Where to Eat

Where to eat in Fort Worth right now: 5 sizzling hot new restaurants to try

En garde! Nuggets on a skewer.

Ricky's Chicken

We're in the middle of a heat wave and that's the inspiration for this edition of Where to Eat in Fort Worth right now, our monthly roundup of places to try. This list comprises five sizzling hot new restaurants — hot because they're new, and also hot because at least one is just plain hot, like burn-your-mouth hot.

The quintet covers a variety of cuisines including Mexican, Indian, BBQ, and fried chicken, which is well on its way to becoming an actual cuisine, what with the deluge of fried chicken restaurants. When will we tire of the fried chicken thing? Not today, apparently.

Here's our list of Where to eat in July:

Chester's Chicken
Fried chicken quick-service concept has more than 1,000 locations around the country, tucked inside supermarkets, truck stops, fuel stations, and convenience stores such as Fuel City, where a Chester's just opened at the Haltom City Fuel City at 1715 Haltom Rd. Their fried chicken is marinated and double-breaded, so that it's both juicy and crunchy, earning them a following among truckers and travelers. They do fried chicken and tenders, but also livers and gizzards, not something you see at most squeaky-clean fried chicken joints. They also do biscuits, biscuit sandwiches, sides such as potato wedges, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, fried corn, and green beans with bacon, and desserts such as strawberry & cream cheese fried pie. Plus limited-time offerings such as their new Honey Stung Chicken Sandwich and Honey Stung Chicken Bites featuring fried chicken tossed in a spicy honey garlic sauce.

Herbs Indian Cuisine
New restaurant from chef Indra Paudel (Fishtail Nepalese and Indian) opened in June in Hurst at 660 Grapevine Pkwy. in the same shopping center as a Tom Thumb and Planet Fitness, in the former Salvadoreño Latín Cuisine, where he's serving a menu featuring Indian restaurant staples like samosas and chicken tikka masala but also spicy fish tikka, cooked in a clay pot, and fancier fusion entrees such as lamb kebabs and garlic and rosemary marinated scallops with coconut sauce. Speaking of fusion, they do a "Naanizza" — pizza on a naan flatbread topped with pesto, mozzarella, artichoke, tomato, and bell pepper. They also make the prized chicken momo, AKA Nepali-style steamed dumplings with chicken and mixed vegetables. To lure in newcomers, they serve a lunch buffet a generous seven days a week (some Indian restaurants only do it weekdays). They're getting raves for their authentic food and attentive service, too.

JR's BBQ-N-More
Husband-and-wife JR and Vanessa Herrera opened this storefront in Keller Town Center, at 121 Rufe Snow Dr. #127, in March, after earning a following via a food truck they founded in 2017, from which they served breakfast tacos and barbecue at the Keller Farmers Market and other pop-up events. The couple both have hospitality experience, having grown up around family-owned restaurants. At JR's, they're known for their award-winning brisket and pulled pork, plus fun specials they rotate in such as turkey legs and carne guisada tacos. Sides are house-made and include mac & cheese, potato salad (with mustard), and a cool smoked veggies side with zucchini, squash, tomato, and onion. They still serve breakfast tacos from 9-11 am at the restaurant as well as the food truck, which they've continued to set up at the farmers market every Saturday morning. Note: They'll be on vacation from July 17-25.

Paco's Mexican Cuisine
Popular Mexican eatery opened a second location on July 8 in Sundance Square, taking over the fabled former Taco Diner location. Being part of the downtown revival represents an exciting step for this family-owned restaurant which started out as the proverbial hole in the wall in Near Southside six years ago with only six employees and 12 tables. Their menu, comprising breakfast as well as lunch and dinner options, is extensive and appealing, including ceviche, fajitas, tacos and tortas, chile relleno, flautas with mole, and birria de res, but also fun surprises like calamari, Caesar salad, fideo soup, and avocado toast. Weekends, they do specials like paella for the family, and there's a keen selection of desserts that include rice pudding and churros with hot chocolate.

Ricky's Hot Chicken
Nashville-style chicken spot recently opened in Arlington at 3810 S Cooper St. #138, where they're serving what some aficionados feel is the best Nashville-style chicken around. This is a place where even the daring tread lightly when it comes to spice levels. As one foodie quipped, "Anyone who gets anything above hot at Ricky's is into S&M." Their menu includes chicken combos, tenders, wings, nuggets, sandwiches, golden crinkle-cut fries, and a delicacy called "fireballs," consisting of fried cheese curds in the same spicy Nashville-style breading. And here's a cool thing: They do a Chicken Nugget Flight, with a skewer of nuggets, one in every heat level ranging from Mild to A-Bomb, so you can try one of each. This is only the second location; founder and chef Ricky Tran opened the first in Richardson in 2020. Note: They're closed on Tuesdays-Wednesdays.

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Fresh Pasta News

Where to eat in Fort Worth right now: 6 hottest new restaurants

Bocca Osteria Romana

Twirling the pasta at Bocca Osteria Romana

Restaurants seemingly open and close in waves, and right now, they’re opening. Over the past few weeks, there’s been an influx of new restaurants in and around Fort Worth, from a cool new Italian spot to high-end Tex Mex to Texas’ favorite cuisine, barbecue.

For this month’s Where to Eat, we take a look at six of the area’s latest restaurants.

225 BBQ
This beloved craft barbecue food truck has finally opened its first brick-and-mortar, at 601 E. Main St. near downtown Arlington. 225 fans will recognize the new restaurant's location: It was where owner/pitmaster Rene Ramirez operated temporarily last year, sharing the space with a bar. After the bar moved out, Ramirez took over the building, transforming it into a full-fledged barbecue restaurant. Ramirez’s menu includes ‘cue essentials such as moist brisket and meaty pork ribs, along with several Mexi-cue-inspired dishes that have become his calling cards, like excellent birria ramen, brisket elote, chipotle chicken nachos, and brisket quesadillas. His burgers are great, too.

Bocca Osteria Romana
New Italian restaurant in the South Main area, at 411 S. Main St. #104, specializes in housemade pastas, freshly made focaccia, and beautiful salads filled with seasonal ingredients. The restaurant comes from a trio of Texans - brothers Alfonso and Alessandro Salvatore and their cousin Eduardo Mariel - who have lived and cooked all over the world, including Puerto Rico, where they opened the original Bocca Osteria Romana. Pasta is their thing, and it comes in several forms, from spaghetti alla carbonara, made with guanciale, percorino romano cheese, and crushed black pepper, to the bacon-studded bucatini all’amatriciana, to a plate of classic cacio e pepe. Entrees include lamb chops, osso bucco, and gorgeous seasonal salads.

Los Guapos Mexican Street Food
Newly opened at 2708 West 7th St., Los Guapos Mexican Street Food is the latest concept from Angel Fuentes, the well-known Fort Worth chef who made a name for himself at the original location of Mariachi’s Dine In and Guapo Tacos, two Mexican restaurants born inside an east side gas station. Los Guapos is Fuentes’ first full-on brick-and-mortar. His menu includes many of the dishes he’s known for, like superb birria tacos, pozole, huge burritos, and a wide range of veggie dishes. New to his menu are street food-inspired items like huaraches, oblong-shaped pieces of fried masa dough topped with smashed pinto beans, vegetables, and proteins, and alambre, a traditional Mexican dish comprised of chopped meats and vegetables, held together with melted cheese, and served with tortillas.

Juicy Dumplings
The handmade Chinese dumpling trend hits the Fort Worth suburb of Euless, courtesy of this sleek new spot, originally called Home of Juicy Dumplings, in the Glade Parks shopping center. It’s a state-of-the-art restaurant where robots help deliver your food and the immersive decor is designed to make you feel like you’re under the ocean. There’ll be lots of oohing and ahing. But it’s not all show: Hong Kong natives, owner Rixin “Jimmy” Zheng and head chef Bosco Seung, offer a vast selection of Chinese dishes, including nearly a dozen variations of Chinese dumplings, including pan-fried pork buns, har gow (shrimp dumplings), Sichuan-inspired spicy wontons, vegetable dumplings, and soup dumplings. Elsewhere on the menu, there’s peking duck, Mongolian chicken, several noodle dishes, and cool desserts such as mango pancakes, made with razor-thin crepes layered with a mango-infused cream.

La Cabrona Cocina Mexicana
Long-awaited, high-end Mexican restaurant from Adam Shanaa and Jalal Chanaa, owners of the soon-to-reopen Terra Mediterranean, takes over the West 7th-area space originally occupied by Tillman’s Roadhouse at 2973 Crockett St. It’s a family-run spot whose kitchen is led by Rosario Ortega, a chef from Monterrey, Mexico, who’s using recipes passed down through generations. His menu includes dishes such as carne asada, camarones a la diabla, chile relleno, and whole fried snapper. There are plenty of tacos, made with your choice of skirt steak, slow-cooked pork, pan-seared tilapia, or grilled shrimp, and appetizers such as shrimp cocktail and ceviche. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with hand-painted murals and colorful furniture; there’s also a nice patio.

Tokyo Mizu
New sushi spot in North Arlington, at 2390 E. Lamar Blvd., in the space previously occupied by Take a Bao, puts a unique spin on the all-you-can-eat concept. Instead of going through a buffet-style line and loading up your plate, your server brings you five items at a time, all freshly made. When you finish those, you can order five more, and so on. Selections include a vast array of cooked and raw sushi, nigiri, tonkotsu ramen, pork dumplings, bulgogi bao buns, calamari, soup dumplings, and various fried rice dishes. The prices are a steal: $19.99 per person for lunch, $29.99 for dinner.