News You Can Eat

Hot dogs and ice cream sing summer in this Fort Worth restaurant news

Get your (gourmet) hot dogs right here.

Photo courtesy of Dog Haus

This roundup of Fort Worth dining news leans heavily east, with at least three interesting new restaurants opening in Arlington all at once. There's also news about coffee, beer, and tacos, and an exciting collaboration between two of Fort Worth's friendliest brands.

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

Martin House Brewing Company and Melt Ice Cream are partnering up in a mega-Fort Worth collaboration on a new ale called Melted 5.5% - Strawberry and Waffle Cone Ice Cream Ale. The brewery says that the beer tastes just like ice cream, with the addition of freeze-dried strawberries and strawberry juice to give it a natural strawberry flavor, and the use of grains and vanilla to add a waffle cone taste. They're calling it "dessert in a can." They'll begin distribution of six-packs this week, and are hosting a party at the brewery on August 2, starting early at 12 noon, with Tex-Asian barbecue from Kunsei Smokehouse, and an appearance by the Melt ice cream truck at 3 pm.

Dog Haus, known for its all beef hot dogs, sausages, Black Angus burgers, fried chicken sandwich, and local craft beers on tap, will open Texas' second Dog Haus Biergarten location in Arlington on August 3. It's at 4000 Bagpiper Way, Ste. 110, in Arlington Highlands, and will be the second store for franchisee Ron Ryan, who opened the first in Richardson in 2017. At 2,601 square feet, Dog Haus Biergarten Arlington Highlands will be one of the national brand’s largest locations with a full bar, 24 beers on tap, high-def big screen TVs, and a covered patio with outdoor bar space.

Golden Chick, the chicken tender chain, has opened a location in Arlington. It's at 4500 Matlock Rd., in front of Fry's Electronics at the corner of West Stevens Street. So you go look at big-screen TVs or pick up some extra RAM for your laptop, then grab some tenders and fries. The franchisee is Chris Aslam, who owns/operates four locations.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar, the Austin-based burger chain, has debuted new menu items including burgers, salads, vegetarian options, and cold drinks to tried-and-true favorites like the El Diablo and the Magic Shroom burger. New items include: Ahi Cali Club, featuring a sushi-grade tuna patty with bacon, avocado, cilantro dijonnaise, and basil pesto; and the Impossible cheesesteak, with an Impossible patty made of plants topped with Provolone & Swiss, peppers & onions, mushrooms, thousand island, and mustard. New salads include Thai beef kale and poblano ranch turkey Cobb.

The Port of Peri Peri (formerly Porto's Peri Peri), the Chicago-area chain that debuted in the Dallas area in 2018, has expanded its portfolio and now has three locations in the DFW area including the debut in Plano at 2301 N. Central Expy.; Frisco, at 3311 Preston Rd.; and Arlington, at 5005 S. Cooper St. There's one more coming soon to Irving, at 1800 Marketplace Blvd. near LBJ and Belt Line Road. Peri peri for everyone.

Pinstack has chef specials for August including chicken pozole verde with avocado, watermelon BBQ chicken wings, buffalo ranch chicken pizza, and boneless pork chop with vegetables. It's at all three North Texas locations.

Yard House, which does food and good beer, has added the plant-based Beyond burger to its menu at all 79 locations.

Torchy's Tacos has launched its sixth annual Some Like It Hot promotion for the month of August, with four spicy-hot tacos: habanero battered fried shrimp, grilled beef, habanero battered fried chicken, and pork stewed in pasilla and ghost pepper.

Bartaco has a new crispy oyster taco with crispy Gulf oysters; Fuji apple + kale salad in a jalapeno champagne vinaigrette, with goat cheese and candied pepitas; and the margarita carafe for two.

Which Wich, the Dallas sandwich chain, has added French fries to the menu. Like Shake Shack, they're crinkle cut. Refraining from comment here. You can get them with Wich Sauce or buttermilk ranch. In the spring, Which Wich introduced a line of shakes in Carrot Cake, Birthday Cake, and Chocolate Cake flavors as well as a new Courtney’s Cookie shake.

Press Waffle has a new peachy waffle with glazed peaches, caramel, and whipped cream on top of a signature Liege waffle.

Nestlé Toll House Café by Chip has a new summer-themed sundae that's also under 500 calories. The Strawberry granola sundae has choice of sorbet or vanilla ice cream, Nesquik Strawberry Syrup, strawberries, and granola. Available through September 16.

Starbucks now has a nitro cold brew, with their signature cold brew, steeped for 20 hours, infused with nitrogen as it pours from the tap. You can get it plain or with Cascara-flavored cold foam, which they say lends notes of dark brown sugar.

Scooter's Coffee has a new decadent blended drink called the Peanut Butter Caramelicious, with espresso, caramel sauce, peanut butter, and ice cream, drizzled with chocolate and caramel.

Lakewood Brewing Company has released Melon Baller, a 6.9 percent ABV Hazy IPA brewed with Loral, Citra, Bravo and Huell Melon hops as well as fresh cantaloupe. Melon Baller will be available in limited distribution for a limited time in 4-pack cans as well as draft starting in early August.

Mimi's Bistro & Bakery has a new seasonal menu at each of its 77 locations featuring coastal flavors and ingredients inspired by a summer spent on the Riviera. Sounds dishy. It includes Mediterranean cod en papillote, lemon layer cake, and benedict Provence with poached eggs and artichoke hearts.

lists news-you-can-eat

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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