Marmite

Since I have had such a good supply of Marmite from Town Talk, I though I would look up their website.

Very clever -- and they have a section for Marmite haters.

www.marmite.com/love/history

My Cure for the Common Cold.

I hate the common cold. And I get more than my fair share of them. But at some point, a few days into it (as I am now), I will re-read one of my favorite essays, Frank Sinatra Has a Cold, by Gay Talese. It is probably not read by many under the age of 50, except as a guide for good writing, but for those of us who grew up with parents who considered the Chairman's vocals as the background music of life, it is still a very enjoyable read.

Following is an introduction, and a link to the website of Gay Talese and the essay. The introduction, from Esquire magazine:

In the winter of 1965, writer Gay Talese arrived in Los Angeles with an assignment from Esquire to profile Frank Sinatra. The legendary singer was approaching fifty, under the weather, out of sorts, and unwilling to be interviewed. So Talese remained in L.A., hoping Sinatra might recover and reconsider, and he began talking to many of the people around Sinatra -- his friends, his associates, his family, his countless hangers-on -- and observing the man himself wherever he could. The result, "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold," ran in April 1966 and became one of the most celebrated magazine stories ever published, a pioneering example of what came to be called New Journalism -- a work of rigorously faithful fact enlivened with the kind of vivid storytelling that had previously been reserved for fiction. The piece conjures a deeply rich portrait of one of the era's most guarded figures and tells a larger story about entertainment, celebrity, and America itself . . .

The essay: www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/talese/essays
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The Most Visited Place in Texas.

For Texans, that's a pretty easy guess.

Unfortunately, it is the only place on the Forbes Travel Magazine, 25 Most visited spots in the USA. If you didn't read the Yahoo/Forbes report, can you guess 7 of the top 10? And can you guess the most visited place in the America.

The answers for the top ten are in small and ghosted type below:
>
> ( no peeking, remember this is specific places in a city)
>
> ( guess 7 of 10 and win a free trip to Town Talk )
>
> (but you have to buy your own groceries)
>
> here they are:
1. Times Square / New York, NY / 35 million
2. Las Vegas Strip / Las Vegas / 31 m
3. National Mall and Parks / Washington D.C. / 24 m
4. Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, Mass. / 20 m
5. Disney World / Orlando / 17.1 m
6. Disneyland / Anaheim / 14.9 m
7. Fisherman's Wharf / San Francisco / 14 m
8. Niagara Falls / New York / 12 m
9. Great Smokey Mountains National Park/ Tennessee / 9.4 m
10 Navy Pier / Chicago / 8.6 m

San Antonio riverwalk is Texas' most visited spot with 5.1 million per year and number 14 in America. For the complete list of 25: http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists

Last question: has anyone been to all or even 8 or 9 of 10?
I have visited 6 of 10.
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Speaking of lists. I saw this note on the West and Clear blog: Time Magazine reported the Fort Worth Star Telegram as one of the top 10 endangered newspapers in the country.

Eddie V's Restaurant Review: Great.

Brinton and I went to Eddie V's last night with our friend, Muffin, and had a lovely Lenten, fish dinner. Since it was Friday, we decided to try Fort Worth's new fish restaurant -- and we were very happy with the entire experience (plus, Zeke's was packed with a line "out the door"). The first available reservation was 9 pm, which we took. They told us that they have been booked solid since they opened.

We were seated promptly and were walked by the fabulous looking lobster bar were diners pick from one of the fresh lobster tails that are packed on a mountain of ice.

We started with the Ahi Tartar, which was served with avocado, onion, and tomato. The server suggested mixing all three components before eating.

He was right, it was excellent!

The fish was cold and fresh and drizzled with sesame and curry oils. It was served with sesame flatbread.

For drinks, I had the Fort Worth Cosmo and Brinton had the sweet tea mojito (not his first choice, but I wanted to taste it) and Mary had the house Cabernet. All were good.

For the main course, I had the Salmon. It was cooked medium rare, which I like, served on a bed of asparagus, and had a butter sauce with capers and Parmesan. It was delicious. Brinton had red Snapper and was very happy with the portion and the flavor. Mary ordered the Filet of Sole which came on a lovely lemon butter sauce. I liked that the fish was served on top of the sauces instead of the normal drowning of sauce (maybe to cover for the fact that the fish is none too fresh?).

We were very pleased with our dinner and will definitely go again.
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Becca (Eastside) told me that she considers Eddie V's the best seafood restaurant in Fort Worth. I did not ask her the cost of the meal for three but I am sure it is as expected for a nicer restaurant. As to the economy and its effect on "expendable income." Eddie' V's is a big restaurant and has been full since it opened.

Eddie V's
Museum Place
3100 West 7th Street
Fort Worth, TX 76107



Also, See the Best of Fort Worth 2010


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Town Talk. The Grocery Store.

Speaking of grocery store discounters.

The biggest discounter of them all is Town Talk. They are the anti-Central Market -- in every way -- except the one way that matters: name brand food products, sometimes the really good stuff, at bargain prices. I am not saying all the food is high quality, or even that most of it is, but occasionally the deals there are better than imaginable.

For instance, Marmite. I like Marmite. My wife is British. She introduced it to me and I like it. Most Americans don't. It's a yeast extract and it's tangy. It's about $7 for a small jar. She picked up 4 of them at Town Talk for $10.

How do they do it? Town Talk takes department and grocery store overstocks, item close outs, and store closings, and consolidates it by category for resale. The aisles are changing all the time.

They have no cappuccino bar to stop and relax while shopping, the floor needs sweeping, and the warehouse spills over into the aisles.

But it's kind of fun, you never know what you will find and sometimes the cuts of beef are just too good of a deal to turn down. It's an acquired taste and sometimes they sell things past shelf-life date. But if you haven't tried it, it is worth a visit.

http://www.towntalkfoods.net/

Town Talk Foods
121 North Beach St.
Fort Worth, TX 76111