Olaf Growald
Today, with Fort Worth’s culinary scene thriving, it’s not at all unusual for a local restaurant to gain regional or even national attention.
But in the ‘90s and early 2000s, such accolades were harder to come by. Local media outlets like the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Fort Worth Weekly always waved the flag for our city’s restaurants, as did Texas Monthly. Beyond Texas’ borders, though, our city’s restaurants rarely registered on the national culinary radar.
Exceptions existed, though. Bistro Louise, the French-inspired restaurant owned by Fort Worth chef and restaurateur Louise Lamensdorf, spent much of its 15 years basking in the glow of local, regional, and, yes, even national adulation.
With a distinctive menu dominated by the food and cooking techniques of the European south, a dining room awash in Mediterranean hues, and a gorgeous patio, Bistro Louise quickly became one of the city’s most popular restaurants.
When it closed in 2011, after Lamensdorf couldn’t reach a new lease with the property’s owner, she says, it did so as a recognized leader in fine dining, having repeatedly earned the AAA four-diamond award — a high honor in national culinary circles. Over the course of the restaurant’s life, there were stories and mentions in Bon Appétit. Wine Spectator even took notice, calling it one of the best restaurants in the country for its wine program.
Many in Fort Worth surmised it was the perfect way for Lamensdorf to cap her 30-year-plus career. But she steamrolled on. Now in her 80s, the chef says she’s still cooking on a regular basis as a private chef and caterer for parties.
“To this day, I’m still conceptualizing new dishes, still trying out new ideas,” she says. “With food and cooking, there’s always something new to learn.”
A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Lamensdorf has spent a lifetime learning about food and cooking. She learned at a young age to appreciate fine food through her French-born grandmother, who never made sandwiches, Lamensdorf says. Instead, multicourse meals consisted of stuffed veal and other French delicacies.
Years later, her husband took her to France — with friend Elizabeth McCall and McCall’s husband in tow — to wine and dine at the country’s finest restaurants.
“These trips we took, we ate at beautiful restaurants, had wonderful wines and wonderful meals. They were so inspiring,” she says. “Elizabeth and I came back home with stacks of recipe books we picked up on our travels.”
The students soon became the teachers. Excited to spread the gospel of French cooking, Lamensdorf, McCall, and friend Renie Steves opened a cooking school in 1979 called The French Apron. Even while teaching, Lamensdorf remained a dedicated pupil, traveling globally to study with master chefs such as Michelin-starred Andre Daguin in France and U.S. Olympic chef Charles Finance.
A decade later, after the school closed, Lamensdorf utilized her training at local restaurants such as Cafe Aspen, where owner David Rotman hired her as head chef. Eager to have a place of her own, Lamensdorf opened Bistro Louise in 1996 on South Hulen Street, where it reigned for 15 years.
“I wanted a cozy French atmosphere of fine dining where people could enjoy the different ideas I was bringing to their plates,” she says. “All of my years of training, I was able to share that through my food and give people a sense of what it was like to dine in France or Italy. Bistro Louise was so important to me because it gave me the opportunity to give back to Fort Worth.”
To contact Lamensdorf for catering, visit bistrolouisecatering.com.
