Restaurants in Fort Worth, TX

The Army encampment on the fork of Texas’s Trinity River was officially named Fort Worth, but drovers on the Chisholm Trail knew it as Hell’s Half Acre, an iniquitous layover populated by outlaws and frontier rowdies. Like some humans with a wicked past, the city found redemption but managed not to lose its colorful character; and today’s Fort Worth brims with southwestern spirit. For those of us who like to find that spirit on a plate, the city boasts all the blue-ribbon steaks and expert BBQ of a good cow town, Tex-Mex food that is axiomatic, and lunch-counter cafes serving Frito pie as well as blue-ribbon cream pie. Delectable surprises include an old grocery store (Kincaid’s) that serves a memorable burger and “New West” restaurants in which gifted chefs are writing the latest chapters in cattle-country kitchen history. A short trip north of the Metroplex leads to Ranchman’s Ponder Steak House, an extraordinarily colorful shack by the train tracks where hand-cut steaks are sizzled on a griddle, and can be accompanied by a baked potato if you call and order one before 3pm.