TRAVEL HERE: WELL, YOU CAN FORGET THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE AND CINEMA!

Talk about an epic fail! Alamo Drafthouse and Cinema recent mailing campaign would have to be the worse pratfall I’ve observed in a long time. I remember opening my mailbox and finding their thick laminated postcard a few weeks back.  My first thought? “OMG! Imagine how much money it cost to send out this thing. ” I didn’t know what parameters they used, but I wasn’t exactly their in their neighborhood and I tried to calculate what kind of response rate they might get. (I know.  I’ve spent entirely too many years in marketing and sales.)

Expensive Pitch

Then the words “FREE” and “$25” grabbed my attention.  Wary of one of those “you have already won” offers, I  perused the card skeptically.  After carefully reading the whole card, it seemed that a new movie theater was opening and they would give me $25 worth of free food, if I would just come watch a movie.  I love going to the movies and I love eating – a perfect combo, but I was a little under the water with family commitments just then. So I put the bright shiny card on my desk a promised myself I’d try to go visit.  I mean really, I have to check these things out for you, after all.

Then on the final Sunday night the offer was available, I found myself in a position where I could turn off my phone and go to the movies.  It had been a long time since that was possible.  But first we had to decide which movie to see.  I, of course, wanted to see The Butler.  Bill dislikes one of the stars so that was a no-go.  None of the other movies sounded remotely interesting to me, but Bill thought Meet the Millers would be just the laughfest I needed right then. I doubted it, but I did want to do something that felt normal. So I slipped on my flip flops and headed to the car.  The best part was that I didn’t even TAKE my phone.

Before the Movie

There was no crowd waiting at the ticket booth, but Sunday nights are slow pretty much everywhere, so that was no harbinger of things to come. Glancing around the lobby I saw a bar with several patrons and admired the old movie theater vibe they’d managed to capture.  We found our seats in the appropriate theater and sat back to enjoy the experience.

They played a series of shorts and excerpts.  The primary theme seemed to be video related to smoking weed.  There were some clips from mainstream movies where marijuana was being smoked or discussed.  Then there was some ridiculous comedy skit where a rapper made a DEA agent look like a fool.  Most of that stuff I could do without, but there were some film clips from the forties and fifties similar to “Reefer Madness.” Those I found pretty funny.  Bill didn’t find any of them even slightly entertaining.  He would have much preferred trailers of coming attractions.

Then there was our server.  He earned points for enthusiasm, but he was pretty lame at everything else. His schpiel included a pretty serious rant against cellphones, along with a number of threats about what would happen to us if we dared interrupt the film with our phones.  I want theaters to be phone-free zones, but his admonitions were a little over the top. A bit later on the theater aired animated announcements of the same vein.  He was obviously on message when he threatened our well being. Phones are not the only no-no.  A quick whisper to your movie mate or an exhaled “WOW” would also be pretty dangerous at Alamo.

And here’s another beef.  They took a drink order as soon as we found our seat, but we didn’t get the beverages until the lights went down.  Since we showed up thirty minutes early to enjoy the promised pre-movie amenities, that was all wrong.  What’s more, we were the first people on our row to arrive and place our order, but we were the last to get our drinks.  That’s worse!

Really Bad Food

But the crowning glory of horror was the food.  Even free food should be decent.  It was cold.  The bun was tough.The meat was greasy.  I didn’t even finish the fries.  (If you know me, you know that’s a real indicator of yuck food.)  We really wished we’d stayed home, nuked us some frozen food and watched an episode of Pawn Stars or Say Yes to the Dress.

And the movie? OK, it had some funny parts, but only enough for about a thirty minute sitcom. (Newsflash: The Millers, a CBS sitcom airs October 3rd.  So we paid to see a TV pilot?) Outside those funny thirty minutes, everything else was downright awful.  Bill was not as disgusted as me, but then he likes Dumb and Dumber.

We will not be returning to Alamo.  I don”t recommend it as a movie venue.  If we absolutely had to have a meal with our movie, we might go Studio Movie Grill and someday I plan to go to LOOK, just to check it out, but we’ve pretty much decided that when it comes to movie dates, we’d rather go to dinner and then go to the movie.  Not try to do both at the same time.

What about you?  Do you like your movie and food at at the same place and have you found a theater where the food is actually good?

TRAVEL HERE: THE GREAT STATE FAIR OF TEXAS

I interrupt this series of blogs about traveling beyond DFW to remind everyone that it’s State Fair time in Texas.  If you’ve followed this blog for very long or know this blogger, then you know I love me some State Fair of Texas.

Free-style Fair Visit

This year I tried something new, a free-style fair visit.  If you’ll remember, free-style cruising didn’t suit me very well, but life’s been a little bit demanding lately.  I just didn’t have time to fully research this year’s fair before showing up.  We just headed south on 75, cut over to 45 and ended up on MLK Boulevard.

I guess we might have been a little earlier than usual, because the parking flaggers weren’t out in droves.  There were Park Here signs all around, but it wasn’t quite clear which signs went with which spots and no one was begging us to park there.  We happened upon a nice young man, out in the yard with his little house-coated grandmother, but they were taking out the trash, not selling parking places.  They invited us to park in her front yard and accepted $5 as an afterthought.

We entered at Gate Nine, which is by the Carousel and Midway Greenhouse.  We made the first potty stop behind the carousel and set out to find our first corny dog.   We enjoyed our Fletcher’s and Shiner break at a picnic table near the Coca Cola Stage, but we’d missed the performance, whatever it was. Next up was Big Tex.

If you follow me on facebook, you saw some photos of Big Tex that I shared from another site a few days ago.  I was pretty critical of the guy, but come to find out, what I hated most, the Santa Fe colored clothing and boots, aren’t a part of his reality.  It was a trick of the lighting or photoshop or something.  His outfit was better than I’d hoped for, but one thing’s for sure, whoever put him together knows nothing about human proportions.  Big Tex really is chunkier than he used to be, but unless Lucchese has started making thigh-high boots for men, somebody’s done something wrong.

Next was the Grand Place.  You know that building where they have the outdoor spas and vibrating chairs.  I have no idea why we went, but we always do.  One quick circuit and we were out, but I did sample the wine slushies.  Not a big hit with us.

On to the Automobile Building – gotta keep my fella happy.  I thought the Ford Robot Guy was interesting and Bill kicked some Cadillac tires, but we spent most of our time at Chrysler’s Golf Simulator.

Across the Esplanade, Bill sat in Hyundai’s Genesis and Equus, as well as a short sojourn in a Lincoln, but I don’t think Mercedes has anything to worry about. He will be buying one of the new CLA’s.  Just give him some time.

We checked out the rest of the Centennial Building and fell in love with some fancy yard furniture, but the price tag was a bit hefty.  We could better afford some of the offerings in the Embarcadero, but we didn’t see anything we wanted.

A perennial favorite with us is the Creative Arts Showcase and this year was no different.  We made our first of two visits, lingering over the photos.  Then we knew it was time for some more fair food.

Last year we’d really had a good time in the Texas Wine Garden, so we headed that way.  This year, Texas Craft Beers had invaded the wine garden and it was a perfect afternoon for a cold one.  Bill got the beer and sent me on a food safari.  Well, I checked out the cheese trays, but we’d have needed to bring all our friends to justify one, so I headed down to Hans Mueller’s.  It wasn’t exactly next door, but definitely worth the trek.  A plate of too many cheese cubes was twenty-four coupons in the wine garden, but for sixteen I got three brats, a huge roll, sauerkraut and some German potato salad.  Yum, just perfect to share with our Texas craft beer.

Another hit from last year had been the Sensodyne toothpaste tent.  I swear Bill got enough samples to last him the year, so he wanted to see if they had a tent this year.  The program lists them as a sponsor, but we never did find their space.  If anyone else does, please bring Bill a few tubes.  Instead of toothpaste, I got a Hill’s dog food sample and a few bites of Wolf Brand Chili.  Bill considered the Chevy Test Drive and Air Force Simulator, but the crowds deterred him from both.

Heading back towards the Texas Food & Fiber Building, Bill’s tires ran low and he wanted some funnel cake.  The Kilidares were playing on the Dr. Pepper Stage, so I offered to find him some funnel cake and went to grab myself a Diet Dr. Pepper, my beverage of choice.  The Diet DP would have been easy enough, but for some reason, funnel cake wasn’t represented nearby.  I kept thinking, “There has to be some in the next batch of food vendors,” but that took me all the way back to Big Tex.  I finally found his treat inside the Tower Building, but I’d already been gone too long.  My phone rang and Bill wanted to make sure I hadn’t been mugged.  I found a shortcut back, but by then, my tires were running low, too.

As we relaxed, the Kildares (who’d quit playing shortly after I left on the serach for funnel cake) came back onto their revolving stage and we enjoyed their beautiful Celtic music.  As we considered what to do next, I checked the daily program and it said there were samples in the Food & Fiber building until seven. We detoured through the Creative Arts Showcase to avoid the crowds, but enjoyed getting another look at the crafts.  When we reached the Food & Fiber Building we discovered the program had lied.  We arrived by 6:30 and the place was a ghost town.  Even Elsie and Beauregard had found other places to be.

So far, the day had been perfect with one small miscalculation.  As we sat in the wine garden, someone said they were leaving and offered us their remaining coupons.  I made the mistake of thinking they were offering to GIVE us the coupons, because that’s what I always do when the day is over, but NO!  They expected us to pay them and it flummoxed me so that I actually did.  Now Bill was damned and determined to recoup my loss as we wandered back to Gate Nine.

On our quest to spend our coupons, we visited the Elvis impersonator on the Silverado Stage, checked out the Craft Pavilion and gazed down the Esplanade.  Bill decided he could forego the Illumination Sensation, but he did want to get rid of the coupons, so I opted for another Fletcher’s Corny Dog from the stand down by The Old Mill. We hooked up with Big & Bright Boulevard and caught a peek at The Chinese Lantern Festival.  We were there about the time that the Parade was lining up, so instead of standing on the sidelines and watching the parade pass, we strolled along looking at the floats.

One taste treat that I’d been eyeing all day was some beverage concoction in a pineapple.  I finally found the booth at the end of the Cotton bowl Plaza, but it cost more coupons than we had remaining.  Then I found Bill by one of the ticket booths hawking our last coupons, so I realized it was time to go home.

This was a great weekend.  Dallas had that perfect October weather thing going on.  I attended two events of my 40th High School Reunion and made a visit to Cottonwood Art Festival.  A weekend like this is reason enough to live in Texas.

TRAVEL HERE: ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS AT THE DALLAS ARBORETUM

Have you been to the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society? Then get over there!

Late Afternoon Visit to the Children’s Garden

After we’d been to church and run a few errands, we wanted a way to enjoy the gorgeous Sunday afternoon, so we decided to visit an old favorite, DABS.  We actually arrived unaware it was opening weekend of the children’s garden, but we couldn’t miss the plethora of pumpkins.  We decided to take a tram for an overview of the gardens and discovered we’d happened onto the tail end of children’s garden’s opening festivities.

I was afraid we’d find ourselves overwhelmed with squealing kids, but it was late enough in the day that most of them had gone home.  The smattering still enjoying the children’s garden was just the right amount to let us see how much kids loved it, without feeling under siege.

Starting at the End

My husband being the contrarian that he is,wandered towards number 21 on the map when we left the entry plaza rather than The Cascades, which is indicated as your next stop.  Still the Incredible Edible Garden wasn’t a bad place to begin.  This really is a kid’s garden.  Everything begs for you to press it, touch it, feel it, spin it, climb on it, sit under it or do something to it and your reward is not only entertainment but learning experiences.

We meandered along the walks, visiting an overlook and enjoying misters in a gazebo. We peeked into the Exploration Center, but moved on along to the Plants are Alive Section.  Talk about alive, the exhibits were crawling with delighted kids and their parents. Touch was being used to learn all around me.  I observed parents discussing whether a mushroom was an animal, vegetable or mineral with a pair of enraptured little girls.  The energy level was almost exhausting.

Wandering further we found a giant kaleidoscope.  Children were fascinated and their parents had to drag them away.  We pretended we were just observing the kids, but eventually with no kids in line, we had a go at it.  No wonder they were so enthralled!  It was truly addicting.

Moving on we saw them closing up the puppet theater and found ourselves at the T.Boone Pickens Pure Energy area.  BRAVO!  The children loved it.  Squeals of laughter alerted us to the fact that the area could easily be called Pure Entertainment.  It’s been a long time since I saw so many handles to turn or so much water being manipulated – and if the kids were really lucky, some would splash out on them.  Of course, my big kid couldn’t resist his own turn at most of the exhibits.

With only a half hour left, we tried to take in as much of the rest of the garden as we could.  We trotted through the maze, wanting to see the dragons, but not allowing ourselves time to get lost.  And speaking of time, the human sundial is charming.  The kids were thrilled by it.

We strolled the Texas Skywalk and peeked into the Walk in the Clouds.  We longed to linger in the Moody Oasis, but it was time to head back to the car.  On the tram ride back to the main entrance we did pass the new Magnolia Garden I’d been looking forward to, but I hadn’t missed my opportunity to see it, because the water feature has been broken almost since it opened.

Speaking of broken, there were a few items in the children’s garden that were already not operating.  Not major things.  A joystick on one of the solar energy activities was missing and the pendulum was gone from from a display in one of the kaleidoscope activities.  The garden might be for kids, but it’s apparently not totally kid-proof.  Come to think of it, what is?

TRAVEL HERE: CAFE HERRERA IN DALLAS TX

My vigil at Mom’s side is over. It was a bittersweet time. I was happy to have the honor of serving her, but for her, the battle was brutal.

As the medical staff went about the business of death, my husband and my best friend came to help me pack up Mom’s things.  They waited with me as hospice people scurried about, making the loss an official statistic.  Then they set about trying to remind me there was a world outside the sick room.

The Comfort of Food

We were all hungry, so my husband navigated to an old favorite that would comfort me with Tex-Mex and Margaritas, but when we got there Matt’s Ranchero Martinez was gone and in it’s place was Cafe Herrera.  Now, don’t get hysterical! There are still several Matt’s in the area, he just doesn’t live at Mockingbird Station anymore.  (Nor does Trinity Hall for that matter.  It’s become a Twin Peaks.  Talk about dumbing down!)

Still, the night was mild, the atmosphere enchanting and we were hungry, so we gave it a try.  We entered the restaurant to find the hostess and realized that more than the name on the building had changed.  I confess, I liked Matt’s decor better.  I remember it as warm and chic.  Cafe Herrera’s version of the space had a more concrete-industrial lean to it.  I’m a little tired of that aesthetic.  I guess everyone else is too, because no one was sitting inside.

Out on the patio life was good.  So close to SMU, the clientele is younger than I’m used to up in my Far North Dallas venue.  A rollicking time was being had by all and many of them had really bizarre hair colors.  Ah kids!

On their website, Cafe Herrera bills themselves as “Modern Fusion of Healthful Tex-Mex & First Class Drinkology.” I’m here to tell you they’re 100% right about their drinks.  The Margarita they delivered was near-Nirvana! The weeks of worry faded a little and I remembered what it was like to have fun. I still had some difficult tasks ahead of me, but I was reminded that life is good.

Deb and Bill opted for spinach enchiladas and swooned over them when the epicurean delights arrived.  I stuck with my old Tex-Mex favorite, cheese enchiladas and I have nothing but good things to say about them.  Somehow, another round of drinks found their way to the table and I had an opportunity to breathe in the night and enjoy the friendship and love being offered.

Though part of me wanted to linger on the patio, exhaustion demanded we head home. I wanted to be at Sunday School the next morning.

Should you go to Cafe Herrera’s?  I’d say  that if you did, you’d have a good time and eat good food.  The prices seemed reasonable and the Margaritas were heavenly.  Just be sure the weather is good and there are tables available on the patio.  I wouldn’t want to sit inside.

TRAVEL HERE: MAGGIANO’S PROVIDES A DELICIOUS MEAL

When you live in Dallas, you never ever have to go back to anyplace that you don’t like.  I’d been to Maggiano’s a couple of times and hadn’t felt like there was any reason to return. Then one of the companies we invest with invited us to lunch.  Now, this wasn’t one of those invitations.  You know what I’m talking about.  Somebody you’ve never heard of inviting you to a free meal so they can twist your arm into investing with them.  This was a company that already had our money – so maybe they owed us  lunch.

Maggiano’s 

My first visit had been lunch at Northpark and that was ages ago.  The second had also been lunch, but I went to Willow Bend.  This time, I was back at Northpark, but not down in the main dining room with the peons.  No, I was directed up the carpeted stairs to the second floor.  First, I was amazed by the number of dining rooms up there.  (Note to self, great special occasion location.)  Next, I was impressed with the opulence.  We’re talking two huge crystal chandeliers, white linens and uniformed waitstaff.  I felt like I was someplace nice.  The price of admission was listening to an hour or so of investment talk.  Not my favorite type of entertainment, but it does float Mr. Bill’s boat, so there we sat.

Then the food started.  First course was two different salads with stuffed mushrooms.  One salad was a Caesar salad which I passed on, but the other one was full of AVOCADOS.  Yummy.  I’m thinking it must have been their Maggiano’s salad, because Italian salads usually have olives.  Anyway, it was good. The bread was pretty good. And the mushrooms?  So so.

Second course was more food than anyone ever needs.  It’s served family style, but it would have had to be a heck of a family to eat all that food.  I was grieved to see so much go to waste, but they weren’t offering up to-go boxes, so I just prayed the food wasn’t all going in the dumpster.

The dishes were a Bowtie Pasta, Mom’s Lasagna and Chicken Piccata.  I’m going to be honest with you, the pastas were so so.  Nothing wrong with them, but I like Macaroni Grill’s better.  OK, so I even like Olive Garden’s better.  But the chicken.  It was really good.  So kudos on the salad and the chicken.

Then came dessert.  There was a huge chunk of chocolate, which I assume was their Chocolate Zuccotto Cake.  There was also something with strawberries that was to die for.  I’m usually all about chocolate, so for me to say I preferred the strawberry thing is really something.  Problem is, I don’t know what the strawberry thing was.  There was a crispy crust, some custard, some strawberries and some whipped creme.  Whatever it was, if they ever offer it to you, say yes.

So, all in all, I’m glad I was invited for lunch at Maggiano’s.  I had three wonderful things that I loved and there was nothing in the world wrong with anything else they fed me.  I also loved the opulence of the upstairs rooms.  I’d say that Macaroni will remain my go-to Italian place, but if I got hungry near a Maggiano’s, there would be no reason to keep on driving.

TRAVEL HERE: SIP & SAVOR IN PLANO TX

My two besties are both named Deb. When the three of us get together, fun is in the house.  Though we’re tightly woven in our hearts, the things that originally brought us together no longer exist, so we have to make sure we squeeze in some friend time every once and a while.  That usually, though not exclusively, means a meal.  Most recently, the meal was dinner at Sip and Savor.

Sip and Savor – Restaurant and Wine Bar

Sip and Savor is in an old two story house in a mostly residential area of Plano Road.  It’s on Coit, which is one of the busier thoroughfares, but it’s still sort of off the beaten path.  The point is, you’ve got to be headed there to find it and I think you need to find it.

A few years ago, when the place had another name, I visited for lunch.  Then it sat empty for a while.  I’m not sure how long the new manifestation has been around, but with your help, maybe it will stay around for a while.

There’s plenty of space for parking and even a few tables outside, but the Texas heat drove us inside.  The old home is very charming.  I stepped up on the front porch and walked in the front door.  A hostess met me in the cozy vestibule and took me to one of the dining rooms, where one of the Deb’s waited for me.

The decor is elegant in a country sort of way.  The wooden tables are covered with a white table cloth and Lone Stars grace the backs of the wooden chairs.  The room where we were, has a fire place.  The floors are wood and soft yellow paint covers the walls.  The lace curtains are a nice touch.

The menu posed a problem.  We wanted one of everything.  The delicious sounding entrees hovered around $25, which suggested they might be more food than any of us wanted to eat.  We nibbled our way around the menu instead.  One Deb had crab cakes and potato soup.  The other Deb and I had Crab Salad Louis. Then we shared three side dishes: some mixed vegetables, sauteed mushrooms and stuffed potatoes. All delicious – and some wine.

But we saved room for dessert.  We ordered up one of their wine brownies and a slice of coconut creme pie.  What makes the brownie a wine brownie?  Instead of water they mix Chianti with it.  It was good, but I’m not sure what the wine did for it.  I think I might have used Cabernet Sauvignon instead, but that’s just me.

The coconut creme pie looks very homemade, but it had a whipping creme topping instead of the meringue my mom used to put on hers.  It looked strangely familiar – sort of like the coconut creme pie the previous manifestation of the restaurant served.  Hmmmm.  Their website says the house is still owned by the original family.  Are they also running the restaurant?

One thing the website doesn’t mention is that there is supposed to be a ghost.  I’d heard about it when I visited for lunch at the location’s old incarnation and one of the Deb’s mentioned it, but it didn’t show up for me either time.  Not that any ghost has every shown up for me at any of the ghostly places I’ve visited.  I must not have the right aura.

You should go try Sip and Savor.  The food and wine are great, the service is good and you might even meet the ghost.

TRAVEL HERE: CHILLIN’ IN THE BURBS AT KATY TRAIL ICE HOUSE OUTPOST

It had been a tough weekend. I took my Mom home after almost three months of medical problems – broken arm, congestive heart failure, emergency rooms and rehab, among other joys. She was glad to be getting home, but I felt like a was returning a much reduced lady to fill the shoes of my Mom.

How could that much change in three months?  And while she was gone, several more of her friends had moved into the independent living facility where she lives.  I grew up with these people as my mentors and Sunday School teachers.  They were vibrant, capable, funny people that I adored.  How did they turn into these old guys?

Time for an Attitude Adjustment

When I got home, I fell on my sofa in a blue funk.  If that had happened to the people I had known, loved and admired, how would I turn out? Bill moved into third gear to cheer me up.  First order of business – The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp as Tonto. What an attitude adjuster! I loved it.  Next: The Katy Trail Ice House Outpost!

The Outpost is fairly new to the neighborhood.  One day it was Banditos Tex-Mex and then all of a sudden they took the sign down and were planting a forest.  When another sign came up, I wondered if they could really pull off a Katy Trail Ice House in the burbs.  See, I’d been to THE Katy Trail Ice House.

THE Katy Ice House in Dallas

Our first visit was on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Fugeddaboutit! You couldn’t get anywhere near it. The line was endless and growing.  We made another visit a few months ago and we loved the atmosphere, but couldn’t find a seat.  Will we ever make it back to find out if the third time would have worked the charm?

With the Outpost virtually around the corner, we won’t have to!

THE Outpost

As Bill and I chilled in our iron yard chairs, I kept thinking about the Hula Hut in Austin. Yes, I know the Hula Hut is over the water and has a tiki theme, but the atmosphere was the same.  Everybody of every age was hanging out under the misting fans and everybody was there to have fun.  Sawdust covers the ground, the newly planted forest cuts you off from Plano’s Park Boulevard and multicolored lights hang from the light poles.  It just so happened that when they delivered my Coors Light in a huge icy schooner, Jerry Jeff Walker was crooning Love Changes Everything.  Jerry Jeff was right.  Bill’s love had changed my depression into joy.

Words are good at conveying many things, but even if I tried to describe exactly what was going on, it would lose something in the translation.  There was some kind of game being played on a court – horseshoes maybe.  It wasn’t in my line of sight. Dogs were making themselves at homes.  Lovers were loving.  Kids were playing.  Singles were on the hunt. Waitresses were delivering schooners of beer and longnecks.  Fun was being had.

It was just what I needed after too many doses of skilled nursing and retirement world.  What  I didn’t need was the cheeseburger Bill and I shared – especially since I’m supposed to be dieting, but when I hit the scales I hadn’t gained anything, so I didn’t do much damage.  I’ve read the conflicting reviews on Yelp.  All I can tell you is that Bill loved it and I would have rather had half a Snuffer’s burger.  That being said, most meals I’d rather be having a Snuffer’s burger, so maybe my opinion shouldn’t count.

Do I think you should visit The Katy Trail Ice House Outpost.  Heck, yeah.  But if you do, call me – I’m just around the corner.  Precious and I will come hang.  OH and Bill will probably come, too.

TRAVEL HERE: HOOK, LINE & SINKER, DALLAS TX

We have a new favorite among our local hangouts: Hook, Line & Sinker.

New to Far North Dallas, Not New to Dallas

Now Hook, Line & Sinker is not new to Dallas.  There’s been one on Lemmon for a long time.  I remember decades ago when I thought it was a biker bar, but it’s always been a restaurant.  The bikers just happen to know something good when they find it.

But it’s new to my neighborhood.  When I moved here, a Taco Cabana was at the corner of Preston Road and Baymar.  I was sad to see it go, but then I haven’t been to a Cabana lately.  They have two strikes against them.  They abandoned me and then took my favorite item, rotisserie chicken, off the menu.  After Taco Cabana left, the building at Preston and Baymar stood empty for a long time.

We were happy when signs of life became apparent on the corner and I was even happier when I saw what it was going to be.  So were our neighbors.  From the moment it opened it seemed as if the parking lot was covered in cars.  We waited for the crowds to slow down, but finally gave up and joined the melee.

Our First Visit

The first time was a Saturday afternoon.  My healthy husband got the grilled catfish and the not-so-healthy me got a fried shrimp basket.  He loved his meal and couldn’t decide which part was best, the fish or the vegetables.  He reveled in trying out all the hot sauces and declared we’d be visiting often.

My delight was equal to his.  Instead of some kind of thick breading, the shrimp is dusted with corn meal and deep fried. The french fries were also very good. Hot, crispy and non-greasy.  Of course, we agreed that the big frosty schooners of beer were the absolute best part of the meal.

Back Again

We drove the first time we visited because we were out running errands, but a couple of Friday nights ago we walked up there. Yup, it’s that close.  We were lucky enough to grab a table on the patio and repeated our food orders from before.  When you find perfection, why fool around with it.

On the Saturday afternoon, everyone was out on the patio and the tables inside were virtually empty, but on Friday night every seat in the place was full – inside and out. Whenever you go, you won’t find yourself alone, but none of the staff will ever try to hurry you along.  Linger as desired.

Because this is a new location, the landscaping is also new, but we’re looking forward to when it grows.  If there is a downside to Hook, Line & Sinker, it’s Preston Road.  The restaurant is recessed away from the immediate corner, but still, Preston is right there, with all the cars whizzing by.  However, they’ve planted bamboo – and you know how bamboo is.  By next week there should be  a forest.  Well, maybe not by next week, but soon.

Anyway, we love Hook, Line & Sinker and want all of you to visit it often.  We want it to become a permanent fixture.  Next time you’re in the neighborhood, drop by and try it, but don’t fail to call us.  We can join you in minutes.

TRAVEL HERE: RAISING CAIN’S CHICKEN FINGERS

I don’t usually waste my blogspace talking about fast food, but there’s not much in the way of fast food that deserves it. The exception to the rule is Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers.

Raising Cain’s Story

Where do I begin?  Well, to start, let’s talk about the actual restaurants.  Can you say clean and attractive?  See, I knew you could.  They’re not anything fancy, but the bold colors (red, black and yellow) and the extreme cleanliness of every one of the locations I’ve visited are extraordinary.  We’re talking fast food and cleanliness in the same sentence.

But that’s not all.  Add friendliness and courtesy.  I don’t know who’s in charge of their employee training program, but if they could can the stuff, I’d appreciate it if they’d spread their employee’s attitude around.  The counter and drive-thru help is always perky and they don’t say the same four things that all the rest of the fast food people say.  What do they say and how do they say it?  Go give it a whirl.  And that cleanliness stuff, it trickles down to the uniforms.

So what’s the big deal? One Love.

Keeping It Simple

I have a few hobby horses that I ride around on all the time and my poor husband is so tired of hearing about them.  There aren’t that many, they just pertain to very prevalent trends that show no sign of waning.  One of my most frequently repeated mantras is, “They should stick to their core competency.”

Take TGIFriday’s.  They started out as a burger joint.  Do they even have burgers any more?  And Chili’s?  The whole menu fit on half a sheet of paper and they had the best fries in the world.  Do you hear that McDonald’s?  There was a time I preferred Chili’s fries to yours…but that was a long time ago. And speaking of McDonald’s, this whole trend is probably their fault.

Anyway, as menus get longer, my satisfaction dwindles.  And all the menus have the same darned things.  Right now it’s wraps.  A couple of years ago, it was blooming onions.  Every restaurant offers something for everyone, but I’d prefer if they just stuck to what they were good at and left it up to me to find the variety, because when every place you go to has the same thing, life gets boring. Let’s not even go to the place where I complain because every city has the same ten restaurants over and over and over – and I’m not even talking fast food here.

Anyway, I first happened by Raising Cane’s when I was at UTD.  There’s one just a few blocks down from the campus.  I was suffering through a marketing class, so I could get a minor in business, and the whole class project thing wasn’t going so well.  Come to find out, the whole idea of Raising Cane’s was a failed marketing class project.  The professor told the budding entrepreneur you couldn’t have a restaurant that only served one thing. Two hundred and fifty or so  (I found conflicting numbers on the web) restaurants later, who’s laughing all the way to the bank?  Not the college professor, that’s for sure.

And that One Love business? Well, they’ve been serving chicken fingers and only chicken fingers since the mid-nineties and pledge that they’ll never serve anything else.  But OMG – what chicken fingers!  And then there’s the sauce.

Three Finger Box

The Three Finger Box is my one love.  You get three of their hot, juicy, crunchy chicken strips and I scarf those suckers down in almost one fail swoop.  Then I savor the crispy outside/soft inside/perfectly buttered Texas Toast, which seems to disappear the second I pick it up.  But the sauce?  I save the sauce for last.

See he developed the sauce for the chicken, but for me the chicken is absolutely perfect without anything on it.  So why mess it up.  But the sauce may just be one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth, so I’m not about to leave it behind – and I’m not going to ruin the world’s best Texas Toast either.

I’m not here to suggest that their hot, crispy crinkle fries are anything except perfect, but they get perfecter to me when they’ve been dipped in the Cane Sauce.  So far, the fries and the sauce come out just about even, so I’ve never had to lick the ramekin, but I’m telling you I would, if there were a single drop left behind.

If you’ve already been to Raising Cane’s then I bet you’re sitting there nodding your head.  OK, so some of you do actually put the sauce on the chicken fingers, but otherwise we all know how good it is.  If you haven’t then it’s time to go.  There’s only one little teensy tiny thing wrong with Raising Cane’s.  They don’t serve Diet Dr. Pepper.  It plumb breaks my heart, because if they did, there would actually be perfection this side of heaven.

Anyway, get yourself to a Raising Cane’s.  Believe me, you’ll thank me for it.

TRAVEL HERE: A BIT OF PAREE, RIGHT HERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Shortly after Cadot opened, I visited for lunch a couple of times, but that was before I started blogging. Somehow Bill and I never got around to eating there together, until recently.

Our Neighborhood French Restaurant

The truth of the matter is, that for the most part, “French restaurant” is synonymous with swanky and expensive.  OK and sometimes pretentious.  If your bestie tells you that the guy she’s dating took her to a French restaurant, you assume he paid out the wazoo to impress her.  Maybe that’s why Bill was so eager to stay away.

There are pretentious and expensive French restaurants around, but Cadot is not one of them. The decor is simple.  White tile floors, white sheer curtains, tables and chairs of blonde wood, white tablecloths and white walls.  And there was nothing pretentious about the staff or the menu, either.

We were there on a Monday night, so it was pretty quiet, but we chose that day because we were celebrating our wedding anniversary.  They greeted us warmly at the door and showed us to a nice table.  Crystal and flatware gleamed on the crisp linen. Our server was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.

The selections are classic old favorites.  No nouvelle cuisine here.  Bill chose Coq Au Vin and I picked Veal Scallopini. Both entrees hovered around $25, as do most, but they go up to $44 for rack of lamb. Both entrees were also delicious.  My husband moaned his pleasure all the way through his Coq Au Vin and they didn’t have to wash my plate when it got back to the kitchen.

Because it was a special occasion, we had a chocolate mousse. (Looooong pause.) Excuse me.  I was savoring the memory of the mousse.  So fresh, so hot, so yummy.

Another French Option in the Neighborhood

Bill enjoyed the evening so much he promised we’d be going back – that’s high praise from him.  I enjoyed it very much too, but I’ve got to admit, my favorite neighborhood French restaurant is still a few blocks up Preston – Lavendou’s.  Like Cadot, Lavendou is completely unpretentious and totally delicious.  As I’ve said in previous blogs, it’s my go-to pick whenever someone wants to meet me for lunch or dinner.  Bill on the other hand much prefers Cadot.

One of the reasons I prefer Lavendou over Cadot is the decor.  Lavendou’s interior vibrates with bright colors and brick.    Maybe that’s because their theme is Southern France. Just walking in makes me feel happy.  Cadot is all-white with blonde wood, which, to me, feels cold, but is very much like a restaurant I visited in Paris.  Though both Cadot and Lavendou have great food, I prefer Lavendou’s menu.  Their crepe of the day and their bisques are at the top of my favorite foods in the world.

The fact that Bill prefers Cadot just means I’ll get the best of both worlds.  I’ll continue to meet the girls at Lavendou’s for lunch and then go to Cadot with Bill for dinner.  I can’t lose.  Neither can you, at either restaurant.