Zenna: dinner review

Dear Wife and I went to Zenna Thai/Vietnamese in Plano, just off 75. Actually, we went there twice.

The first was last Saturday evening. The interior is interesting and calming, service was gracious and the food was good.

The 20-something idiot kids at the next table were not good. I suppose they were UTD students on a binge (beer tower at the table) and their behaviour was abhorrent and very, very loud. They were screaming, shouting and (NOT making this up) spitting on the floor of the restaurant. WTF?

We knew not to confuse the place with the morons in it, so we went back with DW's sister. A wonderful experience all around.

Bottom line: go there, but not on a weekend night.







Zenna
2500 N Central Expy
Plano Tx 75074
214 473 9797

Dinner review: Tukta Thai

I've had two different cow-orkers goading me to to to TThai, so the Dear Wife and I finally went last night.

I was looking forward to it, since I've had some excellent salad rolls at Star of Siam (not recently!) and excellent pad thai and thai fried frice at the thai place that used to be at the NE corner of Spring Valley and Coit. It's since changed to Noodle Wave or something recently and haven't been back yet).

So I ordered thai fried rice and salad rolls. DW ordered some kind of beef dish.
Both were decent but not notable. I tried thai iced tea, and won't make that mistake again. Reminded me of licking a piece of pressure-treated lumber. The DW thought I was joking when I said it tasted like a patio deck. Until she tried it.

Two entrees, two drinks, one appetizer: $28.36 before tip.

Pros: many locals, BYOB, pleasant atmosphere, pleasant service and friendly (presumably thai) staff.
Cons: Kind of a crummy part of town. Food decent but not great.
Verdict: Not worth the hype, not worth the drive. I don't see us going back.

Located just off LBJ over near BoBo China (mentioned more for its sign visibility than culinary excellence).

Tukta Thai
9625 Plano Rd St 500
Dallas Tx 75238
214.342.0121

Dinner review: Ajisen Japanese Casual Dining

Ajisen is in the extreme NW corner of the self-titled "DFW China Town" strip mall on Greenville.

Decidedly more upscale than most of the unprentious shops and eateries in the mall. Modern interior, lovely view of a glassed-in kitchen.

It is noteworthy that there were actual Asian (not Mexican) folks in the kitchen. I say this not to denigrate our Hispanic brethren, but rather because it breaks the tradition that all kitchen staff in Dallas is Mexican regardless of the ethnic food type.

I had a scallop sushi, sea eel sushi, hot green cha, a bowl of edamame ($3.25), and a lacquerbox of kimchi-salmon fried rice ($8.95) off the Specials board that sounded too bizarre to pass up. It was decent, but I think I like my fried rice and kimchi seperate from now on. The lacquerbox presentation was perfect, my crappy pic above notwithstanding.

Every one on the staff (except my waitress) was omnipresent and attentive without being intrusive. Bad luck of the draw.

Win: Lovely interior. Good food (including $1/$2 sushi pieces), excellent presentation. Really nice to see the glassed-in kitchen.
Lose: Hit and miss service. Attentive ownership, attentive but socially clumsy waitress (first waiting job?). Strange 60s lounge music, thankfully not too loud.

Ajisen Japanese Casual Dining
400 N. Greenville Ave Ste 26
Richardson, Tx 75252
972 792 8888

Dinner review, Venezia I Italian Cafe

Smallish place built into the east side of the stripmall in the Kroger parking lot.

Wife got a small, decent pizza which was big enough that she ate it that night, and we shared it for dinner the next night. Actually improved in flavor when reheated at 400F. I had a linguini with white clam sauce (generous portion) and a nice 'rustica' salad, heavy on onions. Garlic rolls were of the type that are common and not to my liking.

Table service from two different service was quite good and of Old World style. I don't quite know how to explain this. But good European waiters approach service as a calling, profession. Good American waiters are naturally good at it and see it as stepping stone to a better job.

Example: I was eating at a large table in a villa outside Florence. I had a bit of the local chianto classico (or had a bit of nerves) and dropped my fork on the (fortunately carpeted) floor. An attendant came out of no-where, leaned in as if to whisper someone discreetly into my ear or take a request. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that as part of the same fluid motion he had subtly placed a new fork next to my plate.

This is perhaps an overstatement of the kind of service I am trying to explain, but it illustrates the point.



Ok, back to the review. The waiters at Venezia had light accents that suggested eastern Europe. I couldn't place them until one presented the cheesecake and said "Enjoy, da?" :-)


Win: presentable food, quiet/appropriate music, appears to be BYOB, seating available, dine-in and take-out clientele appears to be 100% regulars. Gracious service; I overtipped.

Lose: not inspiring in any way. Cheesecake had a good flavor but appeared to be an industrial product created elsewhere. 'Thin crust' pizza was not thin.

Capable but not a standout. We were hoping to find a go-to restaurant nearby, but I am not convinced this is it. Maybe we need to go again and re-assess.


Venezia I Italian Cafe
908 Audelia Rd Suite 500
Richardson, Tx 75081
972.889.8559

Star of Siam - Dinner review

When I lived here before I used to swing by for the salad rolls.

The Dear Wife and I stopped in for dinner. The parking is horrible, spaces tight, and there are shady characters walking around (the area to the immediate west of this location along Spring Valley is probably the roughest part of Richardson).

The place is small and somewhat divey on the inside but that doesn't bother me.

Win: Attentive and pleasant service from a young (presumably Thai) waitress, who held the place down by herself despite her age. Salad rolls are excellent, crisp and seem to radiate healthiness. Yum!

Lose: Comic Book Guy at the next table. I learned I don't like coconut soup although theirs is supposed to be good. Ditto for tom yum. Wife's Thai fried rice was not the lovely, light, fresh dish we have had at other Thai eateries, but rather a heavy, dank mess.

I don't think we will be going back, unless I get a craving for those salad rolls.

Star of Siam
708 W. Spring Valley
Richardson Tx
972 497 9542

Pho Pasteur II - dinner review

Ate at the famed Pho Pasteur II today. It was good but not transcendant. The DW and I have eaten at the (original?) Pho Pasteur in Carrollton and like this Richardson restaurant and food better.

Win: great decor; almost hip. Well-constructed spring rolls. Attentive service. Good (though not great) broth; slightly bland with a barely noticeable soapy aftertaste? Good tripe. Discreet but easily viewed flatscreens for football. Nice big coke glasses.

Lose:spring rolls small and somewhat more expensive than usual. Screaming children during our visit though that is not the fault of the restaurant.


In case you're wondering, here is how I rate pho:

1. Pho Huy from the mid-late 90s. Amazing.
2. Tie: Pho Huy now, Pho Pasteur II. Good.
3. Pho Pasteur (Carrollton), Pho Bistro (Carrollton). Respectable.

Pho Pasteur II
1342 E. Beltline Rd
Richardson, Tx 75081

Que Huong - dinner review

First off, if you haven't had a hot bowl of pho ("fuh") you need to do so ASAP. It's seriously good stuff.

This is not my favorite pho place (quy hong is, or was) and I've heard great things about Pho Pasteur II, but it made for a nice dinner.

I like the bo (meatballs, aka "beef balls") so that's what I had. Most folks have one of many styles/types of thinly sliced beef.

Win: decent broth, quiet ambience, decent flavor on spring rolls
Lose: fried onion bits in the rolls were a good idea, but were unexpectedly hard.


Pho Que Huong
300 Terrace Dr
Richardson, TX
(972) 497-9661

Sultan Cafe and Hookah - dinner review

This one is a couple of blocks from the house, and during the summer always had a hopping patio scene out back.

Went on a chillier night and no one was on the patio. Upon entry, it appears to me that the hookah part is to the left and the dinner part is to the right. The Hookah smoke does not intrude on dinner. Older arabic-speaking men smoked leisurely and watched the TV (which was mercifully out of sight from the dining area).

I had a kebab plate at the suggestion of the friendly hostess. It was beautifully {presented} on a long rectangular plate.


Win: the food was good: kebabs, bread, hummus, sauces/salads, mint tea.

Lose: bread not replaced after I snarfed it down. Rather pricey at $20 for just myself.

I will attempt to paste in a really crappy cellphone pic, which I had to lighten with GIMP to make it visible at all. Don't laugh.


Sultan Cafe
201 S Greenville Ave
Richardson, TX 75081
(972) 235-7900

{edited to correct a typo}

Mediterranean Cafe and Bakery - dinner buffet review

Took the DW there. She is picky and normally does not like different foods. The buffet was decently although not overly large. Traditional stuff you might find at a Greek/Turkish/Arabic restaurant: yoghurt-based dips, hummus, hot pita bread, skewers of beef, shaved gyro {meat} (I think this one was about 2/3 beef and 1/3 lamb).

Wins: nice decor and soft arabic music. Food decently executed; nice hummus and raw vegetable salads with vinegar and lemon juice on it, I think. Unidentifiable, oily, complex-looking soup that I liked.


Loses: didn't get a water refill from the pleasant-but-inattentive hostess/cashier; she was holding the fort down by herself with 20 ppl in there so maybe she got a little overrun. The ricepudding/kheer (?) was much looser and had more rosewater in it than I am used to. Odd cake that looked just like cornbread but tasted like an american 1950s spicecake (which I do not like).

About 50% arabic and indian diners, about 50% anglo. I like to see a healthy segment of international clientele in places that serve international food - I want to eat what the locals eat. Also helps with unwieldy items because you can see how the "locals" do it.

Dinner was $8.99 IIRC. Dear wife suggested she would be willing to go back (yay!) and wondered aloud where we might get some music like that...


Mediterranean Cafe and Bakery is at 100 s central expy in the Heights shopping center. Many neat Indian shops there, so wander around a bit. Also the excellent Masami, which I will post about some other time.

Note: corrected {typo} and repaired title.