House Prices in Fort Worth. Good News.

The Fort Worth Business Press reported today that house prices are relatively stable in Fort Worth as compared with U.S. cities with populations of 600,000 and over. Fort Worth ranked 4th.

The top ten markets with the best expected performance in home price are:

1. Baton Rouge, LA
2. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
3. Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX
4. Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
5. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
6. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
7. Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
8. Pittsburgh, PA
9. San Antonio, TX
10. Syracuse, NY

The article does go on to say that the areas that saw the boom cycle are now most likely to be in the decline. Likewise, the markets such as ours, that did not experience a boom real estate cycle are more likely to have price stability. Fort Worth and the area has the added benefit of business growth and an increasing population.

See the Fort Worth Business Press for additional information.

Love Shack. So 7. Very Good.

Four of us went to the Love Shack off 7th Street today. I hate to admit it but I ordered the Penne Pasta salad-- it's a diet thing. The salad was very good, but this place is about the hamburgers.

Andrew, who had a hamburger, gave me his review:

1. Nice festive atmosphere. Not enough indoor seating in the summer. A good atmosphere all around.

2. Dirty Love Burger. The burger was excellent, the bun was toasted well, the bacon was a real piece of flavorful bacon, not some wilted piece of shingle. The meat was perfect: juicy, thick, hot. Perfect. Special sauce was great as well. One question: why the quail egg? It was overcooked and flavorless. I was hoping the yoke was going to break and spill out onto the burger. I was even eagerly anticipating the moment. But nothing.

3. Anasazi beans were a welcome side dish. Something different than french fries.

4. Very impressed. Will go back very soon.

. . . If only So7 had other tenants . . .
-----------------------------------------------
Editors comments: I tasted the pinto beans and they were delicious. I tried the french fries and they were good, not great. Then again, I have been eating Thrashers Boardwalk fries at Rehoboth Beach all summer and it just doesn't get any better. Love's fries were a little wimpy, but they were fresh cut real potatoes. As far as the egg on the burger -- I'll take an egg on anything and love it. But if it is overcooked and the yoke is hard I think it tastes rubbery. I tried Andrew's Dirty Love Burger and the egg was overcooked for my taste. But the important point is that Love Shack makes a very good hamburger at a reasonable price.

Sukhothai. Great Thai Food in Arlington

Sukhothai is a small, family-operated, Thai restaurant in Arlington off Fielder road. I like it as a restaurant for a small group, here's why:

1. The food is good, really good. I had the mixed vegetables with beef, Thai hot, and it is fresh and very hot. Several in our family had the chicken curry and loved it.
2. The plates are served hot as they are prepared. This might be off-putting to some. I like it. As the cook is plating his dishes they are served, which means your food is right off the stove. We had a party of eight and the last person served was a few minutes behind the first.
3. It is quiet. The music is not blaring and the room is small so it is easy to carry on table conversations.
4. BYOB. I don't always like this but for family outings it is great. Eight of us enjoyed dinner, great food and service, and several bottles of wine and the bill (before tip) was only $100. (Come to think of it, my wife and I don't drink, Elizabeth is pregnant, so that leaves 5 people with three bottles, one of them the extra large bottle . . .)
   
5. When you make frequent visits to a small, family owned restaurant you begin to feel like family with the owners, staff, and other frequent visitors. A good meal is about good food and drink in a pleasant setting with free-flowing conversation and somebody else doing the dishes. If you are fortunate enough to have that -- "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places." Psalm 16.
   

For great Thai food almost in Fort Worth:
Sukhothai

423 Fielder North Plz
Arlington, TX 76012
(817) 860-4107

It's Saturday, May I Digress?

White People.

They are a strange bunch of folks.

Friendly? Yes, annoyingly so sometimes. But strange.

I say this because I have a Facebook account and I look at the pictures. Yes, the white people pictures.

Go to a white persons wedding on Facebook and find me a white person dancing who doesn't look stupid; the arms and legs always flaying around, facial expressions distorted, tie's loosened, white sweat everywhere. It's embarrassing I tell you. I say if you can't dance don't. You may not mind being your uninhibited self on the dance floor but the rest of us find it damned awkward.

I think white people are trying to act non-white. They would be much better off doing the fox-trot or the waltz or some such thing. Watch the old Lawrence Welk show. That's how white people are supposed to act.

Everybody's happier that way.

Celebrated Living Magazine

Celebrated Living, a magazine published by American Airlines for their First and Business Class customers, celebrated their 10 year anniversary Wednesday night at the Joule Hotel in Dallas.

At the invitation of Megan Broussard, F&FW contributor Rebecca Shivone Smith attended, with husband Britton, and made these observations on the food, the wine, the hotel and the magazine:

After attending the celebration of the 10 year anniversary of Celebrated Living I can definitely say that they can put together a first class party as well as a first class magazine. The Fall 2009 edition of CL features a food and wine theme and touts Meryl Streep on the cover who recently starred in the “foodie” movie, Julie and Julia.

Master Chef Charlie Palmer, of the Michelin-starred Aureole in New York, has recently opened a restaurant in the Joule Hotel in Dallas and was offering guests a range of delightful hor d'oeuvres paired with wines from around the country. He is featured in this issue of Celebrated Living and provided the party a perfectly enjoyable American epicurean experience . I enjoyed meeting and speaking with him -- and Charlie -- the quail legs were to die for, and I cannot wait to come by the restaurant and eat more of that delicious chocolate ganache espresso torte.

Brinton and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and look forward to flying first class with American -- maybe just to get the next edition of Celebrated Living!

---------------------------------------------------------------
The Fall Issue of CL has a "Food and Wine" focus and has many articles of interest for food lovers -- especially those that like to travel.

My favorite article: Ten Trends in Food.
Becca's favorite: West Coast Wine Weekends. "Enough to make me want to hop on a plane and head straight to Napa."

Celebrated Living Magazine: www.celebratedliving.com