Sunday, September 30, 2007

Eating good in the neighborhood

My friend Jacob is a connoisseur of local, nonchain restaurants. He recently told me about Old Neighborhood Grill, located in what's being called SoDo, the area south of downtown. Old Neighborhood Grill, which opened in 1998, has the feel of a diner, and they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Jacob swears by their breakfast menu, and he claims you can get a full stomach for under $5. I went for lunch and had a great southwest grilled chicken sandwich, roasted apples and a drink for around $7.50.

Address
1633 Park Place Avenue (near the corner of Park Place and 8th avenues)
Fort Worth, TX 76110-1378

Hours
11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday - Friday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday

Update
I've just been notified that SoDo is the area south of Seventh Street, making ONG part of Fort Worth South (per the organization's Web site).

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Friday, September 28, 2007

Teddy Ruxpin: Does He Sleep With The Fishes?


When I was in college, my friend Brian's roommate was just about the messiest person I've ever seen. He was a very nice guy, but he was very, very messy.

He also liked a handful of bands that could only be classified as maybe lo-fi emo. Or homemade emo. Does any one have a legitimate term for this? Anyway, he was really into Fishboy. It was so... weird that Brian and I couldn't help but ...get into it? We became especially attached to a song called Teddy Ruxpin. He always got mad and insisted, "That's not even the best song!"

On some level, I'm afraid to admit I might sort of like Fishboy (which is essentially one guy named Eric Michener) and I think it's really funny, but, as music, it's...well, I'll post some stuff and let you be the judge. It is what it is, and if nothing else, it's definitely something that is in the world and exists.

Anyway, Fishboy and his marvelous band are playing an instore at Good Records on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. It's a record release party to celebrate their new disc, Albatross. Videos after the jump:

Hey, it's something to do:



I watched this at work yesterday:


[Edit: Listening to some newer Fishboy tracks on Myspace.com proves that the band has seriosuly, seriously improved.]

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Thursday, September 27, 2007

Roustabout Music


I've previously posted about the Roustabouts. They're playing a CD Release show on October 1 at the Aardvark. I think think they're last in the line-up that night, so they'll be taking the stage around 10:30 or so. Come out and support the local music scene.

www.myspace.com/roustaboutmusic

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Beer. Brought to you by the Flying Saucer.

I don't know terribly much about the event, but I saw this poster when I was at trivia night at the Flying Saucer on Tuesday and thought it was worth sharing. I'll let it do the talking.

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Thursday round-up: Red, Wreck, The Office


So, the Wreck Room is closing. It's last day is Sunday. I guess that doesn't come as a surprise to anyone, since the place has been holding on by a thread since July.

Still, it was one of the few (arguably the only) smaller rock clubs in Fort Worth. I didn't spend too much time at the Wreck Room, but I always appreciated that it was there. Anyone have any particularly fond memories? A good photo of the place? I can't find one on the Web.

So, instead I submit to you Red Hunter, a Texas musician who records Holden Caufield-styled tunes under the name Peter & The Wolf. He has a new album out called The Ivori Palms. His last disc, Lightness, is a good, quiet CD.


As for tonight, Thursday is my TV watching night (as is every other day of the week), and I'm going to watch The Office. I thought the show started to get a little shaky with all the Pam and Jim "will-they-won't-they" episodes (I liked that show better when it was called Cheers), but nonetheless, I'd still rather watch ten so-so seasons of The Office than one season of Cavemen. I think also B.J. Novak is funny.



Peter & the Wolf video (directed by Bill Baird of the now-defunct Sound TEAM:


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Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Fort Worth harvest moon, 09/26/07

Waking up at 5ish this morning (don't ask...), it was actually hard to look outside while letting the dog out. The moon was fully illuminating my backyard.

The harvest moon tonight is positively gorgeous... Hope all of you get to do something fun in the bright moonlight.

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Modern Times: Marry Me, St. Vincent


Before I get to deep into this, I need to disclose that I have a little thing for St. Vincent. Her new disc, Marry Me is catchy, layered and easily one of the best debuts of the year. It's got something for electro-heads and guitar nuts. You know, both kinds of music fans.

Beyond her obvious talents in the studio and on the guit-fiddle, the 24-year-old Dallas native otherwise known as Annie Clark is funny, engaging and if her blog is to be believed, whip-smart.

So, when I read on Pollstar that she's going to play at The Modern Art Mueseum in Fort Worth on Oct. 19, I immediately thought, "Yes, I am going to that." I then debated whether or not to tell anyone else.

Well, now I've told you. Neither St. Vincent or the Modern have confirmed it [Since I posted this, I've been told it is on the Modern Web site, but hey, that thing is expansive!], but it's on Pollstar, and those guys are usually right on. Some videos after the jump:

I know this is supposed to be a cool concept, but playing in the back of a moving vehicle just strikes me as uncomfortable. Clark covering these Beatles:

The standard Jackson Browne cover. She has orginal stuff, too:


[Edit: This is our 100th post. We should celebrate!]

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Modern Times: Out of the Past


If you're into good, old film noir like I am, you might want to head by the Modern tomorrow to see Out of the Past, part of the museum's American Cinema: Film Noir and the Detective Film series.

If you're not, hey, stay home. Or just rent it from Blockbuster.

The whole deal is "taught" by Dr. David E. Whillock, professor and Associate Dean of the College of Communications at TCU. I did not take any classes from him, so I cannot comment on whether or not he is interesting. However Out of the Past is my favorite of the film noir genre, and definitely worth checking out. Plus...

The 1984 film Against All Odds is a remake of Out of the Past. This means it is totally relevant and newsworthy for me to post this:


For our hipster friends, take two and and call me in the morning:



Out of the Past plays tomorrow at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The show starts at 6 p.m.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The Final Countdown:

Wall of Sound is now only 4 days away. Grab your tickets now and save $5.

Here are a couple of other artists who are worth the price of admisison themselves:

Midlake

On the heels of last year's critically acclaimed The Trials of Van Occupanther, Midlake will make an appearance at this years incarnation of the festival. Their style is deeply rooted in 70's folk rock, but "not in a gimmicky way" says singer/songwriter Tim Smith. Jason Lee (My name is Earl, Almost Famous, Mallrats) is their #1 fan and even directed one of their videos.

Head to ther website to listen to songs and watch music videos.

Pleasant Grove
Pleasant Grove, named for the Southeast Dallas neighborhood, was formed by co-vocalists / guitarists Bret Egner and Marcus Striplin. They have been kicking around the local scene for about 10 years and have been to the brink of stardom and back. With new members and a solidified sound, Pleasant Grove is back for good and better than ever. They have been one of my favorite local bands for a long time and I can't wait to see them again.
Songs and video on their myspace page.

The lineup includes many other great acts from around the state and around the country. I hope to see you all out there rocking out as hard as I am.

Cheers!

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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

The Evil Eye: Matt Nathanson at the House of Blues

Matt Nathanson is coming to the House of Blues on Wednesday, October 24. Yes, this post may be a bit premature (it is over a month away, after all), but that just shows how excited I am about this concert. My ticket came in the mail last week, and I am pumped.

This will be the fourth time I've seen Matt. I saw him in March 2004 in Houston, in September 2006 at ACL Fest (that little gathering is coming up again, I hear), and in November 2006 at the now-defunct Gypsy Tea Room. He never disappoints. His shows are great not just because of his well-crafted melodies and lyrics, but also because he is hilarious. Seeing Matt Nathanson is like seeing a musical concert and a comedy show all in one.

So, go order your tickets to see him. It's worth the early excitement. Speaking of early excitement, I just saw that Nickel Creek will be at the House of Blues in mid-November...

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Monday, September 10, 2007

here's to hoping ben kweller tamponizes his nose again...


while i know this isn't ft worth related... at all...

who is attending the social event of the season?
and by this, i mean of course austin city limits and accordingly drinking downtown.

a bunch of us (ft worth/atx kids alike) are trekking down/meeting up in the best town in texas, so let me know if anyone wants to meet up. fun times guaranteed.

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Friday, September 7, 2007

Back up and running...


I've remedied the full post issue, so we're back up and running! We've got some great food posts today from Steve, and we're starting to get into a good time of the year for Fort Worthians!

Enjoy!


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more Buffalo Bros. news

Bud Kennedy's column in today's Star-T has a few interesting tidbits on the upcoming Buffalo Bros. Pizza Wings & Subs. First interesting tidbit (to me anyway), is the involvement of Jon Bonnell, of Bonnell's Restaurant fame. (Speaking of Jon, he's smiling out from the cover of this month's issue of Fort Worth magazine.)

Second interesting tidbit (and probably of greatest interest to the TCU crowd) can be found in this line from Bud's column:

The chefs promise New York pizza and take-out margaritas from a window on South University Drive.

Huh... Should be interesting to see some of the DUI police officers move from staking out Eskimo Hut on Vickery over to TCUland...

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Zestfest 2007: Get your spice on!

By now, you folks know that I love chiles and spicy stuff... It's Hatch chile time right now, and I'm in heaven.

Well, that ain't all... You chile-heads will also love ZestFest at the Will Rogers Center this weekend. My wife and I have gone the past several years, and it's always a lot of fun.

My recommendations for a good ZestFest experience:

  • Get there when it opens. Why? Several reasons...
    • It's not crowded yet (noon can be a mob scene)
    • The booth staff people aren't tired of seeing you yet, and they're still happy to give you samples
    • The smaller independent booths are excited to be selling their stuff, and may make you a deal if you're one of the early customers
  • As soon as you walk in, visit the concession stand and buy a bottle of water. Trust me on this, you will want water at some point, and your mouth will most likely be burning at some point.
  • Bring cash. Some of the vendors accept credit cards, but not all...
For you forward-thinking folks, this can be a good opportunity to buy small-batch hot sauces and salsas as gifts for spice-loving friends. We've even done Christmas shopping at ZestFest!

So visit ZestFest this weekend and get some good spice into your life...

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Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Technical difficulties


So, you may have noticed the "read more" function is not clicking--I too have noticed this. I will try to have it remedied by the end of the day, but in the meantime, I say ignore it.

What else do I got here? Not much off the top of my head--Hope everyone had a great Labor Day!

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Sunday, September 2, 2007

New Movie Tavern on Hulen opens this week

According to the Movie Tavern website, the Hulen location opens September 7th...

Speaking of Hulen area theaters, I'd kinda stopped going to the AMC 10 that used to be on Hulen because the screens and sound systems had been so poorly maintained. Then when Starplex Cinemas bought that theater, I was surprised and disappointed that it didn't become a reduced price/late run type place. So imagine my surprise when visiting the Starplex Cinema, only to see stadium seating, nice screens and good sound systems! I didn't know they had remodeled...

The walls are still a bit thin, so you can occasionally hear loud noises coming from the next theater, but it's a lot nicer than in the AMC days... Also, if you don't mind a hot dog for dinner, they've got cheap dogs there...

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