“Excitable Will”
I had lunch with a couple of buddies on Tuesday. Robbie, Fred and I enjoyed a yummy lunch on the patio at Fork and Fire in Plano. Hard to believe I had shorts on in the 80 degree weather in late February. I hadn’t been to this place before and enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.
Earlier in the morning McD and I had enjoyed a walk as the temperature warmed up. Diana enjoyed some early in the year sunbathing in the afternoon as I returned to work.
Will and Christine were due to catch a flight on Thursday afternoon to come and visit us and Finn. That flight was cancelled due to a major storm in Dallas right at the arrival time. We had thunder storms and 80 mph winds, bringing several branches down. Will tried to switch to an overnight “red-eye” arriving at 5:20am on Friday. “Would you be able to come and pick us up Dad?” “Oh sure, Will.” I wasn’t overly disappointed when that flight was also cancelled. They finally arrived around 1pm on Friday – Finn and I provided pick up service.
We stopped at the new Andretti facility in Grandscape to investigate go-karting options. I had read that this place provided some very fancy and futuristic karting. Will went in to investigate and a few minutes later they were all suited up and ready to go..
I hiked up to the observation deck and was quite intrigued with the track.
Here’s some video to show what the track and the electric karts look and sound like.
Finn was very proud of his win. “Will spent thousands of dollars learning how to drive on a race track, and I still smoked him by 4 seconds.”
After all that, Will had worked up quite an appetite. We drove around to the Hard Eight barbeque and he enjoyed selecting from the available smoked meats.
We laughed when Will asked the pit master, “Do you have a lean piece of brisket?” He’s definitely nailed you as being from California. I think he managed to put together a good tray of food.
Later on, Finn came over to the house to join everyone for dinner and helped Diana put together some delicious chicken enchiladas.
On Saturday, the kids wanted to visit Hutchins barbeque in downtown McKinney to contrast their offerings with those from Hard Eight.
The report out was that some things were better (brisket), while others were not as good (okra). The “Texas Twinkies” – jalapenos wrapped in bacon and other stuff and deep fried, were a big hit.
Diana and I enjoyed a coffee at Filtered, not ready for a meat fest prior to a big dinner on Saturday night.
Dinner was at Fachini in Highland Park Village – a very ritzy part of Dallas. I had received a gift card to this place from Will and the family for my birthday last year that needed to be used. The boys admired all the fancy cars parked around Fachini – McLaren’s, Lamborghinis etc.
Things got off to a strong start with the complimentary appetizers – focaccia bread, ricotta cheese, meats and pickled veggies.
We followed that with some delicious lobster raviolis for the group.
Everyone ordered a different pasta, the exception being Diana, who ordered a veal chop that was amazing. Here’s the group preparing for a feast.
We were so full that the wonderful tiramisu was taken home for later.
As if we hadn’t eaten enough, we took the kids to C.T. Provisions in downtown McKinney for Sunday brunch. Our favourite here has been the voodoo Benedict – shrimp and crawfish in a delicious voodoo sauce and poached eggs atop excellent blue corn grit cakes. Apparently the chef changed recently, and while still good, this wasn’t as good as we remembered.
Will decided to try another menu item – the chicken biscuit. That was really good.
Then it was time to deliver Will and Christine back to the airport. I feel like I spent a decent amount of the weekend driving around. Time for a break. Wait – I’m back to the airport again on Tuesday. More about that next week.
Meanwhile, Tim, our CFO, was spending the week in New Orleans with his wife. I loaded him up with restaurant recommendations. He loved N7, and we haven’t debriefed on the rest of his experiences yet. I tried to get him connected with Denny and Anne for a tour of the French Quarter, forgetting that they were en route to London – Anne’s Christmas present from Denny.
They seem to have had a great time as usual:
My book this week was “Night Music” by Jojo Moyes. Mum had recommended this author recently and I was browsing around for a paperback to take on my trip, this one caught my eye.
An online summary:
“Isabel Delancey has always taken her gifted life for granted. But when her husband dies suddenly, leaving her with a mountain of debt, she and her two children are forced to abandon their home and move to a crumbling pile in the country.
With the house falling down around them, and the last of her savings fast disappearing, Isabel turns to her neighbours, not knowing that her mere presence there has stirred up long-standing obsessions.
As she fights to make her house a home, passions and lives collide. Isabel will discover an instinct for survival she never knew she had – and that a heart can play a new song .”
Isabel is lead violinist for a London orchestra, and I enjoyed the descriptions of her playing and expensive violin. My favourite characters were the local shop owners – the fount of knowledge on all local goings-on.
I suspect this wasn’t the best Moyles book to try first. I would give it a solid B rating – well developed and interesting characters, just a bit of a slow narrative. Not bad – just not as good as I was expecting.
. .
Will’s visit reminded me of this song from the excellent album of the same name:
“Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd was released 50 years ago this week:
I’ve been enjoying the Springsteen Soul and R&B cover album – thanks Diana. This is a great song:
And the original:
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all.