The Bangkok brings Thai family’s restaurant empire to Alliance area

The Alliance area of far north Fort Worth has plenty of restaurants, few of them very distinctive.

Mostly, it’s a wasteland of traffic jams, stoplights and chain dining.

But then you find The Bangkok.

New on Heritage Trace Parkway at North Riverside Drive, The Bangkok is the latest restaurant from the Thanpaisarnsamut family, owners of Spice on West Magnolia Avenue and Thai restaurants under four other names from Southlake to Hudson Oaks.

The Bangkok has everything north Fort Worth wants:

▪ a sleek, contemporary setting;

▪ a wide-ranging menu with the Thai steak, snapper and duck specials from Spice;

▪ plenty of gluten-free dishes, labeled on the menu;

▪ and a craft cocktail menu with $7 cocktails, $5 wines and $3 beers at happy hour.

It’s also the first Thai restaurant to join the city’s Blue Zones Project healthy dining program. The veggie menu includes spring rolls, tofu lettuce wraps, a papaya salad and entrees such as eggplant with spicy basil ($11).

The lunch menu offers a choice of 23 specials for less than $10, with a spring roll or eggroll and salad. The dinner menu also includes panang, massaman and pineapple-coconut curries, grilled salmon or tilapia and noodle dishes.

The Bangkok is open for lunch and dinner daily at 3529 Heritage Trace Parkway (that’s a former pizza restaurant in the strip shopping center at North Riverside Drive); 817-741-3993, thebangkokdfw.com.

Mac’s turns 30

Has Mac’s Bar & Grill really been open 30 years?

Heck, has southwest Arlington really been there 30 years?

The Interstate 20 steakhouse is celebrating an anniversary with a throwback menu at dinner June 21-22.

For those nights only, Mac’s will bring back long-forgotten items: charbroiled chicken, Dijon chicken, fried catfish and snapper béarnaise.

Mac’s is open for brunch or lunch daily (including Father’s Day) and dinner nightly; 6077 I-20 W, 817-572-0541, macsteak.com.

A newer Grapevine location is also open daily; 909 S. Main St., 817-251-6227.

Clearfork’s next wave

The next wave of Shops at Clearfork restaurants will open from September through November.

Dallas-based Malai Kitchen, a modern Thai-Vietnamese restaurant, is expected to open in September at 5289 Monahans Ave.; malaikitchen.com.

Houston’s B&B Butchers & Restaurant, a steakhouse-butcher shop, is expected to open by November and even served a preview dinner this week at NM Café. It will open at 5212 Marathon Ave.; bbbutchers.com.

Other restaurants expected by the winter holidays: Dallas-based rise n°3, a soufflé restaurant, 5135 Monahans Ave., and Crú Food & Wine Bar, 5188 Marathon Ave.; Austin-based Fixe Southern House, 5282 Marathon Ave.; Florida-based Doc B’s Fresh Kitchen, 5253 Marathon Ave.; Tacoma, Wash.-founded Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar, 5289 Marathon Ave.; and Chicago-based City Works Eatery and Pour House, 5288 Monahans Ave.

This story was originally published June 14, 2017 at 5:32 PM with the headline "The Bangkok brings Thai family’s restaurant empire to Alliance area."