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closeWednesday, Sep. 02, 2009
Letting it 'Rip'
Despite a few kinks, the TCU-area Tex-Mex Old Rip's stands poised to give Fuzzy’s competition.
By Anna Caplan
Old Rip’s Tex Mex Restaurant opened in the TCU area midsummer to little fanfare. Only if you were looking for a parking spot at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, might you have noticed that the restaurant was open. Your next thought might have been: Tex Mex? In Fuzzy’s back yard? These new owners must have some cojones.
Father and son duo Cy and Clarke Barcus, Dallas denizens who started Bandito’s Tex Mex Cantina near SMU, are the proprietors of Old Rip’s, which moved into the old Gunsmoke Grill location in mid-July. On our recent visit, they were running the table(s), ensuring the success of their new venture. Cy was outside when we arrived, eyeing incoming cars warily and making sure Fuzzy’s customers weren’t parking in his newly expanded lot. Clarke was ably aiding a litany of mostly TCU-age servers inside.
The vibe: Upscale-collegiate. The first-rate modern art on the walls is from Cy’s personal collection. The open and airy dining room has clean lines and contemporary accessories, a la Mi Cocina, and is often populated by frat boys, preppy couples and families.
The food: Old Rip’s offers a steady diet of all things Mexican, from flautas to burritos, tamales to enchiladas, salads and fajitas. Well-priced steaks ($18.50-$22) are in the mix here, too, but we opted for more mainstream Tex-Mex, starting with the Combination Platter ($9) of nachos (steak, chicken and ground beef), cheese quesadillas, chicken flautas and a skimpy bowl of queso. We ordered a cup of the loaded queso ($5.50) as well to satisfy our craving. The latter was slightly watery, with bits of ground beef, guacamole and sour cream adrift, and it lacked much flavor. The combo platter scored better, especially the chicken flautas. These babies, rolled like cigars and deep-fried, had large chunks of white-meat chicken and were excellent. I dipped mine in the accompanying queso, which I found tastier (and hotter) than the loaded version. The nachos ran the gamut: The steak was well-spiced and juicy atop the Cheddar-cheesy chip and the chicken fared well, too. But the ground beef didn’t look fully cooked.
As for the main courses, we both chose three-item plates, served with rice and beans. Of the 26 (!) options on the Plate menu, we narrowed it down to a queso chalupa, brisket soft taco, shrimp fajita soft taco, chicken tamale, cheese enchilada verde and crispy chicken taco. Of these, the crispy taco led the pack, reminding me of a Jack in the Box taco (in a good way), both crispy and soft; the soft tacos had good flavor — the meat and shrimp were tasty — but we would have liked a bit more cilantro, onion, tomatoes and lettuce to round out the taco. My cheese enchilada’s verde sauce had a nice kick, but the chalupa was a soggy, queso-y mess. And the tamale had too much masa, not enough chicken.
The service: On the whole, service was schizophrenic — both overeager and laissez-faire. It seemed like we had a main waitress who spent most of the night "in the weeds," as they say. After a lengthy wait for our loaded queso and appetizer, the rest of our order came out at a steady clip. However, we did wait nearly 20 minutes to resolve our bill at the end of the night.
The verdict: We’re keen on giving a place the time to get into its groove. And since Old Rip’s only opened in mid-July, we expect they’ll work out some of the kinks. Bottom line? It’s a great place to get your drink on and indulge in bar fare. Tex-Mex staples like the chalupa and taco stand out, and pair well with Old Rip’s signature swirl margarita, the MiG ($6.50).
With TCU football season fast approaching, Old Rip’s seems well-positioned to join the eclectic mix of campus restaurants at the corner of University and Berry. So, it seems the Barcuses know exactly what they’re doing.
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