It's a Very Casual Restaurant Week for Food Critics

Two very different casual restaurants get reviewed by Al Mancini. He says he's not a big fan of Al's Beef, the Chicago sandwich shop that opened at Sahara Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard in January. "While I like the rich beef itself, it could use a bit of seasoning, but I find the giardiniera far too spicy. My advice would be to order it sweet and ask for a side of the hot-pepper mixture."

At the new Cornish Pasty Co. in Commercial Center, he likes the bangers and mash pasty, although says the side of gravy is "ridiculously salty. Be sure to save room for dessert, because the sticky toffee Shirley Temple's Pudding could give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money." [VS]

Erik Chudy also heads to Al's Beef with a different purpose — the Drive-In cheeseburger. Even though they used a pre-made frozen patty, he says the burger was "pretty good." He gives it a surprising 86 out of 100. [VBB]

Brock Radke covers the tacos al pastor at Texas Station's Feast Buffet. "Ever since the tacos hit the menu right after Christmas, the buffet's lunch crowd has expanded." [LVW]

New to Week in Reviews, Endo Edibles, a food blog from Michael Uzmann. This week he heads to Streetcar Po' Boys to try a little of everything from the NOLA-inspired menu. "Although I cannot pretend to be a Po-boy 'expert' every single item I tasted was a delight." [EE]

HKR gives Tender Steak & Seafood A grades across the board even though she didn't try one steak. Instead, it was whitefish, the wild game tasting and cheeses and charcuterie. Odd. [LVRJ]

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Al's Beef [Photo: Susan Stapleton]