Double Wide Flea Market: Hot Deals, Cold Drinks

This past Saturday I had big plans to hit up the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market, and was super bummed that it wasn't being held at it's usual time.... and had been moved to an evening event.  My spirits were lifted when I saw (via Twitter) that the Double Wide was putting on a kick ace event, and that the bar was open!  I headed over with my mom (she's a cool mom like myself) to have a cold drink and try and score some deals.  When I spoke to my husband en route, he only had one request: try and score some cool movie posters for our new media room.  As we hopped out of the car and moseyed up to the Double Wide, first booth I see?? A cool couple selling movie posters! Score.  We really wanted to hit up the food truck that was on it's way to the flea market, so we decided to drink first, shop later, and headed inside. 

I must admit, I was stunned by the sheer awesomeness of the bar, and wanted to snap a photo of every. single. knicknack. Luckily I was distracted by a Yoohoo Yeehaw, and the coolest drink menu I have ever seen.  The bartender Tiffany had whipped up a little concoction she described as a Wendy's Frosty with alcohol, and it came in a short glass and chery garnish.  It was pretty spectacular.  As I sipped my drink, I was mesmerized by the fact they served Tang, AND it had alcohol in it.  Talk about winning!  As my Yoohoo Yeehaw melted, it began to remind me of some chocolate wine I had once had, and it started to lose some appeal.  Luckily my class mother had no problem pouring the remains of my drink into her glass and chugging it down. The woman isn't nicknamed Drunk Grandma for nothing!

Outside, there were lots of cool vendors, slinging artwork, movie posters, clothes, jewelry and plants!  There were lots of deals to be had, and I walked out with some movie posters, a cool eagle necklace, a pair of goggles, a light up LED Jesus frame and a chili pepper plant.  Mom and I were able to chow down on some excellent Philly cheesesteaks (fresh off the Free Wheeln' Cafe truck) right before we headed home.

All in all, fun was had by all, and I can't wait to hit them up next month.  The Double Wide Flea Market is held the third Saturday of the month, and the bar is open!  Check out the kick ace staff slingin' drinks, and the vendors ready and willing to make a deal (sadly, no briefcases).  Follow my friends at the Double Wide on Twitter at @doublewidebar, their Facebook page at Double Wide, and check out their website at Double Wide.

Cool canvas....

I really wanted this for the foyer, husband vetoed me...

Too creepy for the boys' room?  They love monkeys!

Our kick ace bartender, Tiffany.  She make a MEAN Yoohoo Yeehaw!

House specialties.  I'll be back for the Hurritang.

Every 3rd Saturday, make plans to be there!

 Drinks, Drinks, Drinks, Drinks



White Trash tshirt display

It's Christmas in July at the Double Wide (and possibly year round)

Nectar of the Gods.... Frozen Yoohoo Yeehaw

Free Wheel'n Cafe: Crave-worthy Cheesesteaks

Free Wheel'n Cafe has won the hearts of many in the DFW area, serving up the best cheesesteaks this side of the Mississippi River.  The truck is manned by the cutest husband and wife team, and they serve up cheesesteaks that would bring a true Philadelphian to their knees.  Floyd, the owner and head chef, has mastered the Philly-style steak... soft, fresh bread stuffed with thin, top quality meat and melted cheese, dished up with sauteed onions and a variety of different add-ons to please the most finicky eater. (P. S. He also has chicken cheesesteaks, and burgers, but I was too full! Next time, next time...)

I have caught up with Floyd at several events, most recently at the Double Wide Flea Market this past Saturday.  Floyd dished up a cheesesteak just the way I like it (meat and cheese, onions on the side) so I could get an accurate taste of all the different flavors going on in the sandwich.  After chowing down on half my sandwich, I managed to pause long enough to pile on the onions and pour on a sample of Floyd's spicy ranch.  Mind. Blowing. Awesomeness.  The sandwich can definitely pull it's own weight, but the spicy ranch definitely kicked up the flavor and the wow factor. 

Free Wheel'n Cafe's prices won't break the bank, and lines are always short as the cheesesteaks fly out of the window.  You can easily make your cheesesteak a combo by pairing it with a soda and bag of premium chips for just a few more bucks. Floyd is working most days, and is one of my favorite tweeps on Twitter (@nessvannoy).  Follow Floyd and the crew on Twitter at @freewheelncafe, or check out his Facebook page, Free Wheel'n Cafe.

Here's to full bellies, Vanessa

Hard working Floyd!  It was 105 outside, and about 140 on the truck!

Full belly for less than $10.... What a deal!

 It was almost too pretty to eat.... Love it!

Lots of hungry fans at the Double Wide Bar!

Free Wheeln' Cafe... Cheesesteak Heaven!

Food Truck Love: Gennarinos

Many of you might not be aware, but there is a food trunk invasion taking place in DFW.  There are trucks for any and everything you could possibly imagine!  I have been avidly stalking food trucks on Twitter, and have taken to following Big D Food Trucks blog that gives me up to date info on where trucks are rolling.  I was super excited when trolling Big D's blog to see a food truck near 635 /MacArthur one day last week, and the husband and I headed over.  While it was a little hard to find the truck (it said Walgreens parking lot and was actually in a bank lot)  we saw the cutest little food truck and walked on over.  When we walked up, there was a man talking with a customer in the neatest Italian accent I have ever heard.  We were handed menus from the men working in the truck, and made a couple of selections.  We tried the lasagna, spaghetti pizza, timbolo rosso (fried spaghetti and meatballs), and the nutella zeppalones, little Italian donuts.  We also had two raspberry Italian sodas, topped with whipped cream.  We really liked that they had two fold down bistro tables, so we could stop and eat our food right off the truck.  All the food was fantastic, and very affordably priced.  The proprietors of the truck were fun to chat with, and we had a great first food truck experience!  We will definitely be hunting them down again soon!  See below for some pictures of our meal, and check Gennarinos out on Facebook!

Where the magic happens!

Raspberry Italian soda and Spaghetti Pizza!

Timbolo Rosso.... my favorite! :)

Timbolo Rosso, the inside!

Nutella Zeppalones

Gennarino's lasagna, so good! :)

Sunday Lunch at Fuzzy's Taco Shop

For my last day of vacation, I decided to try out the new Farmers Branch location of Fuzzy's Taco Shop with the family.  I had heard lots of different reviews on Fuzzy's so we decided to see what all the hype was about, and if it was even true.

When we got to the restaurant, there was an impressively extensive menu, and a very clean restaurant.  The cashier had customer service skills that left a lot to be desired, and seemed a little unenthusiastic to be taking my order. When he asked my daughter what she wanted as a side, she asked for rice, but he didn't hear her.  He then asked her in an even louder, irritated tone, and she repeated her request.  Two kids meals, a taco, a cup of soup, taco plate and two drinks ran us about $22.00, and I was a little shocked at the price.

When we sat down and got our drinks from the fountain, we got a small basket of chips and two little cups of salsa.  The chips had a little seasoned salt on them, which were pretty tasty, but the salsa tasted like your run of the mill taco sauce, just hotter.

When our food came, I was impressed with the fresh ingredients and nice presentation.  The taco came in a paper lined basket, the soup in a small coffee cup-like container, and everything else on large plates.  I started off with my tortilla soup, which I was disappointed came only with three chips stuck in it.  The soup was very thick, almost too thick, and had a nice mix of veggies, beans and cheese.  The thickness and consistency of the soup stock made it a little unappetizing, and having tortilla strips or more chips to add to it may have made the soup a little better.  After a few bites of the soup, I decided to move on to the main course, my chicken crispy taco.  I took a bite of my chicken crispy taco, and was not impressed with the seasoning of the meat.  The lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and cilantro were fresh and cold, but the chicken was bland.  After my first bite, I decided I would spice it up a little by adding a little sauce. BIG MISTAKE.  The hot sauce on the taco made it so unbearably hot, I wasn't even able to finish the taco.  My mouth burned for about 5 minutes, and since I am still recovering from a respiratory infection, I coughed so hard I swore I was going to have an asthma attack!  I was able to scrape off a little of the lettuce and tomato to eat, but my $1.99 taco was ruined. 

My daughter had the soft chicken taco kid's meal, and got her taco with a side of rice.  At least I think it was supposed to be rice.  The rice had some tomatoes and corn mixed in, but had a very greasy coating.  The rice was overcooked and underseasoned, and after just a few bites, my daughter decided it wasn't any good.  Her taco looked pretty good, but she was turned off by the white sauce that came with the taco.  I think the sauce was supposed to be something garlic based, but the mayo undertones overpowered the garlic.  So, along with my tortilla soup and crispy chicken taco, her $3.49 kid's meal was also a dud, as she decided to just make a PBJ sandwich at home.  My son got the cheese nachos kid's meal, and it came on a GIANT plate, which could be a good and a bad thing.  The kid's meal could have easily been shared by 2-3 kids, if they had put a little more cheese on it.  The nachos had both a white cheese sauce and shredded cheese on it, neither of which were very hot or melted.  My son enjoyed his nachos, but left more than half still on the plate.  My husband had the chicken taco plate, and after my hot sauce experience, decided to just eat his tacos bland.  He also was not impressed with the rice served with his meal.

Overall, I don't think we will be back to Fuzzy's Taco Shop, unless it is to try something different on the menu.  I have heard they have great margaritas and quesadillas, so maybe if I make it in again I will try those.  I have posted a few pictures and my ratings below, based on my experience at the store.  I understand you may have had a different experience, so feel free to leave a comment below and tell me about it!

Here's to full bellies!

Vanessa

Awesomeness Rating (Scale of 1-10):
5.... because the restaurant was very clean, had a large menu, and cool large drink cups

Rate of Return (Scale of 1-4):
2... highly unlikely we will be back

Customer Service (Scale of 1-10):
4.... The cashier left a lot to be desired, and was not helpful to us first timers.  But the table busser did say "Excuse me, ma'am" when passing by, so that earned a few extra points.

Cleanliness (Scale of 1-4):
4.... The table busser immediately cleaned tables when they were emptied, and the cashier did come clear some trays for us before we left

Biggest Pro:
If you get a large drink, you do get a snazzy plastic Fuzzy's Taco Shop cup!

Biggest Con:
The hot sauce will totally ruin your meal if you are not a fan of scorching hot sauce.  Having some options in level of heat would be nice, or a salt and pepper shaker would also be appreciated.

Isaiah and his Cheese Nachos

My pretty chicken crispy taco

The amazing plastic cup :)

Oroweat Sandwich Thins

I know most of us take our lunch to work, school, wherever to try and save some money, eat healthy or to make sure we have something we actually want to eat for lunch.  Enter in Oroweat Sandwich Thins.  This whole wheat wonder is the best thing to hit sandwich bread in forever.  At only 100 calories, 5 grams of fiber and 1 gram of fat for BOTH halves, not only are they good, they are good for you.  A typical slice of bread can run you 60-90 calories PER SLICE, and they are full of stuff you just don't need to be eating.  Sandwich Thins are sturdy, so they aren't soggy when you are ready to eat the sandwich, and they are a little thicker than an actual slice of bread.  I  buy these here in Dallas at Sams, and they are very economically priced.  Other bread makers have jumped on the sandwich bun/thin bandwagon, but Oroweat Sandwich Thins are the all time best, hands down.  They even come in three varieties for those sandwich connoisseurs, Whole Wheat, Honey Wheat, and Multi Grain.  Try them out, they will change the way you eat a sandwich for life!  Check them out at http://www.sandwichthins.com/ for yummy sandwich ideas, bread varieties, store locator and more.... enjoy!