Burger News

New burger coming to town tops this hunk of Fort Worth restaurant news

Burger and hand-battered onion rings coming at ya.

Photo courtesy of Branded Burger

The dish in Fort Worth restaurants stretches all the way from a new burger joint at one end to a new vegan menu on the other. And then you've got nacho quesadillas, loaded fajitas, and everything else in between.

Here's what's happening in Fort Worth dining news:

The Branded Burger Company, a Midlothian-born burger concept, is opening a location in Mansfield, at 1831 E. Broad St., sometime in July. It's going into what used to be Suzy Q's Soda Fountain. Branded Burger founders Michael and Kelley Ivy opened the Midlothian location in 2013; a second location opened in Waxahachie in 2018 (which has a bigger menu). They make everything fresh, and that includes french fries and onion rings that are hand cut and battered. They sell beer and wine, and have a bar where they show games on TV.

Hatsuyuki Hand Roll, the first Fort Worth restaurant to focus solely on sushi hand rolls, or temaki, has added a few vegan options to their menu. They have fried yamaimo (mountain yam), cucumber, and a marinated tofu sushi roll; you can get them all together in a "vegan combo." Start with an appetizer of edamame, and you're all set.

Dutch's Hamburgers is expanding. The burger joint is taking over the former Salsa Limon space, where it will open a new shop serving burritos, bowls, and wraps. They also have a new patio. Meanwhile they're doing a summer special of spiked ice creams, available at Dutch's Locker Room, their bar next door, which they're offering in four boozy flavors: vanilla with Jim Beam, bananas Foster with Makers Mark, Moscow Mule sorbet, and limoncello sorbet with vodka.

Modern Market Eatery, the excellent and affordable healthy chain, has a new "chef's picks" menu that's launching on July 17, featuring heirloom cherry tomatoes, corn, zucchini, and baby patty pan squash. They appear in: Summer Heat Pizza with corn puree, pepperjack and smoked mozzarella, ricotta, jalapeño, bacon, corn, basil, and chili oil; Seasonal Fire Roasted Veggies with zucchini, baby patty pan squash, fire roasted broccoli, cauliflower, radish, and carrot; Heirloom Tomato Toast with avocado, sourdough toast, heirloom tomato, goat cheese, basil aioli, and basil; Corn & Poblano Chowder with corn, smoky poblano, and gold potato. The heirloom tomatoes are also featured in the existing flatiron salad, smoky chicken bowl, and salmon Caesar salad. A longtime menu staple, the chipotle steak sandwich, gets an upgrade with the addition of roasted onions and fresh mozzarella.

Thirsty Lion Gastropub & Grill has a new summer menu that includes cedar plank salmon, shrimp ceviche, heirloom tomato caprese, and Wagyu beef burger, available through the end of September. They also have a fun drink discount during brunch, which runs Saturday-Sunday 10 am to 2 pm. If the temperature gets 95 degrees or above, Moscow mules and margaritas are half-price. These are available at both DFW locations: Toyota Music Factory in Las Colinas and Glade Park Town Center in Euless.

Perry's Steakhouse & Grille is celebrating its 40th anniversary throughout the month of July with a big "4" theme: four choices for four courses for $44. Appetizer choices include fried asparagus, beef & bleu, pork chop bites, or cherry pepper calamari. Salad choices include Caesar, butcher's chop, kale, or wedge. Main course choices include 7-ounce bacon-wrapped filet, salmon with lemon dill butter, Perry's famous pork chop, or chicken parmesan. Desserts include crème brûlée, a dessert trio, milk chocolate peanut butter candy bar, or the Nutty d'Angelo.

El Pollo Loco has a new crunchy nacho overstuffed quesadilla that puts all of the ingredients in nachos inside a quesadilla. There are also two limited-time overstuffed quesadilla flavor combos — Double Pollo and Spicy Serrano — and a new $20 family dinner with eight pieces of chicken, two large sides, and six quesadilla slices.

Wingstop celebrates its 25th anniversary with limited-edition "remixes" of their sauces, which they claim is inspired by fans' own sauce mixing. Flavors include Bayou BBQ, combining hickory smoked barbecue with Cajun seasoning; and mango volcano, which blends mango habanero with sweet Hawaiian. On July 19, they'll add hot lemon, combining original hot to lemon pepper; and Atomic BBQ, combining fiery Atomic with hickory smoked barbecue. Wow, that's some "celebration." If this was such a big fan trend, can't fans just continue to do this themselves?

Applebee's has introduced loaded fajitas, in the choice of sirloin steak, chicken, or shrimp, served on a sizzling skillet, with hot queso and bacon. Putting bacon on fajitas seems slightly excessive, some might even say pointless, but this is Applebee's. They come with fajita vegetables, Spanish rice, flour tortillas, cheddar cheese, guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, and pico de gallo.

Schlotzsky's locations in Dallas-Fort Worth will unveil a revamped concept on July 13 — part of the brand's national transition to Schlotzsky's Austin Eatery. They plan to bring their Austin-inspired vibe to life in all of their 370+ restaurants nationwide. The update features handcrafted food and beverage offerings, an eclectic, purposeful design, and a unique dining experience. Select locations will carry craft beer and wine selections and feature happy hours throughout the week.

Mimi's, the French-inspired concept, has changed its name to Mimi's Bistro & Bakery. After 41 years in business, the brand is modernizing its restaurants, menus, and approach. With the new name, Mimi’s is launching a Bites + Beverages menu along with Mimi's House Wine, made specifically for the brand from Bordeaux, France, plus cocktails and appetizers. The new House Red and House White Wine is $6 per glass and $22 per bottle, accompanied by classic cocktails like the French 75, the French Mule, and martinis. Appetizers include hummus & crudités, brochette trio, and flatbreads. Mimi's was founded in 1978 as a neighborhood bistro with American-French comfort food and bistro classics. They're owned by Dallas-based Le Duff America, Inc., the North American subsidiary of global bakery-cafe leader Groupe Le Duff, headquartered in Rennes, France, and have 77 locations in 16 states, including Arlington and Fort Worth.

Rambler Sparkling Water, the Austin-based sparkling water, purified through a unique Texas limestone filtration process, is now for sale at Central Market and Whole Foods locations, along with some bars and restaurants. A press release calls it a "premium Topo Chico alternative," which seems rather nervy. The brand is produced at the Austin Beerworks brewery, when they're not making beer. Founders are James Moody, founder of Hot Luck Fest; Jeff Trucksess, who co-founded a biodiesel company Green Earth Fuels; and Dave Mead, a photographer who previously worked at an ad agency.

Starbucks has a new frappuccino for the summer: Tie-Dye Frappuccino is made with a tropical Crème Frappuccino with dashes of powder in yellow, red, and blue (which gets its color from red beet, turmeric, and spirulina) that mix to make a rainbow of vibrant hues. The beverage is topped with whipped cream and more colored powder. It's said to be banana-y in flavor and is available for a limited time. The drink was "designed" at the company's Tryer Center lab, by Paloma Carrington-Bataller, which as you can see is a person with two last names, and that is generally a red flag.

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Sports Bar News

Comfy Fort Worth sports bar Morton's Tavern debuts in Near Southside

JesCrave

Wings from JesCrave, now served at Morton's Tavern

A new bar from a veteran hospitality team has debuted in Fort Worth: Called Morton's Tavern, it's now open at 212 Lipscomb St., in the former Twilite Lounge space, where husband-and-wife owners Jimmy and Monika Morton have crafted a comfortable new place to hang out.

Jimmy, whose resume includes nearly a decade with the Pappas franchise, was the co-owner and COO of Twilite Lounge in Fort Worth. Monika, whose hospitality career goes back 30 years, also worked at Twilite Lounge, where she served as general manager.

It's a welcome return for the area, following the closure of Twilite Lounge in December 2023 after six years, on the tail end of the pandemic and at a time when crowds weren't showing up for the live music that had become an unsustainable signature for the lounge.

"With Morton's, our vision is a neighborhood sports tavern, with a game room, a large patio, food, beer, cocktails, and mocktails," Jimmy says.

The food is provided via an innovative partnership with JesCrave, the caterer and food truck revered for its tacos, birria, and pozole. Jimmy and Monika are owners of the bar, while JesCrave partners Jessica Chaves Martin and Janette Carillo own and operate the kitchen.

Their collective goal is to continue to provide a gathering place for what has become a growing neighborhood.

"After the ownership of Twilite decided to end, Monika and I couldn't let this space go," Jimmy says. "We wanted to continue to provide that community hub, but the neighborhood has also grown up a bit, with more apartments and people living in the area."

"We liked the idea of a neighborhood sports tavern — we're both big sports lovers — but there aren't many comfortable sports bars where the atmosphere is dark and relaxed," Jimmy says. "We liked the idea of a place that's not bright or in your face but where you can watch a game or sit on a beautiful patio with your dog. This was a concept we felt wasn't covered in the area."

That means some TVs but not an excessive number of TVs, Monika says.

"We'll have 20 to 25 TVs — enough that you can watch every Sunday morning football game," she says. "We're going for a more relaxed decor, lots of photos but no neon signs, where you can feel comfortable and watch whatever you came to watch, or sit at the bar and read a book."

Twilite Lounge Morton's Tavern in the old Twlilite LoungeGoogle Maps

They have 16 beers on tap, a mixture of domestic and craft beers, as well as a non-alcoholic beer on draft. Their commitment to zero-alcohol extends to an entire menu of mocktails along with signature cocktails, mostly classic — but all "very good," Monika says.

The venture provides the ideal situation for JesCrave, who were in search of a new space.

Martin and Carillo launched their food truck in 2020 and have become a big local favorite for their birria tacos. They eventually expanded into a commercial kitchen, but that lease was expiring, and their food truck had broken down.

"We aleady had a wonderful relationship with Jimmy and Monika — we had catered their wedding so they were aware of our food," Martin says. "The timing was magical for all of us, and we automatically became family."

Martin describes herself and Carillo as "both taco heads."

"Janette comes from a Hispanic family and my dad is Amerian native Indian so we've combined flavors and cuisines," Martin says. "We love spice and flavors. We take a lot of pride in a lot of our tacos, quesadillas, nachos, all your regular street food, but at restaurant-quality level with upscale ingredients and flavors."

With the food truck, they were limited on how many menu items they could offer. But with the kitchen, they can now add the items that diners expect at a sports bar such as burgers, wings, and fries, plus items like loaded asada fries topped with meat, queso, onions, tomato, and jalapeno, for $15.

"We're thankful to have a home base and not have to pack up a kitchen every night," she says.

This being a sports bar, there's the question of sports team allegiance, but Monika says they won't be team-specific, welcoming all fans and letting it evolve. But she also confesses that there may be a favorable bias towards hockey.

"My family is from Canada, so yes, we've got some vintage autographed hockey sticks, as well as my old chair from Texas Stadium," she says.

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