Tim Love is celebrating 25 years at his Fort Worth restaurant — and opening more soon
Chef Tim Love already had plenty to do: one restaurant celebrating 25 years, a new croquet bar opening and plans for two more restaurants.
So naturally, he took time out to do a Food Network show.
“I figured, ‘What the heck? I haven’t done one of these shows in so long,’ ” said Love, back in Fort Worth after a narrow loss in the first round of “Tournament of Champions.”
“ ... I had a blast. I thought I won.”
It almost seems unthinkable, but Love is 53 now. It’s been almost 20 years since he broke onto the national scene by defeating Iron Chef Masahuru Morimoto in an early season of “Iron Chef America.”
His flagship restaurant, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, has been an anchor of the Fort Worth Stockyards for 25 years. To celebrate, it will serve a $250 25-course menu May 2-6.
Then there’s Stewart’s Croquet & Cocktails, his forthcoming bar in the River District.
After that will come two yet-to-be-announced Texas locations of his Paloma Suerte restaurant, serving “Fort Worth-Tex-Mex,” and two Asian restaurants.
So, he made time for a rare TV guest shot after turning down other shows.
“These are guys I’ve known 20 years,” he said, including host and emcee Guy Fieri.
And: “The exposure doesn’t hurt.”
His opponent was New York chef Rocco DiSpirito of the NBC reality show “The Restaurant.” DiSpirito described Love as “an OG like me ... He’s a legend.”
In the show opening, Fieri introduced Love as a “legitimate icon in the restaurant world” and a “bad dude right here ... That’s why they call him ‘Dr. Love.’ “
DiSpirito has been on the show before as a contestant and a judge, so he knew more about the format.
Love made a carrot-pineapple curry with the random ingredients he was assigned. He lost the judges’ scorecards, 83-80, but won on “taste,” 41-40.
He’s been making curries lately, “just having fun,” and pineapple is a tough ingredient to blend into a dish.
“I should have made chicken fried steak with pineapple barbecue sauce — I would have won,” he said.
Since he left the Reata kitchen and opened Lonesome Dove, 2406 N. Main St., Love has opened 10 other restaurant concepts across five cities.
In Fort Worth, he also owns Woodshed Smokehouse, Love Shack, the White Elephant Saloon, Atico, Caterina’s, Gemelle and Tannahill’s, plus Hotel Otto and Queenie’s Steakhouse in Denton.
His 25th anniversary dinner at Lonesome Dove will feature fish, quail, wild game and beef, including his signature garlic-stuffed tenderloin. Desserts will include two Lonesome Dove originals: ancho chile chocolate cake and Tuaca cappuccino flan.
Stewart’s, 4424 White Settlement Road, is a croquet lawn and cocktail bar with a grill menu next door to Hotel Otto and Gemelle. It will open within a month, he said.
Paloma Suerte, a booming hit at 122 E. Exchange Ave. in Mule Alley, will open two new locations, but he said he’s not ready to say where.
His episode of “Tournament of Champions” is scheduled to show again at 3 p.m. March 29, or it can be streamed on Discovery+ or Max.
To book a reservation for the Lonesome Dove anniversary dinner, see exploretock.com.
