Yesterday, I gave up the computer long enough to make a foray to Fort Worth in search of a new favorite vintage clothing store. I didn’t find one. That made me a little disappointed in Cow Town. When I was younger, I always preferred it to Dallas. You’d have to live around here to know the difference. Though I can find no reference to this, I always heard that the late great Molly Ivins said that the difference between Dallas and Fort Worth is that in Dallas they call it “sushi” and in Fort Worth we call it “bait.”
We’ve found so many wonderful stores in Dallas, like The House of Dang, Dolly Python, the Vintage Factory and one I intend to post about soon called Ahab Bowen. It would have been difficult for Fort Worth to have anything that could compare to their artsy-fartsy funk.
Armed with our Yahoo Yellow Pages maps, my husband and I went first to the Arts District, expecting that to be the place for the type of store we sought. We found a couple of thrift stores,but the only “vintage store,” called “Atom” was only open by appointment. How rude! They looked interesting, but just for that I’m not going to talk about them.
Driving down Seventh Street, we wheeled into the newly renovated Montgomery Ward Building. It served as a distribution center for “Monkey Ward,” as my parents called it. In 2000, it was hit by the tornado that ripped through Cow Town. In 2001, Montgomery Wardwent out of business. I was glad to see that it has been renovated into Montgomery Plaza.

Montgomery Wards Building Before

Montgomery Plaza After
We stopped and ate at a delightful place called Gloria’s Restaurant. The aroma is what really drew us in, but I had the gall to ask diners on the patio if it was worth a stop. I always embarrass my husband like that, but he continues to hang around with me.
Gloria’s was Tex/Mex/El Salvadoran food. We had the most marvelous tamales that have ever touched my tongue. They were steamed wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks. The inside was filled with chicken, potatoes, sweet peppers and tomatoes. We also ordered Platano frito, or fried plantain, served with black beans and sour cream. Those were just our appetizers! Visit their website above to see the full menu. We gorged ourselves on those delightful tastes. But, the good thing about that is it meant I wouldn’t have to cook supper.
After waddling to the car and attempting to strap ourselves in with the seatbelts, we decided to head over to the other side of town near the university campus hoping for better shopping luck. We wound up near Bluebonnet Circle, where we spotted huge painted longhorns in a park. Yes, it’s ugly, but it’s part of the charm. Sadly, vandals had broken the horns on most of them, so we only have the pictures of the one.
It was on Bluebonnet Circle that we found the favorite store of our outing. Actually, it’s two stores in one. But, you will have to check back tomorrow. It deserves a post of its own.
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