Austin Lovers . . .

The Travel section of the Sunday New York Times had a feature story on Austin, Texas. The story ran under their weekly "36 Hours" report. The idea of 36 Hours is to suggest ten local sites for travelers to consider on a brief trip to that city. The suggested sites could be restaurants, shopping, historical, or just something different about that city.

I don't know Austin that well and can't really comment on their suggestions, except to say that I liked the article. But it was rather funny to suggest that visitors first get a pair of cowboy boots in order to fit in. I love cowboy boots but a brief walk through the streets of Austin will reveal more flip-flops than boots. Also, of interest is that the NY Times suggested traveling by Jet Blue in December for about $300 from JFK to Austin.

Not a bad idea. For those interested in the entire article:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/travel

Please comment on their suggestions if you are familiar with Austin.

Which Wich, Billadelphia, Menchies...

Summary of three visits last week: two hits and one miss.

WhichWich? on Berry Street.  I expected a Subway-type sandwich, (which actually I like sometimes but don't put in the great sandwich category) and was surprised by the better than expected combination of good crusty bread and a decent portion of meat rolled into a tasty sandwich. I liked it a lot. At almost $9.00 for a sandwich, drink and chips, it is a little pricey, but of the chain sandwich shops in Fort Worth: Subway, Potbelly, and Quizno's, I'll take the WhichWich? sandwich. WhichWich? is a young chain of "superior sandwiches" with stores in about twenty states. Dallas Observer voted them the best cheap sandwich in 2006. About the name . . . I don't like it, too cutesy for me, and as you can see, it makes writing about them confusing.

Menchies is a frozen yogurt store in University Park Village, on the southwest corner, next to the Apple store. Menchies, like Which wich? is another food franchiser growing into the South and the West. If you like the new frozen yogurt concept you will like Menchies. The yogurt is excellent, with about 10 flavors, and the toppings are plentiful. If the fro-yo concept is more than a passing fancy, Menchies will do well. The yogurt is very good and the location is great.

I was disappointed in Billadelphia's on Berry Street near Paschal High School because it was just okay. I grew up on the Philly cheesesteak and have my idea of a good one. Billadelphia's looked right but was missing some flavor and texture. The sliced steak is thicker than I like, and I prefer a little hardier roll, but the worst part was that it was kind of tasteless. A good cheesesteak combines the flavors of steak, cheese, bread and fried onions, and their steak part just wasn't right. I did like the fact that they served TastyKake cakes and Herr's potato chips. I hate to criticize anyone trying to promote the greatness that is the cheesesteak but it just wasn't that great.

Happy Thanksgiving, 2009.

Same post as last Thanksgiving Day.
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 Every Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day, for over 40 years, the Wall Street Journal has reprinted two essays on its editorial page. The first essay, "The Desolate Wilderness" is a brief chronicle based on William Bradford's account of the Pilgrim settlement. The second essay, "And the Fair Land," reminds us to remember our good fortune in a world not often so blessed.

I read them every year. The following are two excerpts from the Wall Street Journal essays, and the links if you desire to read the entire essay (both are short):

Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof: So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16), and therein quieted their spirits.

To read the balance of the editorial: http://online.wsj.com/article
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Any one whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful. This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.

And a traveler cannot but be struck on his journey by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater. America, though many know it not, is one of the great underdeveloped countries of the world; what it reaches for exceeds by far what it has grasped. So the visitor returns thankful for much of what he has seen, and, in spite of everything, an optimist about what his country might be. Yet the visitor, if he is to make an honest report, must also note the air of unease that hangs everywhere.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119

San Antonio.

I've always been partial to San Antonio. I like it almost as much as I do Fort Worth. But I am partial to all things Franciscan, and San Antonio was settled by Franciscan missionaries a few hundred years ago, which makes it an old city and, like New Orleans or San Francisco, a city with an Old World feel.

Another big reason to enjoy San Antonio is the Mexican cuisine, which is not one thing but many things. I love Tex-Mex as much as anyone, but Mexico is a country with regional recipes for steak, seafood, breads, and desserts, and is a place with vegetables not commonly found north of the border. Except in cities like San Antonio.

Here are two of the restaurants we visited.

La Fonda. Excellent Mexican cuisine. I had the Milanesa de Pollo and it was delicious. La Fonda is downtown in the Alamo Heights area and serves the local San Antonio crowd. The best Mexican food is not on the Riverwalk but in the city where the locals live. It is not hard to find a good one.

Another restaurant we enjoyed was Fralos, the Art of Pizza, a pizza restaurant on the the northwest side of San Antonio in Leon Springs. Most of the seating is outside. The pizza is excellent and the atmosphere, on a cool San Antonio November night, is perfect.

Final suggestion for Fort Worth to travelers to San Antonio:
We visited the Whole Foods in Austin on the way back. Of the major specialty food retailers that I have visited, Whole Foods, Wegman's, and Central Market, Whole Foods is winning the battle of consistently good food quality and store innovativeness. It is true in the older stores, like the one we have in Arlington, and especially true in the new concept stores, like the store in Austin. The entire perimeter of the store is devoted to made-fresh foods with seating in each department. Bread, cheese, wine, coffee, fish, chocolate, sandwiches, tacos, sushi, you name it and it's there. And good. I tasted a chocolate and caramel covered apple in the chocolate department. Delicious.

My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is that it has limited street-level parking and it is crowded. We visited on a weekday afternoon around 2 p.m. and it was packed. Trust me on this one, it's worth a visit.

Shine Car Wash. Love that Place.

Every once in a while you come across a business that gets it. By "it" I mean low cost, quality work, good service, and ease of use. Thanks to my son, I found such a place at Shine Car Wash. Shine offers a five dollar self-drive-through carwash, and for an additional four bucks, wheel treatments and hand dry. It's fast, easy to use, and their machines do a good job.

And the best part: you do the vacuuming, which at Shine is odd kind of a joy. After the car wash, you drive around, signage easily guiding the way, to a bank of about 20 vacuum hoses neatly hanging from frames at about 10 parking spots. Each parking spot has two hoses, one for each side of the car. Pull the hoses out of their holders and vacuum away.

Warning: the vacuum is twice the power of the standard 50 cent vacuum cannister. Shine's vacuum gets every leaf, scrap of paper, penny, quarter, lonely french fry, and anything that isn't glued down. I hope they have a way of pulling out the money because I vacuumed up at least 15 cents.  I'll put it this way. I'd pay the 5 bucks just to use the vacuums. They are a work of engineering art.

Okay, I admit it, I am easily entertained but I really like this operation. Shine Car Wash gets the Food & Fort Worth, "I like it", seal of approval.

Shine Car Wash is just north of Berry Street, east of University about 1/3 mile, near the Blockbuster Video.