Brisket Tacos Are A Dallas Specialty?

I thought they were something that just suddenly showed up at my favorite local Tex-Mex spot.

A delicious something. Something that someone ought to get an award for. Possibly something I'd give to the Holy Father if he were on his way through Dallas but stopping off for lunch on the way.

Now I see that Homesick Texan has done a little more thinking about this than I have, which is not surprising. Me, I just order them. Reading her description, you can see why.

Brisket tacos, if you’ve never had them in Dallas, are soft tortillas stuffed with succulent strands of brisket, pulled from a roast that has been braised overnight. The brisket isn’t smoky nor is it fiery—instead it’s tender and juicy, with a rich depth of flavor that can only come from cooking the meat low and slow.

Another hallmark of Dallas’s brisket tacos is that there’s always melted Monterey Jack on the tortillas, and each taco is topped with strips of sautéed onions and poblano chiles. Some places also include a small bowl of the pan juices, turning the brisket taco into a Tex-Mex beef sandwich au jus.

Yeah, my mouth is watering too. Especially since my favorite spot doesn't include the sauteed onion and chiles. I believe this may be something I'm going to have to whip up at home soon. So I can have those sauteed onions and chiles with it.

Luckily, there's a recipe so no matter where you are you can also have some delicious brisket tacos ... Dallas style. Get it (and read more about this delicious specialty) at Homesick Texan.

If the Pope were to ask where he could get the best stack of pancakes in Dallas ...

... I would reply, "Your Holiness, have you tried the Cinn-a-Stack from IHOP?"*

Last Thursday was a sad day. Rose returned to Chicago, the skies were gray, the weather freezing. She and I had planned to have brunch in the hour before we had to hit the road for the airport. Yet, my mind went completely blank. I couldn't think of a local place that Rose and her friends hadn't already over-visited in their get togethers over the last month. (I know, I completely forgot Cindi's and am still kicking myself.)

It is an ill wind that blows no good though because we wound up at IHOP. Loving cinnamon rolls the way that I do, I couldn't resist the Cinn-a-stack. The pancakes were layered with cinnamon roll style filling and had a bit of cream cheese icing on top. To my surprise, they were not too sweet, with just the right amount of cinnamon and, of course, the buttermilk pancakes were delicious.

They were truly heavenly and worthy of the Holy Father, should he ever come to town for breakfast.

It was still a sad day when we finished. Yet, when you are full of pancakes and cinnamon, it leaves less room for the sad feelings. Perhaps that is why we wound up animatedly talking about Rose's idea for a Western movie all the way to the airport. And our sad feelings were forgotten until we got to the gate.

*With apologies to Roger Ebert, whose writing was the genesis of the phrase above. (If the Pope were to ask where he could get a good plate of spaghetti in  America, I would reply, "Your Holiness, have you tried the Chili Mac or  the Chili 3-Ways?")