Flair for Fare

If you grade a city by the variety of its restaurant options, then Fort Worth scores high marks. Local diners have witnessed a blooming in the city’s restaurant scene, with cuisines and tastes and adventures that go beyond its reputation as a steak palace.

“Our dining scene is as vibrant as any other large city in the United States,” says Kelly Campbell, vice president of marketing at the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We maintain our commitment to traditional steakhouses and Tex-Mex. However, we also embrace tastes from around the world—from sushi to Thai to authentic Italian.”

That includes a burst of new restaurants that have opened across the city, especially in the downtown area, where Sundance Square has seen a number of new spots.

Being able to sample different kinds of foods creates a sense of vibrancy and sophistication that makes you grateful to live in a city. That variety also lets you indulge your many whims. Whether you’re feeling like having something fancy or just want a burger and fries, Fort Worth has you covered.

BURGERS ON THE BRAIN

There are burgers, and there are burgers. But you want more than just a fast-food fix. You don’t need atmosphere or fussy service—just a killer, even award-winning burger.

Kincaid’s repeatedly wins polls among diners and critics for best burger in Fort Worth. They come wrapped in paper, and thank heavens, because they are messy—in a good way. Expect shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard, and pickles, unless you ask for something different. They don’t freeze the beef here, so the patty is fresh and juicy, with a pronounced grill taste.

If you want a beer with your burger and attitude on the side, then hit Fred’s. The burger here is a beautiful thing, with its sirloiny flavor and oversized bun. But it’s the rock ’n’ roll spirit that makes Fred’s sublime. The place recently underwent a remodel, so it’s spiffy these days, and the menu’s bigger—is that a salad I see? But it still attracts the same crowd of artists and musicians, even if they now have to go out on the patio to smoke.

TO THE STOCKYARDS

You’ve seen the longhorns. You’ve thumbed through the Hank Williams’ CDs at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. You’ve cruised the Stockyards all day, and it’s time for dinner. You want the real deal, a prototypical Stockyards feast you’ll remember the next day.

It has to be Lonesome Dove Bistro, with its menu of steaks and game. Chef Tim Love gives everything an inventive twist, best exemplified by his carpaccio made with kangaroo meat. But everything gets spun, whether it’s garlic-stuffed beef tenderloin or buffalo rib eye, quesadillas with Texas quail, or nachos with elk.

To take it down a notch, H3 Ranch is the place, where the craziest thing they do is to combine steak with ribs—your kind of crazy. The Hunter Brothers, they’re the H3 in the H3 Ranch, also own the Stockyards Hotel, and H3 is pure Texana, with its open hickory grill and rustic wood interior. It’s an easy place to have a steak with H3’s famed appetizer dip known as Nine Miles of Dirt Road, with beans, guacamole, sour cream, onion, olives, and cheese.

BACK TO (OLD) SCHOOL

Sometimes you long for a simpler time. A time when dressing up meant wearing a dress and not $200 jeans. You want to be cosseted. You want to sit down to an old-school European experience, where you can say the word “pâté.”

Pâté is on the menu at country French restaurant Saint-Emilion. Escargots and rabbit, too. And everything’s done well here, from the crispy roast duck to the crystal stemware to the classic French desserts such as tarte tatin.

If this sounds perfect except for the French part, its Italian equivalent can be found at Ristorante La Piazza, whose strip-mall location encloses a cozy space where regulars get cosseted by dapper owner Vito Ciraci. The food is Northern Italian, but a hearty version that includes seafood, chicken, and steaks—no typical red-sauce dishes here. No jeans, either: Men are asked to wear a jacket and tie. You said you wanted to dress up.

JOIN THE INSTITUTION

You feel the urge to partake of an institution, to connect with something that’s been around for decades. A little classic Tex-Mex wouldn’t hurt, either. Joe T. Garcia’s has been around since 1935. It’s still run by the Garcia-Lancarte family and is still one of the most popular restaurants in Fort Worth. Here’s where to go when you can’t decide on anything more complicated than “Item A” (enchiladas) or “Item B” (fajitas). The menu really is that simple. Add a margarita and a seat in the outdoor garden, and you have the Joe T. experience nailed.

When you crave something more complicated than A versus B, you’ll head for Joe T. sibling Esperanza’s, where they serve roast pork, menudo, migas, and more. If anything, the display cases of Mexican pastries will offer too many tough decisions.

GO SEE ALICE

One word: breakfast. But not a chain breakfast. You need a classic coffee shop, where the java’s hot, the bacon crisp, and the biscuits warm. If you’re lucky, the waitresses will give you a little good-natured grief, too. Paris Coffee Shop is a Fort Worth icon that’s been doing breakfast since 1926. Terrific eggs, pancakes—the only difficulty about eating breakfast here is that the house-baked pies are so good.

For another slice of the same coffee-shop pie, Montgomery Street Café is a great little hole-in-the-wall known as much for its long ’50s mural as its generous breakfasts, and lunches, too. And there’s good news about the servers: In true Southern-sassy style, they’ll give you a real hard time.

TRÈS CHIC

If only you were more glamorous. If only you had more opportunities to wear the designer sheath on which you spent waaaaay too much last year. If only you had a worthwhile excuse to get a mani and a pedi.

Taverna, Alberto Lombardi’s stylish Italian boîte downtown, lets you live la dolce vita just as if you were in Roma. It also has terrific authentic Italian food: imported cured meats (mortadella, prosciutto, and sopressata) and mozzarella from Puglia. The risotto is the best around, with wild-boar sausage, mushrooms, and cranberry. And, of course, it’s open very late at night.

More beautiful people can be found at Duce, Tim Love’s “modern steakhouse” on the west side of town. Which is better about Duce: the soft, tender gnudi pasta appetizer, or the brisk, cold Tuaca liqueur? Is it the waterfall on the courtyard patio, or the way the interior lighting makes every single diner look tan and slender? See, you ARE glamorous.

HELLO TO THE LADIES

Oh, you vixens in your silk capri pants, your bejeweled sandals, your Anne Fontaine tailored tops. You shop and you yoga, you drop your clothes at the cleaners and the kids at school. And then you lunch. Oh, yes, you lunch. You eat gorgeously composed salads at cozy, quaint Park Hill Café—salads perked up by toasted pecans and glorious chunks of blue cheese. You sip on herbal iced tea and thirst-quenching lemonade, and maybe, just maybe, you indulge in a square of perfectly pink strawberry cake with matching pink icing.

If you’re not at Park Hill, you’re probably at McKinley’s, where chicken salad, studded with dried cranberries, comes bound in an orange-honey mayonnaise. If you’re up for it, you’ll go ahead and order a trio of finger sandwiches with the oh-so-perfect name: the Lady’s Sampler.

ME WANT STEAK

Growl. Like a wolf howling at the moon, you have developed a craving for steak. Not just any steak: steak with names like the Carpetbagger or the Governor’s Filet. At Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House of Fort Worth, the beef is prime, aged, and corn-fed. There’s a heavily masculine bar scene, and a cigar lounge, too.

When that seems like too much testosterone, Cattlemen’s Steakhouse will serve you a grilled sirloin patty with baked potato, mixed-green salad, and hot rolls for $8.95 at lunch. At dinner, appetizers include barbecued ribs,—two for $3.95. Side dishes such as ranch-style pinto beans are a little more down to earth.

GIMME A SAMWICH

Your first priority: portability, filling, and ideally, $5 or less. But aside from those basic needs, there’s something quintessentially satisfying about the sandwich—its combination of textures and flavors, its pleasing juxtaposition of bread and filling.

The Great Outdoors sub chain is the small Dallas-based franchise started in the early ’70s by a New Jersey native. The rolls—white, wheat, rye, or croissant—are made on the premises, and the meats tend to be a cut above the average deli option. Bonus points for the milkshakes, made with ice cream from Henry’s in Plano.

For a more ubiquitous option, consider Potbelly Sandwich Works, the national chain with three branches across Fort Worth. Potbelly’s claim to fame is the fact that its sandwiches are served warm—that’s above your basic needs, too. Teresa Gubbins takes her meals in Fort Worth

JUST THE FACTS
ANGELO’S BARBEQUE 2533 White Settlement Rd., (817) 332-0357, www.angelosbbq .com cash only, $ BILLY MINER’S SALOON 150 W. Third St., (817)877-3301, www.cyberrodeo .com $ BISTRO LOUISE 2900 S. Hulen St., Ste. 40, (817) 922-9244, www.bistrolouise .com $$–$$$$ BLUE MESA GRILL 1600 S. University Dr., (817) 332-6372 www.bluemesagrill .com $–$$ BONNELL’S FINE TEXAS CUISINE 4259 Bryant Irvin Rd., (817)738-5489 www.bonnells restaurant.com $$$ BRANDING IRON GRILL 911 Houston St., (817) 332-5153 $ BUFFET AT THE KIMBELL ART MUSEUM 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., (817) 332-8451 Dinner Friday only www.kimbellart.org $ BYBLOS 1406 N. Main St., (817) 625- 9667, www.byblostx.com $$ CAFé ASHTON 610 Main St. (in the Ashton Hotel), (817) 332-0100, www.theashton hotel.com $$–$$$ CAFé MODERN 3200 Darnell St. (in Modern Art Museum), (817) 840-2157,  www.themodern.org CARSHON’S DELICATESSEN 3133 Cleburne Rd., (817) 923-1907, www.carshons .com, $ CATTLEMAN’S STEAKHOUSE 2458 N. Main St., (817) 624-3945, www.cattleman steakhouse.com, $$–$$$ CHOP HOUSE 301 Main St., (817) 336- 4129, www.mcrowd.com/ chophouse.shtm, $$$–$$$$ COUSIN’S PIT BARBECUE 6262 McCart Ave., (817) 346-2511, 5125 Bryant Irvin Rd., (817) 346-3999, $–$$ DEL FRISCO’S DOUBLE EAGLE STEAK HOUSE 812 Main St., (817) 877-3999, www.delfriscos .com, $$–$$$$ DUCE 6333 Camp Bowie Blvd., (817) 377-4400, www.eatlivedrink duce.com  $$–$$$ ESPERANZA’S MEXICAN BAKERY AND CAFE 2140 N. Main St.| (817) 626-5770, 1109 Hemphill St., (817) 332-3848, Open until 6 p.m., $ FERRé RISTORANTE E BAR 215 E. Fourth St., (817) 332-0033, $$–$$$ FIZZI 500 Commerce St., Ste. 104, (817) 336-3499, $$–$$$	FRED’S CAFÉ 915 Currie St., Cash only, (817) 332-0083, $ GLORIA’S 2600 W. 7th St. No. 175, (817) 332-8800,  www.gloriasrestaur ants.com, $–$$ THE GREAT OUTDOORS 3204 Camp Bowie Blvd., Ste. A, (817) 877-4400, $ GUNSMOKE GRILL & SALOON 3105 Cockrell Ave., (817) 920-0833, www.gunsmokegrill .com, $$–$$$$ H3 RANCH 105 E. Exchange Ave., (817) 624-1246, www.h3ranch.com, $$ HEDARY’S LEBANESE RESTAURANT 3308 Fairfield, Ridglea, (817) 731-6961, www.hedarys.com, $$ HOFFBRAU STEAKS 1712 S. University Dr., (817) 870-1952, www.hoffbrau steaks.com, $–$$ HUI CHUAN SUSHI, SAKE, TAPAS 6100 Camp Bowie Blvd., (817) 989-8886, www.huichuan sushi.com, $$–$$$$ JOE T. GARCIA’S 2201 N. Commerce St., (817) 626-4356, Cash only, www.joets.com $–$$ KINCAID’S HAMBURGERS 4901 Camp Bowie Blvd., (817) 732-2881, Cash only, Closes at 8 p.m., $ LA PLAYA MAYA 1540 N. Main St., (817)624-8411, 3200 HemphillSt., (817) 924-0698, 6 209Sunset Dr., (817) 738-3329 www.laplayamaya .com $$ LANNY’S ALTA COCINA MEXICANA 3405 W. Seventh St., (817) 850-9996, www.lannyskitchen .com, $$$$ LONESOME DOVE BISTRO 2406 N. Main St., (817) 740-8810, www.lonesomedove bistro.com, $$$ LUCILE’S STATESIDE BISTRO 4700 Camp Bowie Blvd., (817) 738-4761, $–$$ MCKINLEY’S 1612 S. University Dr., Ste. 402, (817) 332-3242, $ MI COCINA 509 Main St., (817) 877- 3600, 4601 West Freeway, (817) 569-1444, www.mcrowd. com/micocina.shtm $–$$ MICHAEL’S RESTAURANT AND ANCHO CHILE BAR 3413 W. Seventh St., (817)877-3413, www.michaels cuisine.com, $$-$$$ MONTGOMERY STREET CAFÉ 2000 Montgomery St., (817) 731-8033, $ THE ORIGINAL MEXICAN EATS CAFÉ 4713 Camp Bowie Blvd., (817) 738-6226, $–$$ PARIS COFFEE SHOP 704 W. Magnolia Ave., (817) 335-2041, No dinner, $	THE PEGASUS 2443 Forest Park Blvd., (817) 922-0808, www.thepegasus .net, $$–$$$ PILAR’S 4608 Bryant Irvin Rd., (817) 423-4489, $$–$$$ PIRANHA KILLER SUSHI 335 W. Third St., www.piranhakiller sushi.com, $–$$ POTBELLY SANDWICH WORKS 3058 S. University Dr., (817) 922-0452; 540 Throckmorton St., (817) 870-3600, $ RAILHEAD SMOKEHOUSE 2900 Montgomery Ave., (817) 738-9808, $–$$ REATA 310 Houston St., (817) 336-1009, www.reata.net $$-$$$ RISTORANTE LA PIAZZA University Park Village, 1600 S. University Dr., Ste. 601, (817) 334-0000, $$–$$$$ RISCKY’S BAR-B-Q 300 Main St., (817) 877-3306, 140 E. Exchange Ave., (817) 626-7777, 2314 Azle Ave., (817) 624-8662, 6701 Camp Bowie Blvd., (817) 989-1800, www.risckys.com/ bbq.asp, $–$$ RISCKY’S STEAKHOUSE 120 E. Exchange Ave., (817) 624-4800, www.risckys.com/ steakhouse.asp, $$ SAINT-EMILION 3617 W. 7th St., (817) 737-2781, $$–$$$$ SAPRISITI! BISTRO AND WINE BAR 2418 Forest Park Blvd., (817) 924-7231, $$ SILVER FOX 1651 S. University Dr., (817) 332-9060, www.silverfoxcafe .com, $$$–$$$$ SPICE INTERNATIONAL CAFÉ 2747 S. Hulen Ave., (817) 922-0809, www.ilikespice .com, $-$$ SPIRAL DINER AND BAKERY 1314 W. Magnolia Ave., (817) 332-8834, www.spiraldiner .com, $ STAR CAFÉ 111 W. Exchange Ave., (817) 624-8701 | TAVERNA PIZZERIA AND RISOTTERIA 450 Throckmorton St., $$-$$$ TEXAS DE BRAZIL 101 N. Houston St., (817) 882-9500, www.texasde brazil.com, $$$ TOMMY’S HAMBURGERS 5228 Camp Bowie Blvd., (817) 569-1111, 3431 W. 7th St., (817) 885- 7500, www.tommys hamburger grill.com, $ UNCLE JULIO’S 5301 Camp Bowie Blvd., (817) 377-2777, www.unclejulios .com, $-$$