Coffee News

Low Doubt Bar on Fort Worth's Near Southside adds unexpected side bit

Cocktail with coffee at Low Doubt Bar

Low Doubt Bar

A bar in Fort Worth's Near Southside is brewing up an unusual cup of joe: Low Doubt Bar, the casual hangout at 120 St. Louis Ave. #108 that's a spinoff of live music venue Tulips, has added a specialty coffee bar, where it's serving coffee and caffeinated drinks.

Founder Jason Suder says the program is designed for customers like the service worker heading to their next shift, the nurse needing to stay alert, or the entrepreneur looking for a wifi and a caffeine fix.

"Coffee has always been part of our DNA," Suder says. "Whether it’s our first cup of the day as we wash off last night’s show or our tenth as the band finishes loading out, we live off coffee."

Suder opened Tulips FTW in November 2020 as a great bar and live music venue; then opened Low Doubt in early 2024 as an artsy space to grab a drink and unwind — creating a varied entertainment zone to which the coffee bar adds another facet.

Low Doubt has a charming, retro, laid-back vibe — if it were a vehicle, it would be one of those vans from the '70s with the orange and yellow stripes — and has a winking sense of humor, best exemplified by its daily opening time: 4:20 pm.

"So much of what we’re trying to do is show Fort Worth that we have options," Suder continues. "You don’t have to skip a concert because you’re taking a break from beer, miss happy hour because you’re on the wagon, or miss out on memories with friends because you don’t want to drink."

"By adding coffee and caffeinated drinks, we’re creating a space for people who want to be stimulated by the community without feeling removed from drinking culture," he says.

They're sourcing their coffee from acclaimed Counter Culture Coffee, a North Carolina-based roaster known for its commitment to quality and sustainability.

They're making use of an espresso machine they used when Tulips was operating as a daytime coffee shop during the pandemic, now revamped and applied more seamlessly to the bar. Coffee drinks are served as a happy hour or pre-shift pick me up, a jump start to someone’s night out, or a late night burst to sober up or keep their night going.

The menu includes espresso, Americano, cortado, machiato, con pana, and drip. Milk options include regular and non-dairy hemp. They also have a quartet of clever boozy coffee drinks that include: espresso with Liquor 43; Irish coffee; breakfast coffee with mezcal and Topo Chico; and an espresso martini.

"Low Doubt was built on black coffee and whiskey," Suder says. "Other coffee shops close at 8 pm, or 3 pm in the summer. We grew up on the Friends lie that we could meet up at the coffee shop after a bad date or strange movie. Now, we don’t have to choose between daytime coffee or nighttime booze—why not have both?"

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Empanada News

New restaurant in Roanoke treats diners to tantalizing Dominican eats

FrituWhaaa

A ghost kitchen serving vividly flavored Dominican food has settled into a permanent location in Roanoke: Called FrituWhaaa, it specializes in Cuban sandwiches and empanadas and is now open at 206 N. Oak St. in a food hall called The 206.

FrituWhaaa is owned by couple James and Rosa Brunder, who wanted to bring Dominican food to the Fort Worth area. The name itself is a play on the dish fritura, which is a medley of fried meats (like salami and sausage), cheese, and plantains.

The couple moved from the Northeast to Justin in November 2023 to venture into the food industry. They started out by cooking and selling food from their house. By spring, they had moved on to preparing takeout meals from a catering kitchen in North Richland Hills.

“We went into a ghost kitchen in March, and doors just started opening for us,” Rosa says. “We found this place in Roanoke, and now we’re here.”

Their menu doesn’t slack on variety, with sandwiches, rice dishes, empanadas with various fillings, and handmade drinks. Signature dishes include:

Cuban sandwich, which they dub "the ultimate grilled sandwich experience," featuring layers of pork, ham, Swiss cheese, mustard, and pickles, nestled between slices of toasted bread
Empanadas, which can be ordered in a choice of fillings including beef, pizza, cheese, and chicken and cheese
Arroz con gandules, a rice dish with pigeon peas and pernil, which is pork shoulder.

There are many delectable dishes — such as the patacon, a fried plantain sandwich that replaces bread with thin slices of plantains that are smashed and deep-fried until they're crunchy and crisp. They offer three options: ground beef, chicken, or pork, topped with sliced tomato and slaw. They come in regular "burger" size or in minis, four to an order — an exotic and irresistible little slider.

The Chimi is the Dominican version of a burger, featuring a ground beef patty topped with thinly sliced onion, tomato, and shredded cabbage, drizzled With special sauce and served on a bun that's similar to French bread. And Mangu Con Los 3 Glopes — mashed plantains with fried salami, cheese, and eggs with sautéed onions — is a dish that could be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Desserts include cheesecake and mousse in flavors such as pumpkin, Oreo, and mango. Drinks have a Dominican flair, including hibiscus lemonade, made with brewed hibiscus and passion fruit juice.

Dominican food is far more commonplace in Pennsylvania, where the couple spent 18 years, Rosa says.

“That's what made us want to open a restaurant with Dominican food, because it’s very hard to find that here,” she says.

Beyond sharing a taste of the Caribbean with customers, FrituWhaaa is dedicated to making the dining experience more personal and share their passion for the cuisine.

“The one thing that we are really big on is building a rapport with customers," Rosa says. "We want them to feel what we feel when we’re cooking. We want to transport them to either a memory they have of their childhood. It’s not just food, it’s an experience, it’s memories that are coming back.”