Roundup of Dining News

Classic Tex-Mex rules this roundup of Fort Worth restaurant news

Don Artemio Chile en Nogada

fortworth.culturemap.com

This roundup of Fort Worth dining news includes some new openings, some coming soons, and some relocations. There are new fall dishes and many Tex-Mex treasures including a special margarita of the month.

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

Son of a Butcher is officially open at 9649 Sage Meadow Trail, bringing sliders to Alliance. It's the chain's fourth location, joining standalone locations in Grapevine and Lower Greenville plus its stall at Legacy Food Hall in Plano.The new 2,388-square-foot location offers indoor and outdoor seating with a dog-friendly patio, complete with turf grass, picnic tables, and fans.

Original ChopShop, a fast-casual chain known for bowls, salads, and sandwiches, has opened at 2960 Amador Dr. in the Alliance Town Center. This is the chain's first location in Fort Worth, and their first stand-alone shop in Texas, built from the ground up. The most popular dish is the teriyaki chicken bowl, which can be served with choice of forbidden rice, brown rice, or sweet potato hash. This opening marks the company’s 12th location in Texas out of a total 24 with locations in Phoenix, Atlanta, and Tucson.

Magdalena's Catering & Events has formed a partnership with Westland Restaurant Group to provide their catering. Chef Juan Rodriguez and Paige Rodriguez will continue to lead Magdalena's and also oversee catering and events for all Westland Restaurant Group concepts which include JD's Hamburgers, Curly’s Frozen Custard, Margie's Italian Gardens, West Side Cafe, and Pulido’s Kitchen & Cantina.

Pulido's Kitchen & Cantina, the Tex-Mex chain resuscitated from the brink by by Westland Restaurant Group, has erected its sign for its new location in Hurst. A sign is not food, but it's a sign of food coming soon: According to a Facebook post, they're hoping to open in the next 45 days.

Tres Betos Taqueria a longtime taqueria at 2408 NE 28th Street, moved into a new spot next door to its previous location, with more space and the addition of a a bar. They're known for their carefully prepared food including combination plates and house-made chips & salsa, as well as trendy birria tacos and birria ramen. Now you can get all that with a spicy margarita.

Don Artemio Restaurant, the plush Mexican restaurant in the West 7th District, is hosting the Festival del Chile en Nogada — featuring the special, traditional Chile en Nogada dish (pictured above) — which they'll serve from August 28 to October 20.

Melt Ice Creams, the Fort Worth ice cream chain, has partnered with Cirque du Soleil’s new country show, Songblazers, on a new limited-edition flavor: Cowboy Coffee, featuring a milk chocolate base steeped in roasted coffee, swirled with cookie pieces and espresso caramel ribbon. It'll launch on September 20 at the chain's four locations (three in Fort Worth, one in Dallas) and be available until it sells out.

Kate Weiser Chocolate has a new seasonal collection with five items: spicy pecan brittle with chipotle and cayenne spice; chewy caramels in apple, pumpkin, and orange cranberry flavors, pretzel toffee, pumpkin pie candy bar, and Caramallow Pumpkin Bites, a variety box set of six chocolate pumpkins filled with caramel and marshmallow.

Pulido puffy taco Pulido's puffy tacoPulido

Rusty Taco has its first-ever burrito. Filling in for its “Taco of the Month” is the Sunrise Slammer Burrito featuring scrambled eggs, tater tots, bacon, chorizo, jalapeno sausage, American cheese, and queso fresco. The Denton location is offering $3 margaritas Thursday-Saturday 10 pm-2 am through September.

SusieCakes has new seasonal treats, including sugar cookie sandwich with vanilla buttercream from September 20-22, and the pumpkin spice latte cupcake and molasses cookie available through September 29.

Mi Dia From Scratch is doing a fig and berry margarita as the Margarita of the Month for September, with Socorro Tequila and St. Germain The Flight of the Month showcases Socorro Silver, Reposado, and Añejo tequilas.

Chipotle has brought back smoked brisket after three years of fans clamoring for it. It's seared and seasoned with smoked serrano chili pepper and chipotle chili pepper, chopped into bites and finished in a brisket sauce with smoky chili peppers. It’s available for a limited time, how long they do not say.

Charleys Cheesesteaks has new menu items including a 20-piece boneless wing special starting at $17 and a vanilla ice cream cone for $1. Returning sandwiches include bacon chipotle cheesesteak, prime BBQ jalapeno cheesesteak, and pepperoni cheesesteak. Also, the watermelon strawberry lemonade is now a permanent menu item.

Cowboy Chicken has new creamy mashed potatoes with brown gravy, joining other Wild West sides including Ranchero beans flavored with jalapeños, baked sweet potatoes, Mexican street corn, and white cheddar mac & cheese.

Fogo de Chão has new fall menu items including whole branzino, a two-pound white fish prepared churrasco style and carved tableside, alongside roasted bone marrow served with crispy toast and chimichurri. At the Market Table, there’s also the seasonal roasted apple & butternut squash salad and the carrot ginger soup.

Moxies has a new menu by chef Brandon Thordarson featuring lump crab cake, mushroom zen bowl — with shiitake mushrooms, jasmine rice, cashew, and soy ginger glaze — crispy chicken sandwich, and a super greens salad.

Original ChopShop has a new ‘Make It Original’ protein bowl menu with new customizable bases, like roasted veggie mix, cauliflower rice, and jasmine rice. The updated menu also features the Italian Chop Salad with pickles, Apple Chai Lemonade, and a Daily Date Protein Shake. The special lasts through through December 31.

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria has a new fall menu through December 2 with Buffalo chicken pizza, Italian blu salad, and the bridge charcuterie board with Italian meats and cheeses, walnuts, apples, and strawberries, served with sliced bread. Fall desserts include pumpkin cheesecake and caramel apple cheesecake.

Mountain Mike’s Pizza has three new wing flavors: Sticky Kogi, Kickin’ Korean BBQ and Zesty Aloha, which draw inspiration from East Asia, Korea, and Polynesia. The wings are available through November 30.

Sonic Drive-In has a new smashburger cheeseburger featuring two Angus patties smashed to create a crispy edge, American cheese, signature Smasher sauce, crinkle-cut pickles, and diced onions, on a potato bun, for $6.49.

Panda Express is collaborating with Hot Ones on a limited-time blazing bourbon chicken, a spin on the Southern classic, with boneless chicken bites and veggies wok-tossed in a spicy-sweet bourbon sauce with Hot Ones Last Dab Apollo hot sauce. It's available through December.

McDonald’s has introduced the Mini McFlurry: a smaller size of their ice creamy treat, in flavors such as Oreo McFlurry, M&M's, or their limited-time flavors — allowing customers to enjoy just a bite.They've also taken a step towards sustainability with new four-flap cups, replacing plastic lids for both mini and regular McFlurries as part of an ongoing commitment to reducing waste and sourcing 100 percent of guest packaging from renewable, recycled, or certified materials by 2025.

news-you-can-eat

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