Eats Beat: For new Velvet Taco in Fort Worth, the tortilla is just the beginning

The first thing to know about the new Velvet Taco in Fort Worth is that it’s not a taco stand.

In the words of chef John Franke, “While ‘taco’ is 50 percent of the name, the only resemblance is that it’s served in a tortilla.”

Most restaurants would call the menu items “small plates,” except here the plate is the tortilla.

The most talked-about item is probably the chicken tikka taco with cilantro basmati, but the menu ranges from falafel tacos to fried oyster tacos, all served with a side of goat cheese-cheddar tots or roasted cream corn.

There’s also a traditional rotisserie chicken taco (No. 2 if you’re searching the menu) and bacon-and-egg or pork chilaquiles breakfast tacos, all for between $4 and $5.

The new West Seventh Street location, in a corner shop at Carroll Street that was originally built for Arby’s, is about the same size as the original Dallas location in a former fried-chicken stand.

Velvet Taco uses some seasonal, local ingredients and cooks with a chef’s touch, but it also keeps a working-class appeal with counter service, canned beer and recyclable sporks as tableware.

The Dallas location sells “back door chicken” dinners for $20, and Fort Worth matches that but from a side walk-up window on Carroll Street. A $20 bill buys a rotisserie chicken, two helpings of corn, tortillas and pico.

Velvet Taco is open for dinner now and soon for lunch and dinner daily: 2700 W. Seventh St., 817-887-9810, velvettacofw.com.

Social-media photos of preview dinners depict dishes from fried chicken to duck potpie and chili with cornbread croutons, along with lamb tartare, chorizo-wrapped Scotch eggs and a trout salad with grapefruit.

Chef Jeff Harris starred in Dallas at both Craft and Bolsa. Here, he joins forces with Fireside Pies owner Consilient Restaurants to premiere a new concept.

More on AF+B after the opening. It’s at 2869 Crockett St. at Currie Street; 817-916-5300, afandbfortworth.com.

That puts Kona’s opening squarely in the middle of the Stock Show and Rodeo. But you can oversee the goings-on from Kona’s rooftop patio; www.konagrill.com.

This story was originally published January 7, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Eats Beat: For new Velvet Taco in Fort Worth, the tortilla is just the beginning."