Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Highball: Bowling, Gourmet Fries, and Shrimp Cakes?

We celebrated the birthday of our good friend, Bonnie, at The Highball, the Alamo Drafthouse's newest retro venture into the bowling days of yore. Goodbye Wii, hello 1950s!


The Gang at The Highball
The Bowling Champ

Believe it or not...trust me...you would believe it if you had seen me bowl that day...I've never bowled before The Highball. Sure, I rock at Wii bowling, but I'm pitiful at the real thing.

We all shared a bowl of fresh cut fries with homemade ketchup and demi glace. It's yummy, but bowling and grabbing fries from the bowl disturbs me during this time of flus. I found myself throwing the ball hurriedly and carelessly so that I can return to this bowl of fries...ok...maybe that's just my excuse for losing by 80+ points.


Fresh Cut Fries with Ketchup and Demi Glace

Seeing how I scored a whopping 34 points after our first hour, I sat out on the 2nd and decided to brush away the embarrassment by doing what I do best--sampling the menu.

I ordered the Thai One On cocktail, which everyone loved, including myself. I especially liked the taste of the Thai basil in the cocktail. I didn't bother to share my shrimp cakes because I was hungry and because the roasted jalepeno tartar was so delicious, I wanted the shrimp cakes all to myself so I could scoop up all the tartar sauce. Food Dilettante has to win at something, right?


Thai One On-mango-infused rum, palm sugar syrup, Thai basil, ginger, cucumber, mint, cilantro & lime juice with a sea salted rim; Texas Gulf Shrimp Cakes with Roasted Jalepeno Tartar
Overall, it was a super fun evening. The only snag is not allowing us to bring in a birthday cake. Ok. You guys have to make money off of your menu, but it's your client's birthday and you're going to charge the party $25 for bringing a cake? What a way to turn away potential future regulars! I was certainly offended. No amount of jalepeno tartar sauce can mend this wrong.
We took our wonderful Whole Foods Berry Chantilly cake to the Butler Park fountain and ate the cake al fresco. Thank goodness for public parks!

Berry Chantilly Birthday Cake from Whole Foods

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