To cut to the chase, our first impression of Rodeo Goat, which opened last week at 2836 Bledsoe (at the corner of Bledsoe and Curry streets in Fort Worth's West 7th area), was: Hey! This place has a parking lot! And a decent-size one, which isn't always easy to find in this area outside of the West 7th development's parking lot.
During a Saturday visit, we found a lot other things to like, including a restaurant/bar that is much bigger than it looks from the outside; a spacious patio (which no one was using at the time, despite some relatively temperate weather; and an impressive beer menu.
But what really got our attention was the burger menu (you can view all this on the Goat's website, simply by scrolling down). These may be the most ambitious burgers in Fort Worth: For example, the menu features the Ravi Shankar: a burger with curry, coriander chutney, carrots -- and peanut butter -- to go with more traditional lettuce-tomato-onion toppings. And the Salted Sow, which includes Italian sausage, prosciutto and basil pesto among its ingredients. And then there's the Sugar Burger ...
The Telluride (with green-chile chutney and roasted poblano goat-cheese spread) had a nice kick, although the goat cheese could have been more pungent, and "the just a touch of pink" in the patty was a little too pink for my taste (which doesn't mean it's too pink for everyone). My wife liked the Neil Young, which features a house-made veggie patty consisting of brown rice, black beans, barley and oats. Our server warned us that the veggie patty was crumbly and recommended a fork, which was really a good suggestion for both burgers. All burgers are in the $8.50-$9 range.
The prime obstacle Rodeo Goat faces, I think, its that it's about a block south of Fred's Texas Cafe, which has a loyal following and a recently remodeled patio. But the menu is intriguing enough to bring me back.
Rodeo Goat is open 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. Follow it on Facebook or Twitter.
