Buca di Beppo

http://www.bucadibeppo.com/

8580 State Highway 121
Frisco, Texas

Rod took me to Buca di Beppo's for my birthday this year. We reserved the table in the kitchen because we thought it would be really cool and it was. We had the manager and our waiter sit and chat with us about the restaurant and how many they serve on any given weekend. I had such a good time here. Of course I love any restarurant where I can of into the kitchen and see the food being made. I so recommend this place to everyone who loves italian food. It is all so delicious and the biggest servings I have ever seen. This place just rocks.

This is the mozzarella wedges hand breaded with homemade marinara sauce. We ate two before I remembered to get my camera out. :0)

Ravioli al Pomodoro

This is ravioli stuffed with the a combination of mozzarella, provolone, ricotta and parmesan cheeses, it's served with Buca di Beppo's homemade marinara sauce. It was so tasty!

Gnocchi al Telefono

Italian potato dumplings tossed with fresh mozzarella in light roasted garlic marinara and a touch of cream. This night was the first time I had ever had gnocchi. I had to ask the waiter what it was. It was awsome and I loved the fresh basil sprinkled on top. It was delicious! The large order of this will run you $26.45.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

These are such yummy mashed potatoes made with skin-on red potatoes and lots of garlic. The large serving of this yummy side is $11.45.

 

Our waiter was great at keeping the basket of bread refilled. The coffee was good not bitter. And we also had as a side the Italian Broccoli Romano, it is broccoli with garlic and a light touch of crushed red pepper and parmesan cheese. The little bit of red pepper does make it warm so becareful when you try it. I enjoyed it but my boys wouldn't have. We ordered the large serving which is $10.45.

The mound on the left is a family sized serving of lasana and the smaller one on the right is the individual serving. It truely is just layers and layers of goodness. When you come here remember it's large portions of everything. 

Our waiter is on the left. He was great!

I enjoyed being able to watch the chefs.

This is the huge serving of tiramisu. I can't say I have had it better anywhere else.

This sinfully flavored Tiramisu features homemade ladyfingers soaked in dark rum and espresso, layered with sweetened mascarpone cheese and topped with cocoa and crumbled hazelnut biscotti.

And last but not least a huge cupcake for my birthday. :0) We took so much food home this night it was unreal. We ate on it for days. I had the tiramisu with my morning coffee and remembered the wonderful meal we had. 

I think this restaurant is just a wonderful place to go and eat. I wish I could afford to go there more often. The waiters are great and the place is clean and the chefs in my opinion are awesome! I think the next time I go it will be for lunch and see how that compares to dinner.

Greenz

http://www.greenzsalads.com/
It's truely the salad restaurant for z'adventurous!
The one I went to was downtown Addison on the circle.

Greenz "It's a Yummy Place!"

Spinach Pinwheels

Fresh baby spinach, goat cheese and candied pecans rolled in a fresh flour tortilla and cut into bite-size portions. Oh so tasty! We almost had them all eaten before I remembered to pull out my camera. :0)

 

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Rich and creamy asparagus broth, topped with gouda cheese. It was blended so right in a heavy cream..       MMMMmmm (my first time to try asparagus soup. It was oh so yummy and creammy...)

Warm Pear and Goat Cheese

Mixed greens topped with poached pears, goat cheese, strawberries and candied pecans. Lightly tossed with apple-chamomile-honey vinaigrette.It was such a tangy sweet salad. So delicious!

Warm Pear and Goat Cheese

Tofu and Veggies

Fresh bean sprouts and glass noodles topped with crispy marinated tofu, red bell pepper, carrots and scallions. Served with spicy Asian vinaigrette.

The tofu was so perfect we had to ask how they made it. :0)

Tofu and Veggies

The white noodles on top are fried and add a wonderful crunch to the salad.

The decor was cool but reminded me a bit of Starbucks. Not a bad thing as I like Starbucks a lot. Just felt like they used the same designer.

The place was very clean and the wait staff was just wonderful. Thank you Mike.

Catfish Cove

http://www.catfishcoverestaurant.com/


Catfish Cove Restaurant
3839 N Belt Line Road
Sunnyvale, Texas 75182

There are a lot of people that think it's in Mesquite, Texas but it's really just on the edge of it in Sunnyvale.

It's a family owned business and is very dear to my heart as my Aunt Rose and Uncle Jim own it. It didn't seem right to have a blog about food and not include them so here it is. :0)

It is the first place I can ever remember my Poppa taking us out to eat and I bused tables here one summer.

My favorite thing is the hushpuppies. They use to have jalapenos in them but are still just as delicious without them.. Nice and crunchy on the outside with a moist center.

They have a relish bar with lots of tempting offerings.

.

The pea salad, pickled okra, potatoe salad and cole slaw are my favorite. Their tarter sauce is one of my favorite things to dip my fish in.

I had to try the fog legs. I have never had them here before and since I had tried them at VIP Buffet (with jalapenos) I felt like these would be more to my liking. I have decided now that I personally don't like frog legs. It's the chewyness of them I just don't like. It's a nice white meat and the flavor was good but it's just not for me.

Genia decided on fish nuggets and baked potatoe.

I chose a smorgasbord of seafood, they call it the Seafood Platter. It includes a catfish fillet and nuggets, butterfly shrimp, and instead of the usual fried oysters you will get fried scallops (which are just yummy), boiled shrimp and stuffed crab round out this tasty platter.

If you like fried fish the way your grandmother would make it then you will love it here.

They have some yummy desserts but I was just too full this visit to try any. Guess I will have to plan another trip to Catfish Cove.

They do cajun fried turkeys and if you have never had one you should this Thanksgiving. They are so good! Bring in your turkey and they will fry it to perfection and all you will have to do is pick it up.

Abuelos

http://www.abuelos.com/

 These photos were taken during a business dinner. I was lucky to get a shot of my food as it disappeared fast that evening. :0)

ENCHILADAS DE COZUMEL

 Three crepes filled with fresh guacamole, covered in a deliciously creamy white wine sauce with a medley of  seasoned shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, fresh spinach and roasted peppers. 

Abuelo's version of a key lime cheese cake.  

Too much cream on top I thought but the flavor was good. 

Express Wok

2204 Kelly Boulevard

Carrollton, TX 75006-2858

It's a small mom and pop kinda place. They were very friendly when we walked in and it didnt' take them long to get our order ready.

They had goldfish in one tank and just green water in another beside it. I think it would have been nice to have had the other tank clean with just rocks and plants than to have it with green water.

It's a small little place definately not meant for eating there.

Budda infront of the fish tank.

I liked the gold bamboo chairs but the place seemed like it needed a good deep cleaninging. There wasn't dirt on the floor but the walls and fish tank needed to be wiped off.

The soup was okay with nice pieces of vegetables and large chunks of tofu in it.

The rangoons were large and it was the first time for me to have them in a triangle shape.

They were filled with creem cheese and crab. Not a bad flavor and the shell was crunchy.

The egg rolls were small and I think probably were the frozen kind but were okay.

My order was fried rice with sesame chicken. I liked the broccoli on the side. The flavor was good but not something that I would crave.

It's not a place I would go all the time to because of the price. I thought the food was okay but could have gotten more variety for a less price at a buffet. It's okay if you just don't want to go out to eat and it's close to your home. For two poeple it was just under $40.00. Which equals going out to a buffet twice.

The service was friendly and fast but if you are on a buget it's not a place I would recommend.

Cheesecake Factory

http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/#lobby
Stonebriar

2601 Preston Road
Frisco, TX 75034

We just went in to get a slice of cheesecake and coffee and maybe stop in at Barnes & Noble. The cheese cake was good even though I wasn't served what I ordered. I wanted the White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle and I was given Chocolate Raspberry Truffle. I didn't feel like sending it back because it took forever to get the order. It was good just not what I had ordered. The coffee was terrible, just way too bitter for me to like. The service wasn't that great either. I never was asked if I even wanted a refill on my coffee, not that I wanted it but a little attention would have been nice. I do like how the place was decorated but I it felt like people were packed in. There was very little room between the tables.

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle

Rod ordered the Key Lime Cheesecake. It was quite yummy, I liked it better than the chocolate rasberry one. 

The colors they chose made it feel inviting but like I said I didn't like how I felt way to close to those seated beside me. There was maybe eighteen inches between the people and I on either side of me. If I had wanted too I could literally lean over and get something off the table on either side of me easily.

I probably wont go back to this Cheesecake Factory but I do intend to try another one. Maybe the one in Plano, Texas.