On Wednesday we met Gary Rader, an old EDS friend from Philadelphia, at Jasper’s for dinner. Going to Jasper’s reminded me of the many dinners there with EDS colleagues and clients.
Finn arrived on Thursday for the weekend. I cooked Seared Steak and Spiced Potato with sauteed sugar snap peas and tarragon-labneh sauce. This was probably the first meal that I’d actually fully prepared for Finn beyond an omelet for breakfast. After dinner, Finn coached Alicia on pool playing so that she can impress a boy that she likes.
On Friday we went bowling and then to the movies. I won the first game and then Diana came on strongly with a strike in the last frame to win the second game. We’ll need to go again for a deciding match. Diana and I saw “The Free State of Jones” and Finn and Alicia saw “Independence Day 2”. Our movie was set during the civil war and was a pretty depressing reminder of the terrible way that people have been treated during American history.
We went to Rye in downtown McKinney for dinner. Diana and I split a grouper entree which came with a story about Diana feeding grouper in the Great Barrier Reef many years ago. The story was accompanied by visual descriptions of the dimensions of the grouper and the faces they make when feeding.
On Saturday morning Finn and I took a tour of the Franconia brewery. This was an excellent tour with great samples and a very entertaining speaker. The owner and brew master’s great grandfather started a brewery in the Franconia region of Bavaria in the 1800s. He worked at many of the German breweries before moving to the DFW area 13 years ago. He noticed an untapped niche for locally brewed beer and founded Franconia which is doing very well. His great grandfather is at the top of the logo on the packaging. The presentation was engaging and funny. I definitely recommend the tour.
After beer we had lunch at Hutchin’s barbecue joint. Their smoked barbecue meats are excellent. Finn had a rib and brisket combo lunch and I had my usual pulled pork sandwich. We added a couple of treats – Texas twinkies. These are large jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese and brisket and wrapped in bacon. I saved some for Diana who also thought it was delicious.
For Saturday dinner we had planned to go to “Twenty Seven” restaurant in Deep Ellum but were very sad to find out that it had permanently closed. This was one of our favorites in Deep Ellum that served delicious and eclectic small plates that allowed you to sample several things. The chef, known as Chef DAT, is going back to doing the pop-up and underground dinners that he was well known for before opening this place.
I made another Blue Apron dinner instead – Spicy Hoisin Turkey Meatballs with sauteed zucchini and brown rice.
While we were doing our brewery tour, Alicia was playing her first official “gig” at Chestnut Square in downtown McKinney during the farmers’ market. She played for tips for 2 hours – singing with her guitar and performing solo flute pieces. Her fingers really hurt afterwards but she did well enough to be asked to perform once a month. She had a very professional set up with microphones and a good sound system.
I’m off to finish getting prepared for my trip to Japan tomorrow morning. Then I’m cooking Crispy Catfish and Parsley Mashed Potatoes for dinner. Looking forward to sharing news of my Japanese adventures next week.
Sunday was Father’s day. Here I am with my loot – Cowboys grilling tools, apron and chef’s hat from Will; Miles Davis art from Campbell, Finn, and Melanie; and a lovely selection of cards.
n beans and creamy jalapeno sauce (my favorite of the three – the chicken spice rub was delicious); Beef Arepas with pickled onion, avocado and radishes (arepas are flat, round cornbreads); and Maryland-style Cod Cake sandwiches with tartar sauce and red cabbage slaw.
The concert at the Granada was by the Ian Moore band. He’s a singer and blues guitar player who rose to fame in the early 90s in Austin. My favorite song of his is “Blue Sky” and there’s a link to listen to it below. When we arrived we had a surprise treat of Jason Elmore as an opening act. He’s a local blues guitarist that we typically see in small restaurants or bars and it was nice to see him on the big stage. The sound for Jason was great but Ian’s vocals were way too loud and distorted when he sang loudly – this was disappointing since he has such a great voice.
Denny came to visit on Sunday afternoon and spent the night with us – he has work in Plano next week. He helped finish up the puzzle with Alicia. I think they did about 20 of the 463 pieces but you would have thought they were the puzzle completing saviors to hear Denny.
