This week I had the sincere pleasure (I really mean that) of dining at Z Grill & Tap in Flower Mound, owned by Al Abbood. I’m going to confess that I’ve lived in Flower Mound for years, and have never really thought about going to Z Grill.
However, knowing that this place has an extremely loyal following and that Al used to own Sonoma Grill in Parker Square, I really wanted to give this place a try and a review on my blog.
I know you’ve heard me talk about some of my favorite dishes and experiences at restaurants we’ve visited so far. But today’s lunch was an actual religious experience. This was the best overall meal I’ve had in a long time, and I can’t tell you how pleased I am that I was able to experience it right here in Flower Mound.
As I mentioned, Al used to own Sonoma Grill in Parker Square. At the time, Al was operating both Sonoma and Z Grill and in an effort to combine resources and environments, Al made the incredibly intelligent decision to close Sonoma Grill when the lease was up and move the menu over to Z Grill – therefore bringing Sonoma’s exquisite food to the fun family atmosphere Z Grill offered.
I’ve heard a lot of people say that Z Grill & Tap is “just a bar.” But there really is so much more to it than that. This is a place you can bring your family and enjoy amazing American cuisine while you watch a game on the hi-def TVs or listen to the live music. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, bands play on Z Grill’s stage – everything from acoustic sets to bigger local bands like Emerald City. It’s such a fun environment and in addition to that, they serve fabulous food. Al’s staff has years of experience in the restaurant business and continually come up with wonderfully creative dishes that use fresh ingredients and appeal to all kinds of tastes and preferences.
The star of the restaurant has to be Chef Benny Benigno who has been at Z Grill & Tap for 14 years, even before Al owned the place. He’s trained in American cuisine and is an absolute master of it. Several times a year, Chef Benny heads to their food supplier to train with their chefs to learn everything from how to create new dishes to how to control inventory. His desire to improve his craft shines through in the food he and his kitchen produce.
I’m really having a hard time narrowing down my thoughts on how incredible this place is, so the best way to show you is probably to let you see all the amazing food we ate. So, without further ado – OUR LUNCH.
We started off with a couple of recommended appetizers. First are the Beef & Roasted Garlic Canapes which is house made toasted Focaccia topped with sliced filet Mignon and horseradish aioli served with roasted garlic cloves and fried sweet potato strings. We also ordered some boneless Garlic Lemon Pepper wings. The filet Mignon was incredibly tender and flavorful and the house made bread was great as well. The wings also had an awesome flavor to them – I loved the hint of lemon!
Kari and I took a close friend and client with us, so we each tried to order something from different areas of the menu for our entrees. And we ended up having serious food envy of one another and had to share our plates. Between us we ordered a Chicken Fajita Salad (guess whose that was….), the Cajun Jambalaya, and my favorite (and the new love of my life) – Crab Stuffed Chilean Sea Bass. Let me just explain to you in detail what this Sea Bass was. It’s their signature entree – horseradish crusted sea bass seared and topped with a grape relish, served with a Chardonnay citrus sauce on ginger-chive risotto. Yeah, I’m just going to let you look at the pictures and experience food envy of your own.
And that wasn’t even the end of it – we got to order dessert next!! We decided to order the Chocolate Ganache cake with some advice from Al and words cannot express how glad I am we decided to listen to him. I’m not sure how I can possibly explain in words how decadent and delicious this dessert is, so I’m just going to say that there are few sensations greater than what we all felt when eating this cake.
Here’s something you may not know about Z Grill & Tap. They serve breakfast on the weekends from 10am-2pm. All kinds of great breakfast dishes from biscuits and gravy to pancakes to omelettes. So, it’s a great place to hit up for brunch on Saturday/Sunday as well.
I’ve never left a Foodie Friday meal as excited and pleased as I was when we left Z Grill & Tap. I’m so happy that we have amazing restaurants like this right in our own backyard – and if you’re like me, you don’t even realize it! Which is why I’m doing what I’m doing. I want to inform you of AWESOME local places like this and encourage you to go try them out. So, make this your next date night out or the location of your next family outing. You will not regret it. There are so many wonderful selections on the menu and I’m confident that they’re all as fabulous as what we had today.
When you go in, be sure to tell Al you heard about them on my Foodie Friday blog. I can’t wait to hear about your experiences! I’ll see you there sometime soon for some great food and live music!
Click here more for photos and restaurant reviews from Jay Marks.
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