Showing posts with label Fort Worth: Things to do. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fort Worth: Things to do. Show all posts

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Movie Tavern at West 7th

I made my first Movie Tavern on West 7th visitation yesterday.

X-Men.

I probably would not have gone except that I was accompanying two of my sons, one of whom is home for the summer, and the other leaving soon to work in Azirona. And I like comic book themed movies.

The following are the pluses and minuses of the afternoon.

Movie Tavern, plus:
1. Great seats with mini-tables for your food.
2. Great service. Lots of wait staff, quick and unassuming service. Our waiter was more uncaring than unassuming, but more on that later.
3. Great location.
4. Good matinee price and serve-yourself, no line tickets. I like that.
5. Reasonable food prices compared to other movie theaters.

Movie Tavern, minus
1. Small screen. After the Rave theater's huge screen, it's not so much disappointing, as underwhelming for this kind of movie.
2. The food. I can't speak to all the food but the chips and queso are god-awful. I'm not sure if the yellow liquid they serve should be called queso. It's really bad. I have heard reports that the other menu items are bad as well.

X-Men, plus.
1. The Wolverine cameo where he tells Magneto and Dr X, "to go xxxx yourselves," when an attempt was made to recruit him into mutant service. That was his only line, the only memorable line of the movie, and the only scene worth seeing.

X-Men, minus.
1. Who cares about the antics of spare teenage mutants? I sure don't. A girl with mini-wings who can fly and shoot fire spitballs? Most of the movie was spent developing the characters of mutants no one cares about. And the dialogue? "Mutant and proud?" Magneto getting all tongue-tied and teary-eyed after moving a metal satellite tower?

2. This is the worst comic book movie since Daredevil, my favorite comic book hero, by the way. There was not one funny line in the whole movie except for Wolverine's, and there was no drama until the last fifteen minutes. The first hour and a half is spent watching weirdo teenage ninja mutants and b-roll of Kennedy-era, Spy vs. Spy war games with Soviet characters that were approaching campy. At one point I though I was watching a satire of Austin Powers satirizing James Bond. Seriously. It was that bad.

X-Men, plus.
I was with two of my sons at a movie theater laughing, making fun of each other, and cutting-up, which included my promise to order the queso and chips by saying kwee-so and cheeps in stead kay-so and chips. I did and the waiter didn't blink, smirk, or even look disdainfully at me; something we all found very amusing, until son-one said that he, the bored waiter, was going to spit in my drink, which worried me until I discovered that the food deliverers are different than the food-order takers.

The word, "winnnninnng" was used several times in the course of the afternoon, with some good laugh effect. We did make it through the day without any bathroom humor (John), but over-large breast humor was invoked at the appropriate moments. All of this said to prove my sister's dictum that most males never get past age fifteen in the maturation process.

Meg, we proved you right once again. I had a great afternoon.

Movie Tavern at West 7th

Agree or disagree on X-Men or the Movie Tavern?

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Monday, May 16, 2011

The Lucky Strike fiasco.

I'll say this for the public relations firm that handled the Lucky Strike pre-open: they gotta bunch of folks out there.

And maybe everybody had a good time. If I had the patience of Job I might have too. But I don't. And I wouldn't say anything except for the fact that their pre-open invitation should have said that everyone in Fort Worth looking for a free Miller-Lite was invited.

When I arrived I did a quick in-line body count, stopped at 75, and said the hell with it.

Gutter-ball. That's the way I see it.

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Monday, April 20, 2009

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!

Friday, April 17, 2009

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/

Monday, December 1, 2008

A New Kimbell Exhibit



I am looking forward to seeing the small but new exhibit at the Kimbell. The Star Telegram published an informative report on the Terra Cotta Nativity scene brought over from Italy, assembled and arranged by Italian specialists and in the small Fra Angelico paintings. Has anyone been?

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Orpheus, Schola Cantorum, Messiah, Nutcracker ...

Here is a summary of some of the Christmas music being performed in the Fort Worth area this Christmas season, 2008. It is by no means an exhaustive list. I am including only performances I have attended or know by reputation, others are equally as good I am sure, but these I know.

Please pass on your suggestions.

Orpheus
Chamber Singers
The best choral group in the area is probably Orpheus Chamber Singers. They are performing in Dallas on December 20. I did not know what great chorale music was until I heard them. Orpheus is a professional choir of trained vocalists. (And I love ya' but: could someone please get a better picture for the website?)

Winter Lights

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church
6306 Kenwood at Abrams, Dallas
December 20, 7.30pm
Tickets: $30. (I think)
More information http://www.orpheuschambersingers.org/

Schola Cantorum
I suggest any recital by Schola Cantorum. I love listening to them. Admission is free to the following three Christmas performances. (St Stephen's near TCU).
More information: www.scholatexas.com

White's Chapel United Methodist Church
Southlake / Sunday, December 7 / 7:30 PM
St Stephen Presbyterian Church
Fort Worth / Monday, December 8 / 7:30 PM
Trinity United Methodist Church
Arlington / Tuesday, December 9 /7:30 PM

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra / Handel’s Messiah
I have seen many performances of Handel's Messiah in the Dallas - Fort Worth area, but never this particular performance I am sorry to say. I hear nothing but good about it. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra with the Southwestern Seminary Master Chorale is an annual holiday concert.
Bass Hall, Fort Worth.
December 9, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $15-$55.
More information: www.fwsymphony.org

Brave Combo
I like Brave Combo and this looks like fun. A "Holiday Dance Party,"
8 p.m. at the McDavid Studio of Bass Hall, Fort Worth.
Tickets: $25.
More information: www.basshall.com

The Nutcracker presented by Metropolitan Classical Ballet
I am not a Nutcracker lover but I know many who are, including my wife and son who saw the last performance at Bass Hall. Choreography of Alexander Vetrov and the entire company, including students from the Metropolitan Ballet Academy.
December 19-21
Texas Hall / UTA.
Tickets: $10-$30.
More information: www.mcballet.org

Robert Earl Keen
And then at some point a guy wants to sit back with a Miller Lite and a smoke and turn up the volume of a little Robert Earl. At least I did. Robert Earl Keen performs at his annual New Year’s Eve show at Bass Hall, Fort Worth. I have to say that I would rather see him at Billy Bob's than Bass Hall but either way, I like him.
Tickets: $33-$63.
More information: www.basshall.com

The Star Telegram has a longer and less opinionated list here: http://www.star-telegram.com/living

Monday, November 3, 2008

Like Bookstores? Legacy Books in Plano.



Independent bookstores are not exactly a growth industry. Locally owned stores like the former Barbers bookstore in downtown Fort Worth are long gone, squeezed on one side by the national chains and the other side by Amazon and the like.

For those of us who enjoy relaxing in a bookstore, Barnes and Noble and Borders is pretty much all we have. But Borders is in financial trouble, losing $300 million last year and closing stores, and Barnes & Noble is not doing well, either (down 10% this quarter). But one company's struggles are another company's opportunities, and in this case, the opportunity is there for the locally owned and operated bookstore.

Legacy Books is one such store. It is a new, independent, retail store with about 100,000 titles, the size of the average Barnes & Noble.

I mention Legacy in the hope that the independent bookstore, large or small, returns to the area, even if the first one in DFW is not in Fort Worth.

Legacy Books Grand Opening:
When: Tuesday, Nov. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Where : Legacy Books, 7300 Dallas Parkway, Plano
Cost: Free
Location: northeast corner of the Dallas North Tollway and Legacy Drive, occupying a three-level store in the newest section of the Shops at Legacy.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Take the TRE Train to Dallas. (or vice versa)

I ran this post almost a year ago when gasoline was about $2.90 per gallon. It's $4.15 now. As if I needed to tell you. If you haven't taken the Trinity Railway Express into Dallas give it a try. It's cheaper than driving and takes about 45 minutes. I have actually taken it to the airport but that is more hassle than its worth. Anyway, if you have to go east, try the TRE.
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Why you should take the Trinity Railway Express train to Dallas:

1. It's not hard, it's very easy.
2. It is comfortable with plenty of good seating.
3. It is safe. There is security on the train and the stations are well lighted.
4. It's cheap. About $5 all day.
5. It's fun.

Trinity Railway Express -- http://www.trinityrailwayexpress.org

What it's perfect for:
American Airlines Center: concerts, Mavericks or Stars games.

Like shopping? Dallas' Northpark Mall is worth visiting and the connections are easy.
Don't mind walking a little? Shop at the West Village on McKinney.

Can't get a ride to the airport? Take the train. It will take you about 45 minutes longer than driving because of the 2 connections but they are well marked and frequent. I have done it many times both to and from the airport.

Details:
Trinity Railway Express -- http://www.trinityrailwayexpress.org
Shopping: West Village on Mckinney and Northpark Mall
Lunch: Taco Diner in West Village
Parking: plentiful and free
Walking: West End is a short walk from Reunion Station or take the Dart Train to Deep Ellum
or walk to Arts District.
Bicycles: You may bring them on the train.
Ticketing: Bought at the stations for the day, if you like. They don't always check them, but you are fined if you don't have one.
Best times: Saturday morning, especially if you are bringing children. Weekday rush hour trains can be packed.
Final suggestion: make sure you know the departure times for the return trip and also make sure that the train is not making its last stop and Centreport. (yes, I learned this the hard way)
Bring a book for the train and enjoy the ride.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Kimbell: This Weekend.


Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare,
1877 Claude Monet

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We have talked about it. It's here. I'll miss the opening but will get there before closing. If you go send me a review. Thanks.

Kimbell Art Museum
3333 Camp Bowie Boulevard
Fort Worth, Texas 76107-2792
Main: 817-332-8451
Metro: 817-654-1034
Fax: 817-877-1264

website: http://impressionists.kimbellart.org/

Friday, June 6, 2008

This Weekend: Concerts in the Garden




The 18th Annual Concerts in the Garden sponsored by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra continues tonight. It's a great evening out, in my view.

Tonight hear Asleep at the Wheel, my favorite Texas swing band.

Saturday night the Vocal Majority Chorus performs. VMC is an award winning, Dallas based, all-male choral group. We heard them a few years ago at the same venue and they are good. Great actually. I have not heard Sunday night's Austin Jug Band.

There are concessions, you can bring a picnic, a chair or a blanket, and even a bottle of wine. It's a great night out. It's about $20 per person, not cheap but well worth the expense.

Go to the Symphony's website for more information: http://www.fwsymphony.org/citg/citg.asp. . .

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Mayfest


Mayfest is a relatively recent Fort Worth tradition, recent that is, compared to the Fat Stock Show. Started in 1968, it quickly became a necessary pre-summer activity for families with young children. In the 80's, my wife and I took our children at least once during the four days it is open. Most locals have a Mayfest story of some kind, many with the memory of the 198? hail storm that drove everyone for cover.

Mayfest is a place for local, young performers to have a chance to go on stage, for kids to enjoy rides and for everyone to enjoy fair-type food. If the weather is good (it often isn't) the setting is perfect.

Mayfest
May 1 - 4
Trinity River at University and I30.
http://mayfest.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Cost
$7 entrance fee plus coupons for rides. Discounts tickets are available

Parking:
Free parking and shuttle from TCU (north of stadium)
$5.00 park and walk at Farrington Field

Saturday, April 19, 2008

This Weekend: April 18, 2008

Modern till Midnight -- Well, this was last night. But this spring and summer the Modern Art Museum has evening activities, including docent led tours, music, food and drinks. And some of them like the occasional Modern til Midnight are out-of -doors. The Moderns calendar:
http://www.mamfw.org/calendar.html
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New Eagle Mountain Lake Park
From the Star Telegram:
"The pristine parkland -- purchased from the state for $9.6 million with donations from the Tarrant Regional Water District, Tarrant County, foundations, corporations and citizens -- features hiking trails and scenic overlooks. Visitors are encouraged to study the park's natural beauty, but leave their motorbikes, dogs and horses at home."
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Central Market's, Thrill of the Grill
Do some grill meat, taste-testing this weekend at the Central Market on Hulen. April 18 - 20.
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Dallas Farmer's Market
Okay, it's Dallas, but it is a real live Farmer's Market. As summer approaches the fruits and vegetables get better. The flowers are out and it looks good.
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Main Street Arts Festival (ouch)
I started this post to remind everyone of the Arts Festival, then last night got in a hurry to get the wife on an airplane and forgot to mention it. Thanks to Jason, (see comments) I was reminded to include one our best annual events. Don't miss it and pray for a (no) hail of a good time. (Sorry, Andrew).

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Train from S. Fort Worth to DFW Airport

2013 is the finish date for the proposed new train from south of Hulen and I20 through downtown Fort Worth to North Richland Hills and Grapevine, and finally to DFW Airport. Cost: $430 million. The greater Dallas and Fort Worth area will add 1 million people in the next ten years based on current growth trends. We need commuter trains if we are going to have any hope of reducing auto grid-lock.

There are NO cost-free ways to provide an effective means to get around. Roads cost money and No-roads cost money in lost time, growth and opportunity. Of course, I'd like to see us add a few bicycle trails while we're at it.

Is it a bit of a gamble that the area will continue to grow and that fuel costs will still encourage the use of public transportation? Sure, but it's a risk worth taking.

The Star-Telegram online video on the new train is worth watching.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Let's Just Go Ahead and Admit It . . .


Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Newport, R.I.






T
his is not a picture of our library
. You know that. And you know that I find very little to fault about Fort Worth. I have lived in other cities. And we Fort Worthians have it good.

--- But --

Our library leaves something to be desired. I don't mean the books, the people or the scope of the activities. I have no complaint there. But the building is, well, not as good as we should have.

This came to mind yesterday when I was reading a New York Times article on various libraries around the country. Many of which with spectacular buildings.

When I first moved to Fort Worth 25 years ago, I spent many hours exploring the library in what was essentially a basement downtown. When the construction of a real building on top of the basement started, I thought we would get a respectable facility. What we have is a decent facade on top of a library in a basement.

Maybe there just isn't enough interest in the whole library idea in this day of electronic medium. Libraries are a throwback to a past when paper was expensive as were the books they made. The average guy could not afford many books and libraries were a way for the common man to have access to the books that only the wealthy once had. Before online research, students, researchers and the just plain curious would camp out in a library to find whatever it is one needed. I did it often.

Fort Worth deserves an old stately downtown library with loaded bookshelves, big chairs, sturdy tables and librarians who glare at "loud-talkers" like nuns glaring at misbehaving children in church.

The downtown Post Office --- yea ---- that's the ticket.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

A Plug for the Botanic Garden?




Few cities of any size have an area like our Botanic Gardens. It is a combination of rose garden, walking park, arboretum, Japanese garden, educational center and picnic area. I have enjoyed it every year we have lived here and it improves with each visit.

I can't say I know one butterfly from the next, but I will get out to the Butterflies in the Garden exhibit this March 1 - March 30.

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Different subject: If anyone knows why the Trinity River is very low near Beach Street and Gateway Park, let me know.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

New to Fort Worth? Attend the Stock Show.


When I moved to Fort Worth, it was called the Fat Stock Show. Now, it's just the Stock Show and there have been a few more than a hundred of them. If you want a good look and feel into Texas tradition and particularly Fort Worth tradition visit the Fort Worth Stock Show. The Stock Show has all the amenities of a county fair and a serious competitive element of showing animals and selling stock. Plus, you have the rodeo.

My wife is from England who grew up in farm country where sheep dog trials were the main event of the county fair. We saw one at the Stock show and it was very enjoyable.

Young children love the small animals, rabbits, chickens, and you name it, it's judged; older folks like the dog shows and horse shows, and everybody loves the rodeo.

It's all worth the inexpensive admission. Once you have paid the small admission fee there are dozens of free events including music, animal shows, milking parlors, etc.

January 11 - February 3, 2008

Check out the calendar of events at their website: http://www.fwssr.com/default.asp

Have a favorite Stock Show event or story? Please let us know in the comments.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

A Fort Worth Exclusive: Picturing the Bible

Anyone interested in history, art or religion should take the time to visit the Kimbell Art Museum in the next few months. We are privileged to have a collection of artistic treasures, including the Statuette of the Good Shepherd, a 3rd century marble piece, and a beautiful, jewel-encrusted gold cross presented by the emperor Justinian to Pope John III, circa 590 AD. I especially liked the Sarcophogus with the Traditio Legis, a 3rd century carved marble sarcophogus.

Two descriptions from the Kimbell website:
" A spectacular display of many of the greatest treasures of early Christianity from around the world, Picturing the Bible includes major loans from the Vatican, the Bargello and the Laurentian Library in Florence, the British Museum, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and a number of other international institutions. A landmark event both for scholarship on the Early Christian era and for the broader appreciation of this crucial period in world history..."

"Picturing the Bible brings together a wide range of material in an attempt to help clarify the questions of how Christians in the Greco-Roman period illustrated their religious beliefs, including frescoes, marble sculpture and sarcophagi, silver vessels and reliquaries, carved ivories, engraved gold glass, bronze sculpture, seals in semiprecious stones, illustrated Bibles, and decorated crosses. "
Fort Worth is the only host of this collection, thanks to the folks at the Kimbell. Congratulations.

Place: Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
Cost: Peak times $14 / off peak $7
Dates: November 18, 2007 -- March 30, 2008
Website: http://www.kimbellart.org

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

New Park for Children

Tillery Park, on the Forest Park side of the Fort Worth Zoo area has just opened. If you have young children, consider visiting on your next trip to a park; my wife, daughter, and her children loved it. Congratulations to the Forest Park area residents who volunteered time and money to put this together. Great job.

Website with map: http://www.tillerypark.org/index.htm

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

This Week: Two Festivals Worth Attending

Greek Festival

Forty Years of practice makes the food at the Greek Festival worth tasting.
November 9 -- 11.
St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
2020 N.W. 21st Street, Fort Worth, Texas
http://www.fortworthgreekfestival.com/

Film Festival

Downtown Fort Worth will be home to the first Lone Star International Film Festival. November 7-11
The Lone Star Film Society will showcase approximately 60 films on 6 screens all located within walking distance of each other in Sundance Square.
http://www.lsiff.com/