I tried other burrito places. Moe’s is fine. Thunderbirds is not something I’d ever like to put in my mouth again. Chipotle rocks because the ingredients are clearly top notch. I quickly grew very reluctant, very quickly to try any burrito made by any restaurant other than Chipotle.

So week after week we passed by this Planet Burrito place. It didn’t help that the place never seemed to attract a crowd. We were skeptics.

Tonight we went. Chipotle is further away than we wanted to drive so we gave Planet Burrito a shot, and my goodness, I’m glad we did! A more diverse menu than Chipotle’s isn’t usually a good thing. Chipotle is the Apple of burrito restarants. Chipotle keeps it simple and elegant. Planet Burrito has many, many more options, but they aren’t standard … they’re interesting. If you’re a real carnivore, you have to be drawn to the idea of a Buffalo Chicken Burrito Bowl. As a proud Texan, I hate to admit … I was drawn to the Californian.

The Californian is Grilled Steak marinated in Pineapple and Lime Juice, with Monterey Jack Cheese, Cilantro Lime Rice, Black Beans, Romaine (I had them hold the Romaine), Tomatoes, Fresh Lime Juice, Red Onions, Toasted Garlic, Avocado (I had them hold the Avocado), and Zesty Garlic Lime Sauce. OH MY FREAKING GOODNESS!!! It’s one of the best things I’ve ever had in my life.

Cali Lewis ordered the Buffalo Chicken Burrito Bowl. I tasted hers. She tasted mine. We both were impressed by mine more. They serve breakfast burritos including a megas option. We’re probably going to be eating there frequently and will definatly be eathing at the further away Chipotle less.

Planet Burrito tops Chipotle and that is something I never thought I’d say.

I have to say their Web site sucks, though. It’s old-school and has a bunch of liberal nonsense about saving the planet. Honestly, I’m not looking to a burrito joint to save the planet. The planet isn’t quite so delecate and global warming is a hoax so the whole “save the planet” thing needs to go. It seems like pandering to idiots who wouldn’t be attracted to burritos anyway.

In all honesty the best thing we can do for the planet is to encourage Planet Burrito to open a location in every single place there is a Starbucks.

I can’t imagine a more carnivorous experience that eating at a Brazilian Steakhouse or Churrascaria. If you’ve never tried Churrascaria style dining, put it on your bucket list! It is hilariously extravagant, and few people experience it the first time without committing the sin of gluttony.

Brazilian Steakhouses tend to be upscale, but hospitable places. Boi Na Braza in Grapevine, Texas is about as nice as they come. It offers a prix fix menu that includes a luscious salad bar (mesa de frios) that counterbalances the carnivorous part of the experience.

A part of the experience is that each diner is given a card. The card is green on one side and red on the other. Green means, “Start bringing the meat!” and red means, “Oh God, please make them stop!” When your card is showing green, servers with skewers of meat start flowing to your side in what seems to be never ending succession. They tell you the name of the meat in the form of a question and you accept it or refuse it. There are 15 different types of meat in all. After my first 4 meats, I turned my card to red, but then the next offer of meat was just too tempting to refuse, so back to green I went.

Eating Churrascaria style is like a medieval royal feast. The amount of fabulous tasting food and attentive service is unlike any other type of dining I’ve tried.

Our evening at Boi Na Braza with Chris, Max and Sam Murphy was one we’ll never forget. Not only was it the best Churrascaria I’ve ever had, it’s the first time I was able to pace myself. I didn’t leave feeling sick from eating too much.

Boi Na Braza
4025 William D. Tate
Grapevine, Texas 76051
817.329.5514

The flashing neon lights can be seen down all of Broadway. The smell of pork entices one to enter. Jack’s Bar-B-Que is a dive BBQ restaurant in the heart of Nashville, TN.

Being a novice in the large world of barbeque, I expected to enter Jack’s and to be mesmerized by a large menu selection. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised. At Jack’s, there are only six items on the menu (including Tennessee Pork Shoulder, Texas Beef Brisket, Smoked Turkey Breast, St. Louis Pork Style Ribs, and Smoked Chicken), along with a few delectable side dishes.

For the past few days, I have had a strange craving for a pulled pork, so I went for the Tennessee Pork Shoulder sandwich. Being a New Yorker, I expected (and wanted) there to be a spicy sauce on-top, instead it was just pork, and you had the option of putting sauce on yourself.

I took a bite, and I was simply blown away. It was the most tender pork I have ever dug my teeth into. It was also very tasty (even without sauce).

Jack’s Bar-B-Que is a must-visit establishment for any barbeque enthusiast traveling through Nashville.

Jack’s Bar-B-Que
216 Broadway
Nashville, TN

Max Murphy, host and producer of Mac News Weekly, is on a 3000 mile road trip with his dad and brother, Sam. On the road he is BBQ blogging for Carnivore and making us all really hungry!

This morning we got a dire notice in the Inbox about a BBQ Emergency:

Bluegrass Restaurant is having a BBQ Fest to combat the constant construction on Old Deerfield Road. Chef Dave has decided to get out the BBQ and do some real smoking with his grills. We will be BBQ’ing for two weeks straight to get the word out that we are still here. If you see smoke please be aware it is only our smoker smoking the Ribs.

To start with, in what other type of dining is a decrepit looking building a good sign? They’re are some, but with BBQ is practically a given. You want a place with the character of New Orleans, a place where maintenance takes a backseat to good food and good fun.

Standing in line at the grocery store this afternoon (I was buying apples), I saw that the latest issue of Texas Monthly was promoting the “Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas.” I bought a copy and was disappointed that it didn’t put the Top 50 in rank order, but then again, that is nearly an impossible task. I know I couldn’t do it because there is just too much nuance.

Here’s what is both notible and exciting about the Texas Monthly list: I’ve never eaten at a single one of the joints. This fact is both exciting and overwhelming.

There are lots of places to go and lots of video to shoot, which means I need some exercise.

Chapps Cafe’s slogan is “Burgers to die for,” but for me…not so much. I had a bacon cheese burger with swiss cheese and it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great either. The only thing that stood out for me was that it was extremely filling. I only ate half. Of course that could have been more about the side order of cheddar fries Cali and I shared. That’s about all I can write about it. It’s just an average tasting burger.

Chapps Cafe
1004 Keller Pkwy
Keller, TXÂ
(817) 431-3888

I am not a burger person. I don’t go seeking for burger places for lunch or dinner. If sushi was cheap, I’d eat it every single day. Same with eating pasta and vegetables (but I’m not a vegetarian). Anyway, ever since I tried out Mooyah’s, I’ve been craving the taste of burgers. I must admit - our favorite place to get burgers is Jack in the Box. I wanted to try something new and opted to go to Steak ‘n Shake, which is literally across the freeway from our house. (Actually, I wanted to go eat at Buffalo Wild Wings but then changed my mind at the last minute.) I had heard that Steak ‘n Shake was a must-try from my husband’s mom to friends on Twitter.

Before we walked in, I thought it was going to be one of those fast-food joints, where you walk up to the counter, place your order, wait at the table, and be called when your order was ready. It was actually set up like a 60’s style diner, stylized in red, black, and white decor, and I was pleasantly surprised that we were actually seated (by a very tall girl) at a booth. Right as we sat down, I noticed another customer eating French fries (with a fork) and what caught my eye was that they were skinny fries. My favorite kind! So I knew that I’d be back at Steak ‘n Shake for something.

We poured over the menus since I didn’t check the menu ahead of time on-line. I tend to gravitate to the salads but I didn’t want to do that my first time. So chose the portobello & swiss steakburger platter (which comes with 2 sides), French fries, and a cup of chili. Since I didn’t want to not have a shake, I picked the “vanorange” which is a vanilla and orange shake. What is so cool is that in the glass one side is vanilla and the other side is orange! Tom got the bacon ‘n cheese double steakburger platter with the same sides. He topped it off with the “coffee mocha” shake. The waitress had a memory of steel as she didn’t write anything down! (That always amazes me.)

Our chili came out first. It wasn’t really hot, kinda more on the warm side, but it was still yummy. Shortly thereafter, we got our burgers and fries and our shakes (and a couple glasses of water, too). My burger was so juicy and the meat was peeking out of the bun. The meat was also very lean, much like the meat Mooyah puts in their burgers. The shake was thick and creamy and oh, so good. That’s why you needed the water to wash it all down.

After we were done, we sat and chit-chatted and the manager (the only one with a tie, slacks, and dress shirt) walked around from table to table asking how the food was. I like seeing that in a restaurant. It makes me feel like they do care about their customers. Since I’ve been living in Dallas for 2 years now, I can say that I’ve been to Steak ‘n Shake and I know I’ll be back again. The good thing about Steak ‘n Shake is that they’re open 24 hours. So when the mood hits, you know where to go.

Steak ‘n Shake
950 Market Place Blvd.
Irving, TX 75063
214-574-5300

Editor’s Note: This review was written by twitter friend @daysies. She twittered that she had just eaten at Steak ‘N’ Shake, one of our favorite places, and I asked her to do a guest review for Carnivore.TV. You can read more from daysies, a.k.a., Kathleen on her blog daysiesdotnu where she writes about whatever is on her mind.

I have to add something because it’s my favorite thing at Steak ‘N’ Shake. On the table with the salt, pepper and ketchup, they also provide pepper sauce. I think SNS might call it something different, but in the south, we call it pepper sauce. It’s vinegar in a bottle with green tabasco peppers. I love sprinkling it liberally over the skinny fries and then salting them. It’s salt, vinegar and POW! What could be better?

My big question for Kathleen, though, is where can I get good Sushi in Dallas?