Searches. Not Google.

Life is full of searches, indeed, it is an endless succession of searches.

It begins with childhood, looking out the front door for another boy or girl looking out their front door. And it never stops: a boy friend, girl friend, a job, a husband or wife, another husband or another . . . (kidding). A house and a neighborhood to live a life. Schools for the kids, little league, Church, a Doctor, a mechanic and plumber. We never stop looking for a dependable plumber.

We search, we find, we lose, we search again.

And then there is that somewhat sub-conscious search of adulthood. The search for home after we leave home. The lucky ones find it, many do not.

Everyone must find his or her own way in this world, do his own searches, then, later in life, after the success and failure, you return to the old place and remember the past in light of the present. Yesterday's sounds, smells, faces, they'll all be there, but in a movie-like way.

At least, that's the way I see it.

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A little love for the Old Neighborhood Grill.

photo from www.fortworthsouth.org

I hate to start with a side note, but in the "Why I love this English Language" department, a little etymology of the "neigh" in "neighborhood," would be an interesting search. Not only is there a silent "gh," but an A sound from an "ei." See also sleigh, freight, eight, but not slate, great, or ate. As Mike Rhyner says, weird.

Be that as it may -- the Old Neighborhood Grill.

I had a late lunch there the other day with a few guys. I've been to Neighborhood Grill maybe four or five times. And what I like about them is that they named their restaurant appropriately. It is a neighborhood place and guests are treated that way. I was early for our lunch and was greeted with "grab a drink we'll get a table set-up."

This is a place with an on-site owner who is making sure that his customers are treated like customers. Neighborhood Grill is counter-order and server-service and that's okay by me as well.

I had an Old Neighborhood Grill cheeseburger for the first time and I have to say it was very good.

But the reason I liked the place more than anything was that we sat there for an hour and were treated like neighbors. And that's hard to find anymore.

Old Neighborhood Grill
1633 Park Place Ave
Fort Worth, TX 76110

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McDonald's coffee drinkers. The most loyal?

So says the market research firm, CustomersDNA, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. CustomersDNA questioned 15,000 fast food customers about their coffee buying habits. When asked how likely they were to stray from one merchant to another, McDonald's customers were the least likely to go anywhere else.

That's a surprising result even considering the fact that McDonald's coffee is the least expensive, and sometimes as much as $.75 less expensive than Dunkin' or Starbucks.

For the record, if you line up all three stores with fresh coffee and all three had the same price, I'll choose Dunkin' Donuts first.

How about you?

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The Art of Choices . . .

Please accept an invitation to visit my son's first blog and his first post. He is twenty years old, a fourth year voice student in Philadelphia, and is commenting on his take on things away from Texas.

This first post is on how to pick a commuter train seat for legroom and comfort. I liked it, of course.

Thank you.

Link: http://shivoneschoice.blogspot.com/

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A Visitor's Guide to the Main Street Arts Festival, 2011.

Glass from Renee & James Engebretson

Fort Worth's, Main Street Arts Festival has grown to be one of our fair burg's signature annual events. And on opening day, April 14, it will proudly begin its 26th year.

Fort Worth hosts other well-attended events. Some are older, such as, the Stock Show, some more international, such as, the Van Cliburn Piano Competition, but in my mind, none more fitting and beneficial to the immediate downtown area than the Main Street Arts Festival. It symbolizes, at least to me, downtown's change for better in the last twenty-five years.

The Main Street Arts Festival is the sixth largest in the nation featuring over 200 booths out of 1,500 applicants; painting, glass, ceramics, wood, and other mediums from some of the world's best artists and craftsmen.

But, as I say every year, this is a food blog.

So, I should also mention that Main Street Arts also has become an event that draws people for the entertainment and the food. The Festival has the standard hot dog/cotton-candy type booths, but also has dozens of local restaurants selling select items from their menu, and specialty food sellers like Lone Star Roasted Nuts and Schmidt's bratwurst.

Times Ten Cellars is returning with their wine tasting party -- and at $35 it's worth considering. They sold out last year, so if you are interested, buy a ticket now.

Below are links to the culinary world at Main Street:

• Food and Restaurants: Here
• Times Ten Wine Tasting: Here
• Beer and other adult beverages: Here

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Main Street Arts Festival

April 14 - 17, 2011

10 AM -- 10 PM

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