I wish I had the energy to wish you a Happy Monday, but that requires a level of enthusiasm that I can’t seem to muster at the beginning of the week. Instead, I’m holed up in my room, wishing I had the energy to do anything, but it was worth it!

I had a rare weekend off, both Saturday and Sunday, which was nice. I got home Friday night, about half an hour before midnight, and that’s when my plans for a quiet weekend fell through. Two of my brothers, and my sister, who had tickets to go see the Cowboys play, were able to find better seats, leaving them with three party passes and asked me if I wanted to go. After much wishing and washing, and nearly thirty minutes of teeth-gnashing, I scrapped my nothing plans and decided to go for broke and go to Dallas.

Four hours later, and maybe an hour and half of sleep later, we were on our way. I slept about half of the way there on Saturday. I got through to my friend somewhere around Sweetwater, TX, telling her we were on our way. She agreed to meet us at Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas later in the afternoon, (check out my post about my first visit!)

First, the four of us hit up Gas Monkey Bar & Grill for lunch. For those of you unaware, Gas Monkey is the name of garage in Dallas made famous on the Discovery Channel’s show, Fast n’ Loud and owned by Richard Rowlings. In the past year or so, he expanded his empire and opened a restaurant.

I’m a fan of the show, as are my gear-headed brothers, and have been wanting to make a trip to check out the bar & grill. We hadn’t expected to see just how crazy the place would be. At one p.m., the parking lot was overflowing, people were standing in line waiting for a seat. My brother Julian put of on the list and I was shocked to see how long the wait would be. An hour to an hour and a half.

Normally I would have left, but we drove six to seven hours to get to Dallas, and what’s another hour or so? We sat and waited, watching people come and go. A group of motorcycle enthusiasts took over much of the patio seating outside. People young and old streamed in and out, many leaving with souvenir cups or shirts. No one left looking disappointed.

After waiting just shy of an hour, we got a text saying our table was ready. Our server, some young guy whose name I can’t recall, took our drink order almost immediately. Our drinks arrived promptly, took our order, and we sat and visited, marveling at the place.

It didn’t take long for our meal to arrive in a wax-paper lined metal tray, which fit with the atmosphere. I had a chicken sandwich which left me a little disappointed, but it was still good. My sister had a carnitas taco plate which I tried. I should have ordered that! My brother Andrew ordered a burger topped of with a fried quail egg. I can’t remember what Julian ordered. Regardless, everyone liked what they ordered.

Gas Monkey Bar & Grill certainly delivered. I was expecting a tourist trap, and in some ways it’s a way to capitalize on the success of their television show. Unlike some tourist traps, their wait staff were professional and their appearance were in keeping with the spirit of the car show they are based off of. The food was delicious, though I still wish I had ordered the tacos.. All in all, I was extremely satisfied with the establishment. I’ll have to go back soon, preferable when they have a musical group in-house, *hint hint*.

As for the rest of the trip, well, we also dropped by the garage, took a few pictures, and bought a few t-shirts. I also revisited Reunion Tower with my siblings, this time during the day. My fear of heights remains, but I didn’t feel as sick as I did the first time. As for the reason for going to Dallas in the first place, let’s just say, the 49’s owned Cowboy AT&T Stadium that day, with almost more red in the stands than blue. It was an embarrassment and I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

At least I got a cool souvenir Gas Monkey Pilsner glass out of my trip. Woo!

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