Mayfest Cancelled?

Cartoon by Dave Granlund
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One could make a case that all times are considered strange by those living in them. But in my 56 years this year has to rank up there with the strangest.

GM and Chrysler going, or close to going, bankrupt.

Merrill Lynch, the very image of Wall Street investing -- gone, and now dragging buyer Bank of America with it.

Now this -- a possible flu epidemic closing Mayfest?

Wild and wacky it is, I tell you.
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How to Make Tomato Bruschetta Properly.

(And why I hate recipes . . .)

I love bruschetta. I was looking over a recipe yesterday, not to make bruschetta, but to see how they made it, and it hit me that most tomato based recipes for Italian food make one big mistake. They usually suggest using Roma tomatoes.

Here's my suggestion: Never use Roma tomatoes for anything. They have been so re-engineered that, at this point, they look good and taste terrible ( kind of like Episcopalians) ( okay that's a joke, don't send me nasty email).

Which then brought to mind the reason most (not all) recipes are unreliable. Because they make suggestions like the to one use Roma tomatoes; they equate cooking with alchemy, that is, if you mix certain ingredients and cook them a certain way, you can make gold out of lead. The opposite is true, get good ingredients, treat them right, and they are going to taste good. They'll love you back.

Anyway, if you want good bruschetta ,you need four ingredients definitely, and one optionally, all of which need to be fresh.

The following is not the recipe, but more importantly, the ingredients for the recipe:

1. Buy fresh tomatoes, preferably cherry because they are sweet. In the winter, buy quality, canned, diced tomatoes. Do not buy super market tomatoes from the produce department in the winter unless you are using them as display only.

2. Bread. Italian loaf preferably. It's chewy on the inside, the correct width, not tangy like sourdough, which I don't like for bruschetta, and toasts nicely. Most recipes suggest focaccio which, in my opinion, overwhelms the other flavors. The bread is the canvas not the painting.

3. Olive oil. Fresh. Virgin. If it has been sitting on your counter for six months it is not fresh.

4. Course-grain salt and fresh ground pepper.

5. Red onions. Optional, but I think they go nicely with the sweet tomatoes.

Here is their recipe, a good one, except I like the Italian loaf bread toasted both sides, lightly. And the bread cut about 1 - 1.5 inches thick. It should lightly crunch, but not like a crouton.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views

Earth Humans . . .

Yes, you.

Please refrain from the following:

1. Any use of the phrase: "You go girl." As sympathetic as I am to the fairer sex and their desire for sororal identification -- this has got to stop. Any male use of the phrase will trigger immediate vaporization.

2. Physically uncoordinated white people should not give the high-five after every minor successful moment. You look stupid. Actually, the high-fiving needs to stop all together, but persons with no eye-hand coordination should have never started. By the way, persons of color stopped high-fiving in the 80's.

3. Please stop using cell phone text language in common speech. Someone called me a " b f f " the other day. I assumed any word abbreviation with an " f " must be a reference of the unrepeatable kind. Apparently not. Please stop anyway. At least to anyone over 50 years of age.

(Older humans, it means: "best friend forever.")

Thank you.

(Your suggestions gladly accepted)

Great Wolf Lodge, Grapevine. Fantastic!

guest post by Rebecca

We took the kids to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Monday, for a little Easter Octave vacation. Great Wolf Lodge is a resort hotel geared toward families -- and it does very well.

We thought it would be a fun mini-vacation reminiscent of the trips to the Airport Marriott my parents did with my brothers and me.
(editors note: they were fun)

We drove up to the large Lodge entrance and the kids were coming out of their seats with excitement. As you walk in, there is a huge fireplace in the lobby with fantasy-land caricatures that make you feel like you are in an enchanted wood. And then you see the immense indoor water park . . . and this is only the beginning!

We went to our cabin-themed room which had a smaller room for the kids with bunk beds, twin bed and their own TV -- it looked like a log cabin. I think we would have been apoplectic if we had been to something like this as kids -- the closest memory I have to being this excited about somewhere we stayed is of an Embassy Suite in San Antonio and riding the glass elevators up and down. The kids were out of their heads with excitement which was worth the trip in itself.

After getting settled in the room, we visited to the water park. I was worried it would have an overwhelming chlorine smell because it is indoors. But it didn't, it was great! They must have good ventilation because it didn't smell like chlorine at all. There was a kiddie pool, where we spent most of our time, that resembles an enormous playground. It has large slides, water guns and a very large bucket of water that dumps water every 15 minutes or so. The water park also has large tube slides, appropriate for an adult or teenager, a lazy river, and a wave pool.

It was great. I was very pleased with the number of lifeguards, free use of tubes, and life jackets for the kids. The water park is only for guests so it makes for a great atmosphere -- everyone is on vacation.

There are many other indoor activities available and activities geared for the "tween" crowd, such as an arcade and a magic quest game that can be played throughout the hotel like a scavenger hunt. I think you compete with other guests.

The only thing that we would have liked was room service because the kids ate pizza and we were wanting something to enjoy after they went to bed. There are restaurants in the hotel, but they are expensive and not very good, so we ordered PF Changs to eat in the room.

All in all I would definitely recommend it especially if your kids are between 6 and 14. Our kids were a little young to enjoy all that they had to offer, but we will definitely be back!

Walk & Bike along the Trinity River.

Trinity River
Fort Worth from North

"The Trinity River is a 710-mile long river that flows entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. . . its complete name is "La Santísima Trinidad" or the Most Holy Trinity."

So says the Wikipedia entry.

For Fort Worthians, it is available as everyone's backyard, though I have wondered why so few take advantage of it. There are some beautiful sections, so peaceful you would think that you are not in a city. The most visited area of the path, at the park at University and I30, is only a small section of the whole trail which, from that park, goes North to La Grange Field, around to the East just north of the Woodhaven area, and reaches south all the way to Benbrook Lake.

We like to pull off at Hulen at the Tom Thumb shopping center for refreshments and a coffee break at Starbucks.

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Those interested in the future of the Trinity River and its development:

http://www.trinityrivervision.org/TRVWEB/Default.aspx

For excellent news, commentary, and photographs of development, Fort Worth:

http://fortworthology.com/

Tea Parties in Texas

R.J. Matson, NY, The New York Observer

Who cares if the Tea Parties won't make any immediate change to our overtaxed lives. They are fun and I like them. It's a start.

My son called me today from San Antonio to suggest I turn on the news because one of the 800 Tea Parties was being held in front of the Alamo.

A couple thousand Texans were out there saying enough's enough. It's not a conservative/liberal debate, it's just an expression of frustration with Washington's overly strong hand in every conceivable part of American life. Republican Presidents have been as bad as Democratic Presidents, and sometimes worse.

If it is true that we have the government we deserve then we need to take a hard look at ourselves because what we have is not good.

The Yucatan Taco Stand.

Guest post by Elizabeth

The Yucatan Taco Stand is on Magnolia where the BJ Keefers used to be. What a transformation! It reminds me of a Mexican restaurant version of Pei Wei, in that you walk in, order, and your food is brought to you.

The atmosphere is dark but pleasant. There's a nice mix of tables, booths and patio seating.

The food is reasonably priced and I really enjoy the fajitas. I think they use a lot of lime and citrus flavoring in the dishes which I happen to enjoy. They have a full bar and at night and live music. I guess I'm getting old because if I get to go out without children and have adult conversation, I don't really like to compete with the music. I'm sure the music is more of a weekend thing and it fits as there was a good showing of the TCU crowd when I visited. I love sitting outside on the patio.

Visually, the food is plated in attractive and interesting ways. The fajitas are served on a long narrow platter with all the sides displayed nicely.

My only complaint is that it is dark and somewhat hard to see your food. I definitely want to try it at lunch soon.

Each time I've been the place was packed. This is going to become one of my favorite cheap date night dinner places.

Yucatan has a lot of bang for the buck.

Their website has the full menu and a few pics of the restaurant:

http://www.yucatantacostand1.com/default.htm

Guest Post by Elizabeth. See Elizabeth's artistry at: http://littlelizzie.typepad.com/

Main Street Arts Festival: #3 nationwide.

"JUST ANNOUNCED: The prestigious Art Fair SourceBook has just released its 2008 national rankings, and MAIN ST. has come in at #3 in Fine Art and #6 in Fine Craft! The rankings are based on several factors, the most significant being the sales revenues of our participating artists. Over 1000 festivals are reviewed prior to establishing the rankings.
Thank you, Fort Worth! "

The above quote is from the Main Street Arts Festival website.

If you haven't been. Go. If for no other reason than to view the exhibits, but, the food's not bad either. It is, as they say, Fort Worth's most honored event and has been going now for 24 years.

The entertainment is good, too. That's an understatement. Main St offers many different kinds of music and performance groups from Ballet Folklorico to Mass Ensemble. Country, blues, jazz, funk, pop, etc. This has become a serious citywide festival.

So between Central Market and Main St. you have a pretty good weekend shaping up.

Main Street Arts Festival. April 16-19.

http://www.mainstreetartsfest.org

Grill at Central Market & Main St Arts.

Thrill of the Grill is Central Market's second largest event of the year (Hatch Chili festival is first). Central Market is a great place at this time of year, especially when you can taste-test the grilled foods.

From the Central Market website:

Fire up the grill and join us for our annual kick-off of the summer grilling season. It's our biggest springtime event, and second only to our Hatch Chile Festival (coming in August - it's never too early to start thinking Hatch!) in size and scope. We'll be grilling everything we can get our tongs on, and you can be sure it'll all taste great! Come see us for recipes, demos, cooking classes, wine pairing ideas, in-store deals... just come see us! Live Music on the Patio, too!
Friday, 4/17, 6-9 p.m. - The Last Chance Band (Oldies, Rock, Blues, R&B, Country) Saturday, 4/18 2-4 p.m. - Matt Wayne (Texas Country) 4:30-6:30 p.m. - Joey Green Band (Country Punk/Rock) 7-9 p.m. Sam Anderson & the Thrift Store Troubadours (Roots Music/Folk Rock/Blues)

Thrill of the Grill Friday, April 17 thru Sunday, April 19, 8:00 - 10:00 PM

http://www.centralmarket.com/Stores/Fort-Worth.aspx

Happy Easter!

Resurrection
Giovanni Bellini
1475

Pietà

Pietà

Eugène Delacroix
oil on canvas — 1850

Good Friday, in the Year of Our Lord, 2009

The Raising of the Cross
Peter Paul Rubens/ 1610

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Years ago, as I recall, on the Friday before Easter, between noon and 3pm, my mother would make sure that we three children were inside and silent, or at least playing quietly. I think we had some idea as to why, that this was the time that Christ had died and descended into hell and that everyone should observe these hours with solemnity.

We respected my mother's wish, watching the clock as we did. And looking outside.

I remember Good Friday being dark and cloudy.
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Saint-Emilion. Again. Kind of.

My son, Stephen, went to Saint-Emilion for his anniversary a couple nights ago. I asked him to write a review of it.

He did.

Here it is:

"Saint Emilion: best restaurant I have ever been to in my life."

Maybe I should have more specific about how long the review should be. High praise, nevertheless.
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Big Taste of Fort Worth for Big Brothers

Big Brothers & Big Sisters is the beneficiary of the upcoming, 30th Annual Big Taste of Forth Worth event and competition. Date: April 26 at the Hilton, downtown.

Local restaurants submit dishes to be tasted, you get to try them all, and a panel of judges picks the winners in category. You get great food, wine, a Grey Goose martini bar, dancing, and the knowledge that you are supporting one of the good guys in the world of non-profits, that is, the Big Brothers organization. What a deal.

Go. It's a good cause and is a lot of fun.

If you can't swing the $85 ($150 for 2), maybe your company will sponsor you, give to the cause, and let you enjoy the festivities. Here is an excerpt from their press release and then a link to the event website.

"The 30th Annual Big Taste of Fort Worth promises foodies a culinary experience well worth the price of admission. With the newest hot spots backed by some of the biggest names joining this tasting event’s restaurant roster, attendees can count on a fierce battle for “Best of Fort Worth” bragging rights. Fort Worth newcomers such as Buttons, Grace and Eddie V’s are joining the lineup of the city’s finest dining establishments such as Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Reata and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for the event on Sunday, April 26, at the Hilton Fort Worth Hotel at 815 Main Street in Fort Worth. The event benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters’ youth mentoring programs."

Some of the participating restaurants:

• Bonnell's Restaurant
  
• Buttons
• Cabot Creamery
• Cantina Laredo
• City Kitchen
• Daddy Jack's Lobster & Chowder House
• Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse
• Eddie V's Prime Seafood
• Fred's Cafe
• Grace
• Hilton Fort Worth Hotel
• It's a Cinch Chocolate Fountains
• Lambert's
• Piranha's Killer Sushi
• RJ Rivera Catering
• Reata
• Ridglea Country Club
• Ruth's Chris Steak House
• The Bull Ring
• The Covey Restaurant & Brewery
• Tokyo Cafe
• Ultimate Cuisine and Events
• Wildcatter Steakhouse
  

I wouldn't mention this unless I liked the organization, which I do. Thanks.

Their website: http://www.bbbs.org/site