Opinionated Eater: Danny’s Pizza, take 2

I have already reviewed Danny’s Pizza once, here. We had sandwiches that time, though. So, of course, we had to go back to have the pizza.

Brian already knew that if we were going to have a deep dish pizza, it was easier to call ahead and order before we left the house. It takes 45 minutes to cook, call ahead!

We arrived just before it was ready, Danny gives you a specific time. So we had a few minutes to settle the bill and get our drinks before it was brought to the table. Totally piping hot.

I have never had Chicago style deep dish before, so. The whole pizza was new for me. Brian, has been to Chicago and had their pizza, he says it is the real deal, outside of Chicago.

Back to the pizza, it was loaded with meat, we opted for the meat lover’s pizza and it delivered. The cheese was amazing and there was lots of it. The sauce was perfectly seasoned, although I scraped most of it off, for personal reasons*. The crust, perfectly browned.

All in all, it was a good pizza. Brian can’t wait to go back for thin crust pizza, our favorite type of pizza.

*I have acid reflux and mostly forget to take my medicine for it. Typically, I eat pizza like a normal person, however since the top was covered in sauce, I was able to scrape it off to avoid feeling sick later.

Opinionated Eater: Danny’s Pizza

We are back with another Opinionated Eater! This time, the chef and I went down to Danny’s Pizza.

We didn’t have pizza this time though. Even though we are still looking for the elusive “perfect” pizza here in Arlington. We may have found it, but we will have to try it again just to be sure!

Back to Danny’s Pizza. B had heard about it since he meets Danny every morning when they are buying groceries for the restaurants, he had also been recommended by other people too. So, we walked in. Its a small place right off Cooper (the address on the site is wrong, FYI). Its very casual. You walk up to the counter and order. Then, you take a seat and one or both of Danny’s daughters bring your food to you. Very homey feeling and sweet. Along the lines of something the B wouldn’t mind doing someday.

The decor was full of Chicago Bulls paraphanilia and a few other things (like a ceiling tile with UTA’s mascot). Danny is from Chicago, so it explains it, but it doesn’t feel like a “sports pizza joint”, just personal.

I ordered the Cheesy Beef Sandwich. I had it dipped and with sweet peppers. Very tasty. The bread was a really crusty, chewy bread meant for this type of sandwich. We got it in a combo, so it came with fries and a drink.

B ordered the Italian Beef Sandwich and a Chicago Dog. The Italian beef sandwich is exactly like mine, sans the cheese. B said that the Chicago Dog was made correctly, with the right relish (this is big for him) and a pickle spear. He was so impressed, he took a bite before I could get a picture in!

We will be back to taste the pizza and hopefully a follow up post for that! I would even go back for another sandwich!

Opinionated Eater… Nothing new

Wondering why I haven’t been posting this one? I have been eating out a lot less. This doesn’t mean I won’t eat out or try new places, it just means this post will become less frequent.

I do have a few restaurants that I need to review, but I am sitting on them for a bit.

The other reason for the lack of restaurant reviews: I had a stuffed up nose f-o-r-e-v-e-r and I don’t think I can adequately give a fair review with half of my taste buds gone. If you have no idea what I am talking about, next time you eat or drink something, plug your nose and take a bite or drink. Kinda hard to taste it. Everything was a texture for 2-3 weeks, with an occasional taste here and there. Ha! I promise I will get my few reviews up in the near future.

Opinionated Eater: Spring Creek BBQ

This is a post that is a little overdue. We have gone to Spring Creek BBQ a few times. I have had their beef, both the dry and moist, and their ribs.

Since we have been married, B and I have been looking for the kind of barbecue that I like. Well, it took a move to the great state of Texas to find it. I LOVE Texas barbecue! I am not a huge fan of the dry beef, I like the moist.

Now Spring Creek BBQ has a great flavor. They have their smoking technique down pat. Amazing. I always order my sauce on the side and it’s served warm.

Their sides are Ok, as many as you can fit in the plate and refills are free. Nothing to write home about.

You get a roll with your meal, which are good and always fresh. Depending on where you sit, you can watch them make their rolls, it’s a process and we usually watch them.

Their sweet tea is amazing. You can buy this by the gallon (it wouldn’t last that long in my house).

On Sundays, the only day we have gone, they serve complimentary Blue Bell ice cream, any other day, you can buy it for $1.95. It’s worth every penny.

They do catering and to go orders, but you must check it out!

Opinionated Eater: Joe’s Pizza

So, today, I have another pizza joint to add to the list, Joe’s Pizza. If you are like me/us, you move to a new city and you have to scope out every pizza joint out there. I need to find the best pizza! The only place we didn’t look was our last place in Missouri.

Joe’s also offers a pizza by the slice, order a cheese slice for $2 then add toppings for $. 50/each. We didn’t go that route, bad experience, found here. Not wanting a repeat, we ordered a whole pie, cheese sticks, and peperoni pinwheels.

Now, the atmosphere was very casual. Paper plates are given at each course, and they are the cheap variety. Cool with me! I get tired of upscale. There was only one giant TV in the place, which is fine, they sell pizza by the slice and you need entertain for your line diners.

The service, was Ok.

The food, good. It’s no Pizza Cellar, found in Rockaway Beach, MO

Pizza Cellar in Rockaway Beach, MO

 or Pizza by the Chef in Hollister, MO

 or Extreme Pizza in Omaha, NE.

Fine. Still the best place I have had pizza in awhile.

They don’t skimp on the toppings, we like cheese and it could’ve used a bit more. I like that stuff all the way to the crust. If you are like us, ask for extra cheese.

Please note, we more than likely will be back! So, I do recommend checking them out for yourself.

Opinionated Eater: Saltgrass Steak House

Tonight, we enjoyed good service, good food and a very crowded restaurant. Saltgrass is a Texas chain, I am told. Not bad, but as B put it, not memorable.
We started off with seafood fondeaux. It was good, piping hot. The bread was a little burned. I am not sure that the way they have it set up is quite right. You have long pieces of bread and you spoon the stuff right on it. Now, it’s very runny and your bread isn’t too big. Even partially done with the appetizer, I was burning my fingers and mouth on this stuff. Throw a 9 year old into the mix, you are definitely asking for trouble. Luckily, we made it without trouble and C tried a new thing, crawfish.

I had their wedge salad with my dinner. C tried it also. They serve theirs with ranch, balsamic, bleu cheese crumbles, tomato, and bacon bits. I gave C too big of a bleu cheese crumble and she was not looking it. I thought the bacon and balsamic added different texture and flavor. The bleu cheese wasn’t too overpowering, which was nice.

Our steaks were good, even my little girl went for a steak although she is not usually a fan. She even tried my ribeye and B’s prime rib. Very proud of that girl. My potato could’ve used a side of butter and would’ve benefited from having been salt crusted. I am a strange one and enjoy eating the skin with extra butter.

All in all, good dining experience. I did like that they put a carafe of both B’s iced tea and my sweet tea on the table, even if mine started off with too much ice and was a bit watered down.

Opinionated Eater: Nizza Pizza Arlington, TX

On my old blog, I would do a feature called “Opinionated Eater”. Being married to a chef has its perks. I will also say it has its downfalls. We eat out quite a bit and we like trying new places. Well, new town, new places, right?

Enter Nizza Pizza here in Arlington, TX. I will say this: if I could, I would eat pizza everyday. As long as it doesn’t come from Nizza. I have had a lot of different pizza places in my life. This was the worst I ever have had.

We ordered calamari, it was bland. I had to put salt on it and their marinara was only slightly better with the addition of garlic salt.

This is the only place B had heard of that does pizza by the slice. So we are told that you have to order cheese pizza and whatever toppings you want are an additional $.50. Ok.

They literally took a piece of already cooked pizza, slapped some toppings on it and baked it. It was strange, but we were already there and we might as well try it, right? Well, we should have backed out the minute the ordering was weird.

I guess I didn’t get the memo. When ordering, order the fresh mushrooms or they will come out of a can in a sickly yellow color. My onions were julienne. The green bell pepper that you order, God only knows when it was cut and how long it has been soaking.

The “cheese” pizza, it was lacking in the cheese department. A frozen pizza has more cheese than that did. And, because it was baked again, it was seriously dry.

All in all, no way you can pay me to go back.