A Fine Way To Spend Saturday Night in Texas

On my last night in Texas we did it up in style. I was picked up in an SUV by our lovely hosts Stephanie and Ashley who took us to an upscale Mexican joint called Pablanos. There we joined Stephanie's husband Sean and sat in a cozy circular table, where the CVB chief Dean had already ordered us fresh guacamole made at the tableside. After margaritas with Silver Patron, we settled into our meal, and eventually the chef came to say hello.

We talked about Tex Mex and he revealed that he'd learned how to make the perfect enchilada by listening to his Mexican sous chef...and he promptly brought out a sample to share with us. Our waitress was a jolly African American woman who got quite a chuckle out of the chef's propensity to give away free food. We looked at our watches...it was time for the show!

We'd scored a table at a chi-chi hospital benefit with a pretty cool headliner...The Blues Brothers. Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi were up on stage in their cheap black suits, sunglasses and fedoras, belting out classic old blues and R&B songs with gusto. It felt great to be there, mingling with the high class folks of Beaumont dressed in black tie and elegant dresses.

The band rocked hard, a seven piece ensemble that pumped out a delicious beat, and both Dan and Jim sang with the tight band and danced on stage. After a few numbers they brought a Tina Turner-esque singer in a short black dress with frills named Julie Del Gato. She sang "Natural Woman" with her powerful voice that was strong and clear, it was a rendition that really resonated with the audience. I sipped a Budweiser and grooved to the beat, and when the Brothers returned to the stage for a raucus encore, I thought wow, Texas is the place to be tonight!