Society Life Magazine

Valentine’s Day was a bust. What should have been a gustatory spree was only barely salvaged at the last moment by overwhelming hunger. When I last posted, I was just getting over a cold. I thought I was well enough take part in marathon training the Saturday morning before Valentine’s, which required fooling myself into thinking I could be impervious to sub-freezing temperatures.

Turns out I was not (impervious). I completed four miles, which for me is a minor miracle, but the cold took its toll. I relapsed later that evening. My wife was sick too. She didn’t even make it out of bed, let alone training. Not even cupid’s sharpest arrow could pierce the germy shell we’d built that day.

That meant no truffled toast at Ellerbe Fine Foods. No pre fixe lunch menu at Craft Dallas. No chocolate-covered anything.  In fact, no sweets of any kind, whatsoever.

Mom came through though. There was a beef and asparagus soup and some warmth-inducing chicken curry at her house. But later that evening, with nothing in the fridge and no desire to cook, we braved the cold for sustenance.

My first thought was First Chinese BBQ – the one in Richardson, not Arlington – while my wife quickly pointed out that the Haltom location is closer. She’s right, but the new-ish location still had some kinks to be worked out. Still, hunger pangs dictated distance over consistency, so to Haltom we ventured.

It didn’t even occur to me that it was Chinese New Year, not even when as we stared blankly at the paper placemats with the Chinese zodiac symbols on it. Turns out we weren’t the only ones not in a celebratory mood. The restaurant was remarkably light on business, considering the date. It could have been mid-July for all anyone cared (staff and patrons alike).

Pity. It was one of our better experiences at that location. The black cod with black bean sauce was delightfully unctuous and salty. Orange chicken – always a hit – was cleaned off the plate. My kids even ate their veggies – fresh and gently bitter stir-fried snow pea greens, no less.

While there wasn’t much to celebrate, at least we had peace in our stomachs...and a day off on Monday.