Grace - Fort Worth

Our first visit to Grace was probably a little over a year ago right after our little veggie was born.  We had a Groupon and decided, what the heck, we'll give it a try.  Shocking!  The ambiance is posh, but the people are friendly and the chef is fantastic.
The items on the menu don't rotate like some of the other "local" style restaurants, but because the menu is simple and the items aren't ridiculously off the wall, it's easy for them to seem "in season" all year round.  But, it seems that they did learn that not all Fort Worth locals eat just meat and potatoes.  On our first visit the chef was so kind as to create a vegetarian dish from scratch.  With this last visit there was a vegetarian item on the menu (beside the salad).
I started with the Organic Local Greens (from Tassione Farms in Stephenville, TX) - crispy potatoes, Texas goat cheese and beets.  I know, some guys are afraid of those "local greens", but come on - who can resist a Texas goat cheese and beets.  The salad is worth that alone.  Hubby had the Shaved Asparagus.  This comes topped with something they call the "black hole" - it is a sort of egg, bacon and hash bake.  Shockingly tasty, and he said should have been a dish of it's own.
The veggie dish on the menu is a fresh made Five Cheese Tortellini - english peas, ramps and green onion emulsion.  I thought I could talk the chef into making something "off the menu", so I was slightly disappointed when this came to the table.  First bite taken - disappointed no more.  A great "warm" summer dish that was the perfect balance of both light and heavy.  And not overwhelming, so have no fear I had room for dessert.
One of the guests that joined us got the Meyer Ranch All Natural Beef - grass feed, antibiotic free, no growth hormones.  The fat structure in the beef just seems so unnatural from what we normally see, but it so smooth that you can cut it with a fork.  Sauce choice originally was just good 'ol original horseradish, but the waitress talked him into trying the chef's special preparation of Espresso Horseradish.  If you are a true horseradish connoisseur - steer clear of this - the flavor combination is unlike an other, but not in a good way.

Local Organic Greens

Five Cheese Tortellini

Meyer Ranch All Natural Beef

3 diners, 3 desserts - Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake topped with Henry's organic vanilla bean ice cream - Pain Perdu with butter pecan ice cream, bruleed bananas and salted carmel - Chocolate Walnut Milkshake made with homemade vanilla ice cream, Nochelle and dark Creme de Cacao.  I ordered the milkshake - the best combination of liquor and milkshake around (I drank the whole thing), then I tasted both the other desserts ordered and both were top notch.  But, if I had to put them in order 1. Milkshake, 2. Chocolate Pudding Cake, 3. Pain Perdu.  Would I recommend dessert - heaven's yes.

**Oh and please pardon the picture quality - I don't claim to be a photographer.  But I thought I had better get better about including photos of the meals.

Cowtown Diner

This is Fort Worth's newest spot. Don't expect to find much here that is Veg friendly - mostly breakfast. But for those of you that eat meat - expect to be wowed.

Cowtown Diner has remodeled the old La Madeline in downtown to a Texas worthy - chic friendly hang out. The interior is leather and animal hide meets shabby-chic. Well done to the decorator - I was impressed. I am still baffled that they did not utilize the great outdoor space that comes with their space...

Hubby has eaten here multiple times (mostly without me, you'll see why in a moment). Each time he he has been overwhelmed by the creative use of "traditional" Texas mixed with upscale "cafe" style food. Don't be shocked though if you dish comes out missing items or not "put together" as the menu is written. Each visit has included a few faux paux.

My first visit included ordering a dish that they don't even serve on the menu anymore. It was a breakfast play on King Ranch Casserole - eggs, tortilla, cheese, tomato, corn, and tortilla strips. I made sure to ask the waiter that the menu was printed correctly and it had no meat product - after being assured, I ordered what I thought would be an unhealthy breakfast treat. When it arrived it was chalked full of CHICKEN - what?? I then proceeded to return it, only to have it return missing half the items on the menu. It came back as tortilla on the bottom, soggy and covered in this nasty cheese sauce and nothing else... no egg, no tomato, no corn... at this point I was a little annoyed. Hubby had already licked his plate clean and so what was the point in me eating now. But after a side of eggs was brought I attempted to enjoy my breakfast. It was so thick, heavy and creamy - a few bites later I was finished. I learned my lesson - stick to the waffles or pancakes.

Hubby enjoyed his Short Rib Benedict so much that he needed dessert at 10:30 in the morning. He swears that the short ribs alone were the best he has ever had, much less on his favorite breakfast/brunch item. The menu has either changed - or they didn't get the order right when we were there, but it was short ribs served on a homemade potato cake, with a poached egg and the tabasco hollandaise. After eating that manly meal - a slice of homemade pie was ordered. The inside was underwhelming, but the homemade crust was to die for. Get the pie for the crust.

Rating for veg-friendly & getting it together: 1 Carrot

Rating for my husband: 3 Carrots

Vidalias

About a month ago, some long time family friends came to town from Oklahoma. They of course needed a taste of the great life in Fort Worth and wanted to try one of our great breakfast/brunch institutions. Neither the Mr. or I had tried Vidalias and suggested we go and give it a try.

For those of you that don't know Vidalias is attached to the great Marriott Renaissance Hotel. The restaurants has been award as an official "Go Texan" restaurant by the Texas Department of Agriculture. The dress is causal, but the decor is top notch. We went super casual that Saturday morning - prepared to do our errand running for the day - I almost felt out of place. But don't fret - the staff is laid back, friendly, and down home Texan.

We had a large group of 6 and were one of the first at the restaurant that morning. If you are one of those people that have a secret pleasure with the nice hotel buffet - Vidalias is the place for you! Enjoy the buffet without paying to stay the night at a hotel.

Veg that I am I leaned toward a light and filling breakfast. I had the House Made Granola w/ Yogurt and Fruit. I didn't know you could make such a large helping of yogurt and granola - but this dish was ginormous. I ate probably a 1/4 of the helping I received. The fruit was fresh and seasonal and the granola was fantastic.

Several of the others ordered the Traditional Eggs Benedict and two ordered the buffet. Foodie hubby totally took advantage of the buffet - plates full of bacon, sausage, fresh made mini Belgium Waffles, a made to order omelet and the Granola w/ Yogurt and Fruit.

Overall the restaurant was good. I would definitely go again and recommend it to anyone who lives locally or is out of town staying in Sundance.

Ranking: 3 Carrots

Ferre - Fort Worth

I want to say that overall, I find Ferre to be a beautiful restaurant, both architectually and with their food presentation. This restaurant is perfectly positioned across from the Bass Performance Hall and with mid-range prices. Foodie husband and I have both eaten at the Ferre previous to this visit, but I must say I will definitely think twice about eating there again - could have been on the ether of a fantastic performance at Bass the first time.

Yesterday (Saturday) close friends of ours had made reservations for 10 people (including their parents who flew in from D.C. for the weekend) at 9:00 pm. Over 60% of the party was present at 9, but it wasn't until 9:30 that they told us because we had one extra person attending (yes 11 people) we would have to wait for another section to clear. So, instead of adding one chair to our 10 chair table, we had to wait for a party of 20 to clear in another area that had been there since 6.

So, sometime close to 10 pm we were finally seated. Now 75% of our group was present (others were still in-route from work). Our waitress took our cocktail order and the hosting couple ordered apps for the table. Sometime around 10:30 - 10:45 another waitress was flagged down to take our main course order. The table orders ranged from the rack of lamb, scallops, catch of the day, to my usual Eggplant Parmesan.

After going through exorbitant amounts of bread, cheese crisps (and others had the appetizers), our main courses finally arrived. I was extremely disappointed. Foodie's husband was too intoxicated to comment accurately on the state of his dish, but mine looked and tasted like something I could make at home - not that I am a horrible cook, but you know you go out to eat at a nice restaurant and expect them to use some creativity. The eggplant was cut lengthwise, breaded and topped with red sauce - not impressed. The pasta that was on the side, should have been a main dish though. The light dressing was flavorful and the pasta was cooked perfectly. Next time that is what I am going to ask for - a main dish of the side pasta.

Of course everyone ordered desserts - I think one of everything. Our dessert of choice was Profiteroles - for those of you that don't know, this is a puff pastry stuffed with ice cream of choice and usually covered with a sauce. This dessert if prepared correctly can be decadent - this one was a flop. The puff pastry was extremely dry, the ice cream tasted like Blue Bell and topping was generic - melted chocolate with some crushed up toffee candy bar.

Ranking: 2 Carrots

JAKE'S - Old Fashioned Burgers

Jake's moved into the previous location for Chili's in downtown Fort Worth. What a refreshing change from the cookie-cutter crap of the chain restaurants.

Other burger joints have been voted best "veggie" burger, but I found Jake's to be the best I have had so far. It was made fresh, had a little kick and wonderful flavor.

The regular meat burgers are made thick and to order. Foodie's husband stuck to the basics, with meat, cheese, mustard and ketchup only. He prefers the thin patties to the thick, but said the flavor was great.

The buns & burgers came out fresh and piping hot. The fries are fresh cut and seasoned great (Jumpin' Jake Fries). We haven't tried the sweet potato fries yet, but we'll definitely go a second time to give them a try.

Ranking: 4 Carrots

Taverna - Short & Sweet

I'll keep this one short and sweet. Taverna is a recommended pick on our favorites list, but I can't help but mention it, since we took my mother-in-law to eat there over this past weekend.

Not only do they get the dinner right every time, if you are looking for a great place to have brunch - you should definitely give them a try.

I don't know that I have ever had anything less than excellent from the menu. I do my best to try something new every time we go. This time I tried the Eggplant Parmesan and what a feast for my eyes and stomach. It was nothing like a standard parmesan dish - stacked with eggplant, cheese and sauce - it was almost like a baked lasagna. Wonderful.

Foodie's husband gets the Balsamic Risotto with Chicken just about every time we go. Yeah a guy eats Risotto and likes it!

There are so many great things on the menu - it's hard to keep it short. There are items for all taste buds and prices to please all.

Recommended to make reservations on the weekend (or expect to wait!).

Ranking: 5 Carrots