Great Asian Fusion - at a Great Price!

Part of Fort Worth's legend is that it's a hub-city to the railroad's growth - being the cattle pushing railhead of the Chisholm Trail.

Given that fact, it was extremely odd that little more than two decades ago - there was hardly any Chinese restaurants... Odd, since history records that the genteel people were instrumental in building the rail system.

Apparently, once it was in place - they high-tailed it out of town...

My **obsession** with the fragrant foodstuff began at an extremely early age.

Eating Chinese food has always been a ritual for my family.

For years, I thought that being half Jewish (my mother's side of the family, which would constitute full-on membership, according to Hebrew Law) mandated that you ate Chinese on **all** holidays. So it'd stand to reason that the Secret Pleasure Craving for this mysterious foodstuff would haunt me through out my 'adult' life -waging comparisons between varying restaurants as the years passed -over who offered the best greasy-yet-crisp egg rolls and fried noodles; or garlic-overdosed lobster Cantonese…

I always wondered if it was some sort of pastlife sensory recall -since it produced such an overwhelming sense of gratification. In 1991, I attended Los Angeles' Whole Life Expo -in particular, a seminar offered by channeler Kevin Ryerson "bringing thru" ancient, disembodied sage, Gurudas. He/They told the assemblage that Chinese food aromatics all had ritual symbology imbedded in them -each element representing levels of abundance and spiritual awareness.

The one from column A, one from column B Sage allowed insight: that the foodstuff was responsible for creating a need for sleep following a full on fusion meal.

It's the type of food that lodges in your subconscious. The mere mention of it -or witnessing actors indulging in its savory mass -is enough to send this Scribe into convulsive search out…

TV shows will gladly flaunt the fact that New York City offers 24 hour delictible-delivery; while Los Angeles vaunts the fact that they offer ultra-presentation'd "…fusion…"

Gastronomically, anything fusion sounds dangerous -more akin to a scientific exploration than oral satiation.

That being the case… In the past sesquidecade or so, Cowtown's horizon has become a veritable cornucopia of International cuisine

Buffet Syndrome is more bountiful in the country's heartland. Amongst the dearth of restaurants -buffet or otherwise -was what would be called decent Chinese (now politically 'correct' nomenclature: Asia Fusion) diners, offering a selection of suitably fragrant meals that didn't pop out of a dented Chun-King can…

Nor was the tastebud scintillating offerings of Mongolian BBQ readily available.

The first to offer the select-scoop-serve fare was HUNAN's -located on Old Granbury Road, in the South-central neighborhood. Its become less dependable, of late, having limited their hot tables to more genericized Oriental fare.

Where they fall short, west Fort Worth's New Grand Buffet offers a more eclectic panoply of foodstuff…

Pseudo-sushi, for semi-timid tastebuds -featuring crabmeat and Julian'd veggies, nestled amid white rice, seaweed -and cream cheese… The typical troika of soy sauce, pickled ginger and dragon-breathing Wasabi are available to perk the blandish cylinder slices up.

They also offer a great array of seafood, chicken and beef dishes - with all the veggie accoutrements; as well as mini-pizza slices, occassional quesadillas, apple strudel -and Americanized salad fixin's - for died in the wool tastes fearing to tread Asian tastings.

More than worth the money and time invested, lunchtime treks will cost you a mere $5.95; while weekend eat-til-you-bust buffets run just under $10; offering a full-on fish feast -ranging from salmon, crag legs, crawfish, cooked and raw mussels and oysters -and more shrimp dishes than you can shake a chopstick at. A

nd if that's not enough to satiate your starvings -they also serve Americanized roast beef, a salad bar with deviled eggs, and assortment of fresh fruit salads, three types of melon, several types of cookies - and soft-serve ice cream.

Go hungry

- and you'll leave completely satisfied!