Between tipoffs, here’s where to hold court & try Fort Worth barbecue, Tex-Mex, wings
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March Madness in Fort Worth
Dickies Arena will be a host of the men’s NCAA March Madness tournament. Here’s everything you need to know.
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Dickies Arena prepares to roll out red carpet for NCAA tournament
Arrival of NCAA Tournament is start of Fort Worth’s bid to be a bigger sports market
TCU basketball awaits its March Madness fate. Where will the Frogs play?
Between tipoffs, here’s where to hold court & try Fort Worth barbecue, Tex-Mex, wings
In the words of the late Star-Telegram writer Jerry Flemmons, Fort Worth strictly follows Texas’ three basic food groups: barbecue, Tex-Mex and fried.
You’ll want all three during the NCAA Tournament when it comes to town next weekend, so here’s the savory 16 roundup of Fort Worth eateries, whether you’re a visitor or a hungry Texan:
Barbecue
Fort Worth is the newly declared capital of Texas craft barbecue according to Texas Monthly, and the nearest outpost is only 1½ miles from Dickies Arena.
▪ Dayne’s Craft Barbecue, one of Texas Monthly’s Top 50, is a trailer served oak-smoked brisket, sausages and burgers at lunch only Fridays through Sundays in a “trailer park” at 2735 W. Fifth St.; 682-472-0181, daynescraftbarbecue.com
▪ It’s only 4 miles from Dickies to Panther City BBQ, one of the magazine’s top 10 Texas picks. It’s open for lunch only daily except Mondays and Tuesdays, serving peppery brisket, sausage and “brisket elote” with brisket slices in a cup of corn.
Look near Interstate 35W for 201 E. Hattie St. (also listed as 201 E. Pennsylvania Ave.); 682-499-5618, panthercitybbq.com
More barbecue options: Heim Barbecue on the River, a larger craft barbecue restaurant, bar and patio serving lunch and dinner daily at 5333 White Settlement Road, or Railhead Smokehouse, an old-time barbecue serving line known for pork ribs and serving lunch and dinner daily at 2900 Montgomery St., 10 blocks south of Dickies Arena.
(Angelo’s Barbecue, 2 miles from the arena at 2533 White Settlement Road, is an old-time brisket-and-beer hangout that will have green beer and bagpipers Thursday for St. Patrick’s Day.)
Tex-Mex
If you ask whether the term “Tex-Mex” refers to fajitas, tacos or enchiladas, the correct answer is: Yeah.
▪ The most famous local Tex-Mex restaurant is 2,000-seat Joe T. García’s Mexican Dishes, 2201 N. Commerce St. near the Stockyards, where diners fill four dining rooms and seven patios for enchiladas, fajitas and mainly, margaritas.
Go to Joe T.’s, but definitely before 2:30 p.m. At lunch and weekend brunch, there’s a menu with a dozen choices including Joe T.’s first-rate chiles rellenos.
At night, the only choices are fajitas or a combination dinner. (But try asking for chiles rellenos anyway.)
“Tino’s Special” is the top margarita; 817-626-4356, joetgarcias.com.
▪ A small and genuine taqueria, Salsa Limón Museo, is 1 mile from Dickies Arena at 925 University Drive. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; 682-707-9966, salsalimon.com
(Only 2 miles south of Dickies Arena, Maria’s Mexican Kitchen, 1712 S. University Drive, is known for ribeye steaks, salmon, tacos, margaritas and weekend brunch; 817-916-0550, mariasmexicankitchen.com, book on resy.com.)
Fried
▪ There is no busier fryer in town than the one 10 blocks south of Dickies Arena at Flying Fish, 2913 Montgomery St.
Flying Fish, a Dallas-based restaurant decorated like a fishing camp, is known for fried catfish and shrimp but also serves fried chicken tenders, oysters, frog legs and gator tail. It’s open daily at lunch and dinner; 817-989-2277, FlyingFishInThe.Net.
▪ The Cookshack, 500 University Drive 1¼ miles from the arena, serves hot chicken at five spice levels. It’s open for lunch and dinner daily; 817-367-9151, thecookshack.com.
(Fort Worth also has a Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken from Memphis at 1067 W. Magnolia Ave., 3 miles from the arena.)
▪ Fort Worth is also home to one of the Big 12’s best sports bars, Buffalo Bros. It’s known for Buffalo-style wings and chicken, but also serves subs, beef-on-weck and a reputable pizza in a setting where sports fans feel at home.
If the games run late, both Buffalo Bros locations serve the entire menu until 2 a.m. every night.
The nearest location is 3015 S. University Drive, 3 miles south of Dickies Arena, or visit the downtown location, 415 Throckmorton St.; 817-386-9601 or 817-887-9533, buffalobrostexas.com.
(Rogers Roundhouse, a burger grill and sports bar at 1616 Rogers Road 2 miles south of the arena, also serves its full menu until 2 a.m.; 817-367-9348, rogersroundhouse.com.)
▪ For a classic old-school burger with crinkle fries, Kincaid’s Hamburgers 2 miles west of Dickies Arena has been around since the days when the Star-Telegram still used two words to write about “basket ball.”
Once named Texas’ best hamburger and one of the two best in the U.S., Kincaid’s, 4901 Camp Bowie Blvd., is now one of many burger grills using hand-packed, all-organic beef and classic toppings plus Nathan’s hot dogs and chili dogs.
But Kincaid’s secret stars are the crinkle fries, fresh onion rings and fried okra; lunch and dinner weekdays and Saturdays, lunch Sundays; 817-732-2881, or four other locations in Fort Worth, Arlington and Southlake; kincaidshamburgers,com.
▪ If you’re hankerin’ for a Texas chicken-fried steak, the most showy restaurant to try is Reata.
It’s a giant, three-story tourist attraction itself — a steak and cowboy-cuisine emporium at 310 Houston St. downtown, decorated by some of the same crews who recently worked on the Paramount+ series “1883” and “Yellowstone”; 817-336-1009, reata.net.
But if you’re in the Dickies neighborhood early enough, Montgomery Street Cafe across the street has simple breakfast, plate lunches and chicken-fried steak. It’s open until 2 p.m. weekdays, noon Saturdays; 2000 Montgomery St., 817-731-8033.
I know that’s early. But I guarantee your lunch will taste like Texas.
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
