Dave's Hot Chicken

Dave's Hot Chicken wants to be the Cane's of hot chicken--all they do is tenders.  We decided to give them a try and got a couple of combos with some medium and hot tenders with fries, a drink and a milkshake to go.

The chicken is absolutely marvelous.  It is advertised as Halal, which beyond making it acceptable for observant Muslims can mean that some extra care is taken in selecting the meat.  I think that is the case here.  They have seven spice levels.  I am a bit on the sensitive side and the medium was as hot as I can go. If you want it hotter they go up to "reaper".  The tenders themselves are huge, the size of ordinary chicken breasts.  The meat was tender and juicy, done just perfectly.  The hot chicken spice was somewhat less vinegary than most hot chicken I've had, and I consider that a good thing.  It made a wonderful fine crust on the chicken.  They give you honey with it, and that adds a great flavor, definitely put some on.  The tender comes with a slice of bread, the slider with a bun.  It is light on the bread either way.  The slider has kale slaw on it, but not very much, just enough to add flavor.  The fries were also done perfectly.  Dave's gives you lots of everything--sauce, ketchup, honey--so you won't run short.

There were a few issues.  They offer chocolate, strawberry and vanilla shakes on the menu but when I came in they only had vanilla.  It's a very good shake, nice flavor and consistency--just soft enough to get through the straw.  The building is somewhat rough and ready--rough, in that there was a door not working and the bathroom fixtures were kind of loose, but ready in that all the essentials worked.  The drink machine was in good shape.  Kudos for taking the failed El Pollo Loco space and doing something with it.  Staff were friendly and helpful, still getting used to the system but doing fine.  The decor is fun, very colorful with an urban vibe. This is gourmet chicken in a fast-food setting--an average meal like we had will set you back $20 each.  But the portions are huge.  You can save money with a single-tender or slider combo and have plenty of food.  It's the best hot chicken I've had yet.

My Yelp Review

Classy Cork

I've been meaning to try this place out for quite some time, was just waiting for the right occasion.  We shared an evening with friends at this place and I can highly recommend it.

The atmosphere is perfect for conversation--most nights no music and the place is small, so there's not a lot of competing noise.  I understand that they have a keyboard player on Friday nights so you can enjoy some live music then.  

We started off with some wine flights and the brussels sprouts appetizer, which set the stage nicely. Disclaimer up front--this is not a wine review.  The owners know what they are doing and will help you with pairing the wine with food.  The wine was just fine.

The brussels sprouts appetizer was fine also, the sprouts were tender and well seasoned with bacon.  It's not a large portion so one didn't go far with 5 people.  They wouldn't displace my favorites at Thistle Draft Shop but they were very good.

We followed that up with a cheese board.  It was a nice variety of cheeses and they were all tasty, but the presentation wasn't up to par, it was kind of dumped on.  The server apologized for that.  The crackers and other accompaniments for the cheese were delicious and intriguing, so we very much enjoyed it.

We made a dinner of their bar food--each of us ordered a flatbread pizza.  If you have any kind of appetite it's a meal for one.  We got the Pepperoni, Pesto Chicken, Mozzarella & Tomato, Pesto Arugula & Prosciutto and the Bacon & Blue, and they were all fantastic.  The flatbread was done perfectly--nice and thin, good and brown but not at all burnt.  The slices ate perfectly.  The marinara on the pepperoni was somewhat sweeter than average but went very well with the salty pepperoni.  The flatbread is an absolute must if you go, it is perfect with the wine.

We shared desserts, getting a lemon torte, a tiramisu and a Scarlet's Slice, which is red velvet cake.  I don't recommend dessert.  They all came frozen and were nothing special in terms of presentation, though they tasted fine.

Besides the dessert, there were some other service issues that prevent me from giving the place 5 stars. The pours on the wine flights were very uneven, with some glasses having twice as much wine as others. The gaps between courses seemed to go on a bit, and in particular it seemed excessive that it took about 20 minutes for them to plate and serve frozen desserts.  We were enjoying each other's company so this was not a serious issue but we noticed and commented on it.

The bathrooms were spare in decor but clean and very sensible, just like the rest of the interior.  They have two non-gendered restrooms, one marked as a handicap restroom though the other one has plenty of room for a wheelchair to maneuver.

The Classy Cork is located in an unassuming strip mall north of the Grand Parkway, but don't let that fool you.  It is a luxury experience and will set you back accordingly.  Average cost for the full evening we had was about $55 per person.  Service was homey and friendly, and we felt fully relaxed.  If you want a place to go where you can fully focus on your company this is it.

My Yelp Review

Shipley's at 2920 and Grand Parkway

Stopped in the other day to pick up donuts for the family.  All the usual stuff is there, it seems like an average Shipley location.  I got six donuts a sausage kolache and a Shipley Bold sausage kolache.  The donuts were fine, not super fresh but very reliable.  I can't tell the difference between the bold and regular sausage, but they were both good.  Kind of bready but that's pretty normal.  I did not try the drinks here but they do seem to have more options than most Shipley's locations--fountain drinks and a variety of coffees, as well as juice and milk.  Fine if you're on the way.  Weirdly this location does not have a public phone number, though you can of course order online.  Bathroom was clean and ready when I came.  Overall it's fine.

My Yelp Review

Bite and Sauce

This Venezuelan food truck has moved to the Plaza De Los Food Trucks up Gosling Road.  I stopped in the other night to give their food a try since I'd seen them at the listed location out on 2920.  We wanted to order the mixed potatoes appetizer, which is a loaded fries dish with beef and chicken, but they were out of fries. That cost them some of our business.  I ordered the Especial hot dog and a Frescolita.  The hot dog was actually pretty good--the cheese was grilled to a kind of lacy wisp along with the egg on the top, which was a nice texture add.  The bacon and sauces went together well.  Would get that any time.  But they haven't updated their social media with the new location yet.  Maybe just trying it out?

This truck wouldn't displace Primo's Venezuelan for my favorite Venezuelan truck there, but I do think the food is good and is worth a try.

My Yelp Review