We humped our bags to the bus stop and went back downtown for
the TRE train, which we took to Victory Station, whence it
was - or should have been - an easy stroll to the Meridien
Stoneleigh; turns out there's been a bit of a renaissance in
the area, and what apparently used to be a park that I was
counting on to cut across had been replaced by high-rise
construction, around which it was a hot tiresome walk.
Eventually we got there and checked in.
They gave us a so-called junior suite - a big room bisected
by the TV table into living room with couch and bedroom units.
It was okay, but the apparently decades-old yellow stains in
the bathroom floor and the slippery shower stall gave shall
we say an unwanted atmosphere to the place.
We noted that there was a discount for happy hour at the bar
so went there ... inquired about the appetizer prices and was
informed that the special did not apply on weekends (the
literature in the room said daily). Oh, well, one drink - a
beer of some local sort, not very interesting and in a tall
but deceptively shaped glass, so I figure 10 oz, for me, and
a glass of Malbec for her, which was charged up as a Chianti
at a buck or two more. When confronted, the bartender made
some excuse about Malbec and Chianti being next to each other
on the computer. Of course he'd never push Malbec when someone
ordered the more expensive Chianti, would he. We had been
thinking about dining on site (the restaurant gets good
notices), but this experience took away that urge.
lili had been to Sonny Bryan's twenty years ago and was
curious as to how it compared these days, so we went to West
End station on the 29 bus (the hotel turns out to have been
convenient to it), and it was a quick stroll from there.
It's a decidedly unfunky almost genteel spot in an old office
building and with a clean unsmoky smell about it - not that
promising, truth be told, but it was way too late to go
anyplace else, and, you know, what the heck.
They seated us in the back - I'd have thought perhaps to keep
an eye out lest we run out on the bill, but it was right near
the back door, so I don't know what that was all about. Maybe
they thought we needed a quiet romantic place to chow down in.
The wine list is basic - Chardonnay or Merlot, and they were
out of Merlot. lili joined me in a Shiner Bock, far more
satisfactory, and a pound of fatty brisket, which was
surprisingly excellent meat, though not very smoky - there
were signs of a smoke ring that was mostly cut off, worse
luck. At least they didn't cut off all the fat. What is it
with some so-called barbecue places that trim their brisket
to get rid of the bark and the fat and the smoke ring and
present you proudly with what is essentially dry pot roast?
Sonny's at least had the decency to leave some of the goodness,
but why trim at all?
His sauce is coriander-heavy and moderately sweet, improved
quite a bit with a squirt or three of Cholula.
Back to the hotel, where we were kept awake all hours by
parties going on down there nine stories; one got really loud
around 1 and went on with breaks until 3 plus, then afterward,
blessed sleep.
That godsend 29 bus took us downtown, where we hopped the
light rail one or two stops to the Sheraton Dallas.