much better.  Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate Coal Vines.  I thought the pizza was fine when judged against the general quality of pizza in Dallas, but paled in comparison to Grimaldi’s.

Rating: 3 / 5
Coal Vines
2404 Cedar Springs Rd
Dallas, TX 75201

Rating: 4 / 5
Grimaldi’s Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria
3636 McKinney Ave
Dallas, TX 75201

Frisco, Ya Ain’t Irish Enough (Lochrann’s Irish Pub & Eatery) March 8, 2008

Bringing an authentic pub atmosphere to a white-bread suburb is tough, but that didn’t stop Dave McNabb from trying.  Heck, 75% of Lochrann’s interior was created by Irish craftsmen.  Ignoring the master planned feel of Frisco Square and the valet parking situation, Lochrann’s impressive exterior with a prime location directly across from a soccer stadium seems almost too perfect to be true.

Unfortunately, it is.  Suburbanites filled the pub in masses this Friday evening, and the large waiting crowd in the lobby completely obscured the view of the hostess.  Looks like the standard “eye the table like a hawk and swoop in as soon as the occupants get up” pub seating strategy is too uncivilized for Frisco, Lochrann’s employs an Applebee’s-like seating approach to better suit its patrons. 

Lucky for us, the majority of the group we were meeting had already arrived and been seated.  I plopped myself down on a comfortable booth and was immediately overwhelmed by the noise level.  Close your eyes and the chattering crowd drowning out the live acoustic music felt almost like sitting in a busy pub across the pond.  But it’s much louder than your neighborhood pub, launching into a decibel zone that is uncomfortable to sustain over an entire meal.  Open your eyes and that pub feel further disintegrated.  The wood work was dandy, but neither of the two flat screens above the main bar were visible from the entire dining section we were seated in.  The crowd, though roaring with chatter, were calmly seated at their individual tables, with quite a few babies and toddlers in tow.  The only people moving about in the dining area were waiters in white button downs and waitresses in plaid mini skirts.  No soccer games on TV, no groups of rowdy youngsters, and no beer list.

No beer list!  Though our waiter was able to spout off Lochrann’s malt offerings (which seemed way too few for a pub), his efforts were futile as almost no one could hear what he was saying in that sea of noise.  The only cider on the list was Strongbow at $6 for a pint.

The group grew grouchy, the noise wearing away their initial excitement.  Thank goodness the appetizers arrived soon to appease the increasing uneasiness.  We sampled the Galway Bay Calamari ($8.95) and the curious fusion creation Boxty Quesadilla ($8.95).

The light, golden, crisp calamari rings are above average quality for pub fare.  However, the boxty quesadilla (not photographed) turned out to be the highlight of the evening.  Warm gooey cheese held together two soft and substantial potato pancakes filled with onion, tomato, and bacon.  There’s nothing particularly Irish or Tex-Mex about this dish, but the unique plate is just the right kind of rich hearty fare fitting to accompany a mug of brew.

Entrees didn’t fare as well. 

Fish and chips ($11.95) turned out an overpriced plate of thick, slightly slimey cod squares coated in soggy, too peppery batter.  There was no crispness in the fish or the chips, both were limp and disappointing.  Chips had no hint of any seasoning and required a generous dose of malt vinegar to make them even tolerable. 

Chicken and bacon boxty potato pancakes ($9.95) lacked the oozy cheesy fun of the boxty quesadilla.  Dry chicken cubes bore an uncanny resemblance to the texture of canned chicken (yes, we’re talking Chicken of the Sea texture) and cream sauce was too bland to do anything for the potato pancakes. 

Across the table, a diner leaves a plate of oven roasted crackling Irish chicken ($12.95) alone after the first couple of bites.  “Too dry, even with the whiskey sauce,” she complained.  Classic Irish stew ($11.95) and Kobe beef shepherd’s pie ($11.95) turned out better reactions, though I have to wonder why Lochrann’s insists on making shepherd’s pie with ground Kobe beef instead of the traditional lamb. 

At the end of the meal, the waiter came around to ask if we’d like to try Bailey’s Cream cheesecake or chocolate whiskey cake for dessert, but no one in the group wanted to stay in that sea of noise for a minute longer. 

As much as I love the concept of a great little pub right across the street from the soccer stadium, I found little at Lochrann’s to love.  Somewhere between the mini skirt donning waitresses and the menu’s practice of sticking the label “Irish” or “whiskey” or other Irish-sounding word/phrase in front of blatantly non-Irish dishes, Lochrann’s loses its appeal as a pub and gains a Hooter’s-esque feel with the kind of ”authenticity” found at of Outback Steakhouse.  Sorry, that is far from enough reason to make the trek up to Frisco worthwhile.

Rating: 2 / 5

Lochrann’s Irish Pub & Eatery
6195 Main Street
Frisco, TX 75034

A Rathbun Victory at Jasper’s March 3, 2008

Caught up in the excitement of the Iron Chef season premier featuring Kent and Kevin Rathbun versus the oh-so-arrogant-but-hot Bobby Flay, I organized a group of six friends for dinner at Jasper’s in Plano on the evening when the episode first aired.  Jasper’s is Kent Rathbun’s “gourmet backyard cuisine” concept restaurant with additional locations in Austin and The Woodlands (website indicates a San Antonio location is coming soon).  Having been impressed by the contemporary global cuisine at Abacus, Rathbun’s upscale eatery in Uptown, I was looking forward to my first time at Jasper’s.

We were seated as soon as we arrived as the main dining room was only half full on this Sunday night.  The interior of Jasper’s is contemporary and comfortable, though the music is a notch too loud for conversing with ease across a large table.  The four of us started off with an order of the Maytag Blue Cheese Potato Chips ($10) while waiting on the last two in the group to arrive.

These thin, crispy potato chips covered in creamy, pungent blue cheese are a delight when they’re hot, a temperature state that lasts for only the first 5 minutes.  The problem comes when the chips start growing limp and cold: the cheese is now a texture enemy, further decomposing the structure of the already limp chips with sogginess.  Thus, I would only recommend this appetizer if you’re with a large group, so everyone can get one or two satisfying hot bites before the dish falls apart.

Entrees fared better as they were equally good from first bite to last.  My better half and I shared an order of the slow smoked baby back ribs ($25) and an order of the three cheese focaccia ($10).

According to the menu, these ribs were named one of Bon Appetit’s top 3 choices for America’s Best Ribs, my guess is Bon Appetit didn’t sample any pit BBQ joints for this survey.  With that said, these baby back ribs are some of the best I’ve had outside of a BBQ specialty restaurant with fall off the bone tender meat and a decent smokey flavor (but insubstantial bark).  Just the right amount of tangy sauce was slathered on the ribs for added moisture, and extra sauce comes on the side for sauce lovers.  The creamy twice baked potato salad topped with crispy onions were tasty, but felt like overload after eating the rich blue cheese potato chips appetizer. 

The three cheese focaccia bread was another rich dish.  Thick piece of flavorful, aromatic, dense focaccia topped with lots of gooey cheese and caramelized shallots.  The menu states this dish also includes portabello mushrooms slices, but they were curiously absent from my focaccia.

Some other dishes around the table:

Pan Seared Salmon ($26):

I only had a couple of bites of this dish and, like the diner who ordered this dish, applaud Jasper’s for bringing back some excitement to boring old salmon.  Ever since salmon became the standard heart healthy dish on many restaurant menus, patrons have been subjected to bland, overcooked, dry chunks of salmon.  You started seeing lots of salmon in a cream-based sauce on menus, an effort to veil the lack of technique in preparing this fish.  Jasper’s salmon was simply seasoned, showing mastery of the basic yet key use of salt and pepper, with perfect texture: crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.  It tasted the way salmon should taste, without hiding behind some fancy sauce.  A creamy bed of mascarpone polenta complemented the crispy fish perfectly.

Hickory Grilled Flat Iron Steak ($29)

The two diners at the table who ordered this dish seemed to enjoy it.  I had a couple of bites of the steak and can’t say it was too memorable.  The “hickory” flavor didn’t come through but the doneness was just right, balancing a moist deep pink interior with a lightly charred exterior.

Overall, everyone enjoyed their meal at Jasper’s.  The atmosphere is lovely, the service is very attentive (the waiter checked on us often while we waited for the last two members of our party), and the food is good.  I can’t say anything I tasted blew me away the way Abacus did, but Jasper’s seems like a reliable place for dinner when you don’t want to think too hard and just want to enjoy some familiar eats in a beautiful setting.  It’s a good choice when you or anyone in your dining group wants to “play it safe.”

And, in case you haven’t already heard, the Rathbun brothers were victorious against Bobby Flay in Iron Chef Battle Elk.

Rating: 4 / 5

Jasper’s
7161 Bishop Rd (in The Shops at Legacy, Phase I)
Plano, TX 75024