first rule of restaurateuring

I lunched with Drew Bob today, but not after (re)discovering the restaurant row that parallels LBJ-635 in Irving (northeast of DFW).

We originally were going to meet at a "Classic Denny's" (a retro-1950's concept diner) but when I arrived waaay early I found a closed "Lone Star Diner" in its place. Another restaurant also sits idle on the western end of Market Place Drive .. the ones near MacArthur appeared mostly crowded during lunch. Location, location, location?

Since I had beaten Drew there by 30 minutes (!) or so, I had time to kill, and kill it I did! Here are the eateries along that stretch of dirt, in order from east to west: Whataburger; IHOP; Steak & Shake; Boston's (pizza); Buffalo Wild Wings; On the Border; Chili's; Razoo's; Lone Star Diner; A&W/Long John Silvers (combo). Across the street were a Sam's Club, a PetSmart and a Wal-Mart. We opted for Chili's, after briefly (not) considering the haute cuisine at Sam's Club (mmm/mmm .. those day-old hot dogs look divine!).

Unrelated #0: I loved the phrase "lobbying against puppies" in this news item: Charities are for Suckers. Now I'm all misty-eyed!

Unrelated #1: I watched an item on Democracy Now! with Rosa Clemente ("Educating, Organizing and Mobilizing the Hip Hop Nation!") which reinforces what I've seen of the rural South through my own white eyes: the smalltown police forces are mostly white and racist, which hasn't changed much since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. I wonder if that'll ever change?