Category Archives: Texas Tuesdays

Texas Tuesday: Texas Rangers

With fall in the air, baseball season has winded down and officially ended yesterday (for the Rangers). Watching the Texas Rangers baseball team is one of my favorite things to do, especially at the stadium! I love that place! Last Saturday, I was able to attend the game. Even though we were high up (who turns down free seats?!), we were shielded from the rain that came thru and were able to enjoy the game! Here are some shots and if you have the chance, be sure to attend one next season!

They did play the Angels… so I had to stick one photo in there of them (above). Might as well be one of the pitcher change!

Meanwhile, love some Joe Nathan! Joe Nathan 09/28/2013

The Rangers have some pretty awesome fans!

… And then it started to rain…

And now…. it’s time to get ready for hockey season!!!!

GrapeFest 2013 – The Largest Wine Festival in the Southwest

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Disclaimer: I did receive free general admission tickets in return for this post. All opinions are my own.

In the past, I’ve been a huge fan of the events in Gvine, Texas but this one has got to be my number one favorite! GrapeFest is an annual festival that exemplifies the wine industry in this area. Whether you are looking for a family friendly, couples getaway, girls weekend or even if you live in the area, this is a great event to check out!

Obviously, this event is for wine lovers (hence “GrapeFest”) but it incorporates so much more! An amusement park for the kids, live music, beer tent, champagne tent, an immense amount of food, vendors, unique stores and restaurants and it is situated right down Main Street in one of my favorite towns in the country. (To provide perspective, have you ever seen those Hallmark movies where it seems like these people are from the coziest, small town ever where everyone is incredibly nice and you think to yourself, “I want to go there!”… this is how I describe Grapevine!)

Throughout GrapeFest, magnifying glasses were placed on street lights. This was actually a scavenger hunt for the festival! If you completed the hunt (via cell phones), you would be entered to win a prize after GrapeFest. Pretty fun! You can also see the (people) traffic at the festival Saturday afternoon. Perfect weather and just the right amount of folks! It was amazing!

PicMonkey Collage5

GrapeFest also had a ton of exhibits going on throughout town. One of my favorite and most interesting spots to check out is Vetro. This is a glass blowing studio where they make a ton of beautiful art pieces. They held an open house where visitors could walk in and check out their craft. Pretty interesting!

The Wine!

As mentioned, Grapevine is known for being a wine destination. With a ton of different wineries and tasting rooms situated throughout town, you will have a difficult time running out of options!

GrapeFest hosted a free bus for wine tours to three different. Amy and I took this option up as one of our “must’s” for the day. Cross Timbers Winery was our first stop (below). What was even more interesting is that this winery is located at a historical site in town and is also apparently haunted. Mixing all things into one!

Although there are wine tasting options set up throughout the festival, the real tasting happens at the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic. I later referred to this as “Speed Dating with Wine”…. and it was the greatest event ever!

If coming to GrapeFest, this is an absolute must! For an additional $20, be sure to put the ultimate wine tent on your to do list! With various hour and a half time slots set up throughout the weekend, your mission is to explore various wines from throughout the state. You will be given a commemorative glass and a booklet describing the wines available from the wineries (each set up at a different booth). At the end of your time slot, fill out a form and select your favorite wines from throughout the day!

A list of the winners can be found, here.

At first, I was a little discouraged that I had an allotted schedule of time to try out what was available but it’s really a smart move. There’s plenty of time. Amy and I (arrived a little late) but ended up trying 60 wines in about an hour and fifteen minutes (30 each, we tried each others). The lines move quickly and it’s a great experience chatting with those around you to compare what you liked best!

Next up, was a little old fashion grape stomping! (Yes, we moved from the wine tent to the grape stomp contest!) We learned there is a trick to this, but I’m not going to share it considering – what fun would that be?! It’s unfortunate that we don’t have a video of ourselves doing this but it was a lot of fun! Be sure to sign up early, it’s a popular event!

The festival proceeds well into the evening, where the crowds pick up and things really get interesting. With five different stages set up throughout the entire day, entertainment is always plentiful. The headlining band on Saturday was Le Freak, a local cover band who really captured the crowd!

GrapeFest is an incredible festival for all ages and groups of folks. There’s so many events that go on throughout the weekend, I didn’t come close to listing them all (so be sure to check out their website)! This was perhaps the most fun I’ve ever had at a festival. If you have an opportunity to check out the event, I highly suggest it. You can’t go wrong!

Have you ever attended GrapeFest? I’d love to hear what you thought of the event!

Neighborhood Services, Dallas

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Up until last Friday, I had never heard of Neighborhood Services in Dallas. It’s surprising I even ventured to that side of the metroplex, I’m a Fort Worth kind of gal. “Neighborhood Services” doesn’t exactly sound like the name to a restaurant but I’ll tell you right now, it’s one hell of a place. No wonder it was voted D Magazine’s #1 Restaurant for 2013.

Nick Badovinus is owner / chef to a few restaurant’s in the Dallas area. Many of you may be more familiar with him than myself. From what I gathered on Friday evening, this man prides himself greatly on what he is presenting. The menu selection at NS is varied. Pork, veal, chicken, steak, seafood galore made with only the freshest ingredients. Each night, there are various new specials on the menu, which is what people go for and smart people they are! Whatever suits your fancy you will find here, just be prepared for a wait and to pay a higher price.

As mentioned, I really wasn’t sure what to expect except that “this place is phenomenal”. We walked in and the place was packed… and an hour wait (at least). That’s fine. We headed to the bar. The bar needs a little more space. Tight fit, we ran into some really nice people and one not so nice person that elbowed one of my friends in the head, then when we pointed it out he said “You know how people get elbowed… they walk into elbows.” This is why some people in Dallas get a bad name… moving on.

The Bar. A PBR draft will cost you $7. So will a Shiner draft. (A PBR draft in Ft. Worth will cost $1.50… just saying). My immediate thought, this food better be damn delicious and I don’t want another beer. On the other hand, they serve microbrews and that’s a love that I enjoy.

(I apologize for iPhone photos… I wasn’t prepared.)

Finally seated, we ordered a couple appetizers. Roasted Green Chile and Jonah Crab dip. Both dips were savory and delicious although I will say I favored the Jonah Crab dip…huge chunks of crab meat!

Butchers Meatballs in a voodoo peppercorn sauce. The meatballs fell apart as soon as you tried to lift them off the toothpick and then melted in your mouth.

Entrees. It was my birthday last week, I had the “go big or go home” mentality. The waiter also found out about my love of seafood and how I had never had swordfish and talked me into one of the specials of the evening. Let me introduce you to one of the best meals I’ve had…

Swordfish topped with Dungeness crab seated on top of mashed potatoes with grilled asparagus.

Holy mother. Best, meal, ever. Hands down / hands up – however we do it. Savor it! Savor it!

We also decided to split macaroni and cheese among the table. Baked mac and cheese?! The noodles were just floating in cheese goodness.

I’m not really sure why we decided to do this because I don’t think any of us had room for dessert (we were already set to roll right out of there) but here came dessert. We couldn’t pick one or two options, for five of us ladies, we picked three.

Butterscotch goodness. Slightly thicker than pudding but two bites of this and you’ll be delighted with your sweet tooth.

I think the next was Key Lime Tres Leches. Yum! Savory Tres Leches cake with a hint of key lime.

Lastly, a chocolate ding-dong with chocolate ganache topping.

Needless to say, we had to roll ourselves out of the restaurant. Now that I look back on the experience, this also explains why they have valet for vehicles…

If you’re looking to treat yourself to a well deserved evening, set some time aside for a good 3-4 hour meal and enjoy a bit from each course. It’s well worth it. Your belly will thank you!