Birthday Greetings

The following is taken from Garrison Keiller's, The Writers Almanac: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

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It's the birthday of the writer who said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you odd," and "Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless you can get away from it." She didn't want a biography written about her because, she said, 'Lives spent between the house and the chicken yard do not make exciting copy."

That's Flannery O'Connor, born in Savannah, Georgia (1925). When she was five years old, she trained a chicken to walk backward, and a newsreel company came to her house to make a film about it, which was shown all over the country. She said, "I was just there to assist the chicken but it was the high point in my life. Everything since has been anticlimax." She spent much of her life on her family farm in Milledgeville, Georgia, raising poultry and writing novels and short stories: Wise Blood (1952), The Violent Bear It Away (1960), A Good Man Is Hard to Find (1955), and Everything That Rises Must Converge (1965). This last book of short stories was published after her death in 1964, at the age of 39, from complications of lupus.

She said: "Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher."

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The Good Life

A look at Dallas' Hofmann Hots, Babb Bros BBQ, Trinity Groves, and Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

I like suspension bridges and I like re-developed neighborhoods. The old Trinity Groves neighborhood west of Dallas has both. An 80 acre block of this once-forgotten area of Dallas is being re-developed by a real-estate investment group. The new suspension bridge, courtesy of the city of Dallas, connects downtown and the Groves with function and beauty; calling it a bridge is like calling the Empire State Building a building.

Last week I decided to try the lunch fare at one of the new restaurants at Trinity Groves. I walked into Hofmann Hots at the lunch hour saw a 20 person line with one order-taker behind a cash register walked out and went next door to Babb Bros BBQ. Hofmann's would have to wait for another time.

At Babb Bros I had a well stacked and tasty sliced barbecue sandwich. Delicious. Babb's is a big place, 5,000 square feet, and by the looks of the pictures they are filling it.

Babb Bros BBQ

A few days later I was near the bridge heading back to Fort Worth about two in the afternoon and decided to check on Hofmann's again. Thankfully, no line. Hofmann's offers two kinds of franks, the Kielbasa and a German Frank both with assorted toppings and sides. I got the Kielbasa and roll with nothing added. The link is cooked while you wait so it's piping hot when served and it is good. The hot dog bun is a substantial roll unlike what you buy at the grocery store for the home cookout and I have to say the dog/bun combo is perfect.

At both Babb's and Hofmann's you'll spend about $10 for lunch if you get sides which I did not do at either place.

There are more restaurants and shops coming to Trinity Groves. And for those who follow the food and restaurant business, Phil Romano (Eatzi's, Macaroni Grill, etc) is a part of the development group and, most interestingly to me, the restaurant Group offers an "incubate program" for those who have an idea and are not ready or able to fund the idea or to sign long leases. You give up some of the profits and let them take some of the risk. Great idea.

Babb Bros. BBQ

Hofmann Hots menu 

Trinity Groves 

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Torchy's Tacos

 

I remember like it was yesterday going out to lunch with my father after he had retired and knowing that eventually he'd comment that everything seemed expensive. I'd say, "that's okay dad I'm buying" but that didn't really matter, the price of our lunch compared to the price he paid thirty years before was higher and, inflation or no inflation, everything to him was expensive.

Now as I near retirement, I'm beginning to think the same thing so keep that in mind as you read on.

My one man lunch at Torchy's was $11.24 no tip (you order from the counter). I had two egg tacos, a small bowl of chips and salsa, and a drink.

The tacos were good not great, the chips were below average, and the salsa was okay. So when I think of Torchy's I think, a cool, hip kind of place, pretty good food, but way too expensive.

Am I just getting old or what?

www.torchystacos.com/

Torchy's Tacos
Northton St Fort Worth, TX 76104
(817) 289-8226

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Ryan's Fine Grocer and Delicatessan

Ryan's Fine Grocer and Delicatessan

If there is such a thing as hoping prayerfully for a new venture to succeed I'd add Ryan's to my list.

Why?

First, they're a young sister and brother team with plenty of culinary experience and who doesn't want this kind of family business to succeed, second they have invested themselves and their money into an area that is developing nicely but which needs a broader variety of stores and merchants, and finally because it reminds me of the corner markets in center city Philadelphia. Places I shopped in every day. Both Ryan's attended culinary school in Brooklyn so it makes sense. There are no super-hyper marts in the city, what cities have is what Ryan's is. And I like it.

What do they have? Take your local supermarket cut it down to corner market size, limit the selections to the higher quality products and you get it. Ryan's has a good selection of meats, cheese, fish, non-perishables, canned goods, vegetables, and fruits with a focus on quality. Also, attached to the market is a deli-style sandwich shop, coffee bar, and a seating area with wi-fi. In the proprietor's more professional words: “We're an urban grocery store with a Brooklyn-style deli ... we specialize in high-quality produce and dry-aged meats. We plan on dry-aging our meats in-house, curing our own salmon, and, hopefully, hanging our own prosciutto.”

The big question: can a local grocer make it on Magnolia? I sure hope so. They'll get my support.

Ryan’s Fine Grocer & Delicatessen
815 W. Magnolia Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76104
Ph 817-945-2770


ryansfinegrocer.com

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