Santa brought Fort Worth some of our favorite barbecue.
Kip'z BBQ has reopened on Evans Avenue, returning Charles "Kip" Stone's huge pork ribs and thick-sliced brisket to a restaurant formerly known as Mom's.
Gone two years, Stone made a comeback when he saw other chefs doubling up with both restaurants and food trucks.
"We have a truck, but the neighborhood wanted us back here, and I think we can make it work," Stone said.
"I hated to close. I like it here."
Stone and his mother, Margie Thompson, built and opened the stand in 2006, quickly becoming known for Stone's barbecue, plate lunches with yams and collard greens, and "Better than Mom's Banana Pudding."
The restaurant is totally Kip's this time around, with Stone smoking brisket and ribs over pecan, hickory or oak hardwood and serving them along with Austin-based Smokey Denmark hot links for $7-$9 a plate ($14 combo).
One recent day's lunch specials included meatloaf, beef tips, pork steak or oxtails, with greens, yams, cabbage and macaroni-and-cheese as sides.
Stone proudly shows photos of the restaurant's guests when it was Mom's, including actor Windell Middlebrooks and former Mayor Kenneth Barr.
Kip'z is open for lunch and until 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon-6 p.m. Sundays; 1509 Evans Ave. (two blocks east of Interstate 35W at East Allen Avenue), 817-705-1622.
Twenty years ago, Cajun country moved to Fort Worth.
A few small Cajun restaurants had tried to sell gumbo or seafood. But nobody here had ever brought the spice and seasonings of Razzoo's Cajun Cafe.
To mark its 20th anniversary Thursday, Razzoo's will sell $2 "rat toes" stuffed peppers and $2 frozen hurricanes.
When the Fort Worth location opened, it was the chain's second, following one in Richardson. Fort Worth diners wanted more spice than north Dallas, and Razzoo's quickly adjusted.
The downtown location is open for lunch and dinner daily at 318 Main St., 817-429-7009; razzoos.com.
(Only Riscky's Bar-B-Q and Uno Chicago Grill have been open longer in Sundance.)
The cozy La Piazza Ristorante in Fort Worth is open for a special holiday-season lunch through Friday.
This might be sold out by now, but La Piazza is also offering a four-course candlelight dinner Wednesday night with caroling led by Fort Worth Opera soprano Corrie Donovan.
It's $50 at 817-334-0000, lapiazzafw.com.
Bud Kennedy's Eats Beat appears Wednesdays in Life & Arts and Fridays in DFW.com Weekend. 817-390-7538
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