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Papa Murphy’s in Tyler…Again

July 21st, 2010

            I realize that someone has probably already posted something on this site about Papa Murphy’s Pizza in Tyler. When several of us were newly hired to write for Tyler TX Directory, there was a mad rush to write about the Pizza places in town since there are so many of them. As someone once said, “a writer must write of what he knows.” Now I have previously stated that Bruno’s in Tyler is hands down the best in town, and I am still of that opinion. But I consider that to be dinning out pizza. Double Dave’s is also delicious, but that too, is eat out food. When it comes to carry out Papa Murphy’s has to be my first choice (and even by that standard it’s only marginally behind Dave’s). Now when I was a younger better fit man (ok that was a while ago), I ate pretty much whatever I wanted and worried not wit about the consequences, but now that I’m approaching middle age I find that I’m more concerned about my diet. Eating most take out in Tyler tends to leave me feeling… guilty and ashamed. Even the take- out pizza I like, seldom leaves me with a sense of well being. I really don’t need to dip my pizza in creamy garlic butter, or stuff the crust of my pizza with thick runny cheese! As good as cheap pizza may taste at the moment; there may be a physical price to pay in the long run. As my priest warns, sin is often pleasurable for a time.

            Papa Murphy’s food is not like other low quality greasy spoons in town. The ingredients are generally more wholesome and at least potentially healthy (depending on your choices of course). Now I am not going to claim that the Chicago Style stuffed pizzas are exactly good for you but they are delicious and for those of us who are conscious of what we eat; PM offers a great “deLite” menu that will leave the calorie counting customer both satisfied, and largely guilt free.  (I realize that’s a pretty tough call for fitness Nazis and other weight- loss gurus). Be that as it may, Papa Murphy’s seems to me to be the best tasting, and generally the healthiest take- out pizza in town. And I say that as a customer who is even now enjoying a slice. For more information on Papa Murphy’s see their website at www.papamurphys.com. To see a menu, go to http://www.papamurphys.com/pdf/PapaMurphysMenu.pdf. For more on Tyler’s various pizza parlors and or buffets look for the following titles or articles on this site: A Pizza a Beer and a Ball Game, The Best of the Buffets, The Worst of the Buffets and Bruno’s, the Best Pizza in Town.

Los Gueros Taqueria in Tyler My New Favorite

June 14th, 2010

image1366044308.jpgI have been eating lunch lately at Los Gueros Taqueria in Tyler.

I must say it is much better than the greesy stuff El Lugar has started selling at their new locations.

Los Gueros is over by the original Bruno’s Pizza location.

This place is packed at lunch time.

Not much of a secret anymore!

The Best Of The Buffets

September 18th, 2009

In past columns I’ve made no secret of the fact that I generally find the quality of buffet food a sacrifice to quantity. I’m certainly no foodie, and I may be a bit of a snob I admit, but my past experiences with these establishments have left me with an urgent desire to visit with my priest, as though I had committed some de-humanizing sin.

Unfortunately, most buffets serve what they consider ethnic food. I apologize to my students who absolutely love them but, it is impossible to have an authentic experience with cultural foods while eating at a buffet.

In spite of my views on buffets as expressed above, I do, on rare occasions visit them, I’m just selective about it; so here are the few that I actually like and why. Bye the way, there may possibly be another all you can eat restaurant that I like, but for the life of me I can’t think of any.

Double Dave’s

Although it’s not a round the clock buffet, (it runs about twelve to one) I’m including this bistro because the quality of pizza is among the highest in town. (I would probably put DD’s second to Bruno’s.) When it comes to pizza buffets, the pizza on the bar never seems to measure up to the pizza the customer receives when he special orders it. This is not true at Dave’s. The food is actually the same, and the all around flavor and freshness is clearly far superior to the other pizza joints in town. Also don’t forget about their fabulous pizza rolls. The environment includes several large screen televisions so patrons can enjoy whatever sporting event is going on at the time. I highly recommend this buffet. I give it a four out of five.

China Café

No Chinese buffet is going to be as good as fresh food. But if your crunched for time or determined to visit an all you can eat restaurant, I would suggest this one. The turn around on the dishes seems pretty good. Depending on the time of your visit, the food doesn’t sit under the lamps as long as some buffets, so it tends to be fresher. I don’t care for C.C.’s sushi, as it tastes sort of manufactured to me, (not that I’m an expert on sushi). I generally get takeout when I visit China Café; their hot and sour soup is worth the trip by itself. Overall I give China Café a three and a half out of five.

Ken’s Pizza

I include Ken’s more for nostalgic reasons than anything else. I like Ken’s because I remember going there as a kid on the first day of summer to eat lots of pizza and play video games. The food is decent, but I wouldn’t call it great. When put up against someplace like Cici’s however, Ken’s looks like four star dinning. The pizza sometimes sits on the bar a little long but overall it is passable. When grading Kens, I give it a three out of five.

If you’re a devotee of Tyler’s all you can eat establishments I won’t try to dissuade you from what you love. But at least consider the above restaurant establishments and try choosing a better buffet. Happy eating!