Don Lalo's - Meiners Oaks, CA

Before Scott left for Texas to judge he spent a lot of time with me. We rode horses and then ran errands, together rather than separately, and we enjoyed nice lunches. It was fun, like a lunch date. Meiners Oaks is a small community married up to the larger town of Ojai. It is made up of hippies, wannabe hippies and just regular folk. But, there is a street packed full of restaurants that I still needed to try so we went to one of those - Don Lalo's.

Scott got an order of Corn Burritos for us to share. They came out with a salad on top! Not what I was expeting as an order of corn burritos are usually topped with a chile sauce and shredded cheese. They did not fulfill our corn burrito craving but it looked beautiful anyway...

Carnitas Tacos fantastico! The salsa was crazy hot but the cilantro, onion and fresh lime juice made this one flavorful combo. Order these and only these when visiting.

And now my sad, sad enchiladas. I love a good enchilada and these were very unhappy. A untoasted corn tortilla, filled with shredded beef, served with luke warm sauce and cheese on top is not an enchilada. Generations of proud Mexican grandmas would not be proud of this. I was disappointed in the lack of execution, it almost felt like they thought it was enough to please me. Nope, not me. I like authentic Mexican cuisine please!

The photos of the food were beautiful, the service lovely but the food as a whole left me wanting more. I would go back for the carnitas tacos and possibly the flan, they serve different flavors! Awesome.

Dempsey's - Petaluma, CA

One last meal before we hit the road back to Ojai. We worked the horses in a half day format and really needed to fill our stomachs before we climbed into the Ford 650. So we went to Dempsey's, I have been here with Cowboy Ron before but I decided to share it again with you!

Our crew, they looked exhausted don't they?  

Well, well, well... This will perk a woman right up! This is a Red Rooster brewed right at Dempsey's. It hits the spot and really makes me feel like I am drinking a "man's" beer. There are a lot of caramel malt and it bats in about 6% ABV. 

Shoestring Onions. I was so hungry when we got here I just ordered something the table could hurry up and share. This is what it was and it was delicious. It is amazing what hunger will do to get your taste buds doing cartwheels. But really, it was grease, onion, crunch and salt - all of those things make me smile so, yee haw!

The crew, besides myself, ordered burgers. It sounded wonderful but I wanted to be different, imagine that. Kat got hers with sweet potato fries. Word to the wise, or in my case "Word from the Weis", order the hamburger patty a notch higher than what you normally like it. If you prefer medium rare, order medium - Dempsey's is just a touch on the rare side. No worries though.   

Tacos? From a Hamburger joint? Beans too? Yes, and they were fantastic! Just like you would get off a really fancy roach coach. That good! The black beans were cooked to the point of melt in your mouth, I had no idea I liked beans this much.

This really was our last meal in Petaluma so the next time I see you we will be back in Ojai! 

The Woodshed II - Fort Worth, TX

On Easter Sunday I got to show my horse for the first time. I did very well so Scott and I wanted to celebrate and do something fun before we drove to Milsap for a traditional Easter meal. We decided to go back to The Woodshed and check out what we missed out on the night earlier in the week. 

The "Game of the Day" just so happened to be Rabbit and Rattlesnake so we ordered a plate of the combination sausage. The pickled cucumbers and whole grain mustard was outstanding. I would have never ordered anything like this ever but when in Rome... 

They had a pig roasting over a fire that day so I decided that is what I must order. They served the tacos on this platter with plenty of pork skin, meat, spicy green chiles, caramelized onions, lime and tortillas. This was such a satisfying meal, it was simple but very savory. I loved every bite of it 

Scott saw Buttermilk Pie on the menu and said we just had to try. I agreed because it sounded fantastic and kind of old school. I thought it was worth every calorie!

I will remember this trip for the rest of my life, so special!

Joe T. Garcia's - Fort Worth, TX

Let me just start off this post to state that I love all things Mexican food. I pretty much started this blog only reviewing Mexican food because that is all I liked to eat. I have heard by many Texans, and non, that Joe T. Garcia's is the ultimate in Mexican cuisine and I, Melissa Good Taste, had to try it.

First up the chips and salsa. This is usually the first indication of whether or not your meal is about to be a good one. In my opinion the salsa was lacking flavor, it was certainly hot but that was it. Heat does not equal tasty but you know there has to be a fine balance of both.

K-Daz (aka my mom) ordered a Chile Relleno and it was a huge bummer. Stuffed with ground beef (weird) and the cheese inside was cold. The only thing that was delicious in this photo was the guacamole in the background. 

We shared the shredded beef tacos and they were probably the best thing we had overall. 

My plate: Shredded Beef Enchilada served with rice and beans. I hate when they put garnish on hot food. The lettuce gets all soggy and weird. Anyhow, the beans were paste, the rice suitable but the enchilada was pretty marginal. It just does not live up to my California standard. We have great Mexican food!

As you can tell by now, my food tour through Texas was not what I was hoping for. I was underwhelmed by the quality and was shocked when this place was Cash Only. How weird is that? 

Relax Grillin' and Chillin' - Hollister, Ca

So it finally opened. I spotted the new sign months ago and now it is serving the public. The old Single Tree location is now a more relaxed type of joint. My fellow food reviewers came with me to find out what Relax Grillin' and Chillin' had to offer. Make your way to 3650 San Juan Road and you can't miss it!

We wandered in shortly after 12 and the place wasn't too busy. We sat at the counter because we thought it was pretty cool. Talk about renovation. The old set up is gone and now it is a total surfy, sports bar type place! Super cool! Beers on tap and a full liquor license - yahoo! I couldn't believe they had Samuel Adams Summer Ale on tap - no one ever has it! Score!

Our waitress, who also was the bartender, Susan - recommended we try the Spinach Dip. It is served piping hot underneath a blanket of cheese. It was good, but it needed some spice. We gave it a few shakes of Tabasco and were good to go.

The first order up was Amanda's Stuffed Burger. It had cheese mixed in with the ground beef and cooked to a perfect medium. Grilled onions were aplenty! Yum yum. The only complaint was the bun was way too big for the size of the burger. They could reduce the size of the bun, after all it is kind of wasteful. Next up, was the Drunken Burger - Another beautiful burger topped with a English Cheddar. Tasty, juicy and hard to fit into your mouth! Best Burgers in Hollister - that is a big claim but I stand by my statement. The fries flanked along side the burgers were the good kind. The kind that make you wish you had more room in your stomach to finish off - you know what I am talking about! Last but not least was my order - The Street Tacos, you know because I am soooo street. ;) They were delicious! Kind of spicy but served with a cool mayonnaise sauce that refreshed my burned buds. The pico de gallo is also good on top!

What a treat! I was thoroughly impressed with the fun menu and diverse array of drink selections. The place is clean, clean, clean and makes you feel like hanging out awhile. We were fortunate to get a great server, stick with Susan when dining there - she takes care of you and makes sure your visit is a good one. The prices are fair and the drive is a not too bad, in fact I found it refreshing - breaking up my mid-day. I am going to give it 1.75 thumbs up. I will return, you will see me there!