July brought a wave of restaurant news to the Fort Worth area, from the reopening of a beloved 80-year-old Denton County landmark to the closure of eight local eateries. Here’s a roundup of the month’s biggest stories from Bud Kennedy’s Eats Beat columns.
Smoked meatloaf is on the menu for DFW Restaurant Week in mid-August at City Works Eatery in Fort Worth, Texas. cityworksrestaurant.com
Here’s a roundup:
Ranchman’s, an 80-year Denton County landmark in Ponder, reopened under restaurateur Marty Bryan as Ranchman’s by Marty B after being closed most of the last six years. A new bar, patio and Western-themed saloon have been added to the historic cafe once frequented during the filming of “Bonnie & Clyde.”DFW Restaurant Week is marking its 30th year with reservations for dinners beginning Aug. 10. It offers $49-$99 multi-course dinners and $29 lunches at more than 100 restaurants, with proceeds supporting Lena Pope and the North Texas Food Bank. Among the top Fort Worth restaurants taking reservations now are Bonnell’s, Reata and the Chumley House.Rex’s Bar & Grill on South University Drive has launched a chef-driven brunch menu from Brian Olenjack, featuring biscuits with jalapeño cream gravy, breakfast pizza and New York strip with eggs and kimchi. It’s served weekends from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.At least eight North Texas restaurants are closing amid high food prices and economic pressures, including Arlington’s Taste of Europe (a “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” feature closing July 31 after 24 years) and Loco Coyote Grill, a 60-year-old barbecue landmark near Glen Rose closing July 19.Sean Malek, a former leader at Tim Love’s restaurants and Ellerbe Fine Foods, has been promoted to lead the kitchen at Emilia’s inside The Crescent Fort Worth, the all-day Italian and coastal Mediterranean restaurant across from the Kimbell Art Museum.Teddy Wong’s upscale Chinese restaurant and wine bar has opened a second location on the Weatherford courthouse square, where diners are favoring red meat dishes like Mongolian-style Texas beef and wagyu beef pot stickers over the Fort Worth crowd’s beloved soup dumplings and Peking duck.La Pistola Kitchen + Saloon, a 1970s “spaghetti western”-themed Italian restaurant from Jeffrey Yarbrough and Camille McDonald, is set to open this fall in the former Taco Heads space on Montgomery Street across from Dickies Arena, featuring Texas wagyu, Iberico pork and Italian sandwiches.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
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