Twisted Root Burger Co.

2615 Commerce St
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 741-7668

Well it's been a while since I actually visited this place, but I can still remember the burgers. Twisted Root is a relatively new addition to the Dallas burger scene, I think it opened around this time last year, but don't quote me. The concept is homemade everything: three chefs, sick of eating frozen and factory-fabricated burgers, decided to quit their jobs to open a real burger joint and make everything from scratch. Hand-rolled meat patties, hand-cut Idaho and sweet potatoes, homemade ice-cream, homemade pickles and homemade Root Beer...even homemade ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce!

sorry so dark, its on the left just after you go under central on Commerce


giggle

214

Alison's chicken sandwich with sweet potato chips.

I'm not a fan of the sweet potato anything but she said they were good

My burger and fries

I don't know what it is, I remember really liking my burger, even though it was a little over done, but something doesn't sit right with me about Twisted Root. It just kind of seems a little superficial. It does serve fresh meat and ketchup and stuff, but why advertise that so much. Why not just make a great burger and let the customer go, " WOW that is a great burger it sure tastes fresh!" Overall this place is good, I would definitely go back, if I worked or lived closer to Deep Ellum, but I don't. And it's cool that Deep Ellum is attracting places like this, but it still needs a lot of changes before the masses will venture back down.

P.S.

Our waiter was annoying as hell.

Louie's

1839 N Henderson Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
214-826-0505

Louie's is one of the top 3 places in Dallas to get a pizza. The other two, in no particular order, are Campisi's and Marco's. I usually don't like to be so definitive about food since it is so subjective, but in this case I will. Dallas isn't known for its pizza, when out-of-towners come here they think, "Let's go get a big ole steak." You go to New York or Chicago for great pizza, but we've got a few that are pretty damn good.

Louie's is another one of those places that if you don't know about you'll never just happen by it, and for that matter you probably wouldn't go in.

It's located on Henderson just a little short of Ross. You could easily drive on by, so keep your eyes peeled to the right side of the street if you are heading east southeast on Henderson away from 75. It's right across Henderson from a popular night spot The Slip Inn.

Once you come inside the bunker type grey brick building you will find a bar/restaurant that in my tiny little mind is exactly what a pizza and beer joint should be. It's dark with wood and brick everywhere, a few nice TVs in good locations so that you won't miss whatever game is on, but won't be too distracted from the conversation at your table. They restaurant is divided right down the middle by the bar, the east side is only open on Friday and Saturday nights. Before I go too far, they only accept cash or American Express as payment.

Now on to the food. Like I said before the pizza is great, but some might say that the best things on the menu are the salads. There are only two, a Greek and a Caesar, you can have a house salad, but to skip either of these in favor of a plain ole house salad would be extremely foolish.

(pictured are the Caesar (bottom) and the Greek (top))

Sorry that we didn't get a picture when the salads first came out, but we were rrreeeaaalllyyy hungry. The salads here are huge, we ordered two smalls for 5.5 people, the half was because one of our party arrived a little late. My favorite is the Caesar, it's frigin awesome, they must use real anchovies in the dressing, because it has a bite that doesn't exist in other Caesars that I've had around town. The Greek is great too. One member our party, a soon to be ivy leaguer, said she liked it best.

Next were the pizza's, we ordered two larges for 6 people:

(pictured is the hamburger and sauteed onion)

(pictured is the feta and FRESH tomato)

Pizza is good, especially when it's made with fresh ingredients, and that's how Louie's does it. We kind of went out on a limb with the first one, the hamburger and sauteed onion. We were having a hard time compromising the various taste preferences at our table, but we got lucky. It was great, a nice complementary combination of salty and sweet. I will definitely order it again.

The second is a local favorite at Louie's. The feta and fresh tomato, as billed on the menu, will get you the "these people know what they are doing nod" from your waitress. I've been eating at Louie's since college and I'm pretty sure that I've ordered this pie every time and it's never disappointed. Even the most staunch meat eater could appreciate the robust combination of Louie's rich tomato sauce, the soft and salty feta mozzarella cheese combo and the cool sweet touch of fresh tomato with the wafer thin crisp and crunchy crust, this pizza is complete.

When you walk in, go up to the bar and tell the bartender how many are in your party and then get ready for a great meal.

Oishii

2525 Wycliff Ave
Dallas, TX 75219
214-599-9448

Oishii is one of my all time favorite places to eat, especially for lunch, when soup comes with every meal. It's one of those places that you can feel completely confident when suggesting it because you just know your friends will love it. From the outside Oishii looks like one of those places that you would usually just drive on by. It's located in a strip mall that is just barely on the wrong side of the Dallas North Tollway, neighbored by Sal's Pizza and some leather/bondage shop (not that there's anything wrong with that) that I would be very nervous about going into even with the girlfriend.

If you can resist the urge to drive by and go back to Steel (where Thanh, the owner, polished his skills) or Tei Tei again, you will be rewarded with an excellent dining experience for half the price. The interior has an easy going relaxed atmosphere with seating at the sushi bar or at regular tables.

(That's Thanh behind the counter making a fabulous something or other)

The food is some of the most consistent I've had anywhere. We started with a few of our favorite rolls and a little sashimi. An Oishii roll, a crispy tuna roll, a volcano roll and white tuna sashimi called escalon (sp?).

(Crispy Tuna Roll top, and Oishii Roll bottom)

(Escolar Tataki)

The sign above says that Oishii is Pan-Asian Cuisine, which I guess it mostly is. The menu has a variety of Vietmanise, Korean, and Chinese dishes, and with Japan represented in the Sushi it pretty much covers the gambit. I'm not claiming that I've had every thing on the menu (I have had everything on the lunch special menu) but I've had enough to say with confidence that you can't go wrong. And the best part is the atmosphere, unassuming and friendly. If you come for lunch more than once or twice you will start notice the same locals sitting at the bar eating and talking to Thanh.