Cheesesteak News

Diner dishing out Philly cheesesteaks debuts in north Fort Worth

Philly Dave's cheesesteak and onion rings

Philly Dave's cheesesteak with a side of onion rings.

Photo courtesy of Philly Dave's

A new restaurant slinging Philly cheesesteaks has debuted in north Fort Worth: Called Philly Dave’s, it’s now open at 5500 N. Tarrant Pkwy., in the former Stevie’s Diner space, which sadly closed in April after 13 years.

Philly Dave’s is from a Philly cheesesteak veteran: David McCurtain, who previously owned The Burger & Philly Shack in Watauga, which he opened in 2009 with his wife, Charlotte.

McCurtain, who is in his 70s, sold his old restaurant in 2022, with every intention of retiring -- but found that he missed the energy of owning and running a restaurant.

"I tried it, it was good for a while, but I can't just sit at home," he says. "I had to find something else to do, according to my wife."

That meant returning to what he knew best, and when the Stevie's space came open, he dove in with a concept similar to what he'd done at the still-popular Burger & Philly Shack, with cheesesteaks, burgers, breakfast, and wings.

Philly cheesesteaks are the signature, and come in regular or half sizes, served on Amoroso's rolls — the famous brand name used (and manufactured) in Philadelphia, which McCurtain imports to make his sandwiches authentic.

He uses shaved ribeye, which you can get with onions, mushrooms, pickled banana peppers, provolone, or melted yellow cheese whiz.

But there are also gyro sandwiches and half a dozen Angus beef burgers, priced from $14-$16, including a Philly burger — topped with everything you'd get in a Philly cheesesteak.

Fried sides include French fries, plain or topped with chili and cheese, plus sweet potato fries and battered onion rings. Breakfast includes eggs, pancakes, biscuits, omelets, Belgian waffles, oatmeal, and French toast, all priced from $10-$14.

It's a small operation, but they make nearly everything in-house.

"We also do fried catfish — all of it is house-made," McCurtain says. "All of our hamburgers fresh and handmade, and we make our sauces in-house."

The place feels a little like a diner, although there is no table service — you order at the counter from a menu board overhead. The dining room, still new, boasts Texas touches such as corrugated tin, a wrought-iron sculpture of the state of Texas and horseshoes, and an image of the Texas flag, executed in weathered wood.

Though it might sound strange, McCurtain, a lifelong Fort Worth resident, has never even set foot in Philadelphia, the birthplace of Philly cheesesteaks.

“I don't like traveling to begin with — I'm a hands-on owner, I'm up here 15 hours a day," he says. "I think I saw one on TV years ago and said, 'That looks like a good sandwich.' And yet I have a lot of customers that lived in Philadelphia or been there, and they're repeat customers."

Chef News

Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomes bright new chef

FortWorthtx.gov

Will Rogers Memorial Center

There's a new chef in town: Waylon Cornelius, named executive chef of catering and concessions for Craft Culinary Concepts, the food and beverage provider at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Will Rogers Memorial Center is the 120-acre entertainment complex anchoring Fort Worth’s Cultural District, owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Cornelius will oversee menus for trade shows and other events at the center which bring in more than 2 million visitors a year.

Craft Culinary Concepts is headquartered in Glendale, Arizona, and manages food and beverage programs for entertainment, sports and cultural facilities.

Chef Waylon Corneliusfortworthtx.gov

According to a release, Cornelius joined the team this summer and is already shifting the expectations of guests from a typical “BBQ and beans” menu to a bill of fare satisfying every kind of palate.

“We always have fajitas ready to go, but we also make a beautiful Beef Wellington or baked salmon with a pink salt crust,” Cornelius says in a statement.

For consumer trade shows, Craft and its partners Caribou and Taco Heads offer more choices for the thousands of guests who attend events at WRMC annually.

“Some of our equestrian guests are away from home and here for several days, and they need more than popcorn and hot dogs,” Cornelius says. “Our concessions offer biscuits and gravy, burritos made in-house, strawberry salad, fruit and yogurt cups.”

A native of Mansfield, Cornelius grew up helping in a farm-to-table kitchen. He was raised on a farm with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather -- a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed vegetable gardens and raising hogs and chickens. He studied computer science after high school and holds an associate's degree in Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis from Tarrant County College.

He's a 2003 graduate of AIMS Academy of Culinary Arts in Dallas where he was mentored by a number of great chefs. While training as assistant executive sous chef at the AAA four-diamond Grand Hyatt DFW, he worked with Executive Chef Sutti Sripolpa, chef Eric Dreyer (who went on to be Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef), and Chef Jean-Claude Plihon, under whom he honed his French cooking skills.

As executive sous chef at the opening of Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille in Southlake, Cornelius gained expertise with volume. While at HG Sply Co., he learned about gluten-free items and other food allergies.

HG Sply is also where he crossed paths with Chef James R. Schell III, Craft’s general manager at WRMC, who recruited Cornelius to the complex.

"James said he needed someone who can hit moving targets, push the culinary team to be more avant-garde and use locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, so here I am," Cornelius says. "Culinary is a small world."

“I want people to say, ‘When we were in Fort Worth, you won’t believe what we got at Will Rogers!’” Schell says. “Even the celebrities who perform [in the auditorium] are surprised. When Chicago played here recently and we served dinner backstage, they said they felt treated like the Rolling Stones.”

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