The holiday season is fast approaching and that means one thing - visitors. But what do you do when your home is filled with family and friends from out-of-town and they get hungry? You take them out to one of the many fine Fort Worth establishments. As part of my required community service I am going to provide you with an exhaustive schedule of restaurants to take your visitors to, so that they get the full Fort Worth Experience (patent pending).
Below are three "weekends of food", which takes into account that some restaurants are not open on certain days. I have also provided options, based on price.
Option 1 - Jobless College Friends Come to Town/Family You Don't Like Enough To Spend Money On
Friday Dinner: Fred's. Get a burger and sit and watch a concert. Or walk down the street to any number of bars. In a year, you'll be able to walk to all the big new developments on West 7th.
Saturday Breakfast: Paul's for Doughnuts. They're cheap, its in a cool building, and for the family you don't like, its a great place to leave them. The drive to Paul's will give everybody something to talk about as you pass through the area just south of Downtown and the revitalized Magnolia area.
Saturday Lunch: Carshons. A greasy sandwich will hit the spot for most of your college friends who had a good time Friday night. For your family, there is pie. Pie brings families together.
Saturday Post-Lunch or Lunch Replacement: Go to the Rahr Brewery. They always have food on Saturday afternoons from 1-3 and you can get in and drink for only $7.
Saturday Dinner: Fuzzy's. Queso, Tacos, Beer - $10. Kids will enjoy watching their mom and dad get drunk. Friends will enjoy the cheap food and drinks. Wear a purple shirt and you can pretend you're a TCU student.
Sunday Breakfast: Ol' South. There will be a crowd, but wait through it. Make all of your friends get the German Pancakes. Half of them wont like it but you never liked them anyways.
Sunday Lunch: Mama's Pizza. Send your guests off with a great pizza and get yourself a beer to celebrate a weekend accomplished.
Option 2 - You and your Yuppie friends who have some money but aren't the $30K Millionaires from east of here.
Friday Dinner: Joe T's. Get a pitcher of margaritas and a stack of cups and wait in line patiently. Weather permitting, sit outside and get the fajitas. I know many of you dislike the food but the fajitas wont kill you. Besides, its the atmosphere that you're going for. After you're done, have the designated driver take you to downtown and have a good time.
Saturday Breakfast: You're a yuppie, admit it. Go to Taverna for brunch. It's good.
Saturday Late Lunch: Kincaid's. Saddle up to the old deli counter and everybody should order a bacon cheeseburger but then split fries or onion rings. Save some room for dinner.
Saturday Dinner: Cafe Piola. It's disgustingly cute in its old house. Order a bottle of wine and enjoy your lengthy dinner. If you try to find Piola and get lost, just go back to Camp Bowie and head down to Winslow's Wine Cafe.
Sunday Breakfast: Ol' South. I know, I mentioned this one earlier, but this works for all kinds. Don't turn your nose up at the coffee...you snob.
Sunday Lunch: Spiral Diner. "Oh look how adventurous we are!" Who needs meat, right?
Option 3 - Your Wealthy Parents or In-laws
Friday Dinner: Lili's Bistro - Great dinner menu with fancy selections, wine, and dessert for your dearly beloved family to pay for. Plus its got a cool interior.
Saturday Breakfast: Vidalia's - Malt Vanilla pancakes, sweet potatoes with gravy, etc. They need your business and you need their southern charm in the morning.
Saturday Lunch: Cooper's. It's BBQ in the Stockyards. It's pricey, and you can kill many hours of mindless questions all while drinking a cold beer and eating some delicious BBQ. Plus, afterwards you can walk around the stockyards and amaze your family with all the touristy stuff they really wanted to see.
Saturday Dinner: Reata. Its probably cliche, but you have to go to Reata. It's not the most expensive place in town but its a classic. You can talk about James Dean and explain how Reata used to be at the top of the Tower before the Tornado attacked Fort Worth. Try to do dinner on the rooftop if you can. They'll love it and you more.
Sunday Brunch: The Modern. Skip breakfast and go for brunch. The food here is fantastic and her parents will think you're a classy upstanding citizen. Until you take them here, they assume you're a dolt who is wasting their daughter's time. Trust me.
There you go. Some of my favorites have been left off, but I tried to give a variety of options. Let me know if you've got any changes you would make.
Showing posts with label Vegan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegan. Show all posts
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Spiral Diner
No, I'm not posting this from a Prius while my wife crochets hemp clothing in the passenger seat on our way to live in a giant sequoia. I went to a vegan restaurant. I'll admit it. And even more, I enjoyed it.
In case you hadn't heard, Spiral Diner is our local vegan restaurant which has received tremendous praise from the Fort's vegan community. Its so popular, they opened another one in dallas. I think the article in the paper that discussed this made a big deal about Cowtown having a vegan place. Anyway, I'm here to provide a comprehensive review of my trip (to the Fort's location, of course).
First things first. Whenever somebody says they ate vegan food (in my experience) they always say something like "its good for what it is" or "its better than you'd think". To me that sounds like its not very good, but its better than the worst thing you can imagine ("so Mrs. Lincoln, other than that did you enjoy the show"). Before going, I made a big deal about how I wasn't going to order a hot dog made for vegans or some other meat dish, made for vegans. It seemed like the right idea to have - eat something that vegans can easily make at home - salad.
Wrong. I got the Jamaican Jerk BBQ San'ich. After looking at the menu, I just had to see how they took tempeh and made it into a meat type substance (wow, that sounds delicious). But before I get to that, let me start with our appetizer and drinks.
My wife and I started off with hummus (yuppie bean dip) which my cultured wife had eaten before. The chick pea spread came with a topping of paprika and a side of organic, free range, hemp corn chips. I was not suprised with how good it was, but I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Good stuff. We also enjoyed free trade iced tea with unrefined sugar and cage less ice. It made me feel bad about the herd of ice cubes I keep penned in my freezer.
For the main meal, my wife ordered a Sweet Luv'Us Hummus Wrap with fresh veggies (sweet potato, broccoli, avocado, cucumber and other things), and wrapped in a politically correct flour tortilla. I had a bite, and it was delicious, but I out Whatabur....Tempeh'ed her.
The Jerk "chicken" is made of tempeh, which appears to be a soybean patty with the beans softened and left in their normal form. The patty was marinated and blackened, then put on a piece of post-apartheid hydroponic wheat bread, and served open face with a special message from the chef written in mayo on the other piece of bread. You'll just have to go to see what it says. Here's a hint, it says "Jerk" and the waitress spits on you (not really).
The san'ich also comes with a slice of grilled pineapple, pickles, and red onions. I loaded up my san'ich and took a bite of my tempeh loaf.... The first bite fools you. At first, the tempeh is nicely formed and stays together. Immediately after the first bite, the soybeans shriek in pain and begin to run. Sort of. After the bond of the blackening (from the griddle) breaks, the patty begins to fall apart. Don't worry though, you've got 100% recycled toilet paper napkins to clean up with. The flavors are delicious. The food tastes like real food and you don't have to hear the screams of millions of chickens as you eat the sandwich. And seriously, its good. Not just, "it tastes good for what it is". The flavors are nice and there are contrasts with the crunchy onion and pickle, the tender tempeh loaf and the sweetness of the pineapple. For the record, I have not stated that it tastes like chicken. It tastes like flavored soybeans, made into a patty.
Most carnivores can go one meal without a piece of meat. The normal result, however, is that you miss out on a protein because said carnivore orders a salad. With Spiral Diner you can get a protein without eating a piece of meat. Despite my initial worry, I didn't walk out craving a bite of cow, or a goat leg. I was full and not remotely saddened that some poor lonely chicken breast was left along in the fridge.
As a restaurant, a vegan place is a great trip. Especially Spiral Diner. Its eclectic, funky, local, serves great food, and has friendly servers. As a lifestyle, vegan wont be how I describe myself ("How would I describe myself? Three words: hard working, alpha male, jack hammer. Merciless. Insatiable.") My vegan career (one meal) has been filled with deliciousness, however, after perusing my local grocery store, I decided its too expensive and time consuming. Plus I really like meat. No offense to tempeh, but there's a difference.
But that certainly doesn't mean this place should be skipped purely because a person deems him/herself a meat-eater. If you want good, affordable food, this place will fit the bill.
Prius drivers get one pesticide free, 100% ethanol, cageless, free labor, organic pair of birkenstocks. I drive a truck so they just stared at me with pity. Of course I was also wearing my full goat skin suit, alligator boots and a koala head hat. I also had a "W" sticker on my truck.
Just kidding. The people here are great, the food is delicious, though its lacking a "queso covered chicken fried bacon" quality, and the local nature makes this a must-eat place. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Check out their link to the left. Spiral Diner is located next to Lili's on Magnolia so if you need something meaty after eating here, head over and ask Lili to make you a gorgonzola burger - the gorgonzola was free range before being harvested.
P.S., if I offended you with my descriptions or terminology in the post, then I sincerely apologize...hippie.
In case you hadn't heard, Spiral Diner is our local vegan restaurant which has received tremendous praise from the Fort's vegan community. Its so popular, they opened another one in dallas. I think the article in the paper that discussed this made a big deal about Cowtown having a vegan place. Anyway, I'm here to provide a comprehensive review of my trip (to the Fort's location, of course).
First things first. Whenever somebody says they ate vegan food (in my experience) they always say something like "its good for what it is" or "its better than you'd think". To me that sounds like its not very good, but its better than the worst thing you can imagine ("so Mrs. Lincoln, other than that did you enjoy the show"). Before going, I made a big deal about how I wasn't going to order a hot dog made for vegans or some other meat dish, made for vegans. It seemed like the right idea to have - eat something that vegans can easily make at home - salad.
Wrong. I got the Jamaican Jerk BBQ San'ich. After looking at the menu, I just had to see how they took tempeh and made it into a meat type substance (wow, that sounds delicious). But before I get to that, let me start with our appetizer and drinks.
My wife and I started off with hummus (yuppie bean dip) which my cultured wife had eaten before. The chick pea spread came with a topping of paprika and a side of organic, free range, hemp corn chips. I was not suprised with how good it was, but I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Good stuff. We also enjoyed free trade iced tea with unrefined sugar and cage less ice. It made me feel bad about the herd of ice cubes I keep penned in my freezer.
For the main meal, my wife ordered a Sweet Luv'Us Hummus Wrap with fresh veggies (sweet potato, broccoli, avocado, cucumber and other things), and wrapped in a politically correct flour tortilla. I had a bite, and it was delicious, but I out Whatabur....Tempeh'ed her.
The Jerk "chicken" is made of tempeh, which appears to be a soybean patty with the beans softened and left in their normal form. The patty was marinated and blackened, then put on a piece of post-apartheid hydroponic wheat bread, and served open face with a special message from the chef written in mayo on the other piece of bread. You'll just have to go to see what it says. Here's a hint, it says "Jerk" and the waitress spits on you (not really).
The san'ich also comes with a slice of grilled pineapple, pickles, and red onions. I loaded up my san'ich and took a bite of my tempeh loaf.... The first bite fools you. At first, the tempeh is nicely formed and stays together. Immediately after the first bite, the soybeans shriek in pain and begin to run. Sort of. After the bond of the blackening (from the griddle) breaks, the patty begins to fall apart. Don't worry though, you've got 100% recycled toilet paper napkins to clean up with. The flavors are delicious. The food tastes like real food and you don't have to hear the screams of millions of chickens as you eat the sandwich. And seriously, its good. Not just, "it tastes good for what it is". The flavors are nice and there are contrasts with the crunchy onion and pickle, the tender tempeh loaf and the sweetness of the pineapple. For the record, I have not stated that it tastes like chicken. It tastes like flavored soybeans, made into a patty.
Most carnivores can go one meal without a piece of meat. The normal result, however, is that you miss out on a protein because said carnivore orders a salad. With Spiral Diner you can get a protein without eating a piece of meat. Despite my initial worry, I didn't walk out craving a bite of cow, or a goat leg. I was full and not remotely saddened that some poor lonely chicken breast was left along in the fridge.
As a restaurant, a vegan place is a great trip. Especially Spiral Diner. Its eclectic, funky, local, serves great food, and has friendly servers. As a lifestyle, vegan wont be how I describe myself ("How would I describe myself? Three words: hard working, alpha male, jack hammer. Merciless. Insatiable.") My vegan career (one meal) has been filled with deliciousness, however, after perusing my local grocery store, I decided its too expensive and time consuming. Plus I really like meat. No offense to tempeh, but there's a difference.
But that certainly doesn't mean this place should be skipped purely because a person deems him/herself a meat-eater. If you want good, affordable food, this place will fit the bill.
Prius drivers get one pesticide free, 100% ethanol, cageless, free labor, organic pair of birkenstocks. I drive a truck so they just stared at me with pity. Of course I was also wearing my full goat skin suit, alligator boots and a koala head hat. I also had a "W" sticker on my truck.
Just kidding. The people here are great, the food is delicious, though its lacking a "queso covered chicken fried bacon" quality, and the local nature makes this a must-eat place. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Check out their link to the left. Spiral Diner is located next to Lili's on Magnolia so if you need something meaty after eating here, head over and ask Lili to make you a gorgonzola burger - the gorgonzola was free range before being harvested.
P.S., if I offended you with my descriptions or terminology in the post, then I sincerely apologize...hippie.
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