Everybody always thought Fred’s Texas Cafe would fall down on its own.
But it never has. So as it starts its final month in a ramshackle tavern off West Seventh Street, make it No. 1 on your list to visit over the holidays.
Fort Worth and Arlington are full of old-time favorite restaurants. Here are five ways to entertain guests over the holidays:
1. Burgers with a back story
▪ Fred’s Texas Cafe at 915 Currie St., the counterculture corner of the Cultural District, since 1978, is the destination for cold beer, hot serrano or diablo burgers and most of all, the local classic Fred Burger.
You can’t miss Fred’s. It looks like it was already demolished. Someday soon it will be, and the owners are moving Jan. 1 to a new location in a former steakhouse at 7101 Camp Bowie Blvd. West.
Get the spiciest burger you can handle, with chipotles or serranos. Or just order a Fred with fries or the classic chicken-fried steak and soak up the atmosphere.
There’s also a suburban strip-center Fred’s at 2730 Western Center Blvd. Both locations are open for lunch and dinner daily; 817-332-0083 and 817-232-0111, fredstexascafe.com.
A blue cheese-bacon burger at M & O Station Grill in Fort Worth. Amy Peterson Star-Telegram archives
▪ If Fred’s is crowded, it’s not far to M&O Station Grill, 200 Carroll St., a burger grill and home of the Leonards Museum, which spotlights the postwar-era downtown superstore with its own light-rail line and a phenomenal Christmas display.
Don’t look for Santa downtown this year. He’s at M&O/Leonards Museum on Dec. 11 and 18 by reservation; 817-366-5899.
Kincaid’s has been a landmark in Fort Worth for 75 years and has made headlines with its classic hamburgers made from quality ingredients. The former grocery store turned burger joint also serves up some specialities, such as the Cowtown Deluxe (pictured). Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
2. Cruising the boulevard
▪ Before Fred’s, the city’s favorite burger was at Kincaid’s Hamburgers, on the historic old brick highway at 4901 Camp Bowie Blvd.
The former grocery and grill remains the city’s most nostalgic burger joint. Go for the Cowtown burger with jalapenos and pimiento, or the Nathan’s chili dogs, or just for the crinkle fries and homemade onion rings.
It’s open for lunch and dinner daily; 817-732-2881, or visit one of four other locations in Fort Worth, Arlington and Southlake; kincaidshamburgers.com.
Mama’s Pizza is celebrating 50 years with specials the week of June 11. Mama's Pizza
▪ For a switch from burgers, hit the lunch buffet at Mama’s Pizza, 5800 Camp Bowie Blvd. That’s a flagship location for the regional chain that has dominated the pizza market since it opened in 1968 in east Fort Worth.
Mama’s is all about its double-rolled, garlic-brushed crust. But try the new thin crust.
The all-you-can-eat buffet is served at midday weekdays and Saturdays. Mama’s is open for lunch and dinner daily at nine locations in Fort Worth, Arlington, Burleson, Granbury, Hudson Oaks, Mansfield and North Richland Hills.
Candlelite Inn in Arlington, an old-time restaurant with booths, is decorated for Christmas. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com
3. Lunch and holiday lights
▪ Candlelite Inn, 1202 E. Division St., Arlington, is known for its 1950s Christmas decor and holiday spirit, and for its history as an inexpensive family steakhouse that also served Arlington’s first Italian food and pizza.
The chopped steak and the steak Italiano are popular orders, or try a pork chop dinner.
Don’t sleep on the old-time Tex-Mex and big burritos. Whatever you order, get chips and the Candlelite’s fabled green chopped escabeche salsa, and maybe a pint to go.
It’s open for lunch and dinner daily except stadium game days (meaning it’s closed Black Friday but reopens Saturday and Sunday); 817-275-9613, candleliteinnarlington.com.
Campo Verde restaurant in Arlington has been impressing customers for nearly 30 years with their elaborate holiday decorations that cover almost every available surface. Owner James Williams says the decorating process takes around two months, starting in the beginning of October. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
▪ Campo Verde, 2918 W. Pioneer Parkway between Fort Worth and Arlington, is regionally famous for its 200,000-light holiday displays and elevated train, but it’s also tougher to get into.
Try at midafternoon, maybe between 2 and 4:30 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays; 817-275-7003, campoverde.us.
Chiles rellenos at Joe T. Garcia’s in Fort Worth. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com
4. Mexican food, sure
▪ To get all that turkey and dressing out of your system, hit Joe T. García’s for lunch. Everybody else will.
That’s when the 86-year-old landmark at 2201 N. Commerce St. serves a full menu, including its best dish: chiles rellenos.
Order a relleno stuffed with beef or cheese. Or chase away the Thanksgiving hangover with a spicy lunch plate of steak ranchero.
If you insist on a combination plate, consider the “short dinner” with an enchilada and a taco. At lunch, you can even ask for old-fashioned chili con carne on your enchiladas. (It’s served on the tamales.)
An Angelo’s pork rib platter. Jeffery Washington Star-Telegram archives
5. Cowtown is now BBQ Town
▪ Fort Worth is newly recognized as the home of the best barbecue in Texas, but some of the best restaurants are taking the weekend off.
One old-time restaurant open all weekend is Angelo’s Barbecue, 2533 White Settlement Road, a cavernous barbecue and beer hall that has been the scene of holiday gatherings and family fun since 1958.
▪ The top-ranked restaurant open Friday and all weekend is Heim Barbecue, 1109 W. Magnolia Ave. and 5333 White Settlement Road.
Heim, the pioneer of craft barbecue in Fort Worth, is known for candied “bacon burnt ends.”
It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily on Magnolia; 817-882-6970. The White Settlement store is closed Mondays; 682-707-5772, heimbbq.com.
▪ Taking Friday off but reopening Saturday: No. 1-ranked Goldee’s, 4645 Dick Price Road; No. 10-ranked Panther City BBQ, 201 E. Pennsylvania Ave. (201 E. Hattie St.) near downtown Fort Worth; Hurtado Barbecue, 205 E. Front St., Arlington; Smoke-A-Holics BBQ, 1417 Evans Ave.; and Zavala’s Barbecue, 421 W. Main St., Grand Prairie..
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
Bud Kennedy is celebrating his 40th year writing about restaurants in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written the “Eats Beat” dining column in print since 1985 and online since 1992 — that’s more than 3,000 columns about Texas cafes, barbecue, burgers and where to eat.Support my work with a digital subscription
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