Joe’s Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Texas

Decided to go to Joe's based solely on the reviews that we read on Google. This is where things are misleading. We read a review that this place reminded them of an old school Italian joint... Well, I don't know how many old school Italian joints you've ever eaten at, but this definitely does not look like an old school Italian joint. Another review said that the service here was incredible.. unfortunately this could be no further from the truth.

I got to admit that I was super pumped up upon walking into this place and seeing so many people in line to get takeout orders. I felt like this was a very good sign on a full moon night. We were seated and I think after that we saw our waitress 3-4 more times. She took our drink order, then she took our food order, asked us if we needed a box to go and then that we could pay at the counter. So that right there just kind of knocked down the whole service thing.

Food came out and everything looked incredible. Everything was nice and hot and looked to be prepared fresh. The fried raviolis and marinara were very tasty, the garlic bread with cheese was your old school hoagie roll with cheese on top and throwing in the pizza oven which is very dear and near to my heart. I had the pasta sampler, My wife had lasagna. And we were going to share a shrimp scampi over linguini.

The tomato dishes were very tart and sweet at the same time. I honestly felt that the amount of mozzarella cheese on top of everything, just kind of turned it all into one big lump of cheesy. The flavors never really were showcased by their own. The lasagna just kind of tasted like a sweet tart tomato sauce covered in cheese. The manicotti felt prey to the same thing, the ricotta cheese could barely stand out under the blanket of molten mozzarella.

This is where it got weird. The menu stated that the shrimp scampi was a lemon wine sauce, but the dish that I got was a white cream with lemon. When I mean cream I mean heavy cream. This was more of an Americanized Alfredo sauce. I tried to explain to one of the other waitresses that I did not expect this and this was not how it was spelled out on the menu. She said that this was their style. I explained again that nowhere in the description of the dish does it say cream or creamy. I was fortunate enough that she took this dish off my bill, due to the nature that it was very misleading in the menu description.

The bottom line is this. If you like everything covered in molten cheese and you like your cheese with more cheese on top of it with a little bit of a sprinkle of sweet tartness from their marinara then go ahead and...

I love this place. The previous restaurants in this place have suffered because of the persisting cigarette smoke smell, but Joe's has made every conceivable effort to eliminate it. While not entirely effective, it is not so bad as to spoil your pick-up or dining experience. I recommend this place risky for take out or for dining in. There is a television, but also plenty of art on the walls to look at and talk about shortly before your meal arrives.

Almost everything I've had has been fantastic, Ave what hasn't had still been tasty. Their pizza is extremely reasonably priced for its quality and for the quantity of toppings used (thick cheese and good topping coverage). For people that enjoy pizza crust, the flavor of their pizza crust is excellent and crisps up very nicely when leftovers are reheated the next day... Or later that night. The appetizers are a little lackluster, but still tasty as the provided red sauce is great. As for pasta dishes, their lasagna is fabulous, their manicotti and cannelloni are tasty and well sauced, but my favorite is the tortellini bolognese. I highly recommend the pasta sampler if you cannot make up your mind and want leftovers. You will end up with leftovers, regardless, since the portion sizes are so large. If you can manage it, you can finish with a dessert. The Italian cream cake and cannoli are to die for. I can hardly wait to try something else...

This place is close to work and I wanted to check out for a while. I read the reviews and they seemed very good. I was hoping for a small neighborhood italian place, perhaps ran by an italian or at least someone who knows or appreciate italian food. I went there for lunch, ordered a carbonara and I don't even know what to say about that. It was linguini pasta with chicken and mushroom soaked into a beige sauce. My nonno would just leave, but I decided to go ahead and try it. It is not just the fact that there is absolutely nothing carbonara in that carbonara dish it is the fact that it was absolutely bland. The chicken tested nothing, the sauce is there just to add calories to the dish, and the mushrooms... well they are mushrooms but there should be no mushrooms in a carbonara pasta. The traditional carbonara is a pasta dish made with guanciale (cured pork) or pancetta or even bacon (since we are in America), a lot of pecorino cheese and black pepper and that is it! no secrets! The sauce is made of pecorino and a small amount of the hot water where you boiled the pasta! I don't know what these guys are doing there, honestly. The server was very polite and kind, which makes me feel bad for writing this review, but the food is not good. I have no intention to...