News You Can Eat

This Fort Worth restaurant news covers it all: pizza, tacos & brunch

Cheesy bread at Bankhead Brewpub

Courtesy photo

This roundup of restaurant news around Fort Worth, culled from press releases, emails, and overheard conversations, starts with brunch, which is always the best way to start. There are also items about salads, pizza, more pizza, burgers, tacos, and pancakes. If you're not hungry by now, you'll never be hungry.

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

360 Brunch House, a concept obsessed with brunch, has opened at the Alliance Town Center at 9560 Feather Grass Ln., taking over a spot that used to be home to seafood spot Shuck Me. 360 brands itself as “not your basic brunch," with a particularly notable selection of French toast and pancakes: seven varieties each, such as the Flaming Apple Whiskey Cakes, with sautéed apples tossed in a whiskey sauce and set aflame tableside. The chain is from Nick Mustafa, his sister Ruki Salihi, and her husband, Max Salihi. The trio got their start in the restaurant business in 2016 by opening Mango’s, a brunch spot in Southlake.

Emilia's at The Crescent Hotel Fort Worth now has weekend brunch every Saturday-Sunday from 7 am-2 pm, both in the main dining room and also on the patio. Menu highlights include a raw bar with selections such as the shellfish tower, Sicilian crudo, and oysters; mains such as pecan praline waffle and French toast; and savory choices like steak & eggs, breakfast bruschetta, and the brunch burger.

Salad and Go has opened a location in Fort Worth at 3416 Texas 114, marking nearly 70 stores across Texas. They have a new salad for summer: the Caprese, topped with mozzarella, basil pesto, pico de gallo and balsamic vinaigrette.

Mountain Mike’s Pizza, a California-based chain known for its curly pepperoni and mountain-sized pizzas, will open its Saginaw location at 6934 N Blue Mound Rd. on Wednesday, June 5. It's owned by Moses Chang and Ramein Gerami. In addition to pizza, there are big-screen TVs and a patio, arcade games, an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet, and a full craft beer and wine list.

Bankhead Brewpub has two new menu items: Banh Mi Pizza, like a pizza version of a banh mi sandwich with pork, bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, radish, and hoisin sauce; and Cheesy Bread: spent grain focaccia made with beer yeast, roasted garlic butter, mozzarella, and served with marinara.

Hat Creek, the Texas burger chain, has a new TRUFF Burger with two patties, fried pickles, cheddar cheese, and TRUFF Original Hot Sauce, a blend of red chili peppers and black truffle, on a soft Martin's bun. Available through August 1 at locations in Allen, Coppell, Keller, Little Elm, Mansfield, McKinney, Rowlett, Richardson, Roanoke, Sachse, and Walnut Hill/Dallas.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop has new Baja-inspired dishes: Cali-Style Steak Taco with steak, fries seasoned with Fuzzy Dust, and guacamole; Cali-Style Steak Burrito; and Birria Queso Fries. They've also brought back the Bomb-a-'Rita, a frozen margarita with strawberry puree and blue curacao, garnished with a red, white, & blue frozen popsicle. Available through July 7.

Cowboy Chicken rotisserie chicken chain has new dishes with strawberries and other seasonal fruits available through September 1: strawberry pecan chicken salad, watermelon cucumber side salad, strawberry shortcake, and two beverages: sparkling strawberry lemonade or watermelon tea.

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, is celebrating Pride throughout June with colorful pancakes for $11.25. The buttermilk pancakes are filled with white chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles, topped with sweet cream drizzle, mascarpone, and sprinkles. Snooze has six locations across Dallas and Fort Worth.

Birdcall has new summer shakes with boozy options in flavors such as cookies & cream, strawberry shortcake, chocolate chip cookie dough, banana cream pie, vanilla, and chocolate. The shakes are $5.50 to $6 for the regular, or $8.50 to $9 with vodka.

Golden Corral has new menu items for summer: Bruschetta Chicken, Carne Asada, and Cheddar Bacon Ranch Chicken as well as the addition of mango to the drink menu in options like Mango Tea, Mango Lemonade, and Mango Citrus Splash. The new items are available through June 30.

Arko Corp. is selling Nathan’s Famous hot dogs at more than 450 of its convenience store locations including Food Mart and EZ Mart — a continuation of the Company’s enhanced food program rollout, which aims to provide the best quality food at the best prices available.

Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard has a new Kool-Aid Tropical Punch Italian Ice representing the taste of Kool-Aid. It can be ordered in a 5-layer gelati combined with layers of vanilla custard, or in an ice blender drink.

Smoothie King has launched SK Refreshers, a line of caffeinated fruit beverages and their first beverage served over ice, available in Pineapple Mango and Strawberry Guava flavors, and caffeinated with green coffee beans.

McDonald’s has a new limited-edition Grandma McFlurry, featuring a syrup they call "smooth" and "delicious", with crunchy candy pieces Grandma used to keep in her purse, blended into their vanilla soft serve. The release does not describe the actual flavor other than to say that the Grandma McFlurry "tastes like a trip down memory lane." So it tastes like the bottom of Grandma's purse?

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.

closings