Texas food

People say a lot of stuff about Texas, myself included. Who can blame us? You have the Dallas Cowboys, Mark Cuban, the Houston Texans, Jerry Jones, G.Dallas Horton, murderous cheerleaders (and their mothers) and a host of others who make us all wonder what is in the water down there. However, being from Wyoming and being a republican has meant that deep down I knew that to some extent, Texas was probably at least a cousin of sorts, even if I only talked to him at the family reunion.

In the last month I have had two opportunities to go to Ft Worth and San Antonio for work. I learned two things. First, Texas is kind of pretty. I liked that it looked very agricultural (at least from the air). In fact, when I landed in Lubbock, the fields went right up to the runway. I also liked that the cities didn't look too urban/dense. It all seemed very livable. Of course, the Court reporter told me property taxes were downright silly.
I also must point out that if you blindfold someone, put them on a plane and land them in Texas, they will be able to tell when that blindfold comes off that they are in Texas. What other state takes more pride in trying to be an independent country. It's also funny the way so many texans imply(or say outright) that they are still taking this whole member of the united states of America thing on a trial basis only. It is always funny to see the stereotypes that are true in real life.
Let's get to the stuff I care about, food, Texas had it in a major way. First, in Fort Worth, I ate at a ranch food place downtown. There are plenty of highly expensive places in sowntown ft. Worth,but, the guy at the Marriott desk told me Reata was the "premiere steak house of Fort Worth" and urged me to go. So, I went. As my regular readers know, most of my meals are solitary affairs. It is Not the ideal way to dine and it is worse at a nice restaurant because you feel like a stalker or outcast. A this place, they put me in the middle of the outer ring of tables, amidst groups and couples. Thus, I spent my meal watching famies and couples whe trying not to get caught looking at them so I didn't appear creepy. It seems like he waitstaff are slower for singles as well, which lengthens the time I spend staring at strangers. Oh well, on to the food.
The bread was tasty. Pecan biscuits and jalepeno cornbread.



But, the real Texas came with my appetizer- wild boar ribs with peanut sauce. They were delicious.


The main course was no less "wild", a blackened bison ribeye. Tender, meaty and flavorful. That white square is a chunk of herbed butter.



For dessert, I faced one of the most spectacular dessert offerings I've ever encountered. Not only did I miss my wife's companionship at that moment, but I missed the abity it would give me to try two of the desserts. In the end I went with what seemed most Texas- the chocolate chipotle brownie. The ice cream was noteworthy and delicious. The stuff that looks like salsa is strawberries diced up like a salsa. The browny was tasty, chocolatey, and spicy. Very nice.



The next day, after the deposition, I had time for lunch. I had heard talk (from oklahomans, of all people) of the "quesos" and other Tex-Mex delicacies. The court reporter told me T go to Abuelos and I did.

When I got there, of course I got the dip sampler with queso and chili queso. It was nice, though I wouldn't have travelled to Texas for that alone.




For lunch I got a tilapia filet cooked with scallops and a tomato salsa. It wad tender, light and richly flavored.



Next, I got to travel to San Antonio. Of course I had to stay and eat on the riverwalk. Though it was late, I went to Boudro's. I oredered three types of duck for an appetizer - barbecued duck, duck spring rolls and duck chili. The most unique of those was the chili. Duck mad the chili take on a whole new texture, in a good way. It was particularly fun to eat the duck in front of the ducks swimming right next to me in the river.

For the main course, I ordered the. Again, like the duck, we ("we" being society, eat so much dang chicken, that any otherbird is always a surprise on that first bite. It was, of course, a good thing again. For dessert, bread pudding with whiskey sauce. Decadent, caramelly and delicious. Sorry but I have now pictures, well, I have pics but it was pitch black and my meal was lit by only one small candle. It doesn't matter, most things, people look good in low light. It's best to assume it looked as
Good as it tasted.

How about a breakfast or two? In ft worth, I went to Dixie's(I think). It was a nice, southern homestyle breakfast place. They had this tasty egg, potato and gravydish that was surprisingly good. In particular, the potatoes were nice and crispy underneath the eggs and gravy.





Finally, an entry from my pleasantly surprised file, in San Antonio I stayed at the new riverwalk Marriott which, instead of a regular restaurant, has a "bistro" which looked too small and prepacakagedto be any good. Fortunately, I am stubborn enough that since I had decided to eat there, I would not be deterred. I ordered a breakfast burrito with cheese, eggs, potatoes, and salsa. The dish was surprisingly, well prepared. Nothing was overcooked, the Salsa was slightly better than typical store bought and it was put together nicely. I liked that o got to eat on the riverwalk as well. Finally, I was particarly impressed with the fact that the potatoes had great texture.



I guess it should be clear by now that I have trouble in my personal life with making my breakfast potatoes crispy.
Anywho, that is my Texas experience. I'd be happy to go back.
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