Zest 817 Magazine February 2019

FREE

FEBRUARY 2019

EIGHT

F E AT U R E

The Food Hall at Crockett Row brings a national trend to Fort Worth.

BY ERIC GRIFFEY

RE V I E W

Four Sisters - Taste of Vietnam fills a pho-sized hole in the Near Southside.

BY ANDREW MARTON

ONE

SEVEN

AS FAR AS WE’RE CONCERNED,

Explore acres of freshness with more than 700 varieties of climatecontrolled produce from around the globe, including 150 varieties of seasonal organics. We work directly with our growers to stock our shelves with only the freshest fruits and veggies. Our expert buyers source as much local produce as possible. Daily deliveries ensure freshness, and, once tested by our dedicated inspectors, produce goes right out to the floor.

FORT WORTH 4651 WEST FREEWAY SOUTHLAKE 1425 E. SOUTHLAKE BLVD. DALLAS LOVERS 5750 E. LOVERS LANE

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DALLAS PRESTON ROYAL 10720 PRESTON ROAD

PLANO 320 COIT ROAD CENTRALMARKET.COM

February 2019

E I GH T

O N E

S E VE N

For Readers of Extraordinary Taste

2801 W 7th St • Fort Worth, 76107 • 817.882.6554 Zest 817 Magazine is the premier culinary lifestyle authority for Fort Worth and surrounding areas. As the only food-andbeverage-focused print publication in Tarrant County, Zest pairs sophisticated, witty writing with stunning, styled photography, delivering the most relevant and interesting insights on local dining, beverages, home cooking, events, and entertainment.

Contact

Lauren Lackey Marketing Director lauren@zest817.com

February 2019

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FEBRUARY 2019

EIGH T

EDITOR’S PICS 6

ONE

SEV EN

on the

COVER

FEATURE

The Food Hall at Crockett Row brings a national trend to Fort Worth.

BY ERIC GRIFFEY

Review

8

Night Life

12 FEATURE 16

Secret Sauce

25

Coming Soon

27 Zest Eight One Seven Editorial Editor-in-chief Eric Griffey Copy Editor Anthony Mariani Contributors: Ian Connally, Andrew Marton Proofreader: Taylor Provost Contributing Photographers: Brian Hutson, Amanda Marie Lackey, Kelsey Wilson, and Crystal Wise.

For editorial questions or pitches, contact Eric Griffey at eric@zest817.com.

Production Art Director Ryan Burger Advertising Marketing Director Lauren Lackey For advertising questions, please contact Lauren Lackey at Lauren@zest817.com.

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Zest 817 is available free of charge in North Texas, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies of Zest Eight One Seven may be purchased for $1 each.

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Copyright. - The entire contents of Zest Eight One Seven are Copyright 2019 by 817 Marketing LLC. No portion may be reproduced in part or in whole by any means without express written permission of the publishers.

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February 2019

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cs

Sixty6 + Co serves a menu of sweets and light bites out of a refurbished 1966 camper named Patricia. Chefs/ owners Stephanie Greenwood and Amanda Mobley offer large event packages that start at $966 and serve 100 people.

They also serve tea sandwiches, mini quiches, and other tea partyfare. Contact them on social media or through their website, Sixty6andCo.com.

Photos by Kelsey Wilson

o r t ’s p i d e i

Sweets for Your Sweetheart on Valentine’s Day

Stir Crazy Baked Goods is all about using fresh, premium ingredients. The Magnolia Avenue bakery serves a variety of vegan and gluten-free options. For our shoot, the confectionary impresarios baked up Italian crème cupcakes with walnuts and a banana caramel cake.

Photos by Brian Hutson

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February 2019

UNPRETENTIOUS GLOBAL CUISINE

1310 W MAGNOLIA AVE. FORT WORTH February 2019

LILISBISTRO.COM zest817.com ZEST EIGHT ONE SEVEN 7

review

Four Sisters’ Feng Shui South Main Street’s newest family-owned Vietnamese eatery hits home.

By ANDREW MARTON

“Perfect,” said my server Nadia to each of my menu selections after I settled in at the four-month-old Four Sisters –– A Taste of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese Shaken Beef was beyond reproach, with its DIY dipping sauce of salt, pepper, and limejuice.

Photo by Crystal Wise

The sauce accompanying the beef wraps married two unlikely but delicious ingredients: anchovies and pineapple.

Photo by Crystal Wise

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I wonder if any of the “four sisters” of head chef and principal owner Tuan Pham would quibble with the high bar set by my professional server. Nadia was close to spot-on in her bold prediction.

The combination of Four Sisters’ solicitous service, an interior exuding soothing feng shui, and, most importantly, the vibrancy and authenticity of its Vietnamese dishes allowed the restaurant to attain often –– not always –– that elusive goal of “perfection.”

Four Sisters’ greatest intangible was an interior anchored by minimalist touches of oak-wood panels and soft-glow track lighting illuminating taupe-colored walls and tables. It all created a sense of pristine serenity, only occasionally interrupted by a dramatic flame flaring from a kitchen wok.

And then there’s the food.

Chef Pham owes a huge debt to his mother, who passed along a legacy of family-tested recipes. As a result, close to three-quarters of Four Sisters’ offerings are inspired

by Mom’s handiwork.

With the South Main Street eatery embracing the Asian tradition of family-style dining, close to half of its offerings were shared plates. These extended from elaborate dishes, such as steamed rice rolls featuring tough-to-execute rice sheet noodles, to such street-food standards as wraps, baos (buns), and all manner of egg and summer rolls.

From the sophisticated to the simplest, all of Four Sisters’ dishes produced a pinballing

February 2019

of tastes, from smoky to sweet, fiery to funky umami, and all in a highly defined menu of just 20 items.

As Southeast Asian cuisine is often rooted in street food, it felt right to start with that quintessential on-thego nosh, the bao, or steamed bun. Its spongy-textured dough was filled with equally tender confit of duck breast that had emerged from a sinful wallow in a duck-fat bath and then swabbed in a honey-hoisin glaze thankfully free of any cloyingly sweet aftertaste.

Utter the word “wrap,” and I’m there. But I never expected Four Sisters’ attractively presented beef wraps, sheathed in a razor-thin layer of betel leaf, to have their overall taste so amped up by a terrific dipping sauce. Yes, these nicely grilled batons of ground beef, speckled with roasted peanuts, were perfect foils for a sauce marrying two unlikely, though vivid, ingredients –– pineapple and anchovy. The result was a taste apex of sweet and savory.

All the kitchen needed do was omit the Chinese sausage from its fried rice dish and the result would have been a plate that could satisfy even the most persnickety vegetarian. Of course, that vegetarian would have to forgo those

nubbins of sausage and their interplay with a garden of baby corn, broccoli spears, peas, and shredded carrots, all sprouting from a bed of rice where each grain seemed so individualized, it was probably counted in the most recent census.

While the shaken beef tenderloin was generally beyond reproach, its most “shook-up” aspect was its dipping sauce.

Instructed first to blend salt, pepper, and a heavy dose of limejuice in a shallow dish, I then gleefully sank shards of beef, along with their accompanying red onion and scallions, into the mix.

For all of that DIY sauce-making, the shaken beef dish couldn’t compete with what I now declare as one of the city’s premier versions of a Vietnamese classic: beef pho. This ultimate-in-earthy soup is akin to your grandmother’s chicken soup –– packing all of her care, love, and healthfulness while throbbing with a worldbeat of Asian flavors.

That’s what 16 hours of laboring over a beef broth will do. Well before I sank my silver spoon into the cauldron-sized bowl, beef and brisket bones had simmered away until they were a The beef pho, which our critic deemed “the city’s premier version” of the classic distant memory, producing an elixsoup, is a dish for all ages.

Photo by Crystal Wise

Book Your Next Party With Us!

Fort Worth! 6150 Camp Bowie Blvd.

February 2019

F O R T W O R T H • 1540 S. University Drive • 817.945.9095 EATZIS.COM

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Four Sisters offers a full bar and a boutique coffee/tea menu, which includes the Vyvy, an amalgam of Cachaça, jackfruit puree, strawberry liqueur, and egg white foam, topped with grated cinnamon and star anise.

Photo by Crystal Wise ir-like broth flavored with cinnamon, star anise, coriander, and ginger.

Bobbing on the broth’s surface like meat buoys were beef balls, the Vietnamese answer to Jewish matzo dumplings. They tangled in a net of rice noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro, basil shards, and green and red onions.

Then the real fun began as I added a slice or two of jalapeño, a spritz of lime, plus any of the restaurant’s three table-side condiments –– smoky-spicy

Sriracha, sweet hoisin, and a vinegary chile-spiked sambal. Suddenly, a once prim-tasting pho was transformed into the Lenny Bruce of soups, an in-ya-face, drop-the-mic, spicy delight.

Amid Four Sisters’ feng shui calm and its polished service, patrons are likely to revisit because they crave that comforting Vietnamese dish that, through some sleight of culinary hand, reminds them of their own favorite Fort Worth family meal.

Four Sisters

A Taste of Vietnam

LUNCH BUFFET 7 DAYS A WEEK!

Where 1001 S Main St, Ste 151, FW. 682-385-9353

Entree Prices $6-$17.50. All major credit cards accepted.

Don’t-Miss Dishes Duck confit bao, beef pho, and shaken beef tenderloin

2973 Crockett Street | 817-744-7485 | www.terramediterranean.com

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Vibe Minimalist, serene, and modern

When 11am-9pm Tue-Thu, 11am10pm Fri-Sat February 2019

DO RIGHT & FEAR NO MAN doUBle eaGle SteaK hoUSe

812 Main Street w Fort Worth, tX w (817) 877-3999 w delFriScoS.coM

©2014 del Frisco’s double eagle Steak house

SEAFOOD THAT MAKES YOU THINK THE CHEF WALKS ON WATER.

night life Valentine’s Day Special Menus Here is a list of what some of our favorite 817 restaurants are offering on the big day.

BY ERIC GRIFFEY

B&B Butchers

5212 Marathon Av, FW. 817-737-5212.

The Houston-based steakhouse, located at The Shops at Clearfork, is offering a three-course prix-fixe menu featuring a surf-and-turf of filet mignon and lobster tail. If you’d rather take something to-go, choose from Chateaubriand, Beef Wellington, or two 10-ounce filet mignons, plus an appetizer and dessert, all for $130. The kitchen requires 24-hours notice for all to-go orders.

Bird Cafe

55 E 4th and Commerce streets, FW. 817-332-2473.

The Sundance Plaza standout is serving a four-course prix-fixe menu, featuring charred tomato ravioli, panseared monkfish, and grilled Akaushi rib-eye. On the appetizers side, choose a lobster bisque or raspberry gazpacho. Dessert choices include a chocolate ganache fudge confection called Silk Chocolate, a red velvet cake, and sugar-cookie cheesecake with a bourbon toffee topping. Seating begins at 5pm. The menu is $75 a person, with optional wine pairings for an additional $35 per person.

Chef Point Bar and Restaurant

5901 Watauga Rd, Watauga.

817-656-0080.

The popular gourmet gas station eatery is serving a limited menu featuring, among other entrees, chicken and waffles, Beef Oscar (a 6-ounce tenderloin topped with crabmeat and drowned in a béarnaise sauce), prime rib, and Hawaiian salmon sautéed in a spicy teriyaki sauce and crowned with grilled pineapple. This menu is available only from 5 to 10pm on V-Day. The kitchen is also offering a four-course prix-fixe menu ($100 a person) from Feb 14 to 16.

For Valentine’s Day, Taste Community Kitchen will be raising money to help the “food insecure.” The day before, the pay-what-you-can South Main eatery will be hosting Galentine’s Day, a day for “ladies celebrating ladies.”

Photo by Ross Reitzammer

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February 2019

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse

812 Main St, FW. 817-877-3999.

Downtown’s grand dame steakhouse doesn’t have a whole menu for the occasion, but the kitchen will be preparing an 8-ounce filet accompanied by a butter-poached lobster tail and a seared jumbo sea scallop. For dessert, try the dark-chocolate cheesecake with chocolatecovered strawberries, whitechocolate curls, and a Godiva chocolate sauce.

Del Frisco’s Grille

E 3rd St, FW. 817-887-9900.

If you’d like to eat steak in a more casual setting, the Double Eagle’s laidback sister restaurant is serving a 45-day dry-aged prime strip and broiled twin lobster tails with

miso butter. There are also options for seafood, vegetarian, and a burger.

Grace

777 Main St, FW. 817-877-3388.

The downtown steakhouse’s menu is vast and full of tough choices.

Choose from raw or fried oysters, Hawaiian blue prawns, lamb belly dumplings, tenderloin tartare, Maine diver scallops, turbot, snapper, Colorado rack of lamb, Duroc pork cheeks, and, of course, five varieties of beef accompanied buy your choice of several toppings and sauces.

Righteous Foods

3405 W 7th St, FW. 817-950-9996.

Chef Lanny Lancarte’s health-andsocial-conscience eatery is serving a prix-fixe menu featuring grilled

wild shrimp, Berkshire pork belly, fennel-pollen-crusted tenderloin, red snapper, and, among other dessert options, a hemp oil and pistachio ice cream. The price is $65 per person, with a $35 winepairing option.

Taste Community Restaurant

1200 S Main St, FW. 817-759-9045.

The day before Valentine’s, the pay-what-you-can restaurant is celebrating Galentine’s Day, which is, according to their social media feed, about “ladies celebrating ladies.” On the day itself, the South Main Street eatery is hosting a fundraiser at $300 a person that will benefit the Taste Project and the restaurant’s continuing mission to feed people with food insecurities.

Reservations are available between 6 and 7pm.

piranhakillersushi.com February 2019

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Meyer & Sage (2621 Whitmo unique culinary delivery exp convenience of healthy mea the finesse of professionally each menu item for individu Worth and surrounding are

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February 2019

We’d like to thank Meyer & Sage for graciously donating a charity event sponsored by numerous healthcare providers that treats an elderly couple to a romantic dinner for two.

ore St, 817-386-5009) is a perience which unites the als delivered to your door with y-trained chefs hand-crafting uals, couple, and families in Fort eas within a 15-mile radius.

Photo by Crystal Wise

February 2019

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E IG H T ONE SE V E N

Hall Pass Food halls are spreading all over the country, and now there’s one in Fort Worth.

BY ERIC GRIFFEY PHOTOS BY AMANDA MARIE LACKEY

A table of two young couples sat equidistant between a sleek metal craft cocktail bar and a small stage occupied by a squeezebox-guitar duo that was serenading the cavernous room. Each of the four diners at the

table was sampling an entirely different style of fare: pizza, poke, burgers, and barbecue. The Food Hall at Crockett Row was teeming with people on this weekend evening.

The recently opened Food Hall houses 12 different restaurants, ranging in variety from cupcakes and waffles to lobster rolls and shawarma. The 16,000-square-foot hall is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and, thanks to the Knife Bar, you can also order up a specialty cocktail. Aside from sleeping in your own bed, there’s almost no good reason to leave.

Even in this unprecedented era of growth in Fort Worth, it’s unusual to see 12 restaurants open at the same time. All of them sharing the same address would have seemed unthinkable even just a few years ago.

Unlike food courts made up of fast food chains, food halls typically mix local artisan restaurants, butcher shops, and other food-oriented boutiques under one roof. In this new age of restaurant economics, in which soaring rent prices in hot neighborhoods and a

crowded market make opening a brickand-mortar eatery increasingly difficult, food halls represent the same kind of low-cost, high-visibility venture that

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food trucks and pop-up restaurants embody.

Food halls have been around for years, especially in Europe, but the

concept is becoming increasingly popular in the United States as consumers demand healthier and better-tasting “quick casual” food options in enter-

February 2019

taining environments. The number of food halls operating in the United States is expected to exceed 200 in 2019, about double the number that were open in late 2016, according to national real estate company Cushman & Wakefield. That represents a 700-percent increase since 2010.

At the local Hall, the list of restaurants features a few chefs/ restaurateurs with Fort Worth roots, including Victor Villarreal, who mans the kitchen at his fancy personal pizza concept, Abe Froman’s of Fort Worth; former Grace chef Joshua Harmon, whose Butler’s Cabinet purveys upscale deli food and sells freshly made bread, gourmet coffee, and boutique groceries; former TCU football star David Hawthorne, who opened Not Just Q, a Texas-Kansas City hybrid barbecue eatery; and two more TCU grads, Sophia Karbowsky and Austin Patry, who are the minds behind acai bowl/smoothie shop Rollin’ and Bowlin’.

Other Hall vendors include Aina Poke Co, food truck lobster-roll impresarios The Dock, elotes bar EB2, Gigi’s Cupcakes, savory and sweet waffle merchants

February 2019

Diners at the Food Hall have 12 lunch options, including poke, burgers, barbecue, and deli fare.

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Abe Froman’s of Fort Worth is local chef Victor Villarreal’s gourmet pizza eatery.

free

682-708-7021 3252 West 7th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76107 wobusa.com/ftworth

every bottle has a story

Press Waffle Co., Shawarma Bar, and Val’s Cheesecake. Parking is available at several surrounding garages –– all of the vendors validate.

Perhaps the best-known chef to set up shop in the Hall is Top Chef alumnus John Tesar, whose Knife Burger has been critically lauded all over the state. Tesar could likely open a brick-and-mortar place anywhere in this town, but he chose the Food Hall as his Fort Worth beachhead after he was approached by representatives from Hospitality Alliance, the company that owns the hall.

“I thought it was a good entry point for us,” he said over the phone. “It was an easy, low-cost way to get into the market and get ourselves a following. We have other plans to build freestanding buildings for Knife and build it out, not as big as [gourmet burger fast-food chain] Shake Shack, but something maybe regionally.

It’s part of a business plan, so even though I’m established, I don’t take for granted that people know who I am and what I do. I think it’s more important that your product speak for yourself rather than your time on television or being notoriChef Joshua Harmon’s Butler’s ous.”

Cabinet is open for breakfast, For Chef Joshua Harmon, who lunch, and dinner. manned the spatula at Grace and Keller

February 2019

Co-Founder

Co-Founder

Each one of our bottle caps is made by hand in our Fort Worth distillery, using rare and exotic leathers sourced from local bootmakers such as the legendary M.L. Leddy’s. Every resulting bottle cap is a unique celebration of quality and craftsmanship, just like our TX Whiskey.

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BANDS open daily families welcome

Choose your own toppings at Chef Kevin Nguyen Ho’s Aina Poke Co.

billy bob's texas Tesar: “Even though I’m established, I don’t take for granted that people know who I am and what I do.”

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eatery Milk & Honey, Butler’s Cabinet marks his return to Fort Worth after cementing his reputation at critically acclaimed Dallas eatery Independent Bar + Kitchen. He, like Tesar, thought the Hall presented a good opportunity to test his often-experimental menu in this market. Both his staff and the Food Hall’s managers have learned and adapted to each other, he said. Harmon referred to himself as the “black sheep” of the hall, thanks to some of his far-out ingredients and methods.

“I remember in our second week, we broke down a whole pig in the back room,” he said. “That surprised people, but we weren’t going to compromise what we do because we’re in a food hall.”

In the coming weeks, Harmon’s kitchen will feature a sandwich designed by a guest chef, and a portion of the proceeds from sales will benefit a local charity. He said chefs

February 2019

s ’ n e Gre s t n a l P & Produce perated O d n a d e n w Family O Est. 1969

Fresh, Local Produce | Bedding Plants Hanging Baskets | Herbs | Garden Decor Specialty Items

3001 W. Arkansas Ln. - Arlington, 76016 817.274.2435 - greensproduce.com Mon-Sat 8-7pm | Sun 8-6pm February 2019

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Always Open!

Free Wi-Fi All The Time!

1509 S. University Fort Worth 817-336-0311

Voted Best Breakfast 2005-2016

The Korean deviled-egg salad at Butler’s Cabinet features dill, capers, sesame seeds, fried shallots, horseradish, cane syrup, and a drizzle of Furikake.

Gino Rojas of Revolver Taco Lounge, Kevin Martinez of Tokyo Cafe, and Quincy Wallace from Fred’s Texas Café have already agreed to participate.

Tesar, whose Knife Burger also appears in Plano’s Legacy Food Hall, added that Fort Worth has been the most receptive and complementary audience for his burger concept. He said that Fort Worth’s enthusiastic reception to Heim Barbecue and Catering, a thriving brick-and-mortar enterprise that started

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out as a food truck, was an inspiration.

“I thought maybe we could start with a food hall, then move on to a brick-and-mortar, and then eventually open a nice steakhouse,” he said. “I always thought Fort Worth was more down-to-earth. With all the money in Highland Park and the Dallas suburbs going north, there are a lot of pretenders. It’s a different attitude here. Fort Worth is more a family town.”

February 2019

February 10–April 28, 2019

Promotional support is provided by

This exhibition is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum and the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

Bernardo Bellotto, The Zwinger Complex in Dresden (detail), 1751/52, oil on canvas.

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Photo: Elke Estel/Hans-Peter Klut

February 2019

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LITTLE RED WASP KITCHEN + BAR 808 Main St, Fort Worth, TX 76102 / (817) 877-3111 / littleredwasp.com

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February 2019

Who

Crawfish 7 Restaurant

Where

5302 E Belknap St, Haltom City 817-744-8754

Vibe Strip-mall kitsch replete with beach scenes on the walls and cartoon-looking crustaceans on the windows.

Crawfish 7’s Other Specialty This Haltom City seafood eatery might also serve the most unique pho in the area.

BY IAN CONNALLY

Years of gleefully participating in the lifestyle and after-work habits of an itinerant line cook has taught me that, when in need of curative, soul-repairing food, few things work better than a bowl of noodles in broth. There’s likely all sorts of

to get what, and I’m not eager to add to that carefully curated list without strong evidence, so it wasn’t without some grumbling that I recently accepted a friend’s invitation to try the pho at Crawfish 7.

There’s no reason for the pho at this two-year-old eatery to be special.

This strip-mall storefront proclaims itself as a crawfish joint. It’s right there science to back this claim –– probably in the name. There are involving hydration, pictures of crustaceans amino acids, antioxiand bivalves in the dants, and the like –– windows. Inside, stock but let’s face it: Noodle photos of lobster and soup exists in so many crab legs, unnaturally cultures because it’s red, adorn the door complete, comforting, leading into Nguyen and delicious. Like Loi supermarket next the majestic taco, it’s a door. Beach scenes perfect format. cover the back wall.

Thus, I spend Nothing about Crawmuch of January each fish 7 screams beef year eating more than noodles. Even the pho my fair share of a wide section on the menu is, range of noodles in in comparison to the soup. Between Fort pho-specialist joints Worth, Haltom City, in town, worryingly and Arlington, we Crawfish 7 succinct. are spoiled for choice: Restaurant My host waved Ramen abounds, Thai my kvetching aside boat noodles are makDon’t-Miss Dishes and ordered us both ing welcome inroads This place is all about pho tai –– beef noodle to the scene, and the the beef pho. soup with thin, rare whole range of Vietslices –– grinning and namese soups is rarely Entree Prices insisting that this bowl more than a five-min$10. All major was different. This bowl ute drive away. Like credit cards accepted was going to change any noodle-head in everything I thought I this town, I know the When knew about pho. Only landscape pretty well, Sun-Mon 10am-9pm, about a minute after I have some strong Wed-Sat 10am-9pm. we ordered, our server opinions about where

February 2019

Our critic found the clear broth of Crawfish 7’s pho to be “perfect.”

Photo by Crystal Wise

delivered two plates piled high with all of the standard garnishes. A few minutes later, he brought two more small plates: One was layered with slices of raw tenderloin sprinkled with green onions: the other held a tangle of softened rice noodles. Deconstructed pho?

I had just enough time to voice my continued doubts about this apparent postmodern abuse of a traditional dish before the broth arrived. Served in dangerously hot Korean-style stone bowls, the consommé-clear green onion-adorned broth continued to boil violently for several minutes, enveloping us in anise- and cinnamon-rich

steam and making immediate sense of the decision to serve the beef and noodles on the side.

The broth is, well, perfect. This level of clarity isn’t achieved without great care and good technique, and the balance between the sweetness of charred onions and palm sugar and the savory depth of beef and fish sauce speak to genuine skill in the kitchen at Crawfish 7, which, I realized after emptying the contents of the bowl into my greedy gullet, is less of a restaurant, more of a sanctuary. Go heal your soul.

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WINE E S U O $3 H ITAS R A G R RAFTS $3 MA D M O S&D L L E W $2 fatdaddyslive.com

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February 2019

S

Coming Soon Here are some of the restaurants opening in 2019 that we can’t wait to try.

BY ANDREW MARTON

Derek Allan’s Texas BBQ

1116 8th Av, 682-302-2364 The roots of Derek Allan’s Texas BBQ stretch back to his days manning a highly touted food truck in Grapevine, but feeling the call of Fort Worth, his hometown, Allan marks his return with a vow to serve up real-deal Central Texasflavored barbecue, painstakingly prepared over his handmade smoking pits. He’s covering all the meat bases, from beef and pork ribs to turkey and a gourmet brisket derived from top-notch wagyu beef. And Allan won’t be skimping on the sides, which include everything from potato salad to pinto beans. He’s found a new home in what used to be Paco & John’s fondly frequented spot in the Hospital District. He’s already developed a built-in fan base for his rich, moist brisket, jalapeñocheese sausage, and banana pudding –– all of which some diners have catapulted to the “best” in North Texas. ETA: March

Dwell Coffee & Biscuits

3113 S University Dr, 817-447-7677 Last month, Dwell opened its third location, following in the caffeinated footsteps of its original Old Town Burleson store. It has chosen the coffeeguzzling TCU area for its Fort Worth location, operating out of the old Sovereign Bank building.

Dwell’s new outpost reminds its loyal following

February 2019

of the original. The dynamic husband-and-wife team of Jeff and Stephanie Brannon turn out a dizzying selection of craft coffees paired with made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits arriving to your table with a bevy of toppings and stuffings –– among them Nutella, scrambled eggs, and gravy.

Wishbone & Flynt 318 Bryan Av Anchored by ubiquitous executive chef Stefon Rishel (formerly of Max’s Wine Dive and Texas Bleu), Wishbone & Flynt — Rishel’s firstever Fort Worth restaurant where

he’s the top toque as well as partner — will soon set up shop on trendy South Main Street. Rishel is planning a menu of global treats, such as pork and shrimp shumai kicked up by black vinegar and Thai chile, baby octopus with shrimp and Calabrian chile, the East-meets-West marvel of grilled prawns and saffron risotto, and tater tots gussied up with pepper jack, crème fraiche, and caviar.

And for those with an insatiable sweet tooth, Wishbone & Flynt’s menu anticipates a chocolateorange tart. Washing it all down will be a selection of local craft beers on tap, plus speakeasy-

worthy classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned. ETA: Late May-early June.

Zero Degrees

2401 W 7th St, Ste 115, 817-420-6017 The marketing slogan for Zero Degrees might as well be “coffee with a twist” or maybe “we’re like 85-degrees-centrigrade Bakery, only different.” In fact, the justopened Zero Degrees appears poised to give the relatively new 85-degrees-C Bakery a run for its West 7th area money. In the spirit of being different from the baking-and seasalt coffee-centric 85-degrees-C Bakery, Zero Degrees classifies itself as a broad-based eatery with a premium on Asian-Hispanic fusion.

It serves a signature drink with the wacky name of Mangonada, a.k.a. a slush of mango, mango chunks, chamoy, and Tajin. Other libations include a milkshake with a marshmallow and sour candy topping and the Cookie Monster, or an Oreo-flavored shake heavy on chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Coffees and teas will include a Vietnamese coffee enamored with sweet and cream, a green tea accentuating sea salt, and a lychee crush. And fear not, there are plenty of standard grazing options (popcorn chicken, a selection of fries) along with quirky selections. Hello, Hot Cheetos elotes.

Derek Allan’s Texas BBQ will bring Central Texas-style ’cue to the Hospital District.

Photo Courtesy of Derek Allan’s Texas BBQ.

zest817.com ZEST EIGHT ONE SEVEN 27

GIVE A DAMN. DON’T DRIVE DRUNK. Get a ride. Call a cab. Take a train.

Whatever you do, care enough to get home safely.

© 2016 ANHEUSER-BUSCH, BUDWEISER® BEER, ST. LOUIS, MO

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