S for Sioux

Sioux in Poland? It was a restaurant chain and one of its places used to operate in the city where I lived. The food was great there. The menu included a variety of different types of dishes, however, its main part was the Pol-Mex meals. Pol-Mex = meaning Mexican food made in a Polish way. 

The names on the menu were typical for the Mexican type of food, but they had not much in common with the Tex-Mex cooking, besides the ingredients. As I said, it was all delicious.

Another thing that I liked there was the interior. The restaurant had two floors, with western-like furniture, lamps and other decorations. Booths that looked like wagons were downstairs and saloon-type furniture upstairs. The walls were decorated with murals and photograph of Native Americans. 

The restaurant waiters were friendly and helpful. It was a really nice place to be regarding all sorts of meetings, and simply to have good and not too expensive food.

There was another Sioux place in a nearby city, Sopot. The menu offer was equally tasty there, but the restaurant was much smaller than our favorite spot in Gdynia.

 

The chain headquarters used to be in Poznań, a city in central Poland. More than a decade ago, my mom and I happened to visit Poznań. Then, we also went to their local Sioux place. To our great disappointment, their food was awful. You could think it should have been the opposite, considering the fact that the chain executives were so close. Well, maybe that was a sign that something wrong was going on and that was why the chain did not last.

When we came back to Poland, regrettably, we learned that our favorite Sioux place in Gdynia (+ most of them in the country) had been closed.

 

 
PS

Google says that the restaurant still operates in only two cities in Poland.

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"My Polish Alphabet" is about things, places, and people that come to my mind when I think about Poland.

Ton's Mongolian Grill

Ton's Mongolian Grill in Grand Prairie is a place where we like to visit from time to time, when we happen to be in the area. The reason is the food which we enjoy having there and quite reasonable prices as well.
If you have never been there, it is a type of buffet place where you can choose what you like to eat and you can have as much as you like. Then, it is cooked/grilled on a hot stove top.
If you fancy meat - there are thinly sliced, frozen pieces of beef and chicken, some fish and sausage. If you are vegan or vegetarian you can choose your vegetables only option. I personally like adding some beans sprouts to my plate (besides other things of course). 
Nevertheless, no matter what you crave for on a certain day, it is important how you spice it and the proportions of the seasoning you pour into your bowls. I have noticed, some people tend to flood their food with a lot of oil, which results in high flames of fire when it all is placed on the grill. Obviously, it makes the meal burnt and spoils its taste. Not to mention that it can be also dangerous to the cooks.
I usually take one (only one - even if I happen to have two bowls) measure/ladle of sesame oil, one measure of cooking cherry and soy sauce. At the very end, I top it with one scoop of garlic. To add some extra flavor, I also choose one or two rings of jalapenos.
After that, go to have it cooked - with some rice and an egg - or with double rice portion/ without anything - it is up to you. Mind your place in the line though. Once it happened to me that some guys messed up with the queue - they changed their places, skipping us - and I ended up with a plate of somebody else's meal. That person got mine. Well, to make the matters worse, the girl started eating 'my' food with her fingers. That was why I had no other choice but doing my 'bowl and food run' again. And had it all cooked again.

Since, a few portions of food are grilled at the same time, sometimes it happens I find on my plate carrots or some other pieces which are not of my choice. They just accidentally get mixed during the cooking process. It does not bother me though, usually there are only just a few of 'not mine stuff', I put them a side if I do not like them.
The meal is followed by vanilla ice cream and a Chinese fortune cookie. We like having them both at the same time, they just match so well! Despite being rather plain, the dessert tastes really good (according to us) and both of us enjoy having it.
What else? When you arrive and you are showed to your table, you can also order a soup or an additional portion of rice. We have tried the soups. I neither recommend the hot and sour one nor the egg drop. Not of my taste at all.

The interior of the place is simple but pleasant enough. Personally, I find the Chinese landscape printouts quite nice. The waitresses are usually attentive and diligent. When there are more customers, it is obvious, they are not able to be at all the tables at once.  Anyway, the service has never been a problem there.

We generally like the place but, frankly speaking, it has one disadvantage - the toilets could be improved. On the other hand, I have seen worse restrooms in much more expensive restaurants which I do not name here.

All in all, whenever we are nearby the Ton's Mongolian Grill and we have enough time to stop there, we do. The meal is always a kind of a treat. You can have more than one helping (we sometimes get more ice cream) or if you do not like your lunch/dinner (on the contrary to a regular food place), you can make yourself another portion of a different food selection. All for a good price.

Fredericksburg Brewery

Fredericksburg Restaurant and Brewery, established in 1994, is our favorite food place in this charming town of Texas Hill Country.

Due to their delicious meals and top quality beer, the place is popular with visitors and always full of customers eager to indulge in the tastes of Fredericksburg Brewing Co. That is why, whenever we happen to be there, we are ready for some waiting time before we are seated at a table. The waiting room, nicely decorated with flags from all over the world and German inn style wall paintings, is also a beer chamber where you can order the drink, sit on a wooden bench and await till your dining time comes.

I was pleased to see the Polish flag there...

While waiting, it is also a good time to take pictures.

Flags decorate also the restaurant room.

European 'section'

US area

The restaurant offers various meal options, including German dishes, Southern style ones, sandwiches, salads, appetizers and sides (see their menu here). It is difficult to make up your mind and choose one - all is so delicious! I usually order a German dish for dinner, as it is something I can get in Fredericksburg only. Besides, it reminds my familiar tastes of Europe too.

The quality of the meal is certainly worth waiting.

One of my favorites: Jager schnitzel. The bread is so good too!

What is also special about Fredericksburg Brewing Co. - amazing beer is made there. The place reminds me some inn in south Germany which I have happened to visit. There, I could also see big and shiny beer tanks which where part of the brewery/inn interior.

Five kinds of medal awarded beer are made by the Fredericksburg Brewing Company. My number one is Enchanted Red Rock Ale.

Santa stopped at the Brewery too.

Our lunch meal treat.

All in all, there is no visit in Fredericksburg without having a meal at the Brewing Co. restaurant place. Whenever you plan to go to the Texas Hill Country, put it on your 'things to do and see' list too.

Fredericksburg Brewing Co. website

Our other posts related to Fredericksburg:

Fredericksburg TX & Its Main Street 

Fredericksburg - Side Streets & Roads

Fredericksburg - National Museum of The Pacific War

Christmas Spirit in Central Texas

 

My Texas Alphabet: E for El Fenix

The idea for this alphabet post series comes from 'The Alphabet of My Emigration' by Dee Dorota L., member of The Polish Ladies Abroad Club, who has relocated to England.
I have also decided to join the project and write about My Texas Alphabet twice a week.

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'El Fenix' is a chain of restaurants (in the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex area) that serve Tex-Mex food. Texas is the land of Tex-Mex (the mixture of Texan and Mexican) cuisine and we eat it quite often too.

The very first El Fenix restaurant was established in Dallas by Mike Martinez (1918). The place still exists and, in my opinion, it is the best of all the El Fenix restaurants. On the other hand, I have not dined in each and every El Fenix place to be able to compare all of them. Anyway, so far I like the one in Dallas most.

I have also learned to make some Tex-Mex dishes - my bests are chicken quesadillas, pork fajitas, and beef tacos. Thanks to my culinary achievements, we can also enjoy Tex-Mex dishes made in our kitchen, without going out to one of the local food places.

El Fenix means 'the phoenix' - a mythological bird that decomposes itself to be reborn again. In a way, it is also a symbol of my emigration: I left my old life behind to begin a new life. I no longer do many things which I did a few years ago. I do not go to places where I used to go. But I have done and learned many new things, took up new hobbies, met new people. I am still the old me - I have not forgotten my past and where I come from, my family and friends whom I left in Poland. But I am also a new me. The same, but different in many ways.

'E' alphabet entries by other bloggers, members of the Polish Ladies Abroad Club:

Gabi: E for egoism // E jak egoizm
Dee: E jak Elegia (Żałobna)
Jagoda: E czyli etapy życia na emigracji
Anna: E jak Ebook 
Justa: E jak emigracja
Karolina: E ....Education
Anna G.: E jak mąż
Anna Maria: E jak Edukacja 
Viola: E jak Esencja angielskosci 
Justyna: E jak Emocje

Fort Worth - Joe T. Garcia's

Not far from the old Fort Worth Stockyards, there is a restaurant which we enjoy visiting. Especially when we happen to be in the area.
Joe T. Garcia's has served traditional Mexican food since 1935. Whenever we come to Joe T's, it is always packed with people, which certainly means good meals are made here.

Last weekend we also enjoyed a delicious family lunch, including (among others) chips, salsa, nachos, tacos, fajita meat, enchiladas, rice and re-fried beans.

The inner rooms of the restaurant are quite big but many visitors prefer having food on the patio, in the charming restaurant garden (even if they have to wait in line for a long time to get a table).
We did not wait though. After the feast, we just went for a walk along the garden paths (see the pictures below).

Joe T Garcia's - Fort Worth TX

Food: Pearl Chinese Restaurants

About a year ago we went to a Pearl Chinese restaurant for the first time. Actually, it was more a takeaway place than a restaurant. However, there were a few tables too, so you could sit and enjoy your meal. What we did, as the little place had a lot of really enjoyable items (for a very good price) on their menu. Great, tasty food including the best sweet and sour sauce in the world!
Each lunch special was served with rice and an egg roll. The meals were so big (too big for us) there that we simply shared a dish, and still had plenty of food for each of us.
These days, we are not able to go there too often - but when we happen to be around, it is always a pleasure to have a meal at that Pearl (they do not serve lunch on Sundays), also because the place is run by a very nice and kind lady whom we like too.
We have learned that the little Pearl place is part of the Pearl Chinese Restaurant chain as we found another, a bit bigger Pearl, somewhere else. With very tasty food again. The menu is quite similar to the one in the place described above, although here, the lunch price (besides the main dish) includes also a soup (three soups on the menu) + chips. Lunch specials are served Tuesdays/Sundays. What the two places also have in common is that they do not offer drink refills. But it is really worth stopping by and having a meal there.

Lunch menu items by a Pearl Chinese Restaurant.

 Encouraged by our positive experiences at the two Pearl food places, we also tried one in the South of TX. Our Pearl no. 3 was a real restaurant, considering its size. The menu they had was surprisingly different, meaning both the list of dishes and prices. Besides, the price of a 'plate' did not include rice and an egg roll - which at first was a bit disappointing - but the quality of the food was really rewarding. When we tasted the meals (plenty of food per person too!) we were served, all our prior doubts were gone. It was all really delicious.
So if you like Chinese food, when you happen to be by a Pearl Chinese Restaurant, simply give it a try. Hopefully, you will not be disappointed!