News You Can Eat

New salad spot spruces up this batch of Fort Worth restaurant news

Salads have become hot and buzzy thing.

Salata

Salad has all of a sudden become a hot thing, and this batch of Fort Worth restaurant news includes a new one opening in Arlington. There's also new brisket tacos, pumpkin cheesecake, wings, breakfast, and brunch.

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

Salata, a built-to-order salad kitchen, has opened its newest location in South Arlington at 4100 South Cooper St., where it will offer online ordering with both pickup and delivery available for fans on the go, as well as dine-in and catering. The restaurant offers fully customizable, built-to-order salads and wraps, with five salad bases, more than 50 toppings, and 11 dressings, plus soups, and organic teas and lemonades. The restaurant is owned by Pegasus Restaurant Group and is their second in Arlington, following one at 1705 N Collins St. they four years ago.

Twin Peaks is opening a location in Burleson, at 12750 South Fwy. in McAlister Square. The 6,600-square-foot sports lodge will feature 53 TVs including a 100-inch video wall, in-house smoker, rare bourbons, and its trademark ice-cold 29-degree drafts on tap, including national and local favorites. The Burleson location will have a massive indoor bar and two large air-conditioned patios. It's the first Twin Peaks in Burleson and the ninth in Dallas-Fort Worth, and will open in late October.

Blackland Distillery, the high-tech distillery & cocktail lounge in Fort Worth's Foundry District, has broken ground on a 4,500-square-foot expansion. In addition to expanding & renovating its bottling line, barrel storage, event space, and corporate offices, Blackland will also be extending distribution of its five signature spirits to Oklahoma in October 2021. In February, Blackland formed a new partnership with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits that has expanded its reach throughout Texas. Blackland is known for using technology to produce five signature spirits: Blackland Gin, Vodka, Rye Whiskey, Bourbon, and Texas Pecan Brown Sugar Bourbon.

Pinstripes, the bistro and entertainment destination, has launched new seasonal dishes and desserts for Fall on their weekend brunch, lunch, and dinner menus. New for brunch is Steak & Eggs with peppercorn crusted ribeye, olive oil fried eggs, and crispy potatoes; Blueberry Waffles with whipped lemon ricotta and balsamic blueberry compote; and American Scramble with bacon, scallions, cheddar, potatoes, and toast. Seasonal entrees for lunch and dinner include Burrata & Acorn Squash with grains, arugula, and balsamic glaze; Meatball & Provolone Sandwich with marinara sauce; Open-Face Grilled Salmon on focaccia with cucumber-dill yogurt; Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich with calabrese sauce, pickles, and jalapeño slaw; and the Cowboy Burger with bacon, balsamic BBQ, onion rings, jalapeño, and cheddar. New desserts include Caramelized Cheesecake and Tiramisu.

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria has launched a seasonal fall menu with new pizza, salad, desserts and cocktails including a Buffalo Chicken Pizza with chicken and spicy Frank’s RedHot sauce; a twist on the wedge salad with Romaine lettuce; chocolate cheesecake (available through October only); caramel and green apple cheesecake; a Green Apple SangriaVodka Peach Mule with vodka, Monin peach purée, lemon juice, Gosling’s Ginger Beer, and diced peaches.

Einstein Bros. Bagels has a new Bacon & Queso Egg Sandwich featuring queso dripping over whipped jalapeño salsa, green chilies, bacon, and eggs on a bagel. The queso can be added to any sandwich.

Impossible Chicken Nuggets are a new product from the folks who make Impossible burgers, said to be so good, they beat animal chicken nuggets in a blind taste test. They're available at Fatburger and other select restaurants across the country.

Sprouts Farmers Market has added three new products from Good Catch plant-based seafood: Breaded Fish Sticks, Breaded Fish Fillets, and Breaded Crab Cakes. They're made with a six-legume blend (peas, chickpeas, lentils, soy, fava beans, and navy beans), providing a good source of protein without mercury, microplastics, dairy, or GMOs. They join Good Catch's New England Style Crab Cakes, Thai Style Fish Cakes, Classic Fish Burgers, and Plant-Based Tuna.

Golden Chick, the Texas-based chicken franchise, has new Boneless Wings available in Classic Buffalo, Korean BBQ and Garlic Parmesan, for a limited time, how long that time is, they do not say.

Carrabba's is hosting a wine matchup featuring wines from Italy and California. You get two 3-ounce pours, 1 Italian and 1 Californian, from match-ups such as Italian Pinot Grigio vs. California Sauvignon Blanc; Italian Allegrini Valpolicella from Italy vs. Conundrum Red Blend from California; and Gabbiano Chianti from Italy vs. J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon from California.

Rodeo Goat Ice House has a State Fair of Texas-themed burger called the Big Tex, with a 44 Farms beef patty, chicken fried mashed potato cake, bacon, fried onion ring, and chorizo gravy for $12.50, available September 21-October 18.

Tacodeli is offering a limited time special menu item in celebration of Mexican Independence Day: the Chile en Nogada ($4.50), a roasted Anaheim chile stuffed with Heartbrand beef, Akaushi picadillo, pomegranate seeds, walnuts, cilantro, and topped with goat cheese sauce. Available through October 15.

The Cheesecake Factory is now serving its seasonal pumpkin cheesecakes: Pumpkin Cheesecake is a creamy pumpkin cheesecake in a graham cracker crust topped with whipped cream. Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake has a layer of pecan pie topped with a layer of pumpkin cheesecake, finished with caramel and chopped pecans, in a pastry crust. Available through Thanksgiving, by the slice, or as whole cakes.

Cotton Patch Cafe has a new Fall/Winter 2021 menu that includes: brisket queso, green chile queso topped with smoked shredded brisket and drizzled in Dr Pepper BBQ sauce; tomato basil soup topped with parmesan cheese and croutons; chicken fried brisket with cream gravy and Dr Pepper BBQ sauce; chicken tenders with cream gravy or your choice of dipping sauce; chicken salad sandwich on Texas toast; brisket street taco plate with green chile queso, guacamole, and salsa; and brisket quesadilla.

DQ restaurants are offering two Blizzard of the Month choices: Pumpkin Pie Blizzard Treat, with pumpkin pie pieces and vanilla soft serve, whipped topping and a sprinkle of nutmeg; and Pecan Pie Blizzard Treat, with roasted pecans, brown sugar pie crust pieces, and caramel blended with vanilla soft serve. They run through October.

7-Eleven has two pumpkin-flavored coffee drinks: Fall Pumpkin Coffee and Pumpkin Spice Latte.

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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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