Dallas / Fort Worth and Me

First of all, folks, allow me to assure you that I haven’t fallen off the face of the Earth. I’ve been going places and seeing things and taking photos, all for your sake (it’s a hard life!), and now I’ve got several blog entries waiting and eager to be written. I’ve also been working on the 2009 Calendar of Events, which I’ll be unveiling shortly.  

Today, let’s talk about the 46th Annual National Championship Indian Pow Wow, one of many Pow Wows around the continent, which I visited at Trader’s Village in Grand Prairie this past weekend.   It was a fascinating cultural event, about which I’m going to have a lot to say — at least two entries’ worth, I suspect. 

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In my last exciting entry, I told you about my recent visit to the House of Blues in Dallas, which I rather enjoyed and heartily endorse to you all. When I left you, we were waiting for the band (Tokio Hotel) to come on stage. And waiting. And waiting.

That’s the Tokio Hotel symbol up there on the curtain, by the way.

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I spent the evening of August 27, 2008 (last night, as I write this missive) at the Dallas iteration of the House of Blues. HOB is a relatively new addition to the West End; it’s been there, at 2200 N. Lamar, only since 2007. I’ve never been inside before, much less to one of their many concerts, but I have to say this:  both are a kick. Especially when you’re rockin’ to a band as young and energetic as Tokio Hotel.

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Finally, finally, I’m back. As I mentioned in this entry, I’ve been moving my household, and oh what a pain it’s been. Not only was the move massive — I had to move a whole house full of stuff as well as the leftover stock of my defunct bookstore — the Internet company blundered and turned off my Internet on August 19, A WEEK EARLY. I got it back up a day or so later, but of course all that punched a big hole in my production schedule. I’m still catching up.

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To paraphrase an old Mark Chestnutt song, I’ll sure be glad when these ol’ dog days of summer are gone. There’s just not much brewing here in the middle of August, when it’s omigod hot and the days go on and on — what Southern novelist Babs Deal described as “acres of afternoon.”  You want to know what I’ve got planned for the rest of this month? Well, you’ve seen a lot of it already in my recent entries on July Jazz and Symphonic Saturdays, both of which we can thank the civic-minded Town of Addison for. So gracias, Addison, for doing your damnedest to keep culture alive as we slide slowly toward fall.

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Before I get off this restaurant review kick and onto something else, folks, let me point out just one more eatery chain that’s become synonymous with Dallas, at least to me: Café Brazil, which has representatives in ten locations all over the Metroplex. I have no idea what the connection to Brazil is, if there is one, other than the fact that the some of the food is basically Hispanic (if not especially Brazilian). That is, you get a lot of chorizo, migas, etc., but you also get some kickass French toast, rosemary potatoes, and as much coffee as you could ever possibly drink in one sitting.

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Mmmm, good barbecue. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has become a Dallas tradition, for all that it’s spread to other parts of the country as well these days. The Dickey’s Barbecue empire began here with a single store in 1941, and in fact that first store on Knox/Henderson in downtown Dallas is still open, original building and all. My understanding is that the chain took a while to get started; it didn’t expand to three stores until 1969, back when I was three. After about 1971, the rise was pretty much meteoric.*

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In keeping with the culinary trend I set with the last entry,* in this exciting episode I’m going to sing the praises of one of my favorite local restaurant chains. If you like burgers you can’t do much better than Scotty P’s, and I know I’m not the only one with that opinion. They regularly win rewards for the best burgers in town, whichever town a particular restaurant happens to be in. 

Scotty P’s named for Scotty Pontikes, the gentleman who launched his first restaurant in Plano in the 1990s.  Since then, the chain has spread to Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Dallas, and Garland. While they’ve opened only seven stores so far, they’re well worth seeking out. The burgers are just that good, and so is the service.

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If you head over to West Dallas, off Olive Street, you’ll find an interesting place called Victory Park. It’s only a few years old, but it’s definitely worth visiting when you’re in town. Not only does Channel 8, WFAA-TV, maintain a broadcasting studio there — with glass walls, so you can gawk at the local news personalities as they work — but American Airlines Center, our newest and most expensive sports stadium, anchors the far end. 

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