News You Can Eat

West Side Cafe finds new owner and more Fort Worth restaurant news

Lucille's A Stateside Bistro has brought back the lobster roll.

Courtesy photo

In this roundup of dining news around Fort Worth, there are promising openings and sad closures. New owners, new menus, new desserts. Ice cream, cake, and frozen yogurt. And new craft beer.

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

West Side Cafe, the home-cooking restaurant on Camp Bowie Boulevard, has new ownership: Joel Hancock, the cafe's general manager for more than 20 years, is now owner, joined by his son Brian Hancock, in partnership with Westland Restaurant Group. West Side Cafe's longtime previous owner Tracey Sanford passed away in 2021. The cafe is known for its breakfasts and for classics like fried catfish, fried okra, squash casserole, cornbread, and buttermilk pie.

Eazy Monkey, the new concept from chef Andrew Dilda, opened on August 11, but for delivery only. The restaurant has “Asian-inspired flavors with Texas roots." Dishes include Crab rangoon nachos, Smoked brisket bao buns, Cheeseburger fried rice, Dan Dan Sloppy Joes, Beef cheek hash, and Orange chicken & bubble waffles. They're still waiting on permits so the dining room won't be open until September.

Dusty Biscuits Beignets is on the ropes again. Owner Trey Smith posted on August 8 that the restaurant was facing dire financial straits and was on the brink of closing. Many customers came out and bought beignets. But Smith says that unless he gets an infusion of capital, the restaurant's days are numbered.

Manny's Uptown Tex-Mex Restaurante shut down its location in Southlake at 151 Nolen Dr. the first week of August, after six years. They offered no explanation for the closure. Manny's was founded by Manny Rios in 2005 in Uptown Dallas. There are currently four locations: two in Dallas, in Lakewood and on Coit, plus Sachse and Heath.

Anderson Distillery & Grill closed its location in Roanoke on Sunday, August 13, and is relocating to Denton, to the old Red's Yard/ Backyard space at 410 N. Bell Ave.

Lucille's A Stateside Bistro at 4700 Camp Bowie Blvd. has a new menu with some past dishes including lobster roll, chicken salad sandwich, crab cakes, and fried green tomatoes plus some new items, as well.

Cruz Blanca Brewery will launch this month in North Texas in a partnership with Tenth & Blake, a division of Molson Coors, to bridge the gap between craft beer and the booming Mexican imports category. The beer will be brewed at Revolver Brewing in Granbury. Cruz Blanca will launch with three beers – Mexico Calling Lager Especial, Palm Shade Tropical Hazy IPA, and Chelada Lime + Sea Salt Tropical Lager – available on draft in August 2023, with retail later this year. Founded in 1869 and reimagined in Chicago in 2016, Cruz Blanca is one of the first breweries in the U.S. dedicated to brewing craft cervezas.

Weinberger's Deli, the Grapevine sandwich shop known for its authentic sub sandwiches, is expanding its vegetarian selections. They brought in a plant-based chicken which is a very convincing fake, and are using it in new offerings such as the Buffalo Chicken sandwich with melted provolone, shredded lettuce, cucumber, tomato, on a garlic toasted baguette. "If you’d like to cut the heat ask for a side of Ranch dressing," they recommend.

Melting Pot has a romance-infused four-course menu on Thursdays starting at $56, with cheese fondue, salad, and entrée such as filet mignon, Atlantic salmon, savory teriyaki steak, and a sparkling chocolate fondue ending. Tables are set with rose petals and candles. At 4900 Belt Line Rd. in Dallas-Addison, and Arlington 4000 Five Points Dr. in Arlington.

The Toasted Yolk Cafe has new menu items available for a limited time: Fried Banana Peppers; Strawberry Pico Pollo Pancakes featuring a chicken tender wrapped in a pancake drizzled with Siracha Aioli and topped with strawberry pico de gallo; Chicken & Waffles with chicken tenders and Belgian waffles flavored with cheddar cheese and diced jalapeños; Strawberry Casa-Hito with tequila, strawberry puree, and champagne; The Toasted Yolk Shot with Jameson Whiskey, butterscotch schnapps, and maple syrup, with OJ and candied bacon; The Cold Brew Shot with coffee, vodka, and whipped cream; The Beach-Side Shot with rum, pineapple juice, and coconut cream.

Tiff’s Treats has continued its partnership with Sprinkles Cupcakes with two new Sprinkles cupcakes flavors, available through October 1: Sprinkles Cookie Cupcake, a chocolate chip-studded yellow cupcake lined with a cookie crust, topped with brown sugar frosting; and Sprinkles Dark Chocolate, a Belgian dark chocolate cupcake topped with bittersweet chocolate frosting and chocolate paillettes.

Chuck E. Cheese is now serving slices of celebrity chef "Cake Boss" Buddy V’s cakes at the 16 Chuck E. Cheese locations in the DFW metro-area, in three flavors: Confetti, Vanilla Rainbow, and Chocolate Fudge, individually or as an add-on to a party package.

Van Leeuwen ice cream has partnered with Uber One on a limited edition flavor called Uber One BBQ Gold Cornbread Crumble, featuring corn ice cream with honey cornbread chunks and a BBQ swirl. Uber One Exclusives are limited to members only. Pints are $10.50 and available exclusively on Uber Eats as well as at Van Leeuwen stores with a membership flash.

Bar Louie has a new Martini of the Month: Envy Martini with Grey Goose L’Orange, Grey Goose Le Citron, melon liqueur, pineapple, simple syrup, Sprite, and an orange twist. Bar Louie has 65-plus locations nationwide, including four in the DFW area. They donate $1 to No Kid Hungry for each sale.

Yogurtland has a new limited-edition Cinnamon Churro Cereal frozen yogurt, which they're calling a breakfast-inspired treat although are churros not dessert? It's made with "real cinnamon," none of that fake cinnamon stuff, and available through the fall.

Cinemark Holdings, Inc. is partnering with DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats to deliver movie snacks to customers across Texas, with plans to expand nationally. Available items include popcorn, candy, ice cream, nachos, hot dogs, ice-cold sodas, and ICEEs. A spokesperson says there is consumer demand for this; go figure. It's available at Cinemark West Plano, Cinemark Dallas XD and IMAX on 11819 Webb Chapel Rd, Cinemark Allen, Cinemark Legacy and XD in Plano, Cinemark Frisco Square, CUT! by Cinemark Frisco, Cinemark Roanoke, Cinemark Grand Prairie, Cedar Hill, Mansfield, Rockwall, Denton, Lewisville, North McKinney, Tinseltown Grapevine, Alliance Town Center, North East Mall, and Ridgmar.

craft-beer 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