Willy Burger Opens Now!

(Beaumont, Texas)
Behold the "Uncle Charlie" w/$1 fried egg on top. Check it out! 

Went by there today, and boy, was it crowded! Said to have been opened only less than a month ago, this new revisionist, retro-chic burger joint has instantly become a favorite with the Westenders, including kids enjoying their precious last days of summer vacation. I ordered the "Uncle Charlie" with a fried egg, and that's my size "Large" left-hand in the picture holding the burger so you get an idea as to how enormous the thing is. Yes, you also get three strips of bacon, onion rings, and plenty of smoky barbecue sauce between the buns. As the PA overhead emphasized,"Friends don't let friends eat frozen meat patties...", Willy Burger uses only freshly-ground beef (they've got a big shiny meat grinder to prove it, too) for their generous, well-proportioned patties. About the only thing that will get better with time would be the taste of griddle, as it gets more well-seasoned with repeated cooking, the flavor of the sizzling burger patties will surely improve. So the next time you're in the neighborhood, check out this "new kid in town" (next to the old FatMac's Smokehouse) with a shiny Airstream trailer permanently attached to its side, and that would be "Willy, Willy good!"_Lorenzo

New York Pizza & Pasta

Instead of the Penne Matricana one would find in their menu, I asked for a substitution of angel hair pasta and the addition of veal, making it what I call "Veal Matricana".  The deliciously rich sauce is basically a tomato basil sauce with added garlic, chili pepper flakes, (pancetta?), and lots and lots of thick bacon.  Try it!  You will be amazed.--Lorenzo

Rio Rita Closed For Now

Rio Rita's Cantina y Restarante, a once-popular local Tex-Mex restaurant and cornerstone in Beaumont's failing Crockett Street Entertainment District closed today until further notice, according to reports by local media.  Having enjoyed great Tex-Mex food from San Antonio to Austin, and being spoiled by the abundant "authentic" Mexican food available here in the Triangle Area, I must say that my best assessment of the food and margaritas at Rio Rita's after only one visit can be summed up as just average.  It was a birthday party which I've attended, and nothing I ate or drank there was particualy remarkable.  I do hope that when it reopens again, the next incarnation of Rio Rita's will go bolder in flavors and not be satisfied at only being a tourist stop.  Of whatever Rio Rita's will become, good luck, because restaurant is one tough and fickle business in which to succeed.--Lorenzo 

Stop The Nonsense On Ch.6

(Scooter Hawgs) Lawrence fights to clean up Ch.6 's "dirty animations" on Leger's Restaurant Report Card. To read his comment, click here.--Lorenzo

(Photo: KFDM-TV Ch.6)

**Update: (6/27/08) Ch.6 Leger's Restaurant Report Card removes "unsightly" rodent and cockroach animations from segment. Triumph for common sense! Victory for good judgment! Kudos for Ch.6!--Lorenzo