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Smashburger in Tyler TX

January 30th, 2011

Hamburger places in Tyler TXWhen in Tyler you now have a couple more burger places to try out. Jucy’s opened a new more modern looking facility and sells the same good burgers but frozen chicken fingers and milk shakes made from soft serve icecream. Now Smashburger on the other hand has even better hamburgers, really good fries, and their shakes are made with Hagen Daaz icecream.

If I could pick each time for lunch when I am in a hamburger mood where I should go it would be Smashburger everytime.

Why do more local chains like Jucy’s have to resort to buying cheap Sysco foods tasting frozen chicken strips and making shakes out of stuff they give you for free at chinese buffets?

Smashburger offers the quality, consistency, and food choices I demand in a good hamburger place in Tyler TX. It is going to be very hard to out do them.
Smashburger in Tyler TX

A Taste of China

March 24th, 2010

Tyler has two popular Chinese buffet restaurants; China King, and China Café. Both of these two restaurants are Chinese Buffets, that are fully stocked with sweet and sour chicken, orange chicken, sesame seed and all the soy sauce your heart desires.

China Café has some how stood the test of time even thought it’s neighboring building has been the home to many unsuccessful Chinese restaurants. The Chinese restaurant has been a topic of restaurant disappointments, but for some odd reason I have returned. I guess it must be the enduring sounds of broken English, or the fact that it is all you can eat for less than ten dollars, or possibly it is the lighted Chinese art that draws me back, I don’t know. Whatever the reason I know its not the food. The buffet is heated by hot water and if you are lucky you might be there when the water starts to flood over the buffet bar and run into the floor. I think that I have been there about five times that they had issues with the water. The best time to go to the Chinese restaurant is when it is the busiest. If you go to China Café during a slow time than you will never know how long the food has been sitting in the metal crates.

A few years ago Tyler welcomed another Chinese buffet restaurant called China King. I never have experienced a water problem at China King. Most of the food is surprisingly fresh compared to other buffets here in Tyler. That statement is not necessarily saying much about the restaurant.

As you walk up to the front door you will feel welcomed by five foot cat statues and fat Buda statues, and a nice smiling Asian man trying to communicate to tell us where to sit. The China King has a sushi buffet that will please you every raw fish desire. For the most part the sushi actually does not taste like a soft piece of rubber. Although you really will not see your waiter while you eating there, somehow your drink seems to be filled constantly and your dirty plates are always removed. I think that the waiters sit and wait until you are at the buffet to actually approach your table. But even though there is no interaction between the waiters and customers, we are expected to tip. I am necessarily a “cheap” person but I do not understand why there is no interaction. It gets frustrating, to say the least.

It isn’t a Chinese restaurant without the dessert part and cheap free ice cream. I don’t really understand what is Chinese about three different melons, Jello cut into small blocks and banana pudding, but it seems that every Chinese restaurant’s desserts is only filled with these things.

Even though I do get frustrated with the buffet experiences I do leave full and got my money’s worth, so I do guess that the restaurants did its job. Most people go out to eat for the comfort of being served on, which is lacking, to say the least, in the Chinese buffet industry.

Cajun Food Returns To Tyler Texas

January 8th, 2010

Tyler has had a number of Cajun restaurants over the years. And while they served excellent food they didn’t last. But Tyler Texas should be fertile ground for an establishment of that nature. We certainly love restaurants. Cajun food and culture are not so far removed; in fact the Texas gulf coast often serves similar cuisine. So why is it that a town like ours, with all kinds of restaurants can’t seem to keep a good Louisiana kitchen open? Well, we have another opportunity with “Fat Catz.” Located at Southeast Crossing Center, 3320 Troup Highway in Tyler, Fat Catz serves authentic Cajun seafood.        

            While the seating is of course indoor, the openness of the place gives it a sort of Café Du Monde feel. The menu has all the favorites one would expect to find in a New Orleans restaurant just off the River Walk. There are gumbos, jambalayas, and Poboys, as well as hushpuppies, fried pickles, oysters, etc. There are also more local favorites like catfish.

            So the question remains, will Fat Catz survive in Tyler. I for one, hope so. It’s a unique departure from the usual Tex-Mex restaurants, (some of which I happen to love by the way), and the Chinese buffets. If variety is the spice of life, Fat Catz will stick around. But it remains to be seen how much spice Tylerites can handle.  See also http://www.fatcatzkitchen.com/ .