Madeworthy Nov/Dec 2022

CHANGE PRESENTS OPPORTUNITY.

Madeworthy Magazine is an extension of Tanglewood Moms,

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OF CL AS SE S AND CLAY

by Hannah Bush

Finding the perfect gift for the holiday season can be arduous. People have so much stuff, and it’s so easy to buy things off the Internet. And let’s face it, there are few things more aggravating than searching high and low for the perfect gift, only to find

Cortney

QContributors Questions

What local restaurant’s winter meals always hit the spot?

Mollie

I love everything at Spiral Diner. But the warm elote nachos always make my mouth water. In the winter, I always stop by to enjoy the bottomless coffee.

Victoria

My go-to chilly day meal is the veggie ramen from Wabi House. There’s nothing tastier!

Joe T’s with the whole family and rise nº3 with my mother and daughter.

out that the recipient bought it three weeks before their birthday. (No. I’m not still bitter.)

Why not give the gift of a class instead? Specifically, a pottery class.

Garret Pendergrass Pottery is a fully equipped, familycentered pottery studio located in Fort Worth’s most creative neighborhood, the Near Southside. Pendergrass, a ceramic artist and teacher who holds an MFA from the University of North Texas, opened his laid-back studio to share his pottery passion with likeminded creatives who don’t mind getting their hands dirty. He offers open studio time, kiln rentals, technique classes, and private and group lessons for all levels and ages. The only requirement? You can’t take yourself or the clay too seriously.

I recently sat down with Garret to talk clay and classes.

Hannah Bush: Ceramics seems to be an instant hobby for most. Were you hooked after your first time at the wheel?

Garret Pendergrass: Immediately! Ceramics was my last elective I

needed to graduate from undergrad, and I was hooked. After graduating, I quickly decided to buy a pottery wheel. My professor was kind enough to stick me in a janitorial closet so I could continue to practice my new skills. I knew ceramics was going to be my lifelong passion.

HB: Where do you source your clay?

GP: Luckily, the bygone days of finding a clay pit near a river somewhere are bygone. I email local suppliers, such as Texas Pottery Supply, Trinity Ceramics, or American Ceramics Supply to get clay, glazes, or any equipment that I may need to keep the pottery studio up and running. I personally use S-6 clay from Texas Pottery. It’s a white stoneware that fires to a nice off-white, maximizing bright glaze colors

HB: Is it more fun to work with kids or adults? Be honest.

GP: It truly ebbs and flows. Generally, throughout the school year I have mostly adults. I love our conversations during a lesson. Right when I think I won’t teach kids again, summer pottery camps start up, and it reminds me how much fun kids are. I laugh a lot more around the kiddos, but I do like the interaction when teaching adults once summer ends.

HB: What has pottery taught you? GP: Patience. Pottery has taught me, above all else, to give myself time to acquire new skills and give myself grace when things don’t go according to plan.

HB: I took ceramics in high school and was incredibly ungifted. Is there still hope for someone like me?

GP: Someone like you is my specialty. Within a few minutes, I’ll teach you basic steps like centering and coning, and before long, you’ll have a couple of pieces of pottery to call your own.

HB: How does open studio work? GP: Open studio is beneficial to students who have a basic understanding and working knowledge of pottery techniques. If you can wedge your clay, work and clean independently, then Open Studio is right for you. It is $15 an hour which includes the price of clay. Many of my students, who have taken a few private lessons or finished a small group course, choose to transition to open studio. If you have any questions, just reach out to us and we’ll make sure you feel comfortable starting open studio on your own.

HP: What do you always remind your students when they are working with clay?

GP: First and foremost, you should have fun. Then, you should relax and breathe while you’re working. This is supposed to be enjoyable and stressfree. Don’t take yourself too seriously starting off.

HB: Is there always a little bit of clay under your fingernails?

GP: Heck no! My wife has a sanitizing protocol before I’m allowed to sleep! No clay is allowed in the sheets.

Buck Righteous Foods Lee It’s a toss-up between Taste Community Restaurant and Wishbone & Flynt.

Andre Wabi House

Jameson

Wise

Julie Esperanza’s green chicken enchiladas –winter, spring, summer, and fall!

Trish

The grilled steak sandwich at the Meat Board.

Hannah Piattello

Photo courtesy of Garret Pendergrass

Nov 1

FORT WORTH EVENTS Nov/Dec 2022

Victoria Wise, TanglewoodMoms.com

founder and Madeworthy publisher, brings you the top Fort Worth experiences. You do not want to miss these!

Tea & Tours, Speaking with Light: Contemporary Indigenous Photography: The Amon Carter Museum of American Art | cartermuseum.org

Nov 1

The Secret to Roasting Coffee at Home: Stage West | stagewest.org

Nov 3-6

The Hollow: Amphibian Stage | amphibianstage.com

Nov 19

Parents Night Out: Fort Worth Zoo | fortworthzoo.org

Nov 22, 23

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical: Bass Hall | basshall.com Nov 25

The Eagles: Dickies Arena | dickiesarena.com

Nov 25-27

Courtesy of Amphibian Stage

Nov 4

Camp Fire, An Artists' Christmas: Gala and Art Auction: Fort Worth Convention Center | campfirefw.org

Nov 4-5

56th Annual Cowboy Artists of America Exhibition and Sale: Will Rogers Memorial Center | cowboyartistsofamerica.com

Nov 5-6

Fall Japanese Festival: Fort Worth Botanic Garden | fwbg.org

Nov 7-11, 14-16

Margaret’s Market: Margaret Meacham Hall | thewomansclubfw.com

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Home for the Holidays: Bass Hall | fwsymphony.org

Nov 25 – Dec 23

A Christmas Carol: A New Musical Comedy: Casa Mañana| casamanana.org

Nov 26

Eli Young Band: Billy Bob’s Texas | billybobstexas.com

Nov 27

Pat Green in Concert: Tannahill's Tavern & Music Hall | ticketmaster.com

Dec 1,2

Cookies & Castles: University Christian Church | cookiesandcastlesfw.com

Nov 10

Handel's Messiah: Will Rogers Auditorium | fwsymphony.org

Nov 10-12

Lone Star Film Festival | lonestarfilmfestival.com

Photo courtesy of Cookies & Castles

Dec 3

Fort Worth Margarita Ball: Worthington Renaissance Dec 3

The Clearfork Holiday Market: The Shops at Clearfork | clearfork1848.com

Dec 6

Turnover: Tulips | tulipsftw.com

Dec 8 – Jan 8

Handle with Care: Stage West | stagewest.org

Dec 9

Photo courtesy of the Lone Star Film Society

Nov 11-13

Elf: The Musical: Bass Hall | basshall.com

Nov 12, Dec 10

Race Street Rollick: Race Street | rivereastfortworth.com

Nov 13

Fort Worth Marathon | fortworthmarathon.org

Nov 13

Fort Worth Opera presents My Sister's Keeper: Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU | fwopera.org/oftheeising

Nov 13

Mat Kearney: The Acoustic Trio Tour: Ridglea Theater | eventbrite.com

TCU Women’s Basketball v Missouri State: Schollmaier Arena | gofrogs.com

Photo courtesy of TCU Athletics Dec 9-24

Texas Ballet Theater, The Nutcracker: Bass Hall | basshall.com

Dec 23

Cirque Musica: Holiday Wonderland: Dickies Arena | dickiesarena.com

Nov 18-19

George Strait: Dickies Arena | dickiesarena.com

Nov 18 – Jan 8

Lightscape: Fort Worth Botanic Gardens | fwbg.org/lightscape

Photo courtesy of Dickies Arena Dec 31

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, A Tribute to ABBA: Bass Hall | fwsymphony.org

Dec 31

Black Tie Dynasty: Tulips | tulipsftw.com

Photo courtesy of The Women’s Club

Fresh Family Recipes

by Lee Virden Geurkink

Crawfish Mac

This dish from Fitzgerald (see page 18) is one of the most popular on the new seafood restaurant’s menu. A luxurious blend of three cheeses and blackening seasonings lift this macaroni and cheese above the everyday dinner to something extraordinary.

[Please note, this recipe includes clarifications from our editor to make it easier for home cooks.]

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 ½ cups milk

1 ½ cups heavy cream

3 ounces shredded Parmesan

3 ounces shredded Gruyère

3 ounces shredded Manchego

2 tablespoons blackening seasoning, more or less

[Editor’s Note: I prefer Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning)

3 cups elbow or cavatappi pasta, cooked to just barely al dente

6 ounces crawfish tails

Directions

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook for about 4 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste. Slowly add in the milk and heavy cream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Cook for about 5 minutes to ensure the sauce is thickened.

Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the shredded cheeses. Continue stirring until the cheeses have melted. Stir in the blackening seasoning and taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Bring sauce up to temperature over low heat.

Add the cooked pasta and crawfish tails and stir to incorporate. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta and crawfish are warmed through. Serve with a crisp green salad with a tart vinaigrette and good, crusty bread.

Cacio e Pepe Fritters

These delicious fritters from Tre Mogli Cucina Italiana (see page 18) are a riff on the classic Roman pasta. Served with a simple tomato sauce, these make the perfect starter for a fancy dinner.

Ingredients

½ cup butter

½ cup water

½ cup whole milk

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

1 cup Pecorino Romano, grated

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

4 large eggs

32 ounces canola oil

Directions

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, bring the butter, water, milk, and salt to a simmer. Add in the flour and beat hard with wooden spoon until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Set the pan to the side for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Add 1 egg at a time, beating vigorously with wooden spoon until each is fully incorporated. Mix in the cheese and pepper, cover, and let sit at room temperature.

In a deep fryer or a large pot over medium high heat, bring canola up to 350°. Using a small scoop or a soup spoon, add halfdollar-sized scoops to oil for 4 to 5 minutes, or until fritters float and are golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Slow Cooker Apple Crumble

Holiday mornings are usually chaotic, especially if you’re hosting the family for feast later in the day. This recipe from It’s About Thyme is perfect because you can start it in the slow cooker just before you go to bed, and it will be ready when your little darlings wake you up before the crack of dawn to see if Santa came. It also will fill your house with the most delicious smells. Plus, because it’s mostly apples, it’s healthy, right?

Ingredients

For the Crumble:

¾ cup flour (I actually use white whole wheat flour for this – you know, healthy) ½ cup old-fashioned oats (don’t use quick or instant oats, they will disintegrate into a gloopy mess)

½ cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick COLD butter

For the Apples:

10 to 12 apples (I use a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and chunked ½ cup white sugar Juice and zest of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg ¼ teaspoon ground cloves Pinch of salt

Directions

For the Crumble:

In a bowl, mix the flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the COLD butter into small chunks and mix into the flour and oat mixture. (Did I mention the butter needs to be COLD?) Rub the butter with your fingers, incorporating them into the flour and oat mixture until the butter chunks are no larger than a small pea or lentil.

For the Apples: Combine the apples, lemon juice and zest, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in the slow cooker and toss to combine well.

Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 2 ½ hours. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the apples and cook on low with the cover on for another hour. Then remove the cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes to remove the excess moisture. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or, if you dare, a scoop of ice cream. (Nothing like getting the kiddos ramped up on sugar before the grandparents arrive!) Serves 6 and makes great leftovers.

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Winslow's Wine Café

by Victoria Wise

What do you get when you combine two guys with the last name of Berry, a Blue Heeler named Winslow, and a lot of cocktail napkins?

You get Winslow’s Wine Café, which has been serving Fort Worth good food, good wines, and great hospitality for almost 15 years.

Madeworthy’s publisher, Victoria Wise, connected with Joe Berry (one of the two guys with the last name of Berry) to talk about what makes Winslow’s a place that’s Made in Fort Worth.

Victoria Wise: I lived on Thomas Place when Winslow’s opened in 2008. That area of Camp Bowie didn’t have a walkable hang out spot, and we were all so excited to see you open. What made you pick that spot?

Joe Berry: I spent over three months

searching for a location. I knew that I wanted it on Camp Bowie between Montgomery and Interstate 30…

There was a huge demand for a concept like Winslow’s for the neighborhood. I fell in love with the history of the [former] gas station. I had to have it.

VW: One of your biggest draws is your dining. How did you decide on a menu, and how has that evolved?

JB: We let the neighborhood create the menu. The first four years, we changed the menu every season... Every quarter we change about four times, [making sure to consider] guests’ requests

VW: You certainly have your regulars; you’re a well-loved neighborhood spot. What do you think draws people back weekend after weekend?

JB: “I do not own Winslow’s; I just manage it for the neighborhood”. If I focus on this, I know they will always come back.

VW: You weren’t always in the food and wine business; tell us about your life before Winslow’s.

JB: I have always been in the hospitality business. Running a sporting event isn’t too different from running a restaurant. I started as a

night driver for the Woodlands Inn in Houston. I worked my way up to a bellman to manager of guest services. When I was 24, they offered me a job as an account executive... I moved to be a sales manager to a conference center in Santa Cruz, California… then went to work at the Ojai Valley Inn. [Later] I became Director of Sales for PGA events… [before I was hired as] the tournament director of a new LPGA event in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After four years, I received a call from the NBA which was starting up the NBA development league. The first year, we had five teams in the league; I was president. When I left to come to Fort Worth in 2000, there were 16 teams.

VW: What surprising things have you learned in this business?

JB: It asks for your life, and it will take it if you let it.

VW: Tell us about your happy hour and weekend brunch.

JB: We have happy hour Monday to Friday from 4 to 7 and on Sunday night from 4 to 9. There’s always a white, red, and a bubbly or rosé on the happy hour menu, as well as pizzas and appetizers. We offer 30% off bottles of wine on Sundays and Tuesdays.

VW: Tell us about your staff. I imagine

they must feel like family.

JB: Covid has changed the fabric of everyone in the hospitality industry. We’re building a new family like everyone else. I am very excited with the foundation we have laid out and look forward to building on what we have.

VW: What’s the thing that makes you proud to be the owner of Winslow’s?

JB: One hundred percent, it’s the dog charities I get involved with in Tarrant County. There is nothing more satisfying raising 1,500 pounds of dog food for the city shelter or hosting the Winslow Memorial event for wine and dog lovers in the fall... Winslow’s allows me the freedom to get involved with giving, and for that, I will always be blessed.

VW: What’s your advice to aspiring restaurant and bar owners now that you are approaching 15 years in the business?

JB: You’ll hear a thousand times that you’re crazy to get in the restaurant business. It definitely takes a certain person to get in this industry. The best advice that was given to me is that there are times when you’re running the restaurant, and there are times the restaurant is running you. Knowing when the restaurant is running you is very important.

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Photos courtesy of Winslow's Wine Cafe

Teaming up for the Holidays

by Buck Elliott

Photos courtesy of TCU Athletics

Cooler weather has come to campus, mums are on porches, and pumpkin spice everything is everywhere. The winter holidays are here.

Holidays generally revolve around long-established traditions and family.

But what if your situation doesn’t reflect convention, or you have to work during the holidays? Therein lies the challenge TCU women’s basketball team dribbles against every holiday season, as they grind towards their goals in practice or travel to games and tournaments.

I asked Coach Raegan Pebley, in her ninth season as Head Hardwood Frog, how she and her players celebrate the holidays. “[I grew up in] a group of six children, so resources as a kid were limited.” The former University of Colorado star and inaugural WNBA draft selection said her family values togetherness, and gifting was done with small gestures. Pebley’s childhood inspired her team’s Secret-Santa tradition. Patricia Morris, TCU’s senior center, excitedly described the team’s gifting extravaganza: “We usually buy three small gifts that are given leading up to Christmas, and then one larger gift at the end.” Coach Pebley said the exchange is so popular among the players they start planning for next year as soon as Christmas is over.

Every family is eclectic in their own way, but a roster of Division I athletes competing in a popular international sport are more eclectic than most.

Tara Manumaleuga, a senior shooting guard from Queensland, Australia, is unable to visit her family during Frog basketball’s longest break during the winter holidays, a whopping three consecutive

days. “If I did, I'd probably be home for about 20 minutes with the time changes.” Manumaleuga has a Stateside uncle who played football for the University of Arizona, but most of her family is Down Under. She said Australians don’t have a Thanksgiving-equivalent holiday, but her Christmas back home is quite the event thanks to her extended family. “We’ll have full on basketball or volleyball tournaments at my house [where they have their own courts] or go and cookout on the beach.” (Christmas in Queensland is in the height of summer.)

For most of us, holidays are about food as well as family. Pebley had a mobile childhood. The daughter of a coach, her family moved across the country, from North Texas to St. Louis to Utah, where she played high-school basketball. (She started her head-coaching career at Utah State.) Her mom, in addition to raising six children, is a talented cook and would assign holiday cooking duties to Raegan and her siblings.

“Baking was my area, and I’d most often make buckeye peanut butter chocolate balls, or sugar cookies.” Cooking with her siblings in her mother’s kitchen led to preparing meals for her athlete family. Pebley usually hosts her players for holiday meals and cooks, giving her players a little taste of home. Manumaleuga recalled last year’s dinner of Chipotle, Coach's cranberry salsa, Pebley’s mother’s famous rolls, as well as traditional African cuisine ordered from Mama B’s International Kitchen in Grand Prairie.

When asked her holiday must-have, Morris says it’s all about the dressing (or stuffing, depending on how you identify it). Her dad’s cornbread-based recipe with celery and onions is non-negotiable for her. Growing up, Morris helped cook her family’s holiday meal as her father’s sous-chef. The WNBA hopeful’s plate typically includes turkey, ham, greens, and mac and cheese. The dessert of choice is her aunt’s incredible fruitcake.

Manumaleuga’s Christmas meal has a Polynesian flair, thanks to her Samoan roots. The psychology major, who plans to continue her career back in Australia or possibly Europe, explained that pavlova, a dessert of baked meringue, whipped cream, and toppings which can include fruits or chocolate, is the food that means the holidays to her. Unfortunately, it isn’t something you see in America much.

Coach Pebley, who has children of her own, said that no matter where her family is on Christmas Eve – which can be just about anywhere –they’re going to make s’mores. Her family modifies them to their liking: graham crackers and marshmallows are the mainstays, but the Pebley kids have been known to get creative, doctoring them with peanut butter, Nutella, sprinkles... The combinations are almost endless.

Regardless of where they are, for TCU’s ladies of the court, holidays are special because of the people they are with. Family can take many forms, and it’s obvious that these women are just that, with their own traditions as they make Fort Worth their home. The rest is just dressing, so to speak.

From the First Financial family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We’re truly thankful to serve and be a part of the community. First Financial,You First.

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Riding the Wave at La Onda

by Julie Rhodes

Photos by Andre Le

Misty Villareal sits down next to me on a long banquette bench in the dining room of the restaurant she and her husband Victor opened during the pandemic. She's lovely in a blush bridesmaid's dress with her hair done just so and her earrings catching the light.

This Saturday night in September of 2022 is the first Saturday night Misty and Victor have had off since the couple opened their restaurant, La Onda, in June of 2021. They went out, celebrated at a wedding with friends, had some drinks. And now they’re back at the restaurant. Perhaps they’re drawn here automatically, like it’s some sort of existential charging station.

Chef Victor is in a dapper vest with his shirt sleeves casually rolled up. He’s checking in with the man behind the bar and with the lone waitress who have been manning La Onda — Spanish for “the wave”

— all night while they’ve been gone. Things, from what I can tell, have gone smoothly this evening. There are still a few scattered patrons finishing up their mezcal cocktails and oysters in the shadowy corners of the refurbished Craftsman bungalow on Race Street. The Villareals expect things to be up to a certain standard, you can tell, especially now that La Onda is a nationally recognized restaurant. That’s why things have been so busy lately.

A few weeks before our interview, Misty and Victor got news that you might expect to be delivered by a golden goose with a parchment scroll in his beak: La Onda made Bon Appétit magazine’s list of “Best New Restaurants 2022.” Instead of said gilded waterfowl, however, the Villareals learned of this honor when a food writer friend in Dallas shared the magazine’s social media post with them by way of congratulations. Sure, the Bon Appétit people had requested some stock photos of La Onda’s Latininspired seafood dishes, but the Villareals hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.

Since then, the literal phones have been ringing off their proverbial hooks, and Misty and Victor are the ones calling everybody back. The Villareals don’t have silent partners or investors. It’s just the two of them and a small staff running the hottest restaurant in town. (My husband Gordon and I couldn’t get a reservation for two until 8:30 on this Saturday. We called on Tuesday.)

“Is it always this busy?” I asked during my phone interview with the Villareals that Tuesday morning, while Misty simultaneously made my reservation and answered all my writerly questions because she’s a rockstar and can multitask like that.

“You have no idea,” said Misty. “We were having a fairly slow summer for business, and then it just did a complete 180.”

I could hear Victor in the background catching up on voicemails from people requesting spots at one of

The Bon Appétit award was “really unexpected,” Victor tells me once he finishes his calls. “We work really hard and do the best that we can. It’s just such a blessing.”

Misty adds that the award is an affirmation on Victor’s vision and approach and that it “helped to solidify that he’s doing what he’s supposed to do.” But what is Victor doing that’s gained such notoriety?

Two words: dry aging.

You’ve probably heard of dry aging because you live in Fort Worth, and in Fort Worth, we are wellversed in the ways of dry-aged steaks. But have you ever heard of a dry-aged mahi-mahi or dry-aged octopus? Me either.

In the Bon Appétit review that accompanied the award, the writer claimed that “seafood magic is happening” at La Onda. If you think about the nature of magic, it’s essentially taking ordinary objects and giving them extraordinary abilities. Dry aging can give a humble fish magical powers, and the Villareals have bet their careers on it.

Victor, who describes himself as “a process guy,” got the idea for dry aging fish from an Australian chef named Josh Niland, who also seems to be really into processing seafood in a way that debunks the assumption that fresher is better. Japanese sushi chefs learned long ago to age their fish pieces a day or two to bring out the flavor. Josh Nilan extended this idea by aging the whole fish, which is key to preservation and flavor. Victor has followed suit.

“[Dry aging] allows me to hold these beautiful fish a lot longer,” he says. “Your average fish only last three to five days. I could age it a week or two, and it only makes it better. The key is keeping it as whole

the only 12 tables — 32 seats total — inside the La Onda dining room.

as possible, so you protect the meat.”

Victor has a set of special fish “lockers” he uses to cure the fish in-house and loves to show them to whomever is interested in understanding his method. You can tell he’s proud of them. “My health inspector loves me,” Victor jokes. “I’m the only guy in town who wants to show her my seafood.”

When Gordon and I sit down on the banquette in our cozy corner booth, we order the ceviche and the whole roasted fish of the day. Parrotfish is the featured fish of the day because it’s “the fish that decided to be caught,” Misty says. Their Hawaiian supplier line-catches whatever they can

experience. “All of our food is meant to be more shareable,” says Misty. “We want everyone to get a bunch of stuff to share at the table.”

Though they seem to have struck culinary gold, Misty and Victor would probably be the first to admit the seeming overnight success of La Onda has its origins in the years before they ever knew each other. After training in Germany and then cooking under a renowned Michelin-starred chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Victor was already a seasoned (again with the cooking puns!) chef when he came to Fort Worth. Once here, he learned how to work with a wood-fired grill under Marcus Pasley at Clay Pigeon and how to cut and cook fish under Blaine Staniford at Grace.

Misty is a long-time restaurant manager, most recently managing Crockett Hall, the food hall in Crockett Row on West 7th Street. (It closed this past January). It was at Crockett Hall where she and Victor met four years ago; he ran a gourmet pizza kitchen in the Hall. They became friends and talked about opening a restaurant together someday. “Then we started dating. Then we got married,” laughs Misty, as though the whole thing was like bam-bam-bam.

Then the pandemic hit. Then they opened La Onda. Bam. Bam.

Then Bon Appétit happened. Bam.

The lovely little 1918 bungalow in which La Onda is housed is painted a dark cobalt blue with crisp white trim. Converting it from an ice cream parlor to a fish locker/fine dining destination was truly a labor of pandemic love for Misty and Victor, who renovated most of it themselves. They happily found the bungalow to be almost completely turnkey, with

variant surged in and wreaked havoc. “Up and down, up and down,” is how Misty describes the past year, which she points out is ironic, given what la onda means in Spanish. This past summer was the bottom of the wave with sales numbers shrinking as the temperatures inflated. Misty says Victor was really “down in the dumps” thinking that nobody wanted to eat his food. Then the Bon Appétit article served up a heaping helping of curious gastronomes, and the Villareals are now riding high on the wave’s crest. What will happen next is anybody’s guess, but Misty and Victor believe in the palates of Fort Worthians.

“There’s a day and night difference from when I started cooking [in this city],” insists Victor. “We still like our barbeque and burgers, and that will never stop. It’s Texas. But there’s more to life than brisket and nachos!”

He says this with a smile. Victor clearly appreciates the legendary Fort Worth food culture with the rest of us who live and dine where the West begins. However, he’s convinced that our taste buds have evolved past the normal clichés about Cowtown, and he and Misty are here to satisfy them. “What we can do is change people’s minds about the other food that they don’t eat.”

The “other food” is the key to distinguishing La Onda as a restaurant over the long haul, but can it be sustained? I asked what it’s like for Misty and Victor to live and work together so closely.

They’re honest, each admitting a tendency towards alpha stubbornness and grin about occasionally butting heads. Ultimately, Misty trusts Victor to “do the back” of the restaurant, while he trusts her to “do the front,” which she does with a definite flair, running the floor and crafting cocktails with names like The Salty Ginger and Siesta Thyme and Let That Mango.

“We both have work-horse mindsets,” says Misty. I note that she and Victor seem to have also implicitly accepted the long hours and juggling required for their blended family of three kids and two dogs. They’re living a full life from sunup to long past sundown.

and overnights it to La Onda. I like the idea that the gorgeous fish on my plate, the one I’m about to lovingly wrap in house made corn tortillas and ornament with beautifully fresh pico de gallo, decided it was worth being caught for little old me.

Misty and Victor usually recommend first-time guests enjoy the “Shark-cuterie” board as the quintessential La Onda introductory dish, but they were out of the ingredients by the time Gordon and I arrived. No, it’s not made from shark, but Victor proudly takes credit for the name. (It’s cute, and he knows it.) However, the ceviche of the week is a close second in the must-try category, and Gordon and I found it refreshing and bright, like the color neon orange exploded in our mouths.

The place itself — the atmosphere and the experience the Villareals want to create for their customers — reflects who they are as people, Misty and Victor say. This boils down (pardon the cooking pun) to a casual-yet-elevated ethos.

“Elevated” is the word the two of them frequently use to describe the experience they’re aiming for, but they talk about it like normal people, not like food snobs.

“We like fancy food with a casual atmosphere,” says Misty, and when you walk through the cheery yellow door from the casual bustle of Race Street and sit down to order market-price caviar, you believe her.

Most importantly, Misty and Victor want La Onda to be a place where people can come for a community

mostly cosmetic upgrades required. Misty and Victor signed the lease in July of 2020 and opened their doors in June of 2021. “All of our friends are like ‘Y’all are nuts,’” laughs Misty, who then adds, “Since we weren’t doing anything anyways, we thought it was perfect timing.”

Some people baked bread and binged Tiger King on Netflix during the pandemic. Others opened regionally significant restaurants. To each his own, I guess.

At first, business was booming with the buzz surrounding almost any new restaurant during that hazy Covid summer when vaccines had emboldened patrons to get back out, right before the Delta

When they do steal away for a date, Misty and Victor usually go out and eat — drum-roll, please seafood, typically at a local place to give back to the Fort Worth culinary world. The Villareals particularly love a place called Asiannights Lao Thai Cuisine & Bar, which Victor describes as “one of the most fantastic” Lao restaurants he’s ever visited. He talks enthusiastically about Asiannights for a few minutes, segueing from their use of adventurous ingredients to their family-run nightclub, transforming from chef into spokesperson in a generous outpouring of praise. As our interview wraps up, I decide that’s what defines both Victor and Misty: their generosity.

To the Villareals, success is being able to give back to the community as they expand the La Onda brand into a staple of Fort Worth cuisine.

“My food is a little different, but I like that,” says Victor.

So do we, Victor. So do we.

“Elevated” is the word the two of them frequently use to describe the experience they’re aiming for, but they talk about it like normal people, not like food snobs.

“”

Purpose:

Scotty Scott of 'Cook Drank Eat'

limited with that bachelor’s degree. I decided to go to law school primarily out of a desire to make more money but also to learn about law and business.

MW: Food is inextricably tied to memory, as your book proves. What is your first real food memory?

SS: It’s funny that you say that because in sitting down to write the book, I started going through old recipes my mother used to make in my mind. Some of the recipes I’d totally forgotten about until I sat down and started thinking about old family dinners. I remember one discussion vividly… a debate between my mother and uncle as to how many eggs belonged in the mac and cheese. My mother said five, my uncle six to eight. Mine uses two to three.

MW: Your older boy is your sous chef in a lot of your Instagram videos, and you're a natural teacher. Did your family let you help in the kitchen?

SS: Absolutely, that is where my passion for cooking began. My parents were slightly older for that time when they had me (around 35), so most of my cousins were much older than me. With a sister 14 years older as well, I was raised around a lot of adults. Instead of playing by myself, many times I would be hanging out in the kitchen, soaking up tips and tricks and helping out anytime they would let me.

MW: You have a new baby in the house, as well as your amazing sous chef. Are you making baby food?

SS: Absolutely. I been dabbling a little bit with the basics – steamed carrots, peas, and bananas mixed with breast milk – but I’ll be getting a little more adventurous once he’s eating more than he’s leaving on the highchair. I’m thinking maybe some sous vide meals.

MW: This issue of Madeworthy is our traditional food, holidays, and celebrations issue. What's your go-to dish to take to a holiday party?

SS: Hands down, sweet potato pie. Everyone loves pie. It’s also a good dish that travels well even if made the night before, as I’m very finnicky about when people consume my food. I also like introducing those that may not have had sweet potato pie to one of my favorite desserts.

missing?

SS: Just more variety. I know several cuisines that have taken off in other cities (Vietnamese bakery, Korean barbecue, Ethiopian) that haven’t seemed to get a foothold in the city center. You can find them on the outskirts, but I don’t think people embrace foods outside of Tex-Mex and barbecue in the downtown area.

MW: What's next for you? Will we get another cookbook? (And do you need recipe testers?)

SS: I’m putting together a proposal for a new cookbook. As my last cookbook was written during COVID, I’m sure my partner would welcome someone else sampling the food this time around. I’m also looking into doing a little bit of television. I never really saw myself as a TV personality, but I’ve got mouths to feed.

Madeworthy: You recently made the jump from Instagram foodie and popup caterer to cookbook author with the publication of Fix Me a Plate. (Congrats, btw!) Can you tell us a little about the transition from Instagram star to author?

Scotty Scott: Well apparently, I was doing it all wrong. I talked to a couple other authors, and apparently the usual process is one year-ish of planning and proposing the book idea and then one year of recipe testing, writing, and photography. In my case, the publisher reached out to me and asked me and… not fully knowing what I was getting myself into, I agreed to turn the book around in 10 months. It was fairly daunting, but all in all, it was a very enjoyable experience, especially the research…

MW: Your recipes and Instagram videos speak of a deep and long-lasting love affair with food, yet you went to law school, presumably wanting to be a lawyer. Tell us a little about how the law's loss is cooking's gain.

SS: My undergraduate degree is in psychology with a minor in political science. After graduating, I knew I was not interested in psychology enough to get a masters or PhD and thought my employment opportunities would be

MW: Fix Me a Plate is full of foods that were passed down to you by your family. What recipe or food loves do you hope to pass down to your children?

SS: Ultimately, I just want them to be able to enjoy the process. Time doesn’t always permit during the week, but on weekends and holidays, the preparation of food was always the focal point of family get-togethers.

MW: What do you think the Fort Worth food scene needs and is currently

MW: What's one piece of advice for aspiring food bloggers/cookbook authors?

SS: For food bloggers, focus on your website. That is your home base and your baby, and if done correctly, can sustain you. Without your home base, you can find yourself at the mercy of social media trends... With a strong website, people will find you and then go to [your social media]. For cookbook authors, think of what inspires you in the kitchen. Having a theme makes the writing much easier.

Photos courtesy of Scotty Scott

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MAKING ROOM CELEBRATING LAS POSADAS

“But there was no room at the inn.” That was my line in my preschool’s Christmas pageant, and I delivered it with appropriate solemnity, tinged with a little bit of righteous indignation. After all, what four-year-old child wouldn’t be outraged that Mary and Joseph couldn’t find a place to sleep?

Each year, our preschool presented a Christmas pageant. Usually, it was the standard Nativity play, complete with lots of sheep and angels. That year, however, the school decided to present a posada. Celebrated yearly from December 16 through 24, Las Posadas (Spanish for “the inns”) is a religious ceremony celebrated in Mexico, parts of Latin America, the Philippines, and in Hispanic communities in the United States. It is, in fact, a novenario, or extended devotional, as well as a community gathering.

Over the nine nights, processions are held, recreating Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging on the night of Jesus’ birth. Certain houses are chosen to be the “inns,” and the processions are led by a child dressed as an angel. “Mary” and “Joseph” visit the “inns” and are turned away. While the processions are part of a greater devotional, the posadas are really celebrations, bringing

by Lee Virden Geurkink

the neighborhood together to pray, eat, light fireworks, break piñatas, and generally enjoy being a community.

Like many midwinter celebrations, Las Posadas has its roots in celebrations of the winter solstice, when the days slowly start to get longer and the nights shorter.

For the Aztecs, the ancient Mesoamericans of central Mexico, the winter solstice was one of their most important celebrations of the year. According to the Aztec calendar, December 12 was the feast day of Tonantzn, the mother of the gods. In addition, the most important Aztec deity, the sun god Huitzilopochtli, was believed to have been born in December.

As part of Spain’s attempts to create an empire in the New World, Catholic friars and priests were deployed as front-line troops to “convert” the natives. The Church has a long, syncretic tradition, assimilating indigenous traditions and rituals into Catholic practice.

Christmas, with its myriad of traditions around the world, is the perfect example of this syncretism. The tradition of caroling has its roots in Anglo-Saxon fertility rituals. Early

Germanic tribes decorated trees with fruit and candles to honor the god Odin. Holly wreaths, feasting, and the giving of gifts were a Roman tradition during Saturnalia. In fact, the early Church used the festival of Saturnalia, held in honor of the god Saturn around the winter solstice, as the basis for its Christmastide celebrations. (It is thought by Biblical scholars that Jesus was born in the summer.)

When Spain was busy conquering the New World in the 16th century, an enterprising Augustinian prior of San Augustin de Acolman near Mexico City named Friar Diego de Soria obtained a papal bull from Pope Sixtus V stating that Misas de Aguinaldo, or “bonus masses,” could be celebrated on the nine days leading up to Christmas as a way of teaching the indigenous Mexicans about the holiday. (Nine days. Nine months of Mary’s pregnancy. Get it?) The idea of re-creating the Holy Family’s search for lodging came from medieval mystery plays, which had been a popular means of teaching the Bible to a largely illiterate population in preRenaissance Europe.

It was tradition in Aztec culture to worship the sun god Huitzilopochtli with great pageants and processions.

Therefore, the canny friars incorporated the processions into the “bonus masses” allowed in the papal bull, while bringing in elements of the Nativity plays from Europe. And a new Christmas tradition that would eventually be celebrated around the world was slowly born.

In America, Las Posadas is usually celebrated with lots of food, starshaped piñatas, and neighborhood fireworks. San Antonio celebrates a posada along the River Walk. Kingwood, near Houston, has a big Las Posadas celebration. In the Metroplex, official posadas were interrupted by the pandemic, but the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas always celebrates a posada in the days before Christmas. And unofficial neighborhood posadas are traditional in Hispanic neighborhoods throughout Texas.

What began as a way for the Catholic Church to incorporate indigenous traditions into Church customs as a means to conquer the native Mexican population and Las Posadas has evolved into a celebration of community. If you happen to find one near you, I highly suggest you go. You will not be disappointed.

As a proud media partner of The FoundHers Club, Madeworthy asked Cortney Gumbleton, the brains behind The FoundHers Club, for her favorite places to shop local for the holidays. It’s important to shop locally when buying holiday gifts, and you can double your impact when you support women-owned businesses. Whether you’re shopping for a spouse, boss, bestie, or even yourself, you can find the perfect gift for everyone who made it on your “nice” list right here in Fort Worth. When you shop local, and support small, womenowned businesses, you are giving a gift with purpose.

Brooke Wright Designs 3986 West Vickery Blvd.

Holiday Shopping Guide: Female Founders Edition

notch headband bar. Shop for the perfect stocking stuffers for your gal pals, including earrings, sparkly clutches, and hats perfect for the rodeo.

Gi ed FTW www.giftedftw.com

by Cortney Gumbleton

services and shipping supplies, for gifts purchased from her online store.

Hale House 4900 Camp Bowie Blvd.

dropping holiday dress, you’ll find it here, along with festive earrings and sparkly boots to match. Swing by the store to find fun items you won’t find anywhere else, or shop 24/7 on her website.

Designer Brooke Wright turned her love of classic, clean lines into a wildly successful apparel company called Brooke Wright Designs. Her dresses and kimonos will inspire dreams of prosecco on the beach and are all available in-store and online. If you love accessories as much as I do, you need to swing by her adorable brick-and-mortar location on West Vickery Boulevard. Her shop features vintage quilt capes and a top-

Leaving a successful career at Dickies, Esther Miller forged a new path, opening a brickand-mortar location on Carroll Street in the Foundry District. This beautifully curated store showcased independent makers, enchanting lifestyle goods lovers looking for the perfect gift for family and friends. As a gift and lifestyle shop, Esther struggled to keep the store open during the pandemic, ultimately pivoting to a pop-up model and closing the shop. During the holiday season, support local, femaleowned makers by shopping at Gifted ftw. Her website features candles, jewelry, and so much more. Additionally, Esther and her team provide gift wrapping

Believe it or not, Hale House got its start out of Bekah Pollock’s vintage Airstream, where she sold vintage jewelry and home goods. A few short years later, she outgrew the Airstream and opened a brick-and-mortar location, now located on the bricks of Camp Bowie Boulevard. Offering a thoughtfully curated selection of apparel, jewelry, home goods, and gifts in a fun and inviting environment, Hale House is a well-known hot spot for sipping on champagne while indulging in some delightful retail therapy. Hale House features stylish collections for every season, adding glitz and glamor matched with high-quality style for any home or wardrobe. If you’re searching for a jaw-

My favorite plant shop in Fort Worth with all the cool vibes is Stayin’ Alive Succulents. A former self-proclaimed “black thumb,” Jayme learned to care for succulents and found joy in sharing her knowledge with others. For beautiful arrangements in cute, quirky, modern planters, you can shop online or in her location in The Market at Ridglea. A few of my favorite planters include the tiny typewriters, the skate shoe, and the llama. Of course, you can’t go wrong with the disco ball or macrame with bling. Whether for at home or for the office, these adorable succulents make great gifts.

After retiring as a police officer, Laura Simmons opened a vintage clothing store, Studio 74 Vintage. Recently relocated to Curzon Avenue, Studio 74 Vintage is the place to find your vintage vibe. A self-proclaimed “old soul” Laura offers customers a whimsical blend of vintage finds from the 1950s to the 1980s, for men, women, and even children. Every piece has a story, and Laura is giving these gorgeous vintage items new life. Her store is a blast from the past, with unique pieces found at estate and private sales. For the nostalgic friend who adores everything old school and retro, I can’t think of a better place to find a complete collection of timeless products they will absolutely love. Laura curates a fabulous time capsule with an expansive and ever-changing inventory. Whether you’re in the market for a vintage leather fringe vest, mod mini-dresses, or vintage western boots, support local by shopping in-store or visiting Laura’s website.

Happy shopping and remember to support local!

Stayin’ Alive Succulents 3400 Bernie Anderson Ave.

Studio 74 Vintage 5926 Curzon Ave.

If you’re cooking a big family meal this holiday season and are a few ingredients short, the supermarket might not be your only option. In fact, the freshest, most nutritious ingredients could be right outside your door.

Many people stock their kitchens with non-native or out-of-season foods without realizing North Texas’ potential as a place to forage a rich variety of edible plants and mushrooms. By sourcing local foods from our communities, we can teach kids about sustainability, while saving money and developing healthy eating habits.

Katelyn Reeves of Burleson is a community garden manager and Texas Master Naturalist. She started foraging about 10 years ago after finding a recipe for acorn molasses cookies. To learn more, she signed up for local courses and has become a knowledgeable forager, passionate about plants and preservation.

“Learning more about the prairies and the Cross Timbers region has given me an appreciation for what we have here,” said Reeves. “Especially with habitat loss and urbanization all around us.”

Reeves says that early European settlers didn’t always see value in plants that provided food and medicine for indigenous people.

“If it can't or isn't commodified and sold in a store, people often lose touch with it,” she said. “And then that knowledge is lost and forgotten. It's essentially a lack of connection with the land and respect for the plants.”

According to Reeves, one of the biggest advantages to foraging is having access to fresh, nutrient-dense foods at no cost. She suggests making charcuterie boards

Where to forage

According to Foraging Texas, public places to forage legally are limited in Texas. Foraging in state parks, national parks, city nature trails, nature preserves, state historic sites, or any other public property is often prohibited. You can, however, forage above-ground parts of plants from Texas roadsides. There are private campsites listed on the website HipCamp where foraging is allowed. Foraging on private land without permission is always illegal, and park ordinances vary so reach out to recreational supervisors to confirm local regulations. Fines for illegally foraging can range from $500 to $2100.

What to forage

Fruits: persimmon, plums, mulberries, and wild blackberries

Greens: purslane, dandelion, lamb’s quarters, wood sorrel, and chickweed

Forage Your Own Feast

by Mollie Jo Jameson

from foraged foods to showcase local ingredients and start conversations.

“Share the food but share the experience with your friends and family about your connection to the land,” she said.

Any sensible beginning forager will have questions about where, when, and how to forage safely. Reeves points out that there are several things to consider when scouring North Texas for edibles, especially regarding contamination.

“If the area you’re trying to forage is next to construction or a roadside, there’s going to be contaminants,” she said.

“Even if you’re foraging on an old farm or ranch, it’s really good to know the history of the land.”

She recommends being cautious in oil-extraction areas as well as in flood

zones where the quality of stormwater can vary. A mother herself, Reeves says foraging with children is feasible with a little knowledge under your belt.

“This is a kid-friendly activity if you yourself are confident in what you’re identifying and show them how to identify it,” she said. “I would never send a young child out alone to collect berries; there are a lot of berries that are poisonous. If you’re foraging dandelions or pecans in your neighborhood together, then sure.”

Sebastian Tabibi of Mansfield is the founder and president of the North Texas Mycological Association, a nonprofit he started in 2021. He has been foraging for 13 years now and considers himself an expert on fungal biodiversity in the region.

Tabibi agrees that foraging can be done at a young age, under proper

supervision. His organization hosts mushroom hunts specifically for children. At one of their past events, children's author Melany Kahn was invited to present her new book, Mason Goes

Mushrooming

“We had about 60 people in attendance, and she took the kids one way while I took the adults without children in another direction,” he said. “Afterwards, we had a mushroom cookoff and taste testing.”

Tabibi was studying medicinal mycology at the University of Texas at Dallas when he became interested in foraging. He started uploading photos of the mushrooms he found in North Texas to different online groups, learning how to identify them along the way. Now, he is leading the North Texas Mycological Association, which is dedicated to the advancement and study of local fungi. Members also contribute to another website called iNaturalist, where you can submit photos of foraged mushrooms and receive help identifying them. Tabibi says its main purpose is to assist in understanding the local biodiversity as well as create a database.

“It is the best method for beginners to start learning fungi in our area as it provides statistics on common species,” he said. “Fungi have many interesting properties, and it is only within our lifetime that we are beginning to understand them.”

For Tabibi, the benefits of foraging include learning about alternative medicines and the natural world, having the ability to live sustainably off the land, getting good exercise, and bonding with others.

Tubers: Jerusalem artichoke

Pods: mesquite pods

Nuts: pecans, walnuts Mushrooms: chanterelle (summer/fall), oyster (yearround), porcini (summer/ fall), morel (March/ April), lion’s mane (early summer to late fall), indigo milk cap (summer/fall), chicken of the woods (summer/fall), wood blewit (summer to early winter), lobster (summer to early winter), and Caesar's amanita (summer to late fall).

Foraging dos and don'ts:

Dos: Wear boots and practice safety measures regarding poison ivy, poison oak, and wildlife.

Understand which plants are abundant and which are uncommon.

Be aware of poisonous or toxic lookalikes.

Understand identification points of plants including the leaves, berries, stems, flowers, etc.

Use your best judgment when gathering fruits and nuts off the ground. Wash whatever you forage, especially if you suspect it has been sprayed with chemicals.

Try a tiny bit of a foraged mushroom to see if you have an adverse reaction before consuming a large amount. Make sure you can retrace your steps.

Don’ts: Don’t take more than your share. Never forage rare plants or plants in atrisk ecosystems. Never touch fuzzy caterpillars. Beware of bee and wasp nests as you forage, as well. Never rely solely on an app that uses artificial intelligence to identify a plant. They are often wrong and can lead to inadvertent poisoning. Always verify a plant with multiple reputable sources. Don’t forage younger mushrooms that haven’t reached their sporulation stage if they are not in abundance.

Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes

Also known as sunroot, sunchoke, wild sunflower, or earth apple, these starchy crops cook much like potatoes. They can be used in soups and salads, but a favorite way to eat them is roasted.

Roughly chop Jerusalem artichokes into chunks.

Toss with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add herbs like fresh rosemary or basil. Roast in a baking dish at 400° for 20 to 30 minutes, or until they’re caramelized and fork tender.

PhotoKatelynby Reeves

Photo by Sebastian Tabibi

Photo by Sebastian Tabibi

PhotoKatelynby Reeves

Success Starts at Hill School

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GRATEFULLY

Fort Worth's New Restaurants

Inspired by the delicious seafood of the Gulf Coast, Fitzgerald in the Village at Camp Bowie has already garnered great reviews and a loyal following. With gloriously fresh seafood and a chef-curated wine list, Fitzgerald is every seafood lover’s dream. Not a fan of fish? They have you covered with Cheshire pork and Waygu steaks. Check out Fitzgerald’s recipe for Crawfish Macaroni and Cheese on page 6 in our Fresh Family Recipes.

Fitzgerald 6115 Camp Bowie, Suite 104

Chef Stefon Rishel and his partners in the Trident Restaurant Group have established themselves as mainstays of the Fort Worth dining scene. In their first two restaurants, Wishbone & Flynt and Parker County Ice House, Rishel’s menus riff on traditional American cuisine. (Duck fat burgers, anyone?) However, in the newly opened Tre Mogli Cucina Italiana, family style Italian classics are center stage, with simple preparations highlighting the best ingredients. With a warm, inviting dining room and not one, but two bars, Rishel and Trident hope you come and stay a while.

Tre Mogli 401 South Main Street

In a renovated storefront on Magnolia Avenue, The Beast & Company serves food that they describe as globally inspired with Southern roots. Taking dishes traditionally thought of as resolutely Southern, Chef Michael Arlt teases out the roots of the dishes, pairing collard greens with coconut and hummus with benne. Owner Dustin Lee left his hometown of Midland and a good job with an oil and gas company to come to open The Beast & Company. We’re glad you did, Dustin!

The Beast & Company 1010 West Magnolia Avenue

With a menu devoted to delicious dumplings and delectable street food, The Pantry Fort Worth is a hit in the Near Southside. Fellow Trimble Tech teachers Natasha Bruton and Hao Tran opened The Pantry as a way to “share Grandma’s recipes over the generations.” With an eclectic menu of dumplings, banh mi, yaka-mein (a Creole New Orleans take on Asian noodle soups), and a smoked apple cobbler to die for, The Pantry hits all our sweet spots.

The Pantry Fort Worth 713 West Magnolia Avenue

Chef Dena Peterson Shaskan of Mockingbird Foods and formerly of Café Modern and Trent Shaskan of Icon Breads opened 3rd Street Market in Sundance Square. Described by the Shaskans as a “marriage of bread and soup,” the 3rd Street Market is a local market, with fresh, local produce, Chef Dena’s soups, wine and beer, Trent’s delicious sourdough breads, as well as breakfast, lunch, and wine and charcuterie in the evenings. In addition, you can get cold pressed juices from Squoze Juicery and sweet treats from Libos Dulceria.

3rd Street Market

425 West 3rd Street

There’s long been a history between Fort Worth and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, so it makes sense that one of San Miguel’s most beloved restaurants was created by a Fort Worthian and is opening a second location in Cowtown. Quince, proclaimed by the Robb Report as the “No. 1 Rooftop Restaurant in the World,” will open in late 2022 (information correct at press time) in WestBend, in the former BarTaco location. Quince features a casual-yet-sophisticated atmosphere with a menu that pulls from culinary traditions around the world.

We love our Tex-Mex here in Fort Worth. Can’t get enough of yellow cheese and refried beans and flour tortillas. But Don Artemio is proving we love Saltillostyle Mexican food, as well. Longtime friends Adrián Burciaga, former manager of Café Modern, and Chef Juan Ramón Cárdenas brought their love of their native cuisine, as well as Cárdenas’ family restaurant (also called Don Artemio) to Fort Worth, and we are here for it. Cactus tacos? Yes, please! Slow cooked cabrito (goat)? Gimme more! Cárdenas’ son, Rodrigo, is the executive chef, and his upscale cuisine, paired with the restaurant’s chic atmosphere, has proven to be a hit with Fort Worthians.

Don Artemio 3268 West 7th Street

Not to be left out of the new restaurant game, Dixya Bhattarai, has opened Indulge FW inside the 3rd Street Market. Bhattarai, a culinary dietician, wanted to create a space to teach cooking classes for all levels of culinary skill. In addition to the cooking classes, Indulge FW offers a weekly afternoon tea, with a selection of loose-leaf tea and tea time delights, such as finger sandwiches, scones, and sweets. “After all,” Bhattarai said, “We all deserve a tea break from our hectic lives.”

Indulge FW Inside 3rd Street Market 425 West 3rd Street

Since he opened Bonnell's Fine Texas Cuisine in 2001, Chef Jon Bonnell has become the face of the Fort Worth restaurant scene. In September, Bonnell opened Jon's Grille on West Berry, an homage to the late Jon Meyerson and the old Jon's Grille on University (see page 22). The new Jon's Grille is a fast casual, burger and barbecue joint with the same farmto-table ethos as Bonnell's fine dining establishments. The burgers, featuring beef bred in Tolar by Bonnell's brother, Ric, have already become a favorite with neighborhood families, college kids and faculty, and service industry professionals. From partnering with local producers like Best Maid Pickles to curating the menu, Jon’s Grille is fast casual as seen through Bonnell’s fine dining eyes.

Jon's Grille 2905 West Berry Street

Quince WestBend

The November/December issue of Madeworthy is always all about food, holidays, and celebrations. For our Taste of Joy issue’s Fort Worthies, we decided to celebrate new food ventures that recently opened in 2022. | by Madeworthy Editorial Staff

Photo by Hao Tran

Photo by NoVa DeVries

Photo by NoVa DeVries

Photo courtesy of Jon's Grille

Photo by NoVa DeVries

Photo by Lee Virden Geurkink

Photo courtesy of 3rd Street Market

Photo courtesy of Trademark Properties

Photo courtesy of Dixya Bhattarai

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When he opened Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, Chef Jon Bonnell made cowboy cuisine a white tablecloth affair. When he teamed up with Ed McOwen to open the first Buffalo Bros., he let it be known he can do fast casual as well as upscale, date-night fare. With the opening of Waters, he proved that he could do more than beef and game.

Now Bonnell has opened Jon’s Grille, a burger and barbecue joint that he hopes will prove that the farmto-table culture of Bonnell’s and Waters can translate to the fast casual, neighborhood joint.

I recently sat down with Bonnell at Jon’s Grille. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the patio doors across the front of the restaurant were open to the sidewalk. Bonnell waved at friends as they came in to eat lunch. As a fourth generation Fort Worthian, he knows or is related to everyone in town.

A Delicious Tribute to a Fort Worth Legend

by Lee Virden Geurkink

“You know how they say everyone is separated by only six degrees? Well, in Fort Worth, it’s two degrees of separation.” And, it seems, everyone in Fort Worth is coming to Jon’s Grille.

During the late ‘80s and throughout the ‘90s, the original Jon’s Grille on University was THE place to get a burger and a beer in Fort Worth. A generation of Fort Worthians carved their names into the walls of what Bonnell fondly recalls as “a great burger dive.” Bonnell recalls coming into for a burger and getting to know the eponymous Jon Meyerson who worked the counter. “He had a really infectious personality,” Bonnell said with a smile. “He loved to hang out in front and talked to everybody who came in. We just kind of hit it off – talked about food and cooking. When I came back from culinary school and said I was thinking about opening a restaurant, he was like, ‘Don’t do it, man! Don’t do it!’”

And then in 2001, Jon Meyerson died of a selfinflicted gunshot wound, sending shockwaves throughout the community he built. While his sister tried to run the restaurant for a while, she ultimately let it go. “She finally said that running a burger joint was not for her,” Bonnell said.

Fast forward 21 years, and there’s a new Jon’s Grille by TCU.

The idea for a burger and barbecue place came

about because of Bonnell’s brother, Ric. Ric is a physician, a professor at TCU’s medical school, and a rancher. Bonnell grinned, “In high school, Ric worked as a ranch hand to make money for his first car. I worked in a clothing shop.” Ric lives with his family on a ranch in Tolar, and he posed a very interesting question to Bonnell.

“What if we raised our own cattle for beef at your restaurants?”

Bonnell said that got him thinking. “Let’s face it. Everybody in Texas is born knowing how to cook a good steak. It’s in the genes.” To make his steaks truly unique, what if he and his brother raised their own beef, beef that you can’t buy in the store? And thus the Bonnell Beef Company was born.

After a lot of research, the brothers have hit on a winning formula for their cattle. The Bonnells breed Akaushi bulls (one of four Japanese cattle breeds known as “waygu”) to Angus heifers. This produces beef that is heart healthy but also delicious.

“Ric wanted the beef to be heart healthy. I just wanted them to taste good,” Bonnell laughed. “The physician versus the chef, I guess.”

The Bonnells control every aspect of the production, from the grazing to the very specific finishing feed which ensures beautiful marbling to the processing. The cattle go from the ranch to a small processor to the restaurants.

Most people know about what are called “glory cuts” – the filet mignons, ribeyes, and strips. Bonnell said, “Those are easy to sell, but that’s only 11% of a cow. We had to think, ‘If we’re really going to raise our own cattle for the restaurants, what are we going to do with the rest of the cow?’”

years after the pandemic pushed back the planned opening. Bonnell had found the location on West Berry right before the world shut down; once things opened up again, the work started on transforming what had been the Aardvark back into a restaurant. “It needed a complete re-do,” Bonnell said. “We had to take the roof off!” Because the building had been empty for a few years, nothing was up to code. “We took it down to the studs and built it back to our specifications.”

Because of the delay, Bonnell and McOwen had to scrap some of their plans, including a rooftop bar that would have looked out over TCU. However, they left that possibility for later. When it came to naming the new restaurant, Bonnell remembered his old friend. “First of all, he spelled his name the right way,” Bonnell joked. “But it just seemed right. I talked to his sister who said she would be honored if we dedicated the place to Jon. She had a portrait of him playing his guitar that she gave to us. Jon was a guitar player and instructor, and he played at the Aardvark all the time. It felt right to come full circle, and now we have that picture of Jon hanging on the wall.”

The Meyerson family came to the opening of the new Jon’s Grille. “Everybody loved it. His parents, his siblings… His nephew is working for us now. Jon’s brother showed up wearing the old Jon’s Grille tee shirt, and he pulled me aside to give me Jon’s original business card.”

While the new Jon’s Grille is dedicated to Jon Meyerson’s memory, it is not a faithful recreation of the original. Bonnell didn’t even want to try to recreate it.

The answer was obvious. “We make the finest hamburgers ever. All the brisket and short ribs and flavorful cuts get ground into our burger meat.”

Bonnell said that opening Jon’s Grille was something of a no-brainer. “I don't have a lot of fine dining left in me. Fine dining is tough. It’s involved. But this? This is fun.”

Jon’s Grille opened in September of 2022, two

“First of all, we didn’t want it to be a dive bar. While I love a good dive, I wanted this to be a place for everybody – families coming in after soccer games, college students, faculty… And really, trying to recreate everything wouldn’t have worked anyway. No matter how perfectly we did it, the burgers wouldn’t be the same as you remember them because you aren’t the same.”

So the new Jon’s Grille is all Bonnell. From partnering with local producers like Best Maid Pickles to meticulously curating the menu, Jon’s Grille is fast casual as seen through Bonnell’s fine dining eyes. And it’s truly delicious tribute to a Fort Worth legend.

Photos courtesy of Jon's Grille