24 hours in Ft Worth

I arrived into Ft Worth at noon on Saturday and proceeded directly to the Stockyards; it was raining cats and dogs (or should I say cowboys and steer?) Headed straight to Cattleman’s Steakhouse since it’s internationally famous and I just had to start the adventure off with steak! I ordered the Cattlemen's Luncheon Club Steak: a 6 oz. charcoal broiled top sirloin, served with horseradish mashed potatoes, mixed green salad, and hot rolls. Steak was good, sides were lackluster. All in all, I give it a couple of stars. Wasn’t too impressed.

Drove on over to the Ashton Hotel and checked in. Absolutely stunning boutique hotel on 6th & Main, registered historic and truly superb in every way. I’ve heard that of their 36 or so rooms, each one is decorated differently. Mine was very Ralph Lauren and sleek. Got my self settled, looked at all the brochures and magazines, tested out the bed (a little hard for my taste but great linens) and checked out the view … none. I got one of the internal windows that faced the other side of the building… booo, next time I’ll know to request a street view.

Decidedly, it was time to wander around and left to explore Sundance Square.

Popped into Tobacco Lane on the Square and met Brad Kimura, “The Wine Guy”, who generously offered various tastings. Started with a sparking wine from New Mexico, Gruet Brut; very bubbly and crisp… I loved it so much that I bought a bottle. Also tried a 2005 Latour, 2007 Merlot from Matanzas Creek Winery and 2007 CabSav from Ferrari-Carano. Brad had a few Armand de Brignac Brut Gold bottles on hand (if I had the $$$ I would have purchased one. C'est la vie.)

Next, I wandered up the street to Milan Gallery where I happened upon a Saturday night benefit. I didn’t get all the details, but understood it was an auction to raise money for a sick child. After the wine earlier, I had a nice buzz and didn’t partake of theirs (although the cheese looked tempting.)

I enjoyed the Thomas Arvid wine compositions and could easily see those in my own home. The Gregory Beck sculptures were stunning; I can’t describe the delicateness and yet powerful strength in his work… it was like still-life ballet. The Vladimir Gorsky pop-art was interesting, though not my style.

After leaving the gallery, I turned up the street towards Piranha Killer Sushi. Got myself the corner portion of the sushi bar and a great waitress named Lauren, ordered the sushi/sashimi dinner and indicated that I loved salmon roe… was not disappointed! In fact, it may have been the best Japanese dinner I’ve had in years. Rounded it all off with some type of ice cream dessert and a Choco-tini. The only downside to the meal was that a birthday party was loud and obnoxious, really ruined the mood. But I would definitely return!

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped to listen to a decent saxophonist (am biased in this area, but he was good.) Then stopped off in the hotel bar where Cary served a very strong vodka tonic (thanks again Cary, hope you make it to Amsterdam soon) and finally off to bed.

Next morning I spent time in the Cultural district although I didn’t have time to go into each and every museum… looks like I’ll be headed back with Chris to explore those soon!