Ellerbe Fine Foods

Food in Fort Worth... there's plenty of it... and there's plenty of personality behind the wonderful eating establishments... Places that come to mind: Nona's, Fred's, JJ's, , the list goes on and on.

More recently, the Magnolia area has seen another addition that has taken off and really shown Fort Worth what personal attention to ingredient selections and home town tastes can do for a great meal.

Ellerbe Fine Foods on 1501 W. Magnolia St. is the new spot to get very good service, great wine selection, and incredibly fresh/tasty meals.

My wife, Becca (of the West), Josie Singleton (Eat This Fort Worth), and myself took a "neccessary" trip to Ellerbe's for an article in the current issue of Fort Worth Foodie. The article was about focusing on locally grown organic foods and their importance (not to mention their fantastic taste).

Enough rambling... Here's the quick rundown of dinner... Probably one of the better meals you can get in Fort Worth. I'm not kidding. We've ventured out to many different establishments, but the tastes that we had at Ellerbe's, was quite possibly unmatched.

We sample several of their appetizers, entrees, and even deserts. Here's the quick breakdown...

Apps:
Homegrown tomato salad - nice, big, flavorful tomatoes with hushpuppy croutons. Good, strong flavors.
Texas peaches and Deborah’s Farmstead Chevre - lovely comibination of cheese and peaches.
Watermelon, cantalope, shaved proscuitto, goat cheese, and a balsamic reduction - my favorite, flavors were very bold, sweet, savory, all over the place!

Entrees:
Curried Lamb Chops, Latte De Feta, Warm Couscous Salad, Tzatziki - incredible. The lamb chops were perfectly done (moist, pink, spiced just right)... The couscous was nice with the smooth feta.. and the Tzatziki gave a cool topping to the spiced lamb.

Grilled Airline Chicken Breast, Port Glazed Lightsey Figs, Mascarpone Polenta, Grilled Asparagus - Very tastey polenta with the mascarpone. Very Earthy feel to it. Chicken was properly prepared and mixed very well with the polenta.

Dessert:
Texas Peach and Prosecco Semifreddo - sweet, sparkling, tastey...
Maw Maw's Bread Pudding - not bad, really really rich...
and a pot of French pressed coffee - they put the water in too hot, slightly burnt

Overall, like I said earlier, the service was prompt and attentive (and very knowleadgeable)... the meal was no less than great, and I definitely put my seal of approval on the place...

More Burger Talk.

1. I hate to admit it but -- I visited Kinkaid's last night and the cheeseburger was good, but not as good as I expected. Was it a bad night for an otherwise good burger spot? Or have they grown beyond their ability to keep up? The bun was exceptionally wimpy and the onions could have vaporized the ink off of the Fort Worth Business Press I was reading while there.

2. So Smashburger is coming to town? I have never been to one. Anyone have an opinion?

3. I still can't get over the fact that DFW.com chose the Fred's hamburger as the best in the area. And while I'm on the subject, congratulations to the Star-Telegram for their new website which is usable and eye-pleasing, unlike the last one which was the visual equivalent of a Chuck E Cheese restaurant.

4. I saw that Pappa's burgers is having a half-price night. That would be worth a visit, unless it's on the same night as Wednesday night's half-price fajita for two night, which is like fajitas for four in any other part of the world. And their beef fajitas are very, very good.

5. The best part of the Star Telegram's Smashburger article was the mention of the possibility that In-N-Out Burger from California is considering a DFW location:

"We often look at potential new markets, and North Texas has been part of that evaluation process," said Carl Van Fleet, In-N-Out’s vice president of planning and development. (Fort Worth Star Telegram)

Keep saying your prayers.

Jazz by the Boulevard. Changes Due to Rain.

Jazz by the Boulevard is moving inside for tonight's performances.

New venue: Amon Carter Exhibit Hall in the Will Rogers Complex.

See the Star Telegram for details.

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.