News You Can Eat

Decadent brunch fare tops this tally of Fort Worth restaurant news

Waffles stacked with cherries and chocolate syrup.

Photo courtesy of Townhouse

Fort Worth had a big week for restaurant openings, highlighted by the debut of Gemelle, the new Italian restaurant from celebrity chef Tim Love, which drew long waits on its opening weekend.

But the food news doesn't stop there. Here's what's happening in Fort Worth restaurant news:

Derek Allan's Texas Barbecue has opened at 1116 8th Ave., in the Medical District, with a menu that includes Wagyu brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, as well as craft and draft beer. Barbecue has been Derek's passion. He began with a food truck and set up in Grapevine where he built a dedicated following. They make everything — even their own vanilla for their desserts. On the side, they launched Dirty Dalmatian Rubs, designed to create a delicious bark on smoked meats. They're open Tuesdays-Saturdays.

Townhouse Brunch is a new restaurant at 5509 Colleyville Blvd., in Colleyville, in the former Celebrity Cafe & Bakery space. They specialize in breakfast, lunch, and brunch, including bloody Marys and mimosas, serving unique twists on American classics, such as Oreo pancakes, shrimp & grits, fruit explosion French toast, eggs benedict, salads, and sandwiches. They do decadent pancakes piled high with fruit and other toppings, such as strawberry cheesecake pancakes, with cream cheese sauce, sliced strawberries, and crumbled graham crackers. The owners also own Barney's Brunch House, which has two locations, in Frisco and The Colony.

Original Chop House Burgers, the Arlington burger restaurant from chef Kenny Mills, will reopen at 2502 Little Rd. Mills sold the restaurant, which was originally on Park Row Drive, then left to work at Cooper's Meat Market and Hammbone Willy's. The Chop House will open in June.

FireHouse Gastro Park is a combination restaurant-bar-coffee house newly opened in Grand Prairie, serving chicken sandwiches, burgers, BBQ, tacos, fries, and nachos. Chicken sandwiches come in varieties, such as a Cali bird with bacon and avocado; a bleu with blue cheese; a Buffalo with Buffalo sauce; and a Nashville-style hot chicken. Located at W. Main St., it also has a full bar with cocktails and beer on tap.

Golden Chick has a new location in Irving, at 3511 Regent Blvd. This is their second location in Irving. They're also opening locations in Fort Worth's Ridglea Village and in Burleson. The restaurant's parent company, Golden Tree Restaurants, recently named Jim Stevens as the new president of Golden Chick, who takes over after one year as a Golden Chick franchisee. Former president Mark Parmerlee will continue as chairman of the board and president of Golden Tree Restaurants, which oversees The Jalapeño Tree, Fireside Pies, Texadelphia, JC’s Burgers, Heff’s Burgers, Lola’s, and Happy Taco.

Del Frisco's Grille has a limited-time menu featuring three new burgers with fries paired with wine from the Bordeaux region. The Blanc is a turkey burger with pear mostarda, brie, roasted garlic aioli, and arugula on a toasted brioche bun served with Chateau Peyrat, Graves Blanc. The Château is a 6-ounce house-ground filet mignon burger with goat cheese, tomato jam, caramelized onions, roasted garlic aioli, and spring mix on a toasted brioche bun served with Chateau Tour Bayard, Montagne-Saint Émilion. The Légende is a 6-ounce house-ground filet mignon burger with mushroom, raclette, black garlic aioli, truffle vinaigrette, and arugula on a toasted Kaiser roll, served with Légende by Domaines Baron de Rothschild, Médoc. Available at all DFW Del Frisco’s Grilles for $25.

Sauce Pizza & Wine has launched two seasonal specials. The watermelon & arugula salad has watermelon, feta cheese, jicama batons, arugula, and spinach in white balsamic vinaigrette. The Summer Sampler special includes a salad, 12-inch pizza, and two glasses of wine for $22. Available June 1-August 31 at three Texas locations: 8185 Walnut Hill Ln. in Dallas, 7300 N. MacArthur Blvd. in Irving, and 1151 S. Preston Rd. in Prosper.

Café Valley, a bakery brand, has partnered with 7UP on a new line of bite-sized cakes called 7UP Cake Bites. Like little mini-cupcakes, they bites are moist, light and tangy, with a lemon-lime 7UP flavor.

news-you-can-eat

Burger News

Hip hang Crystal Springs Hideaway debuts in Fort Worth River District

Crystal Springs Hideaway

Burger at Crystal Springs Hideaway

A fun beer garden and burger spot in Fort Worth’s River District has made its debut: Crystal Springs Hideaway is now open at 113 Roberts Cut Off Rd. with a Texas beer and wine garden featuring 25+ draft beers, burgers, cocktails, along with a wine-cheese-charcuterie shop, all in a historically significant space that's been artfully renovated.

Cystal Springs Hideaway is from JD and Shanna Granger, Fort Worth's "most fun couple," who were gratified to find what is a historically significant property for this exciting venture.

“Over the years, I feel like our beloved Fort Worth joints have faded away," JD says in a statement. "But then I came across this great 100-year-old bungalow with a stone carriage house and water tower – nestled smack-dab in the middle of a neighborhood. I immediately knew this is the kind of place people miss and want to hang out at. It has the character for our vision and is the perfect neighborhood to do it in. It’s casual. It’s comfortable. And it will be an affordable place to enjoy drinks with friends and grab a bite to eat."

The raw character of the carriage house, the original hardwood floors and shiplap in the bungalow, and the 150-year-old cottonwoods offer a look back in time. All renovations were carefully executed to preserve and enhance the history of the site.

Now open to the public, the venue will celebrate its grand opening party set for Friday, January 3.

Food
Big Kat Burgers is from chefs Mike Sugg and Bryce Blackburn, lifelong friends who launched Big Kat Burgers as a food truck in 2017, gaining a loyal following with special burger-of-the-month announcements as well as cutting and grinding their burgers by hand from primal cuts of beef.

Crystal Springs Hideaway will be Big Kat Burgers first brick-and-mortar kitchen location.

In addition to their award-winning burgers, they are rolling out additional menu items including chicken sandwiches, BLT, salads, and shareables, including cowboy caviar, mama’s corn dip and beer-battered jalapeno bottlecaps. A brunch menu will also be available on Saturdays and Sundays.

Wine shop
The Crystal Springs’ wine, cheese and charcuterie shoppe offers customers a “Build-Your-Own” cheese and charcuterie board option. The wine shoppe curated by wine professional JR Clark features a variety of unique wines at different price points, providing something for everyone. Guests are invited to choose their wine, pair it with their favorite cheese and meat, grab a couple of glasses and find a place to relax and enjoy.

Chef Kelly Burton whose resume includes HG Sply Co., Winslow’s Cedar Springs, and Nonna Tata where she is chef de cuisine and kitchen Manager, will devise a rotating cheese and charcuterie experience at Crystal Springs Hideaway.

Crystal Springs Hideaway Crystal Springs HideawaCrystal Springs Hideawa

Setting
The name of the venue is a nod to the Crystal Springs Dance Pavilion, which was located directly behind the venue and known as the birthplace of western swing music in the 1920’s.

The “Hideaway” has several large TVs perfect for bowl watching and is dog friendly. The original water tower overlooks the beer garden, which is nestled beneath mature live oaks and majestic 150-year-old cottonwood trees. It also offers two patios with heaters and two indoor bars with bar seating.

JD and Shanna
JD is an attorney and former Tarrant County prosecutor best known for his role in overseeing design, construction and implementation of the transformational Trinity River Vision project in Fort Worth. As director of the Trinity River Vision, he helped change the perception of the river by creating development opportunities and designing special spaces that drew people in.

JD designed the Woodshed Smokehouse, Coyote Drive-In, Panther Island Pavilion, kayak, paddleboard, tubing concessions and signature river events.

Shanna oversaw all programming and marketing for Panther Island Pavilion and numerous river events that brought thousands of people to the riverbanks. Shanna directed and produced the Rockin’ the River music series, Fort Worth’s Fourth, Sunday Funday, the outdoor ice-skating rink, Panther Island Ice and TRWD Flyfest.

After JD secured $400 million for the river project, JD and Shanna moved to the private sector, growing their real estate company, creating an event production company that produces the annual Fort Worth Oktoberfest drawing over 30,000 people to Trinity Park for German bier, food and entertainment, and now creating a hospitality venture to bring the Crystal Springs Hideaway to Fort Worth.

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