A little less than a year after I moved back to Chicago, my parents began to get tired of empty nesting in Central Arkansas - who could blame them - and started to sniff out some new land to stake their claim.  After an exploratory road trip through the Southwest, up the West Coast and back, they called me, excited to tell me where I’d be spending the Christmases of the future…

They chose a town between Dallas and Fort Worth, a little hiccup next to Arlington called Grand Prairie, Texas.  My brother and I were skeptical.  Five hours immediately west of where they live now and still south of the Mason-Dixon?  Yeah.  Big change.

As is the case very very rarely, we were both wrong.  They’re in a great location to take advantage of both Dallas and Fort Worth’s strikingly diverse flavors - Dallas has more airs of a big city; Fort Worth is still quintessentially a good ole boy big town.  Urban cowboys.  Great entertainment.

Lately, a surprising number of my friends have found reason to visit the Dallas/Fort Worth area and have asked for good food recommendations.  After several visits over the past two years, with many thanks to my awesome cousins who live in Fort Worth, I’ve been able to establish my favorite spots, which I’ve recommended to so many of my friends lately that I thought it’d only make sense to share with all the Eat Feats readers as well.

1. Joe T. Garcia’s.  A James Beard award winner, Joe T.’s was started as a family business in 1935 that experienced escalating success, becoming one of the most popular restaurants in Fort Worth by 1970.  It retains this popularity today - with reported seating capacity of over 1000, there is still a line out the door and a rat race to find parking on any given day.  With reservations, large groups can be accommodated here, and much of the seating is on a huge, beautiful outdoor patio wrapped around a pool.  It’s a great spot for Texas people-watching. Oh, and Joe T.’s is cash only.

2. Railhead Smokehouse BBQ. I really don’t think you can go wrong with BBQ anywhere in this area, but this is the place my cousin Vanessa chose when we met for lunch, and I just remember forcibly resisting the urge to lick my plate.  Give it a shot, let me know what you think.

3. Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse.  I don’t even know where to begin with this place.  I wouldn’t know downtown Fort Worth without it.  This is the kind of place where “succulent” can be put to good use as a legitimate description of the quality of food - without getting smirked at…at least not a lot.  I had a Sesame Seared Tuna with soy ginger glaze here that changed my life.  My brother met The Rock here, and it changed his life.  Top notch surf and turf, top notch celebrity sightings.

4. Grace. This elegant newish spot, the brain child of a Del Frisco’s alum, has something to satisfy both the meat-and-potatoes cowboy and the sophisticated urban eater alike.  Huge wine list and really striking display wine cellars are placed at focal points through the dining room.  The menu, elegant American classics was crafted by Executive Chef Blaine Staniford, who at 19 was one of the youngest graduates of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY.  Notably, he has studied under San Francisco chef Michael Mina (shameless pitch, my good friend Jason is currently studying under Mina).  Great people watching too - we were seated next to a table of 40-something year old women who collectively had enough plastic on their persons to craft a formidable Barbie army.  Sexy, can I?

5. Zambrano Wine Cellar. I’ve only had the wine and desserts at this place, but it’s been enough to draw me back in almost every time I find myself in downtown Fort Worth.  Owner Cef Zambrano is another illustrious Del Frisco’s alum and is one of the most reliable wine sources throughout Dallas/Fort Worth.

6.  Sonic. Happy Hour.  Seriously.

And there you have it.  May these places find a spot in your heart and stomachs as well.  Anyone have any other Fort Worth (or Dallas, since I didn’t even touch that) favorites as well?

As promised…  and I always deliver. So this encompasses my Thanksgiving to New Years. Camping, family dinners, cooking mayhem. It’s all there. Enjoy!

I’d like to thank Matt Gierhart over at JoshSpear.com and company for featuring Eat Feats on their site as well as Johannes Kleske, an art director for Razorfish in Frankfurt, Germany, on his blog. This is inspiration for me to continue working on this not just for me but for anyone who continues to read EF.

It’s that time of the year again, and this year’s Thanksgiving is going to be an even bigger deal since I’ve moved away from home. More to be thankful for and certainly more to celebrate as this is a homecoming of sorts back to the Dirty South. My family usually does it up big for T-Giving. Being Filipino-American, we have both cultures on the table— your traditional turkey, ham, stuffing, etc. AND Filipino goodies such as pancit (noodle dish), embutido (FIlipino meatloaf of sorts), and everyone’s favorite, lumpia, to name a few.

There’s no real ‘tradition’ for us, just routine events. Although, my younger brother, Neil, and I have been in charge of deep frying the turkey the past two years. Lots of fun. Parade, cooking, football, eating, and of course, a nap at some point during the day. I will be sure to document all the eating I do over the course of my holiday… my good friend Kim has planned a ribs & steak night and there is a wealth of new restaurants that have sprung up since my departure from Arkansas so I’ll have plenty to write about soon.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks, and as always, “EAT IT.”

Hello readers, welcome to my inaugural post! And where better to start than the beginning? The Dirty South… the region of the country best known for it’s hospitality, Southern belles, deep-fried everything and sweet tea is also home to me and the Waffle House establishment. This delightful chain has been serving the lone trucker, the wasted college student, and the Sunday morning churchgoers for the past 53 years, 24/7, 365 days a year.

Growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, this all-hour diner had been a refuge for friends and myself throughout high school and college. Whether we had just gotten out of a concert or had the after-party munchies, there was only one place to go afterward, especially if it was food someone was craving. This dingy, sticky, and once smoker-friendly place was everything that I looked for in a restaurant and more— great value, hours of operation, and the odd yet friendly wait staff.

So what did I order? The essential element in my Waffle House order was definitely the HASHBROWNS. Quadruple order, scattered, covered, and chunked (they have their very own code for hashbrowns). From there, I would mix it up.. waffles, double-cheeseburger, etc. Screw it. Why not get both. So for those of you keeping score: 4 orders of hashbrowns with cheese and ham, double-cheeseburger, and double waffles down the hatch.

To my dismay, after moving to Chicago I soon discovered that there were none here. And as great as this city is, nothing will ever replace what I had at the House. And whatever you do, never mention IHOP around me.

A Waffle House escapade with sis from back in the day:

Thanks for the memories, WH. And thank YOU for reading.