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Mavericks (if they get OKC, and not SA...otherwise, the Stars) Who is the better marketing genius for his team (not necessarily best owner, but MARKETING GENIUS) Jerry Jones or Mark Cuban

Topps Archives King of the Hill or American Dad

Udon noodles from Pei Wei

Scarlett Johannsen Matthew McConaughey: Dallas Buyers Club or A Time to Kill (Only if you have seen both movies)

The only way to know is to try some wines and see. If you look on the label, the alcohol content is listed (has to be, by law), but you have to know where to look, as they don't make it obvious. It is usually on the right hand side of the front label, in very small, very light print, usually italics. It will run vertical from the bottom corner of the label. Sometimes it is on the left side, same location. You just have to look for it. (Reds): The 12-12.5% alcohol content wines are pretty sweet by wine standards. Not a lot of depth, body, or character in most instances, but lots of people like the flavor of these, because it doesn't really "taste like wine". :-) Most typical wines run 13-13.5% and most people's palates tend to fall within this range of profile. The tastes of the wines will vary greatly, depending upon whether it is a Cabernet (usually fuller in body and depth), a Shiraz (sometimes fuller than Cabs, but not always...but they do tend to have a drier feel upon the palate), Pinot Noir (most of the time lighter than a Cab, but sturdier than a Merlot), or Merlot (oftentimes referred to as the red that women prefer....a bit lighter in mouth feel, not quite as bold "in your face" flavors, and less intense). Reds running 14%-15.5% are usually more acidic in their taste profile, and have more tannin-forward flavors. Tannins (what give tea it's bitterness, and it's "clean" mouth feel) usually range from mild to very upfront and obvious. Not bitter, like in tea, but you will recognize their presence as the wine hits the tongue. The cool thing about these higher alcohol content wines is that when they age a few years, their tannins mellow out, and blend with the sugars in the wine, creating a really smooth, complex glass of wine, and the acidic element sort of fades out. If you get a red wine right now that has 2011 or 2012 on the label, to really enjoy it, you have two options for the most part....1) let it age for at least another year, but preferably 18 months to two years, before drinking it, or 2) put it back on the shelf, and buy a 2010 (a 2009 is even better if you can find one) instead...take it home, and drink that. Venture out and try a couple of bottles of something that sounds good to you and your wife/significant other/partner. If you don't like it, no harm done...in fact, you have just made strides in your wine education in that you have found one you don't like. Or if you like it, then you have also done well. Hint....open the red, pour your wine glass no more than 1/3 of the way full, and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes before drinking it. Then, swirl it around a little bit before taking that first sip. This allows air to get into the wine, which helps bring out the flavors, and also helps to "mellow" it a little bit. Makes all the difference in the world. You don't have to do this with whites...you can fill the glass pretty full, and drink away.

Wild 74....then you are probably looking for dessert wines, in the 12-12.5% alcohol range, as far as reds are concerned. Whites....probably the Sauvignon Blanc, as Chardonnay is a bit drier tasting. Ruby port is also a sweet wine, but has about 19% alcohol content, but it is more like a very reduced red....sweet, but with body and depth. Ruby ports usually don't have a specific vintage, but are usually labeled with the year it was bottled.

Love Whataburger Ketchup!! Since they started selling it at Central Market, that's the only ketchup we buy now. As for the Whataburger Mustard, I love it, but my wife is still loyal to the French's brand, so we have both now in the refrigerator. I like the French's, but there is something about the Whataburger Mustard that gives it a different taste, and it's a little bit thicker as well. The ketchup retails for about $2.25 per bottle at Central Market, so not really all that much more expensive than any of the other major brands.

^^^ Now that's funny, right there! I don't care who you are!! A reasonable price for a good wine is relative to what one determines is "good" wine. My wife and I are totally ok with paying $25-30 for our "everyday" wines; we usually shell out $60-80 for a bottle when we want to have the higher-end, better vintage, better vineyard wines. This is the cost for a Cabernet, though. Whites will run much cheaper. Other reds, such as Merlots and Pinot Noirs will also be cheaper than even better quality Cabernets, but.....Merlots and Pinot Noirs tend to run on the lighter side as far as taste, palate feel, and alcohol content. Bottom line is buy what you like to drink....if not sure, then buy three or four different wines, and try them all; that way you begin to figure out what you like in a wine and what you do not like. It is a learning curve, but not something that should intimidate anyone. If you can arrange for a wine tasting tour either in Fredericksburg, or better yet, in Napa Valley, that is really the best way to figure out what you like and don't like, without having to buy a bunch of wines that you pour out if you don't like them. We don't buy wines from a grocery store either. With the exception of perhaps Central Market. If you find the wine available at WalMart, Tom Thumb, Albertsons, or Kroger....we ain't buying that swill because it doesn't fit our tasting profile or our palate. Most, if not all Cabernets found in the mass grocery market are 13-13.5% alcohol, and within a year or two of the current calendar year.....and we don't care for those. Also, be careful about the big name guys out there.....the attention to quality isn't there. Go to a liquor store (Spec's is a great place to find lots of good wines at reasonable prices, and they usually have a guy there who can help you find something you might like) to get your wines. There is far more variety, and the prices are competitive. Again, buy what you like to drink, and enjoy it.

I'll start it off, since I posted the topic. We both prefer Cabernet Sauvignon, and preferably from the Napa Valley region. We have tried Bordeaux wines from France, and enjoy them, but we always gravitate back to the Cabs from Napa Valley. Our favorite vintage is 2007, but those are getting harder (and more expensive) to find. The 2009 vintage is also very good. 2010, and 2011 vintages are still too young to really be enjoyed as intended. We also prefer our Cabernet to be in the range of 14-14.5% alcohol, as this makes for a bit more acidic wine, a bit heavier, and a few more tannins, giving it more body, depth, and complexity, making for a better wine drinking experience for our palate.

If you, and/or your significant other/spouse/partner drink wine, what is your preference? Red or White? If White--Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, or some other white? If Red--Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, or some other red? What region do your prefer? Napa, Sonoma, Argentina, Washington state, or some other region.

At the five-star restaurants, they don't have to write it down to remember it, and get it accurate, because they are trained properly how to do so. That's the point, and the difference between eating at a fine dining establishment vs Joe's Greasy Spoon and Dirty Glasses Diner. And the quality of food at the five-star restaurant is going to be, for the most part, as a general rule, far more superior to most anything one can order at the local franchised edition of a larger well-known chain restaurant of most any type. As a rule, finer establishments have way better service, and food, than chain restaurants. In fact, in many cases, the local yokel diner down the street, that cooks everything fresh, from scratch, every day, and doesn't use a bunch of pre-fabricated frozen ####, has waaayyyy better food than your local edition of Friday's, Chili's, Applebee's, or other chain, as a matter of fact, and it will be a lot healthier as well. In either case, quality of food, and service (does not necessarily mean getting it out fast; but accurately, timely, and all entrees at the same time in the same trip) are what make or break dining establishments. I'm with you on accuracy....get the order correct, and that means the server should be checking it at the pass BEFORE it ever gets to the table....no order should ever leave the pass to the table that is not accurate, and that is part of the server's job, written ticket or memory ticket--either way. Accuracy is paramount!! :-)

The article implies that taste and quality of food have little correlation with the business model and the stock performance of these three companies. While Wendy's rated higher on food quality, taste, and menu, McDonald's is by far the better play from an investment standpoint where stock in concerned. Burger King has been struggling for the past couple of years, and is losing market share, and as a result of that, has tried to "re-invent" itself somewhat, even going so far as to mimic McDonalds' big mac type burger. Wendy's has made a push the last several months to market itself as a "healthy alternative," even pushing a couple of new salad options, and a couple of new grilled chicken sandwich varieties. McDonald's is not a healthy dining option as a general rule, but neither are the other two for that matter. However, if one is looking to place money and capital into a business, out of these three corporations, McDonald's is definitely the healthiest option for one's portfolio, and in the world of economics, money is the only lettuce that matters. :-) As for burger quality from the fast food category (this excludes Five Guys, Rodeo Goat, Twisted Root, etc), my top choice is Whataburger, followed closely by In-n-Out--but don't get their fries, just the burger).

A lot of places that employ this "not writing it down" practice are trying to give the impression that they are providing the same level of service as the upscale dining establishments. My wife and I have frequented many of these over the past several years, and have never seen a server write down anything.....it is part of the expectation and an element of the service/quality provided at such establishments. So....the chain restaurants, in an effort to boost their image of quality service, are trying to now do the same thing. The problem is that the servers working in these kinds of restaurants are NOT the same caliber of servers as one has in upscale dining restaurants. One does not just walk into an upscale restaurant and apply for a server's position. In fact, in most of these types of places, there is very little turnover in server personnel (for many reasons, but the tips received, and the work environment, along with the clientele that frequents the place, are some of the reasons why). In chain restaurants, there is frequent turnover, and the training given to servers, for the most part is minimal. To take orders without writing them down, and have total accuracy requires training, skill, and serious focus to the dining patron's needs. Most common places do not stress this....they are more about "get the food served quick, re-fill the tea and sodas, smile, be polite, get the table turned over for the next party, etc." They DO NOT want the party to linger at the table....ever wonder why at most places that take and encourage reservations will block a table for 90 minutes--two hours??? That's why. Don't be fooled by the "not writing it down" act put on by the casual franchised, and chain restaurants. It is an attempt to put forth an image that isn't really there to begin with, and never will be.....don't believe me---then why is the menu at most of these places 4, 5, or even 8-9 pages deep???? Nice restaurants have a one, or two page menu at most...another difference in the quality.

La Familia in Fort Worth, located in the West 7th area. Very good, and authentic. Al does have Tex-Mex items on the menu as well, but in the DFW area, if you don't have that type of food on your menu, and you are a Mexican food restaurant, you will not have a very large clientele base that will frequent your place. Just the way it is. The one thing that makes this place one of my favorites in DFW is that everything is completely fresh...no canned items, and nothing kept the next day. In fact, Al told me one time when I was in there that "the only cans in the kitchen are Mexi-cans." LOL! Another really good place is Taco Diner...yes, it is part of a chain. Parent company is the M Group, which also owns the Mi Cocina, and the Mercury Chop House restaurants. But....Taco Diner is a bit different than Mi Cocina because it focuses primarily on tacos of all varieties, styles, and tastes. Excellent quality, and the service is always superb, at least at the one I frequent, located in the West Village area of Dallas, just north of Downtown.

Kids are less likely to go to a Saturday track meet, but these same kids will show up for a 7-on-7 tournament that same Saturday. That's because they view 7-on-7 as fun, and track as a boring all day thing that requires too much work. A Thursday meet gets them out of class for at least a little bit that day, and they are home later that night. Also, many kids will not go to Saturday meets because these interfere with other family activities (again, running is viewed as work by most teenagers; catching a football is fun, and helps you get better for the real football season....says the 16-yr old males for the most part). A few Dallas ISD meets are still traditional, but even many of these have gone to the "finals only" mode. It's also easier to get workers for a Thursday evening meet than it is for an all-day Saturday meet. Teachers and other volunteers don't mind giving up one evening to help work a meet (timer, picker, concessions, etc), but may not be so willing to give up an entire Saturday. So track coaches have to be aware of all of these factors in scheduling to host a meet. Better to host a weeknight meet that is organized, staffed adequately, and has decent entry numbers than to host an all-day Saturday meet that is short-handed, which adds to the day.