It’s time for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo again, and that means we’re seeing Fort Worth restaurants send out PR emails promoting rodeo-inspired specials. I’ll give you a warning now, the urge to use gratuitous cowboy puns is strong, so I intend to lean into it.
When I think of cowboys, the first food that comes to mind is chili, closely followed by steak, and both are among the dishes in this week’s culinary roundup. So, if you’re planning to get a posse together and grab some bites before taking in the festivities, there are a couple spots around town barrel racing for your attention.
In the spirit of this also being the 136th anniversary of the Fort Worth Stockyards, I’ve made sure to kick off this column with a Stockyards eatery.
Rodeo Burger at Provender Hall
Provender Hall on East Exchange Avenue is going classic with the Rodeo Burger, which sees a one-third-pound patty topped with jalapeno, bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and a “house secret sauce,” according to a PR email.
Their focus is American comfort food, according to their website, “with a playful menu spanning grilled trout to chicken gumbo to steak frites.”
Loaded nachos, cornbread, crispy okra and deviled eggs appear in their appetizers section, followed by salads and chicken and andouille sausage gumbo. The Rodeo Burger shows up among sandwiches like their chopped beef with barbecue sauce and a smoked turkey club on sourdough.
The rest of their menu is available online and includes gluten-free options.
122 E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth; 817-782-9170
Fred’s Texas Cafe dishes out chili, lamb stew
For a red chili flavor, Fred’s Texas Cafe is serving up some ground beef chili with cheddar cheese, onions, jalapenos and corn chips. Because including beans in chili is a hotly disputed topic statewide, their PR proudly states that they’ve left out the legumes. They’re also brewing green chili lamb stew using Australian lamb, green chiles, potatoes and carrots.
Fred’s has both a regular menu and their Buckboard Menu, which showcases limited-time specials. The latter menu features dishes like sourdough-battered hot honey chicken tenders, an egg sandwich with bacon and American cheese, and an apple crisp served in a skillet with vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle.
Regular items include lots of burgers and chicken-fried steaks, as well as shareables like onion rings, candied bacon, pimiento poppers and queso fries.
7101 Camp Bowie W. Blvd., Fort Worth; 817-332-0083;
2731 Western Center Blvd., Fort Worth; 817-232-0111
Cowboy Ribeye and duck at Clay Pigeon Food & Drink
If you’re a regular Dish reader, you’ve heard of Clay Pigeon, which offers seasonal menus using local ingredients and is now open all week.
The house nod to the stock show is wood-grilled duck breast accompanied by roasted mushrooms, fennel soubise and cherry jus, as well as steaks from Austin-based Lone Star Meats. The oak-grilled options include the Cowboy Ribeye, according to a PR email, which is cooked over live fire and “finished simply to let the quality of the beer shine.”
If you prefer your meat beyond rare, Clay Pigeon’s current menu shows prime beef tartare among the starters, made with shallot, chive, aioli, smoked egg yolk and crostini. For a seafood option, there’s smoked salmon rillettes with lavash crackers and pickled mustard seeds.
They also have an apple and walnut salad, housemade pasta, a soup of the day, pork shank and sides ranging from mac and cheese to mushrooms.
2731 White Settlement Road, Fort Worth; 817-882-8065
We’d love to hear from you! Send your restaurant tips and hot takes to erin.ratigan@fortworthreport.org.
Erin Ratigan is a freelance journalist and writer specializing in narrative news features. You can find her on X @erinratigan.
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