Eats

Classic Texas Cuisine Chef Marcus Paslay’s third restaurant will call the Stockyards home.

BY EDWARD BROWN

In early March, weeks before local restaurants began closing en masse, chef/ restaurateur Marcus Paslay made the call to temporarily shutter his two ventures, Clay Pigeon and Piattello Italian Kitchen. The preemptive move also meant postponing Paslay’s newest restaurant: Provender Hall, which was set to open that month in

“It was a tough situation for a lot of people,” he said. “We were fortunate that our businesses were strong, and we are able to weather the storm. Otherwise, we would have been one of the casualties.”

As we chatted inside Provender Hall, it was clear that the restaurant and bar are now ready to open. Waitstaff were preparing their respective stations, and a handful of guests were being given tours. Paslay said Provender Hall’s tentative opening date is early July.

The restaurant features several partitioned dining areas, including a large space upstairs that is topped with bare concrete walls — a reminder of the century-old one-time horse and mule barn. Provender, Paslay told me, refers to livestock feed. The dining loft once held hay, which made “Provender Hall” a natural fit for the new restaurant, he said.

Opening a restaurant in the historic Stockyards presented opportunities and challenges, he said. After toying with the idea of focusing on barbecue or fried fish, Paslay said he settled on the idea of using classic Texas dishes and traditional cooking techniques to set Provender Hall apart.

“We ended up coming up with a good American grille concept that has Texas’ greatest hits,” he said. The menu will include “anything from chicken-fried steak to smoked meats, oysters on the half shell, grilled trout, pimento cheese — the whole works.”

One feature that may define Provender Hall’s dishes will be the use of a J&R smoker and grill. Both devices rely entirely on wood (no electricity, no gas) to heat and smoke meats.

“For the purists, that’s important,” Paslay said. “We are excited to have it. For a chef, it’s fun to have those toys.”

Chef Scott Lewis will be the executive chef of all three of Paslay’s locations. Working under Lewis will be several chef de cuisines. Lewis came onto Paslay’s team as the executive chef at Piattello. The two chefs have built a high level of trust while learning from each other’s styles, Paslay said.

The ongoing economic struggles have shown Paslay that Fort Worth’s chefs and restaurateurs are a tightknit group that can offer a welcome network of support and ideas when needed, he added. Paslay anticipates that the early-July opening of Provender Hall will come with lessons and missteps, as any restaurant opening does, but once the staffers settle into their respective roles, the restaurant owner said the core features that have made Paslay’s establishments popular with locals will come to the fore.

“We want to start with quality ingredients, treat them right, and deliver them to the table the way they could and should be done,” he said. l

Edward Brown

EATS BULLETIN BOARD

The Big Apple Cafe 14200 Trinity Blvd #400 BigAppleSportsBar.cafe Specializing in pizza, wings and brew, this American pub is open 11am to 2am every day of the week. Each Saturday is a Karaoke Night starting 9pm. More info at Facebook.com/BigAppleCafe.

Black Coffee Fort Worth 1417 Vaughn Blvd Facebook.com/BlackCoffeeFW We specialize in interfusing global flavors into our very own craft beverages. Black

Ten to Try in East Fort Worth

Coffee is upping the scene of artisan coffee roasts in East Fort Worth. More info at BlackCoffeeFW.com

Creme De La Crème 6511 Lancaster FB @CremeDeLaCremeCakeCompany Creme De La Creme Cake Company is a unique bakery specializing in creating not only customized wedding cakes, grooms cakes, birthday cakes, and special event cakes using nothing but the freshest ingredients, but also at creating experiences to remember and treasure. More info at CremeDeLaCremeCakeCompany.com

Kim’s Donuts 3633 E Lancaster Ave Hours are 6 am to 12 noon every Monday to Friday.”They have most of the standard varieties of donuts plus some excellent breakfast sandwiches. Very good coffee and a small, chilled display case of juices and soda.” -Larry Crouch, (Review from Zamato.com).

La Rueda Restaurant 2317 Oakland Blvd Facebook.com/La-RuedaRestaurant Authentic Mexican Restaurant in East Side Fort Worth. Try them at a discount by going to Groupon.com/Biz/Fort-Worth/ La-Rueda.

Los Pastores Carniceria 3822 E Rosedale St LosPastoresFoods.com We are dedicated to serving our community with our Mexican dishes and products. Los Pastores is a family-owned business in Fort Worth. It was created by husband and wife Rosario and Alejandra Villalpando in 1996. Marisco’s La Jaibita 1224 S Ayes Ave Serving authentic Mexican seafood in East Fort Worth. Open 10am to 11pm seven days a week. Popular items include fajitas, tacos, and catfish. For more info search Mariscos La Jaibita Fort Worth on Yelp. com.

Smokey’s BBQ 5300 East Lancaster Ave Facebook.com/SmokeysBBQTX We open when the BBQ is ready and close when we sell out! Smokeys BBQ is the leader in Fort Worth when it comes to authentic Texan BBQ. More info at SmokeysFortWorth.com.

Taqueria Tepito 1510 NW 28th St Facebook.com/TepitoTaqueria We represent the gastronomic culture of Mexico and have a wide variety of flavors, colors and textures that make our Mexican food a delight. The basis of our cocinase is the predominant use of corn, beans, chiles, tomatoes and various meats and herbs, along with Mexican spices. “Taqueria Chilanga Antojitos y mucho más.”

Texas Style Chicken & Seafood 3854 E Lancaster Ave They are old-school, but you can find out what their fans think by checking out their location page on Facebook. Search by Texas Style Chicken Seafood.

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