A New Year In A Slow Future



Texas Land and Cattle Steak House

Driving around the DFW, I would often see signs for this restaurant along the expressway and anything with Texas, land, cattle, and steak in the name, naturally peaks my interest.  One of my friends said this place was good so I decided to check it out since it's been a while since I got my steak on.

There's something about a place with cowboy boots and bull heads on the walls, and those carriage wheel light fixtures hanging from the ceiling, that I find so interesting.  It's a uniquely American decor and makes me feel like I'm in a rustic, Disneyfied saloon.

I had already perused the menu online, so I had an idea of what I wanted when I got there.  I decided to go with the garlic steak and shrimp, with sauteed mushrooms and fries. 

My meal started with a round loaf of sourdough bread, which was advantageous for me, since sourdough is my favorite type of bread.  It's the only bread I can eat by itself like a snack. It is really good, and this loaf was no exception.  I ate half of it.

My steak was served with garlic butter on top and I ordered it medium well.  It was tender and full of flavor.  The shrimp was baked and tasty but not the best I ever had, which was okay.  After all, this was a steak place, not a seafood joint.  My shoestring fries were pretty good, but I thought they were a little over seasoned.  The sauteed mushrooms were amazing.  Best fungus I had in a while.

Garlic Steak and Shrimp with fries

Sauteed Mushrooms

All in all, my meal was pretty good, and lived up to my expectations.  Lately my friends and I have been jokingly convincing ourselves that the places we are going to eat at suck, so when we eat there and it is good, and we are pleasantly surprised.  I would highly recommend this place and would love to go here again.

Texas Land and Cattle Steakhouse

The Things We Leave Behind....Pt.2.

I still get emails from Drake's in St. Matthews, which bums me out because I really miss this place.  It was one of my favorite places to eat in Louisville.  I'm sure the DFW has something similar, but until I find it, I'll still be tethered affectionately here.

Drake's is part restaurant and part nightclub.  It's a fun atmosphere with cheap food, two bars, and televisions hanging everywhere playing 80's music videos.  I first heard about Drakes because they have a fried twinkie dessert that is nothing short of phenomenal, so I had to try it out.

Their fried twinkie dessert was pretty amazing.  Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, drizzled with chocolate and raspberry sauce and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Wonderful to behold and even better to taste.

Drake's Fried Twinkie

The second time I ate there, I wanted to try an entree, so I settled on the fried bologna sandwich with tater tots.  Simple, but well done.  And that's a good way to judge the quality of a restaurant; how well they handle familiar comfort foods.

Fried Bologna Sandwich

Of course the best part of Drake's was the people watching.  Since Drake's doubled as a nightclub of sorts, the atmosphere was often loud and frenetic so it wasn't conducive to quiet, intimate conversations.  I guess it didn't matter, people watching is one of my favorite activities and is always a reliable source of entertainment.  Of course, the best part of any place you visit, are the friends who go with you.  I would highly recommend this place, if you have never been.

Keep On Keeping On.....

I truly believe that reworking my resume has proved beneficial.  Since those wonderful people worked on it (because I don't have a head for resume writing) some prospective employers finally contacted me. 

I managed to get an interview with a physician group that operates in the Dallas area.  They are a network of 450 physicians that operate in 28 states and they have an operation in a hospital in Mesquite.  I interviewed with some people in the Dallas office and I spoke with the project manager at the hospital.  I liked the position I interviewed for.  It was essentially an executive assistant position that would involve a little bit of what I went to school for and since it is a growing practice, there was an enormous potential for advancement.

The only draw back would have been the drive.  Mesquite was not close and the town itself wasn't anything worth writing home about.  I wouldn't have minded working there, but the 34 mile commute would get old after a while.

The second position I interviewed for was for an entry level medical coding position through a temp service in Addison.  The job would be for a company in Irving, which is attractive to me because the commute would be substantially less.  This position would allow me to use skills I went to Spencerian for.  It would pay less than the position in Mesquite, but it is a temp to hire position, so I have the potential to make more if I got on.  It is also in an office setting so I wouldn't have to worry about dealing with patients or wearing scrubs.

I would like to get this job.  It wouldn't pay as much but Irving is close and there are parts of Irving that is really nice.  Irving is also kinda smack in the middle of it all.  Working there would allow me to be centrally located in between Dallas and Fort Worth.

Needless to say, I did not get the job in Mesquite.  And the job in Irving is still up in the air.  As of this posting, it should be a few more days before I know anything concerning that job.  I am discouraged a little about the Mesquite job, but that is how it goes.  I should expect a lot of rejection since apparently busting into the medical coding field is hard to get into if your don't have much experience.  Something Spencerian never bothered to mention.

Regardless, I will keep trucking on.  This is all part of the job hunting experience. And as my friends have reminded me, God has something better in store.

Fred's Texas Cafe - As Seen On TV.

Back in October I wrote a post about my visit to a local burger joint called Maple and Motor.  Then yesterday, I learned that Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives will be featuring Maple and Motor in an up coming show.  How cool is that?  In the article I also read about a few other local places that have been featured.  One such place, Fred's Texas Cafe, caught my eye so I made it a point to try the place out.

Fred's Texas Cafe

What is that?  Ancient Runes?  Some form of Elvish?

 

I decided to get the Diablo burger.  It was a Fred burger with chipotle, Swiss cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions and mustard.  I asked the guy who waited on me if the burger was really spicy.  A burger named Diablo might imply that one bite would unleash Satan in my mouth.  He said that it had a little kick to it but the Swiss cheese might make tone down the heat.  Yeah, right.

The Diablo Burger

My burger was amazing!  One bite released a torrent of flavors, and sloppy goodness.  The mustard, chipotle, and pickles worked in concert to give the burger a sharp twang.  And twang is the best I could come up with, because a proper word to describe the taste escapes me.  Take my word for it though, my meal was awesome!  It was pretty reasonable too.  Along with Fred's amazing french fries and a glass of Shiner Bock,  my meal only came to 16 bucks.  It probably would have been more, but Fred's has this special that when it's raining out, it's happy hour, and it was raining when I visited so, GO ME!!!! 

 Going to Fred's?  Pray for rain.

The Things We Leave Behind......Part 1

Moving to Texas has been exciting for me because it has given me a chance to explore a whole new part of the country.  But one can't think about the new city they are living in without thinking about what made the place they moved from so special.  So, in looking back, I thought I would expound upon a few places in Kentucky that I enjoyed. 

The first place probably seems like a bazaar choice for me, but I miss the Starbucks on Dixie Highway. (What?)

I often found myself here on Wednesday evenings.  There were times I didn't want to go home after work.  I wanted some alone time where I could pop in my ear buds, open a good book, enjoy a cup of coffee, and drown out the rest of the world.  I know Starbucks is a chain but it was convenient, especially given the price of gas.  It was worth going down the street, as opposed to driving to the other side of town in search of a more trendy atmosphere.  When money and mileage are an issue, I'd rather be practical.  And Starbucks did satisfy a want, when I was jonesing for a cup of joe.

It also was a hangout place and served as a small oasis of cool, in an otherwise bleak landscape of junk stores, fast food joints, check and cashes, banks, and car lots. Dixie Highway, to be charitable, doesn't offer a whole lot in terms of fine dining, culture, unique shopping, or aesthetic architecture, so when Starbucks came to the area, I really felt we had achieved something.  Not that we hadn't had coffee shops on Dixie before, but they came and went because they didn't get the support they needed.

I miss this Starbucks.  For the longest time, it was a place to hangout, a place to be alone, a place to kill time, or a place to study.  It was a comfortable atmosphere in a rather dreary part of town.