Who's On First?

Today, Wednesday, I was in a part of town that I don't get to often and I thought I'd try a local Mexican place for tacos to go. The restaurant signage for this fine establishment read Today's Lunch Special: Tacos $4.98.

My attempt at placing an order went something like this:

ME at the counter (italics) : I'll take the special advertised on the sign outside.

-- OK sir, will that be ground beef or fajita meat

Whatever the special is, probably ground beef

-- OK sir Today's Special, anything to drink?

Diet Coke

-- Sorry we only have Diet Dr. Pepper.

How about an unsweetened iced tea?

-- OK sir, let's see (cash register starts) that's 6.98 for the special and 1.75 for the iced tea.

I thought today's special was 4.98?

-- No, that's Monday's special.

But the sign says today's special . . . 

-- I guess the owner forgot to change the sign, do you want me to get him?

No, I'll just pay it and maybe you can remind him.

MEAL ARRIVES, I pay and go to the car, open the container and its a cheese enchilada. I GO BACK.

Ma'am I ordered the tacos.

-- No, you said you wanted today's special which is the cheese enchilada.

But the sign says tacos. Today's Lunch Special: Tacos.

-- I know sir but like I said that's Monday's sign, today's special is enchiladas.

But I don't want an enchilada I want tacos.

-- OK sir we'll get you the tacos, let me see how much they are.

I don't care keep the 6.98 just please can I have tacos?

-- But the tacos aren't a lunch special and the enchilada was a lunch special price  . . .

: \

What's New on Magnolia Avenue (East): Spice, Brewed, and Il Cane Rosso

Fort Worth is changing before the very eye. And Magnolia Avenue, my favorite boulevard in Fort Worth, is changing faster than most. To wit: the restaurants in the title SPICE, BREWED, and IL CANE ROSSO, are all new and all on Magnolia.

SPICE
I can't say I know much about Thai food or any of the Asian cuisines or American versions of Asian cuisine. I like some of it but most of it leaves me with a "ok, now what." Thai food is a slight exception because of the use of hot spices which I like. I say this to say that I don't know how SPICE compares to the best Thai food but I think it's pretty darn good.  In fact, Marian and I like it enough that we'll stop by for a to-go order. If you don't agree tell me, I'd like to know.

BREWED
Brewed is a mix of living-room-style coffee shop, craft beer bar, and restaurant and it all kind of works together in that Magnolia kind of way. I stopped by for a coffee and to do a little work the other morning and decided to stay for lunch. The coffee, frankly, was not so great but I got there late morning and maybe it was the end of the pot. For lunch I had the Brewed burger with duck fat fries and it was excellent. I like the place and it seems to be settling in well with the locals. The bar serves Texas-made beers, on-tap and bottled, and wine as well. I think there is some church affiliation but I can't swear to it.

IL CANE ROSSO
Everyone who starts a restaurant hopes to have an opening week like Il Cane Rosso had. I think even they were surprised. Marian and I tried to get a seat on the second night of opening and the wait was an hour thirty minutes which is ok if you're planning on spending some time at the bar but we weren't so decided to return another time. I've reviewed Cane Rosso's pizza from the days they were at Times Ten (see Il-Cane-Rosso ) and it's good Neopolitan pizza. Cane Rosso has an assortment of entrees besides the signature pizza. It's getting very good reviews and it is very busy. Like I say, every restauranteur hopes to start like this.

All three of these restaurants are new and within steps of each other and I predict all will do well. Magnolia is busier now than it has ever been on a Friday and Saturday night and is a great place to find a new restaurant and to stroll down the boulevard afterward. We even stopped for an ice cream cone the other night.

IL CANE ROSSO: http://ilcanerosso.com/

BREWED: http://brewedfw.com/

SPICE: No website that I could find

Uh-Oh. I can relate.

From the Onion:

Vacationing Man Excited To Try Fast Food Franchise Not Found In Hometown

 

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA—Having driven to Virginia Beach to visit his sister for a brief vacation, fast food consumer and Pennsylvania native Don Turnbee expressed his interest Friday in eating at Carl’s Jr., a fast food chain not readily available in his hometown. “I’ve seen commercials for it on TV, but there isn’t one where I live, so I haven’t tried it before,” Turnbee said of the establishment, which he said is supposed to be better than Sonic but not as good as Jack in the Box. “The closest one is five hours away, and I’m not going to drive that far just to eat there.”

“The one near my sister’s is pretty close, so that’s better,” Turnbee added. “It’s as far as the Burger King is from my house in Erie. So like a 10-minute drive.”

While Turnbee told reporters he is looking forward to trying the restaurant, he said he doesn’t quite know what to expect, adding that he’s unsure if Carl’s Jr. fries are “any good,” whether or not they do chicken nuggets or chicken tenders, or if it is the type of fast food restaurant that... (Full text here:  Onion) . .

Renee Fleming, Lo How a Rose E're Blooming

Always a favorite of mine, and yea, she can sing a little. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is, as always, just right.  Merry Christmas one and all.

Sundance Square 2.0

Okay, it's not the Piazza Navona. But on a scale of 1 to 10 I'll put the new Sundance Square square at a 10.

Marian and I have been for several visits since it opened a few weeks ago and I have the same thought everytime, what a difference space makes to the downtown feel. This makes Fort Worth feel like a city instead of just buildings and streets.

Add the shops, dining, coffee, benches, fountains and some very attractice inverted umbrellas and I give the design and execution an A.

Another observation from a Friday night visit. Downtown was packed with diners, sightseers and shoppers, as in clothes shoppers, downtown, who would have thought that was possible twenty years ago?

Last year I commented on the sound of the vacuum sucking money from downtown to 7th Street -- this should help. Downtown has a solid convention business, especially post Omni, it draws local DFW visitors, and another segment not so widely recognized: vacationeers from Mexico shopping, dining and seeing the sights. It's safe, it's relatively inexpensive travel and Texas is Spanish-speaking friendly.  San Antonio is the number one USA destination from Mexico, number two is DFW especially when the Cowboys are playing.

Final thought: the number one location in Fort Worth for a drink and a quality hamburger, salad, or steak is the Del Frisco's Grill on the Square. Great seats inside and out, great food, and plenty of places to go after dinner.