Fort Worth's Unexpected Treasures
Rattlesnake dumplings, snow-aged Wagyu, and a daily cattle drive await
A foie gras cappuccino is a far cry from Tex-Mex and barbecue, but the creative pick-me-up celebrates the evolution of Fort Worth’s culinary scene — and the mind of one of the city’s most pivotal chefs.
“People come to Fort Worth with certain expectations, without a doubt,” says Fort Worth chef Tim Love. The Iron Chef winner, TV personality, and owner of more than a dozen restaurants in the south continues, “but we know we're not Dallas because we want to be Fort Worth. We are Texas, right?”
Love’s latest tasting menu encapsulates that passion for his city, as well as the longevity of his cuisine. Available between May 2 and 6, Love’s menu consolidates 25 years of his restaurant, Lonesome Dove, into 25 dishes — yes, 25. He then divides those dishes into five categories: sea, air, land, beef, and sweet. That foie gras cappuccino anchors the land bracket alongside the likes of kangaroo larb tacos and rabbit and rattlesnake dumplings. Other notable dishes include grilled Thai dove, snow-aged Wagyu, and duck pozole.
As a whole, these dishes honor Love’s legacy, paying homage to the best of his Stockyards neighborhood restaurant. But, as flights served in five rounds, these dishes also honor one of Love’s favorite byproducts of cooking: They breed conversation. Because each dish arrives at the table alongside four others within its category — rather than one at a time, as often occurs in tasting menus — diners can compare, contrast, and converse.
Even if you’re not visiting Fort Worth this spring, the city creates ample year-round opportunities for discourse around the dinner, lunch, and breakfast tables. Consider the suggestions below your tasting menu for the perfect weekend in Fort Worth — the real Texas, depending on who you ask.
Where to Stay
No hotel pays better homage to the history of Fort Worth’s Stockyards neighborhood than Hotel Drover, which feels like a sophisticated, self-aware reboot of your favorite Old Western. Named after the cowboys — “drovers” — who once drove longhorns through the city, the hotel opened in 2021 and greets guests with a tongue-in-cheek charm. Saddles and cow-print chairs crop up in the lobby’s library, while glowing, on-theme cowboy caricatures decorate both the hotel’s interior and exterior. Upon check-in, guests also receive a voucher for luggage tag branding, so you can commemorate your stay.
Where to Eat
For Texas tacos
The menu of Hotel Drover’s signature restaurant bookends its most popular category with an exclamation point: “Breakfast Tacos!” The menu’s trio of options justify that enthusiasm, pairing steak and eggs, brisket hash, and egg BLT tacos with a hearty serving of potatoes. If you’re not in the mood for tacos, the restaurant has fun with its other entrees and puts a twist on breakfast classics. Choose between a lobster omelet, chilaquiles, or chicken and waffles overlaid with a whiskey maple syrup.
For a lunch akin to art
If you’ve ever wondered just how good a tuna melt can be, this restaurant will show you. Many museum eateries tend to be afterthoughts, but The Modern’s eponymous café rivals any of the city’s best lunch spots. That’s because chef Jett Mora puts art on the plate; just look at his red wine poached pear salad, and you’ll understand how aesthetic ingredients can be. When you’re done with lunch, make sure to stroll through The Modern and pay particular attention to its various sculptures, which are displayed both inside and outside the museum.
For a white tablecloth dinner
Chef Tim Love’s answer to Italian cuisine, Caterina’s doesn’t allow diners to use their phones inside the dimly lit, close-knit space. Consequently, Caterina’s prompts chit-chat over plates of arancine and beef carpaccio. If your schedule permits, make a reservation for one of Caterina’s monthly wine dinners. Each course of the tasting menu (no, there aren’t 25) comes with a generous pour of wine and an accompanying geography lesson.
Where to Drink
What better place to grab a beer than at the oldest saloon in Texas? East Exchange Avenue’s trademark saloon stretches back to 1884, with a storied past of cowboys, TV show cameos, and even an 1887 duel. All that history comes to a head in the evening, when you can two-step to live music or just soak up the atmosphere. Cowboy hats adorn the walls, so it wouldn’t be out of place to don one of your own here.
Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall
Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall doubles as a bar and performance space, focused predominantly on a well-stocked roster of musicians. Acts in the intimate, multi-purpose venue have ranged from the Jonas Brothers to The Head and the Heart, though there’s also a bar and lounge where you can get your cowboy boots branded. And, because Tannahill’s falls under the Tim Love-owned umbrella, don’t overlook the menu, which features oysters, traditional bar food, and — finally — smoked meats. You’re in Texas, after all.
What to Do
All the Stockyards Activities
Channel your inner drover throughout the revitalized Mule Alley, where boutiques and luxury brands sell cowboy boots with matching hats — and cowboys lead longhorns up East Exchange Avenue. Every day at 11:30 and 4:00, you can watch a traditional cattle drive and envision the Stockyards of years past. If you want additional context for the street, opt for a guided walking tour and a rodeo show at Cowtown Coliseum.
Fort Worth’s Cultural District
Visit Fort Worth’s Cultural District, and your day will plan itself. Within the span of just a few streets, you’ll find the Kimbell Art Museum, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, among others. There’s also, notably, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, which saddles up with information about the often unknown history.
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