Restaurants at the Texas Live[exclamation point] development in Arlington are all opening in time for a concert tonight and Halloween party this weekend. As an Edward R. Murrow Award winning journalist, it was my RESPONSIBILITY to try this new food. And also show up on a Jumbotron taking a picture of myself showing up on a Jumbotron.

Texas Live! was built across the street from Globe Life Park because Guy Fieri needed a $250 million taco joint. When I was interviewing the COO of Texas Live!, I brought up the press conference the developers had when they announced the project.

One of the guys from the Cordish Companies said he couldn’t believe, on driving out of DFW Airport, that you had to drive half an hour to Dallas or Fort Worth to reach a destination.

That was kind of a slap in Arlington’s face. Arlington has a lively downtown, fueled mainly by Irish Nachos and beer. Does your downtown have Irish Nachos and beer? It does not.

When the project was first announced, I went to Irish Nacho Purveyor Randy Ford and asked if he was worried about losing business to a big development. He explained that he was absolutely not worried because Downtown Arlington is the city’s backyard. If you want something fancy, go to the Entertainment District. Then you’ll still show up for Irish Nachos and beer afterward.

Back to Texas Live[Exclamation Point]. The developers brought in a bunch of reporters to try a bunch of dishes this week. That’s our cross to bear.

Guy’s Taco Joint

I mentioned Guy Fieri’s taco joint, which is actually named, “Guy’s Taco Joint.” In addition to a Drunken Shrimp Taco, where the shrimp staggers around your plate and challenges the lettuce to a fight, we also had a chance to try the Cheeseburger Taco, which features Donkey Sauce. Another reporter had to explain what Donkey Sauce was [frankly, I think the founder of Donkey Sauce, who I assume was Julia Child, could have chosen a more appetizing name], and that Fieri and Anthony Bourdain had a feud over it.

Miller Tavern & Beer Garden

The Miller Tavern & Beer Garden has a wide variety of offerings, but I zeroed in on one in particular. I had never had a “Thai Peanut Brussels Sprout.” [But I’m pretty sure I do own one of their albums.] These have candied peanuts, chipotle pepper, Thai vinaigrette and a number of other items.

My takeaway: If you put enough stuff on a brussels sprout, eventually, you can make it stop tasting like a brussels sprout. Also, I’m no square, even if I did look up whether “brussels” should be capitalized. Nailed it.

Lockhart’s Smokehouse

Lockhart Smokehouse was serving Burnt Ends and Deviled Eggs. I don’t believe deviled eggs are particularly photogenic, so the picture above is of the restaurant, which I now realize had an evil clown sitting in front of it. Many people, including our guide, would not consider clowns particularly photogenic, either. In fact, she was gently leading us away from evil clowns throughout the tour. I assume the evil clowns were place for the Halloween party. At least, I hope the evil clowns were place for the Halloween party.

I’m not a deviled egg fan, but I’m told they put brisket in there. One could only hope they follow the same example of the brussels sprouts and put in enough brisket so you don’t taste the deviled egg.

Troy’s

Troy Aikman’s restaurant had already become a fan-favorite. In that story up at the top, the COO says Aikman has been very hands-on, taking pictures with customers and working the room. Outside, you’ll find a sign with specials 1 through 7, then 9.

Aikman, you see, wore number 8, so the Ocho burger is a secret. A secret everyone knows about. They’ll take a burger, put some bacon on there and top it with a fried egg, providing your recommended daily allowance of yolks.

Behind the burger, you’ll see some boneless Buffalo wings, which are capitalized because Buffalo is a bigger deal than Brussels. At least, I thought they were Buffalo wings.

I bit into one and panicked.

“What’s going on here!? What is this, a stem?!”

One of the public relations people could not have been more patient, explaining she had just told me those weren’t boneless hot wings, they were Buffalo cauliflower wings.

Texas Live [exclamation point] is taking shape, with recipes to make a variety of foods I don’t care for taste like something else. Even while the concert and Halloween party will draw crowds this weekend. the hotel and the Rangers’ new ballpark are still under construction.

And if you’re lucky, you too could see a 100 foot version of yourself on TV taking a picture of yourself showing up on TV.