BBQ News

Fort Worth's Aardvark club pulls off new Texas barbecue restaurant

Barbecue is coming next door to the Aardvark, thanks to Texas Slim's.

Photo courtesy of Yelp

After dabbling in barbecue for the past eight years, the folks from Fort Worth rock club The Aardvark are going all in, with a new dedicated restaurant called Texas Slim's BBQ. Slim's will reside next door to the Aardvark in the former tattoo shop, with an opening date set for September 12.

Nothing will change at The Aardvark, where they'll keep being a great bar hosting live music. Owner Danny Weaver says this is just an evolution of the side thing they've been doing at the bar.

"We've been doing barbecue for seven to eight years years, and now it will become more of a sit-down restaurant," Weaver says. "We've had people come to get barbecue, but when they walk in, they see a bar. Now they'll be able to do that with the full dining experience, and not so much of a bar atmosphere."

The restaurant is basically in the same building as The Aardvark, separated by a new horseshoe-shaped bar, with seven new TVs. The dining area is bright and friendly, with handsome wooden slat booths, seafoam green walls, and a vintage longhorn-shaped "burgers" sign.

The new restaurant brings an expansion of the menu, too. They're adding daily specials, like smoked drumsticks on Tuesdays, pork chops with portobello mushroom sauce on Thursday, and smoked ribeye on Fridays. Wednesdays they'll do a burger, and on Sundays, they'll serve brunch.

"We'll be a little different from your normal barbecue place," Weaver says. "We'll still do the standards like brisket and pulled pork. But we'll also do things like a baked potato stuffed with brisket or chicken or pork or whatever meat, and a smoked vegetable medley with Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and bell peppers."

They'll incorporate some of the unique dishes they've developed for their catering operation, including St. Louis-style ribs and their signature brisket burritos with jalapeños and cheddar cheese.

Weaver began doing the barbecue thing almost on a whim. "In the beginning, I never thought it would take off like this where people would walk in and be asking for barbecue," he says. "When the tattoo shop became available, we jumped on it."

barbecue openings

Restaurant News Fit To Eat

Help pizzeria hit by vandalism and more Fort Worth restaurant news

Pizza Verde

Jalapeno popper pizza from Pizza Verde

This edition of dining news around Fort Worth has plenty of things to chew on including new special dishes and new menus for fall. This is the time of year to get your butternut squash linguine, your pumpkin pancakes, your peppermint shake.

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

Pizza Verde, the award-winning vegan pizza and pasta restaurant, was vandalized on October 30 — the second time in a month. Staff at the restaurant, which is located at 5716 Locke Ave., arrived on Halloween Day to find their glass front door smashed to pieces. Unfortunately, the exact same thing happened on September 25, and it has happened to other businesses in that area, as well, by someone suspected to be homeless. In a Facebook post, Pizza Verde stated that they have still not caught up financially on replacing the door the last time. For those interested in helping replace the glass, their venmo is pizzaverdetx and their paypal is pizzaverdetx@gmail.com. Other ways to help: Buy a pizza! "We are staying positive, but obviously it is frustrating to have it happen twice in a few weeks," they said. "We always appreciate yall always being so supportive and kind."

Heirloom, the foodtruck by Kevin Martinez at Archie's Gardenland at 6700 Z Boaz Pl. has a fabulous-sounding new menu featuring dishes such as chorizo with fried potatoes, eggs, & avocado; braised beets with pears, mozzarella, pesto, and pumpkinseeds on sourdough; pork belly with pumpkin grits & apple cider greens; and a cranberry upside down cake with orange creme and maple-glazed pecans.

Meat Board, the butcher shop and cafe at 6315 Camp Bowie Blvd., has a lunch special for November: the Turkey Club, with turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato on brown bread, featuring not just mayo but also Mickey's Mustard. They're open for lunch Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-3 pm.

Bacchus Kitchen + Bar inside Hotel Vin has new four- and five-course chef’s tasting menus. Dishes include dates stuffed with bacon & goat cheese; short rib with celeriac puree and rainbow carrots; and lobster tortellini with lemon & basil pasta and poached lobster. Seasonal cocktails include the pear sidecar and the pumpkin Russian. The restaurant has also introduced chef Jose Soto as Executive Sous Chef, where he'll assist Executive Chef Juan Pablo Silva in overseeing culinary operations.

Logan’s Roadhouse is bringing back prime rib Fridays through Sundays starting November 1, featuring a 13-ounce prime rib and two sides for $35. Limited-time dishes include Roadhouse nachos; a 12-oz NY Strip seasoned with Logan’s signature coffee blend, topped with cream sauce and crispy onions, with choice of two sides; lemon pepper trout; 3-cheese bacon mac & cheese; and blueberry-apple cobbler. Three area locations in Hurst, Burleson, and Waxahachie.

Newk's Eatery is adding a new Premium Wraps category to its permanent menu, featuring Newk’s “Q” Wrap with chicken, bacon, Swiss, Romaine, and white BBQ sauce in a flour tortilla; chicken salad wrap in a spinach tortilla; club wrap with ham, turkey, bacon, Swiss, cheddar, Romaine, tomato, and honey mustard; and chicken Caesar wrap. They’re also bringing back the chicken & sausage gumbo and pumpkin spice cake for a limited time.

First Watch, the breakfast and lunch chain, launched a new seasonal menu featuring cinnamon chip pancakes, double crunch breakfast tacos, and a stay golden cinnamon roll glazed with lemon cream cheese icing and gold sprinkles. The latest fresh juice is the Red Medicine, featuring pomegranate, cranberry, black tea, honey, and cinnamon.

Turkey club Meat Board Turkey club sandwich from the Meat Board.Meat Board

Thirsty Lion the upscale gastropub chain has a new seasonal menu available through November 27: Medjool dates stuffed with Gongonzola cream cheese and almonds wrapped in bacon; BBQ pulled pork sandwich -- exclusive to the five Thirsty Lion locations in Texas; Wagyu beef & bacon jam burger, shrimp & butternut squash linguine, black cherry BBQ pork tenderloin, parmesan panko crusted halibut, Mediterranean chopped chicken bowl, and cinnamon sugar churros & ice cream with Abuelita Mexican chocolate. New drinks include Karbach Love Street Kölsch blonde ale, La Marca Prosecco IT, Gerard Bertrand Cote Des Rosés FR, and Michael David Freakshow CA; plus nonalcoholic refreshers including Blood Orange Ginger Iced Tea.

Dog Haus has a new partnership with YouTube star-turned-boxer Jake Paul who will become a 25-unit franchisee, beginning with four restaurants in Texas, including Dallas. Paul and his advisor Nakisa Bardarian are also joining Dog Haus’ Board of Directors.

Dunkin' has new festive flavors from the returning peppermint mocha and toasted white hot chocolate lattes to the cookie butter cold brew and donut. Plus, an almond croissant and a hash brown brisket scramble bowl. The menu starts November 1, and the return of Free Donut Wednesdays starts on November 6.

Panda Express is bringing back spicy Wagyu beef dumplings, featuring The sweet and savory American Wagyu beef and veggies wok-tossed with kale and onions in a sweet and spicy sauce that has an extra kick from Fly By Jing’s Zhong sauce, available at locations in Dallas, McKinney, Frisco, Mesquite, Allen and Rowlett. They’ve also brought back the plant-based Beyond The Original Orange Chicken to select locations in Dallas, including Frisco, Richardson, and Plano.

Whataburger has a new limited-time white chocolate peppermint shake, available as a shake or in a hot or iced coffee, available starting November 5.
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Teresa Gubbins contributed to this story.

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