Italy Pasta and Pizza

My grandsons and I had a rainy-day Saturday lunch at the newly opened Italy Pasta and Pizza, 820 and John T. White. It's newly opened but not new in business,  Italy Pasta and Pizza has been operating  on Fort Worth's eastside for about 20 years and this is their third location.

They have just finished renovating and opening what was built as a Black Eyed Pea in the late 80's, now long gone, and which has been through several restaurant iterations since.

None of that is particularly important but what is important is that the pizza is very good. It's as good a New York thin-crust style you will find in Fort Worth.

I haven't tried anything else but the pizza is good enough for me to return soon.

http://www.italypastapizza.com/

Magnolia Cheese Company

My wife and I happened upon Magnolia Cheese Company because Sunday morning was the first day since June-something that a body could take a walk without carrying half of Lake Whitney as a water supply. Like Alaskans who don't drive in extremely cold temperatures without blankets and such in the trunk of their car, we don't go anywhere in the summer without a mega-cup of ice and sweet tea.

But not Sunday morning. Since it was such a pleasant, sunny, and cool morning Marian and I decided to walk down Magnolia Avenue after mass at St. Mary's. Coffee was somewhere in our minds at the end and then we saw Magnolia Cheese Company. I had been meaning to stop in so we did.

What a treat.

Magnolia Cheese Company serves locally-made (Texas-wide I think) artisan cheeses in a cafe like setting. Coffee and tea are available, bottled waters, beer, wine, and a menu of sandwiches and other items all associated with their cheeses. We weren't ready for lunch so we ordered a "plank" of assorted local cheeses that comes with a few spreads like honey, plum jam, a reduced balsamic vinegar, and a little fruit. The bread is a baguette sliced very thin but perfect as a side for the cheese.

I'll comment on just one of the cheeses. I love blue cheese. The tangier the  better. The plank had a couple chunks of near perfect blue cheese. It really couldn't have been better. The plank was $16 and though it's not lunch for two it's a substantial serving of all the above.

When I return to Magnolia Cheese I'll try a sandwich.  I hope they do well, I plan to stop by frequently. Last thought: the coffee was hot, fresh, and very good. And served in a real white coffee-drinking mug.

More information is available on their website here: Magnolia Cheese Company.

(Okay, one very minor criticism unrelated to what a great place it is. I'm not a big fan of the tricked up website, which is what they have. The copy scrolls over stationary images, it's clever but disorienting and counter-productive, that is, it works against the user learning about the company and sales, imo . . )

Remembering 9/11. The Boatlift Video.

My sister sent me this. I hadn't see it before. It's about 11 minutes long and worth watching.

Top 10 things a guy shouldn't say to his wife right before she returns from visiting her sister.

The ten things I should not say right before my wife returns Monday . . .

Number ...

10. I'm thinking we should have gone for more of a wine color on that new carpet.

9.  Everything's being going great. No problems whatsoever.

8.  Children eat free at Hooters.

7. Mail? I'll check on that.

6. Where do we keep the cat food?

5. Does Fabreze work on cigar smoke?

4. Somebody hacked the Netflix account and added Girls Gone Wild to "Recently Viewed."

3. There is dust on everything. It's amazing.

2. I don't know it's been a while since I have been outside.

And the number one thing I better not say:

1. Children?

..

(I love you dear and we are very much looking forward to your return)

Whataburger's Pancakes. Yes, They're Good.

August 2020 UPDATE

Whataburger continues to produce their hamburgers more or less the old-fashioned way: on a grill, to order. And unlike McDonald's, their pancakes are the same, not pre-cooked and steamed but grilled to order. It takes longer, is more labor intensive, and is more expensive because of the prior two points. But in my opinion their breakfast is a much better buy than McDonald's, Wendy's, Chik-Fil-A or any other fast food franchise. They recently sold the company so that they would have the cash to expand. I hope they keep the original strategy.

For now, if you're going out for fast food pancakes, breakfast burritos, etc, in my opinion Whataburger is best.

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Original post:

Bear with me here.

I have now posted two fast food posts in a row, sorry, it just happened that way.

I took a few of my grandchildren to Whataburger for pancakes today. We usually go to McDonald's but we thought we'd try WB. I was shocked. Three large, fresh-poured on the skillet, served-hot pancakes with syrup, real butter and two slices of bacon: $4.00.

And this picture from the Whatburger website doesn't do them justice because they're not that pretty. They're imperfectly formed like the home-made kind the way they ought to be.

They tasted good, too.

.