From Utah to Texas: My First Impression and Recommendations: Food

Holy crap, we did it.  4 days of traveling in a packed-to-the-brim Acura with the dog up front, and the baby, cat and myself in the back so I could tend to the kiddo.  Desert, more desert and more desert.  Stopping in to see some of my favorite people whom I met while living in Washington who are now in Albequrque. Who made us amazing Indian food and plied us with alcohol :). Then West Texas, and the return of Southern accents and huge plates of greasy, fried food.

Plano and Dallas has really changed for the better since I was stationed in Oklahoma while in the Navy (Yes, you read that right.  Oklahoma.  Don't ask.  Seriously.  I'll have to kill you.). It has become quite the metropolitan area, with a ton of upscale eating and shopping.  

Dustin treated me to dinner at a restaurant he visited while down here for orientation.  An incredibly hip eatery called HopDoddy Burger Bar.  This place is burgers gone fancy in an industrial setting.

 Burgers with brie, arugula, carmalized onions.  All natural fries with truffle oil, grated pure parmesan, and rosemary.  

A salad ( In a burger place!) with goat cheese, apples, candied pecans, spinach and arugula.  Cocktails, beer and wine.  Oh yes people, the burger gods have smiled upon this place and those who came up with the idea.  You walk in and order like any fast food joint, but then receive a table number, and have your food and drink brought to you.  The wait staff works in a team atmosphere, so you can ask anyone for anything you might need.  No need to wait for your particular server to come by, especially if they are busy which I would assume is always if you aren't going at 4 in the afternoon like we did.  The people ranged in clique category from hip, to chic, to punk rock purple hair.  It was amazing.  Everyone was incredibly friendly and upbeat, the music was amazing, and sportscenter was on.  Yup, the food is worth every penny, which can add up to a bit unfortunately.  However, keeping in mind that it's all natural ingredients and near downtown Dallas keeps you in check when you get the bill. 

When you first move into a place you obviously have NONE of your stuff.  Like, our stuff was still in Iowa, on its way down here, so we went a few days with nothing.  So what do you eat?  Pizza, duh.  However, after traveling for a week, and spending a couple days with nothing in the old house before we got on the road, we were soooooooooo over the typical road fare and typical pizza joints.  Plus, I have a gluten intolerance that has sprung up a bit severely again, so most pizza places having me puffing up, slurring words and throwing up. It's fun.  But anyway, pizza was the most obvious choice for food.  After a little Google searching (thank you Google gods!), we came upon a place called Palio's Pizza Kitchen.  Hello gourmet pizza.  Hello GLUTEN FREE crust?! Uh, yup, sold.  Dustin ordered The King, which had about every dead animal on the planet you can think of.  I went out of my comfort zone and ordered the Noah, which had carmalized onion, roasted chicken, cheddar and mozzarella with a pink sauce. And once I saw Tiramasu was on the menu, threw in an order of that.  We weren't expecting too much.  

We ate our words at the first bite. And then subsequently the rest of our pizzas and dessert.  This crust is hand tossed, thin but not paper thin, with a good crunch and pull.  The topping were of amazing quality and seasoned to perfection with an actual roasted taste.  The veggies were crisp yet tender, and the cheese was the perfect amount to accompany the toppings. The tiramasu....oh the tiramasu!  I've never had it completely soaked in actual coffee liqueur. It's a game changer, people.  The people on the phone taking our were so friendly and polite without seeming fake, as was the skater guy who delivered our pizza.  Although, maybe that's just a Texas thing.  We are back down South after all. 

So if you're coming down from Oklahoma to visit us ;) or just passing through, make sure to stop at one of those establishments for some amazing grub that will leave you feeling satisfied without feeling disgusting!