Home (Kinda) for the Holidays: Fort Worth, Texas

There are five crucial questions a journalist must ask (and answer) when researching and developing a story: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. These Five W's, along with a bonus "How" for further clarity, will preclude each blog post to provide proper insight into this weird, wild nomadic journey. ​

The Five W's + H:
​Who: DJ (me), Christina (not me, but cool too), and Sophie (a cat)
What: Top 5 places to drink up 
Where: Fort Worth, Texas
When: September 2019 - January 2020
Why: With a loved one sick and the holidays just around the corner, we decided it would be nice to spend a few months back home for the first time in two years. 
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How: This, my friends, is the best travel drive we've ever had—hands down. 52 miles and 50 minutes is so choice compared to 10+ hours a day for days on end. 

(Note: As of this writing, Covid-19—aka the plague—has infected more than 20 million people and killed at least 350,000 souls here in the United States alone. Because of the pandemic, many restaurants have closed either temporarily or for good. It's especially important to support local businesses during these tough times, and virtually all of the restaurants on this list are locally owned and operated. Also to keep with the times, all of the restaurants listed below feature outdoor eating areas and/or offer to-go ordering. Mask up, stay socially distanced and stay safe out there.)

Five Places to Drink Up: Fort Worth (Magnolia Ave., mostly), Texas

Paco's Mexican Cuisine (1508 W Magnolia Ave. Fort Worth, TX 76104)

Conveniently located just one block away from our former Fort Worth front door, Paco's Mexican Cuisine is a small town spot with massive Tex Mex flavor. This restaurant recently  renovated its dining room—tacking on another massive section that doubled the restaurant in size—and set up outside table dining. 

Food-wise, Paco's features a varied menu with plenty to offer a diverse plethora of food palettes. My favorite starter is the tried-and-true Queso Fundido: a medley of melty cheese, tomatoes and mildly spicy peppers. This massive bowl comes with free chip refills as it is a meal in its own right

Seasoned Tex Mex aficionados know, nothing goes better with your meal than an ice cold margarita. Paco's has you covered on that front, and then some. The Margarita De La Casa is made with a house made mix of agave, lime juice and house tequila. This custom concoction is simple, yet delicious. 

Let's get down to brass tacks. I know that you know, that I know, you're hungry for a delicious entree at this point. Grab yourself a Taco Plate, skillfully prepared with two street tacos with your choice of protein (Red Snapper is my jam) topped with onions and cilantro with a generous side of rice and your choice of beans. 

Paco's also has rotating food specials, and one of my favorites is the homemade bean and cheese tamale. The authentic taste and freshness is second to none, and if you're lucky, you can catch them early and grab yourself a half dozen.  

Spiral Diner (1314 W Magnolia Ave. Fort Worth, TX 76104)

Just a few blocks east of Paco's, Spiral Diner specializes in crave-able comfort food classics— minus any animal product. 

​Delicious nachos without real cheese couldn't possibly exist, could it? I've got three words for you: cashew cheddar cheese. It's unfathomable (oh yes, this is serious) how closely you can cook up a cashew to mimic the texture of real cheese. The Buffalo Nachos, loaded with the aforementioned house-made, cashew-based nacho cheese and topped with spicy buffalo soy chik'in strips, jalapeños, carrots, and green onion are a tangy, spicy spectacle to behold.

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so logically you should eat breakfast food any time of the day—it's that important! The Bacon Breakfast Taco is a faux bacon tofu scramble topped with cashew cheese and wrapped in a big ole flour tortilla. As someone who stopped digging on swine years ago, it's nice to have the comparable bacon taco experience without putting out a hit on any Babe's, Piglet's or Porky's in the process.   

Cane Rosso (815 W Magnolia Ave. Fort Worth, TX 76104)

Continue east down Magnolia Street fellow weary travelers, where the wood-fired prowess of Cane Rosso stakes it's claim as the best pizza in Fort Worth. Cane Rosso constructs all of its dough each morning using imported fresh Italian flour, pulls mozzarella fresh in-house, and then cooks the final product perfectly over the span of just 90 seconds in a specialty made Italian brick oven that reaches a hellish 900 degrees.

Did I mention owner Jay Jerrier trained with an Italian pizza master (those exist, apparently) for years to perfect what would become his Cane Rosso pies. That's some dedication to your pizza craft right there folks. 

There are plenty of speciality pizzas here that deserve your attention, and taste buds, but here are a few of my favorites: 

Red Sauce:

The tried-and-true Margherita is made with hand-crushed San Marzano tomato sauce, house mozzarella and olive oil to recreate Jerrier's vision of true Italian Margherita pizza.   

White Pies: 

With the Farmer's Only.com, you won't have to choose just one vegetable for the rest of your meal, no it's basically a veggie orgy with spinach artichoke spread, zucchini, mushrooms, arugula, and roasted peppers all pleading for your attention. 

The La Flama Blanca keeps it simple with two fresh cheeses (mozzarella and ricotta), garlic and is topped with basil to create the perfect basic white cheese pizza.  

While the Dallas location gets most of the publicity (being consistently labeled as the top pizza in Dallas, appearing on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives; etc), the Fort Worth location takes all it's cues from the original to create the most authentic pizza in Funky Town. 

Pouring Glory (1001 Bryan Ave. Fort Worth, TX 76104)

There are your average dive bars and then there are dive bars that really care about the customer and feature elevated pub fare that you would eat even if you weren't drinking at a bar; Pouring Glory is the latter. 

​This neighborhood bar comes fully equipped with a rotating selection of draft beer from all over the Lone Star State, along with some select favorites from out of state. My beer of choice comes out of the Peticolas Brewing Company in Fort Worth metroplex-mate Dallas. The Velvet Hammer is a 9 percent ABV mammoth that's also somehow light, airy and goes down extra smooth. 

Perfect for grabbing a few pints and sharing a snack, the Cajun Tots come loaded with spice and their own special PG dipping sauce to help tone down that Louisiana kick. 

Had one too many Velvet Hammers and need a little more heft to stick to your rib? Pouring Glory, unlike many other bars I've frequented in the DFW area, has no problem catering to their vegetarian friends. The Impossible Burger, a fire-grilled Impossible patty topped with lettuce, tomato and avocado on a wheat bun is vegan as is, but nobody can stop me from topping that bad boy with some pepper jack cheese.

While their menu doesn't currently show it as an option, last I visited you had the ability to sub Impossible meat on the Blackened Tofu Tacos. This was the first (and only) time I've been able to munch on some Impossible tacos anywhere in America. 

These are some of my favorites, but aren't the only vegetarian options by a long shot. Falafel Pitas, Chipotle Black Bean Burgers (Christina's favorite), Veggie Hot Dog Sandwiches and more can be found on the menu. 

Heim BBQ (1109 W Magnolia Ave. Fort Worth, TX 76104)

You can't create a list of best Texas restaurants without including some authentic Texas BBQ. Doing so, by law, requires any Texas resident to immediately forfeit their honorary wrangler pants and cowboy boots. Luckily, I don't own either of those things, but Heim barbecue's still  going on the list since it features some of the best smoked meats and quality sides around. 

Most of my food choices to this point have been of the veggie-centric variety, but Heim causes me to unleash my worst carnivore cravings. The Brisket Sandwich, pictured above, is smoked to perfection and each bite dissolves almost effortlessly in your mouth. Spread some spicy Heim bbq sauce on top to create a mountain of amazingness. 

Another great bite at Heim is the never-dry Turkey Sandwich. Barbecued, smoked turkey has been exposed as an inherently Texas delicacy, and even then many bbq joints 'round these parts can't seem to get it right. Not at Heim, as the Turkey is straight up dank (literally and figuratively)—especially after adding the perfect amount of spicy sauce.

Finally, even if meat isn't your thing, the Green Chile Mac and Cheese adds (you guessed it) spicy local green chiles to the creamy, cheesy crescendo that is macaroni and cheese.  

Bonus: Melt Ice Creams (1201 W Magnolia Ave. Ste 115 Fort Worth, TX 76104)

Featuring house made ice cream, frozen yogurt, vegan ice cream AND vegan fro-yo; Melt Ice Creams has a variety of frozen treats for lactose lovers and meh milk-ers alike. Much of their selection is always available, but Melt also features seasonal ice cream for those looking for a change up.

Available via scoops in a cup, waffle cone, or even in pint form to take home for later: my two, go-to flavors at Melt are the Cookie Crush (chocolate ice cream and cookie crumbles) and the Salt Lick (vanilla ice cream, caramel, sea salt). Paired together, these two flavors are a match made in heaven.