For some Fort Worth restaurants of a certain disposition, a change of season means a menu refresh. These are restaurants who have the team and resources to roll out seasonal menus with produce freshly harvested. In April, that means prototypical spring crops like asparagus and green onions.
For where to eat in April, we bring 5 restaurants with dishes for the season:
Cafe Modern
The in-house cafe at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, led by Wolfgang Puck Catering veteran chef Jett Mora, is a regular proponent of spring menus and the one for spring 2025 is a winner. Starters include yakitori chicken skewers, baby carrots with harissa-maple glaze, and white asparagus croquettes with serrano ham, manchego, potatoes, and red pepper romesco sauce. Entrees include a Middle Eastern-tinged salad with herb boursin, pistachio dukkah, green lentils, and avocado; bowls with choice of grilled shrimp, teriyaki flat-iron steak, or spicy mapo tofu & mushroom; and chicken pot pie.
Clay Pigeon
Still going strong after more than a decade, Marcus Paslay’s debut restaurant changes its American-themed menu seasonally. A recently introduced spring menu features several new dishes, including the “salade lyonnaise.” Clay Pigeon’s take on this classic French bistro salad features a mix of kale, arugula, and spinach topped with crispy prosciutto, veggies, egg, and truffle fonduta.
Ellerbe Fine Foods
The city’s first farm-to-table restaurant, opened in 2009 in a converted gas station on the Near Southside, has been doing seasonal menus before they were a trend. For spring, chef-founder Molly McCook has crafted a Mediterranean-inspired sprouted bean salad with mung beans, lentils, feta, and veggies drizzled in lemon tahini dressing, served with naan bread; and a mixed lettuce salad with shaved radish, champagne citrus vinaigrette, balsamic reduction and Grana Padana, an Italian cheese.
Little Red Wasp
Casual-but-upscale downtown restaurant which takes the classic diner experience to a sophisticated level with its elevated American fare is part of the DAJ Restaurant company (Grace, 61 Osteria) overseen by chef Blaine Stanford, a seasonal menu pro. At LRW, they're doing a playful new dish called the open-faced shrimp roll, almost like a twist on the lobster roll. This isn't your typical sandwich: It's a knife-and-fork affair featuring a buttery brioche bun topped with cucumber, pickled onions, and poached shrimp.
Taste Project
Here's how seriously this pay-what-you-can restaurant takes seasonal fare: Their original location in Fort Worth has an actual garden on the premises, providing freshly-picked lettuce, tomato, radishes, mint, and other herbs that are used in the kitchen. They recently opened a spinoff in Arlington who are embracing the seasonal menu concept with dishes such as a stunning chilled asparagus vichyssoise, with asparagus, potato, leeks, and herbs puréed and topped with chives and crème fraîche. Other spring menu specials include a mahi mahi sandwich with tartar sauce and house-made pickles; and soba noodle salad with Japanese buckwheat noodles tossed in a white miso vinaigrette.
