Eddie's Napoli's Pizza and Pasta

Date:
Monday July 5, 2010

Restaurant:
Eddie's Napoli's Pizza and Pasta
915 W Centerville Rd.
Garland, TX 75041

Dishes and Price:
Veal Parmigiana $9.95+tax

For over a decade I have been a loyal, if infrequent customer of this little hole in the world. It has been one of my favorite spots and I have recommended it to many people. Just last week I was recommending Napoli's to someone. Well, not any more.

I entered into this small Italian restaurant and was greeted by a nice woman behind the counter. I was ready to eat a great meal. We sat at a booth. You know the type... where you sink a foot into the cushion and feel like a babe at an adult table. The granite-style table tops were nice, as was most of the atmosphere.

I took the opportunity to run into the restroom to wash my hands, passing a waiter exiting as I made my approach. Since an employee was just in the room, I was quite shocked to realize that I needed to be Moses to avoid the huge puddle on the floor that was spreading from the toilet. Yeah, this made me want to eat. I quickly stepped over to the station, unused in quite some time, and washed my hands.

As I returned to my seat, I began to wonder if that employee had really been in the bathroom. I could have been mistaken. Right? As I sat and ordered my Mountain Dew, I began to watch the server. He seemed quite personable and was constantly walking from the tables to the kitchen, busing tables. My drink arrived and I was quite happy with my Root Beer. Wait, that's not right. I ordered Mountain Dew. I looked and sure enough, it was a greenish semi-clear liquid. When did Mountain Dew start tasting like Root Beer?

Now, I opened my menu, expecting to see samples of great food. Boy did I! Right in front of me was an all you can eat buffet of food. Too bad it wasn't pictures I saw but actual bits and pieces of food-gross! Complaining to my waiter resulted in a restrained sufferance from him. He walked the distance, marathon in it's intensity, to the other menus. He took two steps. He pulled out another menu, and was nice enough to open it and let the crumbs fall out. Receiving my new menu, I was thankful he took the time to clean it as I was assaulted by a need to wade through the latrine to wash the grease from my hands.

Ordering my food, I sat back and watched the waiter from the restroom as he worked. I sampled the rolls, cold and stale, and tried to enjoy the conversation. I noticed the waiter busing a table, rinsing a wash cloth out, and then wiping down the counter. Wait, was that the hand wash station he was rinsing that nasty cloth in. Why is there no soap in the soap dispenser at the hand wash station? The waiter then carried a few glasses to be washed, his fingers sticking deep into the previously used cups. Busy bee that he was trying to be, he was nice enough to fill some new cups for a couple of new customers... again without washing his hands.

My food came out, thankfully not served by the waiter who I am beginning to think never has washed his hands. I took a bite hesitantly and wiped my mouth. Not bad at all. Honestly, the food is very good. I look up and see the waiter as he brings food to customers, his fingers well over the lip of the plate. I am feeling sick to my stomach suddenly.

I inform my guest and they observe several activities that bring a halt to any eating, the server has now placed a used roll basket on top of the clean stack and has used a paper napkin to wipe down a counter only to return the paper napkin to the top of the stack to be taken to customers. Both of us, fighting the need to explosively return the food to this wonderful restaurant, got up to leave.

I had to fight the need to point out all of these issues and refuse to pay the bill for need to stay objective for this critique. I will say that the woman behind the counter seemed genuinely concerned that we were leaving having eaten so little and wanted to ensure we enjoyed the food. I did pay the bill, and we left with a feeling of hunger but a lack of appetite.

I doubt I will ever return to this restaurant. I am saddened more than I can say for the loss of a eatery that I have been to hundreds of times over the last decade or so. I am saddened more than that for I had just recommended another person go to lunch at this restaurant. Please, if you are in Garland and want to eat, stay away.

Silver Spoon Restaurant

Date:
Saturday June 26, 2010

Restaurant:
Silver Spoon Restaurant
218 East Spring Valley Road
Richardson, TX 75081

Dish and Price:
Chicken Boti - $6.99+tax


If you are familiar with Indian or Middle Eastern food, then you are probably familiar with the classic chicken boti dish. Tender pieces of spicy, but not necessarily hot, dark meat chicken that have been slow cooked in a tandoori. At least that is the style most commonly found. Unfortunately, the Silver Spoon differs from this ideal.

Walking in the door of a very small and hard to notice restaurant, you are assaulted by a similarity to every low-rent Chinese food restaurant. The tables are the same white topped particle board, the chairs the same over-used fabric and metal relics of bygone years, and the menu is on a board behind the counter in someone's inelegant scrawl. A greasy spoon is the term we normally use, as your spoon is invariably left with a film of grease when you are done eating. Even though this food is not Chinese, it is definitely a greasy spoon.

I fear I am giving you the wrong idea. The food is adequate and is very affordable. The naan, or flat bread, is very good. This bread is light, fluffy, and extremely flavorful. If there was a single down-side to the naan, it was in the fact that I only received a single loaf.

The cucumber yogurt sauce was good. It had a sweet, fresh, and tangy taste to it. This sauce was a nice balance and would be great on a multitude of dishes. Be careful, though, as it is a bit thin.

All of this is nice to know, but the chicken is what is important. And that, my friends, is where we have a problem. First, boti is the leg and thigh meat of an animal. This can include lamb boti or chicken boti. So, imagine my surprise when I was served dry, white meat chicken. I was alarmed at how they would serve this food and dare to call it boti.

The spices of this dish were very good. I have to admit that much. I was sorely pressed to find a fault with the spice mixes that were used for this dish. The addition of cilantro, a combination I had never considered before, was unique and worked very well with the lime slice provided.

I have to say that, overall, my meal was very decent. The meat was dry and it was not boti, but the flavors worked very well. I visit this small diner very rarely. The food is a great gateway to some of the more exotic tastes and flavors, and a great way to be introduced to Indian food for very little money. Feel free to visit and enjoy a meal, just remember your Tums and have an open mind.

Primo Brothers New York Style Pizza

Date:
Friday June 25, 2010

Restaurant:
Primo Brothers New York Style Pizza
9310 Forest Lane

Dallas, TX 75243

Dish and Price:
Tortellini Pana, mixed meat and cheese - $7.45+tax
Tiramisu - $3.95+tax


Talk about a hidden treasure, Two Brothers as it is commonly referred to, is located on the back side of a rarely seen shopping center. This restaurant boasts a mixture of traditional pizzeria with the more modern sports bar atmosphere. Walking in, you immediately notice the chalkboards above the counter with the entire menu painstakingly handwritten. This adds a cozy touch to the place, but is no substitute for a more traditional menu, which they were out of on this visit. Craning my neck up to read the massive boards, I felt like the small runt about to get his face bashed in by the giant bully. Fortunately, the cashiers were nice enough to help me out with my order.

I ordered the Tortellini, which is served with either meat or cheese and either Alf redo or Marinara sauce. Being the half starved and undernourished man that I am, weighing in at a measly 300 pounds, I kindly asked for a mixture of both meat and cheese. Then came the hard question…”Would you like Alfredo or Marinara?” I must have had a flash of hunger, for suddenly I was trying to eat my finger or at least the nail. You see, I have this very slight fondness for Alfredo sauce, ok so others might call it an obsession, but I was looking forward to some Marinara too. What to do; what to do? I went with the only sensible solution-both! I ordered my desert, a drink, paid for the meal, and sat down. Lunch breaks just aren’t a period when I want to stand on my sore feet.

Watching the Rangers trounce the Astros on the HDTV, I was having a great time. Then came my food. One look at this dish and I was ready to forget the fork and just plunge my face into the bowl to get at those succulent little stuffed pastas. The smell of the sauce was exquisite. I picked up my fork and stabbed a perfect little circle. In my mouth, the flavor just exploded. The meat had a little discordant spice to it, a perfect counterpoint to the sauce and cheese tortellini. My tongue was trying to jump for joy within my mouth. Unfortunately, the sauce was a bit too thin. I quickly realized a spoon was in order for this pasta dish, something that would send several Italians I know into apoplexy. Glad I did, too. That sauce was excellent.

The garlic and herb bread was splendid, or at least the little that was there. I have a hard time believing that a restaurant in today’s day and age would become cheap with the bread. Bread is normally what a restaurant tries to fill you up with so they can get cheap with the more expensive ingredients, like meat. Ever been to Olive Garden, with the endless bread sticks? Then you get my drift. With as good as this bread is, I wish it was endless. Instead I finish it with only a quarter of my meal. Rather irritating, that.

After eating my fill, which was not finishing the meal, I was ready for my desert. Out came only the greatest desert man ever invented, and the only way in which I will consume coffee, Tiramisu. Espresso soaked ladyfingers, custard, and chocolate make this dish a delight to the tongue. I sat down with my desert that was served on the finest of china, commonly referred to as a take out box. Plunging my fork into the Tiramisu, I came away with a soft, yielding, yet firm mouthful. The minor chocolate set off perfectly to the coffee counterpoint. The custard was done to perfection. For ten minutes I floated in a sea of bliss as my tongue relished each delightful bite. When I finished, sadly looking at the smears in the box after I got every crumb available, I debated spending another four bucks for seconds. Unfortunately, I had to get back to work.

If you happen to be in Dallas and searching for a nice, out of the way place, I would highly recommend this little diamond in the rough. If you can see past the little rough spots, you can find a true gem for very little money. And that is always nice in today’s economy. By the way, anyone know how the Rangers did in that contest? I seem to have forgotten the game once we got the food.

Welcome

Hello visitors and welcome to my page or as we say in Texas … howdy and make yourselves at home! This page is dedicated to introducing the masses to great, and affordable, food and helping everyone to remember that food should be enjoyed, not just consumed. Do you remember the feeling of seeing a hot, sizzling pile of fajitas coming out to the table? I certainly do. My mouth waters as I try not to drool on the table, my heart speeds along like a freight train, my nose captures an aroma that is as close to heaven as is humanly possible, my ears perk up like a dog hearing a whistle - yum! We all enjoy food, at least sometimes. Well I am here to help us all enjoy food, at a reasonable cost, every day.


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Dish name
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Description of what the meal tasted like and felt like


Please feel free to leave a comment with your favorite hole-in-the-wall for me to try. I will do my utmost to visit these restaurants when I get the chance.