A Burger for the Hungry Traveler ---

If you are ever in the eastern part of the country, including Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore and Richmond, and I think even down into Florida --- and you are looking for a real hamburger, go to a Five Guys. Wow. Fresh meat patties, cooked after you order. Double stacked. Boardwalk style french fries and a lot of them. A big burger, more fries than you can eat and a drink for $8 -- in center-city Philadelphia. Not bad. Can I start one in Fort Worth?

The Five Guys guys have won a griddle full of "Best Burger" awards from New York to Washington, and in my view, they deserve them. I'm going back.

http://www.fiveguys.com/

The Liberty Bar -- San Antonio, Texas

If you are driving South on 281 just north of Downtown San Antonio, you will see a neon sign for the Liberty Bar. You will most likely look over at the restaurant and say, ‘hey that place is leaning more than the tower of Pisa! They gotta fix that place.’ You probably won’t end up eating there because, hey, you’re in San Antonio and you have to go to the Riverwalk. And, ultimately, you will have made a great big mistake because the Liberty Bar is the best restaurant in town.

I could talk about how the restaurant has been there for 120 years and is owned by the same family now as then (has any family even been in FW that long?); I could talk about the Chile Rellenos, the Milanesa, the Chess Pie, and all the other dishes that are loved by locals; I could talk about the fresh-baked hot bread with real butter (!) that is at every table; I could talk about the easy home-like atmosphere; but I won’t. I will only mention the Pork Chops. Get them. They are great.

10,000 Hits. And the Mind of a "Blogger."

This web log's meter will hit 10,000 today. Nevermind that 5,000 of them were me editing what I just wrote 5 minutes ago. It's still 10,000. Okay, it's actually 9,000. I started the meter at 1,000 because I didn't want to look like a rookie. When I get to 11,000 (the real 10,000) I am going to celebrate by opening a bottle of Texas' finest carbonated water.

But let me tell you something about "bloggers" (a contracted word I do not like, by the way). For your information, the writers of web logs are self-deluded ninnies (ninnies?) who think that people actually care what they think. Me included. They also believe that they are experts in the field about which they write. And they believe either that they can write in respectable and understandable English, or that they should write as a street person talks to be authentic. The first is delusional the second is stupid.

Regardless, thanks to everyone who takes a minute out of their day to read and to comment. I enjoy the discussion. I really do.