Cheddar's - worth a look.

Cheddar's Casual Cafe
6701 Broadway Ave
Tyler, Texas 75703-4731
(903) 534-1700
http://www.cheddars.com/



Cheddar's is one of my wife's favorites. She loves the salads, the strawberry lemonade and their dinner rolls. It is located just south of Grande off of I-69/Broadway. I am not a big fan of chains, and their decor is bland but ok. One bonus is they are pretty kid friendly.

The spread: They have a wide ranging menu with plenty of selections ranging from salads, soups, sandwiches, 'classics', burgers, and steaks. The dessert menu is also pretty good. What is most impressive are their prices. The menu and decor are pretty much a carbon copy of Bennigan's or Chili's, but their prices are significantly less for food of the same quality.

The verdict: I have to say that I am impressed every time that I go to Cheddar's. Sure, it is chain food, but the prices are right and the food is good. Plus it doesn't hurt that it makes my wife happy. The service is usually good, with food coming out quickly and drinks refilled in a timely manner. They also have a large drink selection, which is always a bonus in Tyler. I have had the double decker club, the monte cristo and the bacon burger. My wife likes the lemon pepper chicken. The portions are large and the food is cooked right and tasted good.

Edible Tyler Roses: 3 out of 5, solid chain food.

Little Italy - neighborhood favorite.

Little Italy
3320 South Broadway Avenue
Tyler, TX 75701-7818
(903) 595-1184
No website.



This is a locally owned restaurant just inside the loop. I have been several times with the wife and with some friends of ours. This place reminds me of the old style neighborhood restaurants where a family owned and operated the place.

The spread: I have to say that I am very impressed with their menu. They have an assortment of appetizers, sandwiches, pizza, seafood, and multiple types of pastas. I have had the pizza, the meatball sandwich, chicken marsala, chicken piccata, ravioli and tortilleni. The prices are very resonable to cheap for Italian food. The dinners all come with either a salad or a beef/cabbage stew (Get the stew!). The always bring out fresh baked dinner rolls with a nice italian seasoning (great for sopping up soup). We have never had enough room to try one of their desserts.

The verdict: This is one of those places that I really love. The wait staff are friendly and knowledgeable. The food is uniformly good to great and the portions are large. There is a wide selection (to include options for kids - my son devoured his pizza and my one year old daughter ate her whole meatball - total cost under 3 bucks). The pizza is thin-crust and delicious. The sandwich are massive and filled full of Italian goodness. I have been very pleased with all the pasta dishes I have tried. The decor is homey. I just don't have a bad thing to say about this well run restaurant. This is definitely one of my favorites in Tyler.

Edible Tyler Roses: 4.5 out of 5, skip the chains, this place is awesome!

El Chico - needs work.

UPDATE: El Chico has shut down and reopened as a more adult themed El Chico Ranch. There was some controversy concerning the renaming and uniforms of the waitstaff (think Hooters), but apparently that is all resolved. Stay tuned for a review of El Chico Ranch.

El Chico Restaurant
426 E Southeast Loop 323
Tyler, TX 75701-9632
(903) 581-9986
www.elchico.com

This is the Tyler location of the chain of El Chico restaurants throughout Texas. My wife and I used to go to El Chico frequently in college, and I was feeling sentimental so we packed up the kids and stopped by after our trip to Toys R Us.

The spread: The menu is typical Texas roadside Tex-Mex. The selections range from queso, enchiladas, tamales, tacos, burritos, fajitas, salads, etc. I was a big fan of the queso and the cheese enchiladas in college so I went with those. My wife went with the chicken enchiladas and we ordered rice and beans for the kiddos.

The verdict: Ugh. Well, the service was pretty good, with the waiter being attentive and tolerating the kid madness well. The decor is artificial Mexican, nothing offensive or interesting. The food was a big let down, although the queso was the highlight of the meal. The cheese enchiladas were cold, flavorless and swimming in a cold flavorless chili gravy. The rice and beans tasted old and were again lacking salt and seasoning. My wife was equally unimpressed with her food. I am not sure if my tastes have refined, or if the food isn't as good as it was back in Huntsville (Go Bearkats!), but we left disappointed. Overall, there are plenty of places to get good Mexican food in Tyler, this isn't one of them.

Edible Tyler Roses: 1 out of 5, skip it!

Taqueria El Lugar III - good place for tacos

Taqueria El Lugar III
2121 East 5th Street
Tyler, TX 75701-3515
(903) 526-6118
No website.



This is one of three (I think) locations of Taqueria El Lugar. They are a locally owned (I think) and operated chain of little taquerias. They have a pretty good reputation as a traditional mexican restaurant/taqueria.

The spread: They definitely have a focused menu. There are about 10 different versions of tacos or quesadillas that you can get with beef or chicken on flour or corn tortillas. The taco with beef fajita on flour tortilla is my old stand by, but have had 4-5 different combinations. They have a nice selection on bottled drinks to include my favorite "Jarritos" mexican made sodas. You walk in, place an order at the counter and then pick up your grub and bring it back to the table or get it to go.

The verdict: The tacos run about 2 bucks and the quesadillas are around 4 bucks. The meat is flavorful, the tortillas are good (although I don't think they are made in house) and the topping are fresh. The salsas they provide are also very good, ranging from a spicy green to a medium to hot red sauce. My wife is a big fan of the avocado taco. Overall, this is good food at reasonable prices.

Edible Tyler Roses: 4 out of 5, the selection is limited, but the tacos are tasty.

Carretta's Cafe - I guess they sell a lot of alcohol.

*EDIT*  Carreta's Cafe has closed its doors.  I guess serving mediocre food isn't good enough anymore to stay in business.

Carreta's Cafe

7011 S Broadway Ave

Tyler, TX 75703

(903) 581-1895

This is set in what I think was an old Ninfa's (maybe) and is in the parking lot of Target off of I-69/Broadway. I live fairly close and have been several times with the wife and kids.

The spread: The is Tex-mex with a hint of some real Mexican flavors. They offer your standard Tex-mex fair - enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, tamales, nachos and also offer more traditional Mexican items like carne guisada and tortas.

The verdict: The food is average at best. My wife really enjoyed the American Torta which was essentially a guacamole cheeseburger on torta bread. All the other offerings - enchiladas, fajitas etc. were variable okay. There are some problems with the kitchen, the food always takes more time than you might expect (20-25 minutes for food), which isn't great when dealing with hungry kids. Also, the place is a ghost town during the day and early evening, it was only when I went up there around 9:30 pm one night that I finally understood how they stay in business. Without question, they stay in business by alcohol sales in the evening to the party crowd. Since that is not really my thing, I would pass on Carreta's because of the lack-luster food.

Edible Tyler roses: 2 of 5, skip it unless you are desperate or want to party.

Jucys - respectable burger.

Jucys Hamburgers
2330 East 5th Street
Tyler, TX 75701-3521
(903) 597-0660
http://www.jucyshamburgers.com/index.php



Jucys is a local hamburger joint with locations in Tyler, Longview and Marshall. They have won several awards for their hamburgers, although I don't put much weight in winning awards. There are two locations in Tyler, one just west of loop 323 on 5th street and one a couple miles south of loop 323 on Old Jacksonville Highway.

The spread: They offer hamburgers with varying toppings, chicken sandwiches, BLTs, grilled cheese, baked potatoes, salads, fries and onion rings. They have shakes and ice cream for dessert as well.

The verdict: Well, you are going to pay more for a burger here than from McDonald's, but they are worth every penny. For a long time, Jucys was the best hamburger I have had in Tyler (the burger from Coyote Sam's is the only one to top Jucys). The meat is jucy, the buns soft and the veggies fresh. One surprise was the onion rings - they were out of this world good. After taking one bite, the first thing that came in my head was "When am I going to get some more of these!?" Unfortunately, I had to share my onion rings with my wife and she was equally impressed. We have only picked up from both locations, and I think the one on 5th street is a little better.

Edible Tyler Roses: 4 out of 5, fine burger for a good price. Skip the fries and get onion rings!

BJ's brewhouse - beautiful beers

BJ's Brewhouse
210 W Southwest Loop 323
Tyler, TX 75703
(903) 939-2840
http://www.bjsrestaurants.com/locations/tx/tyler



Ah.....BJ's. This is one of my favorite chain restaurants I used to frequent back in Houston. My good friends and I had been anticipating the opening ever since we saw the sign it was under construction. I have been to several locations and they are usually busy with good pizza and beer.

The spread: BJ's has an extensive menu that is all over the place. I would definitely say that they suffer from trying to be all things to all people. The appetizers range from mini-tacos, mini-burgers, nachos, avocado egg rolls, calamari, and the list goes on. Their menu has many selections across a wide range of tastes, flavors and ethnic origins. They have typical burgers, sandwiches and salads as well as a few versions of each that are unique to BJ's. They also have a selection of pastas, steak, and seafood. The dessert menu is centered around their pizzookies, which consistent of a large cookie accompanied by ice cream. I regularly have the deep dish pizza, and they have a wide range of topping to choose from. They have a full bar with a long list of cocktails, and many beers on tap. Unique to BJ's is their own selection of beers brewed to their standards (they used to be brewed in house, but now are brewed centrally and distributed). Visit the website for more details about their extensive menu.

The verdict: This is a great new place for Tyler. In my opinion, it is unique in that it offers a wide menu selection, certain to have something for everyone who comes in. It also is pretty family friendly, and I don't feel horrible when my one year old decides to test the strength of her lungs for no apparent reason. I love craft beer, and BJ's has a wide range from a hoppy IPA, to a well balanced amber in Jeremiah Red. They also have a changing seasonal beer for a little extra variety. The bar is impressive, and I am mostly sure they have the largest selection of beer on tap and one of the best stocked hard liquor bars in town. I tend to stick with the deep dish pizza and it is consistently some of the best deep dish pizza I have ever had. The topping are fresh and the dough has just the right consistency. Yum. The burgers and sandwiches are surprisingly good for a chain restaurant (but there are better places in town). My wife is able to get whatever she wants and be content in her selection. The one down side to BJ's trying to be all things to all people is that outside of the pizza and beer, the menu selections tend to be overall above average to good, but not great. Another down side is that BJ's is typically very busy (although they are still 'new' to Tyler) and we have on more than one occasion decided to go somewhere else because the wait times were ridiculous (for some reason, toddlers aren't cool with waiting an hour to eat). But, BJ's does pizza and beer very well, there is a good atmosphere, and good service.

Edible Tyler Roses: 4.5 out of 5 - Get the pizza and try a beer!