Tina's Texas Adventure

As you already know, I went to Texas at the end of July. It was a fabulous trip full of savory food, great music, and great times. 

My friend and I stayed in Fort Worth where we visited the Historic Stockyards. There we saw the cattle walk, listened to its history, and where I took a picture sitting on a live cow; yes it was alive. I got to see the old town, its shops, and plenty of cattle and horses. Fun fact, horses are one of my favorite animals. The shops, especially the general store, still capture the essence of what the stockyards once were. 

On another night, we visited the rodeo right there in the middle of town. I have been to other rodeos before, but this one was nice because it was a smaller venue, and you were a little closer to the action depending on where you sat of course. Usually, after the rodeo, you would walk over to “Billy Bob’s: The Biggest Honky Tonk” for some line dancing, drinking, food, and fun. Unfortunately, we did not go this time around. In all honesty, we were both exhausted because we had spent the whole day in Dallas and it was our last night. We also didn’t want to pay a $20 cover fee when we weren’t drinking and had no energy to dance. 

Instead, we made our way to The Biscuit Bar right in the same vicinity. I had the Fancy Chicken sandwich: biscuit, fried chicken, pickles, and their special sauce. It was delicious. If you want more of a sit-down and semi upscale place to eat, 97 West in the Drover Hotel was delicious as well. 

Speaking of food. We started our trip with Whataburger. SO GOOD. I hadn’t eaten there in about 7-8 years. We also went to Post Malone’s Raising Canes; It was so pretty. It was all decked out to represent him and the Dallas Cowboys. If you ever go near Arlington, I recommend you pay a visit. We also couldn’t go to Texas and not eat BBQ. At the Texas Live, near the Cowboys and Rangers stadiums, there are several restaurants, but we went to the Lockhart Smoke House. We had BBQ turkey and sausage, toast, and short rib deviled eggs. They had other sides and meat options. Our food was so yummy.  

However, one of the best places we ate in Fort Worth, our last stop before heading to the airport, was Cooper’s Pit Bar-B-Que. WOW!! I will warn you so that you are prepared, their sauce is not that thick type of BBQ, it is more of a liquid. They prefer their sauce to enhance the food, not overpower it. I had their turkey and chicken with green beans, mac and cheese, toast, grilled corn, and peach cobbler. Best meal we had! FINGER LICKING GOOD! 

We did eat in Dallas as well. We took a day trip there, 30 minutes, before heading to the rodeo our last night in town. We tried a couple drinks at the Black Tap and the Harwood Arms Pub, and pizza and mozzarella sticks at Poco Fiasco. We visited a couple other places there just to check out the area. We also visited their arena that houses hockey and basketball. It was hard because we are both huge Panthers’ fans, but we had to check it out. 

One of the main reasons we went on this trip was to see Morgan Wallen in concert. As many of you know, he is known for canceling shows. My friend and I were scared because he canceled his two shows prior to his Texas show. We were taken by surprise when we were there two and a half hours before the opening act even started. Our tickets and everywhere online said that the show was 4:30-6. Granted, we got there at 3:30 to park and walk to the arena. As we entered, the doors had not even been opened. Everyone was outside in that Texas heat. There were beverage carts and merchandise tents. As I mentioned on the podcast, I struggled a bit. We got some great photos but it was abuse. We said, “okay, they open the doors at 4:30 and the first act begins at 5pm. WRONG! There we sat for another hour before Nate Smith began singing. 

Then we had about another 35 minutes after him before Jelly Roll performed. Jelly Roll was amazing. I would pay to see him again. We didn’t even know he was performing. Shoot, with the time on the tickets, we assumed that Morgan Wallen would be the only to perform. By the time Jelly Roll finished, it was almost 9:30. Let’s just say that Morgan Wallen began his entrance at about 10:15 pm. By this point we were drained and irritated because we had been there since 3:30. 

When MW began singing, we all stared at each other because he sounded completely different. While it was great to listen to our favorite songs and we made the best of it, the show did not meet our expectations. So many lights, flames, and fireworks, and a camera guy in his face the whole time. He seemed more concerned with posing for the camera than anything else. We didn’t like that he took too many breaks in between songs. Like my friend said, this killed the momentum. We were so happy we ate at Raising Canes before we got there because their snacks did not look too appetizing. I ended up eating a bucket of popcorn, a pickle, a soda, and one drink. We wanted to go back to Raising Canes after the concert (we thought it was ending earlier) to see the whole place lit up at night, but that never happened. 

All in all, this trip was great. Saw new things, tried new food places, and had a great time. I can’t wait until I get the chance to go back.