<strong><span class="subhead">Roanoke&rsquo;s Twisted Root hits the sweet spot</span></strong></p><p>A friend and I stopped into the Twisted Root in Roanoke on Saturday and found the place hopping. Not bad for midafternoon and on a street that&rsquo;s under construction. We&rsquo;d already had a big lunch but wanted something sweet, and if you didn&rsquo;t know, Twisted Root can be a big help in this department. An offshoot of the exceedingly popular Deep Ellum original, Twisted Root makes its own ice cream from scratch and, by extension, excellent shakes and malts.</p><p>My pal Cynce had a chocolate malt (I was urging her to go with peanut butter, but she wouldn&rsquo;t budge), and it was thick and heavenly. I had a snow cone drizzled with juicy jalape&ntilde;o-pineapple syrup, and I can assure you it&rsquo;s a delight on a hot day. Had I not been facing a big drive back home, I&rsquo;d have had vodka added from the bar. </p><p>I like the casual feel and the goofy attitude at Twisted Root. You&rsquo;re given a name when you place your order, rather than a number, and it&rsquo;s called when your order is ready. Mine was Foxy Brown (so fitting!), but the best one I heard during our visit was Lorena Bobbitt. (We laughed out loud, prompting a kid at the next table to ask his dad, "Why is that so funny?" To which the dad frowned and replied, "Never mind.")</p><p>Maybe best of all, one of the groovin&rsquo; crew working the counter that day was Quincy Hart, co-owner and founder of Twisted Root. He was wearing a jaunty hat and had a clever quip for his customers. </p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Make room for Smashburger</span></strong></p><p>Apparently, there&rsquo;s no limit to the number of burger joints we need here in Texas. </p><p>Denver-based Smashburger will soon arrive, with 75 restaurants planned statewide, including 12 in "the greater Fort Worth metro area," according to the news release.</p><p>It&rsquo;s a fast-casual concept with either one-third- or one-half-pound burgers. The pure Angus beef is "smashed, seared and seasoned on a flat grill." The burger is served on a buttered, toasted artisan bun and topped with a choice of cheeses. Comments from Houston on Yelp praise the burger topped with mushroom, Swiss and a fried egg and the Smashfries dusted with rosemary. The menu also includes Veggie Frites, Smashchicken sandwiches, Smashdogs, Smashsalads, Haagen-Dazs shakes and malts, and beer and wine.</p><p>Friends of ours in Denver had good things to say about Smashburger. One, who isn&rsquo;t given to gushing, says she eats at the one near her house a lot. Another says: "I personally LOVE Smashburger; so does my family and everyone I&rsquo;ve introduced to them."</p><p>The first local Smashburger will open likely in early 2010.