A heaping helping of news & reviews from DFW’s dining scene.
3257 Beach St., Fort Worth
817-744-7786
The place: Fort Worth Grill
The cuisine: Home-style cooking; all-day breakfast
The back story: How appropriate that an eatery that's all about home-style cooking would be run be a couple of brothers. Weldon and Dale Cypert, a pair of unpretentious, Watauga-born nice guys were looking to get into a business together. Oh, they'd worked together before in the auto paint/body shop biz, which admittedly doesn't have much, heck, anything to do with food, but Weldon had managed a restaurant and worked in the kitchen of several others and, hey, they both like to eat. They opened the modest-but-welcoming Fort Worth Grill on a busy street in a neighborhood of small, unimposing businesses in October, and they've developed a loyal clientele in the short time since then.
The food: Our meal at Fort Worth Grill was a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs. We were charmed when our server brought us iced tea in mason jars, and the meal started off well with a surprisingly chunky cup of potato soup ($1.99) topped with grated Cheddar and chopped parsley. Onion rings, disappointingly of the breaded rather than the batter-coated kind, were a waste of calories. Chicken-fried chicken ($7.49, with roll and two sides) was thick (not pounded thin, as it is at many restaurants) and juicy, with a crunchy crust. The yeast roll was good, but looked and tasted suspiciously like the Sister Schubert rolls that I buy at the grocery store and bake at home.
The big winner of the meal were cowboy beans, an ever-so-slightly spicy concoction of pinto beans, hamburger meat, sausage, Rotel tomatoes and just a bit of jalapeño. A cup of cowboy beans is $1.99 and a bowl with a side of sweet cornbread is $4.99. We'd been eagerly anticipating the pea salad -- an item you don't find on every menu -- but we pushed the eggy, mushy, too-sweet mess aside after one bite. The patty melt ($4.99) is made on thick slices of Texas toast and is gooier on the inside than most patty melts (we suspected the ooze was caused by mayonnaise, and are embarrassed to admit that we enjoyed it). Peach cobbler ($2.49), though, was another disappointment, with its overbaked, cardboardlike crust.
The atmosphere: It's not a fancy place, but the brothers Cypert have made an effort to make it appealing. Black-and-white tables are covered in clear cloths dotted with cute red-and-black lady bugs. Black-and-white checkered flags and auto paraphernalia line the walls. The brothers also have a "heroes" board dedicated to those in military service, including Dale's son.
The senior specials: Weldon Cypert says the little restaurant is best known for its senior specials, available to the 60-and-over crowd. For less than $5, seniors can select a small portion of an entree, side, roll, small dessert and beverage. Cypert says he has customers who come in daily for the meal deal.
The details: Hours are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Major credit cards accepted (but the restaurant was in a dispute with the credit card company and was not accepting any cards when we visited). No alcohol served. No smoking. Wheelchair-accessible.
