I am retarded / Twisted Rootless Burgers

After double-checking the Twisted Root site, I discovered that they are not open weeknights except Thursday and Friday. I purchased two burgers, fries, and shakes over the phone and drove over. There were many a rock-show-goer gathered on the sidewalk out front but plenty of spaces in the car lot next door. There weren't any shows next door, and these folks were just milling about. Don't know what that was all about, but hey it's Deep Ellum.

Got the food back home, but no fries! Honest mistake I suppose. Burgers were rather tasty - I'm deducing it was all in the meat, although the sesame-seed bun was quite delicious. Shakes made from homemade ice cream is a bonus. Would have liked those curly fries though.

On the whole, I'm very glad that there is a tasty burger location nearby. My wife says we can even walk there when the sun is shining. Don't walk there at night because people want to kill you.

Twisted Root Where Are You?

Didn't feel like cooking tonight so I stopped by Twisted Root Burger Co in Deep Ellum on the way home. They were not open, but the internet tells me they should be open.

Does this mean they're defunk too?

Thomas & Leggitt fin

Thomas & Leggitt is not remodeling. Some Mexican kitchen-type restaurant is opening soon in that location instead.

I liked the T&L concept: a downtown pub for food and beverage elitists. Unfortunately, they didn't really follow through, since parts of the menu were desperately lacking, in addition to at least one keg tapped at any given visit. Place didn't last 6 months. I don't think the demographic was there either. They were better off as the Metropolitan.

Tuk Tuk follow-up

Tempura crisps right back up in a convection oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 minutes.

I get accosted on the way to Tuk Tuk

Tuk Tuk is a hip-like 'Asian-cuisine' restaurant saddled in the Campisi's nook on Stone Street. A smaller version of Cafe Izmir used to be in that spot, but they apparently didn't generate enough business to stick around. I placed an order for take-out this evening and walked over there via the 'bustling' Main Street.

Along the way, I passed one of the recognizable homeless guys laying out in front of what I think was long ago a movie theater. He asked for some help as he pointed to a small pile of change on the pavement.

"Sorry man." My typical response.

"Fuck you bitch."

"Hey!" And I continued to Tuk Tuk.

There sure were a lot of people sitting on the patios this evening. But they were all there for Campisi's. Oh well. The new owners hadn't done much to the place inside. The walls were still a sort of yellow, and nothing adorned them. There were no guests to adorn the tables either. The food was ready in a few and I was sure to bring it back via Elm.

I had the Bulgogi and it was quite delicious. Good Korean food is hard to find. Emily had an assortment of uh fried shrimp, but in an Asian way, uh appetizer. (My memory fails me and they don't have the restaurant menu on their website yet.) She also had some vegetable tempura.

All in all this will not be a bad place to head for assorted Asian foods. Being able to walk over there and pick it up makes me very happy.



Oh, and Beck's Octoberfest will make your lady burp uncontrollably.

Been driving recently

After my use of the train stopped, I started ride sharing with a co-worker who lives in Deep Ellum. Since then, my crazy encounters have decreased dramatically. I've determined that there's a formula here. Mass transit || walking around = adventure. That's even dumber than I thought initially. This formula basically states that if we got out of car bubbles and had to interact with everyone around us, we'd encounter new and interesting things.

Since nothing's been going on, I decided it was time to refer to history. Today, while walking to Campisi's, I was reminded of another time when I walked to the very same destination. I was wearing my navy cashmere overcoat and a nice shirt. As I was approaching Stone St, a man who was most likely homeless approached me. Being accustomed to the shake-down, I averted my eyes and continued around the corner. He said something and made a gesture at me, that I assumed was some form of "Excuse me, sir, can I have $XYZ?" But after I was walking up the steps to the restaurant, I realized he said something completely different. "I put these out on you fags." The gesture that I saw from my peripheral vision was him holding up a cigarette. Did I look gay? Or did I look rich, and might as well be gay? Or was he just a dick? Ahhh, it's so nice to reminisce on the past.

Final note, Thomas & Leggitt's "sorry we are closed today" sign in the window is still up. It looks like they're doing a lot more work than I had guessed. The old bar along the interior wall has been ripped out, and a new bar is being constructed against the exterior wall. Behind it, two of the large windows that looked out onto the patio are boarded up. If they're doing what I think they're doing, then I will award them awesome points. Picture a bar that is accessible from inside and out.

Another one bites the dust

A couple weeks ago, I made reservations at Jeroboam for tonight. I've been wanting to try the restaurant for years now. This evening, being a downtown block party with specials at local restaurants and shops, provided an excellent opportunity to sample the chef's wares at a discount.

Except my wife and I walked over there and there's a piece of paper in the door windows saying that Jeroboam had closed and thanked us for our patronage. That's twice in 6 days.

The rumor's been out for a while that the restaurant was closing. Since it was featured in the Downtown Partnership's flyer, I figured the rumor was going to be untrue at least until the block party season was over. I also figured that when I was making reservations, they could have told me that they weren't actually going to be around then. One big wtf.

So my wife and I wound up at our mainstay Porta di Roma.