Fried Chicken News

Restaurant dedicated to chicken tenders and fries lands in Arlington

Fries and chicken all in one convenient spot.

Photo courtesy of Buffalo Spot

A new restaurant in Arlington called The Buffalo Spot brings together a trio of the hottest trends. It combines boneless chicken tenders, Buffalo chicken, and French fries, all in one glorious signature dish called Buffalo fries.

Located at 1707 N Collins St., near Hurricane Harbor and a half-mile from AT&T Stadium, The Buffalo Spot is a chain from California, where it debuted in Long Beach in 2012.

Founder Ivan Flores, who grew up in San Diego, had the idea to combine fried boneless chicken with French fries. They have boneless chunks and traditional chicken tenders. They also do chicken wings with sauces such as chipotle, Cajun, honey BBQ, pineapple jalapeño, sweet & sour, garlic parmesan, teriyaki, lemon pepper, Jamaican jerk, and varying levels of hot including original hot, very hot, and atomic hot.

Sides include fries, onion rings, and veggie sticks. They also have burritos, wraps, and a few salads including chicken Caesar and a buffalo chicken with chicken chunks atop Romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion.

Shakes come in three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.

Most of their locations are in Southern California, south of Los Angeles, but they're also in Phoenix, Arizona. Arlington is the second location in Texas, following one that opened in El Paso in April 2019.

The Arlington store is from Dale Braunersrither and Jacob Meyer, who moved to Texas from Arizona to oversee the opening.

"One of our themes is that we're the place where the chicken meets the potato," Meyer says. "That's the combination of chicken and fries, and our Buffalo fries are a great dish. It starts with a bed of fries, then the Buffalo chicken, then your choice of sauce from our 13 options."

The fries are cut a quarter-inch thick — a little bigger than shoestring but still thin and crisp. "They're triple-coated so they stay extra crispy, which you need, because they're going to be drenched with chicken and sauce," he says.

They've landed a spot at Champions Park, the complex at I-30 and North Collins, joining neighbors such as Torchy's Tacos, BurgerFi, The Halal Guys, Social House, Tokyo Joe’s, Rocket Fizz Candy Shop, Yumilicious, and Buttermilk Sky Pies. Their plan is to get the location on its feet and then expand around Dallas-Fort Worth.

"We're hoping to open more; as long as we're successful, we'll open as many as we can," Meyer says.

openings

Closure News

Tropic Lady restaurant-bar on Fort Worth's Race Street says aloha

Tropic Lady

The dip trio at Tropic Lady.

A chill restaurant and bar in Fort Worth's River East district has closed: Tropic Lady, which opened in the former Fuzzy's Taco space at 2719 Race St. in 2023, has closed.

The restaurant, which closed in mid-December, was a sibling to Bearded Lady, the popular gastropub in Near Southside; their last Facebook post was on December 10. Their phone number is not working, and their website is no longer active. Owner Shannon Osbakken was unavailable for comment, but a Bearded Lady employee confirmed the closure.

Tropic Lady was a tropical-themed gastropub opened by a trio of friends: Bearded Lady owner Shannon Osbakken, her business partner Sarah Allen, and general manager Amanda Yunger. It offered a similar menu as Bearded lady but with more tropical-inspired fare, including shrimp tacos, bacon-wrapped grilled pineapple bites, and guacamole dotted with mango.

For a gastropub, they did interesting food with dishes like watermelon salad with feta and cucumber; or their Dip Trio, with mango guacamole, tomatillo salsa, and queso blanco served with house-made tortilla chips. Definitely not run-of-the-mill. They also had great lunch specials like a smashburger with curly fries for $10.

Food did not seem to be the problem.

Decor featured artwork and murals created by local artists. A beautifully landscaped patio wrapped around the building’s facade. So the setting did not seem to be a factor.

It's tempting to point the finger at its location on Race Street, which has witnessed a round of closings in the past two years including buzzy birria taqueria Caliscience, which closed in February 2024; as well as The Post at River East, a restaurant and live music venue that shut down the same month.

In 2023, three other restaurants on Race Street closed: Tributary Cafe, the Bon Appetit-lauded La Onda, and vegan burger spot Zonk Burger. But separate reasons can also be found for each of those closures, whether that be inexperience or lease issues.

For years, the city and neighborhood advocates have been trying to turn Race Street into a trendy hotspot. As part of the city’s Urban Villages program, the city of Fort Worth invested $5.6 million in revitalizing the area, making improvements to traffic flow, sidewalks, landscaping, and outdoor lighting.

When Osbakken opened the bar, she said she loved the area, stating "it reminds me of Magnolia when were first were on it 10 years ago in our old location. It's a great community and the neighbors have been friendly and reaching out."

And there are still restaurants along the street, including a popular Mexican restaurant called Tesoro, the Dough’d Up doughnut shop, and Kingyo Sushi & Ramen House, as well as a coffee shop, Race Street Coffee.

The Bearded Lady continues to flourish. Osbakken originally opened the popular gastropub on Magnolia Avenue in 2013. Six years later, she moved it to the South Main, where it’s still going strong.

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