Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Dallas Farmers Market

I hate to admit that Dallas has something better than Fort Worth, but in one thing they do. I am referring to the Farmers Market in downtown Dallas. http://www.dallasfarmersmarket.org
Before the summer fresh produce months are over do yourself a favor and go to the Farmers Market, and one suggestion, look for the farmers stands which are marked and color coded differently than the resellers. It's enjoyable walking by all the produce stands, trying before you buy, and you can find great deals and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Take the train and walk a little.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

On Rittenhouse Square and Rehoboth Beach

While F&FW is away in foreign lands north of the Red River, comments on food will include places visited. Such is the case here.

At first glance one might think that Rittenhouse Square (RS), Philadelphia, PA and Rehoboth Beach (RB), Delaware are as different as two places can be. But to my wife and me they have similar attractions. RS is in the middle of a city which is the fifth most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. with almost 6 million people. RB might have 6,000 in the winter months and tens of thousands in the summer. Okay, that's a big difference but in this they are similar.
Both have great coffee shops and bakeries, privately owned bookstores and restaurants, churches that look like churches, and places to walk, and people that walk.
And they don't have the same thing. Waves and waves of Gaps and SuperTargets, souless buildings, 8 foot ceilings, and homogeniety.
Rehoboth and Rittenhouse are as they should be as the places that they are. I mean that they have developed over the years "organically" and because of that have a kind of patina of place. Something, say, Southlake or Frisco can only try to imitate. (I like Southlake and Frisco but you know what I mean)
I remember the first time I went into an Italian restaurant in Italy, Florence to be exact. I expected to hear some good Italian music in the background, Pavoratti or Sinatra, even. But what was playing was Kenny Rogers, The Gambler. At first I thought that kind of strange but then I realized that this was an Italian restaurant and as such didn't have to create the mood of one. It was playing the music listened to by the patrons and proprietor. It was what it was.
For my wife and me there is nothing quite like a quiet evening walking along the beach with the lights and sounds of the boardwalk as a backdrop, but Rittenhouse Square with a good book and a cup of coffee on a cool summer evening is not too bad either. We are enjoying them both.

Friday, August 31, 2007

Food in the News

If you look for a Japanese face behind the Sushi counter before entering a Sushi bar, you might want to reconsider. USA Today reports that many new Sushi chefs are, not surprisingly, of hispanic descent. Like any business, some hard-working folks start at the bottom and work their way to the top and such is the case of Santos Villanueva top chef at Tako Grill in Bethesda, Maryland. Six of the seven Tako Grill chefs are from Central America and one from Japan. The number of Sushi restaurants in the US has doubled in the last decade and the demand for chefs is growing. Another benefit to the non-Japanese chefs. Americans like the experimental combinations like jalapeno, mango with hamachi. Our best traditional sushi in Fort Worth is Hui Chuan Sushi on Camp Bowie.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2007-08-30-sushi-chefs_N.htm?csp=34.