From migas to tacos or Maryland crabcakes, this Fort Worth hangout near TCU has it all
The Purple Frog Restaurant & Cantina is the survivor on Blue Bonnet Circle, and now I see why.
Where other grills and taquerias come and go, the Purple Frog is in its fifth year under Briant Dukes, a Delaware native with a seafood chef background and stories to tell about his family selling boats to Joe Biden.
By night, it’s a well-worn bar-and-grill with burgers, sliders, brisket tacos and a menu that leans only slightly to his Chesapeake Bay background.
But it truly shines on weekends, with a brunch menu that upholds a decades-long tradition in the neighborhood near TCU.
Through several owners, the converted former 7-Eleven and fish market at 3468 Blue Bonnet Circle is always a weekend brunch hangout. Families and church groups sit alongside football fans, and everybody saves room for the restaurant’s Key lime pie from an old Philadelphia recipe.
“This is a neighborhood place, and now all of us are supporting the circle making a comeback,” Dukes said, waving a hand at the new vegan taqueria restaurant nearby (Belenty’s Love) and talking about a new Lettuce Cook takeout shop and also a new taphouse coming across the circle.
With the departure of a burger restaurant, a German restaurant and a Rusty Taco, and with student activity from nearby TCU slightly subdued by the pandemic, the Purple Frog and the neighborhood have counted on each other more than ever.
Dukes bought the 1969-vintage property in 2016 after recent lives as a TCU bar under names such as Rock Bottom, or the Bottom.
The name change improved web visits right away and brought back more adult diners, he said.
A revised fall menu isn’t out yet, but it’ll still feature grilled and fried seafood, from crawfish and garlic mussels to ahi tuna.
I never knew Dukes came from the Chesapeake Bay area. But it makes sense if you try his simple crabcakes with Old Bay seasoning (fried or seared). His house-made chips with Old Bay are a must.
The brunch menu features omelets. breakfast tacos and eggs Benedict, but it also includes an impressive platter of migas con chorizo with eggs, tortilla strips, cheeses, peppers and pico, topped with a fried jalapeno.
There are hand-breaded chicken tenders on the menu, but for now, chicken-and-waffles has given way to chicken tenders and pancakes.
The Purple Frog is also one of few restaurants serving a legitimate steak-and-eggs breakfast with a hand-cut, 10-ounce blackened rib-eye, served either with eggs or with sides and a salad as a lunch or dinner combo.
The dinner menu is vast and also offers cedar-plank grilled chicken, raspberry-chipotle pork chops, salads, gumbo, burgers and a Philly cheesesteak.
He’s also added meatballs from a grandmother’s recipe, served in sauce with mozzarella, either as an appetizer or as sliders.
The Purple Frog is open only for dinner Mondays through Saturdays, for lunch/brunch and dinner Thursdays through Saturdays and for brunch only Sundays; 817-923-7625, thepurplefrogrestaurant.com.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 5:15 AM.
