Dripped Birria

We tried the new Klein location of this local chain recently. We had the beef birria tacos, beef birria fries, birria ramen, elote, and a churro and ice cream sundae. I washed mine down with a pineapple agua fresca.

The birria tacos were pretty good--lots of grease in the shells but this is a feature of birria tacos, not a problem. For me they ate slightly dry but this was offset by the birria dipping sauce so overall quite good.

The ramen is an interesting dish. You get a lot of it--close to a quart. I did not love the pasta. It reminded me very much of Top Ramen. You can get several meals out of it so for my second pass I fished out the noodles and put the birria over my own pasta. Much better that way. The birria is interesting--it's got a bit of a kick and of course a lot of umami. It was pretty heavy on the cumin I think, so might not be my absolute favorite of this kind, but I was happy to finish it.

The birria fries were a real standout for me. Birria meat, onions, cilantro, cheese, and three sauces--cilantro lime, chipotle aioli and BBQ, all over fries. This is another large portion that can feed at least two people. The sauces were excellent, especially the BBQ sauce. The fries were nice and crisp, they use the breaded fries that hold up well under the toppings. I would get that again any time. I had the pineapple agua fresca, which was a good representation.

Don't skip dessert. The churro and ice cream sundae is delicious. The churros are done crisp with plenty of cinnamon so they hold up well with the ice cream. We got our order to go, which is hard on desserts, but the sundae still worked and I can highly recommend it.

Customer service was very good. They were careful to pack the cold items (agua fresca and the sundae) separate from the hot items. Items that tipped did not spill excessively, so that was well done. On the downside, we did ask for chicken birria tacos and got beef instead--so I can't tell you what the chicken birria is like.

The interior of the restaurant is quite dark--their colors are black and purple. The decoration is interesting, probably not hard to make out if you have young eyes. The restrooms (identical but gendered) were clean and ready. We came the weekend after the grand opening and it was still quite busy, so they are off to a good start.

My Yelp Review

Niky's Mini Donuts

We've been to this new sweet shop in our neighborhood a couple of times now. We love it and think we'll be back regularly. We've tried the mini donuts, the ice cream, an energy drink, a donut sundae, coffee, and some candy.

The donuts are the star of the shop and are truly delicious. The donuts are fried fresh when you order, and have the perfect crunch outside. A 4-pack is $3.99 and is a great little snack. The donuts are a must.

The donut sundae is a brilliant idea. Three donuts in a cup with your choice of ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. The combination works really well and I ate most of mine, even though it's huge and I normally don't want that much. Another item you really have to try.

The rest of the items are things you'd find elsewhere but are very well done here. They have a nice assortment of ice cream and it's good quality. A very nice feature is a mini cone--a tiny cone for when you just want a little something sweet. They also have Dole whip, for those of you who are missing it from the now closed Island Fin Poke. They have Stubborn Soda as well as a variety of Italian syrups with sparkling water. They offer some of these with caffeine as energy drinks and they are quite refreshing. They have a coffee selection with many of the standard brews--our latte was just fine and complements the donuts well.

So many new places I've been to recently have spent absolutely no resources on decorating. Niky's is a darling exception. There's a Candyland-type trail on the floor leading to the counter, lots of colorful decorations and a very attractive candy display. They have some seats shaped like ice cream cones and others in primary colors. The decor sets you up to want something playful and sweet, and then to relax and enjoy it. The single restroom was clean and ready and continued the colorful theme.

Service is friendly and pretty good but they are still getting up to speed. We did have a minor order mix up once but not really worth correcting. I think this place will be here awhile, and we'll go regularly.

My Yelp Review 

Taco Cabana

Taco Cabana has a new location near us in the neighborhood. The chain has been a favorite of ours since the early days as an ice house in San Antonio. We have been by a few times, including recently in the wake of Hurricane Beryl.

They have a couple of limited time items that are worth trying. The best one is the loaded fries. Taco Cabana now has fries, and they are executed quite well. We've had them with steak fajitas and carne asada, and both are good. I expect this one will stay around because deep fat frying is a big investment.

I have also tried the tortas--mine was carne asada. They are fine, I would get it again but it's not quite up there with the loaded fries.

In the week following the hurricane Taco Cabana was one of the few places open, since it shares a pad with Home Depot (a critical business). We ordered on the app and picked it up. We had fajita nachos, a carne guisada torta, a sampler plate, a fajita quesadilla, and churros for dessert. I tested the fountain with a 7-up.

Props to Taco Cabana for polite customer service in a stressful time, though by the time we got their food they were no longer slammed. The torta was described above. The sampler plate had lots of good things. The nachos are massive--over 2 pounds of food served in a medium pizza sized box.

Our enjoyment of the food was negatively impacted by a couple of things. We didn't get the fajita quesadilla, and not getting what we order is a pet peeve of mine. There is no decent way to tear apart an order that size to check it. We also didn't get any of the salsas we asked for on the app. I know TC can do better.

The churros were also disappointing, I would not get them again. They were very heavy and squishy in the middle, couldn't tell if it was a filling or they simply weren't done all the way through. Unless the batter was made incorrectly this isn't a quick fix. I'll get the sopapillas next time--they are not on the app menu but the store has them.

The store is plain inside--white walls and no decoration. They serve alcohol (margaritas, not too bad) so one might think to hang out but not really. But the place has been clean.

All in all, I'm glad we have one close by now.

My Yelp Review

Manin Food Truck

There's a plain white food truck parked in front of the gas station at the Rhodes Crossing Shopping Center. They are serving delicious Dominican food, and the owner has big plans for it. I stopped in the other day to give it a try. I had the pernil (pulled pork shoulder) with white rice and beans. I washed it down with one of their natural juices, a blend they call Die Dreaming.

The pork shoulder is fantastic--perfectly but simply seasoned, moist and tender. It has a nice bark on it that really concentrates the flavor--I've never seen it this well done. The white rice was well prepared. The beans have a very mild flavor and complement the pork quite well. You pay about $15 for a huge portion--this will easily feed three people, or eat it yourself for 3-4 days. The pork would be a nice add-in for other savory dishes too.

The Die Dreaming juice was delicious, a creamy blend of what tasted like orange, pineapple, and maybe one other juice. The sweetness perfectly complemented the savory pork. I had a small and drank it pretty fast, you might consider a large.

The hours on Google say they open at noon--this is approximate, I would go a bit later. The action picks up in the evening when they put out speakers and play music. They are open until 2am. The owner has plans to mount screens on the outside for sports viewing.

It is good to have a few words of Spanish when ordering here, but with good will a monolingual english speaker can get by. Nice people and delicious food--can't ask for more.

My Yelp Review

Popsibar Mobile

The PopsiBar mobile truck has been parked at the Plaza De Los Food Trucks on Gosling near West Rayford, and that's where I tried them. I got a vanilla with dulce de leche ice cream bar with a dark chocolate coating, rainbow sprinkles and almonds.

The owner was staffing the food truck and served us with a smile. The ice cream bar was fine--maybe not quite as smooth as some, but not icy. The price point makes more sense with a food truck than at a brick and mortar location, but if you add a tip you're paying more than $7 for an ice cream bar so it should blow you away. I was whelmed, but not overwhelmed.

My Yelp Review