Last Week's Restaurant

Tim was in Missouri most of the week last week, so when he came home on Friday evening, cooking was the last thing on my mind. We all just wanted to spend time together. So, we tossed our one-restaurant-a-week rule and ate out THREE times last weekend (good thing we've joined the YMCA, huh?).

After we put Nigel to bed on Friday, Tim and I had takeway from Panda Express. The restaurant is a chain, and it wasn't that good. It doesn't hold a candle to Pei Wei.

On Saturday night, the three of us dined at Babe's Chicken Dinner House in Arlington, just a few blocks from Cowboy Stadium. It's been on our radar for a while since it's been featured in Southern Living magazine and on Food Network. And I know of at least two RVA friends who've told us to try it. We got to Babe's right at 5, and there was already a line. Before we were seated we waited outside on the covered patio, where they have heaters and stools made from old tractor seats (left). The interior walls on the inside of the large restaurant are made up to look like an old Western Main Street. The tables and chairs are mismatched and kind of like you'd find in someone's home. It was a very comfortable atmosphere despite the size. At Babe's there is no menu because the selection is very limited. Each person chooses a meat (smoked chicken, fried chicken, chicken tenders, chicken-fried steak, pot roast or fried catfish), and the table shares refillable sides (cream corn, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits and salad). I'm starting to get used to the absence of green things on menus down here, but the salad actually made me laugh — it was just shredded iceberg lettuce with a vinegar-based dressing. Nigel ate some, though (above). The rest of the meal was really good. Tim's chicken-fried steak (below, right) was huge and very tender. Nigel and I had chicken tenders that I think rival the ones at our beloved Lee's Chicken in RVA (the closest Lee's to us now is Tulsa, OK). Another funny moment was when Tim asked for Coke or Pepsi, and the waitress said they only serve Dr. Pepper and RC (Texans are really big Dr. Pepper drinkers). Obviously, it wasn't the healthiest meal we've ever had, but it was really good. Definitely a place we'd take an out-of-town guest.

On Sunday evening, after a really fabulous early Valentine's Day outing, Tim and I had takeaway sushi from Piranha Killer Sushi in Sundance Square. If you'll recall, our previous attempt to discover awesome sushi in FW was a fail. Piranha made up for it. The rolls were formed really tight (I hate when rolls are sloppy and fall apart), and the pricing was fair. Everything was just very flavorful — so flavorful that I hardly used soy sauce at all. The fish in Tim's tuna roll was really fresh, and we both enjoyed some of their signature rolls, including the Forget About It Roll (scallions, shrimp tempura & ginger cream topped with avocado & crawfish). Even the disposable chopsticks were high-quality (read: we didn't get splinters in our mouths). Really excited to have a sushi spot to call our own. FW is starting to feel like home.

Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing all of our friends and family much love on this Valentine's Day. We celebrated this weekend since I had a lovely root canal on the actual day of love. On Saturday, after being in below-zero Missouri for work most of the week, Tim gifted me a day to myself. It was glorious. I shopped, had lunch, browsed an antique shop and even went to the grocery store alone (if you don't have kids you can't truly appreciate the joy in that last one).

On Sunday, after I met my running group, the three of us had a picnic lunch at the FW Botanic Gardens. Tim and Nigel read a Valentine's book (above), and Nigel and I showed Tim some of our favorite spots. Next stop, the FW Zoo, where Nigel enjoyed an ice cream cone and saw a baby monkey, among other things. After an early dinner and bedtime for Nigel, Tim and I had a takeaway sushi dinner at home (again, if you don't have kids you can't really appreciate how nice it is to have dinner and conversation alone with your partner). It really was the best Valentine's I ever had. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing husband!

Need more sappy stuff from the McDonald gang? I'll leave you with this conversation between Nigel and I after we visited the mall play area on Thursday.

Me: Nigel, did you like playing with that little girl?
Nigel: Yeah, she looked like a ballerina.
Me: She sure did. I liked her tutu. How come you were hugging her so much?
Nigel: I hugged her because I loved her so much. So very much.
Me (before dinner a few hours later): Nigel, we need to wash your hands for dinner. You probably got some germs while you were at the play area.
Nigel: I got germs when I was hugging that girl.

Is This Thing ON?

Just a quick post with a quick question: Is anyone reading this space?

Our little ticker at the bottom shows that the blog is being viewed, but since we rarely get comments I'm starting to wonder if someone's cat or goldfish is accidentally logging on a couple times a day.

So, if you're a Fort Worth-Bound reader, let us know. You can also log in to become a "follower" if you scroll down on the right side of this page. Thanks in advance!

Super Bowl XLV

For the last four years, Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington have been preparing for their first turn at hosting the Super Bowl. As I mentioned before, the weather and some other unfortunate occurrences — falling ice, unsafe seating and dog killer Vick getting the key to Dallas, for starters — have left a bad taste in many people's mouths.

Because of the weather, we weren't able to get out and take in as many festivities as we would have liked, but we did see some things. Tim took the train to Dallas to take in the NFL Experience, where he saw the Lombardi trophy. As a family, we went down to Sundance Square to check out the ESPN Zone. Unfortunately, our timing was as such that we didn't see any celebrities, but it was cool nonetheless. We also snapped a quick shot of the hotel where the Steelers were staying.

Texas Winter: Part 2

As I mentioned before, last week we had snow and ice. Tim took the top picture of downtown Fort Worth from his office. On Friday, Nigel and I built a snowman family. Thankfully the temperatures climbed that day and over the weekend so everything melted, and we bolted for the science museum on Saturday.

We actually got more snow and ice this Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Fortunately, it wasn't as much as before, and most of it was in the Dallas area. Nigel and I stayed home all day Wednesday but got out of the house Thursday afternoon. We're all really excited for the weekend, which is bringing with it temps in the upper 60s!

I've seen it all...

The weekend before the Super Bowl we took Tim's great aunt and uncle to the Stockyards — their first time there. We had a great time, but I think my highlight of the outing was seeing this guy. Why yes, yes that IS a man riding on a motorized drink cooler.

Texas Winter

We all had our fill of cabin fever last winter in RVA — two major snows and lots of very cold days. I was never so happy to see spring! When we found out we were moving to Texas, we assumed we'd be putting our cold days in the past. And the numbers seemed to back us up. According to the Weather Channel, the average February high in FW is 60.4. Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday we got outside and enjoyed temperatures well into the 70s with trips to the zoo, park, botanic gardens and Stockyards. We're a far cry from that today. Temperatures plummeted, and Tuesday we got an ice storm that shut down the metroplex. We haven't seen temps above freezing since Monday. And today we got snow on top of the ice. Some spots around DFW have gotten more than 6 inches so far. It actually took us all by surprise. We're used to weather systems moving around Richmond, barely missing us each time they're predicted. But around here there are no mountains to set systems off track. Next time we'll be better prepared.

I know what you're thinking: Six inches isn't a lot. But when you consider North Texas hasn't used a snow plow in 15 years — they in fact had to borrow some from surrounding areas — nor does it use salt on the roads, it's a hot mess around here. Plus, the snow fell on top of ice that never melted, especially on the dozens of highway flyovers. Schools have been closed since Tuesday, and we've even had rolling blackouts. And it looks like the state's reaction is not impressing those who are in town for the Super Bowl, including these folks from ESPN.

So we've been passing the time inside. Unfortunately, that has meant watching more TV than is usually allowed in this house. Tim telecommuted Wednesday, but because of his upcoming trip he had to go into the office yesterday and today. We all went out yesterday for a quick trip to the grocery store. Can't wait until we can get out and burn off some of this built up energy!

The saying around here is "If you don't like the weather in Texas, wait a day," and we've found that to be mostly true except for this week. Luckily, it's going to be 40-something tomorrow and Sunday, so hopefully some of this mess will melt in time for the big game. Sadly, though, there's more snow and cold temps on the way next week — just in time for Tim's business trip to Missouri.