Papi's Picanha

This is a brand new food truck in the Plaza de los Food Trucks, aka Gosling Food Truck Park.  The focus is on meat, particularly steak.  We got a to go order from them the other night--a steak picanha platter with grilled corn and veggie kabobs, and a burger with fries.

The steak is amazing.  I ordered it medium rare and it came out medium but I have no complaint as it was tender and flavorful.  The meat is well seasoned and finished with rock salt, and absolutely delicious.  The grilled corn was tasty with a nice char, though the kernels were very tiny.  The vegetables were great, particularly with their chimichurri sauce which also has great depth of flavor.

The burger comes with all the trimmings, including bacon and avocado.  It was a good one, tender and with great flavor.  The one disappointment of the meal was the fries.  They were soggy, the grease had soaked in.  I don't think this was due to the meal being to go--the fries were either cooked in old oil or not cooked twice (gotta cook 'em twice to be crisp).

The meat is cooked on a wood-fired pit.  They have sausage and pork as well.  The in-person presentation is fancy, a very nice hot platter for the food.  The to go presentation is not bad either, they use quality containers that keep the food from being crushed.  The price will set you back--a picanha for one is $16.  It's in line with the quality.  The truck is run by a family and they are very enthusiastic.  If you're looking for a high-end open-air experience you'll get it here.

My Yelp Review

The Cookshack

This chicken and ribs chain now has a location in Spring near us.  We stopped in the other night with friends to give them a try. We got ribs and chicken at heat levels medium and Texas Hot, dragon fries, mac and cheese, and sweet potato fries.  Finished with Aunt Peggy's Ice Cream Sandwich.  I washed mine down with a Cock-A-Doodle Brew, a beer brewed specifically for the Cookshack.

I did some online research on the beer and couldn't find info.  I believe it's a nice mild IPA.  Complemented the food well.

For chicken they serve tenders--very large tenderloins breaded and fried, spiced to your heat tolerance.  They were above-average tenders--crisp batter and pretty tender on the inside.  Not quite as tender as Cane's, but the spice options make it equivalent for me.  The spice is a pepper sauce with a nice bite.  I consider myself below-average on spice tolerance--I ordered medium and it was almost too spicy.  They have options from no heat to AMF (not sure what that stands for).  For AMF you have to sign a waiver.  They really do bring the heat, if that's what you're looking for.

They also spice the ribs if you want, though I don't think their barbecue sauce needs it.  It is a very good Kansas City/Texas blend, sweet and complements the ribs very well.  The ribs themselves are everything you could ask for--perfect tenderness, not baby food but the perfect bite.  It is as good a place to get ribs as any commercial bbq place, a cut above Rudy's or Spring Creek but not quite up there with Tejas BBQ or Corkscrew.

The sides were more mixed but on the whole good.  The Dragon Fries are visually disappointing.  They look like regular fries.  If you eat some before you start on your spicy tenders you will note that they have some heat.  The mac and cheese was pretty good--tastes like there's meat in it.  The sweet potato fries were quite good.  They are waffle fries, lightly battered so they have some crispness.

The ice cream sandwich is cut four ways so it is shareable.  The flavors are in the cookie--the ice cream is vanilla.  A nice way to end the meal.

The Cookshack is highly regarded and shows the virtue of limiting your menu.  They do their thing really well.  Service was good, not perfect but they absolutely are making an effort.  The bathroom was clean and ready.  The tables are somewhat close together and it was crowded when we went, so it was pretty noisy, but overall it was a fine experience and worth repeating.

My Yelp Review

La Golosa

This froyo place has taken over the space where Tutti Frutti Yogurt used to be a few years ago.  It is now locally owned and they have taken it more in the direction of Mexican inspired snacks.  They have all the usual flavors and toppings (more sorbets than Tutti Frutti, I think), and some specialty items that feature Tajin and chamoy seasoning.  I got a chamoyada.  You get a cup with chamoy and a straw coated with caramelized Tajin, and you put whatever yogurt you want with it (they recommend the sorbets).  I got watermelon and the combination was superb--the watermelon balances the tart spiciness of the chamoy.  I ate the froyo with the Tajin coated straw.  The flavor is pretty subtle unless you bite into the coating, but it's there and very unique.  

My kids both liked what they got today, which was a little yogurt and a lot of candy.  The place is clean and the staff were very polite and helpful.  If you want more of a local twist on froyo this is the place to go.

My Yelp Review

Pichurro's Mexican Grill

We came in the other night to try this new Tex-Mex place in our neighborhood.  First impression is the fun decor--they have "folk art" pictures of Mexican cultural icons (Lucha Libre and similar) on the walls, and bright colors.  Fun!

We started with some chips, salsa and queso.  They serve the salsa warm, and it has very good flavor.  The queso is basically just melted cheese--a couple bits of onion in it.  It was very runny so hard to get on a chip. The chips were a little thicker than some but decent.  We also got a margarita, which was a good frozen one.

For mains we got the Steak Guisado, an enchilada plate, a Mom's special (carnitas with onions, poblano peppers and cheese) and the fried shrimp.  The enchilada plate was fine, no complaints and not a lot to stand out.  The steak guisado was tasty, steak sliced in a brown sauce with a nice little kick.  The beef was a little chewy but not bad, and the sauce was good.  The Mom's special was disappointing.  The carnitas had an unappealing mealy texture.  Seasoning was good but I wouldn't order it again.  The fried shrimp were ok but a little disappointing as well.  The cornmeal batter ended up drying out the shrimp a little.  They were cooked well but dry in the mouth, and we didn't finish them.

We got a tres leches cake for dessert.  It was frozen (not made there) but they added an attractive drizzle and it was a welcome treat on a hot day.  A little crumbly but not as overwhelmingly sweet as tres leches can be. Their desserts are not on the menu, you have to ask what they have.

The service is very polite but maybe a little too attentive.  Several different people checked in on us and offered the same things.  We were concerned that they might duplicate orders.  But hard to fault trying too hard.  The menu is massive, about five pages of choices so option paralysis is a risk.  Many of the menu items overlap but it's hard to figure that they would do everything well.  They claim to do fajitas and enchiladas well, so some focus might help.  The menu is nowhere online (they do not have a website, though they do have a Facebook page but no menu there) so you can't narrow it down before you go.  We did not find the fruit water other reviewers have mentioned.  Just tea and sodas, and alcohol.

The bathroom was clean and ready when we went.  Overall it was ok but would not displace our favorites.

My Yelp Review