AA 259 SFO DFW 1359 1935 32B 1DF

The catering didn't look or smell too interesting
so we passed on the meal that was offered. All I
recall is that both choices had chicken.

the seats weren't great - better than the 738 seats,
anyone's, but not as comfortable as United's 320 seats
used to be.

We landed on time, not substantially early, so there
was no chance of getting barbecue - Meat U Anywhere,
terrible name but apparently very good meat, closed at
1930 and Bartley's at 2000.

If we'd had unbelievably swift service at the rental
agency and didn't get lost, we might have had a fighting
chance of making closing time at Bartley's; but neither
of these obtained. Service was friendly enough at Avis,
so lili got lulled into buying the gas in the tank at
2.05 (looked like a great deal to her, because in
California it costs maybe 50c more, so if we returned
the car 4/5 empty we'd make out at those prices).
Spoiler: Avis won, but not by more than $5.

Anyhow, we somehow got on the tollway, which is a bad
thing for rental cars. I paid the toll with my credit
card. Secret: the tollways in this part of Texas have
service roads, which are free. Secret #2: they cheat you.
We eventually got retro-billed $17 for toll roads that
we didn't take. I guess it should not be an amazing
secret that Texas cheats.

I was not particularly hungry, but lili needed to eat
something - she eats on a schedule rather than if she
is hungry, and it's a minor miracle she's not fat.
Actually, she eats relatively little but three times a
day. There's a Mexican place not too far from the airport
and sort of on the way to our hotel, called Mi Dia from
Scratch, Mi Dia for short. She was cranky because it
was feeding time, and I was cranky because whatever
nasty crap the airline offered it couldn't be nastier
(especially for me) than the fare at a Tex-Mex
restaurant, even one that gets decent notices.

I was kind of relieved when the hostess quoted a
20-minute wait, but out of politeness or self-preservation
I asked about sitting at the bar, to which the answer was
first come, first served, which was welcome news for
her if not so much for me.

The bartendress was pleasant but on the short side.

lili ordered a combo plate with a number on it - came
as a cheese enchilada, rather bland, standard, a beef
taco with not so much beef in it, standard, rather bland.
Decent beans and tomato rice that was astonishing in its
chemically badness. An overyoung Punto Final Malbec from
Perdriel in the Mendoza was attractively fruity with a
touch of oak; good with the food, of which lili ate most
of her serving, except for that nasty rice.

I stuck with booze.

The height of our server became relevant because of the
multi-tiered beverage storage system. I ordered a flight
of what I thought would be ordinary tequila selections,
all from Cazadores, the agave distillery associated with
the Bacardi company. She had to go and find another
staffer who was tall enough to get the higher-shelf
liquors, which took a few extra minutes, as even he
had to clamber up on the counter to get them.

The Blanco was water-clear, with a mild agave aroma,
quite smooth, almost wimpy. Sweetish. None of these had
a burn to speak of going down except when drunk in
conjunction with a mouthful of the chips and salsa.

Reposado didn't seem as complex as I'd hoped - it was
almost the twin of the blanco, and in retrospect there
might have been a mild flim-flam in the semi-darkness.

The Anejo had a little color and a little oaky aroma;
it was still sweet, but that was muted, and it seemed
more herbal flavor. Also a better finish.

So we ended up reasonably satisfied for not too
awfully much money and continued eastward in the
fading light to the Hampton Inn Dallas-Addison, which
awaited us. This hotel gets great reviews on the net
for its friendliness, but the desk guy on a weekday
evening was taciturn to the point of coma. Not a big
deal, he did his job and sent us expeditiously on
our way.

A perfectly ordinary room on the HHonors level.
Comfy beds.