Grapevine, TX (with a little bit of Dallas)

The reason I added "a little bit of Dallas" to the title of this one is that I did spend just a little time there. My visit to this area was mostly to spend time with one of my good friends from Peace Corps. Lindsey and I were roommates in Philadelphia where we trained for a few days in the US, and then later in Ouarzazate for our all-out three month, crazy community-based training. And it was a bit of insanity for sure. I don't think I was myself that entire three months. Talk about being out of your comfort zone. Put 35 competitive, motivated, but temporarily and situationally insecure individuals into a city in a developing country with extreme weather patterns (desert heat, dryness, and dust), and you are bound to have some drama. Add in illness and the inability to drink and eat in public during daylight hours (we arrived at the very beginning of Ramedan), and it definitely makes for quite the intense situation. We actually had much less drama than I ever would have thought considering the circumstances.

So Lindsey and I have been through some really interesting times together, but one thing I've always loved is that though it all, the two of us would always laugh. That's one reason I really looked forward to getting together. Laugh we did...

Sadly for the blog, most of this wasn't something I can share. Not that it's private (well, some of it), but it just wouldn't be funny to anyone else. What I can share with you are some photos and some cool stuff about Grapevine and the little part of Dallas I did see.

One other thing I should mention is that my friend is an artist, and she had to prepare to run a table at the Grapevine wine festival the next week. That meant lots of painting during free time. She's talented- I bought a set of watercolor on glass paintings that I love. Right now she's focusing on fun, functional items like hand-painted wine and martini glasses. A little plug for her... she's doing gift sets (a nice one for mother's day), and the rose petal glass set- not the best picture online, but I can vouch for how lovely they are in person (my favorite of all the designs). You can buy her stuff on her Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ljane6.

Now, back to the trip itself. I arrived Friday night, and we spent most of the evening catching up. We were headed out to a ball game the next day. Lindsey's aunt's financial adviser had a box available for clients, so we were able to chill on a balcony, eat catered South of the Border (yum), and have a bit of wine while watching the Texas Rangers play Arizona. Sadly, Texas lost at the very end though they were ahead most of the game. It was a nice afternoon, though we were a little disappointed that they didn't let us in to the actual ballpark. It would have been nice to get a snow cone.

Speaking of snow cones, did you know that they call them snow balls in New Orleans? I was really confused at first, because in states where we actually get snow, snow balls usually refer to the kind you throw at people as children. So if you're in the Big Easy in the middle of the summer, and someone wants a snow ball, they mean the flavored kind.

After the game, we headed out to see one of Lindsey's high school friends- a nice guy named Sunil. He lives in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas. It was a nice neighborhood with lots of young, urban professionals, and perhaps some college students. The bar scene was lovely. We didn't end up going out much-we were both tired- but it was a nice night, and the area was pretty cool.

The Ginger Man was one place we decided to try. It was a neat place situated in a cute little house. This next photo is of the building.



We called it a night after this one, but I was glad we did. We both were tired after a long day at the ballpark.

The next day, I headed to downtown Grapevine while my friend finished some painting. She mentioned some wineries, shops, and restaurants that I should check out and drew me a map. I set off and the first thing I saw as I pulled into the historic district was a winery with tasting. I figured I'd have a few hours to walk around, so I could stop and try some wine before hand.


I started my day at Su Vino. As you can see in the photo below, many of their wines have won a variety of awards (those are metals on the bottles in case you can't see them well in the photo). I was looking forward to tasting some of these. The fee was reasonable- five tastes for $5, or $9 to keep the glass. I elected the five tastes, and started on the dry wines.

They are a small winery so I'll focus on the positive. Having built my taste for wine over the past 10 years, I can be just a bit of a wine snob- not too bad. I think a bottle of decent table wine with lunch or dinner is great, but when a wine is supposed to be a dry red and it comes out sweeter than it should, I do tend to balk a bit. I realize by the selection on their tasting list that they probably have a clientele that prefers sweeter wine. I abandoned the dry reds pretty quickly and focused on finding a sweet bottle that my non-wine drinking friend might like. I found it... Island Paradise. A very light, fruity, refreshing wine made from a Sauvignon Blanc that may not have a place at a serious wine tasting, but would be perfect for a day poolside with some girlfriends.

Though I am typically not a sweet wine fan, I have been known to enjoy a glass of sherry or port wine after dinner. With this in mind, I tried the Porto Cocoa, and ended up purchasing a bottle. I feel like this wine might sell so well for them because it bridges a gap between those who like sweet wines, and those who can appreciate a good port for the richness and finish. I liked this bottle, and I'm looking forward to opening it after a nice heavy dinner... perhaps with some dark chocolate salted caramels which I've been hooked on ever since Theo in Seattle.



After wine tasting, I thought I should walk around. I think sometimes when you're all by yourself, people think you're nuts. I decided to snap this random shot of me and the statue of a Mr. Benjamin Richard Wall, the mayor of Grapevine from 1912-14, 1916-17, 1919-20, and 1933-46. That's quite a history. He was also known as a philanthropist and established one of the first boy scout troops west of the Mississippi river. ...if he only knew that one day a silly little tourist from the state of New York was going to come to Grapevine in 2010 and take a photograph with his statue.



Next, just a few photos of interest...



According to this last sign, Grapevine was named for the wild mustang grapes that naturally grew here. It's an interesting bit of history, but difficult to read in the photo.


This historical cabin was actually moved to this location, but is mostly build-with the addition of a board or two- out of the original pieces. I'm not sure why they moved it here, but it is interesting to look at. You can step up to the doors and see the inside as it would have looked over a hundred years ago.


The courthouse...

On to lunch- I decided on Tolbert's which, I've heard, is quite famous for its chili. I read some reviews online which were quite the mixed bag. Lindsey herself had never been there, but her mom wasn't a fan. She told me about a good sandwich place, but it's known for being based on a New York deli. I can go to a NY deli anytime, so I decided to go local and try my luck. I wrote up a review as I sat so I'd remember. I'll type it up below.

My review of Tolbert's written as I ate:

Since Tolbert's had a bit of a bum rap on Yelp, I thought I should write this review while I was actually sitting here rather than from memory.

Service: My service has been absolutely wonderful. I was greeted promptly at the door by my waitress who was very good. She had several other customers, but the service was still very prompt. She checked back at all the right times. I requested a side of cheese (I love my chili with lots of cheese), and though she dropped it accidentally, she brought out another in due haste, and was very nice about it. My experience was good.

Food: The chili is quite good. To say it's the best chili ever is a bit of a stretch. I love Texas chili- no beans. I'm not a fan of beans in chili, but they do offer the option for northerners who come in looking for it. I was quite happy with the meated version.

I asked the waitress if it was spicy, and she said as a spicy food fan, that she likes it a little hotter. She gave me a side of the hot sauce they use so I could add as I pleased. After pouring about half of the hot sauce in, I felt like it had the perfect amount of heat. As a foodie- my analysis- well-spiced, though it could be a bit saltier to bring out the flavor of the spices. The taste wasn't completely full-palated, but it was good. Nice combination with raw onion and cheese sprinkled on top. With the extra side of cheese, the chili flavors expanded nicely, and I threw in an extra shake of salt. After these small additions, I feel like I can truly and honestly recommend their chili to anyone.

I think even without the additions, I do still recommend people come in and try the chili. Though the photo is a little fuzzy, check out how good that looks below. The tortilla chips were a perfect addition. Overall, it was a fantastic meal and experience. Check it out.

And last but not least, my friend Lindsey and I out for our night in Dallas. FYI, that's me on the right.

The next day I spent repacking my car (some organization was getting necessary at this point in the trip) and then taking off for Houston. I didn't go out or see anything in Houston so I won't blog about it- just had another Peace Corps friend in town to crash with for the evening. The next big event was to be New Orleans. I was really looking forward to NOLA- a city that interests me tremendously though somehow I had never made it down.

Stay tuned for photos and the story of the French Quarter, music, fun, and food during Crawfish season.