News You Can Eat

It's a frenzy of limited-edition items in this Fort Worth restaurant news

Birria melt with shredded sirloin and broth for dipping.

Bedford Ice House

This roundup of Fort Worth restaurant news has a clock ticking. Many of the items spotlighted here - whether special menu offerings or drinks with a winter theme - are available for only a limited time. Run if you must before you miss out.

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

Gong Cha Victory Heritage is a new bubble tea shop opening in north Fort Worth on the northwest corner of I-35W and Heritage Trace Parkway near the Alliance/Keller area, located in the same Victory Shops plaza as Kyodai Handroll Sushi. Gong Cha is a top bubble tea brand that was founded in Taiwan in 2006. They credit their success to the premium quality tea, products & services offered including brewing fresh tea every 4 hours, making fresh "pearls" or bubbles every four hours, sourcing tea from the finest Taiwan estates, and observing strict quality control for all ingredients. Gong Cha USA has become known for its "Milk Foam," a slightly salted cream topping that gave the bubble tea category a fresh twist. They're mostly in the Northeast, but also are in all the major Texas cities including Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, which happen to be all the very same cities where CultureMap has bureaus, so they are clearly a very savvy company. This will be their first location in Fort Worth, and they're aiming to open in December.

Hoots, the fast-casual wing concept from Hooters, is opening its third Texas location in Bedford on Monday, December 6. Located at 4105 Hwy 121, it's owned by AE Restaurant Group, led by Cary and Jackie Albert, who bring 27 years of experience to the hoots brand. Hoots Wings have five cooking options for their wings - breaded, smoked, naked, boneless, or roasted - with 14 options of sauces and dry rubs including spicy garlic, lemon pepper, Texas BBQ, and parmesan garlic. The menu also includes shrimp, chicken sandwiches, and sides like waffle fries, tots, mac and cheese and mozzarella sticks.

El Chingon has three festive cocktails for the holiday season through December 31: You’re a Melon One, Mr. Grinch has coconut rum. Up to Snow Good has Rumple Minze peppermint schnapps, vodka, whipped cream, and a mini candy cane. Slay Ride has Fireball whiskey, Irish cream, and whipped cream. They're $11 each.

Jane Southlake has launched a Wine & Cheese Happy Hour Sunday-Wednesday 3-6 pm with $3 off all 9-ounce Wine Pours and $3 off Cheese Boards.

Bedford Ice House has a new "Birria Melt," made with shredded braised sirloin, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, toasted brioche, and birria broth. It's a limited-edition item available through December.

BoomerJack's neighborhood sports bar has a new Chicken & Waffles dish, featuring smoky maple glazed chicken tenders served on a waffle, topped with a fried egg and maple syrup on the side; and a Jumbo Pretzel, a Bavarian pretzel served on a hook with house-made queso and spicy mustard.

Carrabba's Italian Grill has a seasonal menu of specials that include Shrimp Scampi, Short Rib Marsala with garlic mashed potatoes, Penne Martino with chicken, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes, and Chocolate Dream, a fudge brownie with chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce.

McDonald's holiday pies are back. They feature vanilla custard in a flaky, buttery crust glazed with sugar and topped with rainbow sprinkles, and are available for a limited time.

Impossible Meatballs, made from plants, are now available at Sprouts, Walmart, and other grocery stores. Perfectly seasoned and ready in less than 5 minutes, they have 30 percent less sodium than the leading animal meatballs.

7-Eleven has a new winter drink: Winter Wonderland Cocoa, hot chocolate blended with a peppermint flavor. It's available for a limited time, priced the same as their other hot beverages, and customizable with an array of toppings including marshmallows, cinnamon, caramel, a variety of creamers, and chocolate sauce.

Bonefish Grill has brought back its seasonal martini, the Winter White Cosmo, with Reyka Vodka, Cointreau, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, white cranberry juice, lime juice, and frozen cranberries.

Lakewood Brewing has released new "Seduction" mixed six-packs for 2021, featuring two cans each of three favorite beers from its Seduction Series: Double Stuffed, French Quarter, and Sin Mint. This is the first time Double Stuffed has been available outside the Lakewood Brewing Taproom; both French Quarter and Sin Mint are returning fan-favorites.

Miyoko's Creamery, a vegan cheese pioneer, won a positive ruling from the US District Court for the Northern District of California in a lawsuit about its use of terms such as butter and dairy on vegan products. Meat and dairy industry groups have argued that it's confusing to consumers. The lawsuit sets a precedent for other brands fighting to defend their corporate free speech rights.

Shell Shack has been acquired by TriSpan's dedicated restaurant platform, Rising Stars, designed to further its expansion into more markets in Texas and beyond. Shell Shack founder Dallas Hale, who will continue to serve as CEO, says they plan to open five new locations each year. TriSpan Partner Anthony Freijy says they're also in the "early innings" of developing a "highly differentiated and experiential 'eat-ertainment' concept."

The 2022 Bar & Restaurant Expo, formerly known as Nightclub & Bar & Show, returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center March 21–23, 2022. Early bird registration tickets start at $99 and are available now through January 31, 2022. Bar & Restaurant Expo is a gathering of bar and restaurant owners and operators. The event offers access to suppliers who are launching new products, networking opportunities, workshops, tours of Las Vegas venues, and nightlife events.

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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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