Where to Eat
Where to eat in Fort Worth right now: 8 new restaurants for January
If trying out a new restaurant is on your list of new year's resolutions, you have plenty from which to choose. Over the past few weeks, several new places have opened in and around Fort Worth. This month's Where to Eat is dedicated to these new spots.
3rd Street Bar and Grill
Local chef Steve Mitchell returns to action following the closure of M Bistro, the restaurant he opened in a cursed corner spot at Montgomery Plaza. His new place is in the former Frankie's Sports Bar at 425 W. Third St. in downtown Fort Worth. Many dishes here go beyond the bar food norm. There's salmon piccata, red snapper with crawfish beurre blanc, and a pizza topped with over-easy eggs and French fries. For drinks, there are craft cocktails and specialty martinis and margaritas.
85C Bakery and Café
Hugely popular Taiwanese bakery follows up locations in Plano, Carrollton, and Richardson with this Fort Worth debut in the up-and-coming Left Bank development, at 628 Harrold St., across from Hopdoddy. Named after the temperature that founder Wu Cheng-Hsueh thinks is best to brew coffee, the concept is similar to that of a Mexican bakery: Grab a tray and a pair of tongs and load up on sweet and savory baked goods, including European, Japanese, and Taiwanese-influenced items such as squid ink bacon rolls, guave cheese strudel, and pork sung buns. Several kinds of bread are baked onsite; each time a new batch is put on the shelves, employees yell, "Fresh bread." There are also light sandwiches and specialty coffee.
B&B Butchers and Restaurant
New in The Shops at Clearfork, at 5212 Marathon Ave., this Houston transplant is named after the two concepts it hopes to resurrect: the old-school butcher shop and classic steakhouse. The butcher shop features a menu of its own, made up mostly of sandwiches; you dine at small tables covered in checkerboard table cloths. In the main restaurant, the menu is heavy on steaks, in various sizes and cuts, with prices ranging from $50 to more than $200. The pride and glory is the A5 Kobe, which costs $225 for a four-ounce serving. There also are fish dishes, salads, and other non-meat options, along with an extensive wine and cocktail list.
House of Pho
Two years after opening the original House of Pho in Burleson, owners Kenny Nguyen and John Vu add this second location at 4833 S. Hulen St. Like the original, the Hulen offshoot features more than a dozen varieties of the popular Vietnamese noodle soup, with ingredients ranging from meatballs and chicken to the less common tendon. The absolutely huge menu also includes vermicelli bowls, stir-fry dishes, banh-mi sandwiches, and smoothies with imaginative combinations such as green tea-coconut.
Fuego Burger
Local restaurateurs Carlos and Christie Rodriguez opened a second location of their lauded burger joint in a spot already known to burger lovers: the old Pop's Burgers space at 4400 Benbrook Hwy. Burgers are freshly made and come topped with ingredients such as green chiles and housemade dressings like a fiery roasted jalapeño mayo. Like the original store in Rendon, the menu here also includes a fried chicken sandwich, tacos, and sides such as fries and onion rings.
Taste Community Restaurant
New on the Near Southside, at 1200 S. Main St., Taste Community Restaurant is a nonprofit restaurant in which diners pay what they can or want, with proceeds benefiting Fort Worth's homeless community. Chef-owner Jeff Williams offers dishes that wouldn't be out of place at fine-dining restaurants: cornbread-stuffed quail, butternut-squash risotto, cream of carrot soup. The restaurant is currently open for lunch only, 11 am-2 pm, but Williams hopes to add breakfast hours soon.
Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar
Swanky, Washington-based mini chain opens its first Texas location in The Shops at Clearfork, at 5289 Marathon Ave., an end-cap space across from where a movie theater and bowling alley soon will rise. The menu relies on bar-food standards but with the obligatory upgrades. A burger comes topped with crispy onions and lemon-garlic aioli. Pizzas are doused in mango chile sauce. Mac and cheese features blue crab meat, shallots, and smoked bacon in a garlic cream sauce. Of course, there are martinis, too, about a dozen, in flavors such as Key lime and chocolate kiss.
Twilite Lounge
New restaurant and pub on the Near Southside, at 212 Lipscomb St., is an offshoot of the Deep Ellum original, with a similar atmosphere: low key and decorated with antiques and rustic knick-knacks. The small menu focuses on New Orleans-style po-boy sandwiches stuffed with roast beef, shrimp, catfish, or blackened chicken breast, and a handful of sides, including red beans and rice and fried green tomatoes. Lots of craft beer, too, with 16 taps dedicated to Fort Worth brews from Wild Acre Brewing Co., Rahr & Sons Brewing Co., and others.