Welcome to cow town, y’all!
I had never been to Ft. Worth before we arrived for the month of March, so I really didn’t know what to expect. Luckily, we have family friends who live in Plano, so we got some advice on the areas we should consider for living. We settled on a cute guest house AirBnB off of Camp Bowie near the Cultural District.
Location-wise, it’s a good spot. Sam was close to the hospital and there were a few places within walking distance. Since we only brought one car, I resorted to travelling by foot if I wanted to get anywhere during the week. I took several runs to check out the area and think it’s a charming neighborhood – clearly on the older side with many houses being renovated. We were close to West 7th Street – more on that below – and about 2.5 miles to the Trinity River Trail. I do wish we were closer because it’s a beautiful path to run along, but at least it was accessible!
The weather seemed pretty typical for Spring time in Texas. We experienced several beautiful, warm, sunny days in the 70s and 80s, along with a few cloudy and rainy days. One thing I wasn’t anticipating was the WIND!! It felt so windy almost every day, which I wasn’t prepared for. Overall, the weather was pretty nice for us. Especially with COVID-19 still among us, we usually try to find restaurants with nice outdoor spaces. Luckily, the weather cooperated enough that we could sit outside everywhere and be comfortable in either short sleeves or a lighter jacket.
With that, here’s my local guide to Fort Worth and surrounding areas!
Eat
Heim BBQ – yummmm! There are so many BBQ joints in Texas, but this one came recommended by several so we decided to check it out. We went to the location on the river, which has a massive outdoor space. The food was delicious (the bacon burnt ends were really flavorful and I did enjoy them even though the thought grossed me out). They had two frozen cocktail options (a lemonade and frose), and we both got a swirl combo of the two. It was the perfect balance of sweet and tart! I would definitely check out their Facebook page – they always seem to have specials going on!
Cane Rosso – I could eat pizza every day, truthfully. This is a great pizza spot on Magnolia street with wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas. Everything we had was good and our server was super friendly!
Winslow’s Wine Cafe: see… I wasn’t kidding about eating pizza every day. Winslow’s is a quaint local spot, right up the street from our AirBnB. Their menu confused me at first because of all the brunch options, but I’m glad we still went. As always, we took advantage of their Sunday Happy Hour and enjoyed a fried avocado appetizer, the wine of the week, and two wood-fired pizzas.
Drink
Mash’d – offers happy hour 7 days a week featuring 50% off cocktails, which they put their own fun twist on, along with other deals. I personally didn’t love the cocktails I tried, but Sam had a really good moonshine one. I think there’s a lot of potential here, and their Chicken Fried Pepperoni was something I never knew I needed in my life.
Maggie’s RnR – my kinda place. We enjoyed it so much, we went two weekends in a row! They have a stage with live music (and happy hour specials), which are two of my favorite things. You can find their music schedule here. Their outdoor space is a decent size and overflowing on a beautiful day. We only got drinks and apps both times we went (the Fried Pickles and the Nachos are very yummy), but the rest of their menu looks good too. Since it’s on Magnolia Avenue, I’d recommend stopping here for a drink or two before strolling the rest of the street and checking out the rest of the options. We went to Cane Rosso after grabbing a beer here.
HopFusion Ale Works: a typical brewery – smaller in size with several beers on tap. We went on a beautiful day, so the inside and outside were both equally packed. But the line moved quickly and we snagged a table outside to enjoy our Fiesty Blonde and Body High. I liked Sam’s beer better… typical.
City Works Eatery & Pour House: located in the Clearfork Shops, this is a great place to hit up Happy Hour (M-F 4pm-6pm) before enjoying dinner at one of the other great restaurants nearby.
Fixture Kitchen & Social Lounge: situated on a less-populated side of Magnolia street, Fixture has a solid Happy Hour featuring $5 cocktails Mon-Fri from 4pm-7pm at the bar and on the patio. Their frozen lemonade cocktail was soooo perfect for the warm day, and wasn’t too sweet. We also tried the fried crawfish balls – YUM.
Do
Trinity Trails: this trail can be accessed by several points in Ft. Worth and runs along the Trinity river. There is a paved path, perfect for walking, running, or biking; plus a lot of green space around for picnicking! We struggled to access the entry point closest to us, so I definitely recommend using your Maps to get there.
Ft. Worth Stockyards: of course I have to mention the Stockyards! This historic area offers all kinds of entertainment from their twice-daily cattle drive to the rodeo to several saloon options. We just walked around and took it all in, so don’t have any specific recs here. But I would say it’s worth checking out since it’s so unique and local to Fort Worth.
The Shops at Clearfork: reminded me of back home in Phoenix – very clean, new, and outdoors. They have several restaurants and stores, plus JOY Macarons! We splurged and got a half dozen. They were yummy, but mostly pretty.
Additionally, there is a Clearfork Farmers Market nearby on Saturday mornings from 8am – noon. We sadly never made it here, but it was recommended.
Surrounding Areas
Dallas
I honestly wish that Ft. Worth was closer to Dallas because it seems to have a ton to offer. We visited twice – once for brunch only and another time for the Margarita Mile. We really enjoyed our experience both times!
Pie Tap Pizza: there are several locations around Dallas. We went for brunch, but I personally got a pizza (Prosciutto). Everything was sooo yummy! And their Bloody Mary comes with a tiny lil pizza on top. Cute and delicious.
The Margarita Mile: the name is a little misleading and confusing because the restaurants featured here are not within a mile. I’m not quite sure where the Mile part comes in. BUT, it’s such a fun experience! You can learn more about it here — and download their App to see a list of participating restaurants. Since we had to get a Lyft into Dallas, we mapped out a route where we could walk from place to place without going too far. We started at El Fenix and walked along McKinney for our 4 stops. If you’re wanting more, you could also go to Meso Maya (right next to El Fenix, but we had already been here), Fearing’s at the Ritz, and the Tipsy Alchemist.
Here are the stops we made, and our personal ratings. The Rustic was by far the best because of the live music (are you sensing a theme here?), and delicious frozen marg. They sadly no longer offer the Rimmy Rita, which is featured on the app, but their classic frozen marg still did the trick (and received the highest rating from us both!)
Plano
This is where our family friends live so we ventured to the area one Saturday. It seems like a nice suburb from what we saw, although we didn’t spend a ton of time there. The two places we went were favorites:
Legacy West: another outdoor shopping and dining destination, this area also made me feel at home! Plus. they have a True Food Kitchen, which is one of my favorites. This is a really pretty area to stroll around or grab a bite.
Katy Trail Ice House Outpost: the original location of this ‘Austin style beer garden’ is in Dallas, but they have a location in Plano as well. The massive, laid back outdoor space with TVs and good vibes is known for their scooner beers. Apparently some people (ah-hem, Spencer), can hold three of these at once. It blew my mind. We all enjoyed the Summer Beer which really hit the spot on the beautiful day! This is a great spot for watching sports or hanging out with a group. The food is pretty typical “bar” type food, but dang the cheese fries were good.
Grapevine
My family visited one weekend and stayed at the most adorable hotel in Grapevine called Hotel Vin, Autograph Collection! I highly recommend making the 25-30 minute drive from Ft. Worth if you have the opportunity. The hotel is situated on Grapevine’s historic Main street, next to several restaurants, wineries, and boutiques. You could absolutely make a weekend out of visiting Grapevine if you have the time.
Hotel Vin itself is a boutique hotel with a train station vibe, but the best part is the Harvest Hall, which is attached to the lobby. It feels like an upscale train terminal food hall with lots of food options and a bar. We spent several late nights here and tried our fair share of the food (mostly dessert). Our personal favorites were the sliders from Easy Slider Texas, the red velvet cake pops and iced vanilla latte from Main Line Coffee Bar, Italian Donuts from Spunito, and the ooey gooey bread pudding from Chick & Biscuit. I wish we could’ve tried even more of the food honestly…
They had live music on the weekends, which was a fun addition. Grapevine’s main street is also super adorable, so you could definitely make a weekend getaway out of it by spending time in the town and the hotel.
And there you have it folks! I hope you find yourself in the DFW area soon and can check out some of these spots!