Do patrons truly influence the menus of restaurants

Dallas, being a bit more sophisticated than Houston, where I lived for forty years, I expected more sophisticated menus from Dallas restaurants.  I must admit being housebound due to being ill the past few years I have not dined at as many restaurants as I wish I could have but, I have dined quite a few times at the harbor and a couple restaurants in Dallas.  I am basing my assumption on the menus I see.  Additionally, due to medical bills and limited to work, fine dining restaurants were off my menu.  Last, to clarify what I am considering sophisticated.  Let's take ambiance out of the picture, which I know many of you put a high value on ambiance to create a good atmosphere but, what about the food.  Where is the Worldly experience?  Anybody can cook a steak and I am not speaking to the Franchises for their hands are tied but, many privately owned restaurants exist that is owned by a chef or have a highly experienced chef or kitchen manager managing the menu.  Those are the menus I expect to see a little more sophistication with hopes that owners, partners, and directors do not tie the hands of the chefs.

The franchised fine dining restaurant we can expect the same from city to city and at times franchises tweak franchise menus or have specials from city to city.  Pappas, although not a franchised operation is run from a corporation as is a franchised restaurant and I know Pappadeauxs has specials each night but I would be willing to bet, from working there, that a patron can dine there two or three times a month and not see the same special.  It is about spicing the menu up, having something new but, without changing the core menu. Abacus restaurant, being Jaspers related, that is truly a fine dining restaurant corporation but, the Abacus menu, trying to compare apples to apples, compared to Kata Robata in Houston is not quite a match.  The menu is good and I would dine there but, would be mostly for curiosity, maybe if in the mood for fine Sushi; and yet, the sophistication exists with the Sushi menu but, next is the soup and salad with three salads and only one soup.  The menu seems to crash after the Sushi.  The appetizer section is very small but, a couple I would eat but, what if one is with a guest, it seems as if the menu selection may not be there for everyone.  Some of the entrees sound really good but, what accompanies the entree just makes the dish crash.  Overall, I surely would dine there but, I am looking for sophisticated menus.  I also expected a little more out of the harbor and was surprised to see Luna De Noche shut down a couple years ago.  Gloria's menu is not quite for me and the sophistication of their menu surely does not match their ambiance. Personally, being new to Dallas, if I wanted to ensure the right place for important dinner, a Pappas or Landry's restaurant I would feel safer at, just due to not knowing Dallas restaurants yet.

This past Thanksgiving, being alone, I was considering dining out and was excited that I would have a fine dining meal for Thanksgiving.  I listed all Thanksgiving restaurant menus in Houston for ten years.  When I started looking at the Dallas menus I was amazed that I could not find one menu that tickled me enough to dine on for Thanksgiving. One example, not the best but, B & B Butchers and Restaurants, turkey dinner.  Buca Di Beppo I surely expected a better Thanksgiving dinner beyond turkey and dressing and or roast.   Houston Thanksgiving menus are to die for and I literally could not find a Thanksgiving in Dallas of fine dining American food.So, being that Dallas is to be a more sophisticated city than Houston, what is dining behavior, likes and dislikes of Dallas residents?  I am surely happy with the choice of restaurants in the Dallas area, where I am more familiar with restaurants in Rockwall, Garland, and Plano.  For a special occasion dinner, if not wanting the status quo such as a Pappas or a Landry's restaurant, then I look East for some of the best restaurants in East Texas.

All of my writing time was taken up due to taking on the development of a restaurant in Greenville, TX.  I spent six weeks developing recipes and writing procedures for appetizers, Canapes, entrees, desserts and nine different types of breads and rolls.  Due to my illness continuing, I ended back in the hospital by last May and lost the opportunity with the restaurant.

Cautiously optimistic, my health issues are near over minus a year of rehab.  Starting a new company, International Commisary and Chefs of East Texas, ICCOET.com. It is planned to have all three blogs, American Patron and Timeless Vacations updated on a monthly basis.

Next on Taste of Texas will be a series on Tyler restaurants.  Hope to regain my readers in 2019.  Until then,

Happy Holidays,

Mike Rizzo

Surprising to see the eight restaurants in Dallas on the Diners Dives and Drive Ins show.  Considering the apparent theme of the show, I can only clasify one of the eight as a diner, dive or drive in, and that is Pecan Lodge and beyond Pecan Lodge, Twisted Burger, Louie's and Pepe's & Mitos are the only other of the eight I would eat at.  The menu selection of the other four are not appealing to me.  They all seem to be popular restaurants before Diners Dives and Drive Ins showed them.

Focusing on my classification of a worthy mention diner, dive or drive in, a restaurant that not many have herd of because it is out in the tooleys or an off beat place in the city, has a nich of some type, that may be a full service restaurant but, is not formal and the food is expceptionally good.  An establishment that has a large focus on entertainment can also be classified as a nich in my mind.  I also believe that a diner, dive or drive in should be serving food from the cuisine of the area.  A good example of a diner, dive or drive in is Sweet Water Grill in Royce City.  My wife and I have dined their near 15 times, so obviously the food is good.  They are out in the toolies, I would classify the place as a diner or a dive, their nich is their weekend entertainment and their menu is quite close to what I call the "East Texas Cuisine."   All they need to do is put a steak or two on the menu and they fit the bill for the "East Texas Cuisine."  They have a bit of Cajun with their blackened catish (that is really good) some Tex Mex, BBQ and Comfort Food on the menu.  The ambiance is quite relaxing and they have a dance floor as I mentioned the weekend entertainement, which is live bands.  If the family atmosphere you are seeking, then visit the Sweetwater Grill during the week and or Sunday (maybe not during football season) and if you are looking to have some fun, like live music and or Sunday football, then visit them on the weekend.

Each week I will try to post a new diner, dive or drive in from the East Texas area.  I will also focus on restaurants that serve an "East Texas Cuisine" (see the About Us page to view my definition of the East Texas Cuisine) and just may have something off the wall worth mentioning.  Considering the makeup of the East Texas Cuisine, knowing a resataurant serves such gives an upfront image of what type of food the restauarant serves, just as with an Italian restaurants, Mexican restaurant, etc.  I believe that the East Texas Cuisine should become known as a ligitimate cuisine.