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We really hope you read this week’s 4 on 1 column, considering we’re salivating after compiling all our answers.
A staple of our news coverage comes by way of restaurant openings, something that seemingly happens in Fort Worth after every blink. Naturally, we catch wind of new places to venture in our off-time this way.
That’s the motivation behind this week’s question for editors Brian Kendall, Samantha Calimbahin, Scott Nishimura, and Matt Payne: Which recently opened or upcoming restaurant are you most excited to try?
Brian: With all due respect to Tim Love, and despite my enduring love of a medium-rare ribeye, I’m undoubtedly most stoked for Wishbone & Flynt. The old executive chef at Max’s Wine Dive, Texas Bleu Steakhouse, et al. — and past Fort Worth Magazine Top Chef recipient — Stefon Rishel, gets full culinary control at his own spot in the Near Southside, and I can’t wait to taste the results. Add to that the adjoined speakeasy, Amber Room, and I might have found my fave Friday-night spot.
Samantha: I'm actually excited to try a place opening just down the street from our office — Dimassi’s Mediterranean Buffet on Camp Bowie Boulevard. Mediterranean is my second favorite cuisine (first is cajun). Our last story about Dimassi's mentioned a mid-January opening, though when I drive by, it appears construction's still going on. Nonetheless, I'm stoked. Here's to hoping Dimassi's will heal my broken heart after the closing of Terra.
Scott: I've recently scratched two of my must-visits off the list - Wicked Butcher downtown and Shake Shack. I've now visited Wicked Butcher, the steakhouse in the basement of the renovated and recently reopened historic Sinclair hotel downtown, three times. It's a rich urban, yet somehow casual, experience like nothing else in Fort Worth, with great meats, seafood and wines. My wife and I had dinner in the street-level Sinclair bar - the Wicked Butcher menu is served in the bar - one of those times, and looking out the windows at the streetscape, you might guess New York or Chicago if you didn't know where you were. My visit to the Shake Shack in the Stockyards this week was the second time I've been to one of these; the first was in Palo Alto, Calif., last fall while visiting family. This restaurant chain has a wonderful history. Danny Meyer, the founder, launched several restaurants in New York City, revitalizing a neighborhood. He's written a fantastic business book, Setting The Table, about exceeding expectations. This is one concept he's taken nationally. It's a higher hamburger, with a great customer experience that's to be expected for anyone who knows Meyer's obsession with customers. I. Will. Be. Back. Next up: Tim Love's Atico Saturday afternoon. Then: Stefon Rishel's Wishbone & Flynt.
Matt: Part of the fun in going out to eat for me is trying fresh new takes on traditional fare, which is why BirdieBop keeps catching my eye. The spot inside recently resurrected music venue The Moon, boasting “fried chicken and fried chicken accessories,” claims to marry two of my favorite kinds of grub: Southern and Asian. Katsu chicken-fried chicken, Mac N’ Kimcheese and those ornate Korean deviled eggs flying around social media keep pushing me to pay the quirky new concept a visit.
