Holiday dining

Cheers to the top Fort Worth restaurants for New Year's Day 2023 brunch

B&B Butchers hosts an appropriately named Hangover Cure Brunch.

Photo courtesy of B&B Butchers

New Year's Day falls on a Sunday this year. Even more, January 1 is National Bloody Mary Day. If that’s not enough reason to celebrate the start of 2023 with brunch, we don’t know what is. Here are some top spots to consider when making New Year’s Day brunch plans (the list is likely to grow). Cheers to a great 2023!

B&B Butchers & Restaurant
The fancy steakhouse in the Shops at Clearfork will host its annual “Hangover Cure Brunch” with live music, brunch cocktails, and a New Year’s Day special of black-eyed peas and greens. Brunch service will run from 11 am-3 pm.

Blue Mesa
Go hungry for one of the most abundant brunches in town. The New Year’s Day edition of Blue Mesa’s brunch will feature carved ginger-chipotle glazed pork tenderloin, red chile glazed ham, smoked brisket, and grilled salmon with fresh fruit salsa. There’ll also be the traditional eggs made-to-order, Belgian waffles, and New Year’s staples like black-eyed peas, cornbread, and greens. The $30price includes mimosas, coffee, iced tea, and soft drinks. The price for kids 6-11 is $10. Hours are from 9 am-4 pm.

El Chingon
Toast 2023 with tacos and tequila at the West 7^th district Mexican restaurant, bar, and late-night hot spot. Hangovers can be cured with $5 tequila-based bloody Marias or go big with a mimosa tour. The $50 large format cocktail includes four bottles of bubbly and orange juice (usually $100-plus). The brunch menu will run from 11 am-3 pm but the drink specials will go on until 5 pm.

Funky Picnic Brewery & Café
New year, new menu. The South Fort Worth brewery and café will launch a new brunch menu just in time for 2023. Make reservations to see what’s new, and wash it all down with craft brew, brunch cocktails, and mimosa flights. Brunch will be served from 11 am-4 pm.

Mutts Canine Cantina
Who says only humans get to have all the New Year’s Day fun? Bring the canines to this dog park, restaurant, and bar for a Hair of the Dog Brunch. There’ll be $4 bloody Marys and $3 mimosas from 11 am-1 pm, and breakfast sandwiches like chicken, egg, and cheese and breakfast BLT all day. Dogs can enjoy something tasty from the “Woof Menu” after running around the free-range fields.

Panther Island Brewing
While not technically “brunch,” this Fort Worth brewery will host a New Year’s Day beer yoga class great for those looking to kick off 2023 with some mindful movement. The $20 ticket includes the 60-minute class and two beers or two mimosas. Doors open at 10:30 am and class begins at 11 am.

Razzoo’s Cajun Café
In honor of National Bloody Mary Day, Razzoo’s will serve $5 Bloody Voodoo Marys, a homage to New Orleans native voodoo queen Marie Laveau. (Expect this version to be extra spicy.) Also save room for black-eyed peas, traditionally served on New Year’s Day to ensure good luck and prosperity for the coming year.

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Hotel News

Restaurant at chic new Fort Worth hotel reveals menu by Top Chef

Courtesy rendering

Bar and lounge at Nobleman Hotel in Fort Worth.

A new hotel restaurant opening in Fort Worth will bring back a name familiar to local diners: The restaurant is Duchess, opening in The Nobleman Hotel, 503 Bryan Ave. in Fort Worth’s Southside neighborhood in 2025. The chef is Casey Thompson, a former DFW chef who rocketed to fame after she appeared as a contestant on Top Chef.

Thompson is especially familar to Fort Worth, since she helped launch Brownstone, a restaurant that opened in 2010 in Fort Worth's West 7th district where she served as a consulting chef for a year.

The Nobleman Hotel is the distinctive development from Bedford Lodging in which a new-construction hotel will be wrapped around the historic No. 5 Fire Station, built in 1911. The restored fire station will serve as the heart of the hotel and will also be home to Duchess, with an architecturally prominent façade and approachable menu that represent a significant addition to the local dining scene.

Food
Bedford Lodging president Jeff Blackman enlisted consultant chef Thompson — who started out at The Mansion Restaurant in Dallas — to concept the menu and source an executive chef, to be named at a later date.

Chef Casey Thompson Casey Thompson at a DIFFA event in 2016. Photo by Shana Anderson

According to a release, the restaurant will feature New American cuisine with a Texas influence including steaks, pasta, and seafood.

Starters will include blue crab toast, tuna tartare, beef carpaccio ciabatta, snapper crudo, and crispy chicken croquettes.

Entrees will include red snapper with clams and butter beans; ricotta gnocchi with truffle butter; and a fried eggplant schnitzel with a poblano chimichurri.

Three steak options will include filet, ribeye, and New York strip, with an array of sauces.

Sides will include hand-cut fries with tarragon aioli; baguettes with pan drippings; and a homey side of spinach with black-eyed peas.

One stand-out feature will be the “Bowl of Red” — beef boar and beer chili with accoutrements, served in a silver tureen with choice of Fritos or buttered koji rice.

Design
The 56-seat restaurant will feature warm tones, banquettes, flooring changes, and details such as firemen’s pulley systems and brass fittings, keeping the history of the space alive. The entry will feature a welcoming portal on the first floor of the fire house to the bar and dining room.

The patio will be a continuation of the restaurant space with outdoor dining and vignettes of lounge furniture for smaller bites.

The Nobleman Hotel, a Tapestry Collection by Hilton concept, will open in early 2025, with 121 guest rooms and 32 extended stay suites with kitchenettes — pairing modern amenities with a historic façade, anchored by the original No. 5 Fire Station.

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