I’m a big believer in tacos bought in gas stations. Case in point: Fuel City Tacos in Dallas, the supposed Holy Grail of Texas Tacodom. Of course, I’ve had better tacos at a little no-name gas station at the corner of Coit and LBJ.

Of course, there is a little bit of cognitive dissonance required, and a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy regarding health department scores in helpful. Think of Keith Richards — he’s ingested things far worse than a questionable taco al pastor and made it farther than Jim Fixx ever did. As they say, who dares — wins.

Because of this affinity, I looked forward to visiting Paco & John, the taco shop that replaced La Pasadita next to the Subway on Eighth Avenue just north of Magnolia. Of course, this was no ordinary gas station, it’s much nicer and I assure you, there will be no questions about the health department scores here. We’re talkin’ pristine — maybe too nice. But what do you expect when one of the restaurant is a joint venture of Bernard Tronche, owner of Saint-Emilion, and longtime employee Francisco Islas.
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Everyone’s favorite beer bar will be hosting a beer dinner/tasting this Thursday, February 26th, featuring the Lagunitas Brewing Company. Petaluma, California-based Lagunitas has been tearing up the beer world with their unabashedly over-the-top beers, and they’re bringing a nice selection of seasonal brews to the Fort Worth Flying Saucer for a beer/food pairing.

They’re keeping the crowd small to make it an intimate affair and to ensure that everyone has a chance to soak up the knowledge dropped by Lagunitas’ co-founder and “Head Beer Weasel”, Ron Lindenbusch.

Tickets are $40 for the riff-raff and $35 for UFO club members. (UFO club membership is $14. With it you get a free t-shirt, a card to track the beers you try, and you’re exempted from cover charges on the weekends. Once you’ve done 200 different beers, you get a platter with your name and a pithy slogan on it (look for mine on the patio), and a party thrown in your honor with a $100 bar tab to help pay for it.)

How many new high-end restaurants can Fort Worth support? In the middle of Depression 2.0, a time of reduced expense accounts and born-again frugality, there would seem to be a limit to the number of high-end dining experiences that the market could bear.

Yet last year, we saw Lambert’s and Grace arrive on the scene, and now this month alone, we have Bob’s Steak and Chop House and Eddie V’s vying for the wallets of Fort Worth A-listers.

Already, there has been belt-tightening to meet the new austerity — Lambert’s discontinued lunch service recently. But, even if the timing could have been better, it’s not like these guys can ask for a do-over. They’ll just have to hope that there are still enough people willing and able to drop $75 to $100 per person for dinner.
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On the recommendation of a friend, I finally stopped into Simply Fondue in downtown last night. After a quiet opening a month or two ago, the place has been refining and tweaking things, and last night marked the official opening.

Simply Fondue is located in the basement of the Woolworth Building at 4th & Houston. The Woolworth Building is also home to the Scat Jazz Lounge, the downtown Jos. A. Bank, and the Milan Gallery. Enter the doors on 4th Street and take the stairs down to the restaurant, following the handy signage along the way. [Read more]

Saturday is the day that my family goes out for breakfast. This occurs in spite of the fact that I usually buy good breakfast fixin’s with the intention of cooking them on weekend mornings. We always manage to crave waffles or pancakes or whatever, and then have to make our way out to one of the usual haunts to satisfy that need.

Last week our usual haunt (Old Neighborhood Grill) was closed for Labor Day weekend, so we had to scramble to find someplace new. My companion wanted waffles, so the hunt was on!
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Spiral Diner, Fort Worth’s only vegan restaurant, has been nominated again for Best Restaurant in the VegAwards. If you would like to cast a vote for Spiral, here is the link. Sunday is the last day to vote.

Yucatan Taco Stand
909 West Magnolia Avenue
Map

Note: This review features input from not one, but two West & Clear staffers. The first part of the review is from Pete Wann, and the second part is a vegetarian perspective from me, Kevin Buchanan, along with my photography of the place. Enjoy!

P. W. - There’s been a ton of discussion about the decor of this place. I think it looks like a cross between Gloria’s and Ronin. Not exactly modern — more Mayan Riviera minimalist.

The ordering process is similar to Fuzzy’s or Pei Wei (Or so I’m told — I can’t remember the last time I was in Pei Wei.), where you order your food and get a number, then the yummies are brought out to you.

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The Fort Worth Business Press is reporting that Grace, the new restaurant under construction in the ground floor of Carter + Burgess Plaza on Main downtown, will feature chef Blaine Staniford as its executive chef.

In addition to appearances on Good Morning America and The Rachael Ray Show, Staniford is perhaps best known as the head chef at Fuse, a Tex-Asian fusion restaurant in Dallas. Grace, which is being developed by former Del Frisco’s manager Adam Jones, will serve modern American food.

Grace’s design is by local architectural/design company Firm 817, run by Joe and Tracy Self, hosts of Design Talk Radio on TCU Radio.

Bud Kennedy informs us that Kincaid’s is staying put on Camp Bowie after all. Days before a threatened eviction, the owners of the legendary burger joint have reached an 11th-hour agreement to keep their location in the former grocery store where it has been for 62 years.

Bud also opened the door to one of the most passionate ongoing debates in this town: “Fort Worth and Arlington both are great hamburger towns,” he writes. “Plenty of diners have other favorites such as Fred’s Cafe or Tommy’s Hamburgers in Fort Worth or Al’s Hamburgers in Arlington, along with plenty of new-wave burger cafes.”

What’s your favorite? It think Kincaid’s and Tommy’s are good. Al’s will do if you have to be in Arlington. But Terry Chandler’s FredBurger is the gold standard in my book. I’ll put a FredBurger with grilled jalapenos and cold Rahr up against all comers.

You know, it seems like there’s a new restaurant opening in Fort Worth nearly every week. Some open, struggle for a bit, then turn out to be huge successes (Taverna) others open to much fanfare and praise, then fall flat on their faces (Giant).

Today we’re focusing on a restaurant that has survived for 35 years in Fort Worth, despite having a pretty horribly out-of-the-way location and a cuisine focus that’s not exactly “mainstream” anywhere outside of Lancaster County, PA. (And my hometown, which has a very large Amish and Mennonite population, but isn’t as famous as LC, PA.)
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