Our day began at Tillmann’s Roadhouse in Ft. Worth and I fell in love.  Well, it wasn’t because I always hosted ‘crazy for Swayze’ nights with the kids when they were young and Randy was working — but the movie Roadhouse was just a personal favorite.

And then I found Tillman’s Roadhouse.

Lunch started with a lavender infused lemonade – and then came the barbeque.  We’re in Texas, right? You have to eat barbeque – brisket smoked over post oak wood. Mouth watering delicious.

General Manager Stephanie Meyer joined us at the table and then two hours later, we’re still talking and matching wines with her great food.

Ambiance – class and style!  This restaurant rocks – you first notice the pop when you grab the rifle handles mounted on the front doors.  And then you spot the ice blue (is it turquoise?) sofa bench that goes for miles.  It’s just a taste of the restaurant whose walls are actual trunks of white birch trees and somehow it all fits in with the long line of sparkling crystal chandeliers.

But the restrooms – for a moment I thought I was back in my childhood room in Chelsea, Michigan; the restroom was covered with fair ribbons and rosettes – pick your color, it was wonderful.

Now pay attention! We’ve got a code and a game going here.  Dan Landsberg, chef and partner, introduced me to their special croutons.  Avocado pieces, marinated in margarita mix (including the tequila), rolled in corn meal and then fried.  Infectious nibbles.  Their restaurant is just starting to make a name for themselves — patronize their restaurant and use the code word LODI and the nibbles will magically come to your table, compliments of Sacramento’s favorite son.  Spread the word – y’all have Facebook and Twitter accounts, right?  Make it happen.

You probably have never witnessed the Redneck Sommelier? He does exists at Tillman’s Roadhouse – tool belt, concrete screws and claw hammer.  It’s a crowd pleaser and a unique way to open wine – certainly handy if you happen to forget your cork screw.

By this Friday, our Sauvignon Blanc will be on their By-The-Glass list – and with any luck, after Stephanie melted into her chair when we paired our Petite Sirah Petit Verdot, you might find it a perfect match to their at-the-table dessert s’mores.

If you’re in the Ft. Worth area – everyone head to Roadhouse.  If all goes well, we’ll have Stephanie cooking something special at the winery in September.  More details to come on that…

Dinner was another story; headed out to Boo-Ray’s for an oversold dinner, but we had this little bitty detour; actually Dana and Keith Schrick of Schrick Liquors in Weatherford gave us a tip about Tesky’s.  It only took me fifteen minutes, but somehow I managed to locate owner Mike Tesky and he showed me a great Australian saddle and, well, the rest is history. Now if I could only get home to ride that naughty mare!

Back to Boo-Ray’s – we packed the place.  88 of our newest best friends joined us for a wild night of pairing wines with food.  Our Sauvignon Blanc partnered with oysters rockefeller; the Chardonnay was magical with crabcakes and a corn salsa; we’re in Texas, so we had some big steaks and smoky scalloped potatoes and enjoyed both the Houston Rodeo Double Gold Cabernet along with the Midnight Reserve.

Dessert?  It was opening night  for the Proprietary Cabernet and Boo Ray’s paired it with a chocolate cake with a bit orf cinnamon.  Yummy. Yummy. Yummy.

Great night – Randy had the crowd rockin’ – who were those good natured strangers that won the ugliest man contest?

And we confirmed with all the girls – it’s absolutely okay to throw ice in your wine.

All is well in Texas – we just have to figure out how to get some more sleep.  Onward tomorrow to Ellerbe’s – heard Michael Phillips of Michael-David was doing a tasting dinner while we were out at Boo-Ray’s.  Lodi is a good match for Texas!

It was a full house at Rouge Moderne Bistro in Flower Mound, Texas last night – the Midnight Reserve was a huge hit and then they melted into their chairs with the Petite Sirah Petit Verdot paired with a flourless chocolate torte.  And note to file, we weren’t the last ones to leave!

The sun is out this morning; no more rain – looks like a marvelous day in the Lone Star State.

We’re heading out to Weatherford, Texas for Dana Schrick’s dinner at Boo-Ray’s.  Expected 50 folks, settled on 88 and apparently there’s a waiting list!  Putting the last lick of polish on my boots before we head out – cowboy up!

Char.

Another great day in Texas.  Went north for sales calls in Woodlands, about an hour north of Houston.  Tasted folks from Vino 100, the Hubbell & Hudson Market/Bistro, Crush and had lunch at Cru.  We met many great independent business people who all had good taste in food and wine!

Looks like we secured some great placements, and those that were interested in our Viognier, I shared the granitas recipe.  Seems to me that granitas = relief when you’re talking about the humid Houston summers!

Raced down to Hasta La Pasta in Katy, Texas – an hour west of downtown Houston for an evening of wine tasting and nibbling on their award winning dishes with a crowd of 40 folks.

Hasta La Pasta participated in the Best Bites Contest at the Houston Rodeo and was earned the Popular Choice award for their delicious chocolate bread pudding – we quickly matched it up with our Petite Sirah Petit Verdot and there wasn’t a crumb or drop left.   Restaurant Manager Kip was over the top with the welcome mat – and we found Randy signing the great poster.  Also made him sign bottle after bottle – he had an admiring crowd!

Heading home to try and catch up via the computer for work that we’ve neglected at home at the ranch.  There’s never enough hours in the day.  Back out on the streets of Houston tomorrow for more tastings and hopefully placements!

Char.