A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Man with a Pan
Chow, Baby wants to marry “Pistol” Pete, the omelet man at Central Market’s new Sunday “Brunch on the Balcony.” The attraction is not simply Chow, Baby’s longtime fetish for those houndstooth chef pants. It’s Pete’s master handling of four pans at once. Front left he’s melting clarified butter, back left he’s flipping eggs, back right he’s adding the customer’s choice of a dozen fillings, and over it all he’s sliding a perfect spinach and mushroom omelet onto Chow, Baby’s plate. Yummy.
Equally yummy was the rest of the brunch spread ($12.99 adults, $7.99 kids over five), a lavish display of Central Market delicacies: glamorous salads, cheese and fruit bars, kabobs with Himalayan red rice, roasted ribeye, burnt-honey-braised ham, fancy breads, and so much more. It’s great advertising, too. Like the applewood-smoked bacon you’ve just eaten? Trot down the nearby staircase for a rasher of your own.
The sensuous combination of good food, high prices, and saxy mood music by Fort Worth hornman Johnny Guadarrama seemed to infect all the diners. Chow, Baby, who was chatted up by a professor and a lawyer, predicts that the “Brunch on the Balcony” scene, Sundays from 10 to 2, will mushroom into an upscale-singles mingling spot. Of course, Chow, Baby will stay true to Pete.
Man with a Flan
Fickle Chow, Baby. Ruben Rodriguez wasn’t wearing houndstooth pants, but he cooks a mean flan. It’s true love this time.
The setting was an airy ranch-style house at 7278 Glenview Dr. in Richland Hills, formerly known as Ruben’s Cuban but recently rechristened Daisy’s Café.
The name change signifies Rodriguez’s shift to homey Tex-American classics like chicken-fried steak or chicken (with two sides, $6.95), beef stew ($7.95), and marinated grilled chicken breast ($6.95). Rodriguez is also a cheesecake master: Offered a choice between blackberry and strawberry ($3.50), Chow, Baby decadently took both.
Praise Dios, some Cuban delights are still available, on a separate menu. Chow, Baby pigged out on Lechón Asado ($9.95), pork roast rubbed with salt, garlic, and lemon, cushioned on a bed of sautéed onions and accompanied by white rice and a bowl of perfectly seasoned black beans. Chow, Baby was happy with a side of ripe, sweet plantains fried until lightly caramelized and joyously squishy. Chow, Baby was happiest with the flan ($2.95). True love.
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