Rod Dreher, you’ll remember, was formerly of the DMN. He left Dallas for Philadelphia a few weeks ago and is now suffering withdrawals from certain of Big D’s pleasures. He explains, after the jump:
You’ve got to tell the people of Dallas to LOVE their Chipotles! Desperate for any kind of non-Taco Bell Mexican food, last night I finally found a Chipotle here in the snowy mid-Atlantic. What a disappointment. Julie discerned that they appear to be using fake lime juice in their guacamole. Where is the love? I ask you.
Of even greater concern to me is that the people of Dallas may not realize what a cultural treasure Central Market is. Screw the Arts District — what I miss like crazy is the CM on Lovers Lane. I told my wife last night that if I walked into it now, I’d probably cry. Seriously! I can’t believe that for six years, I had a place that great to shop in. I hear the farmer’s markets are outstanding here, and that the Reading Terminal Market in Center City is a wonder. I haven’t had the chance to get to either yet, but I will. Still, for daily shopping, there’s a CM-sized hole in my life, and Whole Foods just can’t fill it.
Then again, I was loyal to CM in Dallas not only because it was a superior place to buy groceries, but because it was all about the aesthetic pleasure of food, without the overlay of sanctimony. (And you know how sanctimonious a place has to be to register with a sanctimonious ass like Your Working Boy.) Julie went to a super-crunchy organic co-op to check it out, and came back saying that it made her want to go to McDonalds. “Places like that are why people watch Fox News,” she said. “If you’d gone in there, you’d have come out gushing blood from every orifice, like those Ebola people.”
Oh, and can I tell you that I also miss KERA? You’d have thought that as public radio stations go, WHYY would be ass-kickingly great. Sorry, but it’s not KERA. I’m a Kris Boyd guy, not a Terry Gross guy. Granted, I’ve been enduring the Bataan death march known as Pledge Drive, but still, WHYY seems so fussy. And they don’t have Rawlins Gilliland.
Nevertheless, this is a really good place, and I am preparing for both today’s snowstorm — how we’ll get through it without Dallas TV weatherpeople freaking us out about the BITTER BLAST, I’ll never know — and for the Saints victory by cooking shrimp etouffee, gumbo and jambalaya. Oh, and despite the moronic liquor laws here, you can buy draft beer at the store by the “growler,” a 64 oz. glass jug you pay to have filled up, and return for more when you’ve drained it. Growlers are a sign that the Lord has not forsaken us, despite it all.
23 comments
Yes Rod we miss you too.
Why on earth is Rod listening to WHYY (which is no fussier than KERA), when he should be listening to WXPN, one of the great music stations in the U.S.?
And, Rod, WHYY’s Terry Gross had an hour long interview with the likes of Patty Smith last month. KERA’s talk show guests are all wonks all the time. They needs to mix it up ala Glenn.
I can’t argue @ the weather and and CM, however. Carry on.
Tex-Mex, Central Market, KERA/KXT, pleasant weather…yep, Dallas has some advantages lost on most folks until they leave. Nostalgia’s grip is steep…and miles to go before you sleep. Miles to go before you sleep.
Rod, _Do_ go to Reading Terminal Market, where you will find the most wonderful pretzels on Earth. And try to develop an appreciation for Wawa.
Then, just make your own Mexican food. Let the Yankees do what they do best, and fill in everything else on your own. But if you are jonesing for Texmex, you can sometimes find On the Border up there. May have to drive to Jersey.
Chipotle, Central Market, KERA. Now I know why Rod had such a love/hate relationship with the GOP.
Yeah, and Grand Prairie, like Philadelphia, has a Liberty Bell. And like nearby New York, Fair Park has a Statue of Liberty. And, Dallas may not have Independence Hall but it does have Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. And, lastly, Dallas has Ben Franklin Plumbing — and, in Dallas, you’re always just once bad mood away from having someone tell you to go fly a kite.
Being relatively new to Dallas, I know I will miss all of these things as well if and when we move back east. While I wish we had a Trader Joe’s every now and then, Central Market continues to be one of my happiest places in Dallas, crowds and all. I would add to the list less traffic, less snow, and less mortgage for your home. If Dallas could just work on the topography (as in, have some), we might be able to establish a longterm relationship…
Central Market is indeed a treasure. One of the few things I miss about Dallas.
“develop an appreciation for Wawa”
Lol. Wawa is just about the best thing about the otherwise sh**ty southeastern PA. SEPTA isn’t a pun, but it might as well be.
I miss you Rod. Nice shout out to Rawlins! Thanks for passing this on Tim.
I love Dallas, took a long lunch today, to hike in the Spring Creek Nature area. (actually in Richardson), and sat on a 30 foot bluff next to a small cemetery plot, where a Baptist Pastor was buried in 1878. Sat eating jarlsberg and cheese on pita, listening to the Creek flow below.
Back in my office working in 20 minutes.
There’s a lot here to love.
Oh, good lord. I understand all about being homesick. But I think he needs to learn to embrace new discoveries: cheesesteaks wit’ wiz, Wawa, soft pretzels that can’t be beat, Tastykake, Chinatown, Reading Terminal Market, fresh seafood, Chickie and Pete’s, Yuengling, the shore…..I could go on and on.
wait until Rod crosses over into New Jersey and finds that he can’t pump his own gas. I’ve been to the Reading Terminal Market and trust me it is no Central Market. some parts of it are nice others are not.
I second most of what @m said. As someone who moved here from the Philly area and misses the city dearly, I’ll add Monk’s (the best Belgian bar), McGillin’s Olde Ale House (open since 1860), and the Amish breakfast at Reading Terminal Market. And make sure you order your wiz wit’ from Pat’s, not Geno’s. Or hell, skip them both and go to Jim’s or Tony Luke’s.
But yes, do call us after you’ve experienced the un-natural hat-trick that is Tastykake, a Wawa hoagie, and Yuengling all in one sitting. Might take a while.
He’ll be fine, unless he moved to the burbs
wiz on steaks is not a good thing. that’s for tourists
Rod: hit Dalessandros & Jim Steaks
*Reading Terminal
*cannolis & zeppolis from Isgro’s (since 1904)
*the Italian Market
*Drive or bike down East and West river drive
*Hit the Art Museum
there’s much to love about Philly, but he’s about to be buried in snow.
MD is correct: Pat’s and Geno’s are overrated. Tony Luke’s is my favorite. Used to adore Jim’s when I was in high school but they’re steaks are much smaller than they used to be. Tony Luke’s is the real deal. They don’t carry Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer, though, which is a shame.
And no, wiz is not for tourists.
Doggone I knew there was something I had in common with Rod besides marrying way above ourselves. I too like Bill, Rawlins, and KERA and think Krys with her sidekick Jeff are the greatest.
Give me Wiz or give me death. (And I was born in Philly.)
Yeah, sounds right Dreher misses a chain restaurant founded by McDonalds, when he could get real Mexican food. Anything to avoid “illegals” right Rod?
His culinary expertise is as good as at his theology and opinions.
In a somewhat less grumpy way, I agree that a national chain is an odd thing to miss. Not Calle Doce? Not Matt’s? Not Cafe San Miguel? Etc……
It’s as if you moved from Philly to here and complained that the Subways just ain’t the same.
P.S. The burritos at Chipotle, which I begrudgingly admit can be tasty, are Mission (i.e., San Francisco)-style. They’re ersatz, nothing authentic or local about them.
“They’re ersatz, nothing authentic or local about them.”
I think Daniel has hit on why Rod Dreher was celebrated by a few trendy editors and pundits but ignored or dismissed by the majority of locals as typical canned journalism whiz. The guy that preplaced him, Clayton McCleskey, doesn’t pretend to be any more authentic about anything than an inquisitive raccoon poking his nose around overseas, but in comparison to the pretentious Dreher that’s kind of refreshing.
My husband has talked about interviewing for a job in the midwest. My first thought was of Central Market. Then, in order, my wonderful synagogue, El Fenix chips and hot sauce, and tulips in March. Also sunshine made the list.
Little birdies say new DMN online sports editor has the maturity of a 12-yr-old. How long will that fly on Young St.?