Good Eats (Southern, American, Comfort Food)
3888 Oak Lawn Avenue between Blackburn Street and Irving Avenue (but the restaurant is basically on the corner of Irving)
Dallas, TX 75219
(214) 522-3287
http://www.goodeatsgrill.com/
Public Transportation: I have no idea if there even is public transport in Dallas

I didn’t grow up in Dallas, or anywhere near the South, but I think of myself as somewhat of a “comfort food” aficionado (if I do say so myself!). When my husband and I were invited down to Dallas for a long weekend (first-class tickets and a room at the Mansion on Turtle Creek), I was excited to oblige (especially when I thought of the delicious food possibilities: chicken-fried steak, authentic Mexican and Texan BBQ).

I researched restaurants and cafes before we left, but the heat and my hunger panicked me when I walked out of the hotel so I asked the valet for a suggestion for some “local” food, and he pointed me in the direction of Good Eats (when I heard the name, I immediately thought of the Food Network show “Good Eats” which I thought was a good omen).

Good Eats is a mini-chain (4 locations) wholly within Texas, and when I pulled into the strip mall parking lot, I was a bit apprehensive, but this was slightly eased when I saw people waiting outside for the restaurant to open at 11AM.

The décor of the restaurant looks like an Applebee’s hit a rodeo. This made me nervous again, and I regretted taking the advice of the hotel valet and not planning better.

My husband was at a meeting so I was alone, and the incredibly friendly maitre d’ seated me at a spacious and comfortable booth. The young waitress was sweet as well – actually, everyone, including the patrons, acted friendly and smiley… exactly what you would expect in Texas. When I asked her what was good and fresh, she responded, “Everything’s made fresh, besides the fries… and the spinach…” Before she could go on, I ordered their award-winning chicken-fried steak (it won kudos from D Magazine and the State Fair of Texas – how could I not?) which came with two sides (I chose garlic spinach – a special – and French fries).

When the bread came out and being in Texas, I instinctively reached straight for the cornbread… what a mistake! It was horrible, like crumbly sawdust. I would’ve tried to spread on the accompanying softened whipped butter, except the entire piece crumbled into my hand as I tried. Having given up on the cornbread, I warily reached for the plain wheat roll. WOW… to my surprise, it was soft, warm and delicious. It was doughy and yeasty in a homemade-sorta-way, and the smell reminded me a little of the fresh-baked bread from Subway.

Finally, as I watched every other table being served (by the way, the restaurant filled up within 30 minutes of opening!), my entrée came out, and it was exactly what I had hoped for. The chicken-fried steak looked golden brown, well-seasoned and crusty. Amazingly, it tasted even better than it looked – tender, spicy, crispy. And the gravy atop was the perfect sauce… until it congealed three minutes later perhaps due to the AC blasting (combating the 100+ degree heat outside). Strangely, the crusty chicken-fried steak still remained crusty – not soggy in the least – even underneath that layer of gravy – a scientific wonder.

The greens were waterlogged, the fries missed being crispy (maybe they needed to fry it with the same method as the chicken-fried steak), yet I would definitely return to Good Eats, and next time, maybe I’ll try the meatloaf or pot roast, but I doubt it.