Events Upcoming in Fort Worth:

The Fort Worth Opera at Bass Hall

I am commenting on only two of the many good performances Bass Hall is hosting in the next month. For a more complete calendar please visit their website at www.basshall.com

Turandot / Puccini / May 24, June 1 and June 6.

Luciano Pavarotti made popular the Nessun Dorma aria from this opera, Turandot. The final "vincero" brings me to tears every time I hear it. Everyone should see Turandot at least once. Trust me, this stuff is better than any movie you'll see this year.

Story line from Fort Worth Opera website:

Peking, legendary times. In a quarter near the Forbidden City, a Mandarin reads an edict: any prince seeking to marry Princess Turandot must answer three riddles - and if he fails, he will die. Her latest suitor is executed at Turandot’s command. In the crowd, Calaf is smitten with the princess’ beauty and goes before the princess to answer the riddles, which he does to her great distress. . .

Lucia Di Lammermoor / Donizetti / May 25, 30 and June 1.
Sung in Italian with English sub-titles. Known as one of the greatest Italian romantic operas and for its soaring soprano arias. I have not seen this opera but I am very excited that Bass Hall is hosting it. Story line from Fort Worth Opera website:

Lucia is on cloud nine; Edgardo has asked her to marry him and she is thrilled at the possibility. Unbeknownst to her, though, her brother has arranged a politically tidy marriage to another man and sets out to make sure it happens, to tragic consequences.

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Kimbell Art Museum / The Impressionists / June 29th

Okay, it's a few weeks before it gets here but this is pretty exciting for Impressionist enthusiasts. A one-of-a-kind exhibition on loan from Chicago.

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The Colonial or Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial / May 19 - May 25

For local golf lovers, socialites, and just outdoor beer drinkers, this is a great event and one of the events of the year. I'm not a golfer but I do enjoy watching the sport -- but even if you don't like golf, the Colonial is worth a visit. And this year at least Michelson is playing.

My Problems with Pappas

I don't bash many restaurants, especially the smaller ones. If I don't like an establishment I don't talk about it, or I accentuate the good points. The exception to that rule is the restaurant that has had a great reputation but no longer serves good food. I don't mind talking about them critically.

I put Pappadeaux in that category. If you had ever visited one when they were a high end seafood house, you know what I mean. They were really good. Crisp, white table cloths and napkins, well dressed and groomed servers, and food that matched the look of both. Their food was always fresh, hot and plentiful, with fresh, hot rolls as soon as you were seated. Pappadeaux had it going on. No mas. They still pack them in at Forest Park and I30, so obviously not everyone agrees, but that is my view.

Pappasito's has a narrower menu and has kept a level of quality in their fajitas and tortillas, but the last time I visited, it wasn't as good as it once was. The servers were lackadaisical and untrained.

Pappas Burgers are okay, but expensive.

The Pappas Steakhouse in Dallas had the best steak I have ever eaten. A few years ago Texas Monthly agreed. I haven't been in 5 years so I don't know if that is still true.

Pappas Barbecue, like Pappas Steakhouse in the Stemmons restaurant row, is good but, again, expensive.

The Pappas Brothers have had a winning formula which combines new restaurants, an upbeat atmosphere, and strict formula cooking, and like all things formulaic, it is hard if not impossible, to maintain the original quality. I'm not on the inside of their business, but I do know that instead of a Pappas restaurant being my first choice in a category, I don't even consider them.

Slow Food?

Yesterday I read a story about a group committed to what they call Slow Food. It is not an organization of mothers hoping to get you to eat more slowly. It's slow food in contrast to fast food. They encourage people to buy foods that are whole and locally grown, instead of foods shipped in from who knows where. They encourage people to cook and not just: open can-heat- stir; or even worse, to make a habit of the McDonalds drive- through. (We spend $91 billion nationally on fast food, by the way, and I have made a considerable contribution to that total.)

I'm with them because "slow food" tastes better and is better, and slow food means people will actually sit around and talk to each other.

The basic tenets:
1. Cook non-processed foods at home.
2. Shop locally.
3. Avoid genetically modified foods.
4. Buy organic.
5. Grow your own (food).
6. Pack a healthy lunch.

On our little acre in Fort Worth we had chickens for years, along with the requisite rabbits, et cetera, and I assure you home-raised chicken eggs are much tastier than store bought. I grew tomatoes in my backyard, not because I am a back-to-earth type but because they taste a lot better, and that there is a sense of satisfaction eating vegetables from your own garden.
(If you are not a gardener, it will not be long before the Farmers Market in Dallas will be flooded with locally grown tomatoes at great prices.)

Interested in the Slow Food Movement?

http://www.slowfood.com/

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Started-in-the-Slow-Food-Movement#_note-4