For me, and maybe you, too, chicken-fried steak started and stopped at Massey’s, an old-school diner on Eighth Avenue that served simple and delicious comfort food to all walks of Fort Worth life. The wealthy, the poor, blue collars, and white collars lined up to sit at wobbly tables and red plastic booths for meatloaf and fried chicken and chicken and dumplings and freshly made dinner rolls and desserts.
But the restaurant’s star attraction was chicken-fried steak. Theirs was glorious, a hunk of round steak tenderized until you could cut it with a fork, its golden-fried batter crisp but light, its cape of cream gravy so addicting waitresses had to bring out extra bowls of it to those who couldn’t get enough of the stuff.
It was like seeing Adele in a club, the Stones at a frat party, Pink Floyd in someone’s backyard — who knew, at the time, we were experiencing something that could never, ever, ever, ever be topped?
It was 26 years ago, nearly to the day, that Massey’s closed its doors after a five-decade run — and ever since, Fort Worth restaurants have been trying to top, or even be just equal to, or maybe just be in the same ballpark with, Massey’s CFS.
That’s been a tall order for Fort Worth to fill, one worth investigating. Here, then, are our results, a list of the Fort Worth restaurants whose CFS may not exactly best Massey’s, but they’re certainly worth celebrating.
Crystal Wise
Betcha Didn’t Know They Have Good CFS Here Star Café 111 W. Exchange Ave., starcafefortworth.com
The Restaurant
The Stockyards are filled with restaurants that serve CFS — it’d be a little weird if they didn’t. From newbies like the Hotel Drover’s 97 West Kitchen & Bar and Marcus Paslay’s Provender Hall to battle-scarred veterans like Cattleman’s and Riscky’s Steakhouse, the area has so many CFS spots, it’s practically Fort Worth’s CFS capital.
The very best old-school CFS in the Stockyards comes from a restaurant that’s sometimes overlooked, Star Café, a little place with a big heart. In true Fort Worth fashion, servers at this rustic café call you sweet names while delivering plate-engulfing portions of fried chicken, pork chops, and of course CFS.
The restaurant harks back to the 1930s but over the years has gone by other names, including “Black Eyed Pea” in the ‘70s when the chain was first starting out. Don Boles bought the restaurant in 1980, giving it back its original name. Earlier this year, Boles sold the restaurant to entrepreneur Chris Flores, who’s all but promised to not change a thing about this dusty little gem.
The CFS
You gotta have a love for cream gravy to fully appreciate the Star’s excellent CFS. Gravy doesn’t just cover the CFS; it engulfs it here, practically hiding every speck of its golden-brown batter. But I happen to be a big fan of cream gravy, even this much, and I was shocked that with each bite, the inch-high blanket of pepper-flecked gravy didn’t make a dent in the batter; it was crisp and crunchy from first bite to last. As for the steak, it was tender to the touch, requiring not even the slightest of tugs.
Mandatory Sides
The CFS is served with your choice of fries or mashed potatoes. Go with the latter, which also come drenched in cream gravy. A salad comes on the side, plus tiny dinner rolls.
Crystal Wise
Fancy CFS Michael’s Cuisine 3413 West Seventh St., michaelscuisine.com
The Restaurant
Michael Thomson’s self-named restaurant has been one of the city’s best spots for chef-designed Texana/Americana cooking since Thomson opened it in the Cultural District/Monticello area in 1992. Many flock to the bar, where they can dine on a completely different menu than those in the dining room, while others fight for spaces on the small but picturesque patio, where you can watch Monticelloans walk, jog, or BMW by. The dining room is tastefully decorated in a wide arrange of art, some of it local, and Thomson himself is often on-site, either cooking or greeting guests.
The CFS
A onetime food stylist, Thomson is all about presentation, so it’s no surprise that his CFS looks as good as it tastes. The first thing that strikes you is the gravy. Orange in color, instead of the usual white, it has a soft bite to it, like a lover nibbling on your ear, thanks to its infusion of chipotles; servers will pour on the black pepper table-side, if you want. The CFS itself was fork-tender, its golden-brown batter crunchy and seasoned nicely. Under it came a mound of mashed potatoes, appropriately buttery, and on the side was a small ramekin of fat, flat green beans, good to their last morsel of bacon.
Mandatory Sides
There’s a small menu of sides you can sub, including french fries, but the green beans and mashed potatoes are excellent.
Crystal Wise
Betcha Didn’t Know They Have Good CFS Here Jesus BBQ 810 S. Main St., facebook.com/JesusBBQ
The Restaurant
One of the oldest restaurants on the city’s south side, this tiny family-run diner — an essential visit for any Fort Worthian — has always been known for its expertly smoked barbecue: brisket, ribs, and chicken that could hold their own against many of the city’s BBQ stalwarts. But over the course of the restaurant’s five-decade-plus life, those in the know have also come to love Jesus Borja’s charmingly ramshackle spot for several non-BBQ dishes, including Tex-Mex food and chicken-fried steak. Coincidentally, after Jesus reopened post-pandemic, BBQ is no longer on the menu, at least for the time being. This puts the restaurant’s focus squarely on Mexican food and fried stuff.
The CFS
Jesus’ chicken-fried steak is one of the most popular items on the small menu, so much so that sometimes there’s a little bit of a wait for it, since each CFS is cooked to order. When your server arises from the kitchen and brings it to your table, steam still rising from the gravy, all eyes in the dining room will be on you. The steak itself is thinly pounded — you can sometimes hear them hammering on it in the kitchen — and well tenderized; my fork easily slid through it. The breading was light and extra crispy on the corners, which I love. White cream gravy oozed all over it and the accompanying side of mashed potatoes. Nicely seasoned with salt and pepper, the CFS was as delicious as it was frills-free.
Mandatory Sides
Sides rotate per what the restaurant has in stock. During my most recent visit, the CFS came with a pleasantly unobtrusive salad and a small pile of steamed veggies. Jesus’ crinkle-cut fries are a good alternative to the healthy stuff.
Crystal Wise
Old-School CFS West Side Café 7950 Camp Bowie Blvd., fortworthwestsidecafe.com
The Restaurant
There are those in Fort Worth who would swear the ghosts of Massey’s inhabit the West Side Café, a beloved pit-stop for people running low on calories and coffee. Like Massey’s, the café is a gathering place for anyone hankering for home cooking, be it neighborhood usuals, tourists, cops, or the people they’re chasing. First-timers always wander the bustling, seemingly never-slow dining area, looking at all the pictures of military veterans and old Fort Worth clinging to the walls.
Opened 26 years ago in a former pizza joint, the café was originally owned by Bill and Judie Byrd and their partner, Tracey Sanford. Ultimately, Sanford purchased the restaurant and ran it until he passed away last year; a manager says the restaurant is now under “staff ownership.”
The CFS
West Side Café’s CFS is the closest we’ve come to Massey’s: The well-breaded cutlet is the perfect size, not ridiculously enormous nor pitifully small, the cream gravy is piping hot, and the seasoned batter stays crispy until your last bite. It is about as uncomplicated and tasty as CFS can get.
Mandatory Sides
Two sides of your choice come with each CFS. The no-brainer mashed potatoes are a lumpy delight. Green beans, spiked with bacon, are a good option, too, but the broccoli chunks smothered in cheese sauce are the perfect combo of healthy and dangerous. Freshly made dinner rolls, delivered in a red plastic basket lined with tissue paper, come straight from the oven, hot and fluffy.
Crystal Wise
Old-School CFS Babe’s
The Restaurants
The Babe’s restaurants, ten in all, spread out over North Texas, indeed make up a chain, and while we tend to try to spotlight mom-and-pop spots over chains, there’s no denying the CFS served at Babe’s is fantastic, no matter the location. Plus, Babe’s is a family-owned chain: Opened by Paul Vinyard, the former president of El Chico Mexican Restaurants, and his wife, Mary Beth, the original Babe’s in Roanoke will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. Mary Beth passed years ago; Paul now runs the restaurants with his son and daughter.
For the uninitiated, Babe’s CFS comes with mashed potatoes, creamed corn, green beans, rolls, a salad, and a side of cream gravy, all served a la carte with free refills, and then the CFS itself. I love that you can, basically, put together your own CFS dish, choosing the exact amount of gravy you want (a lot), how much of the mashed potatoes you’re going to dump on the CFS (seconds, please!), and how much of the juice from the bacon-y green beans you’re going to allow to spill onto the CFS (always half the bowl).
The CFS
The recipe is a well-guarded family secret that area manager Bill Spielman won’t budge on divulging. “Is the steak round steak or tenderloin,” I ask. “I can’t tell you, but it’s not just round steak. It’s a mix,” he says. “Of what,” I say. “Can’t say,” he says. “How do you get that batter so crisp every time?” I try to pry. “It’s how we fry it,” he says, leaving it at that. “OK, well, what can you tell me about the batter? It’s perfectly fried, perfectly seasoned every time at every restaurant,” I say, to which he replies, simply enough, “That’s good; that’s what we want.”
Mandatory Sides
The aforementioned sides all play a small role in the big picture: the bacon-studded green beans are ridiculously addicting; the crisp-kernel corn is appropriately buttery; and you’ll use the freshly made rolls to sop up every centimeter of the mashed potatoes and cream gravy. And then, because you can, you’ll ask for more.
Jason Kindig
Old-School CFS Drew’s Place 5701 Curzon Ave., drewssoulfoodfw.com
The Restaurant
Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, Drew’s Place is quintessential Fort Worth dining, like Carshon’s and Fred’s and the original Kincaid’s. You can’t call yourself a Fort Worthian until you’ve put away a plate of Drew’s fantastically fried chicken and a big slice of sweet potato pie. Owned by former Texas Tech football player Andrew Thompson and his wife, Stephanie, the restaurant is simple and modest — the point is to make you feel at home, which it most certainly does. The restaurant struggled through the pandemic and closed for a time. As of March, Drew’s is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, but with a limited crew; be patient with ‘em.
The CFS
You gotta have the fried chicken at some point, yes, definitely, but Drew’s CFS is often considered the best in town. The crusty batter and tender, silky meat are the perfect ratio, with the slightly thick batter sometimes outweighing the meat by just a smidge, just the way a lot of folks like it. Good cream gravy, too, and a lot of it. The CFS comes in portions both large and small — one piece for lightweights, two for the hungry, and three for people who can...OK, who can eat THREE pieces of CFS without needing to go to the hospital afterward?
Mandatory Sides
Where to begin? In addition to the usual mashed potatoes and green beans, Drew’s offers nearly a dozen sides. I highly recommend the rich mac and cheese and smoky collard greens. The candied yams are a must, too, if they have them.
Crystal Wise
Fancy CFS Reata 310 Houston St., reata.net
The Restaurant
This upscale downtown culinary tribute to all things Texas has played a vital role in Fort Worth’s dining scene ever since it opened in 1996 atop the old Bank One building. The tornado of 2000 temporarily displaced Reata, but it soon found a home within the plush confines of the Caravan of Dreams, which closed to make way for the restaurant. Over the years, Reata’s kitchen has been square one for many once-unknown North Texas chefs, including Tim Love, Juan Rodriguez, and Brian Olenjack; simply, it’s one of the best restaurants in Fort Worth.
The CFS
Those who have followed Reata’s 26-year journey know its famed, deep-fried CFS has changed very little over the years. Just about the only modification, says general manager Russel Kirkpatrick, came last year when management decided to start using an upper echelon grade of beef for its base: wagyu. “The quality of wagyu is much better than your average beef,” he says. “After all this time, that’s the only real change we’ve made to the chicken-fried steak. It’s one of those dishes that we just don’t mess with. People love it exactly the way it is.” Which is to say, with a nice thick, buttermilk-infused batter, simple salt and pepper seasoning, and a good ladling of creamy, slightly peppery gravy. Nothing complicated. Just good ingredients cooked superbly well.
Mandatory Sides
The CFS is very classily presented, more refined than rustic, with pillowly mashed potatoes cleverly hidden underneath the CFS. Offering color and a slight bit of healthiness, mixed veggies come on the side.
Crystal Wise
Fancy CFS Lonesome Dove 2406 N. Main St., lonesomedovefortworth.com
The Restaurant
When it opened 22 years ago in an historic Stockyards building once used as a boot shop, a Bob Wills museum, and one of local restaurateur Bill Martin’s seafood restaurants, Lonesome Dove helped usher in fine dining to an area in dire need of it. This wasn’t — and still isn’t — a typical Stockyards hangout, populated with well-cologned dudes on their way to line dancing and fistfights at PR’s Saloon; it’s mostly couples, small parties of friends, a handful of tourists, and Love followers.
The menu is a greatest hits of what Love does best: what-the-what dishes like kangaroo carpaccio alongside his takes on classic dishes, from American to Asian, glowing in candlelight and delivered with white glove-level service.
The CFS
Love is one of many Fort Worth chefs who has done wonders with a veteran, sometimes one-dimensional dish. Love says he uses prime beef tenderloin as his starting point, then builds from there, encasing the beef in a Shiner Bock-infused batter, pairing it with buttery Yukon gold mashed potatoes, and ladling all in a white cream gravy infused with pitmaster fat. It all came nicely decorated with something colorful and healthy: grilled green beans and yellow and red banana peppers. You won’t need a speck of salt or pepper; everything is perfectly seasoned. You won’t need a knife, either — the meat was perfectly tender.
At $34, it may seem pricey, but two pieces of CFS come per order, making it the perfect dish for sharing.
Mandatory Sides
Other sides are available, such as white truffle mac and cheese, but you want to order the CFS here as-is.
Crystal Wise
Fancy CFS Lucile’s 4700 Camp Bowie Blvd., lucilesstatesidebistro.com
The Restaurant
West-side American food fave Lucile’s is housed in a green-tiled building that dates back to 1927. Steve’s Café, which operated nearly two decades, is the original occupant. You can still see the “Steve’s” marker on the sidewalk just outside the front doors. Over the years, other restaurants came and went, including Black-Eyed Pea and the locally owned and much-loved Finley’s Cafeteria, until 1993, when Fort Worth retired attorney Robert McLean and a band of partners, opened Lucile’s.
The restaurant focuses on cheffy re-imaginings of American standards, from steak to seafood, along with some nice surprises, including very good lobster rolls.
The CFS
Winner of several awards, including some from this very publication, Lucile’s CFS is, for many, the best in town. A healthy, sizable piece of thinly pounded sirloin comes encased in a deep-fried batter like no other I’ve tasted: peppery, rich, a lot more complex than others; the meat itself was a little on the tough, stringy side. Good gravy, though, adequately peppery with a pleasingly thick texture.
Mandatory Sides
Here, CFS comes with a side of fries — either hand-cut regular fries or sweet potato fries.
Crystal Wise
Betcha Didn’t Know They Have Good CFS Here Little Red Wasp 808 Main St., littleredwasp.com
The Restaurant
This more casual spinoff of nearby fine dining emporium Grace offers chef-inspired — and just plain inspired — takes on American classics. Developed by owner Adam Jones, Grace chef Blaine Staniford, and general manager Jason Miller (Grace’s former bar manager), the menu spotlights sandwiches — “knife and fork” sandwiches, LRW calls them, including a Reuben with a housemade cabbage slaw, a cheeseburger with aged cheddar, and a crispy chicken sandwich that puts most other chicken sandwiches to shame. But while the diner-inspired restaurant has made a name for itself on the strength of those sandwiches, attention should be paid to LRW’s larger entrees, including spaghetti and meatballs, pork shank carnitas, and an excellent chicken-fried steak.
The CFS
Like Lonesome Dove, Little Red Wasp uses beef tenderloin as the base of its CFS, so its price is going to be a little higher than say, Star Café’s. It’s well worth it, though. Pounded thin, the tenderloin comes encased in a buttermilk crust, satisfyingly flaky and crisp, with a ladling of champagne-colored black pepper gravy on top. Yukon mashed potatoes come on the side, but we fell harder for the dish’s other accoutrement: Brussels sprouts, flash fried and tossed in butter and apple cider vinegar. No one had to gripe at me to eat my veggies.
Mandatory Sides
When you’re at LRW, always get a side of deviled eggs. Always, always, always.
Crystal Wise
Old-School CFS Madea’s Down Home Cooking 1019 W. Enon, Everman
The Restaurant
People who love soul food and Southern cooking will definitely fall for Madea’s Down Home Cooking, a tiny restaurant that specializes in the type of comfort food many of us grew up on: chicken and dumplings, fried catfish, roast beef and gravy, oxtails, and beef tips and rice. Owner Elbert Penson opened the restaurant in 2005 as a tribute to his late mother, who went by the nickname “Madea” or “mother dear.” It’s not exactly easy to find, this tiny building on a bumpy back road in the small Fort Worth suburb of Everman, but the hunt is well worth it.
The CFS
Many items on the menu are served cafeteria-style, but the CFS is made to order, and it usually takes about 15 minutes for it to arrive. Madea’s CFS is a little different than most, with a batter that better resembles fried fish than fried steak; it’s not your traditional egg-and-flour mixture. The end result is very much welcome, though: a crisp, crunchy batter that just about melts in your mouth. Some people get the cream gravy on the side because the batter is so good, and I don’t blame them.
Mandatory Sides
You get three per order, and, yes, green beans and mashed potatoes are among the choices. But the stewed okra and tomatoes is a rare sight on any Fort Worth menu, making it a must. Broccoli and cheese casserole is more cheese than broccoli — and that’s a good thing. Big chunks of yam, not too sweet, are another good option. You get a choice of a complimentary roll or cornbread. Go for the latter — it’s hot-water cornbread, another item you don’t see at many places anymore.
We could go on for pages and pages about our favorite Fort Worth chicken-fried steaks. Ah, there’s only so much time and Tums. But here’s an abbreviated roundup of some of other fave CFS spots:
97 West Kitchen & Bar: The Hotel Drover’s upscale-rustic restaurant uses New York strip for its unique CFS, then pours on a sausage-studded gravy — a nice change of pace from the usual black pepper gravy. 200 Mule Alley Drive, 97westkitchenandbar.com
Dixie House Café, multiple locations: This chain of country-style cafes has all but perfected the art of the old-school CFS, bathing it in creamy white gravy and pairing it with any number of veggies. Also: GET. SOME. PIE. dixiehousecafes.com
Fred’s Texas Café: We haven’t had a chance to check out the new Fred’s yet in west Fort Worth, but if its CFS is anything like the greatness of the original location’s, it’ll be among the area’s best. 7101 Camp Bowie Blvd.,
fredstexascafe.com
Lady and the Pit: Sometimes this East Lancaster mom-and-pop soul food restaurant has its terrifically thin CFS on its menu; sometimes it doesn’t. Call or check out their FB before you go. 5301 E. Lancaster Ave., facebook.com/LadyAndThePit
5 Simple Rules for Rating Chicken-Fried Steak
To be considered for our best CFS in FW story, there were a handful of requirements
Fort Worth only. There may come a time when we branch out into the mid-cities and Arlington in search of the perfect CFS, but there are plenty of good ones right here in FW. We did, however, take a road trip out to West Texas to pit four CFS faves against one another.
No brown gravy. Chicken-fried steak and brown gravy go together like ketchup and chocolate pudding. Cream gravy is the ONLY type of gravy that belongs on CFS.
The “steak” has to be tender. Some restaurants stick to the old-school way of making CFS — by tenderizing round steak — while others simply use a different, more tender cut of beef. No matter. Said beef needs to be tenderized, fried, and succulent enough for a fork to cut through, not tough or stringy.
Crisp to the last bite. When I was a burger judge for the Star-Telegram’s notoriously fastidious burger battles, I would deduct points from burgers whose bottom buns turned to mush. Likewise, for this story, I disqualified any CFS whose batter couldn’t withstand the weight of the gravy. Nothing worse than a CFS that has dissolved into a squishy, incomprehensible mess.
Seasoning. When it comes to CFS, some restaurants think seasoning means using black pepper in the gravy, and that’s it. A good CFS has a well-seasoned batter. Don’t make us ask for salt and pepper!
A Chicken-Fried Throwdown
If the many fine chicken-fried steaks we’ve brought to your attention in our cover story have yet to sate your CFS appetite, take a drive west to the small towns of Thurber, Mingus, and Strawn, where there’s an all-out CFS war raging.
Four restaurants, within minutes of each other, two on the same stretch of a back road, all have CFS on the menus. Which led us to wonder: Which one’s the best?
The most well-known of these contenders is, of course, Mary’s Cafe, which many claim is the best CFS in the state. Mary’s is trying to ward off two mainstays, Smokestack Restaurant and New York Hill, as well as a newcomer, Mel’s Diner.
Using the totally unscientific method — my tastebuds — I pitted one against the other in a battle fought to the very last drop of … gravy.
I started out on top, literally, at New York Hill (292 County Road 107, Mingus), a restaurant that sits on a hill overlooking Interstate 20 and the surviving buildings of Thurber, a once-bustling coal mining community now whittled down to a ghost town. New York Hill’s CFS was a good, standard-issue, everyday CFS, dressed in a likable black pepper gravy. The batter had a good crunch but needed seasoning. Not bad, not great. Right down the middle. I’d eat it again, or I might completely forget about it. Tell you what, though, if this were a mashed potato battle, NYH would be No. 1.
Next up was Mel’s Diner (816 S. Mingus Blvd., Mingus), a year-and-a-half-old diner run by Melissa “Mel” Freitas. Mel serves an excellent CFS: tender round steak, a crunchy batter with a deep, pronounced flavor, and a crown of creamy gravy. Mel calls her CFS a “happy accident.” “I’m from Maryland,” she says. “What do I know about chicken-fried steak?” Apparently, a lot more than people from Texas.
I’ve been to Mary’s (119 Grant Ave., Strawn) so many times, I practically have their menu memorized: You can get CFS in a small, medium, or large size. A small will fill you up; a large will feed all of Strawn. Each order comes with your choice of potato, plus a salad, toast, and a side of cream gravy. Mary’s makes my favorite batter, a perfect balance of crunchy texture and peppery flavor, so I appreciate the fact that the gravy comes on the side. While some restaurants, over time, lose their touch, Mary’s keeps going strong.
Finally, I landed at Smokestack (239 Private Road 741, Mingus), the cavernous restaurant next to the old Thurber smokestack. Everyone should pay a visit to Smokestack just to soak up the area’s history — there’s lots of Thurber memorabilia on display. But I wasn’t impressed with the CFS — mine lacked flavor, crunch, and personality. But I’ve had Smokestack’s burgers and buttermilk pie, and for those I’d gladly drive out there anytime.
In the end, Smokestack finished last; New York Hill, third; Mel’s, second; and Mary’s, first. But heed this warning: Mary’s may soldier on, but this isn’t the last we’ve heard from Mel.
