All Star Sports Bar and Grill in Fort Worth scores with touches of elegance

The recent arrival of the All Star Sports Bar and Grill may come as a surprise to those who came to love the previous tenant, Cafe Aspen, a Camp Bowie landmark that closed in February after 20 years.

The same spot where patrons once nibbled on fine French cuisine is now home to shot specials, karaoke and bikini contests.

Perhaps the bigger shock is that the All Star's food, while steeped in sports bar fare such as hamburgers, wings and fried appetizers, is quite good. What lies beneath the surface of a typical sports bar menu is high-quality, thoughtful food.

Opened in May, the All Star is run by Gino Dudus, a 34-year-old New Yorker who moved to North Texas three years ago. Growing up in a string of Italian restaurants owned by his family planted the urge, he says, to open his own restaurant. After partnering with another entrepreneur at the Eagles Nest Sports Restaurant on Eagle Mountain Lake, Dudus decided to go solo and called the number on the "For Lease" sign in Cafe Aspen's old spot.

Dudus has completely redone the place. Instead of a single open space, the restaurant is now divided into three rooms: In front is a dance floor area with pool tables, video games and a DJ booth; behind it is the dining room, with black and chrome booths, pub tables and bar stools; and in the rear is a large seated patio area, a remnant of Cafe Aspen, where live bands perform Friday and Saturday nights. A pair of bars in the dining room and patio, also Aspen holdovers, have been given the sports-bar treatment with neon light fixtures and scantily clad bartenders.

In the kitchen, Dudus oversees a menu consisting of burgers, steaks, salads, several sandwiches and a dozen appetizers, many of which are served with house-made sauces. Some of the selections have sports-themed names: TCU's build your own burger, Rangers reuben, Dallas Cowboys rib-eye. Prices are reasonable, with most entrees in the $8-$10 range, and the portions are huge.

On a recent Saturday night visit, we started with a pair of appetizers. A mountain of fried green beans ($6) had been flash fried, the batter still sizzling upon delivery. They were thoroughly crunchy. Likewise, we enjoyed the portobello fries ($7), a generous serving of sliced portobello mushrooms housed in seasoned cracker crumb breading that had a peppery punch.

The same can be said of the Bevo burger ($7), which dripped with blue cheese crumbles and jalapeños and came draped with two large pieces of crisp bacon, along with tomatoes, onion and lettuce. As if it wasn't hot enough, the Angus beef was cooked in even more spicy seasonings; you may need a couple of water refills. It was served on a lightly toasted, corn-dusted white bun -- a nice, subtle touch to a burger that was anything but.

The All Star also hit a home run with the Astros avocado wrap ($8). A large tomato basil flour tortilla was jammed with slices of grilled marinated chicken, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, spicy ranch dressing and house-made guacamole, which had a rich, cool taste and velvety texture. It came with a large serving of crisp, crinkle-cut sweet potato fries, their meshing of sweet and salty near perfect.

Of the small selection of desserts, we sampled the fried Snickers ($4), consisting of two Snickers candy bars flash fried in a flour tortilla and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oddly enough, it was served high-end style, criss-crossed with drizzles of chocolate syrup. Maybe some of the old Cafe Aspen rubbed off on the All Star, after all.