Mango carries on the tradition begun by parent Chow Thai, and then blasts it straight into the cosmos. Decor is amazing; something like 60s retro meets Star Trek. Feng Shui, you ask? Feng Shui is right on track, as evidenced by the wooden flute hanging from the overhead fixtures. The food? Food is exquisite. The staff? Staff is dressed NYC or L.A ... all in black. Clientele eat it up. So will you. Five stars. Go today. Speed to Plano. Eat! Live! Chief

This place used to be some type of health joint. These days the locale is following in the footsteps of parents Mi Cocina: chic decor, friendly and attentive staff, great Tex-Mex, boozey drinks. Expect the pretty people to be here. The Mango-ritas are just the way I like my Mambo Taxis at Mi Cocina: frosty and boozey. Two will make you feel pleasant without taking it too far.
Recommended: Fish Tacos (some assembly required). Dig. -Chief

Fantastico! It's hidden in the corner by the John Deere Lawnmower shop. Usually a wait for a table. If it's cold there are space heaters outside. Bring your own bottle of wine. There is a booze shop right across the street if you forgot. Joey Covino gets my highest Chief rating for the far north Plano region. If you find yourself and bellizima trapped in the far north, go Covino's. Fantastico.

Great for late night suppers on a Saturday (they close their doors @10:30 but will still feed you). Great food, split a carafe of merlot or something compatible, and enjoy the atmosphere of this Italian family restaurant. Dig. After that you should go over to the Balcony Club for some live jazz. Now go!

Excellent food! Authentic. Pretty Cheap. Dig. Big coffee selection. Dig. In Lakewood. Dig. Oh just go check it out for yourself, it's cheap, and really good. Go!

I'm reviewing the Deep Ellum location; it's on Elm just down the street from Trees and the Green Room. Actually it's just down the street from Loose Change, The Arrangement, July Alley, and a lot of things when you think about it. But I digress. The food is good. Get the tacos or get Migas. Anything with eggs and potatoes when you are in a complete carnosaur frame of mind. They also have a LOT of different kinds of coffee, and it's all pretty good. Or at least I assume it's all pretty good. Hell, I didn't have time to try every type of coffee when I was there, you know! Not the cheapest place, but it's certainly not JoJo's, and JoJo's costs the same. (See: JoJo's.) So go here instead when you want breakfast. -Chief

I'm reviewing the Chip's on Lovers. You might be thinking "Well, he's going to give it a good review, since 'chips' sounds so much like 'chief!'' Well, you're wrong. Sure, I used to live just across the street from this place. But I can honestly say I never was too impressed with it. I always got the chicken sandwich, and it was never that fabulous. It was just a chicken sandwich. But they do have lots of cold beers in a giant ice-filled barrel, if you're into that sort of thing. Being the carnosaur that I am, I can't give chip's a wholehearted HOORAY!, but it's ok if you've got no alternative. -Chief

I am reviewing the location on Lemmon, as it's the only one I knew about. Great atmosphere. Great food. The black bean dip they give you with your chips will disappear quickly if you are as much of a carnosaur as I was when I ate there. Order something like the pork; you won't be disappointed. Vegetarians, however, should not order something like the pork for obvious reasons. Vegetarians might not want to order the beef or pollo, either. The plantains and yucca are excellent and not something you get to eat everyday. I also dig the fact that they serve black beans instead of the higher-fat-count refried variety. (See: Taco Cabana Veggie Burrito.) Man, I could go for a huge meal from Gloria's right now, with an ice cold dos equis and lime on the side. MAN! *Chief's Cheap tip: I understand the lunch menu is more affordable, albeit the portions are smaller. Do as you will. -Chief

I used to dig the location on Forest. They have great fajita tacos and a huge ugly painting of the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan, god rest his soul. But a while back I ate at the Mockingbird/Preston Park Cities location, and to be completely honest it left me a bit flaccid. Part of it may have been the overabundance of pretty park cities people on that particular day. Overall the food here is pretty good, and you can get good cold beers which always makes me a happy chief. *Chief's cheap tip: Lunch specials are well worth it. -Chief

Good Grief. When I worked downtown I ate here once. This place is not sympathetic towards Chief's wallet. I had some type of chicken tacos. Sure, they were pretty good, and the side dishes were unique, and the chocolatey-thing wrapped in corn stalk was good afterwards. But fifteen freaking dollars plus tip for lunch? Eyedontinksoh. Maybe for a business lunch or a date. Otherwise, *Chief's Cheap tip: Skip it and go to Taco Cabana. -Chief

I'm reviewing the Beltline location in Addison. Four of us had the Border Blast, which clocks in at 40 bucks. You can't beat it! Great GREAT fajitas you make yourself with a HUGE platter of beef, chicken, shrimp, peppers, you name it. All the food wouldn't even fit on the table and we tried to pawn it off on the neighbors. Also their draft beers are Bigger Than Ezra, and this I can truly appreciate. It was loud, sure, but it was Friday night. All told, if you have four starving people you can't beat it. -Chief

Don't eat here. At least this location. Sure the breakfast skillets are good, but don't get them here. The last time we tried to eat here we left and cancelled our order; the service was that poor. The time before that it took well over an hour. If you dig poor service and have about half a day to kill, come to JoJo's. That's about all I can say. Also it's overpriced. The only time you can get a good deal on breakfast is during weekdays. For as long as this place takes, that makes it completely impossible for any normal person with a job to take advantage of. Don't eat here. Don't eat here. (Cross-referenced in: Cafe Brazil) -Chief

My God, I love this place. Almost fast food but if you go to the right location you will be very happy. For one, they serve booze. That's rare in a pseudo-fast food environment. Here's why you should go to a T.C., though: The #33 Veggie Black Bean Burrito! I had this and this alone for six days straight for lunch. It's freaking big, and it's all you need. Oh yeah, they also have fajitas, rotisserie chicken, and breakfasts. This place is genius; thought up by geniuses, and frequented by several geniuses daily. ALSO if you get the chance, make the pilgrimage to the original T.C. in San Antonio. Well worth the 5-hour drive. You could go there and back in a day if you're so inclined. 'BEST fast food mexican of Dallas, 1996-1997'-Chief

This review is for both the Midway/NW location, and the Snider Plaza location, as I've eaten at both. What can I say. You can order beer, and that's good. They are very tv/video game oriented, and this is both tragic and good. You can get HUGE quantities of food, often good if you are a complete carnosaur. The guy I used to eat here with always got something called the Lineman's Reward, which is a 1-pound ballburger. Now that's a lot of Balls. Basically if you feel like consuming approximately 1,275 calories, including 56 grams of fat, get this burger. It clocks in at six bucks just before you clock out for good. (Keep in mind, this is the CEFC, or Chief-estimated fat count. Nobody but Nate Newton knows the actual count.) That's before you tack on french fries and coke. So if you are a COMPLETE carnosaur and feel like treating yourself to three times the government's recommended allowance of 66 grams of fat a day for a person on a 2000-calorie-a-day diet, go to Ball's and Carnosaur yourself to your Balls' content. Bottom line: Food this greasy should be cheaper. -Chief

I used to live right next door to this dive and only ate there once the entire time. I ate there on New Year's Day, 1996 and vowed-although the burger was damn good-to never eat there more than once a year, as a man as bad as Harvey shouldn't have to be dealt with more than 75 to 80 times. But when you think about, he'll kick before I do. But I digress. Bottom line: You can't out-goff goff. Nobody can. You can semi-Goff him, but in the end, Goff GOFFS the final goff. So shove your burger down your throat and leave instantly. Oh yeah...*Chief's cheap tip: Only go tuesdays after 5 or on national holidays, so you can get the burgers half price. If you don't they are ridiculously overpriced. Also you can't have take-out when you get them for half-price, it's just his badgoff policy. Also the fries are ludicrously overpriced as well. Once you add fries to a burger and drink (if Goff doesn't pull his patented crappy trick of pouring your drink out into your bag), your meal is well over six bucks. Ripoff. Might as well go get a one-pound ballburger. (See: Balls Hamburgers) -Chief

I give the YCBC two stars mainly for their $1 Monday Night pint policy. Back in the day when I lived downtown, we used to go there on occasion on Mondays, just for the pints. The food...while they have strange dishes like Venison Chili and other oddities you can't get in too many establishments, is overpriced for the most part. I ordered some type of healthy burger once, and it was really good, but damn expensive. Also I was really hungry at the time. As for the service...let's skip that and cut straight to the chase. One night during Monday Night Football (Monday =>$1 pints. Why else would I be there if they didn't have SOMETHING cheap. After all, I'm Chief. But I digress.) the entire constable's office busted in in what appeared to be a strategically planned raid. They seized the cash registers and confiscated the money. They had the manager cornered upstairs in a shakedown-type scene straight out of a movie. Our waiter mumbled something aobut shady dealings, etc. so it only adds to the mystique of this funked-out restaurant. I highly recommend this restaurant if you want to feel weird all over. But go on a monday. It's cheap beer night. -Chief

Ah yes, the infamous "La Madeleine"...used to be, there was only one or two. Now it seems you can't turn a corner in Dallas without running into one; they're popping up nearly as fast as Starbuck's. The food is not bad, I can't argue. I especially love the free bread and marmalade. I suggest you order a glass of tea and then greedily wolf down about six slices of bread. Even better: The location on Belt Line between the tollway and Preston (just across the street from Prestonwood mall) employs a fellow who, if you visit JUST before closing, will slip you some goodies for a _very_ sympathetic price. That's the thing about bakeries. Every day all the food has to be fresh. So if you don't mind getting the stuff that's been sitting there all day, you can get a pretty good deal. EAT CHEAP. -Chief

I dig this restaurant. Great atmosphere. If you're lucky, you'll show up at dinner some evening when they have the pan-flute GROOVEMASTER mariachi band by the fountain. I agree with Powell on the Chili Rellenos; my favorite in the city when it comes to sit-down Mexican. Be sure to take advantage of the well-stocked bar. Also, Mattito's claims to have the largest selcetion of Tequilas in Texas, but this critic's mind that's not necessarily a good thing. I also recall one time we were there with a group on a large round table. The service was so good and speedy, as soon as we had acknowledged that we were through with our plates, they WHISKED! off the entire table faster than you can say 'largest selection of tequilas in Texas' ...Go to Mattito's. Chief digs it.

Tupe's is Great. Cheap enough (By now you _all_ know that's one of my main criteria), the service is great, and the bar is beautiful. Makes you feel like you're an extra in Carlito's Way or something. You can tell the place used to be a Crystal's Pizza or C.R. Anthony's or something, but you don't even mind because the bar looks so groovy and the food is so good. One of my favorite standard mexican fare retaurants in the city. However I stress 'standard'. We're talking the basic good stuff here, nothing particularly exotic. -Chief

Seems these days "chief" is synonomous with "cheap" (anybody see my review of la Madelaine?). Nevertheless I decided to splurge and try the Two Guys last Sunday. I came prepared; no breakfast for me and I was waiting outside their door with my own fork at noon. The restaurant itself looks huge, and boasts an incredibe (yet fake) vinery of plastic grapes and bottles of VINO all over the ceiling. In fact, I have yet to see a collection of fake grapes which came close to rivalling the scope of that at the Two Guys. The service was great. The food...I agree, they give you portions that will fill even the hungriest of carnosaurs. You're better off skipping the side salad or soup, because you won't even be able to eat all your meal and bread as it is. Right now I have enough portions in my fridge for four leftover meals, and I hope nobody minds if I rereview the restaurant every time I reheat. As for my 駭tree...I ordered the tortellini alla panna, which is served in a creamy white sauce with mushrooms and prosciuto (ham). Pretty good, but hand-made tortellinnis would have been better. The kind I was served tasted unamazingly like the kind I buy every once in a while at Kroger. Bottom line: Huge portions, semi-spectacular fare.