Brio Tuscan Grill
I am hoping this chain will have a location closer to Dallas. I've tried the Southlake location and they have a new Allen location. The Allen location is closer, but the decor's not as fabulous as Southlake which is a bit more trendy and the service is still a little klutzy at the Allen location. The service is pretty klutzy, but the food has still been up to par so don't let that scare you away.
Brio's is for sure a step up from Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill. It's seems like an american chain that's got less typical americanized italian items which makes it a nice change from the typical italian restaurant here. The prices are also great.
I recommend pasta fra diavolo which is a spicy cream tomato sauce with chicken and penne. They have good bread and flatbread pizzas. Their desserts are small bite sizes, but I dont' know if that's b/c the restaurant is still new or if it's always like that.
The place is definitely worth a trip out to Allen or Southlake. Maybe a location will be in Dallas, Addison, or Plano one day. Over the two DFW locations, the Southlake one is nicest and has all the little shops to walk around after eating.
Mi Piaci
The food is superb. The decor is very simple but refreshing with huge windows looking over the lovely little lake with a fountain and ducks and turtles to catch your eye.
The wait staff is very nice. I usually get the rigatoni con salsiccia (sp?.. rigatoni w/ sausage) and the crochete de aurore (this appetizer is basically fried risotto balls that has cheese and sausage with a creamy tomato sauce over it) The risotto balls are to die for. The iced tea is also very good.
It isn't cheap, but if you're not having wine I don't think Mi Piaci is much more expensive than other places. You get what you pay for and you definitley get quality italian food. I don't know if it's authentic italian food, but it not your usual italian food like going to Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill. It's more upscale and a nice change from americanized italian cuisine.
Banana Leaf
My bf and I come here often. We can't find a thai place we like more than Banana Leaf. They will make it however you want, spicy, minus one thing or more of another thing. Their portions are very large and we usually come home with food for the nexy day's lunch.
The owner and staff are very friendly. The owner seems very passionate about his business and making sure the customer's satisfied. Some of the wait staff have problems speaking english, but they always get our orders right. The food takes a little longer but it always seems fresh. Their eggrolls are great too. If there's a problem, they seem very willing to fix it. We usually get the chicken pad thai made spicy and pineapple fried rice with chicken.
I'm not thai so I can't say how this compares to real traditional thai food, but the food is good. Most all asian restaurants in the states are americanized minus those few hole in the walls where the restaurant name's not in english and the people barely speak english. I don't see why people are bashing this place b/c it's americanized.
Lavendou
Delicious french food with nice provencial decor, but Very expensive for dinner. Go for lunch. The service was alright...if you're in Europe it prolly would've seemed great though. The desserts are yummy too. I highly recommend the Tournedos Felix (I think that's what it was called).
con: by the condom store ^.^
Maguire's Regional Cuisine
The food is delicious here. Of course I've only tried the Cajun Chicken Penne from their entree selections. It is way too good to pass up and even has a spicy kick to it. My bf likes to have the salmon.
Their salads are delicious and so are the few daily flat breads I've tried. The Texas wedge is nice and of course Texas portioned with lots of cheese, bacon and ranch.The grand marnier chocolate mousse cake or whatever it is is just divine. If you're a chocolate lover go for that. Their tea is a delicious fruity tea that's not that fake syrup flavoring.
Overall it's always good. The decor's different and nice for a date. It's not cheap here though, but you do get quality food. Never been disappointed.
ziziki's
This place used to be located at Coit Rd & Arapaho I think. The food is terrific. The atmosphere is nice and the service is good...nothing amazing. But the food and flavors will just wow your tastebuds. The tsaziki sauce (sp?) tastes outstanding. I especially love their grilled chicken souvlaki with the yummy roasted potatoes. The iced tea is delicious and fruity, but not that fake syrup flavoring. The cheese bread is also very good. It gets very busy at night.
Tip: If you want to try it, go for lunchtime. You get the same portion as you would at dinnertime but for the much cheaper price. It is a pricey place at night.
tortilla soup
This restaurant is hidden a few stores down from the Kroger at Preston & Campbell. Supposedly the chef used to work at Mi Cocina. If you've been there, the menu is almost a clone to Mi Cocina's menu. All the food's the same even down to the hot sauce, but the items are called different names. I am unsure how the prices compare. They seem about the same price.
The food is very good. The last few times I went to Mi Cocina though the food was kind of lacking and not seeming as fresh. Mi Cocina also seems to be getting louder and crazier every time. Tortilla soup is a nice alternative if you're wanting to have a slower, quieter, more comfortable meal like with a family or even a big group. You won't have to strain to hear people talk at the table. There's usually not too many people in the restaurant when we go and the service is sometimes a little slow with getting the meal out, but I think that might be because they don't have food precooked much since they don't keep it busy all the time. For me, if it takes a little longer to get my food which appears freshly made then I'm all for it.
So if you want a quieter copy of Mi Cocina then try Tortilla Soup. I'm starting to think their food's better and fresher every time I go.
Romano's Bakery
I went to grab a few slices of cake to try before setting a tasting appointment. The place looked big on the outside then you get inside and see a HUGE wedding cake display room and a miniature bakery counter. The wedding cake room was quite impressive to see all the different ways they can make cakes. I happened to walk in during a cake tasting too. They had only miniature little cake bites to try. It looked too dinky a bite to make an actual choice on when you have so many different kinds. No wonder it's hard to decide.
Well I interrupted the lady to help me a second. I had called that morning to find out if they only did wedding cakes and I was told they did any occasion cakes, cookies and is a regular bakery. I was disappointed to see they had only brownies and a few different cakes to choose from. No cookies were even on display for me to take. Since she was busy I didn't bother if they had more in back or something. So I chose a few cake slices and a few brownies.
I got in the car and the brownies were pretty good. I tried the cake later on. I have never had such hard cake. It tasted like 2 week old cake. The cake was chewy and crunchy and this was a regular german chocolate cake. I have kept cakes to eat over a week's period and they've never tasted like that before. The other slices tasted less crunchy, but still. I've had more moist cakes from Kroger and that's not saying much. Even if the cake was fresh, the cake just didn't taste any more amazing than if I'd gone to Kroger.
In the end, I ordered my wedding cake from Panini's Bakery on Sherry Lane. The best cake I've had in town. Check them out.
Panini Bakery & Cakes
They have delicious cakes. I decided to buy a few slices of cake to sample before scheduling a wedding cake tasting. The cake is the most delicious cake I've had from a bakery. The cake is very moist with a generous layer of icing between the cake layer and the delicious buttercream on the outside.
So I of course scheduled an appointment with my fiance. We got 5 very large slices of cake for our sampling when they're normally just a small scoop or inch of cake and flavors. They only have a few types of cakes they'll do for the wedding cake, but I would say they are perfected. We chose to have our layers be the chocolate mousse with chocolate cake, the strawberry & whipped cream white cake (real strawberries...not that fake strawberry flavor), and the almond buttercream with white cake I think.
I'm definitely going to try all 3 layers on my wedding day. They are definitely on my A list for bakeries. They also do cakes for other occasions, cookies, had salads, and other stuff. They are super friendly and very willing to work with you so you get what you want. Definitely go in and try their cake.
oh and FYI... if you order a wedding cake from here, on your 1st anniversary they bake you a fresh cake so you don't have to worry about freezing the top layer. If you're sentimental and want to eat year old cake go for it, but I was happy to add a third layer to add more variety for my wedding. Buy one and get one free works for me.
Yao Fuzi
Perfect Chinese place for a Romantic Date!
It has been years since my family had a top quality chinese restaurant in town since our last fave closed years ago. My mother discovered this place and we go there often now. The food is always fresh and top quality. I now like eggrolls thanks to Yao Fuzi too. It's hard to tell how it will be on the outside. It looks like it could be one of those scary random asian places since it's between I think the tobacco place and something else in the middle of a strip mall, but once you step inside it's a gorgeous small modern contemporary restaurant that is just so nice. The look of the place is as top knotch as the food is. You are Definitely missing out on the best Chinese food in the Metroplex if you don't eat here!
my faves: the eggrolls, mongolian beef, kung pao chicken
My only con to the place: their wonton soup (which is "shanghai style?"). I like the boring typical wonton soup you find at all chinese places (I'm a picky eater). Their wonton soup has I think cabbage in it with shiitake mushrooms too. I am not a mushroom fan at all and just eating around the mushrooms doesn't help b/c the mushroom flavor is embedded into it. If you're not as picky an eater maybe you'll find their wonton soup really interesting to try.