Monday, February 21, 2011

Restaurants reviews - dining around uptown

A few restaurants I've tried in Uptown:
  • Urban Taco - Mexican food restaurant on McKinney Ave. I went there for lunch with two of my coworkers and it was perfect, but very busy on a Friday at lunchtime. It was one of the days when it was just beginning to get warm so we sat on the patio which was had a great set-up. We tried a trio of salsa for an appetizer - first of all, their chips have this delicious seasoning on them! All three of the salsas were tasty, I really enjoyed the black bean & roasted corn pico and the avocado lime creama. For tacos I loved the al pastor and barbacoa - I will definitely be getting both again! Glad to have a great taco place nearby.
  • Red Mango - I love frozen yogurt and this place is right around the corner from me - on McKinney Ave. When my parents came to my place the first time, we walked around the neighborhood so they could get a feel for where I live. Naturally I insisted on a break to try this frozen yogurt spot. I had original with chocolate chips (I also tasted the Madagascar vanilla). It was pretty good, but I'm picky when it comes to frozen yogurt - I didn't like the texture of it - I felt like it needed to be smoother/softer. It was definitely still ok, and there were no complaints from my mom who had the chocolate with strawberries or my dad who had a smoothie. With all the frozen yogurt places nearby, I'll keep searching for a spot where I'll be a regular.
  • Ketchup - on Hall Street, between McKinney Ave and Cole Ave. Seriously awesome burger spot - and their fries are amazing - and they have a variety of specialty ketchup (per their name). I went there on a Saturday evening with some friends visiting from Houston, and their baby. They have outdoor and indoor seating, with a variety of options. I had the Blue Burger which was perfect and my friends both had the Ketchup Burger and said it was great. Now the fries...wow - they were unbelievably good! We got a trio with the Sweet Potato, Garlic & Chive and Spicy Buffalo - I keep thinking about how great the Spicy Buffalo fries were! All of their specialty ketchup was great and unique - we tried the house, green tomato and chipotle - all were tasty depending on what you paired it with. I will absolutely be back soon.
  • Vino 100 - A wine bar at the corner of McKinney Ave and Allen that sells wine by the bottle - with a great patio. My friend Tracy introduced me to this place on a Sunday night (25% off bottles). You walk around a room full of wine bottles and once you make your selection just tell the staff and they'll bring it to your table. I was impressed that they had so many reasonable priced bottles of wine - a lot to choose from below $25. We sat outside on their patio and it's a great spot to people watch.

More to come as I try new places. Recommendations on where to try?

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