Thursday, February 26, 2009

Now, I am a Man

If you will recall, last May, a young boy entered a fried food eatery and suffered pains of anguish and remorse as he watched grown men - lumberjacks, Captain McCrea and Call, and bowlers - enjoy a queso covered chicken fried chicken. At the time, that young boy was afraid to request his heart's only desire - a queso covered chicken fried steak. That boy is now a man.

If you couldn't tell, I'm also in the midst of reading Lonesome Dove and will probably throw some more references in to this story. Recently, I was given the opportunity to return to Texas Grill and my queso and CFS lust returned. It's always been there, deep down in my heart, yearning to reach out and tell everybody of my desire. But its still too taboo. Fort Worth wasn't ready...so I thought.

As I approached the line, the sporting girl...no sorry...cashier, looked like she knew what I wanted. But was I actually going to ask for it or would I shakily avert my eyes and request something prepubescent, like catfish? No, now that I am a man, I stood strong and stated as clearly as possible..."I want chicken fried steak, but can you cover it in queso?" It was a question meant as a statement and she knew the answer was yes. It was always yes.

The people with me backed away in astonishment at my question that had beleaguered men throughout eternity. I stood strong. My chicken fried steak was coming with queso or else. The else would have actually been me ordering chicken fried steak with gravy. But young boys and girls, let me tell you. They put queso on that chicken fried steak. Because they knew what was good for them.

I assuredly grabbed my iced tea, with two limes, not just one, and sat down with the confidence of Newt. On the outside, I acted tough. But on the inside, I was scared. What if my queso was actually just shredded, melted cheddar? What if they forget and give me gravy? Do I have the courage to point out their folly? Surely I would.

All fear was lost when the meal came out. The waiter looked at me with obvious envy and asked if I had the queso covered chicken fried steak. I told him "yes" in a manner that let him know I was the only person capable of handling it. He probably already knew.

How was it you ask? Welp, it was sort of like I expected. More awesome than anything you have ever known. It was like all four episodes of Die Hard drinking Red Bull. It was like Chuck Norris and....another Chuck Norris. You need nun chucks just to reign in the awesome enough to eat it.

Ok, not really. The idea was terrific. The execution was weak. The queso was your typical velveeta cheese and they had sprinkled real shredded cheese on top, as though they could tease me. Men aren't easily teased. Although I do giggle easily.

A previous comment from "Ash" mentioned a queso with green chile sauce. That would have been good. Any better queso would have been good. The CFS itself was good. But the queso was only good in theory. To many this may seem a problem. To me, an opportunity. Who wants to help me open up a queso covered chicken fried steak restaurant? I'll admit, its a niche market. But think about it. Massey's is still around. Carshon's has nothing healthy worth ordering and its still around. All we need is a good location, a name, some good cheese and a bunch of willing young boys who want to become men.

Scratch that, I have the name: Lonesome Dove. ... Get it? That's a joke. Because there already is a Lonesome Dove. Maybe a better approach would be to convince Chef Tim Love to start making a delicacy such as this.

In fact, I will be so bold as to say this: Chef Love, if you start making a Queso covered CFS, I will be your first customer to try it. I will most likely, even pay for it.

Bold men say bold things.

Don't get the queso covered CFS from Texas Grill - stick with their other offerings. But do keep your eyes out for places with the necessary ingredients to make this Texican dish. For those of you are skeered of a little fat and grease, just remember what good ol' Gus once said, "It's not dying I'm talking about. It's living." If you can't enjoy a good meal while you're alive, whats the point in living longer?

Let me know if you're a man and you agree or if you're a sissy.

Texas Grill is located at 6550 Camp Bowie Blvd in the shopping center east of the Taco Cabana.

Texas Grill on Urbanspoon

17 comments:

Unknown said...

FWHITW, bravo for stepping up to the plate and trying to make your dream reality. I had CFS today at Riscky's and toward the end thought to myself, "I wonder what this would taste like with queso on it?" Alas, I was near done so my thoughts came too late.This was not the first time, but I always think it too late.I should pin a reminder note on my shirt so I'll remember next time I go out to eat.

After considering this for a moment, I think that there is not a place in FTW that has both good CFS AND queso. One would have to order both as takeout and proceed to an undisclosed location to combine the illicit food stuffs. The alternative would be chaos and misunderstanding. Perhaps there is a local ordinance that prevents this from happening here in FTW, because the Hill Country seems to have no issue with combining queso with pretty much anything.

I think that to bring this dream to fruition it may be necessary for some of us to make it reality. You might want to wait though, I am pretty sure I saw something on the internet that this food quandry might be resolved in the Stimulus Package that was recently passed. So if it's on the internet it is pretty certain to happen.

Anonymous said...

Now's a good time to through your "First Annual FWHITW CFS&Q Cookout" I'll admit the name needs some work.

If you build it, they will come...or they'll be scared and watch from the trees.

Massey's CFS & Fuzzy's Queso...mmmm

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Ash, is Obama giving us CFS and Queso? A sinister ploy to garner more votes no doubt.

You're right though, we don't have that combination yet. There are places across the state, and as you have stated before, the Hill Country comes to mind, as does Austin.

Jeremy, that's brilliant! But I'm lazy. Would you mind hosting this cookout? I'll come and eat and complain or rave about it later.

I'm still holding out hope that Chef Love reads this blog every day and is foregoing sleep in order to make this dish.

bourgon said...

"nun chucks" - awesome.

That being said, there are places that have poor enough gravy that even what you described would be a step up.

Anonymous said...

who said,"any man that wouldn't lie for a poke don't want a poke bad enouth."
any man that wouldn't beg for a queso fried steak don't want one bad enough.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Anonymous - very nice. I guess I'm going to have to channel some Gus next time I really want one.

BillE70 said...

How about a CFSw/Q from Lucille's on Camp Bowie?

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Bill, I'm a bit suspicious. I had the CFS at Lucille's, and it was pretty good. But my other trips haven't been so good. If they could offer it, that might be an inducement to return

Anonymous said...

Queso from Uncle Julio's - I'm just suggesting...

It's not made with Velvetta. Not sure what it is made with, but it's tasty fer sure.

Stephanie said...

CFS w/queso sounds like something they should serve at Fred's. I'm not sure why.

Unknown said...

FWHITW, I still stand by the CFS w/queso at Lulu's in San Antonio. I still have wonderful dreams of the CFS w/queso. A lot of people still gasp in disgust at me when I tell them about my experience in San Antonio. I'm pretty sure they're wondering to themselves how I don't weigh more than I do. They just don't understand the gloriousness of the CFSWQ.

Thanks for the update on CFSWQ situation in Fort Worth. I hope it's rememdied soon. I'm willing to go into business with you. The lack of CFSWQ in this city is just sad. :)

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Kim, I have no doubt that Lulu's is good, but until my editors (wife) increase my budget I can't get out of Fort Worth any time soon. Which is why we must ask Obama for our new restaurant.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Stephanie - you are correct. So many places in Fort Worth should hop on this bandwagon. And anyone of them could be the first to do it.

Just imagine. They would have to double their seating capacity to hold the crowds. hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge.

Thanks for reading

Kim C. said...

Razzoo's still has my favorite CFS (that'd be cajun fried steak according to them)...I think it's the andouille sausage cream gravy, it's my crack.

BUT...I live in Burleson and have to say that Fresco's Cocina Mexicana has my favorite queso. They put poblano crema on it, that is also my crack. It would be totally killer on some CFS.

I love this idea...someone must create it.

Anonymous said...

I just ate the queso chicken fried chicken from Texas Grill and loved it. It tasted like gravy mixed with cheese and more cheese and pico on top. Give it another chance...and while you are at it, have a piece of coconut pie and an RC cola.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Anonymous - I'm still suspicious. I haven't sought the CFSw/Q in awhile but maybe I'll get going again soon. Thanks for the update and I'll try the pie next time I'm there.

And the Hole In The Wall eaters of the United City of Fort Worth thank you for your bravery and valour in attempting the CFSw/Q.

Anonymous said...

FWHITW, since you last had your CFS W/QUESO TEXAS GRILL has changed owners. You no longer have to order at the cashier. A waitress will come to you. Their CFS w/Queso is Awesome! And they have these things called Golden Nuggets that are to die for. They offer live music on the weekends and on Monday nights it's open mic night for the FW Songwrighter's Association. The owner is very friendly and open to any suggestions. I thinks it is worth another try. Happy Eating :)