I didn't quit blogging! I promise! Four Words: "Moving With a Baby"

So while my time is presently limited I will call this my "I promise I didn't quit blogging" blog.  I'll just fill you in on the goings-on.  A lot of McKinnians may have noticed the real estate market is hot.  In a matter of 2 total weeks we jumped at the opportunity to sell our West McKinney home and buy another one closer to all the action further east.  Most people would not take on moving house with a 4 1/2 month old baby....except us.  It was that fine line between foolish, and smart for jumping at the opportunity to take advantage of a super hot real estate market before all the Toyota folks get here from California.  We literally were probably 72 hours away from signing an apartment lease and my lovely wife did it again.  She found the perfect house, in a quiet neighborhood with just the right amount of space and features.  It was surprisingly hard to say goodbye to the old one but we are slowly but surely, as time allows, settling in to the new one unpacking a couple of boxes at a time and working our way out of survival mode.

This post is going to be a little bit different from my usual writings because it is admittedly rushed.  It is a shameless plug of local businesses combined with lessons learned, and a promise that I did not quit.

10 THINGS:
#1 Milestone Electric really do fix it in a flash- just like the jingle that gets stapled deep into your head during NBC5 commercial breaks in the morning.  We had some screwy electrical issues within the first day of moving in and problems were solved quickly.  Electrician- true expert and trustworthy individual.  Customer Service reps- Second to none.

#2 Fence companies love to talk nasty about one another when getting bids.  Dang! Be nice guys, keep it professional.

#3 Choose your movers wisely and breathe down their neck- yes they do this every day, but they still haven't learned their lesson about not grabbing washers and dryers by the knobs.

#4 Vee's Appliance Repair- Great experience.  On time, reliable, and actually fixes the problem in a timely manner.  He actually cares about his customers and put my daughter's needs ahead of his own.  Clean dry clothes for my baby and fast, adequate solutions.

#5 Albertson's is NOT your store. It is a dated, non-innovative cesspool of rotting produce, processed chemically enhanced rubbish, and the awful idea of "variety pack" combinations of meat.  Sorry I do not want moldy fruit or chicken juice in my 4 days past the sell by date ground beef.  I know I said I would not speak negatively on this blog, but I'm rebelling today.  Once you have experienced McKinney Farmers Market, Sprouts, Urban Acres or Trader Joe's....everything else sorta sucks.

#6 Trader Joe's is awesome.  Nice to have one nearby, and an Urban Acres share pickup down the street twice a month.

#7 Who would have thought that living further away from work actually makes for a quicker commute in the morning and evening.  It's achievable when you don't live 7 miles from any major highway and your nearest major highway is now one quarter of a mile away.  Toll bill goes up, but time spent in car angry about morning routine, 9 school zones, and terrible traffic ALL goes down and away. 


#9 Not having an HOA now is awesome.  It is nice not to spend $480 per year anymore to be menaced and sent nastgrams about the single weed that grew in my yard that morning while I was at work.

#10 Moving into a "project house" really makes me want to go to Lowe's and play.  Wife has the same bug.
"OMG! A gutter extension piece.  Sweetie, I need a gutter extension piece! And tacks!" 

Sunday Brunch at Harry's at the Harbor: Food & Family

Photo Credit: Livin The Good Life: Blog

ADVENTURE:
I may or may not have mentioned that I watch a lot of Food Network, Cooking, and Travel Channel; taking a liking to Anthony Bourdain's Layover and No Reservations.  I also regularly have these channels on while the road-tripping hosts such as G. Garvin, Guy Fieri, and others of the like are on.  I find that I like doing sort of a localized version of these various adventures.  Sorry to disappoint, but I'm still not a foodie blogger or a food critic.  I don't like being critical.  A good meal is a good meal, and an adventure is an adventure. 

THE WANDERER (My Wife)
I love wandering with my wife, Katie, because it seems that she always stumbles upon the good food! Since she is the chef of our household, I trust her judgment on these places, and when she cooks, I eat everything she puts in front of me. We wandered upon Harry's at the Harbor while striking a pose or two for maternity photos around the water fountain down by the tower in Adriatica Village.   Unfortunately, doctors generally recommend that while pregnant, seafood should be limited, so we shelved this gem in our minds for a future visit, not knowing at the time that they had a full-on Brunch menu that included an English Breakfast! Being half British, I never pass on an opportunity for a traditional English Breakfast. 

HARRY'S AT THE HARBOR:
Last weekend I got a call from my Aunt Harriet asking us to join her, as well as my Memaw, and great Aunt Violet Crouch Beatty for lunch. Since my Aunt Harriet is not a McKinney native, she always asks that I recommend the location for McKinney gatherings.  A perfect opportunity to try this gem we had stumbled upon! Another McKinney adventure in the making. As the great decider of Sunday Lunch, I revisited the idea of Harry's at the Harbor and noticed they had a brunch menu, and some nice Opening Hours for an independently owned eatery for a Sunday.  The festivities of McKinney Oktoberfest were full swing into Day 3 in the Square, and I needed a quaint spot to spend time with my elders, and pass Little Fi around for cuddles.

Family time is always to be cherished, so where we get together as a family for a meal is also really important.  Harry's is advertised as a sports bar, but while I'm there, I don't feel like I'm at Buffalo Wild Wings during the World Cup.  I have yet to experience Harry's by night during a major sporting event, but by day, Harry's at the Harbor was spot on.

THE FOOD & FAMILY:
I wanted an Englishman's breakfast. I got one. I had been craving an English Fry-up for weeks, and have been too on-the-go to stop and have one.  I ordered the Banger Breakfast which consisted of 2 Banger Sausages, 3 strips of bacon, 2 pieces of toast, and 2 fried eggs.  It showed up to the table nice and hot, like a perfect plate of food.  Katie ordered the eggs Benedict, which she subsequently discovered was the best Eggs Benedict in town and that we must come back often.   Harry made a stop at our table, and had some very kind words to say to us about the many generations sitting at our table.  There were four generations sitting at the table for lunch, and shortly after, there was one giant piece of Strawberry Shortcake and 5 spoons sent to our table on the house.  Good service,  a kind gesture, and a wonderful treat.

UNWINDING:
So, we now have a new breakfast hangout to throw into our Sunday routine, not to mention, a new place to throw into the rotation for family birthday celebration dinners.  To top it off, I can come back later to unwind.  I'll sit on the porch overlooking Adriatica Harbor and have a Franconia to bring the weekend to a close. 

Photo Credit: getmckinney.com [Amy Rogers]

HARRY'S AT THE HARBOR HOMEPAGE

HARRY'S AT THE HARBOR ON FACEBOOK

McKinney Tops the Best Place to Live List: My Take

So I woke up this morning, and I found out that I live in the number one best place to live in the United States of America.  Money magazine probably pinpointed their reasons why McKinney achieved this incredible honor, but I have my own take on it.  All positive of course, but as a musician forgive my gravitational pull towards music and arts.  This is my Ode to the Town. 

THE LARGEST SMALL TOWN IN THE WORLD:

Photo Credit: Cheryl Simpson

When I moved to McKinney almost three years ago,  it was a refreshing change to immediately notice people actually still wave and talk to one another here.  It's amazing the difference in the way people interact between neighboring cities.  I see very few people glued to their smart phones, with the exception of an art shot for instagram or a few suburban hipsters taking selfies for their blogs, like me.  If there's anyone playing Words With Friends, I'm sorry.  I missed it while I was eating an Apple Pie from Emporium.  I also noticed somehow everyone knows what's going on around town.  Some folks may find this a little intrusive or nosey but, I don't.  I see it as people giving a hoot.  Speaking of hoot; Trip Advisor!

MORE TRIPADVISOR OWL STICKERS IN THE WINDOWS THAN I'VE EVER SEEN

I noticed this Sunday night while my wife, daughter, and I were eating dinner with my parents at Cadillac Pizza Pub.  Probably the 6th Trip Advisor sticker I've noticed in the window of a business in McKinney Square.  This just tells me one thing.  People around the country talk about this place.  It's quickly becoming a tourist hub! I mean, it's not there for kicks....while I am a huge proponent of the historic homes being residential as opposed to commercial business, someone needs to up the ante on the bed and breakfast train to accommodate all the Trip Advisor visitors.

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM FROM FLEETWOOD MAC PLAYED IN McKINNEY PAC.
I didn't go.  I'm kicking myself now, but this is still not a common occurrence in your typical suburban city.  This is a remarkable musician in a legendary band playing an intimate set in the Historic Courthouse Building, now home to McKinney Performing Arts Center.  Judas Priest are about to shatter some suburban windows in Allen in November, which is also a pretty extraordinary suburban feat, but I think there's something a little more special about Lindsey Buckingham singing to 112 people.

 Speaking of:

LIVE MUSIC SOMEWHERE IN THE SQUARE AT LEAST 4-5 NIGHTS PER WEEK
Whether it be a local kid absolutely nailing Johnny Cash covers at Spoons, Bud Rager the Singin' Son of a Gun doing his Cash repertoire at the Farmer's Market, Buzz Andrews running a longstanding open mic night at Cadillac, Rhythm and Beards playing a tight set at Cafe Malaga, Crystal Yates giving us chills with her voice. (Someone sign this woman already and take her on tour with your CMT superstars) or people quasi-busking outside Churchill's, there's music.  I cannot complain about the music scene in McKinney.  It's not a big national touring acts hub, but it could be if someone opened a Granada or Trees-like venue and brought in Lance Yocum of Spune to grab the national acts, or Ken Welker of 13th Floor Music to pack the house with the lower Greenville staples.  It would become a 18-35 "north of 635 but east of Preston Road" music mecca overnight.  Denton birthed Midlake, and that's a tough one to top.

CENTRAL MCKINNEY IS HOME TO THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GUITAR SHOP IN THE COUNTRY : THE GUITAR SANCTUARY- Adriatica Village

Photo Credit: The Guitar Sanctuary

I have never been into a more amazing musician's paradise.  The Hollywood, CA Guitar Center is pretty sweet, but living 2 miles from a guitar shop that looks like a $3 million home lined in $1,000 to $50,000 guitars and floors lined in hand-wired boutique amps, I find myself getting the "I wants" real bad.  What I love about this place is that they don't treat me like a four year old about to spill Big Red on a white bed in Z-Gallerie.  If you ask for help like the little tags say, they'll pull a $8,000 guitar off the wall for you, and not bat an eyelash.  If I had a fat wad of cash in a shoebox, I would go buy a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24, and a Rickenbacker 4003 bass without question, and The Guitar Sanctuary would be the place I could count on to find it.

THE FOOD: IT'S ALL GOOD.  READ MY BLOG ON THE NEW HARVEST SEASONAL KITCHEN, then GO EAT THERE

Photo Credit: Paul Ernest Photography

DOG MOVIES & TV SHOWS:
Lassie and Old Yeller ain't got nothin' on McKinney.  We've got Benji in the 70's and Wishbone in the 90's.  If you were a 90's kid you must remember coming home from elementary school and watching Wishbone at 4:00 in the afternoon and the little Adventures at Storybook Ranch, and if you haven't heard of Benji, get it together! You will feel love, all around, and you will feel it, shining down.  Promise. Everywhere you go.  You'll feel love.

ERWIN PARK
I'm not an avid cyclist....yet...but I will say this....I think Go-Pro Helmet mount sales went up because of this park, and Cadence Cyclery were genius to open a bike shop in the Square.  It's a happenin' little bike shop and half of McKinney are cyclists.










 


 CHURCHILL'S
The bias continues, but rightfully so; I'm half British, and this place is heaven.  I can drink beer and eat Full-English breakfast, shoot darts, and listen to The Stone Roses, Oasis, Blur, The Smiths, The Jam, Pulp, The Beatles, The Verve....in McKinney, TX.

I could go on for hours.....but I don't want to get too Rolling Stone about it again.  Well done McKinney!

In Food as in Life, When One Door Closes, Another Opens. Harvest: The Dawning of a New Season of Food for McKinney

Photo Credit Paul Ernest Photography

ONE DOOR CLOSES ANOTHER ONE OPENS
Since I started this blog last month, one of the adventures I've been excited about is food.  While I can't claim the "foodie blogger" status in the slightest, I can, however, claim that I am more of an "appreciation blogger" when it comes to local, up and coming chefs on the rise with a passion for culinary excellence, and restauranteurs who do good for the community. 

The old saying that comes to mind as I write this blog is "when one door closes, another door opens." As McKinney restauranteur Rick Wells closes the doors to Sauce on the Square and neighboring Grotto, in a week, he will reopen those same doors with a brand new and exciting Farm-to-Table concept: Harvest Seasonal Kitchen. Sauce's Andrea Shackelford will take the helm as Executive Chef.

Photo Credit : Paul Ernest Photography

THE CHEF
I sat down with Chef Andrea recently to get in on the excitement of this highly anticipated new restaurant and learn about her journey. Originally from the Houston area, she relocated to Dallas where she graduated from Lake Highlands High School and got her start working in a local bakery.  After graduating from SMU in 2007, she worked under the guidance of her mentor, Tim Bevins, at Dallas' own Dragonfly and Craft restaurants for 5 years before emerging on the McKinney culinary scene.

Chef Andrea brings an incredibly refreshing energy to this highly anticipated restaurant, choosing to work with local farms from Texas and Oklahoma as providers of fresh local meats and vegetables, and wild caught seafood from the gulf.  This energy spills from her kitchen out into the field where she works with these farmers, building relationships, and getting to know their processes, as well as participate in their adventures.  She rolls up her sleeves and farms with them. With this in mind, we're far more likely to see a farm truck pull up at the back door of Harvest than one bearing the name of a larger food distribution company.  This deepens the sense of community that anyone with an appreciation for the Farm-to-Table movement can expect to feel.

THE RESTAURANT AND THE FOOD
In addition to the Farm-to-Table element patrons have to look forward to, Harvest will also have a resourceful and Green element to it.  The space will be constructed and fitted almost entirely from recycled and repurposed materials from Sauce, and will accommodate 90 guests in the main room, with a private dining area in the former Grotto space, set to accommodate up to 60 guests. 

When it comes to the food there is one thing I can really appreciate from Chef Andrea, and that's simplicity.  While precise preparation is a culinary standard, she takes the approach of focusing on not overcomplicating the menu, and just focus on making good food.  What we have to look forward to is an adaptable seasonal menu consisting of traditional American choices such as Collard Greens, Fried Chicken with corn meal derived from heirloom grains from Waco, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Cajun dishes such as Boudin fritters, as well as common fish selections from the Gulf, one of Chef Andrea's favorites.  To top it off we have a flat iron steak option to look forward to and finished off with old school desserts such as a spice cake with a tomato soup base! Before I get too Rolling Stone about it, I'm going to stop there.  As someone who likes surprises, I don't want to ruin the fun. I hope to see you next Friday night for the Harvest grand opening.

Harvest Facebook Page

Harvest Seasonal Kitchen

DAN+McKinneyTX : an INTRODUCTION

Hello and welcome to my blog, DAN+McKinneyTX.  Here you will find subject matter pertaining to topics outside of the office.  Feel-good stuff.  Things that hopefully don't make you want to pull your hair out, and will take your mind off the grind.  A large number of my posts will be McKinney, Texas specific.  Having spent the first 25 years of my life living in Plano, I began the trend of taking my heritage back to McKinney, TX.  It wasn't until I actually moved to McKinney that I realized just how deep rooted my family was, here.  I don't use it for any sort of "street cred" or anything, but I am the great grandson of Isaac Crouch.  His name is on this building for those of you who frequent the McKinney Square.  His daughter, my great aunt, Violet Crouch Beatty, is a lifelong McKinney native and can show us all a thing or two about living life to the fullest and getting ourselves active in the community.  I get all my history lessons from her.  She and my grandmother, Betty, are the best direct sources of history lessons.


Photo Credit: City-Data.com

Like I said before, not for "street cred" but it's hard not to feel pretty awesome when I walk by this building every time I go into the square.  As I look at this photo while I write, I start sort of day dreaming about my future down the road and how neat it would be to have an office or small business in this building and just live here forever, and have one of those historic homes down the way; just like you see in the movies with children swinging on the large oak tree. 
As you may have noticed this intro blog has sort of turned into a "gloaty" personal history lesson, so please bear with me, I apologize. I need to build a foundation on why I have called my blog "Dan+McKinneyTX".

My great grandfather Isaac owned and operated the below funeral home Crouch-Moore Funeral Home on Tennessee Street, which is now home to Charles W. Smith and Sons Funeral Home


This brings me to the whole basis of my blog.  Living in McKinney.  As we gravitate our way out of the "gloaty" personal history lesson, which some of you might or might not find to be rather fascinating, just let it be known I will be covering mostly uplifting McKinney-based subject matter, as well as personal interests and hobbies.  I know for the last 2 1/2 years since my wife and I moved to McKinney we have loved it.  The square, the farmer's market, the locally owned businesses, the not-so-routine suburban culture.  I hope to capture the interest of McKinney residents and visitors alike. 

This is home now.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.  Thanks for visiting, tell your friends.

Photo Credit DALWORTH RESTORATION

-DAN [McKinney, TX]