Uh-Oh. I can relate.

From the Onion:

Vacationing Man Excited To Try Fast Food Franchise Not Found In Hometown

 

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA—Having driven to Virginia Beach to visit his sister for a brief vacation, fast food consumer and Pennsylvania native Don Turnbee expressed his interest Friday in eating at Carl’s Jr., a fast food chain not readily available in his hometown. “I’ve seen commercials for it on TV, but there isn’t one where I live, so I haven’t tried it before,” Turnbee said of the establishment, which he said is supposed to be better than Sonic but not as good as Jack in the Box. “The closest one is five hours away, and I’m not going to drive that far just to eat there.”

“The one near my sister’s is pretty close, so that’s better,” Turnbee added. “It’s as far as the Burger King is from my house in Erie. So like a 10-minute drive.”

While Turnbee told reporters he is looking forward to trying the restaurant, he said he doesn’t quite know what to expect, adding that he’s unsure if Carl’s Jr. fries are “any good,” whether or not they do chicken nuggets or chicken tenders, or if it is the type of fast food restaurant that... (Full text here:  Onion) . .

Renee Fleming, Lo How a Rose E're Blooming

Always a favorite of mine, and yea, she can sing a little. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is, as always, just right.  Merry Christmas one and all.

Sundance Square 2.0

Okay, it's not the Piazza Navona. But on a scale of 1 to 10 I'll put the new Sundance Square square at a 10.

Marian and I have been for several visits since it opened a few weeks ago and I have the same thought everytime, what a difference space makes to the downtown feel. This makes Fort Worth feel like a city instead of just buildings and streets.

Add the shops, dining, coffee, benches, fountains and some very attractice inverted umbrellas and I give the design and execution an A.

Another observation from a Friday night visit. Downtown was packed with diners, sightseers and shoppers, as in clothes shoppers, downtown, who would have thought that was possible twenty years ago?

Last year I commented on the sound of the vacuum sucking money from downtown to 7th Street -- this should help. Downtown has a solid convention business, especially post Omni, it draws local DFW visitors, and another segment not so widely recognized: vacationeers from Mexico shopping, dining and seeing the sights. It's safe, it's relatively inexpensive travel and Texas is Spanish-speaking friendly.  San Antonio is the number one USA destination from Mexico, number two is DFW especially when the Cowboys are playing.

Final thought: the number one location in Fort Worth for a drink and a quality hamburger, salad, or steak is the Del Frisco's Grill on the Square. Great seats inside and out, great food, and plenty of places to go after dinner.