Cork & Pig - Willow Park, TX

Yay! James Good Taste is in town. I love it when my brother comes and visits because that means fun restaurant trips and more help on the ranch. He can drive the tractor, prune my trees, ride my horses, entertain the dogs and be just good company all together. It is fun. I knew the first restaurant I wanted him to try was Cork & Pig, it is one of current favorites and wanted his take.

The Frose is my favorite drink to kick things off. They have a really fun cocktail menu and a decent wine list but it is hot outside and the drink is pretty so yes, please. 

James was starving and so was I, the fastest starter was the Guacamole and it was good! The salsa was also really tasty - the server noticed how much we liked it and brought out another. 

My brother loves Hillstone in Dallas and one of his favorite dishes is the Pan-Asian Noodle Salad so when he saw a variation of it here on the menu he went for it. The "Noodle Salad" comes with Asian noodles, grilled fillet, mango, arugula, cabbage, carrots, scallions, basil, cilantro, peanuts and coconut. He absolutely loved it and even said it might be better than Hillstone! 

I ordered the Salmon with Blue Crab, isn't it just beautiful?! The Salmon is simply grilled with caper lemon butter, topped with jumbo lump crab and a healthy scoop of the best mashed potatoes I have had in a really long time. Listen as you guys probably already know, I order seafood a lot. Probably more than the average person and I can confidently say this was a high quality piece of fish cooked to the perfect temperature. There is nothing worse a farm raised, previously frozen, over done salmon. The crab was just an extra bonus, perfection.

I can recommend Cork & Pig pretty easily. You can go for drinks and sit around the lively bar. You can get reservations and sit towards the back for a celebratory meal. There are outside tables to enjoy a good food and drinks when the weather is nice. Cork & Pig is a wonderful addition to Parker County and I cannot wait to go back.

 

Whiskey Cake - Las Colinas, TX

Hi! This is me, fresh off a flight from California. Scott Good Taste picked me up from DFW and wanted to surprise me with a new restaurant because that is my love language. I have never heard of Whiskey Cake but it sounds fun, as well as the neighbor restaurant - Mexican Sugar.

Upon entering I noticed the air conditioning was excellent. I was warned that Texas was on fire - especially since experiencing a very mild California climate, so the Arctic air was a blessing. The restaurant was decorated beautifully. It gave modern cabin vibes, I liked it.

They had a Crab Cake on the appetizer list. I am sure this is one of the reasons why Scott picked this restaurant for me to try. He knows I love them. I am not sure if I have ever disliked a Crab Cake but I can certainly tell you this was not my favorite one. It was very wet and cool in the center, I wasn't grossed out or anything but it was just way too cold. The combination of the remoulade, cold lemon and room temperature hot sauce squeeze bottle made the temperature too chilled for something to be served hot. 

Fry me up some Green Tomatoes and serve them up hot, please! And they did just that. They were take a bite and try in breathe in air between weird open mouth bites hot! My favorite temperature. Salty and tangy and all the things that brought me joy. The best order of the night.

Call me boring because I always order the Fish and Chips. Boring Melissa Good Taste, I will take it. Beer battered wild Atlantic haddock, hand cut fries blah, blah, blah. You know I liked it but to be honest, I was getting full and was getting sick of remoulade. The same remoulade was served with the Crab Cake and Fried Green Tomatoes so I was kind of tired of flavor. Could I have asked for ketchup or Ranch dressing? Yes, I could have but I asked for a box instead. It would have a date with my air fryer the next day for lunch.

Scott ordered the Wood Grilled Steak Salad which included: sliced flat iron steak, house greens, roasted tomatoes, pickled onions, Gruyere, buttered croutons and a horseradish vinaigrette. He was excited about eating a few fresh vegetables because he had been eating like a bachelor cleaning out the pantry and freezer while I was gone. He mentioned his steak was chewy and ate around his salad until he claimed he was full. He didn't take his leftovers home.

We were both tired and ready to go home but we couldn't leave without the restaurant's namesake: Whiskey Cake, so we got it to-go. After an uneventful drive home we unboxed our dessert and grabbed two forks for further examination. Sticky toffee cake, bourbon anglaise, spiced pecans and vanilla whipped cream is what came out of perfectly boxed containers. It was fine. I think it is a dish better served fresh so the warm cake melts it toppings together for a - moist - bite. At home, it was just meh. We didn't think the calories were worth it so we tossed it. How mature of us. 

Over all I cannot recommend a visit. The service was friendly but the food was just ok. If you do find yourself there please order those Fried Green Tomatoes. And then maybe wander next door to Mexican Sugar and give a margarita a try for me! 

 

Inaka Fusion - San Juan Bautista, CA

Melissa Good Taste always goes back "home" to San Juan Bautista at the end of June and that means I get to check out the current local restaurants in the area. I love Japanese food and when I heard it was also fusion I thought, "How cool, let's go!". The inside is modern and clean. We were sat instantly and greeted warmly. Off to a great start!

I ordered a beer on draft without perusing the rest of the cocktail menu...

Our waiter suggested B&R Farms Apricot Sake and I though "Yee-haw! Why not?!"  This is dangerously good. Sweet, potent and all the things that make you enjoy a night out. Order this!

First up were the Crab Rangoon Nachos. I will admit I didn't imagine them to come out looking like little raviolis but they were excellent! They were deep fried wontons filled with crab and cream cheese filling - that alone would make them delicious but the addition of both the sweet chili sauce and the citrus aioli made them out of the world. Order these!

       

Obviously I am a sucker for a deep fried wonton because the Thai Chicken Tacos also caught my eye. Stuffed in the taco shell was lemongrass chicken, cabbage slaw and sriracha aioli. Their sauces really put each dish over the top. This is also another must order.

      

We veered over to the Sushi menu and decided on the Raiden Roll. Spicy salmon, cucumber, macadamia nuts, unagi, avocado and shredded bonito. It read to be delicious and I really love macadamia nuts so I was really excited to try it. It was good - maybe ask to leave off the bonito flakes if you try it. I think it might have taken away from all the really fun flavors it already had going on. There were other sushi rolls on the menu that I really want to try next time, specifically the Sashi Tataki Roll and the Johnny Tsunami Roll.

  

Molten Lava Cake? Don't mind if we do. The perfect ending to a fabulous dinner. Chocolate cake, a ooey gooey hot center, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and fresh black berries. Ok-aaaay now that was exactly what we needed to cap off a fun evening.

San Juan Bautista is a small town that certainly benefits from a restaurant like this. The restaurant business is tough and I want to support them so I can go back and visit on my next trip back home. Not only was the food delicious but the service was also really attentive. There are things other than sushi and small appetizers on the menu in fact, steak and pasta dishes as well so don't let a picky eater deter you from giving it a try. I will be back and if you go say Melissa Good Taste sent you. 

Teddy Wongs - Weatherford, TX

 😁 Melissa Good Taste is back at it again. 

Scott and I had lunch at the highly anticipated Teddy Wongs - Weatherford. We allowed our server, Charlemagne, to surprise us and order whatever he thought we should have on our first visit. Out came a Half Order of Hong Kong Peking Duck with spring pancakes, plum sauce, julienned cucumber and scallions. In addition to the duck, we were served Hot Oil Pork Wontons which made a fantastic addition to the assembled pancakes. The food was excellent, we left perfectly satisfied and cannot wait to return to try new items from the menu. Two thumbs up!

- Melissa Good Taste

Melissa Good Taste, the Texan!

That is right folks. Your California cowgirl is now a proud resident of The Republic of Texas. The Thomas Fire burned our dreams right down to the ground.

We cried.

We got mad.

Then we packed up the little stuff we had left and bought ourselves a ranch in Texas. 

And, we absolutely love it. 

Here is a little list of videos documenting what Scott and I have been up to:

Texas Ranch projects...

Horse Arena

Horse Walker

Ranch Fun!

Ranch Mascot

I will be posting here more often, thanks to the encouragement of my dear sister. I have a lot to share so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Talk to y’all later! 😂

Guess who’s back...

Hello? Hello? Anyone still out there?
I am back.
Boy, do we have a lot to catch up on!
Stay tuned.

Will Work For Cacti...

Don't be mad at me, I have been a very bad blogger. I have neglected my beloved readers and just basically took a break from the pressures of creating the daily post. My life has changed a lot from my last post as I have taken a very large project on. I have been landscaping and decorating acres and acres of our Ojai ranch. I had a blank canvas to work with and worked night and day to create a space that completely screams "MELISSA"- Take a look!

I have worked myself to the bone, day in and day out! I have moved heavy pots and spiky cacti to create the coolest space possible. I am partial to the color pink of course, but I use so much color that it probably looks like a rainbow tornado upon first visit. My love for cacti and succulents is quite extreme, most of my day is spending dreaming up new combinations. I also have a love for tropical plants and decor so my esthetic is quite eclectic. 

I know my style does not suit everyone but it brings me great joy. I can't believe I became the crazy lady who leaves her Christmas lights up all year long!