A quick and dirty list of the best locally-owned restaurants in Denton County
Breakfast
GRAPEVINE - Green Chile Cafe (Bass Pro/Old Betheul Rd and 121 frontage, in the Quickway Beverage station) A
Admittedly not really in Denton County, and not really even a restaurant, this is nevertheless too important to quibble over. When Weck's closed, I lost all access to New Mexico green chile. But now this little counter in a gas/liquor station makes breakfast burritos as good as any gas station in the Land of Enchantment! In other words, authentic NM roadside food! Fresh warm tortilla, eggs, potatoes, cheese grilled up with heaping scoops of green. Many add-ons available, but why mess with perfection? Outstanding.
LEWISVILLE - Mama's Daughter's Diner (Main St / FM1171 & corner of Old Orchard) A
Outstanding local operation with top-notch breakfasts (order the hash browns “extra-crispy”). Biscuits are simply the best in Denton County. Good lunches too. And you can keep your John Deer cap on while you eat.
DENTON - Old West Cafe (1020 Dallas Rd.) A
A grand breakfast stop! Excellent traditional fare (biscuits, chicken-fried steak) and some delightful "upscale" fare (Robin loves the almond-encrusted french toast). Very busy.
DENTON - Loco Cafe (603 North Locust) A-
Very hip breakfast, with soy-milk for your coffee, milk that comes served in chilled cocktail shakers, and corn-meal flapjacks (the very old is new again). I admire their jalopeno biscuit, a meal unto itself. Done in the Brutalist style of exposed-concrete and pipes interior, it's a bit noisy, if its crowded, which it rarely is.
Bagels
Yeah, right. But I do haunt Einstein's on occasion. Branches in Flower Mound and on-campus in Denton.
Lunch
DENTON - Denton Independent Hamburger Café (Hickory on the Square, Denton) A-
A true hamburger dive. Not a place to take a fancy client, but good barbeque-style hamburgers and outstanding french fries. Recycled Books is across the way, making an ideal lunch break.
LEWISVILLE - Old Town Market (301 Mill St., Lewisville) A
Technically not a restaurant at all, come for brisket at lunch, it's the best I've found in the area. If you call in the morning you can have some waiting to take home.
DENTON - Hoo-Yah! (Ave. C off I-35, Denton) A
Excellent burritos (good grilled beef) in a room armor plated in stainless steel for the college crowd. Great eating in Denton
FLOWER MOUND - Empress of China (Corner of FM 407 and Browning) B+
For upscale Chinese dining, Empress of China is my first choice. Contemporay atmosphere and some innovative dishes along side the traditional Chinese-American fare make it a very nice eating experience.
DENTON - Bul-go-gi House (408 North Texas Rd.) B+
Good Korean food in virtually no atmosphere. A true hole-in-the-wall. The Bul-go-gi is savory and delicious. Kimchi and spicy vegetables have kick but won't overwhelm Western tastebuds.
DENTON - Yummi's Greek (2311 W. University) B
Best Baba Ghanoush in Denton County, otherwise conventional.
LEWISVILLE - Kokila’s (3040 and MacArthur) B+
At last, Indian food on the I-35 corridor! Some recipes are wonderfully mild, others are so savagely hot you'll hallucinate that you're in the Punjab. But come for the excellent lunch buffet. Dinner service tends to be slow.
ROANOKE - Twisted Root Hamburger (101 S. Oak, Roanoke) A -
Upscale burger grill with amazing, creamy shakes and fresh-tasting 1/2 lb. hamburgers. Onion strings are a tad too salty, but so superior to the thick onion-belts sold everywhere else, it seems a bit petty to mention it. I'd skip the specialty meat burgers - too little payoff for twice the price.
LEWISVILLE - Carmine's Pizza (Strip Mall, Garden Ridge and W. Main) A-
A satellite of the Dallas restaurant, it offers the best New York style pizza I've found since the closing of New York Pizza/Bagel. Sold by the slice, nice, crisp thin crust and little puddles of cheesy grease, just like it's supposed to have.
Dinner
FLOWER MOUND - Thai Ruby (FM 2499, in the strip mall by Red, Hot and Blue) A
Excellent competition for Noodle Swing, it gives you more traditional decor (teakwood walls, plates shaped like flora), and recipes slightly different from its neighbor. The chicken-rise soup is very pleasant. Try the "Amazing Chicken" peanut-based dish.
LEWISVILLE - MaMa's (FM3040 West of Vista Ridge) A-
Good Vietnamese food in Lewisville! I enjoyed the Bun Thit Nuong. Robin says the Pho is “good.” It's a few hundred yards from Half-Price Books, making for a perfect lunch outing.
HIGHLAND VILLAGE - Village Grill (407 and Highland Village Rd.) B
Moving away from country toward modern American diner food with aspirations of nuvo-cuisine, this is a great family restaurant. The kids can eat their chicken nuggets while they color on the table clothe (crayons provided) and you can have something you'll enjoy. Try the Parmesan Chicken Wings. You can have a beer, too.
LEWISVILLE - Da's Good Barbeque (The strip mall at Valley and W. Main St., Lewisville) B+
A nice family operation, the brisket is very good. True barbequed chicken. I like the cole slaw, love the okra and tomatoes.
COPPELL - Hard Eight (Bass Pro/Old Bethuel Road and Freeport Pkwy) A
The only true pit barbeque I've found in Denton County, the spectacle of selecting your meats from a smoking pit is worth the trip alone. Beyond that, the brisket is sauceless edible and the chicken is outstanding. The side dishes are well done, as well.
DENTON - Mr Chopsticks (1633 Scripture, Corner of Jagoe and Scripture) B +
A long-standing student favorite, this not-a-buffet hip diner has an eclectic Asian menu with very good vegeterian choices. I've had one bad experience with burnt pad thai, but other dishes, like sweet and sour chicken and Vietnamese salad, have been consistantly good.
FLOWER MOUND - Alforno's Kitchen (2260 Morriss Rd.) A
A long-time Flower Mound institution. Great house dressing, good dishes if you want something beyond the standard pasta fare. One of the easiest places to work with for group events of 10-40 people.
FLOWER MOUND - Bari 's (Long Prairie south of 1171) A-
Good local pizza, nice selection of chicken dishes. Best Italian place for families. Biggest problem? Everybody knows about it.
Geoffrey Dennis has been the rabbi of Kol Ami since 1999, and is the congregation's first full-time rabbi. Rabbi Dennis is foremost a teacher, working with every age group, from pre-K to adults. He has a deep commitment to pastoral care and interfaith work.
