G.R.i.D. (Get Rich in Dallas)

Last week on date night, we headed over to Grimaldi’s Pizzeria after movie time at the Magnolia. I had only heard about this place and nothing else. I figured it would be good, it looked nice, fun ambiance, whatever. And so we ventured in.

Upon walking in, there was a bustle in the air that made it sound like Friday night. Conversation, people, food, the TV in the background - it was all flowing that gave an energy to the place I really liked and hadn’t felt in a while. Some places are too staid with atmosphere and other try too hard to be casual. This got it just right and in a way that felt as it was almost by accident.

Despite being seated at a two-seater too small table in a banquet room just slightly off kilter from the main room, the energy bubbled into our alcove and soon we had tables around us that had filled up. While there was no bread basket available (complimentary or to order - grrr), we started out with a Caprese Salad, tomatoes with mozzarella and fresh basil with oregano and olive oil. The cheese was divine and while I’m not a tomato fan, they had good flavor. Grimaldi’s loves them some basil so the scent in the air as the salad came was pleasant and kept us hungry.

We ordered a large regular pizza with toppings of pepperoni, Italian sausage and fresh garlic. We were sticking to the plainer side of pizza because personally, I think that’s the benchmark. If they can pull that off, then they can probably do the other selections of white and pesto pizzas just as well. We conversed, waited, conversed, picked at the salad, waited, then waited and finally, a server brings a delicious looking pie to our table. It turns out, it was the table’s next us. Sigh. So more waiting occurred until a manager came to report that our pizza had been burned in their signature coal oven, they were getting it out and that dessert was on them. Surprisingly patient as we were, we nodded and waited.

I’d like to say we waited about 45 minutes from the time that we ordered but when the pie came out, it’s bubbling beauty was a sight and smell to behold. It was oh-so pretty. Pizza is probably my favorite food and the sheer style of this thin crusted pie with a beautiful blanket of glistening mozzarella, mountainous texture of meat and an aroma to die for made everything forgivable.

The slices are a bit big and I had to sacrilegiously cut the first bite with a fork instead of wrangle it with my mouth from the floppy slice. But as that first piece met my taste buds, I had to have a moment. If my taste buds were on EHarmony, this pizza would have been their perfect match. While nothing overpowers the rest, each ingredient is flavorful and apparent and sublimely fresh. I could almost get high off the tasty bouquet of the pizza. It is simply, to die for. While hot enough, the roof of my mouth was never in fear of a cheesy burn. The crust, complete with oven residue on the bottom was a perfect crisp when not weighed down toward the center with ingredients.

It was so good we went back two days later. We added ricotta cheese to the mix which was not the greatest idea. It made for a more gooey texture which I didn’t like all that much but the same outstanding qualities the first pizza had were there.At least they are consistent.

Save for maybe their service. Both times we noticed some scattered server. Ours on Friday night seemed to forget us at times and on Sunday, a server had given one table the wrong pizza. Oh wait, that happened to us too. Their friendliness almost makes up for it. But if it’s more than one, it makes me wonder if management is so strict it freaks them out. Bill Addison at DMN had a better experience. Maybe we should go with him!

But the scatter-brained coup d’etat (sp?) was the free dessert from the first night. They kept pushing the Godiva chocolate cheese cake which sounded of rich delightful-ness. I opted for that while the date selected a cannoli. They packaged them to go and off we went with leftover pizza and two fresh desserts. I was having visions of chocolate goodness when we decided to open our desserts at home for a late night treat only to find they had given us two cannolis. D’oh!

The cannolis were pretty good and the sweet ricotta cream inside was perfect. But it wasn’t Godiva chocolate.

I used to think Pastazio’s was the best in town but Grimaldi’s, despite its flaws, has won themselves a fan for life.

Last week, I finally got to check out the Clay Pit Indian restaurant in Addison up close. I was fairly excited because one party I went to was catered by the place and the food was surprisingly delicious for this non-Indian eating fool. So, it reopened my mind to the idea of giving the cuisine a try.

I had been olfactorally scarred because my dad, a chef, would make curry at home when I was a kid and let me tell you, that is some funk you do NOT want permeating the house. The grody green color and the pungent rank made me want to runaway from home more often than not. So, mind you, Indian food has just never been high on my list.

An acquaintance of mine however does PR for Clay Pit and always talked them up and then had her party with yummy treats from there. I distinctly remember the puff pastry samosas which were just to die for. So fluffy and savory, we ordered those to begin with - one chicken one veggie. They did not disappoint at all. Not that I have much to compare them too but they came off as ideally made. The chicken was flavorful and seemed plenty for the small appetizer and the vegetable was filling which usually isn’t the case for me. Although a bit on the heavy side for starters, they were a delicious beginning along with the “chips” and dips they had offered. I wasn’t feeling so afraid anymore. Although I cannot detail the rush of fear and queasiness that filled me when smelling that same odor that I had endured as a child.

Bread is never a bad thing for me either so I figured our decision to order some naan would be a good one. And it was. I forget which flavor but the bread was appropriately fresh and felt more like a puffier flour tortilla. Dipped in the yogurt based Tandoori sauce (I hope I have that name right) made it infinitely more enjoyable.

I kept thinking Clay Pit was the $hit with all these delicious offerings. And then the main course came. Feeling emboldened by the tasty food I had already eaten, I ventured into trying the lamb biryani (Ustad ki Dum Biryani) - marinated lamb with saffron flavored basmati rice, mint & spices cooked on a slow fire. Biryani in itself is a type of dish described as ” a classic Nawabi (Indian royalty) dish that is popular all over India. It is derived from the Persian word ‘Birian’, which means ‘roasted before cooking’. Biryani is a mixture of Basmati rice, meat/vegetables, yogurt and spices.”

Upon coming out, it looked like a cool pot pie. In a large bowl, the top was covered by more bread that was covering it like a lid. This made me perk up even more. I love me some pot pies. After peeling away the yummy bread, I saw a colorful mixture of rice and spices and meat. My fork dug in and then trekked into my mouth. My  mouth didn’t move right away. It was spicy. And a bitter spicy. I downed it and grabbed for my drink pronto. Oh no.

My dinner date’s meal of stuffed chicken medallions looked (and tasted) good. I looked at it with much envy but I figured I’d get through mine. I’m trying to increase my palate’s taste with hotter spicier foods so I poured on the Tandoori sauce thinking it would cool it down and make it tastier. No. And there was no salt on the table to pour on either. Plus, my tea refills were happening so fast that I couldn’t even wash it down with a nicely sweetened drink because after a drink, here came the server with the tea pitcher. I had just a tad more forkfuls of the dish and realized, this just ain’t gonna happen. This plate was gross and a double cheeseburger was sounding oh-so good. So I asked them to pack it up to go and generously donated it to my dinner date’s refrigerator. Incidentally, it Biryani doesn’t make for good leftovers either.

Being already biased against Indian food probably doesn’t help but I give myself some credit for giving it a shot and I would totally nosh on the medallions as well as more samosas. Would I go back? I’m not completely against the idea. I may try to steer the dining selection elsewhere but at least now I know what NOT to order.

Yesterday being my day off, I planned to get over early to IKEA to partake in hours of needless shopping. But more importantly, I wanted some of their cheap but delicious breakfast. The last time I headed over there early was with friend Shirley and we both had two full plates of food with coffee for under $5. And I mean that’s total. As in, I paid for both of us and it was under $5. Food that cheap but that good makes IKEA restaurant one of my new food meccas. Even if it is in Frisco.

Unfortunately, yesterday, some slacker friends held up my morning (you know who you are!!!!) and I didn’t make it out until noon with new beau Galen in tow. I drove a tad faster than normal hoping they might still serve breakfast up until noon but I knew my efforts were merely in vain. We got there and the breakfast sign at the door said “served until 11.” I was crushed. And hungry.

I had to mentally switch into lunch palate mode and we both ended up getting the herb roasted chicken plate. A plump size of “light-meat” chicken, as server T-Bone offered, with some mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley looked very pretty and a tad too contrived with the perfect circular serving of potatoes. I dug into the pots first and they were creamy perfection. Just enough consistency to know they were pots but smoothy enough to be delightful. The veggies were pretty to begin with - bright orange carrots, sunshine yellow squash and lots of green beans and lima beans. Steamed to a nice texture of soft firmness that would make no one be told twice to eat their veggies. But of course, the big star was the chicken. Perfectly juicy and nicely portioned, the skin was a glistened goldness and the meat was succulent enough throughout. Never a dry moment but never overdone either. And totally finger-licking good.

My one gripe though was every bite I seemed to take had small bone or gristle in it that took a long time to get past. Maybe I was just grabbing the wrong part of the chicken first but at the beginning it was pretty frustrating and many a bite just ended up in a napkin. Clearly not the restaurant’s fault but I wondered if just serving chicken cut off the bone would have been a better idea.

That’s a small complaint though compared to the delectable meal. And it totally made up for my breakfast cravings. Plus, with two soft drinks and a couple of rolls, lunch came in at a total of $15. For both of us! For a full plate meal that’s not out of the bag at $7.50, I’d totally go back. I just wish I had taken a pic of it. D’oh!

Plus, you haven’t heard me rant about their $.50 hot dogs. YUMMY! Guess I’ll just have to go back to give you an updated report.

I’ve been to Maguire’s and it IS delish. You could call it uber-upscale bar food but the place has really established itself as a casual eatery even if it is on the pricy end. But their food is so fresh and tasty that it’s totally worth the splurge!

OK, so, I’ve been so busy working on Hint of Mint that I’ve sort of left GRiD off the grid. So I apologize to all eight of my readers for having posted nothing in a while.

At the same time, I have been thinking what it is I wanted to do over here. I think Cindy and I are really going to work on Mint becoming something so clearly my focus is over there. But this begged the question, do I continue over here at GRiD? Cut it off? Change it up? Blah and blah.

Then, I had my conversation the other day with Cari about our proposed plans to embark on our Taqueria Tour of Dallas. It was at that moment that I realized what I should be doing here. I love me some food and I really love trying out new places to dine. And even if it’s something noteworthy at a fast-food place, I like telling people about it. So instead of the random Dallas news or opinion, I think Get Rich in Dallas will now focus on the food in and around Dallas. Where I’ve gone, what I recommend and whatever else comes to mind while I partake in fine and not-so-fine dining around these parts.

I’d love company on this as well. If you have a suggestion, please, feel free to join. Besides, the more opinions the merrier. So, from here on, you’re still Getting Rich…just with a fork and knife.

Bone Appetite!
(yeah, I know, it’s Bon)