Rise Above the Rest

DFW Restaurant Week is a 28-year tradition in which many of our best and most beloved spots offer three-course prix fixe dinners ($49 or $59) and some $29 prix fixe brunch offerings. In Tarrant County, at least $10 from every meal goes to Lena Pope, a family-serving nonprofit providing mental health counseling for children, parent training, child care, juvenile justice programs, and more in the Fort. Diners leave full, happy, and secure in the knowledge that their choices supported local restaurants and benefitted a local charity doing hard work and heavy lifting in Fort Worth.

My mentor and former Weekly colleague Christy Goldfinch unabashedly judged the restaurants by whether the entrées were essentially a tiny piece of chicken smothered in inexpensive potatoes and green beans or a salad. Goldfinch gave extra stars to those restaurateurs willing to add more expensive dishes to the charity eat-a-thon.

My spouse’s birthday falls just before Restaurant Week begins. If he chooses (accidentally, because he’s not paying that much attention) to visit a restaurant offering an RW deal, I love it. This was the case when he picked B&B Butchers (5212 Marathon Av, Fort Worth, 817-737-5212) for his celebratory meal. In a glorious collision of worlds, it also happened to be the first weekend of Restaurant Week. Four of my table of five indulged in B&B’s too-good-to-be-true RW menu. The fifth diner had her heart set on the Crab Louis, a generous $36 pile of jumbo lump crab, capers, hard-boiled eggs, and asparagus which wasn’t on the RW menu.

Goldfinch would have been impressed by B&B’s take. I had the lemony chicken shank –– it’s my favorite, and not even the promise of pan-seared salmon or the perfectly cooked 8-oz. filet could tempt me away. Birthday Boy enjoyed the giant serving of barbecue-kissed Snake River pork chops, while my kid with expensive taste tucked into some surf and turf (two filet medallions with crab-stuffed shrimp, a small serving of mashed potatoes, and, for an $8 upcharge, a lobster bisque sauce). Other upcharged menu items include a 22-oz. bone-in ribeye and all the glorious toppings that might accompany a steak (truffle butter, foie gras, Oscar-style). The classic wedge salad and the giant BLT salad — served vertically, not horizontally, and really a meal in itself — round out the appetizers. B&B will donate $12 per plate to Lena Pope, and if your head’s turned by a cocktail or a larger portion of steak, so much the better.

The Restaurant Week menu at Mac’s on Main (909 S Main St, Grapevine, 817-251-6227) is also stellar. I am an unabashed fan of Executive Chef/Owner Rena Frost, and until the advent of the new B&B property Soy Cowboy, Mac’s sister Arlington location was the nicest restaurant in town –– and as an Arlingtonian, I reserve judgment on this. The Grapevine location offers a $49 three-course meal with nary a chicken in sight. The divine 12-oz. prime rib, a Steak Oscar, steak frites, a striped bass, and lamb chops complete the entrée menu. One of the reasons I love Mac’s is that all entrées come with an appropriate side –– in the case of the excellent prime rib, it’s asparagus and a baked potato.

Don Artemio (3268 W 7th, Fort Worth, 817-470-1439) is a restaurant relatively new to the RW game, but I tip my sombrero to the creativity of their 2024 menu. Sure, you can have a generous two-course brunch or three-course dinner option that includes beef, veg, and pork choices, but for $99, with a $20 donation to charity, you get four courses, including a signature cocktail and a veg, beef, or fish option. (Again, nary a chicken thigh in sight.)

The $49 options at local stalwart Cat City Grill (1208 W Magnolia Av, Fort Worth, 817-916-5333) include a meatball appetizer and fish, chicken, or beef entrées accompanied by both mashed potatoes and a summer succotash. (It’s possible that Chef/Owner Martin Thompson might convince me that I like lima beans.)

As with the Dallas-facing restaurants, the North Texas Food Bank is the beneficiary of the meals at Thirsty Lion Gastropub (1220 Chisholm Trail Pkwy, Ste 100, Euless, 817-283-9000). I won’t quibble about their fried cauliflower starter and three different menus showcasing beef, fish, and Eggs Benedict for brunch, and the Wagyu beef-and-prosciutto burger featured on Thirsty Lion’s RW menu looks to be the same size as the one on the regular menu, with the same toppings.

Restaurant Week has contributed more than $12 million toward Lena Pope’s good work in our community. Is this virtue signaling, or actual virtue? I liken RW to purchasing Girl Scout Cookies or buying anything that your kid’s school or sport is selling for fundraising: Yes, you could just donate directly to the organization, but in the case of Restaurant Week, you can also call on an old favorite place for a little nostalgia or maybe try something new. If you have the means, splurge on the wine pairings or the upgrades. If you don’t, you still enjoyed a good meal at a great restaurant.

At one point, Restaurant Week was just an experience during the first full week of August. Some places still honor the literal week –– Chef Jon Bonnell’s Waters and his Fine Texas Cuisine had lovely non-chicken offerings last week only. For other restaurateurs, the event now sprawls through Sep 1. Check your favorite place’s website to be sure, and be kind: Make a reservation, and tip your servers generously.

For a complete list of Tarrant County options for Restaurant Week, visit LenaPope.org/dfwrestaurantweek.